the mind
wanders
worries surface
hope reaches backward
or
forward
reality pushes back
the day carries us along
sorted
or not.
Wednesday’s Theme Music — Spider webs
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.
Cheers
Predictable Trump
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.
Trump announces $8 billion in diesel relief for US farmers
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.
Trump Appointees Asked a Federal Cybersecurity Agency to Secretly Acquire a Voting Machine — and Hack It
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.
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
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
Two Dreams about People
In the first dream, I was a younger adult, working somewhere that wasn’t clearly defined. I seemed happy and was busy working when a trio – two men and a woman – arrived.
The woman started chatting to me. I didn’t even realize she was with the men. Then the men approached. One mentioned something about Major Malasky.
I whirled with surprise. The men were short, white, with trim hair. Clean shaves, they were dark gray suits, white shirts with dark, narrow ties, and dark gray fedoras. Like G men.
“I knew a Major Ray Malasky,” I said. “We worked together. He was a navigator. 7405th in Germany. We were a covert unit.” I chuckled, knowing, yes, the program had been declassified but still uncomfortable talking about it. “Ray was a good guy.”
I looked around for mementos from that assignment. I’d just been showing them with the woman, I realized – and they were gone. Surprised, I leaped to the conclusion that she had taken them and began searching for her. As I did, the two men excused themselves and left. Going to a window, I saw them meet her. The three hurried away, leaving me astonished.
In the next dream, I was walking along a street on a sidewalk. It was a sunny, pleasant day. A bright red car was ahead. This was boxy shaped like the Kia Soul or the Honda Element, but it was bright, shiny red with small wheels. It also had a round window on the driver’s door.
The window was pivoted open. As I walked towards it, I saw that someone was inside the car. They reached up and closed the round driver’s window. I then saw it was one of my real-life current neighbors, Neil. Seeing me, he opened the window but stayed reclined, though he did nod at me.
I nodded back. I had the impression he was resting and wondered why he was resting in his car. I figured that Neil must have a reason for being out of his house. Maybe his house was being worked on. Painted. Or they were fumigating it. Who knows?
I accepted that there was a reason for him to be resting in his car and walked on.
Friday’s Theme Music — Next chapter
Ashland, southern Oregon — Friday, October 16, 2026.
Another warm autumn day has climbed into the valley. Sunshine brings the trees to bright life, and a warm wind chants with confusion. 79 F now, we’re going to be in the 80 to 90 range, depending on where you are.
Mom’s partner, Frank, passed away a year ago today. I don’t like to linger on anniversaries like these. It just came to me last night. There’s sadness that he’s gone, joy that I knew him, and sympathy that he’s no longer part of Mom’s life.
Frank, though, was 95 and lived an interesting, full life. He raised a family and helped his sisters through their struggles. Widowed thirty years before, he and Mom found one another, enabling them both to enjoy another chapter.
Well, we already turned the page on Trump’s new press secretary.
Katie Zacharia Is Ousted After 5 Days as White House Press Secretary
My wife wondered if Fox News was going to run out of young blondes at the rate that Trump is going through them. Then what will they do?
I told her that I was sure that blonde MAGAts are out there, ready to jump into bed with Trump in whatever role he offers.
Looks like Trump may be moving on from Kristi Noem, too.
Kristi Noem out as special envoy to Shield of the Americas. What’s her new role?
It seems like Kristi Noem has managed to become so toxic, even Trump is distancing himself from her.
Watching Trump campaigning for the 2026 midterms, declaring that people should ‘vote like he’s on the ballot’, it’s apparent that many Republican candidates are distancing themselves from him.
In our area, Republican candidates are trying to even distance themselves from the GOP. They refuse to mention their party affiliation in their ads and commercials. When they talk about party, they often lip sync that they’re trying to bring balance, common sense, and affordability to voters in Oregon. It’s hilarious how they wrap themselves up in knots to avoid Trump and the GOP, promising that they’ll make things more affordable as Trump, in D.C., bellows that affordability is a hoax.
Truly headspinning.
Trump also launched another episode of Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! This one showed Donald Trump running around, laughing and playing with a tiger. You could tell it was fake because Trump doesn’t laugh or smile. He smirks and growls, trying to project a tough guy persona, using old films as his inspiration.
Trump also said — again — that the war with Iran will end when he “wants it to end”. Rather arrogant, again. Has nothing to do with foreign policy nor military objectives, or rising costs and prices for oil, gas, food, fertilizer, shipping, construction and the many other things growing more expensive. Nor does it have to do with Trump’s concern for Americans and their ability to pay their bills and enjoy food and housing security. No. Trump makes it clear — again — it’s all about him, and nothing else.
Your Trump Quote of the Day:
Gas prices remain much higher under Donald Trump than they were during most of President Biden’s term in office.
Today’s music is “Turn the Page”. Originally performed by Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band, The Neurons unleashed Metallica’s cover in my morning mental music stream.
May your October day begin with happiness and end with joy.
Cheers
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
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
