Hippity Hoppity

Saturday 9: Here Comes Peter Cottontail (1950)

1) Which do you prefer: colored hard-boiled eggs, chocolate marshmallow eggs, or plastic eggs with coins inside?

A. How about just those nice milk-chocolate egg footballs, or a Cadbury Egg? I love Cadbury Eggs.

2) What's your favorite color of Peeps (yellow, purple, or pink)?

A. I don't like Peeps. My favorite color is blue. Do they make blue Peeps?

3) All this talk of sweets is making the writer of this meme (Sam) hungry. What's for lunch?

A. Yogurt.

4) This song was introduced by country singer Gene Autry and it's still a favorite. Please share some of the lyrics. (And you're on your own; Sam didn't include a link to the song this week.)

A. Here comes Peter Cottontail, hoppin' down the bunny trail, hippity hoppity Easter's on its way. He's got Jelly Beans for Tommy, colored eggs for sister Sue, there's an orchid for your mommy, and an Easter bonnet, too! (That's from memory, I didn't look it up.)

5) Gene Autry was so popular that a town in Oklahoma named itself for him. Have you ever been to Oklahoma?

A. I think I have driven through Oklahoma, way back in 1976 when I was 12 and my parents drove across the US from Virginia to California. But otherwise, no.

6) In addition to singing, Mr. Autry made 93 cowboy movies. What's the last movie you saw?

A. I guess Game of Thrones isn't a movie, is it. My husband was watching The Waterboy while I was paying the bills the other night, but that doesn't really count as I wasn't paying much attention and I really dislike Adam Sandler movies. The last movie I saw at the theater was The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. I don't really watch a lot of movies, as you can tell.

7) He and his horse Champion also had a TV show. Can you name another famous horse?

A. Mr. Ed. He was a talking horse. There was also Secretariat, which won the Triple Crown in horse racing. The Disney movie about him was great. There, that's a movie I have watched.

8) Gene Autry also recorded "Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer," and it was, of course, wildly popular, too. Who is your favorite recording artist?

A. I am partial to both Melissa Etheridge and Sheryl Crow, though I liked both of their earlier works more so than what they are producing today. I don't really have a favorite, more like a certain style of music that I prefer.


9) Back to the holiday celebration at hand -- Easter is considered the season of rebirth. What leaves you feeling refreshed and rejuvenated?

A. A good night's sleep helps. A massage is nice. Inspired conversation with friends is also good. And I like the idea of healthy blood. Everybody needs healthy blood; I'm just not sure how one gets it and keeps it.

Books: The Invention of Wings

The Invention of Wings
By Sue Monk Kidd
Copyright 2014
360 pages

This story is inspired by history and the true story of Sarah Grimke, an early abolitionist in the 1830s. In real life, Sarah, at age 11, was given a young slave girl for her handmaid. Sarah taught the young slave to read, and the slave was beaten so severely that she later died.

Kidd reimagines the story, breathing life into both Sarah and Hettie, the slave girl. She allows the slave girl to live, though, and offers the reader a look at what a life in chains - figuratively and literally - really means.

This a book about courage, hope, faith, and women. Mostly it is about women and their need to find their voices - their heartbeats that give meaning to life beyond the prescribed roles dictated by a patriarchal and unforgiving society. I fear it is a tale that still rings true for women even today, for the many who are kept bound by the dictates of economy and lack of education.

It is also a good reminder of the times this country has attempted to leave behind, and a hit upside the head to those who think we have stepped so far that periods like these are best forgotten. We are doomed to repeat what we forget, and this is something better remembered.

I recommend this book highly to anyone who wants to read about virtue and who would like to understand what courage really means. If you are interested in reading how one might go about fulfilling the dreams of life, you might find your own courage in the passages of this book.

The characters portrayed here will be staying with me for a very long time.

Oprah picked this book as one of her book club picks. You can see a short interview with Sue Monk Kidd here. Oprah writes about why she chose the book here. She calls it "a conversation changer" and there is no argument from me. I hope it changes conversation in the living room of every home.

Thursday Thirteen #340

Here are some folk remedies. These all come from Folk Medicine: A New England almanac of natural health care from a noted Vermont country doctor, by D. C. Jarvis, M.D., copyright 1958. These are listed for entertainment purposes only; I have no idea if any of them work.

