This past Halloween – The mountain forests in autumn – Trump signals his intentions of running again – Bolsonaro imitates Trump, his mentor – Evening statistics
We continue to have comfortable weather, but it rained a bit on the evening of Halloween. The number of children going from house to house for trick-or-treating was probably lower than usual on that account. I doubt if more than twenty knocked on my door during the course of the evening. I noticed that virtually all of them were accompanied by adults. Such a precaution would not be thought necessary when I was growing up, but they are now, sadly.
In the mountains the foliage is getting to be past its “peak,” i.e., the time when the greatest number of leaves have changed color without having yet fallen. To my mind this current stage is equally lovely, if not more so; as the leaves fall, the sunlight brightens and reinforces the colors of the leaves still remaining with even greater intensity, almost to the point of glowing. It is delightful, also, to hear the sound of the fallen leaves crunching underfoot; although, it must be admitted, these fallen leaves can be a source of risk: when they cover up the trail, it is not always easy to find one’s way, and they hide the rocks or tree roots that can cause a walker to trip. I have had many opportunities to observe the progress of autumn in the forests, for during this week alone I hiked Sunday, Tuesday, and today, and I will be hiking this coming Friday, Saturday, and Sunday as well. The combination of the temperate weather and the continually changing phases of the foliage is too good to resist.
Recently ex-President Trump delivered a speech to a group of his supporters in Texas in which he gave tolerably broad hints that he intends to run again in 2024. “In order to make our country successful, safe and glorious again,” he said, “I will probably have to do it again.” It requires no gift of prophecy to foretell that the word “probably” will soon be omitted for future such pronouncements. Is it by design or simply coincidence that the name of the place in which he made this speech is Robstown? For he is undeniably the Prince of Robbers.
Jair Bolsonaro has been imitating Trump in his own amateur fashion. He was defeated in the recent Brazilian presidential election by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva but has refused to concede formally. He has wavered since the results were announced, meeting with seven of the country’s Supreme Court judges and indicating that he has indeed lost the election, but never saying so outright. Shortly after the election results were tallied, several of his supporters began to blockade roads and demand a military uprising, bringing traffic chaos to many cities such Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. The inhabitants of Brasilia will do well to place guards around its National Congress Building over the next several weeks, lest it suffer the fate of our own Capitol.
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 636,202,875; # of deaths worldwide: 6,596,765; # of cases U.S.: 99,438,740; # of deaths; U.S.: 1,096,153.