tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27945623887596171532024-03-14T00:14:02.172-07:00Flowers and PhilosophyHello! And Welcome.Fran inTexashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06641856761168782321noreply@blogger.comBlogger289125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2794562388759617153.post-41200314459102688422023-08-11T07:29:00.000-07:002023-08-11T07:29:17.612-07:00NEVERTHELESS, I AM PERSISTING<p> It's been too long since my last post. Too many things have happened that perhaps should have been written about, but the inexorable pressure of time makes the past truly passed.</p><p>So now here I am, living under what is called a heat dome, in Texas, trying to figure out all the current wild aspects of our lives! </p><p>There is a recent movie, Everything, Everywhere, All At Once. I tried to watch and appreciate the movie; it won lots of awards. But in fact, it is the title that seems to be with me every day. There are so many bizarre things happening, everywhere, all at once. The planet has heated up, definitely. Politics are bordering on the insane. So many aspects of ordinary life have spun out of control, if control was really ever there. But there is such an undercurrent of hate and anger in just everyday life, resulting in terrible violence.</p><p>And yet, I find kindness and courtesy in many instances when out and about. People still hold doors and try to help with courtesy. </p><p>For every bizarre politician, there are several trying so hard to help and protect. </p><p>For every tale of devastation, there are others of hope.</p><p>The Hollow Man I wrote about long ago is still in play, and yet, he may soon be chastened.</p><p>And one must believe/hope/wish that soon, there will be a fall and a time to recover. For everyone.</p><p><br /></p>Fran inTexashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06641856761168782321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2794562388759617153.post-39542870750987359692022-06-12T09:56:00.002-07:002022-06-12T09:56:57.584-07:00EVERY WHICH WAY I CAN<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> The list is long of all the difficult and challenging things that are occurring at the same time in our world. Sometimes one almost feels we are in some sort of sci-fi movie, because so much seems so strange. There seems to be so much anger in our society and in our world. Just the headlines in the news can be terrifying.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">And yet, and yet, many of my favorite perennials, especially the daylilies, insist on blooming, insist on bringing beauty for whoever would see it. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">And yet, perhaps because I seem to be looking more and more mature, so many will open a door for me, or stop their car if I'm walking to my car.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">And yet, my calico kitty is always welcome to love and attention, with a loud purr that shows she's pleased.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">And yet, I encounter smiles so many times while shopping, just the friendly sort that says 'hi'.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">And yet, a small bowl of very good vanilla ice cream with fresh blueberries on it can assuage a lot of worry.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">And yet, I can still find a good book to read or a good movie to read.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">And yet, a loved one's voice on the phone or a shared laugh, all of these can help me find a way to be comforted. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvUgk__NrB7RcnNcVLIWo_t0tWMttorqs5MiZt5okd7DiTAAdXZGdwYkFlkUTtn5KU7AfSlbZamNRp0xRAi-S51LRwS4KPo3vFWqlsoNOH1y_CBVPCk5rKBZaGfGmZ-xrTGP-RE4l1bRvXFoCLeo6MqMKGYDQ5ETeB-fb-OYpZupNaPPjCWyzRgz0z/s4320/Gina%20in%20the%20window%202020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3240" data-original-width="4320" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvUgk__NrB7RcnNcVLIWo_t0tWMttorqs5MiZt5okd7DiTAAdXZGdwYkFlkUTtn5KU7AfSlbZamNRp0xRAi-S51LRwS4KPo3vFWqlsoNOH1y_CBVPCk5rKBZaGfGmZ-xrTGP-RE4l1bRvXFoCLeo6MqMKGYDQ5ETeB-fb-OYpZupNaPPjCWyzRgz0z/s320/Gina%20in%20the%20window%202020.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><br /></span><p></p>Fran inTexashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06641856761168782321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2794562388759617153.post-78112280143459495742021-12-26T11:20:00.002-08:002021-12-30T20:12:40.504-08:00SOMETHING I FOUND IN A DRAWER<p><span style="font-family: arial;">Sometimes I (and everyone else, I presume) find something interesting, a clipping or whatever, and slip it into a drawer to go back to, one day. This is from a newspaper clipping that I don't know the exact date of, but know that it definitely predates 1989, the death of the author, the Reverend Gaston Foote. It's called "<u>Looking for God</u>," and has a really good view point:</span></p><p>"Sir Julian Huxley, a distinguished scientist, told us 40 years ago that we were entering a new era in which God would be completely abandoned. I quote: 'Man must stop creeping for shelter to the arms of a father-figure whom he himself has created and stop trying to escape responsibility by sheltering under the umbrella of divine authority.'</p><p>Is this a day for the eclipse of God? In this connection may I suggest three things. First. we may be looking for the wrong kind of God. If the God we seek is the one who directs us against our wills, manipulates us as though we were puppets, pulls on our leash when we go in the wrong direction, we may not find that kind of God. God is not so much power, but person; not force, but Father.</p><p>In the second place, we may be looking for God in the wrong places. We often speak of tornadoes, floods and plane accidents as acts of God. Are they? Or simply the result of the laws of cause and effect?</p><p>We think of God as being in the unnatural, the unpredictable. Is He not more realistically in the natural and the predictable? I seem to find God in the laboratories where men work to eradicate disease, spot tornadoes, predict earthquakes and overcome floods.</p><p>Finally, we we often look for God in the wrong direction. He is not out there in space on cloud nine sending thunderbolts to frighten his children. God is not so much a noun or an object as he is a spirit of love, truth, understanding, respect, friendship.</p><p>I believe I had a glimpse of God on a recent weekend in a city park. A young couple had taken a group of underprivileged children out for a day's outing so they could become better acquainted with them, help them feel a sense of personal importance, let them know that they were, one by one, deeply loved by the creator of the universe. Have you not seen God lately?"</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Fran inTexashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06641856761168782321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2794562388759617153.post-64326836235119731122021-08-07T06:10:00.001-07:002021-08-10T08:37:33.171-07:00BY MY COUNT<p><b> <span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">Well, last year was a roller-coaster year for most of us folks on this planet, beginning with the beginning of the Covid pandemic, and ending with the fraught election, which did not relieve tensions but seemed to heighten them.</span></b></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"><b>Now, by my count, and still counting, we have at least six (6) pandemics to deal with: </b></span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"><b>Covid;