1. To lose weight, sip two teaspoons of apple cider vinegar in a glass of water AT EACH MEAL.

2. For chronic fatigue, add three teaspoons of apple cider vinegar to a cup of honey. Place the mixture in a wide-mouthed jar. Take two teaspoons just prior to going to bed.

3. Two teaspoons of honey taken at each meal will prevent headaches. If a headache occurs, take a tablespoon of honey immediately.

4. For high blood pressure, increase your consumption of apples, grapes, cranberries, or their juices.

5. For dizziness, take two teaspoons of apple cider vinegar in water every day.

6. Gargle with a mixture of one teaspoon of vinegar to a cup of water for a sore throat every hour. Swallow the mixture after gargling.

7. Honey is an efficient way to end bed-wetting.

8. For a cough, boil one lemon slowly for 10 minutes. Cut the lemon in two and extract the juice. Add two tablespoons of glycerin. Add honey until you have filled the drinking glass. Take one teaspoon at a time. Stir before taking.

9. Chewing honeycomb helps with breathing disturbances.

10. Chew honeycomb once a day for a month before hay-fever season; your symptoms will either not appear or be mild.

11. Kelp helps with heart pain. (If you are having chest pains, please see your doctor right away.)

12. Foods such as radishes, asparagus, carrots, tomatoes, spinach, rhubarb, potatoes, peas, strawberries, mushrooms, lettuce, bananas, cabbage, egg yolk, and onions can help add iodine to your diet. Cod liver oil is also rich in iodine.

13. When you are expecting an active day, omit wheat foods, wheat cereals, white sugar, and citrus fruit and fruit juices from your morning meal. Instead eat rye or corn foods and cereals. Use honey for sweetener. Eat an apple, grapes, or cranberries.

Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 340th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. 

Mustard Meadow

In a number of hayfields around the area, you see a profusion of mustard flowers. My husband said the mustard came in with alfalfa seed several years ago; thus the great masses of yellow.

I think it looks quite lovely but it doesn't make for very good hay. This field needs to be reseeded.

Tuesday Rant

Today is tax day in the United States. All taxes from last year are due today.

It is also the day quarterly taxes for the current year are due if you pay estimated taxes. Small business owners are likely to do this.

In the last presidential election, there was a lot of talk about how half of the country (it's really about 46 percent) doesn't pay federal taxes. The talk never centered on the reason why these folks don't pay federal taxes.

It's because they are too poor. These are low-income folks, many of whom are elderly (remember, we're an aging population). They're the people who work for minimum wage at fast food places, in retail, and other service jobs. They are the backbone of the country and the tax rate is structured to keep them from being burdened with taxes. Otherwise they wouldn't be able to eat.

It is worth noting that tax cuts enacted under the Bush administration - under a Republican president - also reduced the tax burden on people who probably could afford it. Those cuts increased child tax credits, earned income credits, and increased deductions and other exemptions. All of that had the effect of increasing the number of people who pay minimal taxes.

However, very few people pay no taxes. There are state taxes, local taxes, food taxes, gas taxes, and no end of fees out there. I don't see how anybody can escape them entirely.

In Sunday's edition of Parade, they ran their annual "What People Earn" article. The thing I always find most striking about these articles is what it reveals about what we value as a society. We value entertainment more than public safety, for example. Sports over national security. If we didn't, then the paychecks would reflect different priorities. It also indicates that different areas of the country have different value systems.

Matthew McConaheghey earns $19 million. An assistant to the mayor in Seattle earns $80,000. A fire chief in Utah makes $110,000. Here locally, our county administrator makes about $132,000 (that's not in the article, that's just something I know). A library director in West Virginia makes $8,840. A stadium beer vendor in Pennsylvania makes $12,000. Vice President Joe Biden makes $230,700. A Montessori teacher in Idaho earns $26,000. A firefighter in Indiana earns $52,000. A mental health counselor in New Mexico earns $31,200.

Does it not concern you that 46 percent of the people in this country are too poor to pay taxes? Shouldn't that give you pause? Shouldn't we, en masse, as a society, stop and reexamine our value system?

Is this healthy? You can't expect the disabled or the elderly to get out and work harder. You can't expect the low income-earner to do better when there aren't jobs out there. We've reached a point where people simply have no upward mobility because the jobs aren't there. You can't go from flipping burgers to a nice union job at the Ford Motor Company anymore. Those higher paying jobs in production have vanished, sent overseas or done away with because a robot can turn a screw.

