Tag: Mom

Tuesday’s Theme Music — These Days

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.

Cheers

1

Monday’s Theme Music — Memory

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.

Cheers

0

Saturday’s Theme Music — Puzzles

Ashland, southern Oregon — Saturday, October 17, 2026.

It’s a cool morning, 48 F. Dogs are barking outside, and neighbors are warming up motorcycles for a fall Saturday ride.

I asked Alexa the weather. She told me it was a sunny 43 degrees. As I peered out, observing the clouds and looking for sun, she went on, “Today’s high will be 72 degrees and the low will be 45. There is no rain expected.”

My wife and I looked at each other. But, but — if today’s low is going to be 45, and it’s now 43, what does that make 43 in this report? It’s another modern puzzle.

Mom is on the warpath again. We grew up hearing that expression. Mom had several she regularly used: the poor house, insane asylum, and warpath are three prominent examples. She regularly warned us that she was on the warpath, that we were driving her to the poor house, or that she was going to end up in the insane asylum because of us.

It’s about diapers. She’s out of them and weirdly, they’re difficult to find them locally. She wants to order them online but is having trouble doing that. My sister, Gina, recommended Mom ask one of the young women who work in the assisted living home help her. Mom replied that to the effect that she’s the smartest one there. Gina said, “Well, they’re younger and are probably more familiar with the technology.” Mom refused to budge, insisting that they would be no help.

Donald Trump is on the campaign trail. He’s visiting places where he won. Yes, because that’s the sort of ‘fighter’ TACO is. Remember that he was named TACO? ‘Trump Always Chickening Out’.

Holding true to that, TACO is going to Iowa, where Republicans are struggling to win votes in a reliably red state. It’s not a puzzle why: a CNN poll found 70% of likely Iowa voters said current gas prices were a moderate-to-severe hardship, 74% said Trump administration policies had increased the cost of living, and 48% named the economy or cost of living as a top election issue.

Where this is a puzzle is that with the economy the leading issue, why are some Republicans still ready to vote for more of the same?

Do Iowa voters support Trump’s war in Iran? I read that they didn’t.

Are Iowa voters against abortion choice, or do they the absolute bans which Republicans have pursued? Again, I read that most Iowa voters are against strict and absolute bans.

And, like most US voters, those in Iowa are for limiting new AI and data center construction, a position which is 180 degrees from Trump’s position.

As I say, it’s a puzzle.

All this puzzle thought stirred The Neurons. I ended up with a Radiohead song about puzzles in my morning mental music stream. As the song streamed through memory, I couldn’t quite place it. Had to resort to looking it up. Yes, Radiohead. From 2007! Thought it was older than that. Ah, memory. It’s called “Jigsaw Falling Into Place”. Has naught to do with politics; this song is all about a wild night out.

Sample Lyrics

Just as you take my hand
Just as you write my number down
Just as the drinks arrive
Just as they play your favourite song
As your bad day disappears
No longer wound up like a spring
Before you’ve had too much
Come back in focus again

May the month find you happy with you are and sure of where you’re going.

Cheers

0

Thursday’s Theme Music — Money

Ashland, southern Oregon — Thursday, October 15, 2026.

Ah, the 15th. Used to be one of our paydays in the military. Yea, money in the bank! I asked AI if people still get paid on the 15th. It says it does, because that’s how the modern payroll systems are structured. As a military retiree, I get paid once a month. Likewise, my SSA payment comes once a month. Just some morning mental flossing.

It’s warming up out there in our valley. 67 F now, it feels warmer. A high in the 80s is expected today and the overnight low will only dip into the low 50s. Blue sky provides a terrific background to the brightly colored trees, and sunshine dazzles on leaves right now, given the low angle of the sun.

No Mom news, which I call good news. Hope it means she’s painfree and comfortable.

Speaking of money — well, technically, I wrote about payday. Behind that is money, right? I read a WaPo article about Trump’s latest campaign thrust. Going to a deep red Arizona district, the article highlights how little Trump has to offer.

