Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran: Why?

I woke to news of the attack on Iran. We are now at war.

The stated goal is regime change — not exactly a surprise. It feels like a bully going after a middle schooler while the high schoolers (Russia, China, North Korea) are too big and tough to confront. I pity the Iranian people living under such an oppressive theocracy, but that raises the question: what right do we have to intervene? I fear another quagmire, born of our leaders' ignorance of history and a desire to change the news cycle — to stop people from talking about Epstein. Ukraine deserves our support far more urgently. Russia remains the central obstacle to world peace in the 21st century, driven by its ambition to recreate the Soviet empire.

6:45

6:59

7:02

7:03

8:27

It's difficult to return to the mundane after news like that, but I'll try. It's a warm, 40º morning with lots of sun, a colorful and changing sky, although it will cool off during the day.  I hope to get in a good hike either this morning or afternoon, and, of course, I will take my weekly trip to the Transfer Station.

Friday brought another pleasant day of sun and warming temperatures. After my morning coffee, writing the blog, and breakfast, I decided to walk Long Point State Park, hoping the trails would be at least partly groomed. Around 10:45, I drove over to Bemus and down Lakeside Drive — mine was the only car at the entrance. The first hundred yards were tough going, through six to eight inches of snow. Then I picked up deer tracks and eventually found the main trail, which was somewhat packed down and easier to navigate. For whatever reason, the hike felt hard — I was winded at times, ready to be done. When I finally reached the road back to my car, I removed my crampons to walk the asphalt of Summit Park Drive. A mile and a half through the woods, in 53 minutes, according to my Apple Watch.

Deer Tracks

Hiking Long Point State Park

I was home just before noon. I relaxed on the couch and read until hunger struck, then heated up the leftover chili and put on my new series, Dear Child, on Netflix. It strikes me that most crime dramas revolve around women who have been kidnapped or murdered — men are almost always cast as perpetrators, rarely as victims. After lunch, I continued alternating between Paper Girl and The Hallmarked Man, and managed a decent nap, up by 2:45 and back to reading.

I charged the Kia for two hours while Evie was prepping dinner, a mushroom, shallot, and cream pasta.  It came together in about twenty minutes, then sat warming while we settled into the living room for the late afternoon. The sun is setting later and later — 6:52 yesterday — and there's something quietly satisfying about that. The pasta was delicious, and there's enough left over for today's lunch.

We watched Colbert, an episode of The Pitt, and another of Paradise before Evie headed up to bed. I caught some of the Cavs game, then returned to Dear Child.