Trumpism; Political Divide; Climate Change; Racial Divide; Domestic Terrorism.</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"><b>Like most folks who put their thoughts out here, in a blog, I wish very much I could reassure everyone who bothers to read this, with solutions. Alas, like most folks, I wake up every day trying to figure out what to do next, and what world concern must be dealt with next, along, of course, with the every-day concerns of trying to keep, for instance, a stock of toilet paper and peanut butter and basic emergency stuff. We have, apparently, five different brands of toilet paper, since we buy a package when we can find it, and of course, using it along the way.</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"><b>We are among those still waiting to be summoned for a Covid vaccination, carefully registered and definitely in the mature classification. We are as perplexed as the high percentage of the world's population that an individual who incited violence at our nation's capitol should maintain such loyalty. We are surprised that one of the founding parties of our nation should become devoted to a personality cult among other apparent devotions to so much except the country it purports to represent. We are both grateful that racial disparity is coming to the forefront and horrified that it still is not nearly close to being resolved. And as to those who simply do not wish to be governed by the federal, state, and local governments in their areas, well, how about this: they live as they wish and they let the rest of us live as we wish, in quiet, respectful, accepting style.</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"><b>So there they all are: the problems we all face, the examination of all the attitudes, the general hopes of the majority, the resigned acceptance that we must continue to take one day at a time, do our best to stay steady, and take care of each other. Oh, and keep looking for toilet paper.</b></span></p><p><b>PLEASE NOTE: THIS WAS WRITTEN IN FEBRUARY OF 2020, JUST NOW GETTING POSTED!</b></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0ixcMHqizzk/YCBFCEki5KI/AAAAAAAABFQ/RbUfsjM-tKkGxtpj9Xa3SquX6FlSMTYkQCLcBGAsYHQ/s960/Toilet%2Bpaper%2Brolls.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="960" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0ixcMHqizzk/YCBFCEki5KI/AAAAAAAABFQ/RbUfsjM-tKkGxtpj9Xa3SquX6FlSMTYkQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Toilet%2Bpaper%2Brolls.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"><br /><b><br /></b></span><p></p>Fran inTexashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06641856761168782321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2794562388759617153.post-70657172967026994502021-01-28T09:55:00.000-08:002021-01-28T09:55:01.072-08:00SOME DAYS<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> We all live our lives the same: moment by moment, hour by hour, and so on. We all eventually figure out that we cannot change the past or figure out what the future is. Period. Like it or not, that's simply the human condition. And by and large, we all accept it. <p></p><p>But there are some days when, even if the sun is shining, our day is so gloomy that we lapse into what might have been, or worry about what's next. Some days are simply too full of stress and/or demands and/or frustrations, and we want to sit down, like a small child would, and say 'No! I don't want to!' We want to go outside and just start running (or walking, depending). Or we want to kick and wave our arms and shriek. Loudly.</p><p>And there is no magic I have found to help deal with these situations, what I call 'down days'. Except.</p><p>Except to figure out maybe just one thing to look forward to. Like eating a cookie or a spoonful of ice cream, or picking up the cat for a brief hug. She doesn't like long hugs but she does love the short ones. </p><p>Or to just hug a loved one, if one is around. Or to look outside and see what is there. </p><p>A dear friend once told me we all are entitled to moments of self-pity. She called those moments a pity-party. And said we could have one any time we needed one, but only for fifteen minutes. Which gives one time to indulge in a bit of despair and then perhaps figure out what they are going to do next. Perhaps figure out what kind of cookie.</p><p><br /></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JXC5t2cYoLA/YBL5X9zhLbI/AAAAAAAABFA/hM0hYGHHkvw_8DHukQnE0sxp7MNVyjHhACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/different%2Bkinds%2Bof%2Bcookies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1834" height="246" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JXC5t2cYoLA/YBL5X9zhLbI/AAAAAAAABFA/hM0hYGHHkvw_8DHukQnE0sxp7MNVyjHhACLcBGAsYHQ/w220-h246/different%2Bkinds%2Bof%2Bcookies.jpg" width="220" /></a></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote>Fran inTexashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06641856761168782321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2794562388759617153.post-63087911921957120132020-12-31T10:53:00.000-08:002020-12-31T10:53:15.666-08:00GOODBYE, GOODLUCK, AND GOOD RIDDANCE<p> After the end of 2019, which was disastrous for us personally, from the standpoint of serious and multiple health issues, we thought, as we always try to do, that 'next year will be better'! But that was because we were thinking only of our on personal issues. </p><p>Actually, since the day after the presidential election in 2016, we had held to ourselves the concerns and fears of damage that a totally incapable president might do, but we also held tightly the thoughts that there are checks and balances written into the US Constitution that would protect us as a country. Wow, were we mistaken! </p><p>Now at the end of 2020, we find ourselves still dealing with personal health issues, living extremely quiet lives to avoid exposure wo a world-wide pandemic, and every day seeing the current president break a Constitutional rule. Disregarding every sort of effort to help our country (except for an ignorant proposal laced with selfish interests). Apparently even more ignorant, if that is possible, of how real life in our country works than when he won office. </p><p>Yes, we have to believe that things can begin to get better. Yes, there will hopefully be accountability for the massive wrongs done to our country. But the death toll is so unimaginable and so real, the damage to our economy is so heartbreaking, and the failure of one of the two major political parties to support their country rather than support whatever description one could apply to the president's current pattern of behavior: this is stress beyond measure. Sorrow beyond measure. Disgust beyond measure. </p><p>Let us hope we can still find hope. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6lM352d7ofY/X-4dAxki1tI/AAAAAAAABEg/SM27Pae2cUAeg7hIVO3uOiFVcbvj7iLLQCLcBGAsYHQ/s763/Clock%2B2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="763" data-original-width="763" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6lM352d7ofY/X-4dAxki1tI/AAAAAAAABEg/SM27Pae2cUAeg7hIVO3uOiFVcbvj7iLLQCLcBGAsYHQ/w200-h200/Clock%2B2.png" width="200" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Fran inTexashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06641856761168782321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2794562388759617153.post-58571848267030158622020-12-24T08:54:00.002-08:002020-12-24T08:54:26.182-08:00THE CRUELEST THING SO FAR<p> Since the day after Election Day in November 2016, we have been dreading what someone such as the current president could do to our country. However, we suffered from a failure of imagination when it came to the president's completely disastrous response to the pandemic. Only just behind the president in horrific response has been his party's response to the suffering of our people. Now, on the very eve of a pitiful, too late, too inadequate plan of assistance to desperate need of most of the American people, our tax money back to us for food and shelter, this president, this hollow creature with no ability to care, is threatening to hold the current plan up until who knows when.</p><p>If this were a movie, no one would believe it. We shake our heads all the time, trying to figure out what to do. We ourselves have basics, but the families, the children, the elderlies, the majority of Americans, are caught between a do-nothing Senate majority and a do-everything-bad president, and coming at the darkest time of the year, at the traditionally holiday season, there is only certain things that can be done right now.</p><p>We can help each other by sharing what we have.</p><p>We can hope that the new administration will be able to eventually hold accountable the people who are failing us.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vQgba2yx7ws/X-THixGJd-I/AAAAAAAABEM/ZQIvLSkSzDA0A937xtxCD91a8IZBJeMMACLcBGAsYHQ/s780/us-constitution.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="519" data-original-width="780" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vQgba2yx7ws/X-THixGJd-I/AAAAAAAABEM/ZQIvLSkSzDA0A937xtxCD91a8IZBJeMMACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/us-constitution.webp" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>And we can make sure our votes are made and counted and that we bring to office more people who care.