Plucked from the news recently is a small article commenting on the death of a gentleman from Rhode Island who spent much of his life fighting to preserve the natural landscape, particularly at the “The Breakers”, the former Vanderbilt estate mansion overlooking the ocean in Newport. Tragically, this person was struck and killed by a falling tree. I know, right? Does anyone else but me see just a trace of humor in this tragic event? It’s rather like the naturalist appearing on a late night talk show many years ago who had barely had the statement, “I feel great and expect to live a long time” out of his mouth before he suffered a major heart attack and died on the set.
Our current First Family to a large extent leads the way in irony. President Trump was quoted, after news reached his ear that the Chinese government removed term restrictions for its president, that perhaps America too might one day have a “President-for-life”. What a great idea – it’s worked so well for oppressive regimes throughout the world. It’s interesting he’d comment, particularly as his popularity ratings are approaching negative numbers. We’ve been treated to wonderful examples of Trump Irony. “The tax overhaul doesn’t benefit me.” Really, Mr. President? That would explain the exemptions on profits from commercial real estate. Remind me again – what did the President do before entering politics? First Lady Melania Trump choosing “Bullying” as her platform (has she read any of her husband’s tweets?), or her parents gaining US citizenship through, . . . . we’ll not go there. The President telling Puerto Ricans that “they shouldn’t expect to be taken care of long term”, while someone posted a lovely formal photo of the Trumps surrounded by twenty or so members of their personal staff at a Trump resort. Or his cabinet secretaries that not only aren’t “draining the swamp”, they’re bringing in algae and silt by the boatload. Or my personal favorite, a strong “Bringing Back Jobs” position statement from the First Daughter, featured right above a picture of her line of boots being made in a factory in China.
I am often surprised and amused by life’s bits of irony. Professional athletes complaining about not being paid enough or not getting the respect they deserve. Really? You ought to be a school teacher in West Virginia. As a great local sportscaster used to say, “you’re getting paid to play a child’s game.” So, stay off Twitter, and keep your mouth shut – that’s the way to gain respect. Gaining respect and how much you speak out are typically in reverse proportion. I believe it was Abraham Lincoln that said something like, “it is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak up and remove all doubt.” Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, a doctor no less, regularly proposes cuts to federal medical assistance programs. Does he know the cost of medical care in America? Is he concerned that medical costs have been a leading cause of personal bankruptcies? On another hot topic, he just filed new legislation to rescind laws that make schools gun-free zones. He also favors arming school teachers. Again, really? Weren’t you a medical doctor? Didn’t you somewhere along the way take an oath to protect life? Perhaps there could be a new organization, “Doctors Without Conscience”. They could hold their first meeting at Ben Carson’s new HUD dining room table.
There was the story a few years back of the lady in Connecticut with a pet chimpanzee that “let himself out with a key”, viciously attacking the owner and a friend that came over to help her. Solid plan that – rather than calling 911 first, she called her friend, another elderly person, for assistance. It took a policeman firing about a dozen shots to finally bring down “Travis”. But, who knew that a wild animal confined to a suburban home could react badly? That’s right up there with the notion that more guns make us all safer, because we all know there’s no such thing as “accidental shooting”.
Many years ago, I read in the local newspaper of a home the area that was architecturally quite different from others in the neighborhood, or anything elsewhere in New England for that matter. It was square concrete, in fact the house was made of non-combustible or flame-retardant materials. The article’s accompanying photos showed tile floors, iron railings. The owner was terrified of fire, and did his best to ensure that his home was safe. Tragically, he and his family were died in a famous night club fire in Boston, at the Cocoanut Grove in 1942. Life does that to us, doesn’t it? We all know of the person or persons warned repeatedly not to go into the woods in a brown overcoat during hunting season. The people that are told not to ride snowmobiles across thin ice and open water. The folks that go flying by us on slippery roads. They typically end up on the business end of a tow truck a few miles down the highway. There was a picture of a person driving a minivan in water up to the windows just this past week in a flooded area. The funny part was the look on man’s face. It was, like, “what?” It was strikingly apparent that it never occurred to him his minivan was not an amphibious vehicle. There are lots of people in this category, whose actions and / or expectations don’t entirely dovetail with life. The folks that build a vacation home in a beautiful spot six inches above sea level because “climate change is a hoax”. Those that rebuild on a flood plain because “the Mississippi won’t flood like this again for fifty years.” The folks that invest or work in coal mining, thinking the coal industry is poised for a big rebound. I can almost believe that natural gas is the safest, most cost-effective energy source until some guy working a backhoe sinks its teeth into a gas line and a neighborhood is blown to smithereens.
A few years ago, my brother and his family were living in a very picturesque part of Southern Massachusetts down almost to Cape Cod. The winter weather, however, had become too much for them. For some reason (perhaps climate change?), many more storms in recent years have struck southern New England while we in the north have been less effected. Anyhow, after surviving numerous raging snow and ice storms, power outages, and everything joyful that comes along with winter in New England, my brother retired and his family packed up and moved to central Pennsylvania, home to many of my sister-in-law’s family. As I mentioned in a holiday letter, I might have moved a bit farther south – a tropical island, perhaps. The first winter they were there – I believe it was in mid-January, a brutal storm blew in from the Midwest. It dropped about three feet of snow through the mid-Atlantic states, including, wait for it . . . . . central Pennsylvania. We in New England just got a few inches of snow in the aftermath. Out he was forced to go to buy a new snow-blower, because he’d left the old one behind in Massachusetts. While they have not had as much snow since, I couldn’t help but see the supreme irony here, maybe even God chuckling just a bit.
I'm Thinking...No! 