Despite the lidocaine injected up my urethra, the Foley catheter’s progress up into my bladder felt torturous. Didn’t help that the little exam room felt very, very…chilly, or that I was naked from the waist down, covered by a paper ‘blanket’.
Yes, this was my fourth BCG wash. Just two more to go. Fortunately, Nurse C, who does the instillation for me, is almost my age and shares an appreciation for a lot of the same rock music.
We compare who we’ve seen and what albums and songs we particularly enjoy. Nurse C has one concert over me that has me really envious: her first concert was Carlos Santana.
I’ve never seen Santana in concert.
Laughing, she told me, “It was 1975. I was a teenager and big into disco. So, I worked all summer to pick strawberries, saving my money to buy a ticket to see KC and the Sunshine Band. Dad drove me and my girlfriend to the concert and then waited at a nearby coffee shop.
“KC and the Sunshine Band finished. We got up and headed for the exit. Then the next guy came on. I said, ‘Who is that,’ and turned to pay attention. It was Carlos Santana. I’d never heard him before. That changed everything for me.”
My bladder was about finished voiding the urine through the Foley by then. Glancing at the beaker collecting it, Nurse C said, “You have some good-looking urine, though. That looks great.”
I shook my head. “Man, that’s the worst pick up line I’ve ever heard.”
We laughed as she loaded up the TB solution and began feeding into my bladder.
Ashland, southern Oregon — Saturday, October 24, 2026.
It’s a bright autumn day outside. Got cold last night, 32 F. Frost on the ground in places this AM. Up to 37 at this point. With high cirrus clouds, a bright blue sky, and sunshine slanting in from on high, a high of 68 F is projected.
As October closes, everyone is reminded to vote. My wife and I filled out our ballots and dropped them in the box on Wednesday. Oregon does all its voting ‘by mail’, although designation collection boxes are set in strategic locations. I used the one at the city library, beside the book drop off boxes.
Mom is angry. My sister, Gina, her POA is angry. It’s about spending, adult diapers, Mom’s sense of neglect, Gina’s resentment that Mom doesn’t appreciate her, etc. Mom’s birthday is next week. She texted Gina’s daughter that she’s looking for a lawyer. I should add, again. Mom looked for a lawyer a few previous times this year. I’ve stepped back from the fray. Gina dropped off diapers for Mom this morning but didn’t see Mom because Mom wasn’t in her room.
Like Mom, Trump is angry. Mom is also frustrated, and I think Trump is as well.
Trump has been bulldozing his way ahead, only stopping when absolutely forced to. It’s a struggle for the courts because Trump, as leader of the executive branch, is supposed to enforce the court’s findings. Declaring emergencies, diving for loopholes, Donald Trump speeds ahead on his reckless courses, challenging legal systems, lawyers, and opposition to stop him. As we’ve seen with SCOTUS rulings, the conservative Roberts Court remains ‘reluctant’ to rule against Trump until the damaging is clear and demonstrated. Trump counts on that.
Trump is also counting on distractions and whatever financial ‘dividends’ he can find to boost his standings. Trump’s WH announced a ‘rebalancing’ of the tariffs on goods from Canada. They’ll take effect on October 30.
Just like Trump’s deal to for Russian diesel, it’s another bit of too little, too late, as the impact won’t be felt until after the election.
It’s funny. Trump always insists that Americans don’t pay for tariffs. Yet, there he is, suspending tariffs on beef to help consumers (while hurting ranchers) and rebalancing tariffs on Canada to help Maine and the New England states. It’s like Trump may have been lying…
As Trump goes, so goes the GOP and many of their candidates. It’s laughable to hear the local Republican candidate, Brad Hicks, talk about “making things affordable again.” His solution is to cut regulations.
Yeah, cut regulations. That will do a lot to reduce the immediate costs of food, shelter, electricity, health insurance, healthcare, gas, oil, and diesel.
We have a fascinating local example about that. My wife belongs to the local Family Y. Her fees have gone up roughly 20% a year for the last ten years. This is supposed to be due to wage increases, renovations, etc. The larger note is that this is one of those things which keep increasing. BTW, people who work at the Y scoff at their pay and the increases they’ve seen.