Your Trump Quote of the Day:

The radical authoritarian Donald Trump can’t talk about how great his economy is because it isn’t great. Under the radical, lawless Trump, who broke every campaign promise he ever made, we now have the highest national debt in the history of our great nation. If we had voted in Vice President Harris, we wouldn’t be paying Russia for diesel fuel in an attempt to lower prices from their current record highs and we wouldn’t be in a useless, pointless war in Iran.

Despite facts and history, Trump’s declarations still ring right with some MAGA. From the same article, one 72 year-old Trump supporter said, ““It’s not about MAGA. It’s about what’s best for our country, our freedom, our Constitution, our First and Second amendment.”

I would sure love to see him peppered with questions about Trump’s attacks on the press and freedom of speech. I would also like to hear this MAGAt explain how Trump is supporting our freedom and Constitution. What is he seeing and experiencing that makes this man believe Trump is good for either of those things?

I have the Pink Floyd song, “Money”, in my morning mental music stream. The song came out in 1973. I was a high school junior at the time. I vividly remember listening to it on AM radio as I drove with my friends, Kat and Sandy. We were in Kat’s parents’ car — a huge green Pontiac Bonneville, going through downtown Beckley, WV, on a fall day that’s a lot like today.

Sample Lyrics

Money
It’s a crime

Share it fairly, but don’t take a slice of my pie
Money
So they say
Is the root of all evil today

But if you ask for a rise
It’s no surprise that they’re giving none away
Away, away, away
Away, away, away

It’s funny in a bitterly angry way, but Trump is giving money away in an effort to bribe voters to keep Republicans in office. Yet, when it comes to increasing people’s wages, Trump says he’s for it. Yet the minimum wage remains at the same level as 2009, $7.25. As with everything Donald Trump declares, it’s put your money where your mouth is. For us, that means, a larger military, more monuments for Trump, his name on more buildings and airports — and higher prices for everyone else.

May your day be worry free and joyous. See you on the next one.

Cheers

1

Wednesday’s Theme Music — Someday

Ashland, southern Oregon — Wednesday, October 14, 2026.

Our autumn continues with cold nights and warmish days. We’re soaring into the upper seventies today. I will not complain about that. With low to moderate humidity, sunshine, bright blue skies, and turning, falling leaves, days like these encourage to stop outside. Pause. Suck in a huge breath. Admire the colors. Feel the sun, and think, this is wonderful.

Then I go back in to the computer. We didn’t have those as kids…LOL. Different era then. Yeah, I know, I’m being silly. Seems like every decade ushers in a new era.

Mom remains very sick and in pain. She’s asking for my sister’s company. Gina couldn’t go because of her own appointments but she asked the staff to check in on Mom.

The staff checked on Mom. Mom was dressed and down in the dining room, eating lunch.

Gina suggested that Mom doesn’t ask the staff for help so that Mom can try to manipulate Gina and the other sisters into going to see Mom. Meanwhile, new medicine is being delivered to the assisted living facility for Mom in an hour. Hope it helps.

As several commented in private or in responses, this roller coaster exhausts everyone.

A late update on Mom: she had her lunch. Now she’s playing bingo. Her new medicine arrived and was given to her.

Political news remains heavy in my thoughts. How could they not? Trump IMO has shown himself to be an outlaw, eager and willing to do anything to promote and protect himself. As far as he’s concerned, it’s screw the country, screw the people, screw the world, screw the Constitution, screw the economy, screw free press, screw it all. I can easily imagine hearing him say that; that’s the persona I’ve perceived.

I remain amazed that there are some out there insisting how great and wonderful Trump is. What’s happening in their world that they think this? It confounds me. I won’t belabor that here and now.

Doesn’t help that I’m reading things like this article:

Why Did DOGE Exist? Now We Know.

The first paragraph is sharp summary of what we were told and what happened, in the big picture.

