Honor and remembrance

 It's Memorial Day weekend.  Most people look at this as another "Monday Holiday" a three day weekend that begins Summer.  There are sales and cookouts and gatherings that have nothing to do with the reason behind this "holiday"

It's not a holiday.

It is supposed to be a day when we take a moment in our busy lives to honor those who gave their lives in service to this country.  Today, I am thinking about those who dies on the battlefield AND those who came back with pain so great they ended it. Call it PTSD, Battle fatigue or just haunted, these people who end their own lives are no less heroes than those who died fighting.  Our country has abandoned them.  Mental health care in this country is a joke. It is SO stigmatized, when I get a reminder call from my psychiatrist, they do not acknowledge the department they are calling from in the message. HOW,  tell me HOW is THAT helpful, if you can't admit you are seeing a doctor to help you deal with whatever mental anguish you are suffering, because THEY can't acknowledge it.  The message is on my CELL PHONE and I am the only one who gets the message, it's not like it would be broadcast anywhere.  Yes I am dealing with a few issues and it is helping, so there it is.

I am thinking about the poem "In Flanders Fields" by John McCrae, a poem that is often cited and probably the reason that VFW members wear poppies.  Poppies grew in the field where the dead were buried.  I read somewhere, and I really should check this out, that poppies only grow like that when the ground is disturbed.  The poem calls on us, the living to continue the fight that they died fighting.  I am not sure how I feel about that, but I get it.  May they not have died in vain, but so often wars are fought for old men who can't agree, by young men and women who die for that disagreement.  I notice that most of the time, the children and grandchildren of those old men are not part of the  fighting force.

I looked up a study guide and the guide MISQUOTED the poem.  I really should let them know  it is:

"In Flanders Fields the  poppies BLOW"

NOT  

"In Flanders Field the poppies grow"

I think the image of the delicate poppies blowing in the wind between the crosses that mark the grave is much more impactful, don't you?

Today is not the day to say "thank you for your service" although that sentiment can and should be expressed every day  in my opinion.  Do not wish them "Happy Memorial Day"  This is a day to honor and remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice.

Florida and Disney

 

So, the Governor of Florida has a temper tantrum and "punishes" a corporation  for disagreeing with him.  WHAT happened to the Republican stance of smaller government and support of Big Business?  Oh yeah, as long as they are lining your pockets Big Business is fine.  When you publicly make a stand, well, you are toast.

I love how the ONLY thing that they are harping on is pedophilia,  Now, I think pedophiles are the lowest of the low. I do not dispute that, but it seems to be the ONLY argument against ANYONE who opposes the Republican Party.  This is a page STRAIGHT out of Putin's playbook.  Rachel Maddow did a remarkable piece earlier this week about just how he rose to power.  

But back to Ron DeSantis and his Cancelation of Disney.  He's totally gas lighting people in advance of the Mid terms.  A few details he left out: 

•   The Law does not go into effect until June 1, 2023. So all those people salivating over the immediate demise of Disney are going to have to wait for more than a year. 

•  Also- and I am DIRECTLY quoting from today' BRILLIANT piece fro Heather Cox Richardson ( please read it in full) "Even more, though, state law says that Disney’s status can’t be repealed without the consent of the voting landowners, a reality Republicans in the state legislature appear to have ignored. "  Essentially, the "law" is a nothing burger, if the people in the District don't approve it.  And who in their right mind WOULD?   This is grandstanding, which appears to be all the current Republican Party has in its arsenal.

I realize this was still in my draft box.  This is all I have to say at the moment about Florida, but I am thinking and getting concerned about how the Conservative movement is forcing their will on the rest of us.  We need to take Florida as a warning and fight in our communities to allow people to have free will .  the thing that ( to quote my mom ) frosts my ass is they take away your rights and call it Freedom.

I am a political animal

 I always have been interested in what is going on.  I consider myself a liberal, but I understand the conservative POV.  I think we need both sides to get it right. 

I do NOT understand the current mindset of the Republican Party.  They LITERALLY have NO platform and are dang proud of it.  The only agenda they have is that ANYTHING Joe Biden wants needs to be stopped.  I swear if he declared breathing to be mandatory , the Faithful would hold their breaths until they passed out - I would PAY to see some of them keel over in that instance.

