Hot Springs

 

August 1, 2024

Drove to Hot Springs to leave the cleaning lady free to work. I was there soon after I moved to NC, maybe with Tom, and never again. I remembered nothing, but I liked the stricken little town this time. Friendly people. One boy on the sidewalk said, “I like your shirt, sir.” The man at the tourist desk told me businesses fail in the area because it’s an Indian sacred ground, and people forget to bring a shaman in to placate the spirits. The scenery around the roads is shockingly beautiful, giving the impression of realms of untouched wilderness. Developing a plan to stay in one of the little B&B’s so I can go from intriguing tavern to tavern without having to drive the mountain roads. Madison County is “semi-dry,” which means you can get wine and beer but nothing else. This seems hypocrisy. Either alcohol is demonic or it is not– gradations are absurd. I feel the same about abortion. If you think it’s murder then you cannot rationally countenance exceptions for any reason at all. Exceptions prove that most people don’t think it’s murder, but merely want to punish what they see as loose living. Holding the American people to reason or consistency is the most frustrating endeavor imaginable.

Felt subterranean anxiety as I drove through Madison Country, realized it was fear of the police, who can destroy lives for no reason at all and, even in this day and time, are almost impossible to bring to account. I watch too many videos. 

Simone Biles’ smile when she landed the first element in her floor exercise, which would cinch the gold medal, lit up the universe.