“One of the nagging questions about the DOGE fiasco is why. Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency was established to cut $2 trillion from the $7 trillion federal budget. But in fiscal year 2026, which ended two weeks ago, the federal budget was $7.4 trillion, a 6 percent increase. The budget deficit, whose size was the reason to cut government spending, increased by 12 percent to $2 trillion.”

I know what Trump said about the goals of DOGE. I also wrote that off as bullshit. IMO, DOGE’s goal was always to handicap the government and reshape it as a tool for Trump and his puppet masters, the Heritage Foundation. ‘They’ think the way to a better nation is less education, more money and power for the wealthy, smaller government — except for larger police forces, more surveillance, more military, and more conforming by anyone except the upper one to two percent. They frankly disgust me.

All that aside, all that as background, I walk the halls of my mind and wonder if we’ll ever come together to do various things to improve our world. First, we’d need to agree to what that means. Is there a someday out there when that will come to pass?

Will I ever see a ‘someday’ where I truly grasp why MAGAts enthusiastically support Trump to their own detriment? Will I reach a point someday where I understand what’s going on with Mom? Will I wake up someday and understand why people like Musk and Trump and other billionaires who keep craving more and then snarl and attack everyone who reasonably ask, “Why can’t your share your good fortune?”

I honestly don’t think those somedays are on my horizon. Maybe, after I die, there’s a huge internet of reality where all is revealed. You can see it, hear it, understand it, if even just for a moment.

Yeah. Maybe someday…

The Neurons responded predictably with “Someday Never Comes”. This is a 1972 Creedence Clearwater Revival song about being told that someday you’ll understand. No wonder it’s swimming around my morning mental music stream like a hungry shark!

Sample Lyrics

First thing I remember
Was asking Papa, “Why?”
For there were many things I didn’t know
And Daddy always smiled
Took me by the hand
Saying, “Someday you’ll understand”

Well, I’m here to tell you now each and every mother’s son
You better learn it fast, you better learn it young
‘Cause someday never comes

The time and tears went by
And I collected dust
For there were many things I didn’t know
When Daddy went away
He said, “Try to be a man
And someday you’ll understand”

But I’m here to tell you now each and every mother’s son
You better learn it fast, you better learn it young
‘Cause someday never comes

I offered you a taped version of the song being performed on the telly with Dawes and John Fogerty.

Well, I hope today, you’re not stuck in a reverie about somedays. I hope this day comes to you with open arms and takes you to good places, good health, and good people.

I’m off to find good coffee.

Cheers

0

Tuesday’s Theme Music — Where the Hell

Ashland, southern Oregon – Tuesday, October 13, 2026.

Gorgeous, full-throttled autumn day out there. All of nature is actively participating to give us the full fall experience of changing leaves, blue sky, and crisp morning air. We’re going to heat up to 70 today and expect a warming trend for the coming weekend.

Mom is still doing poorly. Mom complained that she was out of pads and feeling a lot of pain urinating, and several other issues. We discovered that she doesn’t tell the assisted living staff any of that, due to her sense of privacy. There are people who can help her with her issues, but she doesn’t tell them she’s having issues, so they don’t offer help.

My sister went over today with new pads and to check on Mom. Found her in the rec room with others. Gina reported that Mom is very lethargic. Mom’s room smelled like urine. Gina has been going back and forth with the assisted living director, Mom, and Mom’s doctors. Gina has also delved more deeply into Mom’s medical records on Mychart.

It’s a busy morning for us. Workmen were expected to arrive and fix the flashing around the bathroom skylight and a few other minor issues on the roof. They were expected between 9 and 10 but didn’t show.

Meanwhile, I’d scheduled the same time for a contractor to come by to inspect the fence and give us assessment about what needs done, if he’ll take the job, and all the details that go with it. He showed on time and that went well. The fence is in pretty good shape overall, with just three posts requiring replacement. He will do those repairs, power wash the fence, and then paint it.

After that, I called the roofers to see what was going on. The other job they were on took longer than planned. They just arrived at 12:30 to begin the work.