I have a little house that I rent out. I have figured out that in order for someone to live there and be comfortable, they really need an income of about $36,500.  That's one person. That's well above the poverty level in this country, but I think that should be the bottom line. That's $100 a day to eat, pay rent, put gas in the car, pay for heat and electricity, and pay taxes. Maybe on that $36,500 you could go out to eat once in a while. I would consider this amount to be a living wage.

The inequality of salary and our declining value system, the one that puts going to the movies or watching sport over having the house fire put out or health care issues taken care of, concern me more than any other issue taking place in this land. I think there are solutions available for this problem that would solve other problems, too.

For example, what if there was a program that trained young men how to solarize a home? What if every household became a more green environment? That's a lot of jobs in construction right there. What if we each had a windmill?

Our infrastructure is failing. The electric grid needs work. Roads are falling apart. There is a lot of work to do and little will to fund it. What would make you happier, paying a little more in taxes so a road can be repaired, or having the road repaired by some big corporation that then charges you a $2 toll every time you go through it? Aren't you still paying for it either way?

What if we built more hospitals, trained more nurses and doctors, and had the health care that would truly make the United States the most enviable country in the world when it came to taking care of its citizens?

What would happen, do you think, if we put people over profits? What if we tried to become the happiest country on earth instead of the richest?

Virginia is often rated high as a "great state for business." It always irks me because I don't want to live in a great state for business. I want to live in a great state - a great nation - for people. I want this country to be the best that it can be, and that means it puts people - you, and you, and me - first.

Not the Koch brothers, not Exxon, not Monsanto. But us, We the People of the United States, who long ago joined together to create a more perfect union.

If we do not change this, if we do not once again come together as a society that cares about one another, that sees inequality and does something about it, then this grand experiment is over, and we have failed.

Pay your taxes today, and be grateful that you earn enough to have to write the check. There are an awful lot of people out there who do not have that opportunity. They are not lazy, they are not slobs, they are not objects of derision. They are people who work just as hard as you do, but maybe have had a little less luck or fewer opportunities.

In a blink of an eye, that person could be you. All it takes is one car wreck, one house fire, one heart attack, one lawsuit. And you'd better damn well not forget it.

Spring Bustin' Out All Over

I Was Driving Tractors

From Sunday Stealing

Bonus Questions Meme

1.What’s your favorite frozen treat on a stick?

A. I don't really have one. I guess a Popsicle. I don't do milk products at all so some kind of frozen water.

2.What’s your favorite lollipop?

A. What, are these questions for third graders? I have no idea. As long as it doesn't taste like coconut, I'm good with it.

3.When you passed notes during class in high school, who was mostly often the recipient?

A. Oy vey, they are questions for third graders! I didn't pass notes after the second grade. Do you really want to hear this story? When I was in the second grade, a boy passed a note to me, and I wrote something and passed it back. It was probably something such as, "I like you" and "I like you too." The teacher intercepted it and pinned it to the bulletin board. She then made each and every student parade in front of the bulletin board, one at a time, and read the note. I sat in my desk and cried the entire time. After that I never passed another note, I assure you.

4.Who among your high school friends was the first to get his or her own car?

A. Good Lord. That was 35 years ago. Do you honestly think I remember that? I grew up in a rural community. I was driving tractors and farm trucks by the time I was 12. So was every other kid who lived on a farm.

5.Who’s the black sheep in your family?

A. I think I am.

6.Who’s the family historian?

A. I am.

7.What was the last thing you sprayed from a spray bottle?

A. Does dishwashing liquid count? It doesn't really spray, it sort of oozes, but that was the last thing I used.

8.What was the last thing you sprayed from an aerosol can?

A. My guess would be Lysol.

9.When did you last make reservations for something?

A. Do doctor appointments count? In that case, Friday. If you're talking about fun things like restaurants or plays, it's been so long I can't remember.

10.What’s your next upcoming appointment?

A. Monday morning at 10:00 a.m. I am seeing a new physical therapist for my ongoing issue with abdominal pain. One doctor thinks it being caused by adhesions/scar tissue and somehow this is supposed to help. I have my doubts but am willing to give it a try.

11.What store’s departure from your preferred shopping mall most saddened you?

