CLIMATE CHANGE

I care passionately about many issues. I’m appalled by recent SCOTUS decisions threatening women’s right to choose whether to have abortions, for instance. The Supreme Court is also showing cowardice about gun control. Ever since the sixties, I have been concerned about pollution and resource conservation, and about social justice for all races and for LGBTQ people. The list goes on and on.

More than any of these, though, I care about climate change. Nothing else is likely to destroy the planet we live on. While scientists who have devoted lifetimes to studying climate and the factors affecting it are ignored by much of the public, less educated politicians who owe their power and money to the fossil fuel industry are believed and voted into office.

We may already have reached the tipping point where the planet cannot be saved, no matter what we do. Wildfires and drought are decimating the West, and extreme heat is now killing hundreds of people in Europe. Torrential rains and floods have ruined parts of the United States in recent years. But, the only alternative to hope is complete despair. So I will continue to hope that somehow we can overcome this latest challenge to the planet’s future. And I will vote only for politicians who promise to combat climate change.

 

Copyright © July 18, 2022 by Carol Leth Stone (a.k.a. RovinCrone)

 

MUST I DRESS UP?

 Many long trips in a motorhome taught me the pleasure of dressing and behaving to suit myself, but those days are over. Now I live in an independent living apartment surrounded with rather conservative senior citizens.

Shortly after moving in, I decided to go down to the dining room for an early Sunday breakfast. Surely no one but a few dedicated birders would be there, wearing Eddie Bauer jackets or similar outfits. I pulled on some ragged jeans and a tee shirt and ventured downstairs.

To my horror, the room was filled with elderly men and women dressed for a high church service, or perhaps for an expensive cruise. Some ladies wore their diamonds and pearls and had their hair carefully arranged and sprayed. I slunk to an inconspicuous table and escaped as soon as I could. I have never found out why that morning was such a dressy occasion, and fortunately those at subsequent breakfasts have been more casual (though never as sloppy as I was that time).

Since then, I’ve dressed up only a few times, and have never been completely out of sync with other residents. Fortunately, the residence where I live seems to accept whatever people feel comfortable wearing. Many people here dress casually, and some are overdressed. I try for the middle ground. My blouses, shirts, and pants can be gussied up a little with my anniversary pearls or other jewelry, and a decent jacket makes even a tee shirt look businesslike if that seems wise. (I’ve nearly given up on skirts; compression socks fit better under pants.) Most of the time I simply wear a good tee shirt or sweater and black pants, perhaps adding a scarf or necklace. ( LandsEnd and L.L. Bean are good sources.) That seems good enough. Some nearby independent living places are much dressier, and I’m glad I don’t live in one of them

I also try to tell myself that I don’t care how I look, or what others may think of me. That isn’t entirely true, though. At my age I am certainly less concerned about anyone’s opinion of me than I was years ago when working in publishers’ offices, but I’ve studied enough psychology to know that making a good impression helps me get along with others and affects their reactions to me. I even feel happier if I look in the mirror and see a neat, well-groomed woman in acceptable clothing. So, yes, I must dress up a little more than I’m naturally inclined to do.

READING AND AGING

For any reader, aging presents an extremely painful problem. My mother, a reading specialist and reading devotee with an extensive personal library, lived to the age of 101; after about 95 years, she found it hard to continue reading her beloved books. The print was too small, there was too little contrast with the paper, and so on. By the time she died, she could read almost nothing.

Fortunately, some helpful options are available. Listening to audiobooks is helpful for many people, whether they have poor vision or not. Indeed, audiobooks can be very pleasing when the reader is skilled. For instance, I especially enjoy hearing books written by the late mystery writer Dick Francis if they are read by Simon Prebble, whose voice is exactly right for Francis’s books. The main drawback to audiobooks is that you can’t go back to an earlier point (unless by a method I haven’t discovered) to look up something. They are invaluable for anyone who has lost their vision completely, and have been around since 1948 as a service of Recording for the Blind (now renamed Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic/Learning Ally).

Large-print books have long been available, too. In the past I found them limited to religious novels and other books someone decided were appealing to the elderly, but recently I have seen many that are suited to a wider audience. If a book you want to read is available in a large-print edition, it’s another good choice.

For a long time I resisted the Kindle electronic reader, being a snob about reading. Yes, the Kindle is inferior to a large library of “real books.” As my vision has declined, though, I find it harder and harder to read those. With a Kindle edition, I can adjust the font, the type size, the background color and brightness for maximum readability. Recently I read Melville’s Billy Budd on the Kindle after finding the library’s standard book impossible. For traveling, the Kindle can hold hundreds of books in a tiny space. The savvy reader can add notes, bookmarks, and so on, too. I’ve had some problems with using those, but I love the built-in dictionary.

The Kindle has its downsides:  It’s hard to flip through the “pages,” though searching for a character’s or place’s name sometimes makes it possible. It’s hard also to form a sentimental attachment to an electronic book; I can’t imagine giving one to a child. Compared with free books from a public library, Kindle books can get expensive. (Many books can be downloaded free from Gutenberg.org, though, and Amazon often offers free or inexpensive books.)

All in all, I’m lucky to have some alternatives to “real” books. I may miss the real thing, but at least I can still read a book’s contents.

Copyright © Decembert 20, 2021 by Carol Leth Stone (a.k.a. RovinCrone)