We are not amused

It reminded me of Pop-pop 

although the 2 men couldn’t be further apart in intellect, temperament 

or quality of character. 

As he aged,

my grandfather had a form of progressive dementia 

due largely to anoxia from COPD but,

since he was a man of few words,

you would never have known it.

He was capable of driving wherever he and my grandmother needed to go;

it was, after all, an island 18 miles long and 3 blocks wide 

not much likelihood of him getting lost for too long 

and, other than during the peak of summer,

the island was sparsely populated.

He spent most of his days 

sitting on the screened in front porch, 

rocking, “watching the world go by”;

and loving his family;

he was really good at that too.

Occasionally in the evening 

he’d say something totally random,

asking the gathered family, "Who has the room key? I’m ready to go back now."  

When one of us would gently say,

"Pop-pop, you’re already home but I can help if you want to go to bed now.", 

he’d issue a smile that reached all the way to his eyes 

and respond

"Very good. I was just checking to see if you were oriented and paying attention".

My grandmother would laugh these remarks off,

refusing to see them as sign of what we all knew was advancing incapacity.

If she had any misgivings, 

she never acknowledged them openly.

I thought of this yesterday after #45’s ridiculous, 

aborted and then deleted midnight Tweet:

Despite the constant negative press covfefe,”

only to be replaced several hours later with 

Who can figure out the true meaning of "covfefe" ??? Enjoy!

While millions of folks around the globe were laughing 

and making meme magic,

I had quite a different reaction.

It made me nauseous.

This isn’t a gentle man,

being lovingly cared for in the peace of his own home 

as his mental capacity slips away.

This is a man with tremendous power,

smallness of spirit,

no soul 

and access to nuclear codes.

When are those in power going to openly acknowledge that this man 

is a danger to himself and others?

Some of us ARE oriented 

and some of us ARE paying attention 

and, for those who us who have been there before,

it’s no laughing matter.

Memorial Day 2017

I used to get up early on Memorial Day 

so I'd be one of the first in line for entry to Gypsy Caravan -

a huge flea market in town that has been operating for 45 years. 

Scoring a yearly 'find' after spending hours 

rummaging through other peoples castoffs 

was the order of the day.

Then I had a son who enlisted in the military

and served time in the Middle East

and the solemnity of the day took on new meaning.

Suddenly, 

shopping and BBQ-ing wasn't that important anymore;

remembering was, 

honoring was;

simply being present to an overwhelming amount of national loss

became the order of the day.

So, for the last several years,

early morning on Memorial Day,

 has found me at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery.

It has never failed to move me.

Whoever the first person was to say that 'death is the great equalizer'

must have been visiting a military cemetery at the time. 

Personal characteristics of rank, class, gender and individuality have been obliterated;

the common denominators of military service and death

are all that are left.

I find that reality comforting - 

and disturbing - 

in equal measures.

The Mississippi River rolling along endlessly just down the hill

seems the perfect metaphor for life continuing to go on

despite personal sadness and loss.

To imagine the life and stories associated with each headstone

makes the amount of loss even more staggering.

 

Simply too many.

This wood sculpture on the lawn of a house right outside the cemetery

seems to sum up some of the current national mood.

But maybe that's just me.

It's a good thing

1 week from today

 I'll be crossing the plains

to go 'home' to the reservation;

to re-new relationships and learn new things 

about a place that's familiar after 20 years;

yet a place that still abounds with mysteries;

mysteries which may always remain unknown

to a 'wasicu' like me.

1 week from today

I'll be turning away from news 

of treason and espionage in the White House 

to stand in solidarity with folks 

just trying to get through every day.

That's always the way of the world, isn't it?

Behind all the headlines,

all the news of impending doom 

and human misdeeds, 

folks get up every day 

to face their particular, very individual

and very universal goal

of staying alive 

and living a life that has meaning.  

I gave up trying to define what the pull is,

what keeps me coming back

year after year.

I've accepted that it's deep in my DNA, 

very real

and 

demands to be honored.

It's unsettling,

often painful

and always beautiful.

I read words a few years ago -

in Scotland of all places -

and don't know who wrote them;

words that struck a chord 

and immediately reminded me of the reservation.

Don't hide;

don't run

but rather

discover in the midst of the fragmentation

a new way forward;

a different kind of journey

marked by its fragility,

uncertainty

and lack of definition.

