Titel – ? Ach was …

Strange days. The last few days were unusually hot, temperatures reached up to 33° C in the afternoon. Yesterday and today the light changed from autumnal, colourful clearity & preciseness that allowed to identify any single leaf on a tree, towards a disturbing, eye hurting, detail blurring whiteness that makes one’s head ache, because one has to twitch the eyes constantly.
The air is “heavy”, not light and free flowing – it is not the proverbial wet-blanket-in-your-face when you step out, but there is not much missed. I feel thick, like Bibendum (Ger., Eng.), the old advertising figure of Michelin, with my face swollen, ankles & wrists alike. All waits for a nice little rain, and a small thunder storm, to clear air & atmosphere from dust and humidity.
This early morning I saw the first party of grape collectors starting this year’s harvest. I do not know whether they already have begun at other places. I heared in the news this morning that somewhere in Suebia ten tons of grapes were stolen over the weekend. The thives used obviously a machine (“Vollernter”. Here you can see one of these incredible machines at work. I do not understand how they do not rip out the Weinstöcke.) to grab their swag of red grapes ; it is not yet clear how they transported the loot and (seemingly) got away. Soon we will have watchmen in the vineyards and fields again !
The job is the job, is the job, is the job, as it always was for the last few years. The group of passengers is joined by an additional, new kid, so far all goes well. It is just the second week, but feels already like uninterrupted, perpetual routine.
It is a time of weird dreams. Thankfully I do not remember most of my dreams, I really do not want this. But some nights ago I was visited by a friend, I do not know who it was. I lied on the side, and someone was kneeling behind me, and grabbing my shoulder, shaking me awake, and saying something like “Come on, you have to get up now.”
I woke up, found myself in this exact position, and looked around to face who was talking to me, only to see the room’s door (forgot whether open or closed). I doubt that there is some “message” – obviously I was told to get up, and do (maybe change) something), but this is hardly groundbreaking news. Nevertheless this particular dream was vivid, and hence it stayed in my memory ; also the short time when I was expecting to see someone, speak to him, until I realised that I was alone in that room – this small snap of time when the dream’s reality and this wordly reality overlapped, was a peculiar experience ; not totally new, but always new, and a bit unsettling.
Unsettling are the numbers of infections with the virus. In France and Spain they got up through the roof, almost like some months ago when it all started. I have not looked for Italy. I now & then look at the German map that shows infections in the local administrational units (“Kreise”), and the “hot” spots (the red areas) are in Bavaria. The Franconian “capital” is red since last week, the surrounding area is still “orange” (here you can see it, German only, but the map speaks for itself. Here the European overview). Startling is the low number of deaths. This may be caused by the better preparation we have now, and by the fact that now younger persons in general are infected. “Younger” is of course relative, I read somewhere that the age group between sixty and fourty is actually the most afflicted, but I forgot the context, sorry. Anyway – the virus is here, it does fine, and we can do little to fight it, so nothing really changed since Spring in this respect. Let’s see what the next flu season will bring.
Thank you for reading through this babble. I hope you stay safe etcetc. In the end, it is all just a paper moon, isn’t it ?

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