I admit it. Other than a short car ride with Owen today, I watched the news. Garry has a cold. Not a really bad cold, but he was already bummed having realized that NOTHING he thought was going to get better has gotten better. So getting a cold seemed grossly unfair. Can’t say I blame him.
The rules of order in the House are bizarre. I don’t have a clue how they figure out who has how much time remaining. I can’t even figure out how they keep track of it. Is there a special computer or something which tells the Speaker who has how much time remaining? It’s nuts.
As far as news goes, I have a lot of theories about what I think might happen and what I think is likely to happen — and how this piece of history is going to work out. These are educated guesses and I could be entirely wrong. I probably am entirely wrong. Or maybe I’m absolutely right. I know enough history to feel my guesses are better educated than most, but I’ve also seen how bizarre the world is.
Since everyone is glued to the news including me, I’m not going to spend all of my time writing when no one is in the mood to read, but here’s what I’m thinking.
McConnell doesn’t think it’s possible to have a Senate trial in the time remaining — AND he wants to expel T**** from the GOP. To get “his team” on board with him, he needs more time. He wants to get rid of T**** for good. His cell phone is going to burst into flames. He might burst into flames.
Meanwhile (meanwhile, meanwhile, meanwhile) — Garry’s worried that some local nut job is going to pick up a gun and come out shooting. I pointed out that he might be right, but short of hiring armed guards, there’s not a whole lot we can do about it, so we might as well watch the news and speculate. Garry has seen a lot of very ugly stuff. He doesn’t talk about it, though he occasionally alludes to it. Aside from all the flak he got for being the first Black guy in his neighborhood, school, college, fraternity, network news operation, local news operation and on and on, he once discovered the soft mushy stuff under his feet were corpses. And there was so much more. He’s seen a lot of dead people, often before the cops showed up. Not surprisingly, this has all left it’s marks on his psyche.
Garry was always an optimist. He was sure that by the time he retired, things — everything — would be better. Instead, the world is a bummer. After a life of being sure it’s getting better, he realized rather abruptly that “things” are not only not better, they are much worse. It haunts his dreams and I’m trying to make sure they don’t haunt mine. One of us needs to stay sane. It has become increasingly difficult to find a sane path and follow it.
I have some nice pieces to write. I took some interesting — and different — pictures today. Not birds! Not squirrels! That’s right. I took pictures in a different city! Holy moly!
Meanwhile, I’m going to watch the news. I feel like this is the end of “The Thing” and everyone is warning me to: “Watch the skies! Keep watching the skies!” I’m watching. Really, I’m watching. Is that an asteroid?
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Categories: American history, News, opinion, Photography, Politics
It is not an easy time to be an optimist.
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I have noticed. It has also taken a big bite out of my sense of humor!
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People who have spent time on ‘the front lines” (this includes reporters) come away with a bit of PTSD (little or large). You can’t see that kind of thing and not be affected. It shows, I suppose, that we’re still human because we don’t tread on the corpses and not instinctively go “What the hell??!” and mourn. I suppose it comes down to what each of us is made of, inside. Do we endure or do we crumble? Takes some sand to face the horrors head on. I’m sorry things are not what all of us were raised and assured they’d be. A better world, cleaner, safer, stronger. And now we have to look up too? Aw. I was always fond of looking at my feet, my mother would chastise me again and again to “look up! You can’t see where you’re going if you’re looking down!” The thing is she didn’t have to live in this time where looking skyward might be more of an early warning system than a optimistic lift.
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I suspect Garry has 40+ years of PTSD and even he will admit it, if you ask. He generally tries to be humorous about it, but when he was working and he got a whole week of murders to cover, by the end, he began to beg to be allowed to do something else. It’s rough. On top of that, we have to go get COVID tests tomorrow because our doctor says even though we don’t have any “typical” symptoms, his mother came down with it and she never goes anywhere. I can’t imagine how we could be sick, but I guess we’ll have to take our doctor’s word for it. He’s a smart cookie. It’s just a lot of schlepping. No late sleeping tomorrow.
I often feel that’s the only thing missing from our mess: a huge asteroid. This ain’t what I had in mind. It isn’t what ANYONE had in mind.