My doctor’s office called and told me the Cologuard results were in. My tests were positive, so they’re going to schedule me for some tests and surgery to see if I have colon or other kinds of cancer down there.

My wife is in a cranky mood. She has a nervous disposition and high anxiety and couldn’t sleep last night because of today’s appointments. So it’s one of those if it’s not one thing, it’s another kind of days so far. All in all, it’s still a better life than many others experience. I complain because that’s who I am.

Probably won’t be able to get out and write today, though, which is a bummer. That’s my escape from the insanity, my coping mechanism. I will write at home but it’s not quite the same. For one, I enjoy the coffee shop’s helter skelter energy. Two, when I write at home, my wife often interrupts. She will actually ask, “Can I interrupt you?” Yeah, I’m a curmudgeon of sorts. *smile*

Today’s music is “Where Is My Husband!” This is a 2025 song by Raye. It played on the radio yesterday morning as my wife and I did our food deliveries. I ‘adapted’ it to “Where Is My Congress?” The Neurons like that twist and kept it in the morning mental music stream.

I enjoy the song on its own, though. Here’s the sample lyrics for you.

Sample Lyrics

Baby (whoo-hoo), where the hell is my husband? (Whoo-hoo)
What is taking him so long (whoo-hoo) to find me?
Oh, baby, where the hell is my lover?
Getting down with another? (Whoo-hoo, yeah)
Tell him if you see him, baby, if you see him
Tell him, tell him he should holler

Why is this beautiful man waiting for me to get old?
Why he already testing my patience?
I only fear he’s taking time with other women that ain’t me
While I’ve been reviewing applications

Wait ’til I get my hands on him, I’ma tell him off too
For how long he kept mе waiting, anticipating
Praying to the Lord to give him to my loving arms
And despite my frustrations

He must need me (he must need me) completely (completely)
How my heart yearns for him
Is he far away (is he far away?), is he okay? (Is he okay?)
This man is testing me, uh-huh, uh-huh
Uh, help me, help me, help me, Lord

Of course, yesterday morning, I was singing, “Where the hell is my Congress!” Then I created other lyrics.

May this day find you healthy, peaceful, and ready to vote blue and take the nation back.

Thanks for visiting. Cheers

6

Monday’s Theme Music – Fool & Me

Ashland, southern Oregon — Monday, October 12, 2026.

Autumn continues its golden, chilly reign. 53 F now, we’ve risen from the overnight low of 32 and we’re getting close to the 62 F expected high. It’s a boldly blue sky and marvelously sharp sunshine. A small herd of clouds — momma and four or five kits — hard to say because they keep moving — feed on the blue to one side.

No more on Mom and her situation today. Patience is needed as I await news and developments. That’s a life stage many of us know very well.

Time is extremely tight today. Food & Friends deliveries began the morning, writing in the late morning to early afternoon, BCG wash in the mid-afternoon, and then back to help a friend move some items. I made the plans, so I accept them. Tomorrow will be as busy but in other areas of needs.

Today’s music is a throwback tune, “The Fool and Me”. The Neurons placed the Robin Trower offering in my morning mental music stream early today after I went through a cursory review of news stories followed by a fast reflection on dreams, time, and appointments. Make sense, I guess.

Sample Lyrics:

Traveling that wind and laugh at the crowd, mmm the fool and me
Howl at the moon baby yell out loud, the fool and me
And ohh oh, where ever we go
We keep the spirit free
Ohh nobody knows
No one but the fool and me

Stretching on out and feeling fine, the fool and me
Two fools dancing on the hands of time, yeah
The fool and me
And ohh oh, where ever we go
We keep the spirit free
Ohh nobody knows
No one but the fool and me

Yes, and there is a connection to Donald Trump in this: his impact on my life, and his impact on my nation, my friends, and family. Trump is politically divisive. That’s just the starting point. Consumed with thoughts about only himself, he’s consuming our world and tearing it apart. Some MAGAzens applaud this: “Tear it all down and start over.” Yet, when Trump’s destruction hits their lives, many call, “Wait a minute. What’s going? This isn’t what I want.”

