Wisdom from Woody

  "More than at any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly."

   These days many who are religious see signs of the “End Times", while many more have good reason to believe we are living in the “Grim Times”. I suggest that our era could be characterized as the “Whim Times” since citizens all around the world are affected by the capriciousness of one unstable and powerful autocrat in one country. As Dylan might say, “The answers, my friend, are blowin’ in the whim.”
   “Weltschmerz” might be the word that the Germans or the more learned would use to describe the general consensus held, at least, by the non-MAGA people, that things are not good. Given that things are bad, one might think that the wisdom of Woody was revealed very recently. That is not the case.
   Woody’s thoughtful remark was written at the end of the 1970s, a decade which would not generally be defined, by even the most nostalgic, as one containing a large number of the good old days. Still, 1979, the year of the Woody quote, must have been better than any since, say the inauguration of 2017. While many of the religious are anxiously wondering “What Would Jesus Do?”, I think the much more interesting question is now “What Would Woody Say?”

Source:
(And much, much more since my wife insists you don’t look at this part.)

The quotation is found in, “My Speech to the Graduates,” by Woody Allen, The New York Times, Aug. 10, 1979.

   I wondered if a closer look at his speech and the entire issue of The New York Times on Aug.10, of 1979 might reveal why Woody was feeling so glum. Many of the headlines then were similar to ones found now. Israel was an issue even at that time: “Giving Up Sinai is Deeply Painful to Israelis There” and “Mideast Plan is Offered and Quickly Disclaimed in Bonn,” are examples. Some things were simpler in the summer of ‘79. When the 24,000-member American Academy of Pediatrics announced that “The Girl Athlete” was to be the subject of a seminar at their next meeting, no mention of gender (trans or all the others) was made and the discussions were to be about such matters as athletic injuries. Woody could have been upset about the athletic endeavours of the NY baseball teams since the Yankees lost to the Sox, 5-1 and the Mets to the Cardinals by 4-0.
   Some things were better back then. At least for that one day in August in 1979, there was no mention in the NYT of the crook from Queen's, who in the 80s was to be often referred to as the “short-fingered vulgarian", and in this century to be elected as President of the United States - twice!

   Like Woody, I was around in 1979, but in Canada where maybe things were better than they were for Woody in the U.S. But, I doubt that he ever thought the situation there would be as bad as it is now. He does offer us some additional wisdom at the end of the article which does make one feel better:
“Summing up, it is clear the future holds great opportunities. It also holds pitfalls. The trick will be to avoid the pitfalls, seize the opportunities, and get back home by six o’clock.”
 ----
                               "Making Light of Heavy Things Since 2016"

Evidence Of End Times at Costco?

    It is accidental that I have covered Costco in three posts over recent months. In one, I called to your attention the fact that Costco was going to stop selling books and, in the others, that the company was now purveying both gold and silver (the links to those subjects are provided in that sentence.) Costco is again a topic because the company we all associate with abundance is now selling something that will be useful when we are dealing with scarcity. 

   The new product can be loosely described as "food" and more closely as "meals ready to eat" (MREs.) This chow is constituted in such a way that it will last during the long lean years that may soon arrive. The good news is, I suppose, that Costco shoppers can also become preppers without much effort. The bad is that apparently the food does not taste very good. 

   I know about this and am again writing about Costco because of this article: "Costco's Emergency Food Kit Makes Us Dread the Apocalypse Even More: The Buckets Sold at Costco Include Just-add-water Packets That Are Supposed to be Edible For 25 Years - They're Not Good," Emily Hall, Washington Post, August 9. 2024. Although the article is helpful and you learn, from just the title that the meals are not delicious, she does not let us know where we can get the water when the time comes.

Be Prepared
   If you are not a prepper type, or eschatologically inclined, you may pooh-pooh the notion that a backup larder of food is something for which you should start shopping. On the other hand, without an actual Armageddon or apocalypse there are reasons to believe that food could suddenly become scarce and, chances are, you don't know how to grow a turnip.
  There was, for example, the "Northeast Blackout of 2003", and although it only lasted for hours, it seemed like Armageddon since the food in the freezer was starting to melt and we couldn't access our electronic devices to find out how to start growing turnips.
   That the power could suddenly go off and stay off for quite a while was the subject of another recent article which made more resonant the Costco one and it doesn't mention climate changes or earthquakes either of which could leave us hungry and in the dark. The power could go off on purpose and because of people. In short, "Why White Supremacists Are Trying to Attack Energy Grids," Sara Ruberg, The New York Times, Aug. 8, 2024. (By the way, they are not the only ones.)

CANCON

   It is only mildly reassuring that, like most of the food we eat, we will be able to buy MREs from somewhere else. I didn't go to Costco to check the shelves, but it appears that the container pictured above is available to order online. If you think the neighbours or other family members might come foraging, larger quantities are available from other suppliers. For example: 

  Or, if you are among the growing numbers of Canadians who no longer want to work and think the government should feed them, then let your local government representative know that bulk quantities of MREs are available for purchase.

Sources: 

   The bulk order above is available from Total Prepare Inc. Canada. 

   See also: Survival Food: "Canada's Survival Food Experts."
   Or shop locally at: "Forest City Surplus Canada."

"Making Light of Heavy Things Since 2016"