Hello, how are You?
Although I am still doing my Odyssey, I thought You might have missed me. A little bit? It has been a while since I connected with You, but You should know that it was due to a very unpleasant time. And who wants to know how miserable life can be, if it looks like a lot of people got their share of that. Which let me to ponder about how You are doing. Are You okay? Let me just hope, or presume that You are alright. Makes it easier to write to You.
Over the last two years, it has become apparent, that I was never really prepared for what could unfold in my life. You can probably relate to that, after the experiences of the last two years. Hard to imagine that people were anticipating what went down. Well, besides those who were instrumental in the events of the recent past. There has been going so much on that it might simply be impossible to catch up with it. When I received a recommendation last week to read an essay by Sir John Glubb titled "The Fate of Empires", dated from 1976, I had no idea what impact this pamphlet about the rise and fall of empires would have on me. Maybe You have read it, even though it does not seem to be widely known. If it would be, then the present events would make much more sense. To me, it was some watershed moment. How could someone have it all figured out so clearly? For the most part, modern Humans are so distracted, busy, demanded, or simply exhausted, that reading and let alone searching for information that is so concise and spot on regarding Human evolution could be an arduous task.
On the other hand, many people were made to have time and during this period some may have used this opportunity to read up literature of interest. Maybe You have a bucket list of books You want to read before the lights go out, like I do. Although I must confess, over the last four years this list has been as stuck as the "Go Slow" in Lagos. Inwas unable to read anything. Equally, it was impossible to write. That, too has changed over the last three month and I have been mor productive - writing on Substack. Forgive me for keeping that under wraps for now, but I want it to be more complete before I link to it. So, when I read "The Fate of Empires", I did so under the impression that I knew quite a lot about human history - after all, history classes in Germany were rather thorough. During the times of the great empires, I had a history teacher that was rather entertaining. Actually funny. His little rhyme about one of the largest battles of that time is hard wired into my grey matter: "333 - Issus Keilerei" ("333 - Issus Butchery" - my liberal translation...). It was only during the lecture of this small book that this event came up again and was put into context with the rise and fall of (most) all of the other empires over the last three thousand plus years.
The revealing part in this masterpiece is the comparison of all those empires up to the last one that dissolved - the British Empire. Now this is where it gets rather peculiar. Sir John Glubb had figured out that the average age of empires was some 250 years. Without some having been around theee hundred years and others only two hundred. No. These empires lasted about 250 years. Are You aware that the U.S. empire (the elite and some of the people certainly think that's what it was, but use the term "hegemon") has 246 years on the clock? And it needs to be added that the fall of these empires did not take decades. They crumbled within a few years. Please give yourself the pleasure of reading this amazing book. It will help to put things into perspective. Everything that goes wrong now is tied to the fact that time's up for the Anglo-American empire. And tye understanding that there is nothing those running it can do about it. You may call it fate, but there must be a lot more to it than that. From the beginning to the end - all developments are practically the same. And the idea that this time it could be different - is an illusion. There are most obviously forces at work that are far beyond what Humankind thinks about itself and the achievements it made during the last 3000+ years. We are not that much farther evolved at all. What is going on now with us in the west has happened to all of the previous empires. I am sure You will enjoy reading this masterpiece of an essay.
During the last two years I lost more loved ones. Which was difficult to stomach, but inevitable in some cases. Although I struggled greatly with the facts, I made peace with it in regards to the Humans that left. It was not that easy with the Felines that parted. All of them left me while I was holding them in my hands. You will remember how much I was attached to my most amazing Kitties. The circumstances of their departures were heartbreaking and I still have not gotten over it. One of the Kitties was a most amazing Orange Tabby that had joined us after Peteyboy had left us. His name was Leo - because this little Kitty was strong like a Lion. He had cancer and none of the veterinaries here was able, or willing to do something about it. I did what I could do - give him the love he probably never experienced before. He was a stray Cat from Piriápolis, where we lived for half a year. He was my shadow. Always seeking my attention and love. His passing coincided with a period in which we were without any money. Even though I wanted to spare him what turned out to be a very painful death, nobody was willing to put him to sleep on a tab, or free for sake of humanity. Only three month later, YinYang followed after she was attacked and mauled by a neighbor's dog in front of my eyes. That was in January of this year.
For now, I will let You go and wish You the best of times to be had. Let me know if You like to get more updates.
With kind regards.