To Be Continued

Years ago I woke in the middle of the night with the certain knowledge that the bad guys now outnumbered the good. I can’t explain it, but I knew.

I grew up reading stories that pitted good against evil, and, until eighth grade and Lord of the Flies, good prevailed. Even Anne Frank ends on her endurant belief that despite everything, people are good at heart.

As a reader and a writer, I am drawn to the coming of age genre, with its overarching message of resilience. The fire you go through makes you stronger and wiser, and in the end, there’s no end. Anything’s possible.

These days, I don’t think the good/bad balance is even close. There’s been a shift into fear, and the skew is dark. I distract myself with joyful immediacies, like a good book, warm dog, babies, nature, ice cream. So far, I am doing okay.

Me being me, I believe that I will wake up in the middle of some future night with the certain knowledge that the good guys are once again in the majority. Like I was saying about resilience, and the fire, and how anything’s possible.