I read a newspaper this morning. I know, I know, so what? That was something that was the core of my morning routine for more than a half-century. Depending on what was going on and where I happened to be, sometimes it was multiple papers representing a variety of viewpoints.

The digital age transformed that ritual, and I had an actual paper in my hands completely by mistake. I thought I had purchased access to the digital edition. What appeared in the mailbox a couple days later was an actual four-section newspaper. It also contained a mailing envelope and an entreaty to purchase some other paper products.

Remember papers? The dark ink smudges on the fingers? We used to stack them in orderly piles for later use as kindling, or wrapping things up for storage or disposal. They were part of the landscape of life. Now, they are absent, a demonstration of change that has simply arrived. Other things have departed. I was informed that use of proper punctuation in text messages was now considered abrupt and uncaring. Use of the terms “Sir,” or “Ma’am” transmitted an authoritarian and homophobic mindset.

Just mentioning newspapers these days could spark political discussion on management of forest reserves, for one, and lead swiftly to heated discussions of the forest fires in the west and the asserted climate crisis.

Don’t worry. I will keep this short and unemotional despite the hysteria of the times. The days to the election are dwindling but still filled with fun. In case the basic mechanism of mail-in voting was not chaotic enough, developments in real life since early returns began have caused some voters to want to change their original ballot submission. That is legal in several states, and will add to the thrills of sorting and counting whatever is left.

We are here to help. As part of the Socotra House LLC community outreach plan, the staff is monitoring what inconveniences may come over the next seven days and some weeks in their aftermath. I make no predictions about who will win the election, since we have left the traditional norms behind. I read some of the Resistance sites, and ones like the Wall Street Journal that do not have politics (soley) as a goal. They span the spectrum of public opinion, from those who assume things will be pretty much as they always have been, to others who assume something unusual and probably bad is going to happen.

Like I said, that is beyond me. Just as the last one was. Since the variance between potential outcomes is great, I have adopted the Journal’s approach. They say the markets will be unsettled for a couple weeks while things settle out and a “V-Shaped Recovery” will continue. No extended panic, in their view. I also note sites that are trying to stir up emotion for future action and provide instructions on how to channel it in support of desired goals.

For my part, the riot in Philadelphia last night was unscripted. I thought things would stay fairly calm until Election Day, with activity moving to the streets regardless of who “wins” the first step. But Philadelphia is actually just a reminder that despite prior planning, sometimes things just happen.

Just for planning purposes, I compiled some key dates in case you have business over the next month to accomplish. And of course how the unplannable events might impact them.

Nov. 3: Election Day. US Constitution (USC)
Nov. 3: Mass demonstrations in DC (and elsewhere). Source “Occupy DC (ODC)”
Nov. 4-8: Organized daily response to emerging events (ODC)
Nov. 8-11: Meet Congressional members returning to DC
at train stations, airports, homes (ODC)
Dec. 14: Electoral College (USC)
Jan. 6: Joint Session of Congress Counts Electoral Votes (USC)
Jan. 20: Inauguration Day (USC)

By January, I generally agree with the Wall Street Journal. An unsettled couple weeks will precede getting back to something that resembles what we used to know as normal. There are other things that could happen, and smart people from all points of the compass have already planned for it.

In the meantime, I am trying to finish some modest shopping just in case. Lamp oil. Long shelf life pantry items. I assume you are doing that too. Many reliable products are “out of stock” at the moment, but they can wait. That should do it, right? What could go wrong?

Copyright 2020 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com