Next month feels like it’s shaping up as a wild week. BCG washes end for me. Election day. Mom has several doctor appointments. I’m waiting to see what kind of surprises are handed out.
The Neurons responded with Quiet Riot in my morning mental music stream. They’re a pop metal band, I guess. The song du jour is “Cum on Feel the Noize”, a Slade song which Quiet Riot covered in 1983. Yet, when I hunted for a video to share, I stumbled over an Oasis cover and went with it.
The sample lyrics explain why it’s in my morning mental music stream.
Sample Lyrics
We’ll get wild, wild, wild Wild, wild, wild
I expect it to get wild.
Hope, though, that your day is chill, free of wild swings, and rich with satisfying moments.
Ashland, southern Oregon — Thursday, October 22, 2026.
Lovely wet autumn day. The low gray sky makes the trees’ leaves glow with color. It smells fresh and cool. 54 F now, I think the high is almost at hand.
Despite my enjoyment of our rainy weather, I’m disappointed in many aspects of my existence. These are somewhat ‘first world blues’. I don’t have complaints about food, health, my home, wife, or friends. I’ve been spared a lot of discomfort. Yet, here I sit…
Mom continues calling and texting me to complain about my sister. Nothing I can do about it; my sister knows about Mom’s complaints. As Mom tells me, she told my sister about them.
I’m purchasing an Amazon gift card to help offset some of Mom’s expenses. Another sister, Lisa, has agreed to visit Mom and help Mom with the card. I’ve also ordered flowers for Mom and sent a card. I’m working on some kind of cake or cupcakes to be delivered on her birthday, as well, hopefully something large enough for Mom to share with the other residents.
It’s depressing to admit that Mom has always been a person who complained about things, so this is not new. What’s different now is that she’s living alone and doesn’t have a regular audience. But she often used to call me to complain about things until it reached the point that I told her, all you do is complain. This was over ten years ago. She told me, “Frank says the same thing.” Frank was her partner living with her. My sisters know it better than me, which is why they keep a distance from Mom.
I dislike it, but I see parallels between what’s happening with Mom and what’s happening with our nation with Trump in the Oval Office. Essentially, the situation for me with both represents paths that I foresaw but hoped would not happen.
In Mom’s case, I saw how she functioned and interacted with others. Not a hard pattern to spot. Seeing her physical decline for years, I tried getting her different help to come and help her at her home. Mom always resisted. Now, through her behavior and choices, she’s at a spot of her own making. Yet, she refuses to see her complicity in her current situation.
Likewise, we saw the slow movement toward Trump. Enabled by the two-party system, the lack of term limits and the willingness of each party to expand the president’s power slowly brought us here. Elected officials who are supposed to be servants of We the People are often treated as celebrities and given privileges and rights the rest of us can’t have. They have private gyms and dining rooms, a healthcare system that caters to them, high salaries, and tax breaks.
It’s hard not to see from the trends that many in Congress become reactive instead of proactive. They vote to keep themselves and their party in office. It seems more and more often in this century that they’re voting to enrich themselves to the detriment of We the People, our nation, and the world.
Eavesdropping as they always do, The Neurons contributed “My Wave” to my morning mental music stream. This is a 1996 Soundgarden offering. Fits my mood.
My hope and wish for you is that you have good things happen to you and yours today and everyday.
Ashland, southern Oregon — Wednesday, October 21, 2026.
We’re in the grip of a cool but sunny autumn day. 69 F at this point, they’re telling us our temperatures will climb to 75 today.
Despite cloud layers, I do believe it’s possible. We never got out of the sixties yesterday despite a forecast for a high in the mid 70s.
I had a blizzard of texts and phone calls this morning. Mom was responsible for eight of them. I spoke with her on the phone for 30 minutes. She wanted to vent about her situation at the nursing home, how other residents have family visiting her. Mom also complained about my sister, Gina, and her frustration with getting various supplies. A lot of it was just having an outlet, I think. I talked her down a bit, but it won’t last long. Frustrated, bitter, angry, lonely, she needs to spill it with someone.
I have “Spiderwebs” by No Doubt in my morning mental music stream again today. It started with thoughts about the web of phone calls, texts — and relationships.