And on that path

hold hands with those

that even in their brokenness

create a new tomorrow;

 dance at the margins

and see

the face of Christ

where hurt is real

and pain a way of life.

Be touched

in the eye of the storm

aware that tomorrow

may not bring peace.

 

 Impossible, you say;

let me retreat

and find my rest.

What rest, my friend, is possible

in these fragmented times?

I'm not looking for rest,

although my soul will be refreshed.

I'm not looking for peace

but there will be many peaceful moments.

I'm eager to be on the road. 

 

waiting

Do not be dismayed by the brokenness of the world.

All things break. 

And all things can be mended.
Not with time, as they say, but with intention.

So go.
Love intentionally, extravagantly, unconditionally.

The broken world waits in darkness for the light that is you

News from the swamp

Good grief it's a full time job to keep up 

and I already have one of those,

thank you very much.

But I think I've got the highlights ...  

• FBI Director Comey was fired, after asking for more resources to ratchet up the Russia/Trump campaign investigation and after refusing to pledge his loyalty to #45. (Honest to Pete, who does that? Other than the Marlon Brando in the Godfather? Was he supposed to kiss his ring as well?) 
•  
•  #45 throws all his staff under a bus by having them go before the press to say Comey was fired because of how Hillary was investigated - and then he turns around and admits that had nothing to do with it. He was going to fire him anyway. 
•  
• Then there's the small matter of telling the Russians (in the Oval office, no less) the guy he fired was a nut job and he was putting too much pressure on poor picked on #45, so he had to go.
•  
• In that same Oval Office closed door meeting with the Russians, during which US media outlets were forbidden but Russian reporters and photographers (and most likely surveillance equipment were let in), he brags about his 'intel' and just happens to leak Israeli intelligence about an ISIS plot involving planes and bombs again.
•  
•  When that story gets leaked, the White House says the report is false, without specifying which parts are incorrect and 45 sends national security advisor H.R. McMaster, to whore in front of the cameras and ruin his reputation.
•  
• 45 rants on Twitter that he did give the Russians information, but so what?- he's President so he can do anything he wants.
•  
• Another story gets leaked that Comey wrote a memo in February when the president asked him to shut down the investigation into Flynn's ties to Russia and being a double agent and all that, because he's a nice guy.
•  
• A Special Prosecutor gets appointed - to add to the FBI and Congressional investigations looking into this whole mess.
•  
• Oh - and son in law, Jared, the one in charge of world peace, solving the opioid crisis and making Korea play nice - yeah, that one... he's a special person of interest in the investigations. And, if you've watched more than 2 episodes of "Dateline", you know what that means - he did it!

I think that about sums it up! 

~~~~~~

Just a few thoughts.

WHY haven't all the White House press staff walked out?

Isn't it bad enough that you were willing to sell your soul to the devil 

by covering and shilling for the Antichrist, 

why do you stay 

knowing he'll never defend you for lying your asses off 

and making you look ridiculous before the world writ large?

TRY to find your backbones - and get the hell out.

No one would blame you - 

except for staying when you know what a maniac he is

and you continue to aid and abet him anyway.

 ~~~~~~

I, for one, can't WAIT to hear what Comey will testify to.

45 picked on the wrong man -

someone who's made an entire career 
of documenting evidence and producing legal reports 
worthy of withstanding scrutiny and legal challenges.

Just who do you think is going to come out as the winner 

in this pissing contest?