Well, I can tell you for sure, what Trump has done and is doing is sure as hell not what I want.

I hope we can vote Democrats into office and take over Congress and offset the madness that is Trump.

May your day end with you feeling fine and looking back on what you did with smiles.

Cheers

0

Sunday’s Theme Music — Bad Moon Rising

Sunday, October 11, 2026 — Ashland, southern Oregon.

The weather and foliage matched perfectly yesterday and feel right today. Many of us enthused about the crisp and cool autumn air. This was what we’d been looking for! Temperatures topped in the mid 70s yesterday and dropped to the low 30s last night. Right now finds us at 42 F. Though it’s quite sunny and the sky is clear and blue, today’s high is expected to close out in the mid 50s.

Mom reports a new decline. She’d in pretty good spirits this week. Today, she reported, “My pain upon urinating is worse than ever like it was when I first had the bladder infection and it is brown up upon the pads. And it smells rotten. And I feel physically ill.”

This blow came as my sisters and I have been working out what to get Mom for her upcoming 92 birthday at the end of this month.

Trump and Hegseth are excited for their upcoming military execution by firing squad. Outside of them, Americans are checking their priority lists and problems and realizing that Donald Trump is completely out of touch with them.

People are concerned about Trump’s broken promises, the war in Iran, rising prices, AI, and high food, energy, and healthcare costs. Trump responded with more Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! antics.

Your Donald Trump Quote of the Day:

Call me an enemy, then, Trump, because I’ll continue to adhere to history and industry standards and refer to artificial intelligence, or AI.

At this point, reading the political news has me growling and shaking my head. I never expected much out of Trump, but he and his administration is an absolute trainwreck. More of Trump’s supporters are pulling away. I doubt it helped Trump’s cause when Trump told supporters at one recent rally, “It’s amazing. When you stand up here, it’s just like…the love. I could say the stupidest things and you’d clap. ‘Oh, I love you so—’ It’s true.”

We’ll see how those Donald Trump supporters feel when the midterm elections results come in next month. Trump said to make the upcoming elections about himself. He doesn’t know how much disapproval of him has grown, how many are turning away from him, and tuning out from him.

Between Mom and Trump, The Neurons put “Bad Moon Rising” in the morning mental music stream. This song by Clearance Clearwater Revival, aka CCR, was released in 1969. It’s about premonitions about bad things on the verge of happening.

Sample Lyrics:

I see the bad moon rising
I see trouble on the way
I see earthquakes and lightning
I see bad times today

Don’t go around tonight
Well, it’s bound to take your life
There’s a bad moon on the rise

I hear hurricanes a-blowing
I know the end is coming soon
I fear rivers overflowing
I hear the voice of rage and ruin

May this day bless you and yours with fresh air, good health, and good fortune.

Cheers

4

Survival Mode Dream

I was part of a military unit. A light colonel – a commander from my real life – led us. Something disastrous had happened, and we’d shifted into holding on, bracing for attacks and problems. Food, water, and fuel were all issues.

Second in command, we had a dozen people. All were much younger than the commander and me. The weather seemed consistently dark and cloudy. Rain was often falling.

I started out required to make suggestions to the commander. He then agreed or not, and gave orders. My suggestions were about needing shifts,  requiring everyone to collect and bring food, man the place and keep watch.

We arrived back in the morning as scheduled. Still a dark, rainy day. Part of our structure was gone. I suggested to the commander, maybe we should move our people inside the rest of the structure, to get us out of the rain.

“No,” he said. “Put them on the covered porch.”

I ordered that, but saw at that point that my commander had recognized that I was thinking about things. Touching my shoulder, he told me, “Supervise them. Get them set up and ready.”

I agreed. We had an engine. It ran a generator which gave us electricity. I’d seen the commander add oil to it the previous day. I went to the engine to do the same. The way he’d done it before didn’t make sense with what I saw. This was a Chevy V8, and it was running. I knew it was important to keep the engine running. The engine steamed as rain drops hit.

