Pooh and Other Pleasant Things

These books were sitting on the credenza at the hair salon alongside all the Vogues, Cosmos, In Styles, and other thick perfumey magazines that are ubiquitous at hair salons. These books seemed so out of place and yet so artfully arranged that I had to take a photograph of them. My stylist caught me at it and asked me if I'd read this one to her, since no one ever read aloud to her as a child. Of course, I agreed. I have to confess I was quite intrigued by the title. Winnie the Pooh, a hunter? I sure didn't remember that. Well, as it turns out the only thing that happens is that Pooh and Piglet walk circles around "a spinney of larch trees" making more and more footprints that they think belong to dangerous animals (either Woozles or Wizzles). After trekking around the spinney about four times Christopher Robin shows up and points out to Pooh that he's been "tracking" himself. Pooh mulls this over for a bit and then declares that he must be "a bear with no brain at all." The End.

I found the quaintness and simple-mindedness of this book quite pleasant and comforting. Piglet, for example, was able to join Pooh in "the hunt" because he had nothing he had to do until Friday. Imagine that kind of leisure. Pooh and Piglet have no worries.

After only one day of elation over the election, I am starting to worry again about what lies ahead. Everyone I know is thrilled to bits that the president-elect is someone worthy of respect and admiration. And I am, too. But I wonder how Obama can possibly live up to the expectations people have of him, especially given the colossal mess concocted by the Bush Administration. I am certain that things (e.g., the economy, the situation in the Middle East) will get worse before they get better. And will people remember that the circumstances in which the United States finds itself have been brewing for at least eight years if not for several decades? Or will they blame the Obama Administration for not being able to wave a magic wand and fix everything? I hope everyone who voted for Obama realizes that in order for Obama to be able to deliver "change" everyone's got to have patience and be willing to make sacrifices. And I hope that everyone who didn't vote for him will not closemindedly work against him. And I hope that he really does have some new, innovative exciting ideas that can restore unity to our nation.

For now, though, I think I must stop reading and watching the news for a while, as all the speculating, criticizing, and blame-shifting I'm seeing is not helping me be hopeful about the above. It's only making me angry.