Tag: thinking

Saturday’s Theme Music – Us and Them

Ashland, southern Oregon — October 31, 2026.

Another 30-degree night. White clouds overly the blue sky, creating a hazy white and blue sky. About 50 degrees high expected, I think.

Halloween has arrived in the US. At last. Decorations have been up for a while, and a casual topic of conversation, a filler. “So, do you have any fun plans for Halloween?” “Do you get many tricker or treaters?”

We have no fun Halloween plans. Going to a Day of the Dead party, but that’s on Monday. No, we don’t get any trick or treaters, and we’ve ceased buying treats because we ended up eating them all or freezing them forever.

I chuckled as a I dressed today. I’m wearing a sweater with a black tee shirt under it. I bought the sweater before moving from California to Oregon, so that’s over 21 years ago. But I recognized the tee shirt as one of the black cotton tee shirts with a chest pocket that I wore with my battle dress uniform in the Air Force over thirty years ago. I was in special ops for a while, and they required black tees. I still have three of them. Amazing how well they held up.

Trump says we’re getting richer. Economists say, um, no.

Gosh, if we’re getting richer, as Trump claims, I wonder what’s causing the soaring personal bankruptcies this year if we’re all ‘getting richer’? And if the US as a nation, why is our national debt so high and climbing, or that the budget deficit is getting worse?

I also wonder why so many people are complaining about the high costs of food, healthcare, and just about everything else. Besides increasing personal bankruptcies, personal savings are cratering in the US, and credit card debt keeps going up. Even farmers and ranchers, beneficiaries of Trump’s attempts to buy them off, are starting to say that Trump is a disaster.

Well, the truth to Donald Trump’s assertion is in his words. When Trump says “we’re getting richer”, he doesn’t mean We the People. Trump means Donald Trump and his family and peers like the wealthiest five percent of the nation are getting richer.

For Trump, it’s always about us and them. Trump managed to con a large portion of the population into thinking he included them when he said ‘us’, but they’re starting to understand that Donald Trump is a greedy, lying narcissist who is using his position to enrich himself.

‘Starting to’ is key to that. Many Trump supporters ‘sort of kind of maybe realize’ it but support Trump despite what it does to the nation because they like his brand of greed, hate, division, faux religion, and chaos. They approve of his ‘small government model’ because it means less regulation for business and more money and opportunity for them to get wealthier! “Everyone for themselves!” is their model, echoing the Founders’ intentions.

As everyone knows, it’s all part of the Declaration of Independence:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all white men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Christian God with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Getting Richer, Screwing Everyone Else, and Doing Everything to Hold onto Power.”

Every school child is taught that early in American schools, especially private, white Christian schools paid for by vouchers made possible by poor taxpayers.

For as the old maxim goes, “We are only as strong as our weakest link, so we need to break those links and replace them with links like us. For in conformity is strength.”

Today’s theme music is by Pink Floyd. “Us and Them” was part of the album, “Dark Side of the Moon”, which was released in 1973. The lyrics are perfect for the Trump era, as he’s constantly dividing the nation, world, and even his own party under terms which call out us and them.

Sample Lyrics

“Forward”, he cried from the rear
And the front rank died
The general sat and the lines on the map
Moved from side to side

Black and blue
And who knows which is which
And who is who

Up and down
And in the end
It’s only round and round, and round

“Haven’t you heard it’s a battle of words?”

The poster bearer cried
“Listen, son”, said the man with the gun
“There’s room for you inside”

They’re not gonna kill ya
So like, if you give ’em a quick short, sharp, shock, they won’t do it again
Dig it? I mean he got off lightly ’cause I would’ve given him a thrashing
I only hit him once
It was only a difference of right and wrong, innit?
But really, I mean good manners don’t cost nothing, do they, eh?

Down and out
It can’t be helped
But there’s a lot of it about

With, without
And who’ll deny
It’s what the fighting’s all about

I hope you and me, and all our friends and relatives, have very good days and comfortable nights.

Cheers

0

Friday’s Theme Music — Notorious

Ashland, southern Oregon – Friday, October 30, 2026.

Octobers is sliding home. On to November – highly anticipated, fraught with tension and holidays, November. Many think change is needed. Disagreement still fills debate about what change is required.

It was another cold night last night, 34 F. Today is bleakly sunny with faded, slanting sunshine and a high in the low 50s.

