Life doesn’t seem to slow down much at all, even in the dark, cool season. And in an attempt to distract myself from the bleak realities of human nature, I’ve thrown myself into new hobbies, clubs, travel and volunteer opportunities.
I can’t see a way for American Democracy to recover from the effects of malicious disinformation and a seemingly broad acceptance of anti-intellectualism, racism and misogyny.
Are there examples from history where a democracy is able to fully recover once checks and balances on power have been thwarted? Maybe. Perhaps the pendulum will swing back, and we will be a stronger nation for it, but it sure feels like America is barreling toward a Margaret Atwood moment.
“That was when they suspended the Constitution. They said it would be temporary. There wasn’t even any rioting in the streets. People stayed home at night, watching television, looking for some direction. There wasn’t even an enemy you could put your finger on.”
“Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people…” said John Adams... and so I feel something like grief and despair for the better future we could have had. It seems to me that democracy was so hard won and so pitifully, foolishly handed over to America’s oligarchs who will serve only their own interests.
Looking for advice for dealing with heavy feelings, I came across this paragraph from Psychology Today…”Over time, a benefit of despair began to materialize: deeper empathy and understanding for the suffering of others. I left behind the delusion that we are all safe from harm; we are all equally vulnerable. In fact, in acknowledging that vulnerability, we unearth the deepest parts of our humanity.” But I’m not ready to be empathetic toward the hate and willful ignorance that led America down the path toward authoritarianism. I suppose it’s vital that we continue to work for change even when it feels hopeless. Now if only I can figure out how to work for change without losing my joy.
The rest of this post is more fun, I promise!
On a brighter note, this birthday landed me firmly in mid-fifties territory, a fact that I’m also trying to embrace by being open to new experiences and letting go of the things I can’t control.
We had a delicious tasting menu, complete with the Havtorn dessert plate, each component featuring some form of the amber-colored sea buckthorn. I was harmoniously dressed for the occasion in my favorite autumnal sweater with the amber necklace I bartered for at an antique shop in Riga!
The day following my birthday, my friend Melissa and I set off on an adventure to visit eldest daughter in Gotland for its 2024 Tryffelfestival. I had a lot of qualms about this trip, the weather, off season travel, small plane, challenging bus schedules on an island where car travel is the norm, the baltic sea, the darkness, winter hours, and did I mention the weather?! But, as is usually the case with trifling matters, it all worked out. Despite a few trivial hiccoughs (such as having to call a taxi from the airport bus stop or walk or wait for an hour) everything went quite smoothly. It was even more fun than I’d hoped! Our Gotland Girl was able to spend most of the weekend with us and even stayed at the B&B in Gamla Visby so there was more together time, her student housing being located in the outskirts of town.
The term “Festival” is a bit grandiose to describe the truffle event, but it was charming and great fun in its own way. We bought truffle products like infused honey, whiskey, salt etc. and T-shirts at the market, enjoyed some amazing truffle appetizers at the After Work which is the way Swedes say Happy Hour…but using different English words. It’s a bit strange, but perhaps it’s British in origin. And we experienced the joy of the hunt with Stella, tryffelhund extraordinaire!
After the hunt we had a fancy tryffel dinner back in Visby. I discovered that truffle can go well with sweet as well as savory dishes, though the sweet items were not my favorites. We were served truffle butter with pepparkaka at the Tryffel Jäkt and all agreed it went well together, though not so much with salted caramel ice cream in our opinion. Tryffel also gave a hint of earthiness to the chocolate truffles, which were tasty, but Tryffel Truffles would not be my first choice. We were able to purchase some truffles, at a discounted rate, to take home. When stored on rice in a covered jar, with paper towel replaced daily to keep moisture away, they can last quite a long time.
Becoming a Tryffel jägare was a thrilling experience. We were told that training a dog can take as little as three days but that some dogs are much better smellers than others. Stella demonstrated that some dogs lack the discipline needed to wait for the reward and impulsively eat the truffles, others never eat them. Some dogs can be trained to pick up the truffles and carry them back to their handlers! We all found it interesting and highly entertaining, especially Stella. In fact all the dogs seemed to be having the time of their lives. It felt good just watching them!
I’ll wrap up this post with some of Melissa’s photos!
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