I wonder what time Marjorie Taylor Greene will be on the stand on Friday.  Oh, she's playing the victim here to the hilt.  Haven't you heard the Truth will set you free, Marge?  She was SO sure the Insurrection would work, she made VIDEOS to support her support for it so Trumpty Dumpty could have evidence of her fealty.  Now it's just... evidence.   Get out the popcorn.  May this just be the first of a long list of reckoning for people who tried to overthrow the government.

I see that the Republican Party in Tennessee tossed Trumps hand-picked candidate, a woman with no experience and NO knowledge of her district based on interviews she has given- off the ballot.  They are NOT supporting her candidacy.  Tennessee went so far as to pass a law that you have to live there three years before you can run, but since they passed it after she was on the ballot, this may not apply to her.  Still I am proud of the Republican Party there ( something I rarely say) in their standing up to the Former Guy.  I hope she loses "bigly" and moves back to wherever she came from.  Carpetbagger much?

I am watching the election in France.  Are the French so fed up that they will elect an actual Putin-loving and Putin OWING- Communist?  I hope not.  Look what happened here when we "elected" ( with Putin's interference) a Putin sycophant.    yeah.

Alex Jones is apparently spilling the tea all over the place, possibly in hope of getting help with his legal troubles regarding the BS he spewed for YEARS about the Sandy Hook killings.  He needs to lose everything, as those families did as he continued to smear them as fakes.  He is the worst instance of walking excrement I have ever seen- and that includes Steve Bannon who always looks like he needs a bath.

To Quote Margo Channing "Fasten your seatbelts, It's going to be a bumpy night."

Easter and where have I been

 To my regular readers who think I fell off the edge of the world, I kind of did.  On March 15th I had a total knee replacement.  It is a rough go and I have not had the energy or the brainpower to write ANYTHING.  So here I am.  Lots to unpack.

This is Easter Eve or whatever they call it.  I am sure there is a name for it, but it escapes me right now.  I have said it before and I will say it again; you can talk about "The War on Christmas" all you want and wring your hands and moan that "Christians are being canceled" but if you follow your faith, you will realize that EASTER is the main holiday for Christians.  Seriously, the whole thing is based on his taking our sins by dying and rising again.   I don't particularly buy into that, but it IS what Christians believe and I am not going to attack anyone for their belief as long as it makes them a better person.

I have been thinking about my childhood church and the teachings therein.  So, in no particular order:

Why are we pissed off at Judas?   IF we believe that God sent Jesus to die for us and all of this was part of His plan, then WHY are we angry at JUDAS for doing what God himself ordained?  It had to suck to be Judas.

Why do we throw shade on the Jews for Jesus crucifixion?  The Romans were in charge and they were the ones who passed the judgment.  Ok, so the whole "Give us Barabbas and crucify Jesus" thing.  Someone once told me the theory that Barabbas was a leader in an underground movement and that's why they wanted him back.  Interesting thought, but again, if God himself put this plan in motion, why are we casting blame for people doing God's will?

My faith is not the faith it was when I was a child.  I don't behave myself for hope of Heaven or fear of Hell.  I am not quite sure either exist in the mode that was presented over and over again in countless thundering Sunday sermons.  I do believe in God and have a rather quirky relationship with my creator.  I am still trying to figure it out.  I suppose I will see if I got it right at some point in the future.

I don't think God intercedes much on our behalf.  If he did , Putin and Trump would have been smote down with bolts of lighting ( something the Southern Baptist minister of my childhood constantly referenced to scare the congregation)   So far, nada from God on what going on in Ukraine, although the sinking of the flagship was a good start.

The banning of books is getting out of hand.  Honestly, today Florida banned MATH books for teaching "Critical Race theory" or as we like to call it "history"  Heaven forbid the children of that state not be taught the "Happy Darkie" theory;  that Black people are somehow inferior and appreciate being kept in slavery.  UGH.

Don't start me on Gregg Abbott of Texas.  He creates an artificial crisis and then changes the rules to somehow appear to Save The Day.   I hope people in Texas remember freezing because the power grid was substandard and the Governor did nothing and now they are going to pay higher prices for a fake supply chain problem.  Vote for Beto if you can.

