Trouble in paradise

 

It seems like every day I wake up to some terrible news filtering in from the world.  Cable networks are full of it, a constant and consistent drum beat of terrible events and terrible situations near and far.  It's gotten to the point that I stop listening to the news because I either hear diatribes or dire news.   But all is certainly not lost, at least, that is the hope.

I am reminded of a visit to Lake Tahoe about Thanksgiving last year.  At the time I was grappling with some issues related to my job.  Covid was in full swing and years of lack of movement or promotion had piled one atop another like leaden blankets that threatened to suffocate me.  The CO19 wasn't helping anything, and the same rote of cleaning rooms that were already clean was driving me nuts, so my family and I absconded to Tahoe as we often do.

The city we stay in was virtually empty, which was nice, and the weather was warmer than I was hoping (I wanted to see some snow and fall colors but this is California.)   I decided to take a walk along the south shore and came upon the above sign.   It was on the side of the Casino on a marquee and proudly proclaimed "Welcome back to paradise."     The s in paradise had gone kilter.  

I remember considering how nice the weather was, how lucky I was to be there even considering everything going on, "What a perfect analogy for how I feel.  Trouble in paradise."  It made me laugh and I took the picture because how could I not?   It was just one of those funny little lifetime situations that's quirky enough to snap you out of your funk, while still maintaining the breadth of the situation.  

So today, as I awake at 4 AM with troubled thoughts swirling in from a nighttime of bad news, I think of this sign and hope that maybe today will be better.