Before SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19 lockdowns temporarily closed San Diego Zoo and precipitated price increases, my wife and I frequently walked about there. Those days are gone.
But remembering is good. On Aug. 15, 2019, when I captured the Featured Image, the economy was robust, inflation nominal, interest rates low, and Donald Trump the unbeatable candidate for the 2020 Presidential Election. Wow, three years ago feels like decades passed—measured by how much is upended. Global recession advances. Inflation roars. Interest rates rise. And the gaffe-prone Joe Biden is president (and the nation’s, ah, senile grandpa). Oh, yeah, who could forget the Russian-Ukraine war, U.S.-China tensions about Taiwan, or famine affecting millions of people.
While Rome burns, so to speak: Liberals are crazed with fear about Coronavirus variants, Russia, and The Donald being reelected. Progressives whine about deadnames, pronouns, and transgender rights for toddlers. Republicans are giddy for their prospects of retaking Congress, impeaching Biden, and removing Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House. And, of course, none of that nonsense benefits average Americans.
We return to the zoo, three summers back, for a moment of serene respite. Don’t worry about this fine flyer. Unless the city is nuked or the United States disintegrates into civil war, birdie will probably eat better than you. Social justice provocateurs call that equity—reparations for how Climate Change has destroyed bird habitats.
Photo vitals: f/2.4, ISO 100, 1/122 sec, 52mm; 9:56 a.m. PDT; iPhone XS.