Glad to be White, Straight and Old

After I became physically ill, I turned off the tube when Trump still needed 3 Electoral votes.  I don't even care how many actual votes were cast for each candidate...I'm just horrified this country is so full of people willing to elect such a man.

But that's our Democracy.  No Democrat, or moderate Republican, believes we'll see a repetition of the attack on Congress on January 6th, 2021, because that's the kind of people we are.  At least we don't need to be on edge about that.

Dozing off, my first thoughts were the words to this title, and it's true.  I'm the right color, so it's doubtful the militia will try to round me up or press a knee against my throat.  I'm no longer an active participant, but I'm the right sexual orientation...so no worries about taking away my right to love whoever I want.  I already had a safe, legal abortion in 1974 but I'm too old to bear children anyway,  so that's no worry, either.  

OH, I almost forgot: I'm also the right religion.  I learned that two years ago when I moved to this part of Oregon and was bluntly asked,

"Are you a Christian?"

Am I what?  Dumbstruck, I answered haltingly, "Uh...I'm a Christian Scientist."

"Oh, well, that's OK."

Whaddaya mean, that's OK?!

Just because you haven't been asked yet doesn't mean you're not already judged.

I don't want to speak to anyone who doesn't share my sentiments; at least not at the moment.  I have to be hospitable to our guests; but nobody said I have to talk to them about anything other than work-related topics.  And I'll start wearing a mask - people are leery of people in masks, have you noticed?  No telling what they might be carrying.  I happen to have Amy-mouth.

So I'll make my own backup plan rather than wait to see when, not if, the President-elect reduces my social security, healthcare and any chance for affordable housing.  I don't have any progeny to worry about, so most everything else is moot.  I will be listening to more music, for I don't want to spoil my days watching the likes of Elon Musk, Steve Bannon, Hulk Hogan, RFK Jr and Mike Johnson strut around like kings, oops, princes.  There can only be one King; and he's already got an heir and two spares, he doesn't count the girls.

Of course Trump's being nice...he's relieved he won't be going to jail.  But beware the wolf in sheep's clothing.  It's the calm before the storm.

P.S.  I just realized something else:  I can prove I'm Russian, if need be.  From my satirical Shades of Grey, Pt. 2,:

"In 1913, aged 18, my fraternal Grandfather Czeslaw (Chester) made his way across Europe from what is now eastern Poland to escape persecution by the Tsar (and just hard times); ostensibly with hopes of a better future for his descendants, including me. Grandmother Rozalia followed a year later. Poland did not formally exist when each arrived on Ellis Island;  it having been divided between Prussia, Austria and Russia;and our family home fell in (your) neck of the Steppes.  So despite their cultural identities as Poles, immigration records list my grandparents as Russians from Russia. This bureaucratic oversight may just save my life one day."  (Photo: Aunt Helen, Grandma, Grandpa, Dad, me, Greenpoint, Brooklyn, 1956 )

Happy Halloween!

I couldn't stand opening my blog and seeing my last post front & center.  I was angry and probably should have kept (much of) my thoughts to myself.  I'm sure President Biden's thinking the same thing.

Last day in October...I already ate the candy...it's raining cats & dogs.  Perfect day to clear out this year's junk to make room for next.

So Happy Halloween everyone!  Let's hope for a quiet November.

Are You a Pig?

Trick or Treat

Not a policeman nor a character in Animal Farm; but a human being with barnyard attributes.  Donald Trump has no shame about being one.  He looks like a pig and acts (worse than) one.  If he wins fairly, I'm sure I'll be rounded up at some point, so at THIS point I don't give a shit.  Bring it on.

Shame on the piglets lining up to support him.  Referring to Puerto Rico as a floating island of garbage.  Don't insult my intelligence by claiming, as Napoleon has, that he "Didn't know nothin'; never heard of the comic; don't tie me to anything..."  His real snout is yards long by now.

I am not Puerto Rican but I lived and worked on that beautiful island for 12 years and am extremely insulted that someone running for President has no problem with the abuse hurled from Madison Square Garden last Sunday.  Tucker Carlson; Rudy Guliani; Hulk Hogan...these are the types who will prowl the halls of the White House, Lord help us.

