Stop Time

They call it a government shut down.  When the leaders (acting like maybe as parking meters) of the nation, and the members of the political parties cannot come to agreement on enough to keep the government open, even though that is their responsibility.  In this time, they slip back to their extreme positions, and show no sign of weakness or flexibility.  They have been headed in that direction for many days.

So, at noon on October 1, the first day of the month of the harvest, we are told to go home after four hours and finish what we can in that time for an "orderly shutdown," because for the next whatever period of time, we cannot work on anything expect for things that threaten life and property, health and safety, or things that were and are funded out of older (previous fiscal year) funds.  For we are stopping time, for everything else, except as determined by OMB in consultation with each agency's General Counsel, and for one Department, I am that person, or designated to perform the functions and duties of that person.

It was supposed to be the beginning of a new fiscal year, with new promises and new beginnings.  A bright new political person was going through the confirmation process and coming close to assuming the position that I was designated to perform, and I was a little sad about that, but hopeful at the same time.  But time which ordinarily must go on, is being stopped.  In the middle of this paragraph, no less, we must interrupt this program of life, due to circumstances beyond our control, technical difficulties so to speak, to bring you this work stoppage without commercial interruption.  And we will be ruled by a new set rules as interpreted by OMB in consultation with each agency's General Counsel.  So, for a number of days, I have been saying yes and no and I will get back to you and working to interpret those rules quickly, yet properly and humanely with justice for all. 

Soon we will return to our normally scheduled program already in progress with a lot of work that will need to be done to catch up for the time that was stopped.  So time will return to normal or can it ever really return to normal; will we ever be able to catch up or will there always be signs of what was interrupted.  We will return to close to normal and learning from what was interrupted and from the period when time was stopped, and my clock ran out and the batteries died.  But life goes on.....