It’s been a while.
We’re…(not in all cases)…still here.
Lately, I have taken solace in the songs of Stephen Sondheim, who sadly passed away a few days ago. In particular, “Ladies Who Lunch” and “I’m Still Here” seem particularly apropos to our times.
Sondheim’s best work, in my opinion, focused on the hard work of being human. He highlighted the complexities of modernity, sure. But front and center is the capacity for people to survive, at least, for a while. And perhaps, thrive? In spite of it all.
Never has this been more difficult, in my lifetime, as now. However, as my daughter said, the history of our particular religion can be summarized as follows: “Someone tried to kill us. Let’s eat!”
And so, I will paraphrase Elaine Stritch:
Here’s to the girls on the go, everybody tries
Look into their eyes and you’ll see what they know
Everybody dies
A toast to that invincible bunch
The dinosaurs surviving the crunch
Everybody RISE! RISE! RISE! RISE! RISE!
We’re still here. So let’s eat.
Too Many Fish to Fry 