A. None of them, really. Well, I was not happy when Circuit City closed, leaving us with just Best Buy or Radio Shack for electronic shopping. But it didn't make me sad.

12.What’s good to eat at your preferred shopping mall?

A. I seldom eat there so I couldn't say. The last time I did was probably five years ago.

13.What services (as opposed to goods) do you pay for at your preferred shopping mall?

A. None. This meme sounds like some kind of advertisement for capitalism. I mean, who cares?

14.What’s a store you’ve never been inside at your preferred shopping mall?

A. I haven't been inside my "preferred shopping mall" in over a year. I don't even know what is in there anymore. As you can see, I am not a good consumer.

15.What kind of store would you most welcome in your preferred shopping mall?

A. Yep, definitely a meme for capitalism. Maybe an effort to indoctrinate third graders into the capitalistic system? Book stores are always good. A nice independent book store. I'll go with that for an answer.

16.What did you most recently purchase at an office supply store?

A. Ink cartridges for my HP OfficeJet Pro K5400 printer. They cost over $100, too.

17.What did you most recently purchase at a book store?

A. Duh. A book.

18.What did you most recently purchase at a drugstore?

A. Melatonin pills to see if they would help me sleep. So far I've been too scared to try them because I'm taking so many other drugs.

19.What did you most recently purchase at a convenience store?

A. I don't shop in convenience stores.

20.What did you most recently purchase at a thrift shop?

A. A friend brought me a few denim dresses to try on from the local Goodwill recently when I was too sick to go out. None of them fit and I donated them back.

One of Life's Little Adventures

I took some photos yesterday, and had a little adventure. As my husband put it, I can't even go down to get the mail without having *something* happen.

I waited until the sun was shining, and went down with my camera. I wanted a shot of the hayfield that is currently overrun with mustard.

That's a weed that is not great for hay but it is quite lovely to look at. And then I thought, well, I'll cross the street and get a picture of those Canadian geese on the pond.

The next thing I knew some guy on a bike went whizzing by. "Get your damn dog out of the road!" he shouted at me. I don't have a dog, much less a damn one, so I looked up to see this big bulldog-looking thing with its tongue hanging out heading towards me.

You must know I am not only allergic to dogs, I am somewhat terrified of strange ones I do not know. And I did not know this animal. I went into panic mode.

The dog was in the middle of the road and suddenly traffic was everywhere, backed up coming from both directions, and I was standing there helplessly scared of this dog in the street and the bicyclist was long gone by then. Part of me was thinking, I should call the dog and get it out of harm's way and the other part was yelling, that thing is going to take my leg off. A fleeting thought went something like, the dog should've chased the guy on the bike and bit his leg off, it would have served him right.

Fortunately one of the vehicles in the traffic was my neighbor, who is also the county sheriff. I waved him over and told him this dog had taken a stroll in my general direction. I thought it belonged down the street a ways, and so we walked it back and it went toward the rear of the house and we decided it must live there. There were no tags on its collar.

Then we walked back to my car, and by this time I was walking incredibly slowly given the issues I'm having with my tummy and the fact that I'd had some medical testing done earlier in the day, and wasn't prepared for all of this excitement when all I wanted was a scenic shot of mustard in the hayfield.

And darned if I didn't forget to take a picture of the dog.

I Should Pay More Attention

Saturday 9: I'll Be There for You (1995)

You can hear the song here. It is the theme from Friends. I never watched the show but it was nice to see Courtney Cox looking better than she does in that Cougar Town show. She's kind of scary in that.


1) This song begins with, "So no one told you life was gonna be this way …" What do you wish you knew five years ago about your life now?

A. I wish I had known five years ago that I needed to take better care of my health. Well, I knew that, actually. But I didn't do it, and I wish I had. I also wish I had known that the economy was going to remain stagnant.

2) This is, of course, the theme from Friends, which is frequently shown back-to-back on TVLand and TBS. Have you ever "binge-watched" a show, catching episode after episode?

A. Of course. I own DVDs strictly for that purpose. Some of the shows I have binge-watched include Xena: Warrior Princess, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Star Trek: Voyager, Cagney & Lacey, and Charlie's Angels (the original). And many nights we watch four episodes in a row of Big Bang Theory, because truthfully there is absolutely nothing else on.