Career law enforcement or career con man?

~~~~~~

 ~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, back in reality,

there are bills to pay, work to do,

deck art to make and enjoy

beauty to find

and people to love

 

 

even when it looks like he should be in an ad for 'Save the Children'!

I can practically hear Amy Grants voice now, saying

"Please, won't you help?"

It never stops

 Little did we know it was only the beginning.

Seriously?

I wonder WHAT he was thinking. 

I wonder IF he was thinking.

Did he honestly think if he fired the Director of the FBI 

right after he testified about the timeline 

of when the White House knew there was a traitor in their midst, 

trumping up treason with the Russians – 

there might not be backlash? 

Especially since that same Director is the one in charge 

of investigating other aspects of those same acts of treason 

and who other players were in the drama, 

including but not limited to

the President himself.

And to admit the firing was at the recommendation of the Atty General –

the very same who had to recuse himself from any action 

related to the Russian investigation 

because the taint and stink of partisanship 

hangs on him like a cheap suit … 

how is that being ‘recused’?

Got to hand it to’em - 

this criminal administrative enterprise certainly knows how 

to make up ‘alternative facts’ and alternative definitions of words: 

ex. Sessions: “recuse: to throw yourself into the midst of” 

and Ivanka “complicit: wanting to be a force for good”.

NOnononononono – 

you do NOT get to redefine the very essence of words

to make yourselves look better than the self-serving cretins you are! 

Creating the definition of a word 

to be the antithesis of the traditional meaning 

would get you thrown out of a spelling bee at my old elementary school – 

as far as I’m concerned, 

it should get you thrown out of government as well.

And he handled the firing in as cowardly a way as possible. 

Despite his trademark blustering “You’re fired” on his despicable TV show, 

he didn’t even have the nerve to tell the man straight to his face 

that he was being axed … 

a f8Cking letter delivered by a henchman while he was out of town.

How is that presidential?

I suspect it’s because not even he could say out loud  -
with a straight face -

that the reason  he was being fired was due to the way he handled Hillary’s emails -
8 months ago! 

It’s laughable. 

No one with 2 functioning brain cells buys that explanation.

The investigative dogs are closing in, 

sniffing around the Russian money laundering 

upon which #45’s whole pathetic house of cards is built– 

and he had to try to throw them off the scent.

I’m sure he was hoping a good constitutional crisis should do it!

As if they’ve not provided plenty of diversions elsewhere – 

the highlight reel includes:

 *SIL Jared’s family selling expedited visas 

for a small investment in the family business 

($500,00 is apparently chump change in China.)

* A ‘tax reform’ 

consisting of a 1 page narrative 

with bullet points 

and no numbers.

That’s not even a Cliff Note version – 

that’s a book report written in the back of the bus 

on the way to school 

the morning it’s due -
on crumpled up, old paper 
you fished out of the bottom of your backpack.

That's an ‘F’.

*passing a travesty of a healthcare bill 

that will force millions to face both routine and catastrophic illnesses 

without any coverage –

and then gleefully throwing a frat party, 
complete with a kegger,
 on the white House lawn.

Who are these people? 

Remember all that hoorah during the ACA passage 

about ‘death panels?

Here they are folks, 

right here.

The content of the bill is bad enough but, 

for the love of God, 

does anyone talk to them about optics?

I guess not – 

otherwise he wouldn’t be meeting today with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov 

in the White House!

The group charged with concocting the law 
as well as the group fixing the mess and reforming healthcare in the House?

ALL MEN– 

with nary a breast or uterus to be had! 

Well, I'll bet there are some man boobs among them 

but I frankly don’t want to know.

If it doesn’t need to be mammogram-ed, 

it doesn’t count.

And hiring an attorney to send a certified letter 

to the Senate Judiciary Committee 

denying that you had any dealings with the Russians? – 

ya, that will tamp speculation down.

As #45 is about to find out, 

when you lie habitually and often – 

as in every word coming out of your mouth – 

the consequence is that no one believes you – 

even if you’re telling the truth which, 

let’s be honest, 

you’re not!

Contrary to what Deputy Press Secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders would like

 -it’s NOT going away. 

We’re NOT moving on. 

Don’t care if it’s been almost a year.

We listened to your guys bullsh*t for 8 years about #44’s birth certificate.

Sister, this is treason; 

this is about colluding with a hostile foreign government 

for the illegitimate takeover of our government and its processes.

It’s NOT going away – 

but, with any luck, 
your guy WILL!

 How fitting is this?

I’m hopeful.

You know what happened to Marie Antoinette, don’t you?

Insert smile here!!

The high road

I'm taking the high road on all that's happened this week - 

but only because I don't have all the words yet 

for how disheartening it's been. 

I'm headed to Chicago this weekend

so I'll have several hours of drive time 

to sort out what I want to say - 

if anything.

 I'll be taking two copies of this

to my 4 favorite fearless women in the making

  

 and celebrating the accomplishments of this one - 

before she heads off to backpack in Europe and then graduate school!

Where have the years gone?

~~~~~~~~~~

In the meantime,

I'll stick to sharing a wonderful sentiment that found its way to me 

through all the noise of the shenanigators in DC ...

 (btw, if Webster doesn't recognize that word yet, it should!)

"If grief can be a doorway to love,

then let us all weep for the world we are breaking apart,

so we can love it back to wholeness again."

Robin Wall Kimmerer