</p>Fran inTexashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06641856761168782321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2794562388759617153.post-80410258183304513122020-12-20T12:09:00.000-08:002020-12-20T12:09:16.634-08:00THE THRILL OF IT ALL<p> This year, this year, has been a year that cannot be described in ordinary words such as 'difficult' or even 'horrific'. As a planet, we passed 'horrific' back in the summer. BUT there are still so many small, sometimes very small things we can find to give us joy, to give us a moment of peace. We cannot compare the stress and inconvenience and frustration and yes, even fear, that most of us are experiencing' with the stress of front-line workers, the desolation of loss of so many, the fear of loss of shelter and food. These are terrible, unacceptable experiences for all our fellow humans. </p><p>But if we can, and when we can, we can find a moment of laughter, a bit of relief from reality, in such very small things. A dianthus plant blooming in December, tiny and fragrant:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d2wsuLez9y8/X9-tadYyZEI/AAAAAAAABD8/bUA6uZuJKe8M3sIlQdSowyIwrSlU6uZewCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/2020%2BDianthus%2Bin%2BDecember.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="215" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d2wsuLez9y8/X9-tadYyZEI/AAAAAAAABD8/bUA6uZuJKe8M3sIlQdSowyIwrSlU6uZewCLcBGAsYHQ/w223-h215/2020%2BDianthus%2Bin%2BDecember.JPG" width="223" /></a></div><div><br /></div>And just today, a daughter calling and wondering if perhaps, just perhaps, we would like a gift of her wonderful home-made chocolate and peanut candy. Not just the offer, but the priceless look of total delight on the faces of her father and brother, gave us all a few minutes of laughing and celebrating the offer and the anticipation.<div><br /></div><div>There are many moments to mourn, just now, but there are also moments to rejoice, to listen to Christmas songs as if for the first time, to hope, to plan, to believe in the future. <br /><p><br /></p></div>Fran inTexashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06641856761168782321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2794562388759617153.post-62832153735893500582020-11-26T11:26:00.001-08:002020-11-26T11:26:50.599-08:00WHEN I'M JUST THINKING<p> Like most folks, my mind wanders all over the place, pushed in one direction by something I read or see, pushed in another direction by a memory.</p><p>For instance, even though we in this part of the world have experienced mild winters before and known roses to bloom in December, this year has been unique in its own way. Here it is in late November, and there are zinnias and Mexican tuberoses and potted periwinkle and clibrachoa all blooming in the garden, as well as pots of impatiens and pentas. It's a big awkward for me right now, because I have pots of pansies that I planted, ready to put out in the outside pots for the winter. But to discard the impatiens and pentas when they are flourishing is something I cannot do right now, although I may have to simply transplant them to a space in a flower bed, so that I can settle the pansies into where they will be belong, before some arctic blast comes along (and we always have to be prepared for one). </p><p>In the meantime spring-blooming bulbs are sending their spears up, so at least I know where they are so I can plant some perennials around them. I plan every year to mark open spaces that don't contain bulbs so that I can slide some daylilies or whatever into the open spots, but as I have said, my mind wanders and/or events overwhelm me. Maybe next year!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ak6bLFeVNv4/X8ABZdWI4JI/AAAAAAAABDc/mnyx1c4KGIQCzxHayagagTsVp1gM6TWyACLcBGAsYHQ/s600/Avalanche.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="420" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ak6bLFeVNv4/X8ABZdWI4JI/AAAAAAAABDc/mnyx1c4KGIQCzxHayagagTsVp1gM6TWyACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Avalanche.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p> </p>Fran inTexashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06641856761168782321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2794562388759617153.post-76731739181997740272020-09-07T14:08:00.002-07:002020-09-07T14:08:27.567-07:00WHAT A STRANGE UNIVERSE<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Frankly, our family now frequently discuss the fact that we feel we are living in some sort of science-fiction movie. I say 'movie', because things and we ourselves are in motion, but so much is so strange and time has become somewhat like a played accordion must feel: sometimes close together, sometimes far apart.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Like the rest of the world, we must deal with the pandemic on an every-day basis. But to us there seem to be four pandemics: the covid virus; the violence of climate changes that are producing early and multiple violent storms and in the west, terrible fires; the pain and worry of racial injustices and the terrible unhappiness that has come to the fore; and, in our country, the disaster that an inappropriate administration has wrought on our democracy and its health and economy and therefore, so many people. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">That there are unimaginable numbers of people being evicted from their homes because they have no jobs, that there are fellow citizens who have no source of food, that people are losing everything they have in violent storms or in uncontrollable fires, this is not a reality we can figure out how to deal with. But we are trying.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">As individuals who have studied history somewhat, we know that over centuries and millenia there have been many challenges for humanity. But in this century, and in this country, and with all the presumed advances in technology and science, we cannot help but be shocked by humankind's continued inhumanity to humankind. On the other hand, many times we have seen instances of individuals who have reached out to their fellow humans and given care, or joy or kindness or encouragement. We figure our duty is to do the same, as best we can.</span></p><p><br /></p>Fran inTexashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06641856761168782321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2794562388759617153.post-40375386631980419692020-03-15T12:11:00.001-07:002020-04-06T11:24:59.935-07:00THE GREATEST POWER IN THE UNIVERSE<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">So
there are so many powers in the known universe that we all can come up with at
least one: love, religion, nuclear
energy, electricity, gravity – the list is very, very long.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">But
here is my theory:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the greatest power in
the universe is actually Time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because
all of the other powers I’ve named, from love to gravity, can all be changed or controlled in one way or another.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Love can fade,
religion can falter, nuclear energy can be simply not employed, electricity is
a mystery all in itself and must be manufactured, even gravity has been found
to be repelled by anti-gravity thingies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Now
we come to time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It simply cannot be
stopped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At least outside of sci-fi
stories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One can stop a clock, one can turn
the clock’s measure of time backward or forward (which is simply a type of
pretending), or one can accept the fact that time is inexorable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When one comes to terms with that, one can only
then possibly use time to our advantage, to fill our allotted hours with fun
and joy and happiness and giving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or
utterly waste time until it is too late.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Because,
like many great powers, Time really does not care about us. It can’t.
