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03/29/2004 Archived Entry: "So much bad news, butthat's not the whole picture...."

THIS STARTED AS ANOTHER DAY WHEN IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO CHOOSE WHICH BAD NEWS TO BLOG ABOUT. The latest court decision against the Fourth Amendment? The somewhat unsurprising claim that New York Times reporter was working as a federal informant? [Later edit: The reporter denies it; I've got a library hold on the book mentioned in the article & will check it out.]

The most poignant news of the day wasn't really news at all -- but a touching, terrible, riveting photo essay of a young Russian woman's motorcycle trip through the Chernobyl dead zone. Anybody who aspires to write post-apocalyptic science fiction should take the time to look at that one. Or anybody who needs a reminder of what socialism ultimately wrought.

Decisions, decisions. Then I went to the post office. And there was this big, fat, heavy package. A mystery package. And when I opened it I discovered ... California dried apricots!!!!! A bounty of apricots. A wealth of apricots. A delicious, rich, red-gold treasure of apricots.

Mr. Red Dog, you shouldn't have. (But I'm glad you did.) I'd be embarrassed had this gift come from a stranger. In a way it does; I've never met the giver. But I know him through the blog and the forums. I know him through the wicked exploits of his dogs. And he was already so precious to me for his good sense, kindness, and wit that I half regret that his apricots came with a note that said he wasn't angling for that trip to Tahiti.

Besides a lifetime (well, a coupla months' :-) ) supply of my favorite food, that box of apricots brought another reminder that, for all the perils of the world, the parts of the world we choose to surround ourselves with can be astonishingly good at times. And the people we choose as our friends can go a long way to make up for the abstract, faraway evils that lurk on the e-pages of the netly news.

WHOOOOEEEEEE!!!!!!!

Posted by Claire @ 12:33 PM CST
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