There was an almost inadvertent editorial meeting this morning, the one we usually celebrate for the achievements of Labor in an economy in which we appear to be compensating a lot of folks for not working. That includes us, so we will leave it at that.

The holiday meant we had decided to enforce quiet hours in the working space, so before 0700 in the Bunkhouse, activity was limited to slightly surreptitious scanning of tablets and smart phones in the comfort of our own racks.

Loma was the first to be alarmed. He read a long string of highly emotional responses to a story on the Rolling Stone website. The claim was that a small hospital in Oklahoma was overwhelmed by overdoses of a medicine intended for the equine market. There were so many, according to RS, that gunshot wounds were crowded out at the ER by completely avoidable pharmaceutical abuse.

Alarming, right? If it had been reported as “Chicago,” rather than an unknown little town in farm and ranch country, it might have made sense, but a quick check revealed the alleged center recorded only three fire-arms related incidents in a whole year. The horse medicine in question was available at local Tractor Store outlets since it is not a drug intended for use by humans.

Loma stormed out of the bunk room, shouting something about horses and tractors, though we couldn’t tell exactly whether he was excited about horses or something else. With tranquility and peace restored in the occupied spaces, Rocket reported from his corner that he just read that the world was ending due to the increase in global Carbon Dioxide emissions. The end of the world would normally be enough to get us all moving, but since we were supposed to stay relaxed on the day honoring working, he checked another source of information.

A few moments later, he softly shouted it was OK. Despite the dramatic increase in global population over the last century, and the increased construction in areas traditionally prone to flooding and storm damage, there was another version of the story that did not seem to require trillions of dollars in mitigation strategies. He read it out loud, to minimize distress:

“Climate-related and extreme-weather-related deaths, whether natural or man-made, have declined 93% since their peak in the 1920s and 1930s. Extreme weather events have declined and their impact on humans has declined even faster. Deaths due to climate change (man-made or natural) reached their lowest point in recorded history in 2019.”

Since truth and trust appear to be short supply at the moment, we agreed, as a group, to rely on a proven remedy to impending disaster that might be imaginary. We turned to DeMille’s rack, nestled in the corner where the gentle patter of passing showers lends a soothing soundtrack to troubled dreams. He reads faster than we do, so he was already on to an important issue. he rose to a seated position on the edge of his bed. Looking down at us, he said “We may have a real crisis out there, shipmates.”

Naturally, we leaned in around him to absorb what new crisis might now be confronting us. We have learned to deal with the dread disease that has only a 99% survival rate, or the end of the world that might not be happening. DeMille looked concerned. He said this: “Belmont Farms Field-to-Flask operations are suspended for the holiday. If you were not prepared, you may have a longer day than usual.”

As you can imagine, that provoked discussion about their product and the potential effect on the earth’s orbital mechanics. The discussion may go on for a while.

Enjoy your Labor Day!

Copyright 2021 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com

“