3) On the show, Monica and Rachel shared a beautiful 2BR/2BA Soho apartment with a private balcony. It's estimated that such a pad would cost at least $3500/month in today's real-life New York. Describe your dream home.

A. Ah, yes, the dream house. Mostly, mine would have a maid. Other than that, I don't care too much about specifics. The house I live in now would be just fine if someone other than I were the clean-up crew, although I might want maybe another 500 square feet of space and a nice covered porch. But otherwise I am content.

4) Of the six main characters, only Chandler was an only child. Do you have any siblings?

A. I have a brother. He is three years younger than I. He has given me a niece and a nephew, and he answers my calls when I need him. Can't ask for more than that. He also reads my blog.

5) Gunther was the barista at Central Perk, the coffee shop where the Friends hung out. He had an ongoing, unrequited love for Rachel. Are you crushing on anyone right now? Does he/she know? 

A. I just crush on my husband of 30 years, and he is well aware of it. However, he says I have a crush on Orlando Bloom, but only in his role as Legolas in Lord of the Rings.

6) Currently Matt ("Joey") LeBlanc stars in the Showtime series Episodes, playing a character named Matt LeBlanc. If there was going to be series based on your life, who would play you?

A. I'm not sure what this says about me, but probably Kathy Bates, though she is about 20 years too old for the part. Other choices? Diane Lane. Susan Sarandon, though she too might be a bit old for the part. I'm not familiar enough with younger actresses to know who might play the role of a more youthful me. 

7) Courtney Cox, who portrayed Monica, has the Twitter handle @CourtneyCox and has 628,000 followers. What was your last tweet?

A. I don't tweet. My last post on Facebook was this: "One full hour and 10 different sticks with a needle to insert an IV for five minutes for some testing. I look like a pin cushion."

8) The creators of Friends were massive soap opera fans. They named their characters after recurring characters on All My Children* and had Joey appear on Days of Our Lives. Have you ever been hooked on a daytime drama?

A. When I was quite young I was a fan of Dark Shadows. In my teens and early twenties I liked Guiding Light. Those are the only two I ever watched with any regularity.

9) The band who performed this song, The Rembrandts, took their name from the famous Dutch painter. Can you see any artwork from where you're sitting right now? Tell us about it (and yes, a school painting by your 7-year-old nephew counts).

A. I have a painting of a cabin in the woods on my wall to my left. It is by local artist Jessie Stull Burton. I bought it about 15 years ago and hung it in my office because I liked it. It's a peaceful, tranquil scene.

I also have a series of photos I took in 2006 pinned to the wall. They are not particularly good shots but remind me of the day when I realized a deer was my animal totem and that I should pay more attention to them because there were things I could learn from their ways.

Watch Me Glow

This morning, in about 20 minutes, actually, I am going for a CT Scan.

This will be the second one I have had. The first I had in the emergency room in September. This one should be a little less nerve-wracking, given that it isn't in the ER.

I continue to have severe abdominal pain that doctors so far cannot diagnose. It is everything from nothing to ulcers to muscle spasms to some kind of "pelvic floor disorder," depending on the doctor and his or her specialty. But so far no one can help.

Some days the pain and nausea are so bad all I can do is get up, maybe sit at the computer a while, and go back to bed.

So I don't know whether to hope this test shows nothing or something.

CT Scans involve drinking 32 ounces of something that doesn't taste very good. Then they use some kind of contrasting agent through an IV and run you through a scary-looking machine. It is round and it takes pictures of your insides "in slices," as my general physician described it.

Anyway, wish me luck, however it turns out.

Thanks for reading.

Update 12:05 p.m.

It was a difficult procedure. First you have to drink 32-ounces
of liquid that makes your stomach cramp up. Then you have to spend over an hour and have three people stick needles in you 10 times to try to find a vein. Then you have to try to stand up, after being stuck in a chair for that hour and getting stiff. Then you hobble over to the machine without moving your arm for fear the IV will pop out. Then you have to hold your breath for up to 10 seconds at a time while you are moved through the machine. Then they insert the stuff into the IV and it makes your nose, mouth and groin area feel like it is on fire. Then you go back into the machine a few more times. Then you sit up and they take out the IV. Then you squirt blood all over the room and they wrap a compression bandage around your arm to stop the bleeding. Then you hobble out to your long-suffering husband and beg him to take you home.

Or at least that is how it happened to me.

