Mom

When my mom was interred next to my father at Arlington Cemetery in 1991, I remember thinking, "There's no one left now". I was not sad as much as I was relieved. Her end of life suffering was over. We got back in our car and drove home to Maine.

We had been back in Acton for awhile and her birthday came around. That is when the pent up guilt hit me. I was not sure why I felt guilt, but I certainly did. The moments of self denial and taking her for granted descended on me and for a day or so, I was in pretty bad shape. Then Time did what it did best. As each year passed, my guilt settled into the the cracks that Passing Time seems to leave in its wake. My memories of her began to leave a smile on my face again.

I still remember the anger I felt at being treated like the red headed step child. Only now, I know, most of the pain I embraced was self induced. My mom was a good woman who passed through life as best she could. It was not her who should have apologized. It should have been me. 

Today would have been her 109th birthday. And though I often forgot her birthday while she was alive, I seldom forget it now.

Happy Birthday Mom, I hope you were right and are now enjoying a new life somewhere.

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I had decided on a wonderful and timeless Blues tune by Nina Simone for this post. But the song just did not fit how I felt. I continued to flip through my memories for a better fit. Beth Hart came to mind. Here is her wonderful tribute to her mom, "Mama This One's for You".

Here Comes the Night?

A question was posed on a Facebook group page set up for the sad sacks who had voted against Trump.

“well peeps it’s been 2 days since our world was turned upside down- checking in - how’s everyone doing?”

I picked some answers from the 200+ answers  as of today. They seem to be a reasonable representation of the overall feelings.

KG – “I’m still feeling I was hit in the face with a board”

RH – “Worried about my son and brother who are disabled and rely on Social Security for us to live”

BW – “I’m still numb.”

AG – “I feel like Franz Kafka must have felt in Germany in the 1930s. Just the thought of living in an environment of rising white nationalism and bureaucratic oppression is giving me feelings of alienation and anxiety. I can't imagine what I'm going to feel like over the next four years -- powerlessness and fear of arbitrary authority comes to mind!”

I was one of those Sad Sacks also. I feel we are not being overly dramatic with our concerns after being so deeply gut punched. I also recognize that at some point, the grieving has to stop and the healing, if any is available, needs to begin. Sans any healing, even more anger from the Left will surely follow and build over time. If that happens, then the Right has really won. They brought us down to their level before the election and will most likely keep us there if our anger and rage rises to the levels their boot licking followers are already carrying. No better way to control the masses than to keep them uncertain, afraid and full of rage. 

Most of us won’t know how to fight at their level. ……… We might want to learn.

No matter what happens, there are some tough times ahead folks ……. For both sides.

Keep it "tween the ditches ..............................

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I decided on this great tune from my Teen Club days for this post. I was compiling a Van Morrison playlist and lo and behold, I had forgotten he had been a member of "Them". When I first played it for my list, it was the day after the election. Since I was weak from the previous day's disappointment of seeing my champion go down in flames, I could not help associating the lyrics to how I felt at that moment. It was these lyrics that did it :

Well, here it comes

Here comes the night

The long, the long and lonely night

Night, night, night, night, night, night

Please enjoy, "Here Comes the Night" , by Them, one of seminal groups of 1960s Rock.

Jim

In my opinion, the term "Hero" is often over used, abused and misused. The term can relate to a single occurrence or a chain of heroic consistencies. There are "Heroes" and then there are heroes; the difference between the two being, not one of degrees, but a difference of relevance. 

That is why I think sports figures, celebrities, and other folks of notoriety should never be called heroes. Unless of course they did something heroic other than just winning a game, showing up in a movie, or running for office. Sadly though, they seem to be the folks who garnish all the heroic attention.

A hero to me is someone who does not consider what they have done or are doing as heroic. They were there when someone or something needed them. A hero does not seek backslapping atta boys, they don't grandstand. 

Jim Driscoll, a local resident of Acton, Maine, was such a man. A friend to many, he touched a lot of lives with his dedication to doing good. He served on the Acton school board and was a selectman here for some years.

I will remember him most for his work as Animal Control Officer in the years before he became ill. I have never seen a man so focused on the needs of animals and reuniting them with their owners. He spent countless hours scouring the town for lost and hurt critters.

Jim made Acton, Maine a much better place to live with his selfless dedication to our town. To me, he was the best kind of Hero. 

You are missed Jim.

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I feel an instrumental is most appropriate for this post. Jim was not a flashy man. And neither is this fine Jazz/Blues tune from Bill Evans. It is called "Real Heroes". Enjoy. 

What Did Kamala Do Wrong?

I mentioned to my wonderful wife this morning about how the Democrats are forming support groups for those of us who are in depressive cycles over the election. At that moment she was standing on a two stepper rifling through the top shelf of the can goods cupboard. I couldn't see her face, the open cupboard door was hiding it.