Then there was the Vee incident.
This is Vee.
Vee is a friendly little feline visitor. In this photo, she’s sitting on our bathroom sink. She comes every day and often sleeps in our backyard. Despite this, we sincerely believe she has people. I think she lives in the nearby apartment building but has people who work and/or go to school. Vee usually shows about 9 AM and hangs around until about 8 PM. Some days, she shows later. Other days, she doesn’t show at all.
Vee is short for Visitor and is but one of her names. My wife observed that with those eye markings, Vee could also be called Cleo, short for Cleopatra. I also call her Bandit and Mooch. With her sweet nature, she responds to all of it.
The other day, though, Vee was visiting in our home office where my wife was busy on her laptop. My wife witnessed Vee watch a spider dash across the floor. We have a strict no-kill policy, so spiders aren’t unusual.
Well, Vee’s tail dropped and she took off. Later that day, she refused to re-enter the office. That went on for several days. She finally crept in, looking all around for signs of a spider. We figure she must have had some nasty spider episode that shaped her behavior.
Secondly, adding to my spider web thinking, is politically. We’re in a web of hate, corruption, and grift with Trump. Every day we hear Trump spinning more lies. Trump gets completely tangled up in them but lies about what he said, bullying and threatening anyone who reminded him of what he said.
With that stack in my head, “Spiderwebs” was put in the morning mental music stream.
Hope your day goes without any shitstorms and you eat well, sleep well, and live well in peace and joy.
Donald Trump is desperate. The signs continue to accumulate. Assistance programs, bribes, and ‘dividends’ spring out of Trump’s mouth on a daily basis.
Then, though, came a Donald Trump Golden Oldie:
Donald Trump made this announcement yesterday, October 20, 2026, at a rally in Texas.
OMG, how I laughed when I read that. Who believes it at this point? I easily found an article that pointed out that during Trump’s first administration, Trump made 32 announcements along the same lines. None of his announcements about a healthcare program advanced beyond Trump’s claim that it was coming.
Well, I imagine that Trump will trot out some of his other promises now. Like, “No new wars!” Or, “I will end the Ukraine war.”
Perhaps Trump will roll out his ever-popular MAGA chant, “Lock her up!”
This one had him claiming that he, Donald Trump, MANDATED that data centers must blah blah blah. He claimed a power he didn’t have with no plans to enforce it — unless, probably, those companies are willing to pay him a ‘dividend’.
The WTF has gone on for so long, the WTF Meter broke. But expect more, because Trump is spinning with desperation. Donald Trump’s blizzard of bullshit is going to intensify.
Ashland, southern Oregon — Tuesday, October 20, 2026.
Last night felt wintry cold outside. Today sits at 66 F under clouds mixing it up with sunshine. The clouds are a chaotic shapes in blues, gray, whites. We expect a high of 75 for this autumn day in the valley.
Mom launched a new barrage of texts and phone calls at me last night. I’d just returned from my third BCG wash and was feeling this one. My energy level was plundered and I was nauseous. Had some burning urinating, and many sudden urges to pee that ended with weak, short trickles. Nuts. Price to pay to get better, of course, and preferable to the alternative.
But that left me ill-prepared for Mom. Just wasn’t up to it. She was texting and calling again about how much pain she’s in and how mad she is with Gina, going into the details of why she’s mad at the only one of her daughters willing to help and visit. Mom finished with the now classic, “If none of the three daughters who live near me want to take me to the doctors, then I don’t want to go.”
Mom has employed that line so many times over the last year, it sincerely *cringe* reminds me of Donald Trump declaring, “We already won the war. I can end it any time I want.” The repetition dilutes their claims’ impact.
I sent Mom a text and basically excused myself from participating due to how I felt, but sent a text to my sisters as well.
And this is life, isn’t it? Sometimes you want sunny skies and get pouring rain. And I shouldn’t complain. It hasn’t rained much in my life. Many, many others have endured much, much, much worse.
Thinking about my childhood much frequently. I attribute it to a combination of Dad’s death last year, Mom’s declining health, my own health matters, along with my wife’s, but also, to history.
