In November some birds move away and some birds stay. 
                                     .   .   .
    The staying birds are serious…, for cold times lie ahead. Hard times. All berries are treasures. 
                                                    from In November
                                                     by Cynthia Rylant
                                             illustrated by Jill Kastner
                             HMH Books for Young Readers, 2000

    I’m reading Moth Snowstorm by Michael McCarthy (New York Review Books, 2015). It’s an environmental memoir if that really is a thing. McCarthy describes his connections to the destruction and resilience of our natural world. His beautiful language mirrors the beautiful colors, forms, and powers he encounters.
    His work inspired this poem.

                      The Constancy of Change
Why is it nearly impossible to recall the last robin?
The last fresh snow?
The last kiss?

We live our linear lives 
    Spirally.
        Sometimes swirling. 
            Sometimes plodding.
                Always forward…

            Halfway round, 
        we look back
    at our growing perspective
in ever heightening cyclical journeys.

                 In the hemisphere of the atmosphere 
                            change is constant. 

Recalling that last robin
is nearly impossible 
so filled with expectation and hope 
are we
for the next one. 
And the next one.

When suddenly 
    a robin does light 
        again
            on a low branch
                of the sycamore 
            and daffodil shoot
        through stiff slush
    to announce
a new lap around
    the journey. 

        And we kiss again.
                                           -—stay curious (and vote!)

“It sounds like you are torn between two choices,” said Miss Edwards.
“You are right,” said Amelia Bedelia. “And it hurts.”
    .    .    .
“Nice work Amelia Bedelia,” said Miss Edwards. “By joining your own club,
you joined the other two clubs together.”

                              from Amelia Bedelia Joins the Club
                                        written by Herman Parish
                                         illustrated by Lynne Avril
                                  Greenwillow/HarperCollins, 2014
    
    Amelia Bedelia found it too difficult to choose between joining her friends who were puddle jumpers and her other friends who were puddle leapers. So she invented her own club, one that incorporated leaping and jumping. Everyone joined in.
    If I had to choose say, between Butter Pecan ice cream and Rocky Road, I might opt, like Amelia Bedelia, to have a little of both. I’d give up a little Butter Pecan to get a little Rocky Road. That way, less Butter Pecan doesn’t sound so bad.
    According to the online version of Merriam-Webster, one definition of compromise is the settlement of differences by arbitration or by consent reached by mutual concessions. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/compromise 
    The word itself comes from the 1500s. Used as a noun, a compromise is the end result of a fruitful discussion where all parties agree to be a little selfless for the sake of gaining a greater good for all. Compromise, as a verb, describes doing the actual work. 
    In the 1820s, our country’s immense growing pains resulted in the Missouri Compromise. Missouri was admitted to the Union as a slave state at the same time Maine was designated a free state. Just over thirty years later, the Missouri Compromise was repealed and replaced with the Kansas-Nebraska Act, another slave-saving compromise meant to keep slave states and free states in balance.             
    But when a compromise is based not on the betterment of all, but on holding to the status quo no matter who is being hurt, the whole society is hurt. 
    Slavery can never be called good. Slavery can never be rationalized as necessary. Our worth as human beings is intrinsic to our personhood. It is the difference between priceless and worthless. We, all of us, by our very nature, are priceless. 
    There is no room for compromise on the issue of slavery.
    Look what happened when the Missouri Compromise and the Kansas-Nebraska Act were tested in the Judicial system.
    Dred Scott and his wife, Harriet, both enslaved people, sued for their freedom. They based their case on two Missouri statutes. One allowed any person of any color to sue for wrongful enslavement. The other stated that any person taken to a free territory automatically became free and could not be re-enslaved upon returning to a slave state. Dred, Harriet, and their owner lived for a time in Illinois and Wisconsin, both free states.
    A series of appeals slowly moved his case up to the Supreme Court. Even though Dred and Harriet won their freedom in the lower courts, the Supreme Court’s decision kept them enslaved.
    Citizenship was a controversial idea in the mid-nineteenth century. Roger Taney, the fifth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, claimed in his majority opinion that “all people of African descent, free or enslaved, were not United States citizens and therefore had no right to sue in federal court. He also wrote that the Fifth Amendment which assured property owners that their property could not be taken from them without compensation, protected slave owner rights because enslaved workers were their legal property.” https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/dred-scott-case
    The public’s outrage toward Taney’s decision moved Abraham Lincoln closer to the presidency. And moved the United States closer to Civil War. (In a note of irony, when Abraham Lincoln became the sixteenth President, it was Chief Justice Roger Taney who administered the Presidential Oath of Office.)
    Dred Scott and his family finally became free, but not because of anything Taney did. Scott and his family were sold to Taylor Blow, the son of Dred’s first owner. Taylor abhorred slavery and freed Scott and his family on May 26, 1857. 
    Passed in 1868, the Fourteenth Amendment granted citizenship to everyone born or naturalized in the United States, including former slaves. It guaranteed all citizens “equal protection of the laws.” 
    When we reach compromise for the right reasons, to give a leg up to our most vulnerable, to reward those who work toward the ideals laid out in our Constitution, to put the greater good ahead of any one person’s or one group’s gain, we all become better people.
    Still in 2020, many of the most vulnerable in our society are marginalized. Finding a good job, attending a well-staffed and well-funded school, living in a safe neighborhood, access to quality healthcare and clean water and nourishing food are all very high hurdles for many.
    But, we can elect a congress who we believe will put the good of the many ahead of their own selves. We can encourage them to keep working for the good of our society by calling them, sending letters and emails. And by saying thank you when they succeed as well as making demands when demands are necessary.
    We can elect a decent man president. A breath of sanity, stability, and sound judgement will be a very welcome change, indeed.
                                            -—stay curious! (and vote)

And so the fact finders started digging.
Equipped with only shovels, flashlights,
and a need to know the truth
they dug a tunnel deep, deep underground.