It is too busy just being.<span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LbyURMjcRbI/Xm590HvOUxI/AAAAAAAABBI/XxgZNU8oysIxe32XKvdQot5eYK0ZpoCaQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Clock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="741" data-original-width="736" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LbyURMjcRbI/Xm590HvOUxI/AAAAAAAABBI/XxgZNU8oysIxe32XKvdQot5eYK0ZpoCaQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Clock.jpg" width="317" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<br />Fran inTexashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06641856761168782321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2794562388759617153.post-70021349424860930742020-03-15T11:46:00.000-07:002020-03-15T11:46:30.163-07:00LUCK AND GEOGRAPHYOne of the most interesting things about philosophy is that it really is not a rarefied study by briilliant people in book-lined rooms, it instead seems to be simply observation of the human condition as we ourselves experience it.<br />
<br />
For instance, having been in a happy and devoted relationship for many decades, we have both been frequently asked 'how we did it?' How did we create and sustain a committed relationship for so very long?<br />
<br />
After some thought, it occurred to me was that the simple answer is 'luck and geography'. Just that simple. For instance, if we had been born thousands of miles apart, we quite likely would never have met. But luckily, we were born in the same area, and at a time when we were both without someone special in our life, an acquaintance of mine introduced me to his best friend and that was that. Connection. Luck. Geography.Fran inTexashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06641856761168782321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2794562388759617153.post-75932716593517054802019-07-04T13:07:00.002-07:002019-07-04T13:07:47.795-07:00The Surprises of Gardening<span style="font-size: large;">Nothing is more like gambling, for me, than gardening. Between the individualities of plants, the unpredictabilities of weather (we do try to predict, but nevertheless ...) and all the many factors of location, amount of light, etcetera, gardening really never ceases to surprise.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">This last winter, however, the plant world of my garden exceeded itself. The most unique situation was the pansies. Every fall we plant pansies because they are my mate's favorite plant, although he has learned to like many others over time. Anyway, I had planted several pansies in a largish pot so that we could see the blooms from our dining table. Then I had planted several in pots on the patio for just winter color, and finally more in the concrete pots in the front, that hold pansies in the fall and winter, and begonias that I carry over the winter in the garden room, and replace the pansies for the spring and summer. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Ah, but then we had a weather episode of three nights in a row when the temp fell to 20 degrees after some mild days. That combination can slay many hardy plants. The pansies in the front pots did fine, but the pots on the patio and the one across from our dining room window suffered and eventually, to all purposes, simply perished. At that time I had no opportunity to replace the apparently dead pansies, and truly, I know a dead pansy when I see it. Flat and brown, etc. But ... sure enough, as milder days came along, there were these tiny green leaves coming out of the flat brown former plants. Cynically, I figured they were weeds. And yet they looked liked pansy leaves, so I left them alone. Then as more growth showed up, the pots were fed and watered, and the new pansy plants bloomed. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">That isn't even the best of the story, quite. For today, on July 4, with weather in the mid to upper 90's, the big pansy pot still has pansies blooming. No one could have ever persuaded me that pansies would continue blooming in July in this heat, but the pansies could!</span>Fran inTexashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06641856761168782321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2794562388759617153.post-73634213908273652192019-03-11T15:30:00.001-07:002019-03-11T15:31:22.893-07:00EVERYONE LIVES ONE DAY AT A TIME.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "segoe script"; font-size: 16.0pt;">EVERYONE LIVES ONE DAY AT A
TIME.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "segoe script"; font-size: 16.0pt;">WHEREVER WE FIND OURSELVES,
THAT IS TRUE.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "segoe script"; font-size: 16.0pt;">WHETHER WE ARE IN A CELL OR
A RESORT,<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "segoe script"; font-size: 16.0pt;">THE TRICK IS TO TRY TO FIND
SOMETHING INTERESTING.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "segoe script"; font-size: 16.0pt;">THE TRICK IS TO LOOK INSIDE
OURSELVES<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "segoe script"; font-size: 16.0pt;">AND TRY TO FIND DETERMINATION.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "segoe script"; font-size: 16.0pt;">WE ALL MUST TRY TO BE CALM.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "segoe script"; font-size: 16.0pt;">THERE IS A REASON WHY THE
SAYING ‘KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON’<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "segoe script"; font-size: 16.0pt;">BEGAN DURING A TERRIBLE
WAR.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "segoe script"; font-size: 16.0pt;">THERE IS A REASON WHY WE
ALL LOOK FORWARD TO TOMORROW.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />Fran inTexashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06641856761168782321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2794562388759617153.post-78394262289382584022018-08-26T11:23:00.005-07:002018-08-26T11:23:57.959-07:00THE SCENT AND SIGHTS OF SUMMER<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Just now, in spite of little to no rain historic heat, the crape myrtles and the purple phlox are blooming and their scent is blown around by light breezes. Since my standards for outside plants are: tough, beautiful, and fragrant if possible, these meet the test. And, like most plants which are tough, they do tend to take over. The purple phlox would gladly fill a very large bed, and very nearly do so right now. The crape myrtles, particularly the white Natchez, grow very vigorously, bloom very vigorously, and cast their spent blooms very vigorously. That is no problem for our crapes, but our next door neighbor has beautiful ones too, which grow next to our shared fence, and which just about cover the area where my garden work bench is, both the bench and the walkway in front of it, and everything in the surrounds. Yet how can I complain when I love them so.</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In addition to these lovelies, which more or less save the season, there are zinnias blooming everywhere, including the garden paths, all with my encouragement. The zinnias have no noticeable scent, but the butterflies love them, enough said. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Among my many other plant enthusiasms are bulbs. Not all bulbs, just the ones which are tough and beautiful. Each wave of spring bulb dazzles me in turn, from grape hyacinths and daffodils and hyacinths to bluebells and all the rest, and then the fall bulbs of sternbergia and August lilies (lycoris squamigera), ah, but then there are the spider lilies. Spider lilies are tough and beautiful but not fragrant like so many other bulbs. But there is something so exotic about the spider lilies (lycoris radiata) that they grab me every late summer/early fall when they bloom. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yeKgWGfmIJo/W4Lv9yT-a6I/AAAAAAAAA-I/4O27KQkj_ZkyqDUXAdpBosmeUZ2xEgDoQCLcBGAs/s1600/Lycoris%2Bradiata.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="350" height="128" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yeKgWGfmIJo/W4Lv9yT-a6I/AAAAAAAAA-I/4O27KQkj_ZkyqDUXAdpBosmeUZ2xEgDoQCLcBGAs/s200/Lycoris%2Bradiata.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">That something that looks so dramatic and delicate is actually really very tough, at least in this part of the country, is so amazing. And they grow more and more blooms each year that they are left alone. Because they do not like to be moved. So the first year they are planted, blooms are forget-about-it. But after that they flourish. I've seen areas where they bloom in lawns and multiply gloriously. But mine are in beds, safe from lawnmowers and being walked upon and every year they dazzle. A good dazzle is good for everyone.</span></div>
