Spanish views from a small town

As a consequence of an elevated number of infections, several working class neighborhoods of the city of Madrid, as well as several townships just to the south of the city, were put under lockdown. The only reasons to leave are the usual: work, school, doctor. To control who can leave and who can't, residents venturing outside have to take a printed document stating where they are going and why. It has been pointed out that the restrictions don't mean anything except that people can only go to work and then head home to stay there until the following day.  Yesterday, there were protests all over Madrid against the regional president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, calling for increasing the number of primary care physicians, who are overwhelmed, and against the unfair lockdown. Police were called in, and after slamming into protestors, arrested three of them, and six were hurt. Police just started in with their batons, slapping them back and forth, pushing into people as if the protestors ...

Again. It's happened again. And it will happen again, and again. Another man shot in the assumption that he was going to get a gun, or a knife, or anything to use as a weapon. Why did the police enter into that assumption? Because he was Black.  George Floyd's killing created a torment across the nation last May. But that killing and the following protests brought no changes, merely entrenchment from an openly racist federal government. This week, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, another Black man was killed at the hands of a police officer, an officer that swore to uphold the law and protect the citizens of his city.  It seems that the police were with Jacob Blake for about three minutes before following him to his car and shooting at him seven times, hitting him four. The man was leaning into his car as he was shot. In his car were his three sons. Later testimonies said there was also a knife under the front seat.  So, there was a knife under the seat. So, Jacob Blake apparently ...

Summer seems to have arrived this week. Temperatures have gone up to close to 80º/27º. It's becoming a good idea to wear shorts and open windows. Already after my morning walk, I'm overheated, and thinking about going out earlier, to avoid the strengthening sun. Strawberries are already past their prime. A month ago, I could buy them and they would last two days. Now, they have to be eaten the same day they're bought. Watermelons have begun to arrive, as well as apricots. Plums are making an appearance, but they have no flavor, yet.  The greens of early spring have amalgamated into a uniform green with stray yellows from left-over broom blossoms. The woods begin to smell of pine needles and eucalyptus leaves in the warm afternoons. Nature continues down the year. Human nature continues, too. At the height of the lockdown, everyone was certain that this would change us. We were certain that solidarity and respect for others would become the new normal. The young people...

There has been a growing trend among the young and socially conscious, of occupying abandoned buildings to use as social centers. Centers where classes are held, small concerts, symposiums, book presentations, food and clothing collection for the needy, and other events that serve to intellectually uphold the community. Of course, those empty buildings still have owners. Most of those owners keep those buildings empty until they can sell them at a better price than they bought them, or to simply tear them down and build an expensive abomination on the site. The building is used simply as part of the real estate speculation that brought about the real estate bubble in the first place. There is such a building in the historic center of Santiago de Compostela. This can't be torn down without express permission and much planning and approval of blueprints, because the city is a World Heritage Site and the center is very much protected. But it can be resold at a much higher price. So,...