Wedding and Food
Whew. Son's wedding Saturday. It was an incredibly busy three days, but it's over and everyone had a great time. The weather cooperated, their friends showed up, alarming amounts of alcohol were consumed. We celebrated until we couldn't celebrate anymore and then celebrated some more.
They're now honeymooning in California. God bless 'em. They're a great young couple. Just 24 and 21 years old. White and Mexican, fiercely Catholic, bracing for life. I hope we got them off to a good start.
I don't consider myself particularly learned, much less an expert, in any era of history, but if I had to pick a time period where I have the greatest level of knowledge compared to the average guy, I'd pick the early Middle Ages, but even I had never heard about the catastrophic year of 536: "The year began with an inexplicable, dense fog that stretched across the world which plunged Europe, the Middle East and parts of Asia into darkness 24 hours a day, for nearly 2 years. Consequently, global temperatures plummeted which resulted in the coldest decade in over 2,000 years. Famine was rampant and crops failed all across Europe, Africa and Asia. Unfortunately, 536 AD seemed to only be a prelude to further misery. This period of extreme cold and starvation caused economic disaster in Europe and in 541 A.D. an outbreak of bubonic plague further led to the death of nearly 100 million people and almost half of the Byzantine Empire."
Historians now know a volcanic eruption in Iceland caused the fog problem, but in 536, people apparently had no idea what happened.
Apparently, refrigerators with free food are popping up around New York City, combating "food insecurity" in the wake of COVID. Apples, lettuce, spinach, potatoes, eggs. Stuff like that. But do people who can't afford food eat stuff like that? I thought they didn't. I mean, why else allow food stamps to be used for fountain Mountain Dew, chips, and energy drinks? Oh, that's right: The junk food lobby in DC is pretty big. The National Association of Convenience Stores alone spends $2-4 million a year on federal lobbying efforts.