Fran inTexashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06641856761168782321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2794562388759617153.post-59460218196941956772018-08-14T15:42:00.002-07:002018-08-14T15:42:57.564-07:00Then there are the bunniesWe live in an urban neighborhood, not very far from a major freeway. And yet we have all sorts of critters that seem to find our backyard. This last spring and summer, we had a small rabbit, who our son named 'Benny', although we were way too shy to ask if it was a girl bunny or a boy bunny. The bunny became accustomed to our comings and goings in the garden as long as we didn't get too close. We have this very large quince, which was supposed to be a 'dwarf', but which has become known as the quince that took over the flower bed. We eventually had to extend the bed area several feet to accommodate the lovely thing, which is glorious in the spring and sometimes reblooms during the fall equinox as well. Anyway we noted that Benny seemed to find the quince a sanctuary to dart into if humans got too close. That was the way it was at first. Then we noticed that Benny spent quite a lot of time under the quince, because Benny was spotted coming out of the quince shelter often.<br />
<br />
Since our precious Max cat passed last year, there is no one to threaten a bunny in our garden. However, we found that Benny apparently could threaten some of the plants, especially a begonia I had transplanted into a flowerbed across from our breakfast table window. Still, what were we to do? Benny mostly ate grass when we were watching, so we just let well enough alone. Then a month or so ago, one of us spotted a bigger bunny, with longer ears. We don't know if this is Benny, transformed by growth (Benny had shorter ears at first acquaintance), or a stranger.<br />
<br />
And then, today, I walked out into the garden room to check the morning world, and there was a really small bunny making its way across the patio in dainty small steps. Suddenly a squirrel came down from the tree there. The tiny bunny froze. The squirrel moved on down the tree in what I would describe as a threatening manner. The tiny bunny flashed away across the garden so quickly it was amazing. Then the rascally squirrel turned and climbed back up the tree. It was one of those moments we treasure, seeing a bit of the natural world we can forget in our world of freeways and cell phones and all that.Fran inTexashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06641856761168782321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2794562388759617153.post-54916226046280262382018-07-22T12:07:00.002-07:002018-07-22T14:31:06.456-07:00BIRDS, BEES, BUTTERFLIES AND SQUIRRELS<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We try very hard to provide a welcoming area in our back garden for all the creatures that might visit it. We have a squirrel-proof bird feeder, actually two, and we enjoy the antics of the squirrels trying to access the feeders almost as much as we enjoy the antics of the birds, who are quite successful. And to be fair to the poor, dear little squirrels, the same creatures who plant trees in every flower bed and every flower pot we have, the squirrels (and the doves) can glean from the droppings of the dear little birds, who are really quite messy.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The bees are particularly happy with our quince shrub, which is magnificent in late winter and early spring, with its glorious blooms, and sometimes again in the fall, during the fall equinox. And we know the bees are successful because quince fruit forms, which has not yet tempted us but may in the future. Somewhere there's a beehive or two making quince honey, but we have no idea where it is, and even if we did, it would be left alone. We have no talents along the lines of robbing honey.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zM7N7y2W_bc/W1TVmqXFCfI/AAAAAAAAA9o/B3KVMlQf7d035_myixQeUlK-upb0DanqwCLcBGAs/s1600/Yellow%2Bbutterfly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="462" data-original-width="750" height="123" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zM7N7y2W_bc/W1TVmqXFCfI/AAAAAAAAA9o/B3KVMlQf7d035_myixQeUlK-upb0DanqwCLcBGAs/s200/Yellow%2Bbutterfly.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But the butterflies are another story. Since we have an organic garden, the area is safe for all the creatures. But although we have planted butterfly weed numerous times and it has bloomed mostly successfully, we somehow do not find the butterflies feasting on it, but rather on zinnias. Which is fine. They know what they like. It's just frustrating not to be able to trust something named butterfly weed to be attractive to butterflies. Articles recommend it, the nurseries advertise it, but oh, well. The other thing we seem to be unsuccessful at is providing moisture for butterflies. We have tried, and will keep on trying, to provide some moisture for them, because this summer has been horrendously, record-breakingly hot and dry and we worry for all vulnerable creatures. The other day, however, we had watered pots on our patio and most of them are not saucered, so the water runs through and out. A butterfly had found what it considered a puddle and we would have considered a damp spot, and was completely spread flat on the water in the shade, as if saying 'Ah'. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There are other creatures in the garden for which we do not need to provide, our particular favorite being the green anole lizards with their red throats.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> The anoles and other lizards eat crickets, grasshoppers, spiders, and flies</span><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">, </span>and the garden provides those very well.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Every creature we see in the garden, even the persistent squirrels, provides us with entertainment, sometimes pleasure, and a window into what is really the real world, not the one mankind has devised, but the ultimate reality.</span></span>Fran inTexashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06641856761168782321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2794562388759617153.post-65718530886552188262018-04-26T19:26:00.001-07:002018-04-26T19:26:28.818-07:00Oh Max Oh MaxThe first time we saw Max, he was a gold and white bundle peering fearfully through the openings of the carrier our daughter was holding, an early Christmas present and who turned out to be the best Christmas present we had ever been given. Of course nothing was easy at first. Max had two years of history we would never know, our daughter having found him at a local animal shelter. Just before coming to us, Max had been neutered, given shots and other indignities, all by strangers. And here we were, more strangers. It took us a full two weeks to decide, Max and us, whether we wanted to live together. But somewhere during that time, we managed to say or do the right things and Max decided we were tolerable, and we began what became a long loving friendship. Eventually there were three people in Max's home, and all others were shunned, in that if the doorbell rang or he saw a stranger come outside with us, he would hide and he had his sanctuaries planned in the house or in the garden.<br />
<br />
Somehow when we know and love these creatures who share our lives, we think they will go on forever. We shared such fun with him. He disdained toys but would find a twig on the patio and lie on his back and toss it from paw to paw. When he wanted our attention, he would sit and look at us intensely and raise and wave his right paw. We learned that when we were giving him food, we could ask, "where's the paw?", and he would raise that right paw. As he got more praise and attention for raising his paw, that paw got higher and higher. Outside, he could show off by turning somersaults on the lawn or running fast across the lawn and turning and running back, or climbing up the redbud tree to survey his domain.<br />
<br />
And then, and then, after being in our home and our hearts, one morning he had a seizure. We took him to the vet immediately, they kept him for a couple of hours of observation, then called us to pick him up, along with a prescription. The prescription was ready later, but in the meantime, the seizures kept occurring. That evening the guys had an appointment and I stayed with Max, just holding him. When he had a seizure, I would put him down, then afterwards pick him up again and put him on my shoulder. I held him for hours. When the guys got home, we elected to take him to an all-night vet, and came home and thought and thought. All the seizures had the effect of changing his eyes somehow, and he was so frightened. The next morning we called the vet, found he had continued having seizures, and we all three went to the vet, each of us held him, and then he went gently into the long sleep.<br />