I checked fluid levels. Gas, oil, etc., were all topped off. I worried that I was overlooking something and decided, I didn’t know enough about how the engine worked. I needed to learn more.

People reported in to work, bringing food and water with them, including doughnuts. Thanking the people for them, I ordered the doughnuts to be shared, encouraging everyone to eat.

Reports came in – I’m not sure of the mechanism – that enemy forces weren’t far off. I directed people to take positions as lookouts. Someone asked if we should launch a drone.

I knew we had a drone but we also had a plane. I directed that both be launched.

They were launched but we weren’t getting images from other. I went outside to see where they were in the sky, which had turned apricot but was marbled with gray and black. Craning my head back, holding my hat on, I couldn’t see the plane or drone.

My commander asked me what I was doing. I told him, and he replied, “Good idea.” Others came out to also look. None of us could see either aircraft.

“I think the enemy destroyed them,” I said with worry.

The situation is getting grim, I thought.

Dream end.

0

Sunday’s Theme Song — Promises

Ashland, southern Oregon. Sunday, October 4, 2026.

Supposed to be bright, sunny, and hot today, but clouds swamped three fourths of the sky, and sunshine struggled to be seen and felt. Never reached close to the 90 which was forecast, but it’s now 83 F.

Dreamed last night that I was in basic training. When I awoke and saw the date, I realized it was the anniversary of my first enlistment. October 4, 1974, I took my first oath. Twenty years later, I declared done.

I remember that first day. Rainy and overcast. Went in oh dark thirty. Was given a meal voucher for breakfast at a nearby local diner. Then had lunch at the same place with another voucher. We didn’t take off until late that afternoon.

That was my first time in an airplane, too. Flew from West Virginia, where I then lived, to San Antonio, Texas, via some other city.

It was a Friday, too. When we arrived at Lackland AFB, Texas, to begin basic training, we were informed there weren’t enough to make a full flight. We wouldn’t begin training until the following Tuesday, and spent the extended weekend in silence in our civies, waiting to begin.

Yes, welcome to the military. That’s how it was during my entire career: hurry up, then wait, then GO!

I spoke with Mom today. She called so I ended up chatting with her for an hour, just talking about life in the assisted living facility, Heritage Grove, Penn Hills. While I was speaking with her, my wife took a call on the home line and we learned that our friend, Larry, passed away at 3 AM this morning.

Larry was 96, and a military veteran. Obtaining a degree from Purdue via the GI Bill, he ended up as an engineer and an executive in the aerospace industry. After college, he lived and worked most of his life in the Los Angeles, California, area, moving up here to Ashland after retiring. He was married and adopted and raised two children and had two grandchildren. Although staunchly conservative and Republican, he was intelligent, trustworthy, and fun. I’ll miss him.

I read the NYT’s coverage of a 2026 Trump rally. They’re heavy with promise and rituals: attack the Democrats, maybe throw in a commie scare. Lie about multiple things. Donald Trump will use profanity — his fans love it when he uses profanity, because he’s telling it like it is, isn’t he? Trump sometimes claims prices are way down, which probably surprises anyone who regularly shops.

At many stops this year, Trump is begging people to support AI and data center construction. It’s the primary commercial construction now underway. He might claim the US already won against Iran, or he might threaten Iran with more bombing.

What is so sad is that after the many lies Donald Trump has made, and after all the promises that Donald Trump has broken, his brand of chaos, hatred, and bigotry still serve a portion of the Republican party.

Today’s music is by Incubus. The 2011 song, “Promises, Promises” did not come from reading the news. It came instead while listening to my mother talk about the inherent promises made — work hard, save your money, buy a house, raise a familiar — all that American dream debris, will bring you happy closure when you pass away. Mom relates that she and her gang of assisted living friends refer to their new home as jail — three hots and a cot.

I hope you live up to the promises you make, and that others fulfill the promises they make to you.

I also hope that promise and swear to Vote Blue in November, 2026.

Cheers

0

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