January 24, 2025

Calling all parents, teachers, gardeners, writers, cooks, children, friends and all other lovers of humanity.

Come gather ‘round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You’ll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth saving
And you better start swimming
Or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changing

Dylan’s words are rattling around in my head these days after watching A Complete Unknown. Timothy Charlamet did his best to portray the singer’s often confusing duality, that mixture of lovability and angst. Dylan was 22 when he penned the words to that song shortly after participating in the 1963 March on Washington. He battled against the establishment to find the voice that he wanted to share, and the battle wasn’t always pretty. As we watched one of these scenes unfold, I told my granddaughter that Dylan could be a jerk at times. She replied “Yea, but I like that about him.” She is youth speaking about youth and its ideals, its wishes and its demands. It is easy for adults to forget about our youthful convictions. We didn’t mean to; it’s just that we all got so busy with life. Too busy…. but, sometimes there is no other way to get by.

There are so many times in our lives when we are called in to be problem solvers. And, we are pretty good at it. As a parent, we are called in to break up sibling fights or sooth troubled souls all while juggling household chores, managing the budget and putting decent meals on the table.

As teachers, and I don’t just mean the academic kind, we explore interesting topics and help guide others to learn and appreciate what is meaningful about life. We are all teachers in some way or another, even if all we can give is a lesson on hope and the importance of patience.

As gardeners, we tend our plots of land. Whether small or large, we observe what works and what does not, and we make the necessary adjustments even if they are not part of our original plan. We amend the soil with new nutrients, we seek to encourage what is beneficial, and decide which plants make good companions to others.

As kitchen chefs, we become adept at finding recipes that will please the family all while modifying them to meet the budget. We ply the supermarket aisles searching for the healthiest options in a myriad of confusing choices. We know how to stock the pantry in preparation for those days when a trip to the grocer is not possible.

Yes, there are so many times in our lives when we are called in to be problem solvers. A juggler of sorts, we are. We’ve learned that a community of friends can do nearly impossible things to support each other. And children, well they are our best hope for the future. Keep them close and guide them in the right ways of the earth.

But we are facing a problem that will require more than our individual skills. The question looming now is how to put our assets together in a way that will help preserve what is best about our country. America is still one of the greatest places to live on our earth, and yet some would disparage it. Why not spend that energy seeking ways to make it better?

I’m just a solitary writer. I don’t profess to have the answers to solve big crises. My only suggestion is to reach out and do something even if it can only be an extra act of kindness. Do it for a family member, a friend or even a stranger. It doesn’t have to be for a nationally sponsored organization to matter. Remember how it felt when someone held the door open for you when you did not expect it or when the person in line ahead of you paid for your coffee? These are just small things, but these are actions that can lead to positive changes and a place where the daily newsfeed can be filled with more stories of love, compassion, patience and understanding. We may feel like the last in line lately and that our voices are not being heard. It might feel that we are screaming into the winter wind where our voices shriek and then dissolve into nothingness. It doesn’t always have to be that way; but it’s going to take a lot of love to turn things around, my friends.
Remember …

The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is rapidly fading
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changing……

Don’t give up hope. Honors to Bob Dylan for the words and the inspiration