<br />
That was August of last year, and we are still mourning. But we know that the way we can most honor Max is by finding another cat who needs a home. Knowing Max taught us so much about what we need to do to make a kitty welcome.Fran inTexashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06641856761168782321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2794562388759617153.post-69465762894186353992018-02-18T17:44:00.001-08:002018-02-18T17:44:27.814-08:00Today is a new day<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This time of year, when we have had enough cloudy, cozy days, especially without any rain to better the gardening situation, the gardener looks for whatever signs may be seen. Today is the day that the first jonquils bloomed, in one area a Campernelle jonquil, in another area a jonquilla simplex, what we call 'Sweeties'. And they are so welcome. We know we are fortunate to have escaped the severe weather problems in so many places, but there is also a type of 'winter of the soul', when so many overwhelming events happen, some to us personally and some to what seems like everywhere. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8vl_mLZxI_k/WooryiljzQI/AAAAAAAAA9Q/0c_5LS2JGSESlK--q3Q9z9eqG2IGGDtkwCLcBGAs/s1600/Campernelle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="420" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8vl_mLZxI_k/WooryiljzQI/AAAAAAAAA9Q/0c_5LS2JGSESlK--q3Q9z9eqG2IGGDtkwCLcBGAs/s200/Campernelle.jpg" width="140" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Which makes these first jonquils so very special and welcome. When you stop to think of it, most early spring flowers, especially in the jonquil/daffodil family, are yellow. Yellow shows up so brightly. We have pots of yellow pansies by the front door. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The rest of our back garden is a mess, full of plants that need deadheading, winter weeds that need pulling, dead oak leaves that cover more than is needful. We will get to all of those things, eventually. But today, we have jonquils!</span>Fran inTexashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06641856761168782321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2794562388759617153.post-82142853018684623182017-02-18T20:00:00.000-08:002017-02-20T18:06:38.423-08:00THE DAMAGE THE WRONG WORDS CAN DO<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
Everyone all over the world knows that we have a new
president who, among other targets, has a running battle with just about all
the news sources in our society.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This is
not the forum to discuss our personal attitudes toward this new president, but
it is obvious, from all the ‘tweets’ he posts, that he believes, or at least
says he believes, that <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">ALL the news is
fake and that ALL the news presenters are ‘enemies of the people.”</b></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
Well, the following statement is by Thomas Jefferson, yes, that
president, and what he wrote in 1787 is very, very, very true today:</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iFeKR80kpyQ/WKkYEPalDBI/AAAAAAAAA8g/cYHWU2e2bSwF3lUujwh5lJIj3uXtms2uwCLcB/s1600/Thomas%2BJefferson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iFeKR80kpyQ/WKkYEPalDBI/AAAAAAAAA8g/cYHWU2e2bSwF3lUujwh5lJIj3uXtms2uwCLcB/s200/Thomas%2BJefferson.jpg" width="174" /></a></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
“The people are the only censors of their governors: and
even their errors will tend to keep these to the true principles of their
institution. To punish these errors too severely would be to suppress the only
safeguard of the public liberty. The way to prevent these irregular
interpositions of the people is to give them full information of their affairs
thro’ the channel of the public papers, & to contrive that those papers
should penetrate the whole mass of the people. The basis of our governments being
the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">and were it left to me to decide whether we
should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government,
I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.</b> But I should mean that
every man should receive those papers & be capable of reading them.”</div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
Thank you, Mr. Jefferson.</div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Fran inTexashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06641856761168782321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2794562388759617153.post-83938301085125734882017-02-07T07:54:00.000-08:002017-02-07T07:56:19.759-08:00A KIND OF SPRING<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
In this part of the world, we are very fortunate to have
four seasons.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The interesting thing is
when we can experience all four within the same week.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Our weather reports look like a roller-coaster:<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>one day it is cloudy and chilly, a stiff
breeze makes feel even colder and we are all wearing sweaters or coats; the
next day the sun is out, the temp will be about 70 degrees, and everything,
including us and the plants, is dazed.</div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
Yesterday we raked leaves and wore long-sleeved shirts and
started out wearing light jackets too.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Today we raked leaves in short sleeves and my mate needed a sweat band,
and we both had on sunglasses and hats against the sun’s rays.</div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
Of course it isn’t spring yet, and we are mindful that there
could still be a ‘polar vortex’ from Canada bringing a sleet storm or even
late-season snow.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Yet we are going to
prune our one rose, Martha Gonzalez, a wonderful species rose with single
petals, no fragrance, and the tendency to bloom all the time.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The one peony that I have found that
tolerates the heat here, so far, Krinkle White, is showing its emerging buds,
once I cut back last year’s dead foliage.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>And everywhere, jonquils and daffodils and hyacinths and Spanish
bluebells and daylilies are sending up leaves.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>One early jonquil, Minor Monarque, is blooming away, as is our white
species iris.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>An irrepressible trailing white
lantana has had the audacity to send up white blooms through the leaves that we
left to insulate during the very hard freezes we had this winter.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And did I mention our flowering quince?</div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KZbcGUV4Qu0/WJntfg_XyUI/AAAAAAAAA78/ee-BBraXddwpmb79EPylQxwc9Qb-4LZ_wCLcB/s1600/2017%2BQuince.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KZbcGUV4Qu0/WJntfg_XyUI/AAAAAAAAA78/ee-BBraXddwpmb79EPylQxwc9Qb-4LZ_wCLcB/s320/2017%2BQuince.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
Sometimes I ask myself, as every gardener probably does from
time to time, why we go to all the bother, the planting, tending, watering,
trimming, mulching, protecting.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>But I am
always answered, as probably every gardener is, when I walk around and see the
relentless determination and courage of plant life.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We humans share not only the earth with plant
life, but also some of the same tendencies and challenges.</div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
In this country, as well as in the rest of the world, we are
being tested by erratic climate changes and those who deny them.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We are also being tested as a nation, and as
citizens of the world, by troubling political behaviors.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And just as the gardener must find remedies
