My walk yesterday was a reminder of the fantastic river rock walls around my foothill town, which was founded in 1881. Smooth rounded rocks of various sizes and colors from the local canyon riverbeds adorn just about every block in the city that’s only two square miles in size. I shall explore this captivating history more!
The other day I came across a news photo of blue waves splashing onto the shores of a Southern California beach. It was a fantastic night scene. I was just “passing through” news headlines, so I did not read the full story. My first thought was that someone had a great idea to light up the water blue – in the spirit of New York City’s Empire State Building that lights up blue each night to honor our essential workers (blue is the color of medical scrubs). In fact, the glowing blue waves between Los Angeles and San Diego is a natural phenomenon caused by a huge algae bloom. The bioluminescent glow, or bloom, happens when the algae is agitated by splashing waves. Called a “red tide,” its occurrence is unpredictable – and it doesn’t always light up. It may be a natural wonder, but to me, it’s eerily symbolic.
And in the spirit of world unity, leaders from around the globe gathered at a summit to collectively work together to find treatments and vaccines in the fight against Covid-19. Country after country donated a total of $8 billion towards the cause. Sadly, the U.S. did not participate; however, $100 million was pledged by Melinda Gates, co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.