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Vail Daily column: Falling for perspective

Richard Carnes
My View

Why do crazy people hell-bent on suicide feel obligated to murder a few others first? I don’t see what’s wrong with simply eliminating the middle-man and just killing themselves without all the extraneous bother.

Anger management issues, powder kegs about to explode, TV anchors, anchor babies, megalomaniac Trump, shifty Clinton, downright crazy Carson; the absurdity of it all is sometimes hard to process.

Yet during golf last week, driving up to the 18th tee box in Eagle-Vail, my friend pointed out leaves on the cart path.



They were yellow.

They were on the ground.

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And we both smiled.

Innocents being gunned down by police, police being gunned down by cowards, innocents being gunned down by deranged cowards, deranged cowards (the ones without the wherewithal to kill themselves) being sent to prison for life, permanently closing the cell doors at a taxpayers costs of at least $80k per year.

Yet this past weekend we started closing the windows at night because it’s getting too cold to leave them open.

A Kentucky county clerk achieved 15 minutes of fame for refusing to issue a marriage license to a gay couple based upon her particular religious beliefs. The clerk is currently enjoying her fourth marriage.

Yet most of my friends and family are currently enjoying the lead up to regular season NFL games and this autumn’s college classics.

Whether they’re riding a bus, driving a car, sitting at work, sitting at home, shopping at the mall or catching a flick at a local theater, innocent Americans are increasingly in fear of being shot. Bill O’Reilly blames declining church memberships as the main cause of these mass shootings, and completely dismisses the idea of guns being too easily accessed by those with mental health issues.

Yet I arrive at my facts in the same car as O’Reilly. When I step out of the vehicle, I’m in an entirely different location, and right now it’s gearing up for a solid month of Oktoberfest celebrations.

China’s economy collapses, trillions lost worldwide in just a few days, ISIS announces a goal of bringing down America by weakening the U.S. dollar and this week’s jobs report “might” once again spell doom for the U,S, economy.

Yet Happy Valley’s real estate market is still hot and our cool mountain afternoons will be perfect for the 2015 Wings & Wheels.

Around 25,000 children die every single day from malnutrition and preventable diseases, about 20 in the time it takes to read this column, while American televangelists like Joel Osteen, Kenneth Copeland and Creflo Dollar claim sending them your cash will not only make you rich but cure your skin rash too.

Yet Eagle County kids are for the most part healthy and have returned to school, providing most parents a breather from certain daily activities and a chance to prepare for the upcoming ski season.

Nine out of the ten warmest years for the planet since records began in 1880 have occurred in the 21st century, with three of them in the last five years.

Yet our biggest concern is whether or not El Nino will have a positive effect on snow totals.

So yes, while some anticipate the fall of human civilization, I could not be happier anticipating the arrival of fall in Happy Valley. We’re certainly not immune to the foibles of the real world, but living here makes it all a little easier to process.

Richard Carnes, of Edwards, writes weekly. He can be reached at poor@vail.net.


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