My wife and I are going to a movie tonight at the Varsity Theater. “Wicker” is finally out, a movie starring Olivia Colman, Peter Dinklage, and Alexander Skarsgård, my wife has been looking forward to it for months. Based on a short story, the movie is a romantasy comedy about a woman who commissions a basket weaver to make her a man made of wicker.

Mom and I talked on the phone for another 30 minutes today. Her voice doesn’t carry well and her thoughts seem to scatter. She’s free of her UTI for today, and her birthday went well as my other sister, Lisa, visited her. Gina went by today, dropping supplies off for Mom. Gina also will take Mom to her doctor appointment on Tuesday and take Mom to vote. Peace is at hand for a day.

Like many, I’m waiting to see what happens on election day next week. Mail slowdowns have been spotted so people have voted early in reaction. Trump’s Department of Injustice is already attempting to influence and challenge election results in several states. Whispers keep circulating about ICE being deployed to voting locations or other ‘strong man’ intimidation tactics. Trump insists without evidence that it’s needed because others will cheat. Well, we can smell that trumpshit, because we’ve smelled it before.

Trump is notorious for being indifferent to the law – or anything and anyone who isn’t him. When it comes to his welfare, wealth, image, and legacy, he’s very concerned. Not so much when it’s anyone else.

Donald Trump has failed in so many ways. Economy, healthcare, national debt, war, popularity, cell phone, crypto, tariffs, trade agreements. He even failed to win the Nobel Peace Prize and the Pulitzer Prize. He’s only won fake prizes created to appease him.

And his approval and popularity are getting lower and lower, especially compared to former President Obama. President Obama is filling places, getting cheers, and grabbing headlines. He’s very popular. People came away from President Obama’s speeches saying, “President Obama is so smart, and he looks so good. Wasn’t that another great speech?”

Trump is winning empty seats and crickets. He’s very unpopular. People come away from Trump’s erratic rants wondering, “What the hell was he saying? God, he looks so sick and unhealthy. I think he’s going to die soon.”

So, we’ll see what Trump. Tries. Next.

“Notorious” by Duran Duran is today’s theme music. Yes, The Neurons plugged it into the morning mental music stream after I used the word notorious while discussing Trump with my wife this morning.

Although it was released in 1986, the song has some lyrics which fit well with the Trump practice of making and blowing off promises.

Sample Lyrics

Girls will keep the secrets so alone the boys making noise
Fools run rings to break up something they’ll never destroy
Grand notorious slam (bam) and who really gives a damn for a flaky bandit
Don’t ask me to bleed about it I need this blood to survive

You own the money you control the witness I’ll leave you lonely
Don’t monkey with my business you’ve paid the profits to justify your reasons
I’ve heard you promise but I don’t believe it that’s why I done it again
No no notorious, notorious, notorious

I can see references to the Epstein files via ‘girls will keep secrets’ too. Ditto, ‘fools run rings to break something’. Damn, that pretty well summarizes the Heritage Foundation and Project 2025: let’s break everything so white rich people can rule and make more money!

I hope these final days of October of 2026 find you in good health and good spirits. May you keep both through the coming months and many years beyond.

Cheers

2

Thursday’s Theme Music — Think

Ashland, southern Oregon — Thursday, October 29, 2026.

Another cold autumn night fell over us last night. I awoke this morning to 30 F and frost on the ground. A line of high and thing white clouds stretches over the blue sky. 36 F now, we expect a high of about 52 F today.

Happy birthday to Mom! I called and spoke with her for thirty minutes. She’d just had pizza for lunch as part of her birthday celebration, which the assisted living people did for her. They also presented her with a birthday cake for them to all to enjoy. Yellow cake with thick white frosting with yellow, purple, and pink flowers on it. Sheet cake. Mom was eating it while speaking with me. Our conversation was peppered with, “Oh, this cake is so good.”

My sister, Gina, complained that Mom is losing it because she paid for her rent with old checking account, and if Mom keeps doing that, that account will run out of money.

I resisted responding, yes, as you get older, change is harder to process. It doesn’t necessarily mean Mom is ‘losing it’. But changing habits and routines get more challenging as we age — especially since Mom didn’t participate in making the change. Gina made the change and forced it on Mom.

But I don’t think I would change Gina’s mind with those insights, so I’ll go on.

Mom had some coughing fits while I was talking to her and asked me if I could call her again later. So we agreed that I will call her again tomorrow morning.

