April 23, 2022

I am feeling a lot of pressure these days. Our little city is growing and changing. And not in a good way. The boat is being evicted from the Eldorado and the city has implemented a draconian fee to the boat businesses of $ 2000.00 per boat to use the facilities. The cost of everything is going through the roof and I have an ache inside whenever I turn on anything resembling the news.

Oh ya, and there is a war in Ukraine where millions have been made homeless and countless more have died.

For what?

Three years ago I was optimistic about the world. I had sold my window cleaning business and a weight was lifted from my shoulders. We had a spot for our boat at the Eldorado we could afford and the world seemed to be at peace – mostly.

Then came the pandemic.

And everything changed. 

At first, it seemed like we were learning good lessons about life and the pandemic had some unintended positive consequences. But the opposite has happened. Inflation has skyrocketed, the divisions in our world have increased exponentially and there is now a war in Europe. 

Our little city in paradise has become an urban blight with far too much traffic and a city government that cares about nothing but the bottom line. 

Sometimes I just want to run away from it all.

But where would I go? Mexico seems like a good option, but it is not without its problems as well. And until my daughter is off to university I am not going anywhere. 

I’m one of the lucky ones.

There are so many people struggling to make ends meet these days. While we have billionaires buying companies for more money than anyone can imagine we also have more people living on the streets than ever before. Addiction is the real pandemic and the government is too concerned with controlling people than helping them.

I write these words and search for solutions in my mind. All I get is more questions. Where is everyone coming from? Why can we not find workers to do the jobs there are? Why has the cost of housing almost doubled in the last six years? There was a fucking pandemic and instead of the world coming together and things becoming more affordable we have gone on a skyrocket in the opposite direction.

I feel anxiety and stress about the way the world is going on and I have it pretty good. I can’t imagine how it feels for people who are searching for a place to live right now. People have been forced from their homes by greed. I guess we can’t fault homeowners who are taking advantage of the drastic increase in the value of their homes.

But when did housing become a commodity instead of a basic need?

All I can do is live each moment one at a time and hope the world can come out of this crisis whole. I wish I felt more optimistic about it. I wish the Russians would just go home. I wish the insane increase in the cost of everything would magically stop… I wish.

But wishing is like fishing, once in a while we get lucky enough to catch one. Today it is going to be over 20 C outside and I will put a hook in the water on my boat with some good friends. I hope to catch a fish, I hope to catch a wish.

Regardless of it all, I will continue to do what I have always done. 

Keep breathing.