my careless contagion

My favorite dog (a chihuahua) on TikTok recently passed away. I was filled with grief for the little creature and her people. Dogs mean a lot to mankind, and have for eons. They are wonderful animals, and earned the distinction "man's best friend" for a reason. We all know that. Here are some conclusions I came to about dogs, and there is a human application, as well, if you're so inclined.  For my work, I'm often in people's backyards, so naturally meet a lot of dogs. I think about them a lot. One principle is people's perception of their animals versus a stranger's perception. How many times was I told, "Oh, he's nice," only to have a dog attempt to tear me limb from limb? There is a dichotomy in that. Dogs are a protective force, fierce when protecting their people. It's their job. Always was, though we don't need them much for that anymore. They are loyal and gentle with their own but brutal toward outsiders. I qualify as an o...

I started this blog two-plus years ago to deal with the emotional fallout of my divorce. I named it My Careless Contagion because I felt I infected those around me with sadness. But I want to talk about a contagion of a different sort in this post. For months, I have stayed silent while the specter of coronavirus has cast a long shadow over our planet. What follows are my opinions only, though I have followed this disease closely since the beginning.   Pandemics have routinely ravaged the planet, killing millions and rearranging civilization in their wake. At this moment, people are referencing the Spanish Flu which killed an estimated 50-100 million people 100 years ago. The fact that we don't know how many actually died is not inconsistent with pandemics, as bodies are normally disposed of in haste and if whole villages die, who is left to count the dead? Satellite images of mass graves laced with lime in Iran have hammered this point home. Are they counting the dead or ju...

Future Keanu is way cooler than Future Joshua. Today is my birthday. I'm 42. Birthdays sometimes lend themselves to contemplation. Once I start doing that, it's easy to get caught up in the drama of the past. After a great disturbance (just like a storm that blows over), it's helpful to put your life in perspective and rest. Then, you begin to ask yourself, "What next?" What does Future Joshua look like? I've been gifted with yet another life reboot. Not everyone gets to start over again as I have. In some ways, it is very tiring (exhausting, really), and in other ways, it is refreshing. There are many big decisions I simply can't handle right now. But that doesn't stop me from wondering and hoping. So, what am I looking forward to?  I feel it's overdue that I settle down somewhere. I'm not looking forward to moving, however, but I want to lay my head down in a place that feels more permanent, a place I haven't rejected as my home...