Walking Commentary
Thoughts and cycling from Manchester to Rome in 2023
‘Follow the cartouche!’ is not what you’d expect native American trackers to say but it’s one trick that The Shadow Wolves can use to find people who have crossed into Arizona from Mexico. It seems that our shoe brands in soft soils or sands are as useful as a wall for immigration control.
There is a serial killer at large in Munster. There have been ‘wanted posters’ and full page ads in the local press that offer a reward. The 19th century-style campaign for justice is seeking information that will stop the murders by conviction. It’s such a big reward (and such a horrible crime) that it made the news.
Yesterday was the last day of my month of magnolias. Lucky that because today, the gusts, hail and sleet are doing their best to knock the tepals to the ground. So I spent the day indoors, desk bound while preparing the next chapbook.
And then I finished reading Mary Robison’sWhy Did I Ever? I don’t read much fiction but if I did, I’d want it to be as refreshing as this. It was an experience rather than a story. I engaged with it from page one, became immersed and was held in thrall to the last page.
Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landslide,
No escape from reality
– from Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen
The post office counter person headed to a local shop for milk and cake while I was addressing three envelopes sold to me to save 40% on postage. I appreciated the recommendation but it cost me 20 minutes extra parking because that’s how long it took.
I saw an eye-catching item among many in a summary of global consumer spending. I don’t recall where I saw it but it stayed in my mind. In the segment on healthcare, a graph illustrated the huge outlays on treating symptoms over the last two decades. The graph also had a prediction for various consumer spending categories for the coming twenty years. It included that the next two decades will see phenomenal growth in DNA editing. Bear in mind this is you, the consumer, spending on DNA editing. It seems that our immune systems will be completely transformed in the near future and we will be happily paying for such DNA treatments. If only I knew an ethicist with whom to share my concerns.
That got me thinking about the plight of the Tasmanian devil.
What do a bow thruster, an interruption in server access and the Suez Canal have in common? Not much at first glance but stay with me as I try to join some dots.
This morning’s news included a report of a ship that had run aground in the Suez Canal. Four hundred metres long, the ship that is, my first reaction was to think software glitch or human error. My second thought was of an immediate reduction in global trade, by perhaps 10%. My third thought was of a price hike that two weeks of extra travel might mean for that 10%.