for problems in the garden, the citizens must find remedies for problems that
must be resolved.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>With plants, as with
each other, kindness and caring and persistence help so very much.</div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Fran inTexashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06641856761168782321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2794562388759617153.post-75254306921762362602017-02-03T20:59:00.000-08:002017-02-03T21:02:17.386-08:00POLITICS IS NOT A GAME<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; margin: 0px;">This is a guest post from a friend of mine, Luke Adams, and
is so well-written I wanted to share it out to those who might appreciate it as
I have:</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
</div>
<span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; margin: 0px;"><b>"I am tired of Trump's followers acting as if my opposition to
their leader is simply based on either a hatred of Donald Trump, political sour
grapes, or my being upset that "my team lost". It is not about hating
a man named Donald Trump. It is not about him being on the opposing political
"team". Politics is not a game. Politics is the means by which we
determine the course of our nation and of the world.</b><span style="margin: 0px;"><b> </b></span></span><br />
<b></b><br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: #1d2129; margin: 0px;"><span style="background: white; margin: 0px;"><span style="float: none; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>My opposition to Donald Trump is based on the fact
that on moral, phil</b></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px; orphans: 2; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>osophical, and intellectual grounds I oppose practically
everything that Donald Trump claims to support and is attempting to enact into
law. Although his actions and statements are deplorable to me, I personally
view him, much like Nixon, as a tragic figure, one who is consumed by
narcissism, fear, bigotry, and a nagging need to be adored and worshiped, and
hatred of anyone who does not fulfill that need. He is a man who let his ego
drive him to pursue a job that he was not qualified for, and is now troubled by
the realization that that decision will probably destroy the reputation of the
Trump brand that has always been the most important thing in his life.</b></span></span></span></span></div>
<b></b><br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><b>I do not want Donald Trump harmed. I simply want
him to return to selling Trump steaks, Trump vodka, and gaudy hotel rooms. I
want him to go back to his TV show, his fake University, and his get rich quick
seminars. I want this carnival barker to go back to his life of trying to
separate gullible people from their money. I want Donald Trump as far away from
the United States Government as possible unless it is defending himself against
representatives of our Government in a court of law.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; margin: 0px;"><b></b><br />
<span style="margin: 0px;"><b>I am not simply angry that our country has fallen
for this grifter. I am also ashamed that the country I love has fallen so far
away from its principals that they could allow someone like him to become our
President. He has capitalized on the fears, the hatreds, and the economic
insecurities of Americans, and like any good con-man, has found a way to
benefit from them.</b></span></span></div>
<b></b><br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><b>In all of this, there is one good thing that Donald
Trump has been able to do. He has brought rational people from all over the
political spectrum together in their opposition to this unstable, unqualified
reality show star being our President. I truly believe that he will be
impeached and that it will be the Republicans who impeach him in an effort to
save their party from being associated with him in the history books. Even if
honorable Republicans are not able to put their love of country above their
love of party, maybe their love of party will push them to finally separate
themselves from the malignancy of the Donald Trump presidency. America can only
hope."</b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="background: white; color: #1d2129; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">Thank you, Luke!</span></span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Fran inTexashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06641856761168782321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2794562388759617153.post-30200315494813623382017-01-29T08:38:00.000-08:002017-01-29T08:38:00.076-08:00FROM AMERICA, by John Pavlovitz<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1.7em; orphans: 2; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Dear World,</span></strong></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1.7em; orphans: 2; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">We felt we needed to say something while saying something is still allowed.</span></strong></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1.7em; orphans: 2; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">We know many of you have lived under malevolent, unhinged Dictators before, but this is new for us.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">For its history our nation has been led by men who, despite their varying flaws and deficiencies, some of which were quite disturbing—were by and large, normal human beings.</span><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Whatever darkness in them, they had at the very least, a baseline of humanity and decency that more often than not insured rational behavior.</span></strong></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1.7em; orphans: 2; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">This man is not normal.</span></strong></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1.7em; orphans: 2; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">He is unstable, malignant, devoid of integrity—and he does not speak for us.</span></strong></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1.7em; orphans: 2; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Please understand that nearly three million more people voted for his opponent Hillary Clinton than for him.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(Yes, we realize this is completely screwed-up).</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Millions more voted for other candidates, and sadly nearly 90 million of our people did not vote at all.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The point is, the </span><em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: italic; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">vast majority</span></em><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">of Americans are</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: italic; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">not</span></em><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">with him.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">He does not speak for us.</span><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">His America is not our America.</span></strong></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1.7em; orphans: 2; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Over the past week, we’ve watched long erected pillars of our Republic bulldozed in the stroke of a madman’s pen.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">We’ve seen the very hallmarks of who we are as a nation tossed in the garbage; the celebration of diverse coexistence, the open welcome to the oppressed, the guarantee of unalienable rights for every person, the same access to health and opportunity and safety afforded to everyone, the freedom to speak without censor or restraint.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">At this moment these are all in great jeopardy.</span></strong><br />
<br />
<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Things we took for granted in our leadership: things like goodness, wisdom, and basic truthfulness are no longer in play, and as things are eroding quickly we wanted to let you know that we’re sorry.</span></strong></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1.7em; orphans: 2; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">We’re sorry that our apathy and laziness have yielded such a reckless, impulsive, small man to steward this nation.</span></strong><br />
<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></strong>
