A couple of personal notes:
- I got a little choked up watching the launch of the Artemis II from Cape Canaveral in Florida yesterday, more than 50 years after the last Apollo lunar mission in December 1972. (There have been space shuttle trips in the interim, of course, but somehow without quite the same cachet.)
- I was 11 (almost 12 years old) and, I will admit, pretty blase by that time about trips to the moon. The early ones *were* exciting, and the first moon walk in July 1969 (when I was 8 -- witnessed on a black-and-white TV set, while at my grandmother's in Minnesota, on my dad's 30th birthday) -- but after a while, the novelty wore off -- and (likewise with the Watergate hearings, around the same time) the wall-to-wall coverage pre-empted my Saturday morning cartoons and other favourite TV programs. (Priorities, people...!) But if I'd known I'd be a senior citizen before we headed back to the moon again, I might have paid a little more attention...!
- I've seen a lot of people on social media commenting on how all they could think about was the doomed launch of the space shuttle Challenger, 40 years ago. I'll admit that crossed my mind as I watched too. (I was recently married, unemployed and ironing laundry in our midtown Toronto apartment when that happened.) Very glad that history did not repeat itself in this case.
- Artemis is also notable for Canadians because there's a Canadian astronaut aboard, Jeremy Hansen. Other Canadians have been in space before, but he'll be going farther than any of them have. Godspeed.
- Dh & I drove into the heart of the city today for my long-awaited appointment with the opthomologist who did a keratectomy (surgery) on my right eye four (!) summers ago. As mentioned in this post from November, my optometrist thought she saw something similar happening with my left eye, and sent me to have it checked out. I had all my crossables crossed that I wouldn't need more surgery -- but was pretty much resigned that I'd need to have it done .
- So I was thrilled when the doctor told me yes, there was a small, shallow area on the left cornea that should be monitored (also the beginnings of a small cataract) -- but she didn't think surgery was necessary, not right now, anyway. What a relief! (And this on top of my improved cholesterol readings a few weeks ago! -- maybe I should buy a lottery ticket??)
- I hadn't thought much about it when I made the appointment, but today is the day before Good Friday (i.e., the kickoff to the Easter long weekend). Moreover, it's the first day of Passover too -- and the route we took to the hospital where the eye clinic is located runs straight down a long street (about 20 km or 12 miles) through the heart of Toronto's Jewish community. (We counted almost 10 synagogues and temples, and a good half-dozen Jewish schools and community centres along the way.) Given this confluence of holidays, plus rainy weather, I expected traffic would be heavy -- and it was! (especially heading out of the city in the late afternoon).
- En route home, we passed by several police cars and vans-- and realized they were probably patrolling the area in case of trouble. :( I'm glad they were being vigilant, but what a sad commentary on the times we currently live in...
And now a few recent notable links to share:
- Elizabeth Day at Daylight ponders "When Did Reading Become A Competitive Sport?" (Many of her posts are paywalled; this one isn't!)
- Ali Hall at Life Without Children on "How Pronatalism Is the Oldest Ism of Our Time" is WELL worth a read!
- And speaking of pronatalism, Ali Hall also noted this extreme example of pronatalism running amok: "Russia Is Sending Women, Who Don’t Want Kids, To Have Their Heads Checked." (!)
- Another wonderful interview with a childless/free woman from Anne Helen Petersen for her "Big No-Kids Energy" series in her Culture Study Patreon newsletter: "Christy, Who Cares For Herself."
Happy reading! and happy long weekend!
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