But my thoughts turn back to Easter. I am making a traditional meal, somewhat abbreviated as standing for a long time is still tough.   I am going to color a few eggs and make deviled eggs for tomorrow.  I brought back my Mother-in-law's deviled egg plate, so that will hold pride of place on the table this year.  I miss her terribly.  She was a true blessing in my life and I am  proud to have been her daughter.

Happy Easter.

Thursday morning

 I know I should write every day and as I wind down toward retirement, I am going to try to do that, to keep my chops up, to keep my brain active to do something.

I have worked steadily since I was 18- I was off for brief periods of time due to illness or childbirth, but I have always worked.  It is going to be weird not to have that thing on my schedule.  People say it will take a while before it really sets in that I am not going to a job.   I have a friend who gave himself a year of doing nothing except what he wanted to do before finding what it was he really wanted to do.  I think that sounds like a fine idea. 

I am not the kind of person to do nothing.  Sure, there are days when lying in bed reading is all I want to do, but then I feel like a slug and start some project.  I am doing little artsy things that I enjoy and I am pretty pleased with the outcome.  I post pictures of them on FB when I hang them- they are door decorations, I just finished one for Valentines Day and I need to get it hung.  It's not anything remarkable, but I like it and one of my neighbors said she likes my decorations so that was nice. 

I am thinking of making Gazpacho for dinner- without the cucumbers Chris hates- in honor of that idiot MTG.  THERE , ladies and gentlemen, is the product of a poor education.  This is what you get when you tell people that their children can't handle the truth of history and tell it like a Disney version of Grimm's Fairy Tales ( read the actual Grimm's Brother in German, you will be horrified)  We need to tell them the truth, so we don't repeat the past.

So, I am looking at recipes and  getting ingredients for a cold soup that might be nice this evening.  it has been typical "winter" weather here, high 70's with clear days.  I await the rains in the end of the month and in March. We have not had much rain and we are in a severe drought.  

I'd better get my tail in gear here.  I have to be "at work" in 1/2 hour  Still working hybrid, part here part there.  We do not have enough space to all go in at once and socially distance.  There IS space in the huge building I work in that is not being used but we can't get access.  I suppose cleaning the areas that are unused on a daily basis is a concern.   that is a rant and a musing for another day.

A poem about my garden (inwhich I try to channel Mary Oliver)

 

My neighbor

waters the weeds

in my garden

The ones the gardener  ignores

and the ones I don't have the time

or the energy to pull

so they grow

around the rocks

and the other plants 

that my neighbor 

and his grey metal can

water gently 

every day.

Almost No one reads these anyway

 Well , there are about three people who check in with me.  Thanks guys!  I suppose I write more for myself, to keep my skills up but it IS discouraging to post and have no one even look at it- there's a counter and it tells me.

Sigh.  

We went to the Getty yesterday.  It was a nice day, perfect weather as we sometimes get in mid Winter around here- in the mid 70's and clear as a bell.  Not too windy.  I always laugh at the houses on the hill, near the Getty.  Big Mansions that cost a pretty penny.  I always wonder f those people know their home is built on a garbage dump.  Yep.  A landfill.   As a kid, I remember the garbage trucks going up that road that now leads to those pricy homes.  I'd be willing to bet it was not mention by the realtors in making the sales pitch.

I always go and look at The Irises- the Van Gogh that usually hangs in the gallery.  It is the prize piece of the collection, purchased in the 90's for an obscene amount of money.  It is beautiful and now encased in glass to keep people from touching it.  It has its own guard who keep people back from it.  Before they put the glass on it, I used to tuck my hand behind my back when I would look at it; the urge to touch it was so strong. The textures and the colors are wonderful to look at.  I have been there once or twice when it was not on display and I was disappointed.  

They had a lot of Gauguin's on display and I really looked a them this time.  There was also an alabaster bust of a woman that was so beautifully done, it was almost as if she could speak.  I think of Michelangelo  who said that he felt he was feeing the subject from the stone when he sculpted.  I like that notion, that art is there, waiting to appear.

Still I am trying to write as often as I can, not just when the spirit moves me.  Writing is a craft that must be practiced or you lose the muscle memory.  I had promised to write every day at one point, but that fell by the wayside as life became overwhelming and I just didn't feel like exploring my mind and putting it to "paper"   As I get ready to retire, I am planning my next move and I hope that daily writing will be part of my journey.  even if it is only for a select few who keep up with me,