Back in my youth, we lived under the threat of nuclear war with China (PRC) and the USSR (Soviet Union, Warsaw Pact). Then the Berlin wall fell. We were supposed to enjoy a peace dividend. That never really came. Much of our foreign policy approaches didn’t change much. Russia replaced the USSR as a major threat and the PRC was still out there.
Now we find Donald Trump aiding Russia. Trump is shaping foreign policy based on his polling woes and fears that he’ll lose the upcoming elections.
Meanwhile, in our schools, children are shot and killed. Few do much about it except dissect what happened and put a spotlight on the killer, victims, and heroes. Then we move on to the next crisis du jour.
With Donald Trump orchestrating matters, there’s always a crisis. His solutions are often short-sighted. They frequently focus on symptoms. They rarely correlate to facts, truth, and history.
These are the days in which we now live.
With all that churning my thinking, The Neurons responded with a Queen song. “These Are the Days of Our Lives” was released in 1991, one of the last songs Freddie Mercury sang with the group before his death.
Searching for a suitable video today, I came up with one featuring Queen with George Michael and Lisa Stansfield.
Sample Lyrics
Sometimes I get to feeling I was back in the old days long ago When we were kids, when we were young Things seemed so perfect, you know?
The days were endless, we were crazy, we were young The sun was always shining, we just lived for fun
Sometimes it seems like lately I just don’t know The rest of my life’s been just a show
I hope the weather accommodates your mood, and your spirit carries you to happy times.
A few predictable stories about Donald Trump and his health and desperation rose through the political news.
One was the story about Trump wandering away. He was supposed to be getting into the Beast. Instead, he passed the open doors and drifted to the limo’s front, vaguely drifting from security. Realizing he was drifting, SS rushed to protect him and herd him back.
Were this President Biden doing that on video in 2024, Trump, 80 — or a surrogate — would have been on X and Trump’s texting app, screaming, “Sleepy Joe Biden” in all caps, piling on to the episode to show that Joe Biden is unfit.
With Trump doing it, there’s mostly crickets.
To no surprise but with the usual Donald Trump fanfare, Trump announced a new program to bribe voters.
Honestly, this is like those stories about someone starting a fire, showing up to put it out, and then wanting recognition for being a hero.
Without Trump’s support of Russia, enabling Russia to attack Ukraine, and Trump’s war in Iran, diesel fuel prices would be much, much lower.
Republicans, however, are heaping praise on Trump for the move — as expected.
Of course, with extended droughts affecting land, water levels, and cattle herd sizes, this bailout temporarily mitigates the problem. The Super El Niño is coming. We’ll see how much Trump’s policies helped after it’s finished.
As with many of Donald Trump’s unhinged directives, it was based on flawed reasoning. More importantly, several people involved with the effort thought that Trump’s people were trying to find ways to skew results or declare them wrong and then show receipts how that would be possible, even if it didn’t happen.
Then we ended up with more Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! distractions.
Again, it was about the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Trump took a functional and beautiful historic monument and trashed it. Now he’s raving on about how wrong his US Attorney’s Office is and shoot a scattergun of threats about vandals. Again.
I must say, all this Trumpmania drives me nuts. Please Vote Blue in the 2026 midterms. Help preserve what little sanity remains in me.
It’s all about the danger within now. It begins with rising prices. Keeps us distracted, part of Donald Trump’s Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! The war does its part to distract us, keep us turning our heads.
Then we have the many competent and capable people Donald Trump has fired. Trump has attacked every institution, and assails and threatens freedom of speech and freedom of the press.
Ashland, southern Oregon — Monday, October 19, 2026.
I don’t know about everyone else but October is running a fast pace. Today is busy with appointments and contractors coming by. My wife completed her mail-in ballot yesterday, and I need to do mine this week.
A cool day, with clouds hiding the sun and filtering its light and warmth. Rain threatens. Right now, it’s 52 F and we might make it to 60.
Nothing from Mom or my sisters yesterday or today, both a relief and a worry. I’ll take relief for 100, Alex.