From behind the door I hear:

"What gets me is all the whining about, 'What did Kamala do wrong?' "

Before she could continue her thought, I interrupted with:

"She did nothing wrong, the country did the wrong. She had two things going against her...... She's Black and worst of all, she's a woman. That is all she did wrong. Had she been born White and been a male child, well, I feel certain the result would have been different.

From behind the cupboard door:

"Exactly".

Rampant Stupidity has taken over the country and it appears that what many of us thought was originally an aberration in the political cycle back in 2016, well, apparently we are not done being Stupid. The Stupid will have to be beaten out of us or wear itself out while the Theory of Evolution plays out on our populace.

I won't dwell on this, as I promised myself I wouldn't. Just wanted to let you know about short conversation I had with my wife as she rifled around the upper shelf containing the canned goods.

Keep it 'tween the ditches..... Um, well, at least try hard to ........................

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I recently discovered this guy. Wish I had many years ago. I'd say we were kindred spirits, but that's just too predictable. Let's just say, we have quite a bit in common. Without further adieu, please enjoy, "Conservative Christian Right-Wing Republican Straight White American Males", by Todd Snider.

 

Nothing Less

 

I originally had this piece on automatic publish. That was just how confident I was Kamala was going to win. I made the same mistake when Hilliary ran. Sometimes it pays to not count chickens before they hatch. This was one of those times.

I was going to postpone this post for the foreseeable future, or at least until I was over the shock and disappointment of the election.

I know that wallowing in my self-pity is a no win situation. I have decided to cease and desist any more Grumpy Gus, the World can go to Hell histrionics. I'm still very unhappy, but making the decision to move on rather than wallow has had immediate benefits.

The first one is posting this bit of verse. When it is all said and done; when I weigh the Bad Times against the Good Times, the personal Truth of the verse still holds.

Besides, my good friend "Pipe" asked me to repost. Thank you sir for the poke.

"Nothing Less"

Sitting here at 72

Wondering if

My dreams did come true

Then I don’t remember

Ever dreaming a dream

I was not  already living

My Life has been nothing less

Than the dream I could ever

Hope to have come true.

Keep it 'tween the ditches .................................

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This piece of verse was inspired by Sierra Hull's fine song, "Someone Like You".

American Idiots

All morning I have been trying to pin down just what emotional response I should be dealing with. Oddly I have not felt any anger, just disappointment.... Disappointment that The USA was not happy to be extremely stupid when they first elected the Orange Asshole; they had to double down and put him back into office. 

We had plenty of warning. We had more than enough righteous reasons to kick his sorry ass out of our politics. Not enough of us were paying attention, or is it there were too many of us who loved being Willfully Fuckin Stupid so much, they elected him a second time.

What comes now?

At this point I do not care anymore. Whatever happens, we will have deserved it. I am not holding out much hope the results over the next so many years will be very positive.

Don't bother keepin it 'tween the ditches. you  Fascist Lovin American Idiots.

You just drove our country into that ditch.

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I tried my best to not use Green Day's, "American Idiot", as I have used it before, maybe more than a few times. But then there really is no song that covers the last 30 years of our country's slide into rampant stupidity better than it does. 

Play it Loud. Play it Angry. It probably won't help. But it gave me a moment of contentment. Oh, and I included the lyrics. They are so appropriate for how I feel.

Idealism

Idealism gets a bad rap. I don't understand why. It seems humans love to focus on what is wrong now, what went wrong in the past, and what will surely go wrong in the future. And the whole while they forget or resist to infuse a little hope into their outlooks just to balance things out. Without some brightness, we continue to live in the dark.

Idealism is a natural extension of Hope. It is the next step from dreaming to making that dream a reality. If we ever hope to rectify old wrongs and prevent future sorrows, Idealism is an integral part of the process. Yet, Idealism is often frowned upon, deemed impractical in the Real World. But without the idealistic notion that there has to be something better around the next corner, Humans would be in a much harsher world of hurt. 

Today, we vote. Today, the stark differences between the two political sides is unmistakable and has been since one man forced his way into our body politic almost ten years ago.. He has offered us nothing but doom and gloom scenarios, telling us our country is a garbage pit, that some of our citizens are our enemies, and generally pitting us against each other over issues that should not even matter: Race, Religion, Education, Gender Issues and Sexual Orientation issues should not even be part of our conversations, yet the Orange man has managed to make those issues all many of us think about.

None of those topics should matter in the scheme of running a country. Running a country should be about fixing shit, not tearing it down. That's what today's and future elections should be about. 

Those are the bare bones of my political views. Everything I want for Me, for my Family, for my Country, for my World is about fighting off the dark to let in the light. Idealism I feel, is the only way to begin that process. Without Hope, we become nothing but a population waiting to die.

So, I will head down to the Acton Town Hall today and vote. It is the least I can do to help reconnect us to Hope and then put some positive Idealism into action. Hopefully Y'all will foilow suit.

Keep it 'tween the ditches ..............................................

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I figured an old favorite would fit my post today. Here is Bob Marley & the Wailers with their iconic anthem, "Get Up, Stand Up".

And Yes, sometimes Idealism means getting into a fight.

