2024 Olympics

"Competing for Trinidad and Tobago, from Chicago, Illinois"...
The meaning of the Olympics has gotten completely lost for me.
(But I may still watch Simone!)

PTSD and Tears

I don't normally watch the conventions of political parties.
Normally.
But my wife has, believe it or not, become more of a political junkie than me.
(She barely chats with her relatives in Chicago, and WON'T visit them unless there's a death there.)

I don't know if it is my wife's present political interests... or the fact we were watching LIVE while some stupid 20-yr old tried to make history last Saturday.
I'm sure all of us who watched that now have an "I remember it vividly" story to tell.
When I heard the shots and Trump fell to the floor of the stage I shouted out loud "THEY'VE SHOT HIM!"
Sara Jean literally went into hysterics.
When he rose to his feet, behind the (much too short) female Secret Service agent and I saw the blood trickling down the right side of his face I shouted, "THEY'VE SHOT HIM IN THE HEAD!",
And anyone my age who has seen "The Zapruder" film knew the man was gonna die.
But GOD, not the shooter, had a plan.
And when we heard the news that he was pretty much okay?
I cried.

Now, we've been watching CSPAN... every single damn moment of this convention, and I want Madeline Brame to move into the house next door to us.

When the National Anthem is played or sung...
the tears flow.

When the Pledge of Allegiance is recited...
I cry.

And when I detect the sadness in the eyes of my former president...
I cry.

Sara Jean is sure it is PTSD that is affecting me.
That may be true.

And I'm just as sure that the sadness I see in Donald Trump's eyes is also PTSD.

I'd appreciate your comments.

Killing Fetuses

It seems to me the only issue dims have to pound on before the election is ABORTION.
And pound on it they will... like a dead horse.

They will lie, (and unfortunately it will be somewhat effective) and say republicans will make abortion illegal. (THIS republican would be pleased if that was true.)
And that brings up the question I ask so many of my acquaintances-
"How can you be a democrat and a Christian simultaneously?"

It's not unusual for us to be sick to death of politics sometime in October. (September this election?)
But I suspect I may turn off the TV and go back to my stack of "gotta read" books by that time.

Poopin' With The Pope-

I'm not Catholic so I have no idea how exciting it would be for this Baptist to meet "Il Papa".
I suspect he's a nice man. Just taking on that job has to be a pretty big deal.
But Joseph Robinette Biden IS (or pretends to be) a member of the Catholic Church.
So meeting the Pope for him had to be a really big deal.
But our President has to be prepared for LOTS of Big Deals.
And the fact he soiled himself when meeting the head of his Church troubles me.

(This post is mostly B.S.. The whole idea of this demented weenie being our president... troubles me.)

Solitude

Boss called me into her office last week-
"I've noticed you're awfully quiet lately and want to make sure there's nothing wrong here at work."

"My wife has Lewy-Body Dementia and I'm trying my best to maintain my sanity at home.
There's nothing wrong here at work. As a matter of fact, this is a respite from what is going on at home.
I like EVERYONE I rub elbows with here."

But there's more than that going on here-
My son says, "Dad has lost his country and he is in mourning".
And that comment brought tears to my eyes. It may be more truth than I want to admit.

We are now living "In interesting times".
The next few days of our lives might be VERY interesting.

The Presidential Assassination Post-

Pictured above is "Joe Bftsplk".
Joe was one of the characters from Al Capp's "Lil Abner" newspaper comic strip from my youth. That thundercloud followed Joe everywhere he went. Nothing good ever happened to Joe.

My Sara Jean is like Joe. If we are facing a life result between "A" and "B ", and "B" is negative, S.J. is certain "B" will happen to us.
She's my Polar opposite.

Her latest worry is that Donald Trump will be killed before November 5th.
Until recently I've been poo-pooing her fears.
Until recently.

Today I saw him interviewed on Fox News and he said IF he's elected he'll release documents relative to the JFK assassination,  the 9-11 findings, and the Jeffrey Epstein "suicide".
And now even me, the eternal optimist?
I'm worried.