At last … they found the box.
They hoisted it out of the darkness 
and let out the facts.
In the clear blue light of day,
the facts were glorious in all their splendor.    
                                              from: The Sad Little Fact
                                                written by Jonah Winter
                                              illustrated by Pete Oswald
                     Schwartz & Wade/Penguin Random House, 2019

    I believe in science, but science is not static. Facts change as we learn more about how science affects us and how we affect our world. Our Earth has always been round-ish, and has always, or at least for the last billion or so years, revolved around the sun. But it took brave and intelligent people to show the rest of us those Truths. Even Columbus knew the world was round. Ancient Greek mathematicians had proved that long before Columbus set sail. 
    It took Galileo’s courage to defy the Church and affirm Copernicus’s Heliocentric Theory describing the pattern of planets and other heavenly bodies’ paths around the sun. That the sun is the center of the universe, and Earth revolves around it, was a cataclysmic change in thinking from Ptolemy who had set the stage over 1,700 years earlier when he declared Earth to be the center of the universe.  
    It cost Galileo much, including a conviction by the Church of “vehement suspicion of heresy.” Under threat of torture, Galileo expressed sorrow and cursed his errors.     
    Science is my Tree of Knowledge. This is not the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. That one sprouted and grew metaphors in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve were supposed to avoid it, but they did not. 
    The Tree of Knowledge, though, is sturdy and its roots dig deep. Its branches of metaphor grow wide and sheltering. Sometimes new branches sprout, sometimes mere twigs.
    Depending on where you look, you may find few branches of Science on that Tree or many. Wikipedia’s four major branches sounded right enough to me. Formal, Natural, Social Sciences, and Applied Sciences, each one includes lots of subheadings. Scientific subdivisions are what you might expect and include Mathematics, Biology, Ecology, Chemistry, Linguistics, Medicine, and Technology. You can think of many, many others. 
    While not only about Science, the Nobel Prizes are about Truth.
    Alfred Nobel was a man of science and a man of the world. Nobel was born in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1833. He lived in St. Petersburg, Russia, from age nine until he was twenty-one. Then he studied Chemistry and Technology in France and the United States.
    Although his interest in Medicine can not be disputed, a perusal of his bookcase shows his interest and deep knowledge of literature and poetry. And though it might seem counter-intuitive to think of the inventor of dynamite offering a prize for Peace, his greatest invention was not intended as part of the war machine. Armies usurped its potential. 
    Nobel left much of his vast fortune to the establishment of a prize, which, as you can imagine, caused great controversy in his family, his scientific community, and the world at large. It took five years to settle the arguments and award the first prize. According to his will, “the interest on [the fund] … is to be distributed annually as prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind.” 
    The prizes were equally divided into five categories: Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature to the most outstanding work in an Idealist Direction, and one to Advance Fellowship among Nations, Abolish or Reduce Standing Armies, and Promote Peace. 
    Today six Nobel Prizes are awarded, one each in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, Peace, and since 1968, Economic Sciences.
    Sometimes the Prizes are shared. Sometimes no prize is awarded in a particular category or another. In that case, the prize money, about $1,000,000.00, is kept for the next year. If no one is judged worthy of the prize in the second year, the money goes back into the general fund. 
    Since 1901, six hundred and three Nobel Prizes have been awarded. Only twice have people not accepted the award. Jean-Paul Sartre declined the Prize in Literature in 1964. He had consistently refused all honors. In 1973, Le Duc Tho was honored by sharing the Peace Prize with Henry Kissinger for their work negotiating Peace in Viet Nam. Le Duc Tho declined, referring to the situation in Viet Nam at the time. Fighting continued there for two more years.
    On October 9, 2020, David Beasley, Executive Director of the World Food Programme, accepted the Nobel Peace Prize for his agency of the United Nations. The award, he said, “turns a global spotlight” on the 690 million hungry people of the world. https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/10/1075012 
    While I believe in the importance of working toward achieving world peace and the pursuit of scientific goals to increase knowledge as well as their usefulness to humankind, a certain Truth can only be described poetically. 
    John Keats in his “Ode on a Grecian Urn” said  
        “Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all
        Ye know on earth and all ye need to know.”
    On October 8, 2020, Louise Glück was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature “for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal.” https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/louise-gluck Anders Olsson, the chair of the prize-giving committee, praised her “minimalist voice and especially poems that get to the heart of family life.” You can read about her and read a selection of her poetry at the Poetry Foundation’s website (above).
    I feel a poem swirling around, calling me. I better try to catch it!
                 -—stay curious! (and celebrate the Beauty of Truth and    
                                   the Truth of Beauty)