WFS

It is the day before our next Presidential Election. The two candidates have been using up all the oxygen in whatever room, hall, or arena they were able to cram loving supporters into. It is rumored by both sides, that the other side is not only hiring buses to haul the faithful to venues, the campaigns are paying those supporters to show up. One rich asshole, who tries to blame Autism for his lack of connection to real people, but is just another ex - pampered silver-spooned baby like his spoiled brat candidate buddy, the Orange Haired Village Idiot; is actually dangling real money in front of the Red Capped Dumb Ass Brigade to entice any undecided  brain dead citizens into their fold.

Am I fed up, disgusted, shocked, disappointed?

 Hell, there are not enough adjectives to describe how fucking unhappy I am about American Politics at the moment. Am I nervous, anxious, on edge, and suffering from TDS? You are damn right I am. No apologies. The Orange Shit-gibbon has infused the nation's soul with nothing but animosity, deceptions, and warnings we should believe that this time he'll fuck us good, not just diddle us a little like he did when he really did not have a clue. 

I like how the drooling minions on the Right love their little jokes. They came up with TDS (Trump Derangement Syndrome ) to go with all the other juvenile sayings, comparisons, etc they had collected because that's all they had. No coherent reasons for their cultish boot licking adoration of the biggest village idiot the World has ever known.

But I have to give the red capped bootlickers their due. Many of us have TDS. There is no better description of the anxiety, hate, and disappointment of so many citizens regarding the serious lack of intelligence and WFS a large charge of our population suffers from. Frankly, I cannot understand why all citizens of voting age don't have TDS. 

Most of MAGA Theresa's followers are just stupid. They have no interest in critical thinking. Many have been programed through the dishonest preaching of the Christian Gospel. Programmed to cede their minds to someone behind a pulpit. They don't get a pass, but they do make up a sizable portion, if not a majority of Adolf Twitler's rank n file. 

The Wingers who do know better suffer from a condition I have named WFS. That is, they are being "Willfully Fuckin Stupid", or as it used in politer circles, "Premeditated Ignorance", an offshoot of "Willful Ignorance". Bottom line; anyone who supports Trump, supports a proven traitor. That should be enough to cancel his sorry ass tomorrow and toss his sorry worthless self on the trash heap.

We will find out tomorrow. 

Does Willful Ignorance win? Or does a more stable and calmer administration continue the wonderful economic recovery and fight to restore rights  created by the Biden Administration. Or do we allow one deranged and incoherent douchebag to take control again and do his best to take take us down one of the many roads to Hell like he has promised.

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I thought of the song and the image I wanted before I wrote a word of this post. The image supported the song I felt covers wonderfully, some of the times we are dealing with today. It was written by Paul Simon over 60 years ago and recorded on Simon & Garfunkel's first album as an acoustic track and then again remixed on their second album , "The Sounds of Silence". It is an all time iconic song that many, many artists have covered over the last 60 years. No one has created a better cover than "Disturbed".

Enjoy........... I recommend a volume level of... as LOUD as you can stand it! .............. Or not. It works just fine at lower volume also.

The Long Anguish

I told myself a short while ago to cease and desist any inclinations or urges to post anything about politics until after the election next Tuesday. As usual, I again caved to my dark side and posted a mildly acerbic post about "Flag Wavers'" 3 or 4 days ago. I started out with an iron will to not write about Wingers, MAGA idiots, or the Orange Shit Gibbon. Couldn't quite do it.

For that failure to perform I should probably apologize...... Hmm...

But who should I apologize to? You folks, who might read my words on occasion? Apologize to myself, because I let myself down and once again caved to the ugly and hate that resides in the darker corners of my mind? 

As usual, I build problems up out of nothing and then begin the long anguish that always ends up in a ranting tirade, which is my go-to remedy to relieve the pressure that has built up inside me. Today I won't do that. While I have an infinite number of real world concerns to go over the edge about, I ain't doing it. No, I have resigned myself to just talking about losing my mind instead of actually losing it. That seems like the safer bet, considering I have a duty to perform this coming Tuesday. And it is a duty my friends. Voting is the least we can do for our country. To not vote makes one a free loading, useless piece of.... well, calm down Mike... Take a breath ferchrisakes ............. Whew!

When the election is over, it will be a whole new world on the other side. We'll either be living in Mordor or the Shire.

Remember Voting Blue all the way through is the least you can do if you have any hope of stopping the hate and discontent MAGA train that is barreling down the tracks at us.

Keep it 'teen the ditches ........................................

*** Just a note regarding the collage at the top. I created it because I truly believe if we vote Trump in, our country is in for a world of hurt.

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Free Your Mind

And the rest will follow

Be color blind

Don't be so shallow

This is the refrain from a great tune by En Vogue back in 1992. I had forgotten it. I can't think of a song that covers one of the chronic and incessant stupidities that has had our nation by the short hairs for at the least 160 years, if not the last 400 years  when owning another human was par for the course.. 

That makes this tune relevant. And that makes me sad.