{"id":22885,"date":"2021-12-31T00:37:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-31T00:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/?p=22885"},"modified":"2022-01-03T00:39:33","modified_gmt":"2022-01-03T00:39:33","slug":"year-of-the-swimming-tiger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/year-of-the-swimming-tiger\/","title":{"rendered":"Year of the Swimming Tiger"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nLet\u2019s be precise here- we are quoting some Chinese thoughts, and in this year their imagery is strong across the planet. What is a water Tiger? It is a term that is utilized only each sixty years. This will be the second edition some of us have seen, notably the Boomers and their remaining seniors. As you recall, the lunar calendar is apportioned sequentially into the aggregation of twelve beasts. For reference, we are departing the year of the Ox, solid strong and affixed to the earth. Next year the one after this new one- 2023- belongs to the Black Rabbit. This year, the one we start with the February moon, our tiger will be a water beast, signifying that in addition to strength, agility and cunning, there is a \u201cstrong sense of self-esteem\u201d and \u201clearning ability.\u201d<\/p>\n

For ease of association and planning, the Tiger is associated with the Western astrologic sign Aquarius.<\/p>\n

That does not mean we are entering an Age with which the Boomers are already familiar. The chords of the Fifth Dimension\u2019s Age anthem echoed faintly around the ring of rocks, since we have lived the cycle most of our lives. For the purposes of the Writer\u2019s Section at Refuge Farm, we take the portents simply. Like the Ox, we are- or were- strong, stubborn and attached to the marvelous rich earth surrounding us. And as old sailors, the image of the proud swimming cat, strong and wily, gives us a clue on how to approach this new year.<\/p>\n

All right. Some of the fine print is out of the way. DeMille concluded his opening remarks for the staff meeting with a curt reminder to recognize the limitations imposed by emergency rule while welcoming new ones. \u201cOK, the Chairman says we can go back to talking about the lunacy the swimming tiger will bring on it\u2019s back in the year to come. We should be respectful, of course.\u201d He glanced around to see who might be listening, a problem complicated by the fact that it might include the Alexa device the Chairman insisted on installing.<\/p>\n

\u201cArrias sent something along to help us calibrate the new trip around the sun.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the Moon is in the Seventh House and Jupiter aligns with Mars?\u201d Splash obviously was concerned he had missed something and was reaching back a few decades to stay oriented.<\/p>\n

DeMille smiled, and produced a neatly folded sheet from the inner pocket of his field vest. \u201cArrias has answered that, and with the knowledge that it is already next year some places where we used to hang out.\u201d He paused for a moment as he unfolded a sheet of verse. \u201cHere is the way Arrias sees it this morning:\u201d<\/p>\n

Farewell and Welcome<\/p>\n

Our ship sails on, through seas foul and fair,
\nBuffeted by strong winds and waves,
\nOff the west coast, progress will need prayer,
\nShips don\u2019t sail at all, after some laws made by knaves.<\/p>\n

Some very good friends slipped their moorings,
\nHeaded for the last great liberty call,
\nThey have been lifted up on eagles wings,
\nNo more to battle the squall.<\/p>\n

The damned Chinese virus still won\u2019t go away,
\nSt. Fauci says probably never,
\nYet another strain seems determined to stay,
\nOr maybe some people just want power forever?<\/p>\n

In our nation\u2019s capital, confusion seems to rule,
\nWith idiotic comments and poor grammatica,
\nWe all seem to have elected more than one fool,
\nWho write laws the size of Encyclopedia Brittanica,<\/p>\n

One man wants to be China\u2019s emperor,
\nAnd perhaps emperor of all the universe,
\nAnd Tsar Vlad wants his land back like before,
\nAre we living that old Chinese curse?<\/p>\n

Cold winters are proof of global warming –
\nApparently everything else is as well,
\nGreta continues her mewling and whining,
\nIn First Class – and says it\u2019s hell.<\/p>\n

Transitory Inflation didn’t transit
\nFor now remains dangling above our heads,
\nUntil a new definition is made to fit,
\nAnd up becomes down, thanks to the feds!<\/p>\n

Fuel prices still keep climbing,
\nFood prices hot on their heels,
\nNot sure we\u2019ll be very happy
\nPaying twenty bucks for Happy Meals.<\/p>\n

There seems to be no end of bad news,
\nBut still we sail on and on,
\nOur good friends continue to choose
\nTo stand with us like Don John!<\/p>\n

So, we sail into the New Year,
\nMaintaining course and speed,
\nRough seas ahead, sky not clear,
\nGrit our teeth, smile, so we\u2019ve all agreed!<\/p>\n

Now lift a glass to all our shipmates,
\nArmy and Marines as well,
\nAs we navigate more treacherous straits,
\nAnd bid 2021 farewell!<\/p>\n

We sail into the New Year,
\nOf a toast – and hope – we are not bereft,
\nHere\u2019s to us and those like us,
\nSo Damned Few Left!<\/p>\n

Copyright 2021 Vic & Arrias
\nwww.vicsocotra.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Let\u2019s be precise here- we are quoting some Chinese thoughts, and in this year their imagery is strong across the planet. What is a water Tiger? It is a term that is utilized only each sixty years. This will be the second edition some of us have seen, notably the Boomers and their remaining seniors. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daily-socotra"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22885","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22885"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22885\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22887,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22885\/revisions\/22887"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}