January 9, 2015–Local temperatures are nothing to sneeze at. Somewhere I read that one way to avoid a cold is to keep your nose warm. O.K., I’ve seen a few people wearing a mask, but I’ll take my chances without one. Snow and cold, that’s the story near and far. I’m grateful for sweaters, a hat with ear flaps, and a neighbor who has used her snow blower to clear our sidewalk.

It wasn’t snowy or cold when the first reported death from an auto accident in the United Kingdom took place. On Aug. 17, 1896, “Mrs. Bridget Driscoll was knocked down and killed by a car travelling at four miles an hour,” I read in an old AP news story. “Her death created a public outcry.” In 1966 when the story appeared, it concluded, “Last year 7,952 Britons–about 3,000 of them pedestrians–were killed in automobile accidents.”

Today is a day of quotes. From the Chicago Tribune, Wed., October 22, 2008, this piece by Manya A. Brachear, “God may love Earth more than you know.” She begins, “Did you know the Bible contains 1,000 references to the planet but only 490 references to heaven and 530 references to love? Could this mean God is the supreme tree-hugger?” A Green Bible published that year highlights in green ink all verses of the New Revised Standard Version that speak to stewardship of the planet.

A word picture from a captionless cartoon in The New Yorker, Nov. 12, 2012. A woman in her dressing gown is standing on her front porch, water flooding two steps from the top. The woman is making eye contact with a polar bear floating toward her on a small chuck of ice.

Finally, from the UK’s Independent newspaper, 14 April, 2014. The Monday cartoon shows a melting world, two Band-Aid plastic strips afixed to the Atlantic just off the coast of South America. The World quips, “MAYBE PEOPLE WILL NOTICE IF I TWEET A SELFIE. . .” What will inspire us to care for each other by caring for creation? There’s plenty of help on that subject. One small step I’ll be taking tonight is covering up with a blanket to read..