Friday, 14th of November 2008 – Apocalypse Now NOW?
Hello my dear son,
Got a bit of time to kill, as I have to do a presentation in a bit, so I thought I’d share these thoughts with you…
Ever since I can remember humanity seems to have been on its last legs, doing its utmost to destroy the planet and each other, so I just got used to it, which made me a bit of a pessimist with a positive outlook. That just means that because my life has been good and I’ve met some great people and been to some wonderful places – I have this flame inside me that keeps me warm and happy – despite all the terrible things that seem to happen, in particular now: environment, capitalism falling to pieces – which although is not a bad thing is still a bit scary. If I never watched the news I’d think the world was a safe and happy place 99% of the time.
Lately I’ve been thinking that we could be one of the last generations of humans to ever exist. We will of course become extinct, in due course, I figured that one out a while ago, but it never occurred to me I might get to witness this. This of course is a privilege, to have known all that we have made and to be there right at the end. On the other hand it’s sad to think that we won’t be around for much longer. I do hope we’re around long enough for you to become a man and make your way in this world. Which I feel positive will be so, I even think I’ll feel the joy of being a grandmother one day!
Amongst my catastrophic scenarios (I wonder if you also do this: imagine the worse possible outcomes just to confront your fears. Very morbid but somehow comforting and fascinating) lately there’s the one tied in with the colapse of capitalism and the world economy. What would become of us should that follow its logical conclusion? What is the logical conclusion? If the world as we know ceases to exist and all structure collapses and all we have is ourselves to rely on – what would happen? I thought of this from a practical viewpoint (this morning on my way to work – think I was trying not to think about the presentation so I wouldn’t worry about it).
Firstly, we at least have a garden, so we could grow enough vegetables to subexist. Secondly, we’d get some STRONG people to move in, safety in numbers, you see… They would move in because they themselves don’t have a garden, so it would be a mutually beneficial agreement. Nana Cesca would have to move in too, she has no garden either. Mode of transport? bikes. Water? Luckily we live in a rainy country, so no problem there. Hot water? Well, probably forget about it, only for special occasions and cooking.
At that point I got to the station and picked up a free newspaper to fill my head up with fear and to stop my creative juices from flowing…
I’m still going to samba every Thursday and in the last few weeks (4 or 5) I started doing the bateria lesson as well as continuing to do the dancing. It’s 1 hour dancing then 1.5 hours playing an instrument. Turns out I’m a bit of a natural (it’s not that hard really, and I’m a natural with the easy beats, anything more elaborate and I get lost) – the teacher has been friendly and encouraging; I really hope to be able to play out with them on shows. Maybe next year’s carnival!!!! This really is a dream come true. How happy I feel on Thursday evenings when we’re making some loud music. More so than with the dancing, which I love too. The simple joys of life…
So I’m learning the tamborin and the repinique (that’s not me clearly, but it gives an idea of what it is)
-> repinique