I have mentioned that I have bought many anthologies of what may be called “Dark Fantasy” stories, which others might call “Horror” stories. Not the gruesome or violent kind; I prefer the psychological, well-written stories.
One I liked is titled “Haunts of the Very Rich.” A group of rich people of various ages have apparently landed on an island for a vacation at a resort which is expected to cater to their every need. But a few things go wrong at the outset. Some supplies are not there, some rooms are not adequately furnished. These people, not necessarily the most likable sorts, are amused, upset, or tolerant of these glitches.
Then suddenly they find their concierge dead. They are told by other staff that things will be set aright, but they are not. Then they are finally told that a plane will be sent to take them off the island and back to their homes. But the plane does not come/ Finally, one of the party expresses her sense, not quite explicitly stated, that they are all dead, and that they are in some version of hell. She says that things are going to get worse. And the writer ends the story with, ‘And they did.”
I thought of that story when hearing about the dreadful winter storm which has hit the East Coast. The storm is moving to Canada, which of course is not good for that country, but a relief to people in Buffalo and other Eastern cities. Until the next storm, to hit there, or in the Midwest or the Plains.
I live in Southern California, where we have had a pleasant winter so far. That doesn’t minimize one bit of the awful storms back East. And we will have our dreadful events, too. We have had a drought that has lasted so long that the Water District is contemplating mandatory cutbacks. I have seen more houses which have “transitioned” from lawns with grass and flowers, to rocks filling the front yard.
We could have a blazing summer. Much of the country will. We also face a major threat of wildfires. Each year the fire season is longer and worse. Much like in the story. Are we in hell? Well, it depends on one’s definition of that, but it is clear to all but fools, and oil-obsessed people, and social darwinist Republicans, that we, the human race, have caused this climate change, which is not going to get better, or stay the same, but will get worse and worse.
No one wants to focus on this, it is too depressing. But what is the alternative? To just ignore it, and watch football and hockey games? To hope that suddenly the weather will go back to what it was thirty years ago? To go along with the Republicans, who tell us that the real concerns are immigration and “wokeness”? To just let the country suffer, while the very rich people travel to fancy resorts, or live in their vast estates with the best air conditioning and heating that wealth can buy?
Obviously, we cannot let that happen. But how can we deal with it? What will it take for people in general to wake up to what is happening with the climate? I don’t know, but it would help if this were a major focus of the media. Not just the storms and the fires, but the daily story of climate change.
I do know that it will never get better by itself, not while human beings inhabit this planet. Humans caused it, and humans are going to have to try to fix it. Thinking about it is depressing and frightening, but ignoring it would be worse. I am hoping that the 2024 elections are about climate, much as I expect that they will be about everything but. President Biden and all but a couple of the Democrats in Congress tried to help, but we need to take over all branches of government again, to focus on it. And the Supreme Court, too. A very daunting task, but it has to be done, even while we also focus on family, friends, and enjoying the things we can.
Filed under: General |
The Confluence 
“Haunts of the Very Rich” sounds a bit like Sutton Vane’s 1923 play “Outward Bound”. The play was made into a movie twice, once in 1930, and then updated in 1944 as “Between Two Worlds”. The latter stars John Garfield, Paul Henreid, Sydney Greenstreet and the exquisitely beautiful Eleanor Parker. It’s one of those ‘haunting’ movies you never forget. Parker’s anguished plea to Henreid toward the end of the movie will resonate with anyone who has ever been in love.
Glad to see you back…hope you are fully recovered.
Thank you, jmac. I am still recovering. Today was the first time I’ve played Wordle since I got Covid. I was ‘Great’. Maybe tomorrow I will be ‘Splendid’.
I hope you are feeling better.
Beata, So happy to see you posting again! Glad your recovery is progressing and hope you will be “splendid” very soon!
Roz in NJ/NYC
Thank you for your kindness, Roz. It’s always so nice to see you! I hope you and your family are safe and well.
Beata, I am glad to see that you are doing better!
Eleanor Parker, whom I sort of discovered for myself a couple of years ago, though I knew about her,, was a wonderful and beautiful actress who should have been even more of a star, though he was nominated three times in six years for a Best Actress Academy Award. She evinced depth and intelligence in her roles. If you have not seen her in “Escape From Fort Bravo,” written by Frank Fenton, who wrote the script for “Out of the Past,” she is stunning, as is her wardrobe. She was great in “Pride of the Marines,” with John Garfield, as well. She seemed to have been a nice person and caring mother, too. When she didn’t care for a role that the studio assigned to her, she just didn’t take it, and got suspended a couple of times for it, which she was good-humored about.
Yep, these days I dread our summers too–either it’s heat or smoke. I wish I didn’t feel so helpless, but I’m also not all that optimistic that we will take action to change things.
It seems so daunting, and that leads to many people understandably wanting to not think about it. We desperately need it to be a consistent focus of the next two years of Biden’s term, with suggestions as to what the average citizen might do to help even a little.It is more important than budgeting money for space travel, in my opinion.
I agree it needs to be the main focus of our national policy–including budget priorities and painful changes to how our society runs. It’s literally a life-and-death issue. It just seems that we humans tend not to react until something is biting us in the butt, and in this case, that will be (and maybe already is) too late. I’ve been a climate activist for a while, and it’s been difficult getting people to care about this issue vs. say, the economy, jobs, food costs etc.
I greatly admire your activism on this issue, and it must be frustrating to deal with the deniers, and then those who care, but just don’t see how crucial it is, or don’t think they can do anything. Somehow, this has to be mentioned every day, and people need to be told what things they can do, and that will help provide focus. Being gerrymandered out of control of the House is really unfortunate, but Biden still can at least use some executive power, and also speak to the populace about proactive things that could help to some extent. Better than doing nothing, of course.
Another area of government that can really help, even with the GOP controlling the house, is governors and local legislatures. I’m grateful that we have a Democratic state governor that just got elected here in Oregon (it was a three-way race and not at all a given she would win!), because she can do some things on a statewide level to help with the climate issue, and she is actually serious about it. Yes, it would be better if things could be done on a nationwide and international scale…but we gotta eke out our victories where we can find them.