Meanwhile, the flowers I ordered her were delivered after our conversation. She should have them by now but hasn’t mentioned it. Maybe she’s saving it for tomorrow. *smile* She does that.

Back to politics. It’s asking a lot for some people, I know, but I hope they go into the 2026 midterms, think, and vote. Hard to do when Republicans are juking and jiving, avoiding giving truthful answers about anything and everything. They try to dismiss inflation by mentioning that it’s not as bad as it was under President Biden, while ignoring the practical ramifications of how much more things cost now. And the Iran war? Why, that’s necessary to save us, using the same kind of trumped up *sorry, not sorry* excuses used to invade Iraq.

So I hope people think and vote blue. Hope they realize that Donald Trump lies and breaks promises. Hope they think and understand that Donald Trump can’t be trusted. Hope people think and see that Donald Trump’s policies are not making America great in any sense of what that means.

I know I’m 1) a broken record about this (ha, ha, hope you’re old enough to understand the reference) and 2) that there’s a solid wall of Republicans who say, “Never Democrat”. 3) There’s also a group of voters out there who remain ignorant, some deliberately so, and 4) some MAGAts love the way Trump is tearing down the nation because of their framework, emotions, self-pity, or whatever.

So here is Aretha Frankling with “Think!” A rousing song, it’s one of The Neurons’ favorite songs and often haunts the morning mental music stream.

Sample Lyrics

People walk around everyday
Playin’ games and takin’ scores
Tryin’ to make other people lose their mind
Well, be careful you don’t lose yours

Ooh think (think)
Think about what you’re tryin’ to do to me
Woo-hoo, think (think)
Let your mind go, let yourself be free

I love this scene in the movie. Makes me grin and laugh every time. Hope you enjoy it as well.

Cheers

1

Tuesday’s Theme Music — Here we go

Ashland, southern Oregon — Tuesday, October 27, 2026.

Here we go, another rainy autumn day, snow on higher elevations further north, shifting quickly from fall toward winter. Light blue splashes between white clouds smeared with gray. Rain rushes down and moves away. Another wave comes and goes.

It’s 42 F. Been 42 F since I got out of bed hours ago. High is supposed to be 48 F.

We’re all welcoming the rain. Lovely witnessing brown fields become green again.

Today’s music is “The Walker” by Fitz and the Tantrums. Came out in 2003. It entered my morning mental music stream today after I made my colonoscopy appointment. November 3 and 10 were offered first. But those are the Tuesdays after my next two BCG washes, so no thanks. The colonoscopy calls for a limited diet for the four days before the surgery, and the BCG can afford mood, energy, so on.

“The Walker” also fit my mood (and The Neurons’ thinking) because we’re closing on the national 2026 midterm elections. It’s like, here we go, just next Tuesday. Trump is already stumping that anytime someone he endorses loses, it’s a fake or stolen election — or ‘something smells’. Never offers any evidence, because there isn’t any. Now Donald Trump is offering money for reporting voter fraud.

Trump offers $1M rewards for reporting voter fraud in midterms

It’s another Trump stunt, another facet of Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL!

In effect, Trump is begging voters, “Please don’t judge me on my record. Don’t judge me on the desultory Iran war I began. Don’t judge me for not releasing the Epstein files. Please, please, don’t judge me on the affordability crisis and rising prices. And don’t judge me on the many lies I’ve made or the money my family and I made while in office. Don’t judge me for the pardons and the pay to play that’s going on.”

Trump was especially upset by how much better former President Barack Obama is polling compared to Donald Trump. Former President Obama is so much more popular than Trump! Showing how hurt and angry he is, Trump threw a fit on social media, ranting about Bill Maher. “Distraction, distraction, look at me, listen to me, love me!”

Trump’s justice department is trying to bring cases they failed to win before, and judges are slapping them around.

And Donald Trump is out there, trying to tell people that there is no inflation while grinning surrogates explain there is no inflation if you adjust for inflation.

Brace yourself, brothers and sisters. Here we go.

Sample Lyrics

Ooh, crazy’s what they think about me
Ain’t gonna stop ’cause they tell me so
‘Cause 99 miles per hour baby
Is how fast that I like to go

Can’t keep up with my rhythm
Though they keep trying
Too quick for the lines they throw
I walk to the sound of my own drum
We go, they go, we go, hey yeah, yeah, yeah

Oh, here we go
Feel it in my soul
Really mean it, mean it, so go
Gotta feel it, honey takes control
Really mean it, mean it

May this October day find you healthy and well, no matter what your season is.

