Back To Work

Day 107: My last day in the office was December 12. Kevin was going on leave, so I brought my government computer home with me so I could make a much shorter trip to Park Headquarters a couple of times over the holidays to clear out my emails, which I did on the 21st, the last possible moment before the shutdown took effect. Today...January 28, mind you...I was at last allowed back in the office, and believe me, I was expecting a nightmare. As it turned out, it wasn't as bad as I'd feared because...well, because everybody else was shut down too. The exception to that was Volunteer.gov, through which people could still apply for volunteer opportunities in the Park. A fairly good portion of my backed-up email consisted of those same people writing to find out why I hadn't responded to their applications yet. Um...d'uh! How can anyone have been unaware that the parks were only being operated by a bare minimum of staff? As much as I'd like to think of myself as "essential personnel," my job doesn't include enforcing the law, keeping water systems running or plowing the roads to buildings which must be kept secure against the ravages of alpine winter. At any rate, I got through my day's work with a minimum of stress, and it sure felt good to turn the key in that lock again.

Dispatch

Day 1 (yeah, I've decided to keep going): A quarter of a century ago, I divorced myself from the hype of "news," figuring that whatever was happening was going to happen one way or another, knowing that there was nothing I could do to change it. I'd deal with "it" when "it" affected me personally rather than getting all stirred up about it, losing sleep over it, having my health affected by it. It's a system which has stood me in good stead, although sometimes it irritates friends when I tell them I haven't got a clue what they're blathering about.

This discussion is rather timely, as a matter of fact. The US Government is shut down, Federal employees furloughed and sent home. I would have had no idea this was coming but for the fact that it affects my work at Mount Rainier, and moreso, it affects my supervisor and good friend Kevin. As we were driving out of the Park last week, his job at that time in limbo, he mentioned to me a previous shutdown. My response was an indicator of just how insulated against bad news I've made myself. I said, "Huh? What? When?"

Seems the last shutdown slipped right past me and I never knew it. It happened in 1995. The world kept turning. I didn't miss any meals. Nobody shut my power off. The mushrooms kept sprouting and the birds kept chirping. In blissful ignorance, I went about my daily life not knowing about the event. "No news is good news," they say, although I think my slant on that is slightly different than the intended meaning.

My "newspaper" is the Eatonville Dispatch's "Marketplace." It gives me a few local headlines which I ignore, classified ads for yard sales and farm equipment, and the ad from Plaza Market where I shop. Of the above, the grocery flyer is the only part I read. I mean, I can get worked up about cake mix going on sale.