In the scheme of things, it all really happened in such a short amount of time and we never even saw it coming.  In retrospect, the changes probably started in the mid-eighties, but we were all too clueless to really grasp what was happening.  That was when we first noticed the changes happening among us.  But we didn’t take notice.  We were puzzled by how the general population started to gain weight.  At the time we thought we had become too sedentary, too complacent and too gluttonous.  We were told to exercise more, reduce fats, and avoid sugar and butter.  And we did that.  The result was completely opposite of what we had hoped for and we became fatter. We were then told it wasn’t just calories in, it was the type of calories we were taking, and we all became obsessed with limiting our carbohydrates, we feared trans-fats and high fructose corn syrup.   We went to the gym, we ran, we jazzercised, we lifted weights – but our bodies, unbeknownst to us, just fought back.  Our bodies were in tune with the changes coming but we were not.

The weather began to change.  Having not really existed on this earth for any amount of time, in geological terms, we were ill-equipped to take note and appreciate the significance of the subtle changes.  Oh, the scientists and the government thought they had it figured out, but they too were short-sighted in their observations as well.  The storms around the world became more violent, and frequent.  We blamed it on global-warming.  The government told us we were killing our earth.  Use less gas, minimize our carbon foot print, drive hybrid cars, recycle, be stewards of the earth.  We did that.  But then in direct contradiction to whole global warming theory, the winters became colder, the northern states of America experienced weather patterns no one had ever, ever seen.  The polar vortex barreled down from the north and repeatedly blanketed the states with heavy, thick, debilitating snow.  We still continued to discuss global warming, that phrase being bantered about by everyone.  In hindsight, if we had all stopped and really thought about it, and observed the changes, we might have said, it is coming. We wouldn’t have thrown blame around and pointed fingers, we perhaps would have prepared for what was coming.  Maybe, if we had stopped and listened and observed, rather than reacting, we would have realized it was like the tide being pulled out to sea right before the Tsunami inundated the coastal towns with an unforgiving wall of water. But we didn’t.  We scurried around like ants, confused, following each other, but no one really knowing what was happening.

If anyone had stopped and noticed, they might have seen the changes in the natural world.  We were too busy with our electronics, too busy with our social media, to lift our heads up and listen, watch and observe.  Thinking back on it now, it was all quite obvious.  Flocks of birds were washing up dead on beaches.  The geese were flying south in June.  The flowers that bloomed in the fall were giving us a show in early summer.  The growing cycle of the crops seemed to be speeding up.  We all said, as we noticed in passing, oh – isn’t that curious, why are the chrysanthemums and the Angel Trumpets flowering so early this summer.  These are Fall flowers.  Hmmm.  And then our heads dropped, maybe we tweeted a statement or two, but we took no heed.

Then the changes which had been coming at a seemingly slow speed, increased exponentially.  It began raining in California in the summer, which was completely unheard of.  The north eastern states never really experienced a summer.  Temperatures began to plummet.  We weren’t so worried about the polar bears anymore floating on ever smaller blocks of ice.  The cold polar air began its trek into Middle America.  We huddled together thinking it was just a freak of nature.  We still tried to blame all of what was happening on global warming.  The government, in an effort to allay the fear of the public, reported it was just a fluke.  Turned out the animals and the plants were smarter, they knew what was coming way before all the smartest scientists and researchers.   Nature remembered, but we as humans were not clever or in tune enough to understand and take notice.

Today, the majority of the population has been forced down into the southern states, we are all attempting to cross the border into Mexico, as we run from the ever advancing glacial weather which is descending upon us at an unforgiving pace.  We sit huddled together realizing we are just a blip on the face of the earth, and are completely insignificant in the scheme of things.  We are pointing fingers again, but not about global warming, but to say, why didn’t they notice.  Why wasn’t anyone paying any attention? What a pompous, self-important species we are to think we have any control over the weather, the geological changes that are part of a natural cycle on this earth we call home.  The scientists are all scrambling to come up with answers.  How long will this Ice Age go on for?  The companies and the corporations are busily trying to come up with ways they can profit from this interesting change of events. We draw our children closer and realize it is going to be a long interminable winter and we wait – looking for any glimmer of hope.  We were wrong, all very wrong.

Thanks to ThinkGeek.com for the photo!