There has been yet another school shooting. There have been so many, it seems that one blends in to the other. I can’t keep them all straight. All I know is that too many children, teachers, aides, administrators, and others have died because apparently, this country values its guns over the lives of children and adults. I am so sad and so angry that I can’t focus my thoughts well. I can’t say it any better than Robert Reich, Heather Cox Richardson, or anyone else. I feel absolutely zero optimism that anything will be done about these deadly weapons, despite words from President & Dr. Biden and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of NY. The National Rifle Association is deep into the back pockets of legislators. Nothing will change until THEIR children are killed in a mass shooting.
I read that Elon Musk of Twitter and other social platforms (like Facebook?) are going to institute or are considering instituting paid memberships. Right now, I’m thinking, go ahead. Start charging. It’s probably time I get off social media completely and find another way to stay in touch with my family and friends. I dread the news: the mass shootings, the latest fascist acts being perpetrated in FL, TX, and other red states, and the latest poisonous spouting of the man who should’ve been in jail by now.
Yesterday was the anniversary of Japan’s gift of cherry trees to the United States. This was in 1912, and the trees were planted around the Basin near Jefferson’s Memorial. I have seen the trees in blossom only twice in all the years I lived in the DC area. The first time, I was about 12 and during spring break, we drove to Washington to see the sights. The cherry trees took my breath away. I had a Polaroid camera but at that time, the pictures were only in black and white. I wished I had a color film camera to capture the beautiful blooms.
The second time was about 30 years later, in 1996. I was working as an interpreter for the Deaf and had become very familiar with the Metro transit system to get around town. My first husband, Rich, and I took the kids to DC during their spring break. We drove to the subway station and parked there. Using the Metro, we could transfer from train to train and get all around town. One of the first places we wanted to see was the cherry trees.
They weren’t at their peak yet, but they were still pretty. I had a camera with me—one of those Instamatics so that I didn’t have to load the film. I took lots of pictures on that trip but was only able to find one of the cherry trees. We spent most of our day visiting the Smithsonian museums.
Today is another anniversary: the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island in western Pennsylvania. It led to a partial meltdown that released toxic gas into the air on March 28, 1979.
By unhappy coincidence, I’d just seen The China Syndrome, a movie starring Jack Lemmon, Jane Fonda, and Mike Douglas. The movie was pretty darn scary and drastic. What would happen in a total meltdown? Well, everything melts into a toxic kind of lava that releases all kinds of radioactive stuff into the atmosphere.
Now, something like The China Syndrome was happening just hours away from where I lived! For three nail-biting days, my friends and I wondered if the hydrogen bubble found inside would explode and release contaminants into the air. Before this accident and the movie, people thought nuclear power plants were a great idea to save energy. During those three days and afterward, no one seemed to support the idea anymore. For years, no other nuclear power plants were built. That changed about 10 years ago. There is one in Tennessee now.
Before the week was over, we learned that the bubble wouldn’t cause an explosion and we wouldn’t get radiation poisoning. Although people around TMI were exposed to some radioactive material in the air, the levels were very low. There were no deaths or injuries. As far as I know, there haven’t been clusters of cancer or other radiation-exposure illnesses.
Ending on a happier note, I submitted a flash memoir to a Writers Advice contest. I just heard back from them, and they requested a bio and an illustration for the story. I have no idea how I placed in it and won’t know anything until it’s announced. I feel very happy and positive about it.
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