A View of the Valley

by Linda Schwanke It’s been just over a year since we starting staying at home to stay safe because of COVID-19. Quarantines and flattening the curve and all the things we’ve done and learned this year about pandemics have taken their toll. Many of us never had online meetings before, many never worked from home, the planning and the prep for the simplest things… I don’t know anyone who isn’t stressed out and angry in some way or another. If you google “why is everyone so angry” you get some pretty interesting answers. Regardless of what flavor Kool-Aid you drink, it’s understandable that people are so stressed out and angry. The three P’s – politics, pandemic and protests – unsurprisingly are high on the list.  The economy is part of it, too. Poverty, racism, the environment, so many issues it’s difficult to grasp. Facts are twisted and shaped to feed that anger, I think, and leads us down a path that is not serving any good purpose. Anger at being told we don’t understand the truth is especially frustrating. What you see with your own eyes is real. What you smell with your own nose does stink. What you feel in your heart is true. But. You do not have the right to behave badly to others regardless of who they are. Judging someone else and treating them in any way other than with complete civility is wrong. Just wrong. People who insist we behave with compassion and understanding do not always, it seems to me in their lives, behave that way if you have a different view. They seem to believe their hatred is ok and anyone else is wrong.  On and on it goes. Where does it end? I’m tired of it all. But there is good news on the horizon. For a start, spring is in the air. It’s finally warm enough out that we can get out of the house. We can start walking outside again without worrying about slipping on the ice and breaking our butts. Lawns are looking shaggy, which gives us something to plan for. Ours looks like it needs a comb-out and blow dry. Gardens and flower beds can be cleaned up soon. There’s a lot to look forward to. Most importantly, we can begin to visit with family and friends safely again even beyond our driveways and yards. COVID-19 vaccines are available for more and more people and it’s getting safer and safer for us to start to resume our normal lives. Gathering indoors with people who have been vaccinated is now ok. Low risk individuals are included in that. We should probably still wear masks when shopping and in larger indoor places but things are a lot better than they have been. We are learning that people are, in spite of the frustrations the past year has filled our lives with, a lot stronger than we may have believed. People are finding ways of working together and figuring out how to address issues we never could have imagined previously.  There are new “hate has no home here” banners that I’ve seen out and about. They are bright and beautiful. I wish we didn’t live in a world where we have to remind ourselves that hate has no home here but we do and there are many people who are working diligently to  make things better. I get tired and frustrated, too. There are far too many things that worry me but I am feeling more positive each day that the pandemic is getting better. I’m learning to tune out the bad and look forward to the good that is part of each and every day.  Also on the bright side, and even though I’m not opposed to paying taxes because they pay for so many very, very important things that I count on, the Internal Revenue Service and the Wisconsin Department of Revenue have announced that the deadline to file individual income tax returns this year has been extended to May 17. “This has been a hard year for everyone.  People are still trying to catch up financially and emotionally. Extending the tax deadline to May 17 should help make things a bit easier for those who need the extra time,” said Department of Revenue Secretary Peter Barca. Doing taxes is not fun so getting an extra month to complete them is welcome news. Stay in touch with me and with each other. My number is 574-3159. Email me at homenewseditor@newspubinc.com or write to me at the Home News, P.O. Box 39, Spring Green WI 53588. The news deadline is 12 noon on Mondays.