We were startled this morning with some good news. As you know, we inflict the weekly Weather Report on the gentle readership to nudge us forward in a changing world. It is an intent to capture the swirling global events in a non-partisan fashion so we are aware not so much of what is happening “now” as what is happening “next.”

The production schedule for the Writer’s Section at Socotra House is rigid but irregular. We try to have a draft wrapped up on what is happening on any individual week by Tuesday evening. It is close enough to be “ready to go if necessary” by the time a last sip of magic elixir is consumed out on the porch. The pictures are the last add to production, and sometimes we wait until Wednesday morning for inclusion. They provide a last gasp of inclusion before the ritual submission for the quick pitch on the Thursday morning meeting.

That is a “normal” schedule for the week. Some of us were up after the last libation on Tuesday night since it was difficult to close a “Tuesday” with so much “Wednesday” stuff already happening way out west across the date line we used to know so well.

There is significant military stuff in progress already this morning. China and Russia, old mutual allies in a war we claim to have won, are conducting a major joint exercise in the waters adjacent to an old adversary and now ally. We understand that is a sentence containing a certain ambiguity, since the arc of trouble extends south from the DMZ in Korea to the long extent of the Japanese Home Islands and down across the hundreds of lovely isles we call the Philippines.

The Rise of China is an interesting phenomenon. It contains elements of self-chosen divestment of manufacturing from places like the United States. But there is more, as you well know. The Population Bomb first publicized by academics a generation ago was a cautionary tale for the nations that had triumphed in a great global struggle To demonstrate the power and determination of Chinese will, a dramatic “One Child” policy was adopted to minimize population growth. It was successful and it was dramatic in down-stream impact unanticipated by the resolute Central Planners. Population growth was halted at a massive level. Having only one child in Chinese households made those children precious as a commodity. In terms of labor, that made male children a preferable option to some families, and the distortion of the growth curve now features an excess of millions young men who will never find mates.

It is also a group whose sacrifice could be endured in exchange for lasting benefit to the State. So, looking up in the darkness last night we made a note to include a line in the Weather Report that indicates military misadventure could be building now. The consequences could involve our grandchildren in horrific ways. We struggled to find a ray of optimism in the way to depict the East Asian Situation, and we were startled to find it not on the western edge of the Pacific, but in London. Far to the east.

The note is one that shouts out the strength and indomitable will of the human spirit. It includes the drive and talent inherent in the human species. Contained within is a working spirit that can overcome adversity and create an inimitable joy in the nature of life itself.

Yep. We don’t even need to explain it beyond a single sentence, since a few words express it both accurately and succinctly. We think we can erase some of the lines in the weekly report and replace them with one in larger font like this:

“Mick Jagger is Eighty Years Old. Today.”

That suggests we may be around for a while longer in this complex vale of tears and joy. How did he say it?

“It’s been a long strange trip, but here we are.”

That would be good enough for the whole report this week, you know?

Copyright 2023 Vic Socotra
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