Fifty-One folks from our "intelligence community" signed a letter saying Trump colluded with the Russians prior to the '16 election. That's now a proven lie.
Former head of the FBI James Comey was fired by Trump. Ditto Peter Strzok and his mistress Lisa Page.
Many folks, smarter than me, think the CIA killed JFK because of his association with MOB leaders and his leadership failures during the Bay of Pigs invasion.
Comedian Kathy Griffin graphically (and proudly) held an effigy of Trump's severed, bloody head for publication.
The HATE for this man by a large portion of our population is palpable.

If the CIA, FBI, and DNI killed Kennedy and Trump is threatening to release information exposing them, what are the chances Trump might either commit suicide or have an extraordinary, unfortunate accident before 5November?
And how does our country survive if that happens?

Someone... ANYONE, please tell me why I'm worrying unnecessarily !

I Am STILL T.E.A. Party!

News came to us that there was to be a gathering of Patriots near us.
In 2009 we began to be worried about the fiscal policies of our government. We began to hear about a movement called the "T.E.A. Party" and heard about a gathering of like-minded folks that would meet at a city park nearby. Folks planning that meeting asked that IF you were coming, please make a home-made sign to display so the media that came would know this is a grassroots assembly.
I procured the necessary materials and Sara Jean and I made funky signs. Mine said "$top $tupid $pending!!"

Coincidentally at the time we had invited friends to come visit us. These were lifetime friends... raised in the same community I grew up in.
I "assumed" they would have the same values as we had and suggested they also make signs to carry at the meeting.
"Greybeard, we don't feel the same way you do."
You may as well have hit me with a 2X4. These were nice people... smart people. The one with XY chromosomes was, like me, an ARMY Veteran. How could they NOT also be worried about the direction the country was taking?
The incident changed how we felt about them dramatically.

So here we are, 15 years later. The country I risked my life to "Support and defend" has been inexorably slipping to the left.
Black is White. Men are women and vice-versa.
Inflation is like a Cancer.
You can be "above the law" if your name is followed by a "D".
We are rapidly approaching a time where servicing our National debt will start eating into the money our government uses to provide basic services to its people.
And I'm remembering a time a while back when Sara Jean and I made crude signs to try to prevent this happening.

And we failed.

23 May 1966

"Greetings...."
The note came from my Uncle Sam. It "requested" me to report to the induction center in Indianapolis to serve my country for two years.
And I reported and served.
I decided to take lemons and turn them into lemonade.
That decision for me was life changing.

When you're given a basket of lemons... invite friends over for beverages.

Kindle, and The "Catch-22"

I like reading. I read a lot.
I like History, historical novels, and Science Fiction.
In my office I probably have, (and I'm ashamed to admit this), a library of about 300 books in my "when I have the time" stack.
It gives me comfort and makes me smile to look at 'em.

I've seen others reading books on their "Kindles".
They seem to enjoy them.
Books on Kindle are cheap. Amazon sometimes offers them to me through one of their programs for free.
That's a temptation.
But there's a problem. I like the feel of a Codex. I like the smell of a Codex. And looking at books in my library gives me "warm and fuzzies".

While considering putting thoughts to "paper" on this post
I remembered reading Joseph Heller's "Catch-22"-
You've no doubt heard of it. That's because it is a GREAT BOOK.
But I read it while preparing to start Flight School in 1968 and preparing for my tour in Viet Nam.
My thoughts at the time were, let's say, divided.
For me the wonderful thing about a Codex is that I could get to a point in my reading and say-
"Wait! What?"
And I could flip back a few pages and refresh my memory about how the story was unfolding.
(This is even MORE true with another of my favorite reads... "DUNE") !

A lineup of 300 or so "to read" books probably precludes any future purchase of a Kindle device...
Unless you convince me here that it would be a good idea, with compelling reasoning!
(Smiles,)

Chicago, 1968:

 

2024-
Does history repeat itself?