Thursday Thirteen

Today I offer you 13 ways not to die too young.



This is NOT a bear.

1. Don't mess with bears. Bears will eat you.

2. Don't swim in shark-infested waters. Sharks will eat you, too.



It would hurt
 if this tree
fell on your head.

3. Don't get in the way of a falling tree. A falling tree will squash you into the ground. Then you will be just as dead as if a bear ate you. 


4. Don't drive your car, ATV, or motorcycle over a cliff. Odds are good you won't survive the drop. Your vehicle might go up in flames just like in the movies, too. Not a lovely way to burn. Not to mention start a forest fire.

5. Don't fall from high places. These includes ladders, roofs, treetops, and trapeze wires, plus lower places like are still high, such as the seat of that chair you stood on to reach the top of the refrigerator.

6. Don't walk beneath anvils, pianos, or other heavy objects when some idiot is trying to lift them to a second-story window. They might fall and squash you as dead as the falling tree.

7. Don't do stupid things while driving, such as texting, talking on the phone, playing video games, reading, putting on makeup, stuffing your face with drive-thru food, etc. It really is true that it only takes a second for you to lose your focus and then control of the car. Next thing you know, you've driven over a cliff and started a forest fire.

8. Look both ways when you cross the street. You never know when some jerk will come flying along and BAM, you're mincemeat, all because you were looking at your smartphone and not paying attention to what you were doing when you were in the crosswalk.

9. Don't jump out of airplanes without a parachute. Unless you're a Marvel Comic Superhero, doing so will most likely kill you. At the very least it will mangle you up pretty good. We don't need no manglings today.

This might make a fine
wine or dress up a salad.

10. Don't eat poisonous mushrooms. If you are not a poisonous plant expert, it's a good idea to keep anything that grows wild out of your mouth. Now if you plant a garden and something comes up, you can eat that. Unless it's a weed. Dandelions are okay but some weeds taste very bad. And they can kill you if they are poison.

12. Don't play with poisonous snakes. I know there are religious folks out there who do this on a daily basis, but I think the average person can greatly increase his or her lifespan simply by staying away from slithering beasties. Those forked tongues flicking in and out. Yuck. Who wants to play with those things, anyway? Not to mention that if they are poisonous they will by definition kill you.

13. Don't stand outside in a field during a thunderstorm. What, are you a fool? Get in out of the rain. If you can't find shelter immediately, crouch low to the ground and turn yourself into a ball. Don't lie flat on the ground! Lightning seeks out the highest thing around.

What do all of these have in common? Being alert to what is going on around you! How can you best do that? By being in the present moment and putting down your cellphone.

Otherwise, the bear will eat you and you won't even have seen it coming.


Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 339th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.  

Morning Visitor

Was that movement behind that glass?

 

 

 

I know I saw something.

 

 

 

It was *not* my imagination, thank you very much! 

 

 

Yes, there is definitely something looking back at me.

 

 

I've had enough of this game! I'm out of here!

My Tuesday Political Rant

Don't raise my taxes.

It's the rant I see on Facebook pages and in letters to the editor this time of the year. This is when localities set their budgets. 

If you don't want your taxes raised, stop voting for the people in the state and federal government who are forcing your local representatives to raise them. That means the incumbents of whatever party. If the person has been there any length of time and you're not happy with your representation, why do you keep voting the same way?

A recent rant I read was complaining about unfunded state and federal mandates and how this forces the localities to raise taxes. Yes, that is a big problem. The feds or the state legislators say "locality, do this" but they provide no income to do the deed.

That's because the state and federal legislators don't want to be the ones to raise your taxes. They are foisting off something that should be done at the higher levels of government onto the lowest level of government, that is, the county or city. If your state taxes go up, then the legislator, senator, delegate, or congressperson might lose his or her job. And to lose that job is to lose power.

This country is in upheaval and heading toward third world, fascist status. I'm not sure where the stupidity came from, but it has rolled over us all, like or not, as if we were monkeys in a barrel being shoved around by a huge bulldozer.

Please note that I am not pointing to either party. Essentially I do not believe we are a two-party system. We haven't been for at least 30 years. Both parties have failed the citizenry, and as citizens, we have grossly failed one another. If I were Jesus, I would weep, not because religion has been taken out of the schools but because our population, on the whole, has forgotten how to care for one another. We don't know what kindness and empathy are anymore. We have to be one of the most selfish societies to ever have walked this earth.