You don't care?  Then you must be one, too, for silence implies acceptance.  I can't believe I'm writing this, but then I can't believe we have so many two-legged boars trotting around the country...loose!  I'm sure I work with some, but at least they keep their curly tails inside their pants, for the moment.

But if we're not diligent, they'll first snort loudly in public.  They'll spend their days rooting through trashy platforms in search of libleous comments meant to hurt others.  They'll happily roll around in the mud they create in the Capitol until finally, fashions will include a slit in the backside to allow for that tail.

"A love fest..."  Trump said the same about January 6th.  He should be ashamed but he's a narcissist so he's not.  He loves the chaos...that's what we'd experience for the next 4 years.  Has it been so long that you can't remember?  From the Mayo Clinic:

"Narcissists believe they are superior to others and can only spend time with or be understood by equally special people. Be critical of and look down on people they feel are not important. Expect special favors and expect other people to do what they want without questioning them. Take advantage of others to get what they want."  Remind you of anyone?

I'm so angry, I'm not even going to worry about editing this piece.  It's not like I have a huge following; but I won't be sorry if any of my readers, insulted by my words, choose to go elsewhere.  Please go away.  I don't want any kind of association with people who think what's going on with Trump is ok.  If that means I lose some long-time friends or relatives, well, I've learned that friendships have an expiration date and ours may well be past.  Good luck to you, it was fun...

I can certainly understand hope; and tons of hogs hope their bank balances will miraculousely shoot upwards once Trump's back in charge.  If that is what you believe, then you prove the statements about undereducated people supporting the current Republic ticket.  I'm not anti-Republican; I'm anti-Pig, and want no part of anyone who has no decency in their souls.  And it's not just Democrats who feel that way.

As an aside, here in Oregon we have mail-in balloting.  Last week I considered going to our local ballot drop-box but decided to drop in off at the Post Office.  "People are crazy," I thought.  "I can imagine someone throwing something in the drop box to ruin the ballots."

I was thinking of paint, or a match.  I wasn't far off, for several boxes were sabotaged in Portland and Vancover the other day, you may have heard.  They just announced the suspect vehicle involved:  a dark Volvo, S-60, 2001-2004.  I happen to own a 2004 S-60; one of 548 registered in Oregon, so I half-expect an officer to come a-callin'.  I'll let you know, but in closing:

Money isn't everything, isn't that taught anymore?

Is Our Greatest Threat Trump, Harris or Elon Musk?

My cable's been missing a good chunk of channels for a few weeks now, and so I'm involuntarily weaning myself off CNN.  Not that CNN is horrible, for I agree with most of its reporting; but I tend to keep it on more than I should.  I need some type of noise 24/7, but too much of any thing is no good.  I've always been interested in politics and the law, but I've not always lived in places where I could easily access the news so when I am, I tend to overdo it.  Easy to advise me not to pay attention, but how can I learn what's really going on unless I hear it from different trusted sources and not simply re-tweeted from a conspiracy-theorist or  manipulated on X?

I grew up watching Walter Cronkite, et al, and I'm afraid I never adopted a suspicious nature when it came to the networks I knew and most of us trusted.  Maybe something happened while I lived overseas, or on the boat more likely, that changed people's natures so much.

The other news stations I watch: PBS,  BBC, NBC, ABC and CBS, are pretty much in agreement when it comes to the January 6th insurrection and Trump blatantly lying to the public.  I avoid FOX because it follows Trump's tune, but I feel the same towards any platforms and people of influence who claim the last election was rigged and Jan 6th was some sort of Garden Party. As Mom would say, two-plus-two does not equal five, no matter how many people might claim that it does.  Most of us were taught the difference between right and wrong.

Anyway, I've been spending most of my viewing time on air channels, and while surfing I ran into some off-the-wall station between home-shopping channels, OAN, whatever that stands for, which was airing Trump speaking at a rally.  I paused, in fairness, to watch.

But I couldn't listen for long. The way he snatches insane thoughts out of thin air and spins everything against migrants and the current administration made me dizzy.  Between dances he's screaming that Kamala's unleased gangs of murderous illegal immigrants on the rest of us.  She single-handedly ruined the southern border AND the economy.  The Vice President.  All by herself.  What has she done, Trump demands, over the past 3+ years?  Will he give J.D. Vance the power to independently create policies he thinks are better than Trump's?  Come on.  

