I have counterbalanced the ugliness and I feel much better.

After all, how bad could a world be that produces something as delicious and uplifting as coffee?

Plus, ÜberYounger has mastered the art of bicycle riding, and we've been taking family jaunts. Most recently we traveled out of our subdivision, across the big street, into.. Darien. Besides hearing Elder shout joyfully, "Downers Grove in da house!", it was an eye-opening lesson on why I like my neighborhood.

The Darien subdivision, while comprised of newer homes, was sterile and desolate. No one was outside, besides one cheerless woman preparing to whack weeds. It was eerily silent. We stopped at their park, briefly. I felt like a neutron bomb had gone off without us knowing, and we were the only living things around. Truly, this must be the culture of death which I've heard tell of.

We got back onto our bikes and headed home. Once we crossed over Fairview Avenue back into our own territory, I once again heard the cheerful cries of birds, the giggles and shrieks of playing children, and the metallic hiss of locusts. I saw a man playing catch with his daughter, another man taking a stroll, and a woman jogging with her dog. I rejoiced in the presence of living things.

As if that weren't enough to make me happy, Dilf found the missing NetFlix DVD.

So, as long as I stay away from people who ridicule those who are different from themselves and stop watching or reading the news, I should be fine for a while.