Kate and Wilma

They seemed to prefer Americans, these two; both Latin and North Americans. When they were finished, you knew they had been there. They left devastation and havoc in their wake, like twin viruses, and their presence revealed more about the immune systems’ inability to cope than had been suspected. They have become the harbingers of our times; just ask Mary Shelley.

We have finally entered the last reel where the mad scientist realizes the folly of his ambition. He overstepped the bounds of restraint and can no longer control his monster. You guessed it; the entire countryside will pay the price.

What have we learned from these oft told morality tales? Not a fucking thing. I believe it is in our collective nature to disregard the cautions of propriety and give vent to our reckless impulse to tease and bait the creature. We will never see clearly the error of our ways until the last breath of being leaves our person with an exclamation of, “Oh, now I get it!”

We will not end this saga chasing down the fiend with our torches of righteousness held aloft. The creature has proliferated and we have become the hunted. Our only solace is that Big Oil and the eager polluters that value their example will not have the last word. That honor, my friends, is reserved for the humble writer of obituaries.

Our best hope for survival on this planet may well have been conveyed by Mary’s esteemed husband, romantic poet Percy Shelley. He is purported to have said something to this effect: “The world will not truly improve until the last king is strangled with the guts of the last priest.” Now that would make a great ending! JC