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I agree with Garry! I never envisioned that fifty-five years after the Civil Rights Movement, my black sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons would still need to be taught how to stay safe around the police. I never thought hate would still win elections. But, I am still hopeful because I believe that there are more people, even some who voted for Trump, who understand change is needed and overdue. That hope keeps me sane and keeps the darkness away.
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I want to believe with you. Right now, it’s a bit tricky, but I’m hoping that hope will trickle back into my world very soon. I just wanted T**** to go away and never come back. Now? Who knows Garry pointed out that we’ve had these nut jobs around for a long time. There were plenty of them when he was a young reporter and they didn’t disappear. This mess didn’t start with T**** — and there are a lot more of them than we imagined. And Garry is an OPTIMIST.
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SENDING HEALING VIBES. MY EYESIGHT IS GETTING WORSE, AND I HAVE TO USE UPPER CASE TO SEE WHAT I HAVE TYPED AND TRY TO CORRECT MISTAKES. IN ORDER TO READ POSTS, I NEED A MAGNIFYING GLASS. SINCE THERE IS NO UNDERSTANDING ANYTHING THAT IS HAPPENING IN THE WORLD TODAY, A VISIT FROM OUTER SPACE RESIDENTS WOULD NOT SURPRISE ME. THE ONLY BRIGHT SPOT IS THE UPCOMING ABSENCE OF TRUMP IN OUR ADMINISTRATION. PERHAPS THE GOVERNMENT WILL BE ABLE TO NAIL HIM FOR TAX EVASION NOW.
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I’M AT THE POINT OF JUST WANTING T***** GONE ON ANY TERMS. GONE AND NEVER COMING BACK. EVER. WE’VE GOT TO GO GET TESTED FOR COVID TOMORROW EVEN THOUGH THERE’S NO WAY I CAN IMAGINE WE GOT IT. OUR DOCTOR SAYS HIS MOTHER GOT IT AND SHE NEVER GOES ANYWHERE, SO WE’LL JUST HAVE TO TRUST HIM ABOUT THIS. I’M WRITING IN CAPS TO HELP YOU READ THIS !
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Glued to the TV is where I will be today as well.
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Aside from being scary — on so many levels — this is a fascinating time. No one can argue that we haven’t live in “interesting times.” I don’t think I can cope with anything more interesting. And the TV is ON. We broke away and watched something else last night for an hour, but we were back to the news immediately afterward.
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I look forward to reverting back to a time where I could watch TV primarily for entertainment rather than feeling the need to watch the news, particularly political news, all the time.
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Watching the news feels like a real commitment these days. I have to remind myself that one way or the other, I’ll find out — by phone, or Alexa, or computer, or TV. Something will pop up. The thing is, it’s not ONLY that the world is a mess, but the news is also extremely interesting. Boyoboy, the real FBI ain’t nothin’ like the one on TV!
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Wishing Garry a speedy recovery.
Leslie
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Well, it really FEELS like a BAD head cold with the usual accessories. I know there’s no sympathy for a head cold. You feel like a wuss for complaining. But I feel very drained physically. I’ve had this for a week now.
Leslie, thanks for the kind wishes.
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Take it easy Garry…..
Leslie
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Leslie, thanks. Marilyn just conferred with our PC’s office. We’re going in for COVID checks tomorrow morning. Fingers crossed.
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You’re probably okay for that Garry. You pretty well stay in your bubble….
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“he once discovered the soft mushy stuff under his feet were corpses.”
How very chilling. I am so very sorry for what Garry has had to endure in his life, especially in a country that is supposed to offer hope and opportunity to all of its citizens. Instead, I see a culture of unacceptance toward anyone who is different physically, spiritually or in opinion. I don’t know how we stop this other than to educate and individually show by example an attitude that is empathetic and loving toward others, no matter who they are. Yes, it’s hard to even like some people these days, but it’s the only way to end hate – to put down our sword and send all of that negativity back to hell.
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That was a huge Delta airline crash. He and his photog got there before the first line folks got there (they had a police radio in the car and were closer). I think that’s one of his most hideous memories. That and getting to see some of the scenes where murders took place. By the time he stopped working, I don’t think he had it in him to keep working. Too much violence, too much horror. It got to him.
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Oh wow, I am trying to understand how he must have felt through all of these horrible events. I’m glad for him that he has stopped working and can enjoy pleasurable activities.
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Yes, it’s finally catching up to me. None of us are invulnerable to this crap. I internalized for many years. Too many years.
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