Let's face it...a Black Woman is running for the top job.  That's all some people need to disqualify her.  People will come up with all kinds of reasons she's a terrible choice, but for far too many that's the issue.  Any woman but especially a black woman, makes 'em crazy.  Ladies, you know I'm right.

But is she worse than someone threatening his opponents with criminal if not bodily harm?  Didn't he ask to, "Shoot them," during BLM protests; or was it against immigrants?  I've heard he only meant the legs.

Only meant the legs?!

Someone willing to use the National Guard to round up people he doesn't like? Don't think he'll stop with illegal immigrants.  He's insulting, demeaning and downright vulgar; do you hope for those qualities in a prospective spouse for you or your children?  Call me a prude, but I cringed at Trump discussing Arnold Palmer's purported penile endowment on stage as if he's in a locker room, I thought he'd never stop.  Someone who thinks it's fine to communicate with enemy dictators and sell us out behind our backs?

So Elon Musk's got Trump's hands firmly in his pockets.  Do you think he'll be satisfied with some bureaucratic position in the administration?  What happens when he doesn't need Trump anymore?  Money and ego drive that man.  Yeah, him, too.

P.S.  Uh-oh, cable's been fixed!

Mykonos - Island of the Winds

Whenever I'm asked, "Which part did you like the best," along this amazing tour my split-second answer has been Mykonos.  A couple of spots tie for first-place as archaeological sites go, namely the Acropolis and Ephesus.  But the spot which really gave me warm fuzzies was this one.  From I don't remember:

"The island was named after the hero Mykonos, son of Anius, King of Delos, who was born to god Apollo and the nymph Rheo (spellings vary).  According to the myth, this is the place where the giants slain by Hercules were buried, and that is why the island is strewn with big rocks."

I may be one of the last people to have heard about this charming island.  I learned it's been a top attraction for the rich and famous for quite some time (and who probably kept it quiet for as long as possible), but by now it's all over the Internet.

However, last April it seemed I had Chora, or Mykonos Town, all to myself.

After the excursion to Delos that morning, the shuttle-boat dropped everyone off at the water-taxi stand for some independent sight-seeing before the final shuttle back to the ship, after midnight.  Most people from my excursion stopped before menus fronting dozens of restaurants ringing the harbor, with kitschy-souvenir shops scattered in-between.

But I headed off on my own, and was delighted to discover that a short distance beyond lay a world seemingly undiscovered by the throngs of tourists.

Thirty Years a Widow

Jeez, that's almost half my life. Today is the anniversary of the sudden death of my third and BEST husband, Tino Jansen.  Each year I torture myself by re-living anxious memories of waiting for him to pick me up at the bus stop in Portland, where we'd moved a mere 6 months earlier.  I feared he'd been picked up by immigration, for our former company transferred him from Ridderkerk to NYC without bothering with proper documentation, then letting him go after several months.  Despite his unusual name, Tino was Dutch and therefore unaccustomed to our harsh practices of indiscriminate firings, home foreclosures and countless people living on the streets.  He watched O.J. Simpson's infamous motorcade with astonishment.  How do you explain, let alone justify, life in America?

I can still vividly recall riding that second bus, anxiously staring out the window while imagining all sorts of scenarios, none of which included discovering a dead body.  I went into shock, of course; and despite trying to do myself in, I'm still ticking off the years.  I did have one 12-year roller-coaster ride with the Captain which was certainly interesting, but hardly emotionally fulfilling.  Other than that I've been on my own,except for BC, bless her.

Perhaps, as Kamala Harris claims, it's time to turn the page.  So what wisdom have I gleaned over three decades of sorrow?

3D painting of Mom's house

#1:  Don't make any major decisions for at least a year.  I was younger than any other widow I knew, but I did hear plenty of stories from those who made decisions they later regretted.  The one I heard more than any other was of women selling their homes and moving into something smaller or to a different place, usually to live with their grown children.  Mom briefly considered moving into a condo, easier to maintain, an idea Sis and I encouraged (we meant well); but fortunately she decided to stay put and never regretted her decision.  Tino and I were renting an apartment, but one of the first things I said to Mom over the phone was, "I guess I'll move back home (to N.J.)"  I didn't, after all, and I'm so glad.  Your head's just not screwed on tightly that first year.  On the flip side (as on a phonograph record),  widowers tend to re-marry quickly.