Who Else is Melting in the Heat? Hug a Cold Jug of Cider, Take a Shower (Even with Clothes On, or Wet Hair, Stay Indoors)

Hello Everybuddy on Team Survive the Heat! The author of Generation HOT wrote about Climate Change as a reality the younger people in this century would have to face like none others before.
I realize people in warmer climates have weathered far worth than some humid, 90 degree days in New England, but he was talking about the Effects of World Wide Climate Change. That's a harsh "cold' reality that more people have to Want to Face.

At the Great Barrington MA Farmer's Market, I met a person working for NextGen in NH. His job along with his 'good super PAC's' was to see where the political candidates stood on...you guessed it, Climate Change. One Presidential candidate was not full of great ideas and was a bit annoyed that they just wouldn't drop the issue as he paraded down a road. Now that's not official, that's my summary of a summary. But really, who is ready to ask the tough questions and seek some realistic answers? More renewables as a friend who returned from Denmark said is common in Europe, is a big part of the solution, with which the advocate agreed.

This hot August is one where many talented youth are heading off to college for knowledge and hopefully not for succumbing to binge drinking (more than 5 drinks in a few hours, but let's face it, more than One for a gal and Two for a Guy puts either at the legal limit of Blood Alcohol Content..BAC I believe..so absolutely NO DRINKING and Driving..no buzzed driving. A big hope that more folks won't use dope or heroin or other taxing drugs either. Often there's an underlying chemical imbalance, which maybe anti-depressants can help and overall healthier living, sleeping, eating and socializing practices can rebalance.

And yes, more PLANS for someone sober and safe who won't take advantage of inebriated passengers or people .Sadly, there's a case at Vassar where one fellow tried to help a woman and his roommate summarily assaulted her. While the administration initially didn't get it and know what to do, they've sinced changed their tunage and are all about advocating for safety including preventing sexual assault and addressing it more serously when it occurs.

While I'm a pro at digressing my hope is that by mixing up a few elements more people can start to make their own 'interesting connections', follow a few tangents and come up with..(wait for it or jot it down or even draw it or dance it or talk to a friend about it).. A NEW IDEA, a new concern, or clarify an old pattern or communication issue or dream out loud for how things could Feel Better if not actually be better.

I had hoped to get over to the Bike and Fly Event in Great Barrington MA, but the heat had other plans for me. I got to talk to three cool AT Hikers..Angel, BreathTaker, and another couple (including one four-legged with pads to cushion her feet from the heat if not the trail.) Hello and Kudos to all venturing on the long trail (and a post on this blog shares some other ideas from the past.) I filled them in on the jist of this blog along with the inkling I had way back when I was in my 20s that if I ever had a child with a whitewater paddler, and one or more of said kids got into the sport, that they'd maybe meet their end. I was a land person, and he was a whitewater guy with a strong interest in pursuing the sport seriously..as in Olympic serious I learned once we did have one and then more little ones. Well, I filled them in on some details about the highs and lows of rearing kids together, even in great for the most part small hometown communities..but also  the pitfalls. I warned them best I could to plan for safety as they would on the trail, and truly, they likely should do a bit more along those lines from what Other Hikers have told me...not necessarily the Through Hikers but Weekenders or others.

The point is we have to face the facts and live more wisely so we can all live more fully engaged in the good times, and lessen the fears.  As I shared with them not only did our teen son Kaelan Palmer Paton pass away in the pool of wild water at the base of the Falls in Falls Village Ct in June 2009, but Tom Drew, a man with dementia went missing in Salisbury in 2007. I saw a friend who knew him, as in saw him weekly and he did not realize Tom had dementia. Clearly, dementia and the risk of wandering which was a critical component in his going missing, with no clear resolution to whether he was lost in the woods as most surmise or if he ever got picked up or hurt by someone he met along a road or came in contact with. The need to think through the risks and then try to minimize them with better safety plans in all areas (with laws, mandates, best practices and voluntary come-alongside efforts) need to happen from the top down. Whether that is from the Pope, the Presidents of Countries, Governors and Leaders of States and Coalitions or more Local Efforts with  all Mothers, Fathers and other Parent and Caregiver People put on a map or list to help all comprehend where they fit into the puzzle, the LIST and Chart need to Start!

The weary travellers were kind and said they'd had many people speak to them over their journey. They and all of you are cordially invited to chime in with your thoughts. While news reports limit who and which sites  you can mention, I can screen what's put in the comments. Likely it makes sense to stay anonymous, but mention some sites if you think they're part of the solution..that's what I aim to do. 

I will wrap up now and hope to write more soon on cool events like Peter and The Starcatcher plan I saw as the Sharon Playhouse. At the Mahaiwe in GB Mass I saw a staged reading of Some Old Black Man by James Tyler. That described the interaction of an older dad who'd fallen a few times moving in with his classy son whose wife had died the year prior. So Death was not skirted as an issue, nor were comments made about the Bill Cosby scandal..with an interesting point made by the older gent who was not afraid throughout the 90 minutes to tell how it was how he saw things.

The tension would wax and wane yet in the end, many were moved to tears and felt this play had to get funded to find its way to larger venues. Supporters cast the fee to do so in the $80K range to birth the play. Find out more on Berkshire Playwright Laboratory. Awesome hospitality by local venues round out the experience of professional actors and a director bringing a play to life off the page to the stage. The Mahaiwe is also trying to raise big bucks by Sept 2015, so see what extra funds you can Direct their way to help them get some fabulous matching grant money (love that stuff). See cool stuff at the local library in your area. There's a Civil War uniform of Gen. John Hall Barnard on display at the Bushnell Sage Memorial Library.

I reflected this morning on FB on the 70th year of the dropping of the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August that has been in the newsfeed. The big question for many to ponder is Whether that was really necessary or more of a testing ground (after the initial one in NM) to scare the USSR. The bigger wars are coming our way it seems from corporate and political threats the average citizen or state is likely vulnerable to try to comprehend. For now, keep the faith. The AT hikers shared a beautiful scene of their favorite part of their border hike from CT to MA of Brace Mountain. They said they saw a rainbow there and I shared that is where some loved ones had part of  their ashes scattered.To me, meeting them felt like a hello from heaven and they said they'd share what I had said as they could and so the story continues...happy trails