Crossroads

Dahlias

I took this picture yesterday while on a walk in the neighborhood. I was attracted to that pretty white bloom and then enchanted by the lovely pink color of the others. It's a really special time of the year for me, the end of summer and the beginning of fall. And this is the Sunday sandwiching the three-day holiday of Labor Day here in the US. The unofficial end of summer, with the days growing shorter and the nights longer, heading towards the Autumnal Equinox on September 22, just a little more than two weeks away.

Many people don't like the winter months and relish summer, but I'm definitely a fan of the two seasons that transition from one to another. There's a bittersweet feeling in these gorgeous fall days, because you know what's coming. This year is especially fraught for many of us as the pandemic continues to disrupt our activities, and the upcoming election season as well. It's a reminder that the world is at a crossroads between what has been, and what the coming months will bring. Many people I know are experiencing stress and have few ways to cope with it. I feel fortunate to have beautiful places to walk and hike in, as well as yoga via Zoom, which I am currently enjoying three times a week. It helps so much. And I have my friends at the coffee shop, where we sit outside and drink coffee together in our lawn chairs. I don't know when, if ever, we will be able to gather inside again. It doesn't look like it will be soon, and the weather will become a factor to consider.

One thing that has saddened me lately is the loss of Chadwick Boseman, a gifted actor who played T'Challa in Black Panther. I watched the movie last year, on my iPad, and yesterday I decided to watch it again, out of respect for Boseman, and because I remembered I'd enjoyed it before. It does sometimes amaze me how much I forget about movies I've seen before; it was like the first time, and once again I was so impressed with how wonderful the movie was, in every way. I'm not a Marvel fan, usually, but that particular movie is very special. I knew it is the first Marvel movie to win an Academy Award, and it deserved every accolade it received. The magical world of Wakanda again brought tears to my eyes, thinking of how much today's world needs a place like that to aspire to.

Chadwick Boseman was only 43 years old when he died of colon cancer last month, which is on the rise in young people, for some reason nobody understands. He didn't tell anyone outside of his family about his struggle, and in watching the movie, I can hardly believe that beautiful man would be leaving soon, and that he was probably suffering greatly and in silence. He embodied the King so perfectly that I cannot imagine anybody else playing the role. Charles Carter is the person who first told Boseman he would be playing T'Challa. Carter was a bodyguard who met Boseman in Australia during the filming of another movie, and they hit it off. Carter had been a fan of comic books since he was a child and once he went home, he found his 1977 comic book about Black Panther and sent it to Boseman with a note that said, "You're going to get this role." How prescient was that? Boseman sent Carter a ticket to the premier of the movie. That was the last time Carter saw him.

No-one else can be the Black Panther now. Wakanda can live, but not King T'Challa. Writers should think of developing other leads, strong women, strong people of colour. Not replace Chadwick Boseman, because that is not possible. —Charles Carter

 I am sad that such a good person would be taken from us way too early. And that others, like me, continue to live into our late seventies. There is no justice to the way the world works. It's not up to me to decide when it will be my time, but I sure wish Chadwick Boseman could have lived to continue to light up the lives of many of us. That said, I am grateful that I got to appreciate him in his many screen roles. I'll also watch him as Jackie Robinson, Thurgood Marshall, and James Brown. All those movies are available on my laptop. Chadwick Boseman was a good person.

The only difference between a hero and the villain is that the villain chooses to use that power in a way that is selfish and hurts other people. —Chadwick Boseman

As I sit here in the dark, tapping away on my laptop, another good person lies next to me, my dear life partner, who is recovering slowly but surely from his stroke four weeks ago today. The stroke damaged his insula, a little understood part of the cerebral cortex. It's thought to be the center for self-awareness and the integration of external stimuli and internal interpretation. I see him looking at the world through new eyes, and learning how to deal with an influx of emotions that he had buried deep inside himself. I have to say I really admire and love seeing the way he is dealing with it all. I thought I loved him a lot before, but now I love him even more. How fortunate I am to share my life with him.

There's a lot of good in the world, and we just need to focus on it, rather than on the dark underbelly of the news that permeates our TV screens. I know it's hard, but it's definitely possible. I intend to spend my days spreading kindness and love, and it sure makes me feel better and might actually make a tiny difference in my own little part of the world. Today I'll spend the first part of my day at the coffee shop with my buddies, and then go for a nice walk with my friend Melanie along the Interurban Trail. It's a plan!

I do hope you will have a good week ahead, and if you haven't yet seen the movie, spend a little time watching Black Panther. It's got some violence in it, but a very happy ending, which is what we are all hoping for. Until we meet again next week, I wish you all good things. Be well.