In Case You Missed It (v111)

There's something about vacations, and being away, and not reading the news every day, isn't there?

We were gone last week, riding planes, trains, Ubers, buses, shuttle vans, and even a Hummer, traveling from Syracuse to Las Vegas to Arizona to Utah to Colorado and back home. The week started and ended with 3AM wake-up calls; they were the good kind of   and they were good ones, getting us up and ready for the next phase of our trip. 

That kind of wakeup is nothing like those that hit my phone, with (ahem) "breaking news" about the weather in a state I've never even visited, or about some politician here or elsewhere pretending to have a new idea, or spewing an old one, or attacking their opponent, or a president proclaiming a success and the media trying to prove their chops by attaching a "... things are still horrible..." comment at the beginning or end of every paragraph, or a former president shrieking on social media in flaming caps and enough exclamation points to poke holes in the atmosphere.

I didn't miss the latter, and I'm glad today didn't include the former. It was nice to sleep in with our cats, who missed us as much as we missed them, after a week of about 1% news and 99% exploring the American southwest: the Grand Canyon; the fake canyons created by Las Vegas hotels; the desert between Vegas and Moab by plane, and outside Moab, where our unforgettable Hummer ride happened; Arches National Park, and a climb from the desert to the mountains, across the Continental Divide, and down into Denver by train.

It was on that last leg of the trip that I saw a political sign unrelated to a local race; those were everywhere, and there were seemingly hundreds of ads on television too, when we were trying catch up on baseball scores and get the next day's weather forecast; that part felt just like home. The national sign was about President Biden; it was near the entrance to the driveway of a house in the middle of the Colorado nowhere. It had a bunch of issues on it, and boxes where I guess you'd check whether he was doing well or failing; I couldn't see the whole sign,  but I'd guess it was a 'red' sign not a 'blue' one.

I was honestly surprised by the lack of Trump/MAGA signs; I see more around here in Central New York. Maybe it's because everyone knows where folks stand out there, or because no one wants anyone to know where they stand (the 'shy Trump voters' we hear about)? I'm not sure why, but it was interesting, and not the least unpleasant.

I hope you all had a great week.  It would be fun to see what everyone thought was the most important thing, the most interesting thing, the funniest thing, or just something I missed. If you're up for sharing, drop a note in the comments.

I'll be back later with your Sunday School - most likely 'tomorrow' later.  Talk to you then.