Tag: writing

Thursday’s Theme Music — Fighting Fires

Ashland, southern Oregon — Thursday, June 25, 2026.

Cooler today — just 85 F — but the summer mix of blue sky and sunshine continues without interruption in our valley.

I haven’t been watching the World Cup games. Not my kind of football. But I dreamed that I was working with a gregarious black guy, trying to sell team jerseys to fans. He’d come into a large shipment of them at a discount, but he didn’t know what sizes he had. All had been manufactured outside of the US, and they weren’t using the labels familiar to me. I was using the Internet to help him size them so he could sell them.

Results are not back from Mom’s tests yesterday, except they have confirmed she doesn’t have a yeast infection. My sister, Gina, related that Mom was complaining about the sunglasses Mom was wearing: they were too big. She went on a rant that Frank probably let his sister, Joan, wear them, because Joan has a big head. She finished, “I could just kill Frank.”

Gina replied, “Mom, you do know that Frank died last year, don’t you?”

I feel like I’m in a variation of “We Didn’t Start the Fire” by Billy Joel. In that 1989 song, he recites court decisions, celebrity names, historic events, and pop culture fads and trends that took place between 1949, when Joel was born, to the current date in 1989. As I read the news, there’s a Billy Joel rhythm: Supreme Court rules, shooting leaves x dead, earthquakes, wildfires, flooding, climate change denial, Trump texts, Trump promises, Trump lies, Trump claims, distraction, distraction, distraction, fake news, elections, corruption, facts, truth, history, Epstein files, Epstein ballroom, tariffs, Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, Iran, Strait of Hormuz, Musk, Venezuela, Ukraine, Russia, China, ICE in the cities, economy, jobs, prices, prices, prices, crisis, crisis, crisis!

Trump didn’t start the fire. But he threw gasoline on it and gave it oxygen. He didn’t start it but we’re gonna fight it.

The song had a lot of airplay back in the early 1990s but has since faded. Not one of Joel’s better offerings, the chorus was pretty familiar to everyone because of the airplay.

Despite those thoughts, The Neurons have the Allman Brothers performing “Statesboro Blues” in my morning mental music stream. A favorite song and cover, it has a jumping, thumping sound to it which always kickstarts my energy.

I hope you have great day, summer or winter, wherever you inhabited for now, and that all goes well for you and yours.

I’m off to my appointments. Cheers

1

Wednesday’s Theme Music – Illusions

Ashland, southern Oregon — Wednesday, June 24, 2026.

Sunny and summery, blue skies, high of 91 today.

Mom’s doctor asked my sister to bring Mom in today. They’re heading there as I type. This was in response to Mom asking sis to call the doctor for her, because Mom said she was too busy to call for herself. My sister called last night and they want to see Mom today.

We’re into the Grand Illusion part of Trump’s second term. Increasingly disconnected from reality and voters, he keeps insisting, we won the war and everything is great!

Despite his claims, Trump’s popularity continues its freefall. This is especially true in economic matters, where a stubborn 26% still thinks he’s great for the economy. 73% say the economy is worsening under Trump.

Headlines were full of a historic bi-partisan housing bill Congress passed. That was an hour ago.

Now, headlines have shot up that Trump won’t sign the affordable bill unless Congress pass the SAVE Act.

I hope that doesn’t happen. The SAVE BS has been floating around for a while, an artificial attempt to solve a fake problem: voter fraud. In reality, it makes it more difficult for people to vote, especially if they’re facing financial hardships. Trump and the GOP believes that will give them an advantage.

Your Trump Quote of the Day:

Trump, all the way: insulting someone while spreading lies.

Trump wants the SAVE Act to pass because Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! keeps floundering, what with Algaegate and the Lincoln Reflecting Pool debacle; the backlash to ICE; and the mess and exposed lies of the Epstein ballroom.

All this — ballroom, war, reflecting pool — is to keep Trump’s name in the Epstein files hidden from the American public. Despite a law that says that all of the Epstein files will be released, with certain protections.

Despite Trump’s promises to release the Epstein files. Trump then pivoted and insisted that they were a hoax.

All this is part of Trump’s Grand Illusion. That’s he’s a genius and very healthy, the healthiest ever. That the economy is going well. That he’s for peace and would never condone violence.

The record on all of this speaks for itself.

Today’s song is “Perfect Illusion” by Lady Gaga. Not a surprise. I was thinking about control and the toll the pressure is taking on Trump. Those are almost the exact words which open the song.

0

Tuesday’s Theme Music – Helpless

Ashland, southern Oregon — Tuesday, June 23, 2026.

Hot, mid 90s today, copy of yesterday for our valley.

We cope without using the A/C. I like them in cars and businesses, don’t like using them at home. At night, I cool-drench the house and that usually carries us through the day.

Smoke was in the air last night when I popped the door open. Not strong but I definitely smelled it. NextDoor had the answer: a controlled burn in the town next door. They have orchards. Blight had struck. To contain the blight and stop its spread, they cut off the affected limbs and burned them.

People were worried, though. We’re in a red flag situation. Sure, it was a controlled burn, but controlled burns can get out of hand.

Shows the complexity of the entire matter — drought, fire, trees, economy — on one succinct scenario.

At about 6, my wife went into the garage for something and returned. “I want to leave a door open and let hot air. Warm the house. It’s so cold in here.”

