There are probably a few people out there who will find it surprising to know that I — who obviously spend a great deal of time perusing the daily news — am totally uninterested in, and sometimes even repulsed by, some of the crap that makes it onto the pages of the real news. For example, I really, truly, honestly do not care about . . .

– Who (actually, “whom”) Taylor Swift is hanging out with this week.

– Or who is or is not singing at Millie Bobby Brown and Jake Bongiovi’s wedding. By the way, I don’t even know, or care, who Millie Bobby Brown is.

– Who (again, “whom”) Rudy Giuliani did or did not grope.

– I don’t give a flip how many years ago Will & Grace aired on TV (apparently it’s 25).

– How “confident” Demi Lovato feels during sex. (Yuck.)

– Or how difficult it was for Cher to accept her daughter Chastity’s transition to son Chaz. (As a mother, I’d be more concerned about his unhealthy weight.)

– And I really don’t give a damn what any of the Kardashians are up to, now or ever.

– Or anything else about any celebrity’s sex life, family issues, BFFs, gender identification, social activities, or questionable behavior.

Those things are none of my business . . . or anyone else’s, really. I wish all of these people well, and I also wish they would keep their personal issues out of the news. Just because they’re famous (to a greater or lesser degree), are people supposed to care about every little salacious detail of their lives? But I know there are many folks — the ones for whom those items are written — who do enjoy living vicariously through others, and that’s fine for them. But I don’t. Some days it’s all I can do to manage my own life.

*. *. *

There are, however, a lot of things I do care about . . . some quite passionately. And you know I’m going to tell you what they are, even though you haven’t asked. So . . .

At the risk of sounding like a Miss America finalist, I care about world peace. I know that there isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell of ever achieving it, but that doesn’t stop me from wishing for it. It’s the governments, you know, that have caused all the problems since the dawn of “civilization.” But we need some form of governance to maintain law and order so as to prevent anarchy and chaos. So . . . it’s a classic case of “damned if we do, damned if we don’t.” Still, I do care.

I care about the environment. In the name of “advancement” and “progress,” we’re killing our beautiful Earth. I want to breathe clean air, drink clean water, and swim in a trash-free ocean. And I want future generations to be able to do the same. I want polar bears and penguins to have enough ice to sustain their beautiful lives. I want trees to be free of danger from wildfires. And I don’t want to have to move to Mars.

I care about catastrophic diseases . . . or, rather, the elimination of them. Finding treatments and cures — that’s the kind of progress and advancement I love reading about.

I care about the economy. Life today is simply too expensive for most people to be able to enjoy themselves, or even to maintain a dignified life style. The middle class is disappearing; single-income families became extinct decades ago. Highly-educated people are working at jobs for which they are over-qualified; skilled folks are working two or three jobs just to survive. How do we fix it?

I care about learning. Every book, every news item, every bit of trivia that I pick up along the way adds another wrinkle to my brain. If I can recite a soliloquy from Macbeth, or think of an obscure word to win a game of Scrabble, or remember what happened in 1066 A.D. (look it up), it doesn’t change the world. But it keeps me compos mentis. And I definitely care about that.

I care about music, art, theater, a really good book. They nourish my soul, and remind me that the world isn’t all about war and pollution.

I care about morality. I know we each have our own definition of it, and I won’t burden you with mine. But I think it’s important, and even though it’s not fashionable to discuss it these days, I still care about it.

I care about laughter. It feels good, and it’s healthy. Whether it’s a huge belly laugh or an appreciative chuckle, I’ll take it, and I’ll revel in it. And by the way, I really miss Robin Williams.

And most of all, I care about caring. Call it love, or friendship, or just empathy . . . it’s becoming a rare commodity. People are stressed, tired, angry, even hateful and hurtful. And that drains all of the good out of life. With so many other problems today, we need to care about each other more than ever. I care about you; all I ask is that you return the favor. I guarantee we’ll both be better for it.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
9/26/23