Cheers

2

Monday’s Theme Music — Another day

Ashland, southern Oregon — Monday, October 26, 2026.

It was a chilly wet day in our valley. Layers of clouds thwarted the sun. Sunshine sporadically broke through but had little staying power. The asphalt roads were black and shiny wet, reflecting golden leaves. It was impressively spectacular on the large oak tree that resides across the street.

Today’s high was in the mid 50s. Now it’s in the low 40s F. That’s where it’s supposed to stop for the night.

Rolling out of bed and into another day’s light, I basically thought, “Here we go. Go check the phone calls and text messages and see what’s happening with Mom. Read the news, see what Trump and the GOP are up to. See if another war has been started. Get ready for another appointment, dress for another day, and so on.”

Yeah, still feeling a little weary, I’m afraid. I blame it on the rain.

The Neurons collected all this and set up “Day by Day” from “Godspell” in my morning mental music stream. I’m not religious but I understand the song’s sentiment. But for me, the song’s bottom line is the refrain, “Day by day.”

Hope your day was satisfying and rich with peace, joy, good news, and good health.

Cheers

0

The Trump Divide

I read a USA Today article about recent poll results and what each party says it values.

Divided nation: Republicans prize patriotism, Democrats equality – poll

The article carefully tiptoes through the results of recent polls that show a growing divide in the United States. Republicans value ‘patriotism’.

I’m not surprised. Republicans like to bark things like, “These colors don’t run.” Funny that they support noted draft dodger Donald Trump, isn’t it? Donald Trump, also known as TACO – Trump Always Chickens Out.

Just as interesting, Republicans in this poll valued ‘responsibility’ and ‘honesty’ as the second and third highest prized values.

And they select Trump as their leader.

It’s headshaking to me, but that’s probably why I’m not a Republican. How could I prize patriotism, responsibility, and honesty, and then support someone who doesn’t exhibit any of those traits? It’s like those traits are virtually meaningless to the GOP.

In a way, it is. What the GOP — especially the MAGA component — has done is change the way those words are perceived. To them, Trump’s lying is ‘unvarnished honesty’ because he says others will not and ‘shakes things up’.

This is because of the ‘framework’ through which they view things.

Yes, I call bullshit. They’re okay with Donald Trump making billions but they were in a tizzy over the idea that Hunter Biden — who is not an elected official — made money through Daddy. Yet they’re fine with Jared Kushner and the Trump children getting richer and richer off of Trump.

That’s why there’s a divide in this country.

This fascinating paragraph is in the article’s middle:

“But the inclination to see the other side as lacking basic principles − even as being a danger to democracy − has grown over the past decade, studies have found. The assumption that the other side is acting in good faith has been eroded by the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol, attacks on the legitimacy of elections, allegations of the weaponization of governmental powers and more.”

Hmm. Interesting. Riddle me this, AI.

  • How many times has Donald Trump claimed that elections were stolen or manipulated? How does that compare with other politicians and leaders?
  • Who was POTUS during the Jan. 6 assault on the capitol?
  • What White House occupant uses the DOJ to persecute political opponents? Which one has purged Federal employees and asked for loyalty oaths to him?

Donald Trump calls himself a unifying president but uses incentives specifically designed to divide the country via his support me and vote for Republicans technique. But that’s okay, I guess, because that’s the GOP framework: all for them, nothing for Democrats.

Trump likes to vilify Democrats, reporters, other nations, the news media in general, and anyone who doesn’t agree with him. Donald Trump, who wants to be remembered as a ‘peace president’, gleefully cheered when a protestor was punched at one of his rallies.

Trump also said multiple times, “I would never condone violence.”

Under the GOP framework — supported by their values of patriotism, responsibility, and honesty — these competing views of approving and encouraging violence and claiming he would never condone violence is acceptable.

Of course, we have seen MAGA and the GOP break with the framework several times. They broke when they voted for immigrants to be deported only to find themselves or their family to be one of the deported. They broke when Trump’s war increased gas prices. They broke when Trump said that he doesn’t care about Americans’ finances. They broke when they found how much more things are costing them as the affordability crisis grows under Trump’s economy.

That’s how their framework works. It’s ironclad until it personally affects them.

Republicans say that Trump is demonstrating peace through strength. Sure, and he’s showing unity through division, honesty through stealing, and responsibility through lying.