As I’m push for time, this is short. Nothing about Trump. I have a song stuck in the morning mental music stream. Titled “Expressway to Your Heart”, the song was released by the Soul Survivors in 1967. I honestly enjoy this song. Nice rhythm is embedded in it, and it’s easy to sing along. I also like little flourishes they use — changes in tempo, the organ, the piano, the use of traffic sounds, the electric guitar. Loved hearing all of that when it came out when I was 11, and I still like it.
For a bonus, this is video from early days of “American Bandstand” and a young Dick Clark. I didn’t watch the show consistently but had many friends, especially females, who set their schedule around it. They liked hearing the music but also seeing the clothes and make up being worn, and the latest dance moves. Watching it makes me smile. It’s terrific, when you think about it, that we have a technology that allows us to revisit moments like this from our past.
Watching this video from 1967, we have no sense of all the drama going on in the world. These are just young people enjoying music. No sense of the demonstrations taking place, the social change being pursued. During that era, we had the cold war boiling along with Vietnam, and still stood in the shadows of WW I, WW II, and Korea — and that was only the wars overtly involving the US. Many other wars and conflicts rage.
Comparing this time to now, we can how far we’ve come but how much further we have to go. We also see how some things haven’t changed much.
Back in 1967, voters were standing up for equal rights for women and minorities. The nation was trying to move away from ‘separate but equal’. Integration was replacing segregation.
And now, almost sixty years later, it feels like Trump is trying to drag us into the 1950s. Donald Trump and his administration are moving against equality, rewriting history to downplay the parts of anyone except white men, even trying to downplay the role of anyone but Republicans. Trump a war that he promised he wouldn’t, a shadow that won’t go away.
Then we have the Epstein and the disgusting revelations in it.
Long sigh.
On to other things momentarily. May good things happen to you today.
Ashland, southern Oregon — Sunday, October 18, 2026.
It’s totes autumn today, with rich fall foliage decorating trees with red, gold, orange, and yellow leaves burying the greens. Sun is up, delivering tepid temperatures, putting us at 60 F right now. 72 F is in the future for the valley and its blue sky.
Nothing from Mom today, and I only recall one dream. It was another military-themed dream where my hair was out of reg.
Today’s music is by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. The song, “Thrift Shop”, was released in 2012. My Neurons released it into the morning mental music stream as I read political news. Donald Trump is running on nothing but fear, trying to convince everyone that absolutely everthing will be much, much worse under Democrats. Republicans are pouring money into the 2026 midterm elections. So is Elon Musk, which should tell you how worried Trump and the GOP are at this point.
Trump has already tried buying votes. Donald Trump has offered seven different dividends or financial incentives for supporting him while crowing about how great everything is. Trump claims we’re in a new golden age in the United States.
But the actual numbers for most Americans show a completely different story. Compared to when Trump took office, most ordinary expense has increased for the majority of Americans.
Residential electric rates have steadily outpaced core consumer inflation. National averages climbed from roughly 17.5¢/kWh in 2025 to 18.31¢ – 18.83¢/kWh.
Grocery store inflation has significantly dropped down to 1.8% year-over-year. Heavy deflation in specific categories like eggs (-22.2%) has lightened the financial load for food, households are still facing steep localized spikes on beef (+9.4%) and coffee (+6.1%).
Individuals purchasing coverage via the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace saw a premium spike of 20% to 30% following the structural expiration of enhanced federal premium tax credits.This increase is directly attributed to Donald Trump’s signature act of 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Gas prices are way up, as almost every driver can tell you. After averaging around $3.22 to $3.40 per gallon in 2025, national regular fuel prices rose above the $4.00 mark for historic stretches, peaking as high as $4.79 in May 2026 before leveling out to $4.33 – $4.47 per gallon. Most of these increases are tied to the war in Iran which Trump started in February, 2026, and the war in Ukraine, which Trump promised to end on day 1 of his second term.
It’s not surprising after noticing these price increases that “Thrift Shop” is playing in my morning mental music stream. Trump crows about how great things are but most people are worrying about how much money they have. Personal bankruptcies are up. Personal savings are down.
So. Much. Winning. For Donald Trump and his wealthy cohorts, like Elon Musk. They’re much, much wealthier now than they were before Trump took office in 2025.
May money worries leave you alone to enjoy the day, no matter who you’re with or what you’re doing.