We have allowed emotional issues that have no place on the political landscape to divide us while those in power do their moving and shaking with little concern or thought to the effect it has on those of us known as "the little people" or "commoners" or "middle class" or "poor." Because in the end, we don't matter. We're as replaceable as the sands on the beaches - just bring in another truckload and dump it, and there you go. Damage repaired. Never mind the hole we left over yonder.

Year after year, we elect people based on some silly "R" or "D" after their name. We don't pay attention to anything but a few issues - and then we are surprised when things happen that bother us. Red states lose welfare benefits and have some of the poorest among our population, yet they vote for those who would continue to cut the very programs that feed them. Blue states begin having pollution problems because their representatives are really for big business. The things that matter - the air we breathe, having a full belly, the love we feel towards one another - those things have no value in our amoral and capitalistic world. If we cannot place a dollar figure on something here, then it is considered useless and unworthy. What price, I ask, does one put on a full tummy?

I for one am tired of certain things being unworthy. Do you not think love is worthy? Clean air? Good health? Fresh water? To me there are certain basic human rights that every individual, no matter how large, small, fat, skinny, clean, dirty, short, tall, arrogant, humble, rich, poor, smart or idiotic, should have available. There should be some level of human dignity afforded to everyone. No one should have to live under a bridge unless they are a troll from the Three Billy Goats Gruff fairy tale.

Could we even agree on the basics? I doubt it. There are people who think you should pay for the air your breathe. They will always think like that, that you are nothing more than a dollar sign.

I guess the question for me is, how much longer will we let those people win? Have they always? Will they always? And do you not know that makes you the loser?

Sure, cry "don't raise my taxes." But don't make that catcall and then keep doing the same thing over and over, voting for the same buffoon. Stake your claim and then do something different. Make your choice count next time, and don't just vote for the "R" or "D" (especially if that person is an incumbent). Maybe it's time for a real party system in the U.S.A., and a real democracy with real choices.

Definition of Insanity

If doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is the definition of insanity (Albert Einstein) what does it say about me when I play 300 games of Free Cell and win them all?

I Can't Choose

From Sunday Stealing

The For Old Times' Sake Meme

Q. When was the last time you swam in a pool?

A. It's been years. So long ago I can't remember.

Q. Do you like to party?

A. No. Give me a book and a little soft music and I'm good to go.

Q. Describe the shirt you're wearing?

A. I have actually spent a lot of time in my nightie today. It is white with little Micky and Minnie Mouses kissing on it. I haven't felt well.
 
Q. What is one feature film that you don't like?

A. You Don't Mess With the Zohan, with Adam Sandler. I thought that was a horrible film.
  
Q. Would people describe you as happy?

A. Probably not.

Q. Sleep with or without clothes on?

A. Really? This is anyone's business how?

Q. Does it bother you if people swear around you?

A. Not usually. I can swear with the best of them.
 
Q. Do you prefer Wednesdays or Thursdays?

A. I have nothing against either day.
 
Q. Like to travel?

A. I used to. The older I get the more of a homebody I become.
 
Q. Think you're attractive?

A. Not particularly.
 
Q. Are or were you a good student?

A. I was the best student ever.

Q. Are you currently happy?

A. I'm happier today than I was yesterday.
 
Q. Colored or black-and-white photo?

A. Life is not an and/or type of thing; you can do both.
 
Q. Do you consider yourself the life of the party?

A. No.
 
Q. Do you drink?

A. No.
 
Q. Do you make fun of people?

A. No! Why would I do that?
 
Q. Do you think dreams eventually come true?

A. For some people.
 
Q. Favorite fictional character?

A. Xena: Warrior Princess. Or is it Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Or Frodo Baggins? Stephanie Plum? Nancy Drew? Puff the Magic Dragon? The Dragon Lady on Game of Thrones whose name I cannot recall. Oh, I can't choose.
 
Q. Go to the movies or rent?

A. Watch HBO.
 
Q. Have you ever moved?

A. I can move heaven and earth when I need to. And I can and have on occasion moved people with my words. I have also physically changed my address a few times, if that is what you're asking.
 
