Killer muffins

At 7 a.m. I catch a shuttle to the airport and immediately another shuttle to the rental car agency. I'm in my car and exiting the airport by 7:30 a.m. I had stressed a lot the previous night over the first half hour of this trip, being in the correct lane to catch Rt. 28, Rt. 7, and Rt. 15 in succession. Something like ten highways converge at Dulles and it's hard to find your way out as highways merge and split. But I did and it was one of those floodlit sunny winter days that made driving a lot easier. The land here is all brown and gray in winter, unlike my evergreen isle. The big old barns and farms look so austere and lovely in the barren landscape. More like a Wyeth painting than reality.

Three hours in and I meet my friend Bobbi for lunch in Somerset, PA. It was great to see her and she gifted me a necklace she had had for a very long time that meant a lot to her. I was very moved by this. There is no one on this earth remotely like Bobbi and I am so privileged to be her friend. There are people whose brains work very differently from mine and I so appreciate their perspectives on everything.

During the next three hours the Trump billboards become increasingly offensive. One just listed his name and: "Coal, Guns, Anti Abortion, No Socialism." Another billboard said: Carbon Dioxide is Essential for Life, with a picture of a mother and daughter and direction to look at CO2 Coalition's website. I spoke at the PRI party to people who were at COP26 and came away hopeful at the progress made, for instance an agreement with South Africa to fund its transition away from coal. In America, I never feel hopeful about the direction of change. I see so many angry men, speeding in their very tall pick up trucks with very loud exhaust systems. They have decals featuring guns and skulls and crossbones and I don't know how you change people like that. And they are not an insignificant minority.

I drop off the rental car, where mom meets me and drives me home. I'm so relieved everything went to plan. I spent so many hours planning this trip and it paid off.

With regard to the headline above, this is what I found in mom's fridge:

What once was the humble English muffin is now Killer Bread with Butter Catching Flavour Craters and Killer Taste. What a country.

20 Dec.