This week I have had the distinct pleasure of fielding questions about the end of days! This is nothing new for my apocolyptic minded clan who had major meltdowns during 1997 and Y2K fretting over how much dehydrated food and bottled water we would need to hide in our walk in closet for three years. But the level of worry exhibited by my very easy going free spirited kids had me concerned. It started after a trip to the movies that was preceeded by the usually very enjoyable and age appropriate teaser trailers. Somehow, someone decided to give the kiddies a sneak peak of the end of days type scenario that would be unfolding soon as depicted in the new disaster flick "2012". Nightmare. As soon as the car started rolling away from the theatre the inquiries started. "How much time to we have left to prepare?" "What is the Mayan calender and why does it stop at 2012?" "Why do I have to die at twelve years old?" Hmmmmmm.
The Mayan Calender and the so called Mayan prophecy concerning 2012 was something I was previously a bit fuzzy on, like a nagging warning from your mother that you are vaguely aware of looming out there somewhere in the mist. Apparently, it is a prophetic calender that according to it's followers helps you understand the past and forsee the future. Cue creepy music and scary ghosts.
You know, I'm about sick to death of people giving me the low down on when it's time to perish. I've been down this road before in various stages of distress. The History Channel gives me my daily dose (usually during the new year, when it's time to start your terror fresh) serving up a slew of end of the world type programming like "Seven Signs of the Apocolypse" (It's here people, we are on like #5 or something) "Nostrodomos Prophet" and a special on Edgar Cayce- a man who would apparently go to sleep and become a brilliant medical diagnostician despite only and 8th grade education. Just like everyone else, I sat riveted on the edge of my sofa, frozen with terror. Every show in the 8-12 time slot had the same conclusion. 2012 is the end folks. The poles are reversing and solar winds will be battering us until we are a whithered shell of a planet. Oh and by the way, thousands of unaccounted for asteroids are hurtling toward us while we sit defenseless. There will be famine, plague (natural or man made take your pick) mass extinctions, etc. OY.
It's terribly difficult to remain an optimist in the face of such unsettling information. What is one to do in case of one or all of these catastrophies? I mean, I'm a Girl Scout leader and I take the "be prepared" motto to heart, but my emergency kit doesn't have salve strong enough to soothe the scorching skin burn from a fiery asteroid entering the atmosphere nor does it have food enough to feed a family of five when we are living the exsistence of "the boy" and "the man" in Cormack McCarthy's The Road.
The last act of the late great planet earth haunts me but I choose to believe that we are not destined to have such a feeble run. Mankind is not easily extinguished and I like to think we have a cockroach style approach of remaining attached to our home planet.
In conclusion I decided to make up a complete falsehood to comfort my frightened kids. In my story the delightful Mayan calender maker was busy writing down all the special dates and times that would be essential in the coming years when suddenly she found herself being constantly interrupted by life. Her kids needed to be fed, her dog had to be let outside, she had to cook the beast her husband had dragged home after bludgeoning it to death, there were rugs and baskets to be woven and pottery to create. It happens, some things never get finished.
No comments:
Post a Comment