Q. Have you ever stolen anything?

A. Only my husband's heart.
 
Q. How's the weather right now?

A. Sunny and a little breezy.
 
Q. Last time you cut your hair?

A. About two weeks ago.
 
Q. Last person you talked to on the phone?

A. That fellow whose heart I stole.
 
Q. Last time you showered?

A. About 10 hours ago.
 
Q. Loud or soft music?

A. Soft.
 
Q. McDonalds or Burger King?

A. Neither, though I used to like the fish sandwiches at Burger King. That was before I knew better.
 
Q. Night or day?

A. Don't you kind of need both?
 
Q. Number of pillows?

A. I sleep with three.

Q. Piano or guitar?

A. Guitar. Top 50 Guitar Players According to Rolling Stone

Q. Current longing?

A. To feel like my old self again.
 
Q. Current disappointment?

A. Not feeling like my old self.
 
Q. Current annoyance?

A. Not being able to find a doctor who can help me feel like my old self.
 
Q. Last thing you ate?

A. Rice cakes.
 
Q. Last thing you bought?

A. Books. What else is there to buy?
 
Q. Pick a lyric, any lyric or a song...

A. "I'm not scared of dying and I don't really care. If it's peace you find in dying well then let the time be near. ... I can swear there ain't no heaven but I pray there ain't no hell." - Blood, Sweat & Tears 

Q. Pick a movie quote...

A. What's 'taters, Precious? Eh? What's 'taters? - Gollum in The Two Towers movie

One of These Days

Saturday 9: Can't Buy Me Love (1964)

50 years ago this week, The Beatles made history with this song (hear it here). They became the first and only act in history to hold all 5 of the top slots in the Billboard Hot 100.


1) In this song, Beatle Paul offers to buy his girl a diamond ring. Do you wear rings?

A. I wear an anniversary band that my husband bought me for our 20th wedding anniversary in lieu of my wedding band, which got tighter as I grew fatter. One of these days I'll get that old ring back on. I also sometimes wear my college ring. Both are in white gold.


2) This song was written by boyhood friends John Lennon and Paul McCartney, who went on to become the most successful songwriters of the 20th century. Tell us about  your best friend from "the old neighborhood." Do you know where he or she is today?

A. Hmm. Well, one of my closest friends in high school was Beth. We played together in a rock and roll band, back in the day. But after we graduated we lost touch. She used to be on the local police force but I think she may have retired. I'm not sure. I should check that out. 


3) The Ed Sullivan Theater, where the Beatles first performed to a mass American audience, is now the home of The Late Show with David Letterman. Do you have a favorite late night talk show?

A. I go to bed at 10 p.m. I seldom stay up that late. But when I do I watch David Letterman. I have been enjoying clips from that new guy who took over from Jay Leno, though, when my friends post them on Facebook.


4) In 1964, when this song became #1, one of top TV shows was My Favorite Martian. Do you believe in life on other planets?

A. Sure, why not. It might not be life as we know it, but it's a big universe.


5) In those days, homes had rotary dial phones, often affixed to the wall, with the receiver always tethered by a curly cord. Does your home still have a landline phone?

A. Yes. My husband's job requires us to have one.  Plus, our cellphones only half work in the house. Usually I have to go stand in the garage to get reception.


6) 1964 was the year GI Joe first appeared on toy shelves. Tell us about one of your favorite childhood toys. 

A. I was a big fan of Johnny West. They were heavy plastic dolls that had an entire family - Johnny West, Jane West, Jamie West, and there was a daughter too whose name escapes me. They had horses, a buckboard, and a teepee. There was also General Custer, Chief Cherokee, Geronimo, and many others. I think I had most of them at one point; I lost the majority of them in a flood. You can see a list of the dolls at this link.


7) Ringo was the first Beatle to become a grandfather. His granddaughter, Tatia, is now a rock musician. If you were to follow your grandfather into his chosen profession, what would you be doing now?

A. One grandfather worked at Kroger in the warehouse, but also was a TV repairman. Maybe I would be a computer repair girl. The other grandfather was an insurance adjuster. I am not sure what that would translate into.


8) Paul McCartney admits he enjoys watching MasterChef. What show do you go out of your way to catch?

A. Not much. There is little in the way of TV that interests me anymore. I will watch Game of Thrones when it comes on, and I have enjoyed watching Cosmos of late.


9) The paparazzi has often caught Paul pedaling a bike around Martha's Vineyard. What's your favorite form of exercise?

A. I like walking.