“Beware the autumn people”
― Ray Bradbury, Something Wicked This Way Comes
“Tasteless fare. Funerals, bad marriages, lost loves, lonely beds. That is our diet. We suck that misery and find it sweet. We search for more always. We can smell young boys ulcerating to be men a thousand miles off. And hear a middle-aged fool like yourself groaning with midnight despairs from halfway around the world.”
― Ray Bradbury, Something Wicked This Way Comes
Ray Bradbury would likely have much to say about the current state of American news and the American predilection for dining on the tasteless fare that Mr. Dark sucks on and finds so sweet.
It’s very difficult to avoid. I pay for a Medium subscription. I pay for a Washington Post subscription. I’m friends with news addicts on Facebook. All three of these post a dozen or more sensational and terrible articles each day. When I turn the TV off and avoid social media, I hear about each day’s terror from my wife or from a text message by a friend who is as anxious and despondent as I am.
So what do you do? Whom do you turn to when you’re surrounded by Autumn People?
Go outside and look at trees and flowers. Pet a dog. Hug a cat. Hug a loved one. Nature has been here and will be here. Nature has the truth in it. Slow down and listen.