Sunshine In The Early Afternoon

What a beautiful day I have been experiencing today. It is the kind of day we wish upon all the people we care for. It was in the early afternoon of my current day. It started off with a sprinkle, and lively winds. But times are more tranquil now with the sun glimmering through the leaves holding on tenaciously in the lively breeze. We thought we should indeed go out for a shpatzir, a walk down to English Bay, and along the Sea Wall,, one of our favorite outings in Vancouver.

We joined the throng of walkers stretching their legs, watching the tide still coming in to wash at the foot of the Sea Wall. The air was crisp and calm. The freighters from far-away places lined the harbor area, near and far, giving the prospect a taste of the exotic. Where had those vessels come from with their goods, now empty and waiting to dash off with the loads waiting for them on the quayside? The trees lining the walkway, now lacking their greenery, bare bones showing, seemed almost embarrassed at their nakedness. The tree sheltering our own balcony, still fully green but yielding color toward the russet, is made of sterner stuff, tenaciously clinging to its leaves. It has sheltered us from the hot sun and stinging rain all the summer and fall.

We did the round with many of our striding companions, then turned off to enjoy the pleasures of the more wooded areas of Stanley Park. We got to rest on a bench and enjoy the antics of a variety of ducks sporting in the puddles and pools. We were seated at one of the many benches the Park offers. It was peaceful and even idyllic. We let the active living things we saw banish the mournful thoughts we are bearing with us that flow from some of the human actions we have witnessed in our daily lives.

I have been struck almost silent by some of those events. As painful have been some of the lies the enemies of peace and justice spray into the public space. How can the uninformed possibly appreciate what is at stake when they see thousands in the streets, here and around the world, with flags and signs. They are demanding, in effect, the killing of another six million Jews seventy-five years after the Holocaust? It is deeply disappointing that so many we thought were among our fellow travelers seem to be standing with the would-be murderers. Many in the media are offering pretty faces proclaiming the same doctrine. All we have to offer is the ugly truth that these crowds are calling, yet again, for the murder of innocents.

We will not be going to our slaughter like cattle this time. This time we are armed with more than sticks and stones to defend ourselves. And we expect to win. The people parading at these events, and others, should consider that they will be the next to be targeted.

I will end my day focusing on the setting sun with hope for a new dawn tomorrow. The struggle for justice must continue.