Republicans in the poll then expressed the view that Democrats were more immoral. That’s funny in a darkly bitter way, given that the person who leads them is a convicted felon who has been documented lying tens of thousands of times, and who promises the world and delivers little.

That person is Donald J. Trump.

Hey Republicans. Get Trump to release the Epstein files, end the Iran war, and give back the billions of dollars he’s made since taking office in 2025. Get him to stop lying and breaking his promises.

Then we can start a conversation about good faith, morals, and values, and the divide in this nation.

3

Saturday’s Theme Music — Gonna get wild

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.

Cheers

3

Friday’s Theme Music — Take a look ahead

Ashland, southern Oregon — Friday, October 23, 2026.

Rain was yesterday’s major weather theme. Today was a day of sunshine but windy, with a cold wind rushing in from the north, making the trees shiver. We might have turned past 52 F, but it was a short-lived stroll. Now we’re back down to 46 F and dropping.

Many phone calls and texts from Mom. Complaints about Gina in the texts. Gina is my sister, Mom’s medical POA. Phone calls just said, “Michael, you need to call me.” Ten calls.

Gina sent out a lengthy text. Laid out her own schedule next week. Elections, babysitting her grandchildren, work requirements. Then Mom’s appointments. Finally, the big question: “Should I take Mom to her appointments? Will they change her quality of life? Why doesn’t she want to take Access?”

Back and forth from various sisters. Opinions expressed that Mom is toxic. “If she wants to go to the doctor or really needs to, she can take Access,” is mentioned. I refrain from putting in my two cents that not all brains work like that. Especially when you’re 92, tired, and sick. Especially when you’re a mother who feels alone and unloved.

I’ve said these things before. They swoosh by the rest. Maybe I’m wrong and they’re right.

I wonder the same thing about Trump’s MAGA supporters sometimes. Maybe they’re right, and I’m missing some critical element. I spent some time trying to peer into the shadows to see what I’m missing. Mostly I see that they’re angry. Want to tear everything down. Start anew. At the same time, they don’t want the same structure, but they want America, the America they see in the mind’s rearview.

That’s what I think Mom sees, the family that she thought she was raising. It went wildly wrong sometimes.

I had Boston in my morning mental music stream this, um, morning. Yes, that’s redundant. Like IPA ale or ATM machine. Or thinking in my head.

Boston released a song, “Peace of Mind”, back before the Internet caught on, in 1977. Why, we barely had stereo then. Had to use 8 tracks, cassette tapes, vinyl, all forms which are much less in use in 2026. But back in 1977, they were part of the answer when we wanted music. Radio and television helped, too.

Part of the song has lyrics which urge, “Take a look ahead.” I keep trying to look ahead. I feel that Trump — and the GOP — will lose many midterm elections. And if they do, Donald Trump will amp up his crazy weave and become even more of a dictator. “Off with their heads,” he might shout. Minions, not sure if Trump is being serious, will rush out. Heads will roll.

Damnation will follow. Trump will plead, “I never said that.” “That’s not what I meant.” “I was exaggerating for effect.” Or, as likely, he’ll snarl and snap, “You’re an awful person. Why are you saying those things. You’re nasty. Get out of here.”

Could be all of those things. That’s how Trump weaves, like a spider on LSD.

I try looking ahead with Mom, too. Mom’s ID expires on her birthday. “Does she really need an ID?” is asked by a sibling. “She doesn’t go anywhere.”

Yes, hard to argue that. Those are the basic facts. The other fact is that a trip to get a new ID for mom will be challenging for the person taking her. That’s how we see it.

So, I’m only looking forward to tomorrow. Ironically, I’m going to a large birthday bash to celebrate a friend’s 90th birthday. She’s sharp as a tack, as Mom used to say. The birthday will last three hours. I don’t know her well, having only met her three times, but my wife needs me to act as chauffeur.

Sunday, my wife is eager to go to the movies to watch “Wicker”. She’s been looking forward to it for months.

The contractor is arriving at 8 AM tomorrow to paint our fence. He’s made various repairs already, and it looks great.

It’s supposed to be nice tomorrow.

Looking foward to it.

Hope you have day worth looking forward to. Halloween is upon us. Time to get out your holiday decorations and light up the house.

Cheers

0

Thursday’s Theme Music — My wave

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.

Many individuals elected to the US Congress become millionaires. Seventy-three senators are millionaires in our current congress. 195 to 220 representatives in the US House of Representatives are millionaires.

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.

Cheers

0

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