The Loon

Robert's Thoughts

Comments (7) / August 27, 2022

It’s the middle of the night, 2 a.m. and I’m on the terrace. The glitter of the full moon’s reflection on the surface of our lake mesmerizes me.  There is no wind and even the birds seem to be holding their breath so there is almost no sound to be heard.

Everything is still.

Not so my mind. It is in turmoil.

It worries about global warming, especially the forest fires that we are trying to control in Europe with ancient DeHaviland Water Bombers well past their prime,

about half the children of the world not having enough food to eat,

about the deforestation of the Matto Grosso,

about the Ukrainian War,

about Trump lurching from trouble to trouble,

about Putin going mad,

about the seemingly never-ending COVID Pandemic that appears to have countless, endless, consecutive variants.

I worry about how the world is changing: how children communicate only via text message, how they don’t learn how to write because they don’t read books and have spellcheck on their computers, and, ABOVE ALL, how young people have easy access to cheap weapons – GUNS.

I foresee no future on this planet for homo sapiens.

Suddenly, a loon’s head emerges from the lunar glitter that has me so mesmerized. And the bird begins to talk.

“Pull yourself together old man,” his clarion call seems to say. “Don’t give up – ever. Homo Sapiens is by definition ‘sapient’. He will somehow think his way out of his present predicament.”

LISTEN TO THE LOON

7 Responses to :
The Loon

  1. I feel the same Robert, utterly desperate sometimes. Then struck dumb by the extraordinary beauty of the natural world. I cling to hope!
    Kathleen

  2. Peter+Trutschmann says:

    And the Loon is right. We will adapt ( short term )

  3. Robert Kemeny says:

    This brings to mind the last lines of Imre Madách’s dramatic poem, The Tragedy of Man:

    “THE LORD.
    I’ve told thee, man, strive and trust!”
    or, as in the original Hungarian:
    “AZ ÚR
    Mondottam, ember: küzdj és bízva bízzál!”

    Robbie

  4. Dear Robert you have summarized the apocalypse looming ahead. I find it terrifying! And am very worried about the future of my adult children and their children. Somehow Homo sapiens has managed to survive thru centuries of catastrphies and part of me is still confident the young generations will be inventive enough to create a new kind of world that today we cannot even fathom….

  5. Steve Harrar says:

    Robert,
    I follow your occasional emails and look forward to them.
    Seeing the world from a Montreal point of view lens, it looks like a catastrophe! I wonder when will it reach us.
    Watching the news from BBC, Amanpour, CBC, TV5 is like watching a science fiction movie unfold, except we are part of it.
    The pandemic has taught us that the unimaginable is possible and real. What have we done?
    People are scared but put their heads in the sand to do something. Plastic bottles are still being sold! Fossil fuels still burning! Governments are out of touch!
    How do we mobilize the planet to save it?
    We may not save it, but our children will have to! They will have no choice. What a heritage we are leaving them.
    Whatever wealth we leave them, they will need it to overcome the turnaround and will need more.
    I hope the Loon will live on long enough for the next generation to appreciate.

  6. Rosalie mickle says:

    Yes we’re imploding!
    The planet is certainly expressing its indignation, humans have lost the plot.
    It’s all very sad
    Nevertheless, I’m hugely grateful to be here to witness it all & will never know what I did to deserve the privilege/s
    Resistance is futile (which does not mean giving up), & beauty is still in the eye of the beholder.
    ‘Looney’ aye! don’t miss a ‘moment’ it could be a good one..🤷‍♀️

  7. Andrew Gross says:

    Hello / Hola / Szervusz Robert – Thanks for posting this and as usual, your points are spot on. Much to despair, yet we must hope. Reminded me of another post from HU re the UKR situation: Yes indeed, we are in a crisis mode…lurching from one to another to another. But everything will be fine in the end. If crises persist, it is not the end. Not too upbeat, but still.,,so there is always– hope. Andras

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