HOUSTON, OH, HOUSTON,,,,

     Remember the early, unjaded times of space exploration? When we did not go ho hum and return to the game setup or the next TV show or flip through all the channels of cable? Remember the line of "Houston, we have a problem"? It became a national meme and entered the book of famous lines. (Not that there is such a book!)
     Well, folks, time to call upon old lines, for Houston, do we have a problem. Strike that. Houston, we have many problems and there is no national smart person, no national hero, (other than perhaps Tom Hanks and his behavior upon finding that he was positive with the virus) for us to follow, to emulate, to keep us calm and confident that sometime, somehow, we will get a handle on this thing and life will return to whatever the new normal will be.
     So now the latest. We hear that the US government apparently has been trying to gain total control over a vaccine for the virus. You think that is hard to believe? Do not be silly. Of course that could have happened. We have a greedy bunch of plutocrats, fatcats, running the show and all they can think of through this crisis is money. Money and how to gain more. Money and how to take advantage of this mess. And bet your bottom dollar that there would be either a cabal of a certain family or indeed only one dude from that conglomeration of know nothing, do nothing, selfish, ignorant, incompetent people at the heart of this new development. Think not? Oh, honey, I hope you are from Houston because you for sure have a problem!
     Will we never learn? The whole damned world is in lockdown. The allowable airports are jammed as Americans and Europeans frantically try to get home. The lines at customs are long for inspection for the virus as we stand there crowded together and so generously share the 'wealth' of the virus! Plans have been changed and changed again, revamped, drastically reshaped and rethought and still there is great concern, great worry, within families as members test positive or cannot get tests, as quarantine becomes  difficult, as supplies are disappearing and for those hoarders - shame on you! And as the holidays approach, holidays which usually mean family reunions - what to do? How to do? How to get there? How to get supplies? How to face quarantine in a strange place should one test positive? These are all important questions and yet, Houston, there appears to be no answers forthcoming.
     On the other hand, perhaps, should we survive this mess intact, we can and will learn things and hopefully, we will internalize them, learn from them and fix the damn problem. Houston - we need answers. Good and thoughtful ones Workable ones. Sensible ones. And we need a return to proper funding of health needs rather than destroying them as Trump did to the National Pandemic Board in 2018. We need true smarts. We need humane people. We need, actually, generously giving people who think of others before selves and where the hell are we to find these?!
     Furthermore, do not forget that we are in the middle of a crisis Presidential election, a time when the actual possiblity of a dictator taking over here, in our own country, is a distinct possiblity. It is that scary, folks. The other two branches of the government, our triad, have been corrupted, suborned into doing the will of the executive branch and that will is presently dangerous and demented! Severely so! But aaahhh, a silver lining. Biden has committed to choosing a female running mate. Madam VP. The names being bandied about are the ones I have previously mentioned - Klobuchar, Harris, James and even Warren is thrown in there. An outlier - Michelle Obama. I will stick with Klobuchar. She is steady, strong, can handle overinflated egos of subordinates, not afraid to do what must be done,  and a strong person to take over should a crisis with the President happen. Maybe, just maybe....
     In the meanwhile as we are told to hunker and bunker down, life can become tough, especially for a generation or two that have no memories of such times. But we can do it. We weathered the political crisis of 1968. We came through the deep abyss of the Vietnam War. We have met hard times and come through and we can do this one as as well. 9/11 did not break us nor the seemingly endless wars that followed. So yes, Houston, we have a problem and if DC has no truthful and helpful answers and advice for us, then Houston, in the form of all other Americans, we can come up with answers and with hope, that oh so important hope, that which has sustained humanity in the most horrific of times. Dig deep for that hope for it is there, somewhere. I just know that and so do you.