I said we could get back to normal today, the day after the actual day after. But let’s start slow and ease into it. The left-overs will last until this evening. I think there is a slice of Culpeper home-made apple pie that may linger to breakfast tomorrow. It is a splendid, if finite, replacement for toaster strudel, and will be the last of a memorable holiday. Then we sink back into one of this year’s rapidly moving and sad serial sequence of events.

Having taken a brief pause in the grand transition from one topic to another, I was momentarily non-plussed. This year, we have all been expected, in turn, to be experts on the toxicologic situation and autopsy findings involving Mr. George Floyd. It is a matter of civic duty. Then, a crash course on the epidemiologic maelstrom that swept the globe, how things are transmitted, what distance to keep, and where positive cases should be concentrated in nursing homes for best effect. Then the continuing theme that has permeated all public discourse in all of these things, the law. We have had the opportunity to refresh ourselves on the particulars of unsolicited violence, distilling the notion of mostly peaceful protest, and attained an advanced amateur history degree in revising the mighty saga of our nation into something that no longer makes a great deal of sense.

Of course we have carefully reviewed the history of North America, at least since 1619, and had on-the-spot guidance on the proper practice for felling monuments in large crowds. Now, we are expected to hone our constitutional expertise again. We were discussing the legal status of deceased former Supreme Court Justices. Now, our mettle will be tested on the legality of a hastily revised- improvised, if you will- national electoral process.

The last part requires some knowledge of digital software, international relations and law, and sworn evidence of clearly felonious activity masked in IT applications on specialized networks. This will be fun. I haven’t cracked a book on any of that in years, though I hope any old crimes in which I might have been inadvertently involved during government service have expired. I was reminded by that IRS letter that crime really only expires if the election went the right way.

We should be grateful for the opportunity. I never imagined so much educational opportunity lay just beyond retirement. I was stimulated to get a nice note from our friends at the Internal Revenue Service reminding me that I have to pay taxes on my social security in 2018. In the process of reviewing my IRS case-law, I was reminded of how grateful I am to our wise leadership not to simply withhold what they want from money already taxed when you can least afford it.

We have never had so much opportunity to learn things we should have learned long ago. But this way is fun, and it gives us something to do while we are waiting for new chances to excel in things we knew previously knew absolutely nothing about.

Back in the saddle, folks. We ain’t seen nothing yet!

Copyright 2020 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com