What’s the point of having a voice if you’re gonna be silent in those moments you shouldn’t  be?                          
                                                   from The Hate U Give
                                                         by Angie Thomas
                                                      Balzer + Bray, 2017
                                     Coretta Scott King, Honor Award

    Much is at stake, locally and nationally, less than one month away from the General Election. And that Election is already underway.
    Due to many people feeling unsafe in large crowds, lots of us are choosing to use a mail-in ballot. So far, ballots have been sent to voters in twelve states and over two million have already been cast. Today, Ohio’s first day of early voting, the Board of Elections in Ohio will mail absentee ballots to registered voters who requested them.
    For so many reasons, this year is not a normal year.     
    Now we learn that the president, the first lady, and many family members and close advisors and staff have contracted COVID-19. Depending which source you read or listen to, the president is doing well, or not. 
    Who knows?
    But we should care. I know “should” is not always appropriate, but this time, it is. While I feel skeptical of the news, more or less so depending on the source, it is important to be aware.
    I had some “what-if” questions, so Google, here I come. According to USNews, https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2020-10-02/what-happens-to-the-us-presidential-election-if-a-candidate-dies-or-becomes-incapacitated it is possible, but unlikely to postpone an election even if a presidential candidate becomes incapacitated.
    The rules to determine a replacement nominee are complicated and cumbersome. It is likely too late for a replacement to be chosen, should that become necessary. 
    So, on November 3, if the date is not changed, the public will vote for (or against) Trump or Biden, even if one of them dies before November 3.    
    Our elections are complicated, too.     
    When we cast our ballots for President, early or in person, we are instructing our Electors who we want them to vote for.
    Thousands of people are chosen as delegates based on the vote tally from each state’s Primary Election or Caucus. The delegates, representing their particular party, vote during their respective Party’s Nominating Convention (this year held virtually on back-to-back weeks this past August). Once the Party’s Conventions have taken place and the nominees are chosen by the delegates, we’re ready for the General Election and then the Electoral College. 
    The Electoral College is that body which actually votes for our candidates. Each state has laws for how Electors are chosen. Generally they are party faithfuls, committed to their respective Political Parties. Most states require faithfulness, but there are no consequences for failure to comply. Consequently, each Elector usually votes for his or her Party’s nominee.
    Each state has a number of Electors equal to the number of the state’s Representatives plus 2, one for each Senator. Washington DC has three Electors, the minimum allowed since they have no representation in the Senate. The candidate needs a simple majority of the 538 Electoral votes (270), to win the election. (U.S. citizens residing in U.S. territories can not vote for president.) https://www.usa.gov/who-can-vote 
    The Electoral College meets on Dec. 14 to vote for president. 
    The votes are counted in Congress on January 6. States with larger populations have more Electors making it possible for a candidate to win the overall popular vote but not win the electoral vote. Lots of states with only 3 or a few Electors can add up to a majority of Electors. That’s what happened in 2016.
    In short, our Presidential Election is complicated. It is a several-step process, beginning with the Primaries and delegates and ending with the Electoral College and Inauguration on January 20. 

•     Primary elections and caucuses take place in the states beginning in February. Delegates are chosen.
•     Delegates choose their party’s nominee at the Party Conventions during the summer.
•     Electors are appointed by the Parties.
•     The General Election is held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
•     The Electoral College meets and votes on December 14.
•     Votes are counted in Congress on January 6.

          The election is certified after Congress counts the votes.

•     Inauguration is held on January 20.

    
    Most of the time we know the winner of the election on Election Night. This year, because of many complications, some I have addressed, some I’m still thinking about, we probably won’t know. 
    Remember three things which are really true.
    1.  Lots of mail-in votes need to be counted. Some states do not
               allow counting to begin until the end of Election Day..
    2.  The Electoral College does not meet until December 14. 
    3.  Congress does not certify the vote count until January 6.

    Each person’s vote carries weight. Remember, the Electors of each state pledge to vote as the people voted. So when the tally of popular votes in Ohio goes to a particular candidate, that candidate doesn’t get each person’s vote, but does get the total Electoral votes, 18. (Only Maine and Nebraska split their Electoral votes. Maine has 5 and Nebraska 4.)
Here are a few things to think about.
    Although real people are running for office, the election is not
              about them. It’s about us.             
    Elections are about standing up for the ideals we believe in.
    Think about the Supreme Court. Think hard. The President appoints
              Justices. Their decisions impact our personal freedoms.
    Change begins with voting. The path to reform is not perfect, but
              we can’t give up.
    When more people exercise their constitutional right to cast a ballot in a Presidential election, the more influence we, as individuals will have. 
    If you need a ride to your polling place consider Lyft. They are offering a 50% fare reduction if you use their code. Scroll to the bottom of the page.
https://www.lyft.com/blog/posts/helping-more-people-get-to-the-polls-on-election-day 
                                     -—stay curious! (and be patient)