It was 92 outside. In the house at that point, it was 79.

She’s been having greater issues with staying warm. More issues with moving. Strength challenges. So freaking depressing to witness. Stoically bearing it, she complains little. Rocks to stand. Grunts with effort. Hangs on to balance herself.

We went to the growers market this morning. Bought baked goods for a friend and took them to him. He has Parkinsons and cancer. His wife is away on a trip with her sister to Alaska. The woman needed it.

Our friend is doing well. The housekeeper was in, finishing. Said she’d be back at 5. Meanwhile, friends are delivering pizza for his lunch at 2 PM.

It takes a community to cope with these things.

I had a pre-op telephone appointment for my bladder cancer on Thursday. Usual stuff about times, bathing with Hibiclens, drinking fluids, eating, where we’re going, where to park, how long it’ll take.

My wife asked, “What about afterward? What’d they say about that?”

I shook my head. “Nothing. This was pre-ops.”

“They’re all so compartmentalized,” she snapped.

I can’t argue that. It’s very true.

My wife and I chatted about the news. She had just read about Trump’s claim that the economy is the ‘opposite of a recession’.

Your Trump Quote of the Day:

This seems like another part of Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL!, an attempt to distract us from what’s really going on.

Anyone living outside of a millionaire’s bubble will probably take issue with Trump’s claims. People are dealing with rising costs associated with energy, housing, food, consumer goods, and healthcare. Trump seems to believe that making these claims will make them true or enough people will simply go along with him on his magic thinking ride.

For the record, for example, oil prices aren’t even down to the levels they were when Trump took office.

Brent crude oil – Price – Chart – Historical Data – News

Beyond Trump’s fractured economic reality, people are awakening to the MOU that ended Trump’s Iran blunder that cost lives and money. They’re basically responding, WTF?

Besides the ongoing saga of the Epstein ballroom construction, we’re also dealing with Algaegate. Trump is straining to point the finger at someone else for the clear disaster that it’s become. It’s such ugly optics, but it perfectly summarizes Trump’s flawed grip on truth, facts, and history.

Today’s music is “Helpless” by Neil Young. Reading the news on some days just engenders that frustration and helplessness, a sense of ‘go do something.’ Protest, scream, call people, write things. Some mornings, I’m a stick stuck in the mud. But I drink my coffee, write out some of my anger. Suck in some air. Count my advantages. Move on for a short while, at least.

“Helpless” is performed by Neil and The Band. Hope you find it worthwhile to hear and watch.

Hope you’re feeling good, doing well, and looking forward to better days.

Cheers

5

Saturday’s Theme Music — Wrecking Ball

Saturday, June 20, 2026 — Ashland, southern Oregon.

We’re on the threshold of summer, among other things. Cool this day. Sitting at 75 degrees, 85 F is the expected high. I’ll accept that all day, especially when it cools at night.

Aging is a wrecking ball on Mom. She’s already gone through her new meds for an infection. The next pill was supposed to be tomorrow, three days after the first. But she thought she took the first one on Tuesday and then took the second on Friday. Insists she’s right because the date on the pills say June 16.

But my sister, Gina, picked up the pills on Wednesday, June 21, and took them to Mom. Showed Mom the screen notification from June 17 that shows the pills are ready for pick up. Mom refuses to admit she’s wrong.

Speaking of wrecking balls, how ’bout that MOU with Iran to cease hostilities? Seems like it’s already fracturing.

Part of that MOU was that the Strait of Hormuz would be open. Headline today:

Iran declares Strait of Hormuz ‘closed’ over MOU ‘breach’

Now it’s descended into another little pissing contest about whether the strait is closed and what caused the breach that enraged Iran.

As a wrecking ball of a president, former President Obama remains the most popular living POTUS, former or current, with a favorability rating of 59%. Trump came in just above former President Biden, at 39%.

I expect those positions between former POTUS Biden and Trump to slowly reverse with aging. Trump’s Iran disaster is still sinking in, as is the mess Trump has made with the once beautiful Lincoln Reflecting Pool. Those not part of the MAGA cult will turn more on Trump as his economic policies continue tanking and his many broken promises and claims sting more people. Like:

  • Immigration policies
  • No new wars
  • Reducing costs and improving affordability
  • Claims that Trump is a ‘unifier’ and ‘peace president’
  • Trump’s insistence that he would cut the national debt
  • The Epstein ballroom, which Trump said would require no taxpayer money
  • Full and unredacted release of the Epstein files

Then there’s his absolute grifting. Trump is getting wealthier; billionaires and millionaires are doing well. But most of We the People are not feeling it. Although the national average gas price gas dipped to about $4.00 a gallon and consumer confidence ticked up a little, average Americans are feeling the stress of inflation and high costs. 45% have canceled their vacation plans for the year.

Your Trump Quote of the Day:

Today’s music is “Wrecking Ball” by Miley Cyrus. It’s because I often think of lyrics wrong. I was thinking about rainbows, because it’s Pride Month. To me, Miley sounds like she’s singing, “I came in like a rainbow.”

Wrong! The right lyrics are, “I came in like a wrecking ball.”

Doesn’t matter to My Neurons. They’re still singing “I came in like a rainbow” in the morning mental music stream.

Sing it along with me. In the name of Pride.

May your day be free of wrecking balls and their impact.

Cheers

0

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