<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">We’re sorry for the jagged, bitter ugliness that is characterizing us in these moments.</span></strong><br />
<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></strong>
<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">We’re sorry to those suffering greatly, who have braved such peril to seek refuge here and who’ve now been turned away based on the faith they profess.</span></strong><br />
<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></strong>
<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">We’re sorry to our Mexican neighbors who’ve been fashioned into convenient villains for erecting a grandiose, wasteful display of false protection that we</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: italic; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">do not want</span></em><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">.</span></strong><br />
<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></strong>
<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">We’re sorry to Muslims everywhere who’ve been used as pawns to generate irrational fear among those already susceptible to bigotry and discrimination.</span></strong><br />
<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></strong>
<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">We’re sorry to the leaders of the world, who instead of being met by level-headed, measured, intelligent dialogue, are now greeted with the social media rantings of a furious child.</span></strong><br />
<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></strong>
<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">We’re sorry to those who now experience the Christian faith as a racist, Nationalistic bully pulpit wielded with malice toward the very diverse Humanity Jesus lived and died for.</span></strong><br />
<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></strong>
<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">We’re sorry to people everywhere whose lives are made more tenuous, more violent, less safe, less secure than it has been before.</span></strong></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1.7em; orphans: 2; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">We want you to know that this is not who we are.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It may be who this man is.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It may be who those sharing power with him are.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It may even be the tens of millions who originally voted for him (though that support is vanishing quickly among those who not among the religious zealots and extremists).</span></strong><br />
<br />
<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">But this is not America.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It is not the steady, strong beacon of freedom that it was intended to be.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It is not the America our people have fought and died for.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It is not the one first formed in the crucible of oppression and cast into the words of our ever-disregarded Constitution.</span></strong><br />
<br />
<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">This is not our America.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Our America affirms the inherent, priceless beauty of every human being.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Our America declares that no person is ascribed less value because of their skin color, religion, gender, financial means, sexual orientation, nation of origin, or any other variable.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Our America is home for those seeking hope and joy and rest.</span></strong></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1.7em; orphans: 2; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">And we are going to fight for this America.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Through political channels and through grassroots activism, through the use of our Press and of our personal voices, we’re going to expose this man’s incompetence, call out his heart sickness, and condemn every violent, reckless, vicious act when it does not reflect our hearts and our will.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Please do your best to disregard anything that comes from his mouth or those loudly and continually parroting his propaganda.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">They have proven themselves mortally allergic to the truth.</span></strong></div>
<div id="tbn-flight-ads-1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 10px 0px; orphans: 2; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<div id="google_ads_iframe_/20842576/TBN.johnpavlovitz_4__container__" style="border: 0pt none; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1.7em; orphans: 2; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">And we hope that in whatever way you can, that you will stand with us.</span><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">We know that we have made this mess ourselves.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">We understand that you have your own problems to contend with, some far more urgent and pressing than this, but we believe that we are a single community; that we are tethered together in our Humanity, that we are in real-time crafting the life our children and their children will inherit.</span></strong></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1.7em; orphans: 2; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Dear World, we’re sorry and we hope you’ll endure these days with us.</span></strong></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1.7em; orphans: 2; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">With Despair and Hope in equal measure, in Peace and Unity with you,</span></strong></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1.7em; orphans: 2; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="blast tbn-flight-sentence" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The American Majority</span> </strong></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />Fran inTexashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06641856761168782321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2794562388759617153.post-27545578177748331472017-01-15T11:22:00.004-08:002017-01-15T11:22:56.016-08:00RESPECT FOR THE PRESIDENT-ELECT
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><u>THIS IS FROM A GUEST WRITER WHO I RESPECT UNLIMITEDLY:</u></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">I have no
credentials.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I'm not known.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I don't trend.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>All that I am is a human being on a very
small planet with a bunch of other human beings.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">So read no
further if you wish.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">The other
day an acquaintance of mine spoke up about how angry she was that our
President-Elect wasn't getting the respect he rightfully deserves.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>After all, he was to be President in a few
short weeks, and whatever people thought of him, he would be speaking for us as
a country.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>So he was entitled to our
respect and admiration.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">So I looked
up the definition of the word "respect" to reacquaint myself with the
actual meaning, because it seems to me that lately in social media people have
been using words without understanding their <i>real</i> meanings, so I wanted to get this
one right.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><b>respect - A feeling of deep
admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities or
achievements.</b></span></i></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Okay.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Without
going further and explaining the definitions of "abilities",
"qualities", and "achievements", it has come to my
attention that the aforementioned definition, with few exceptions,<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>has never applied to anything that the
President-Elect has done.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Remotely.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">I can,
however, come up with a word that the President-Elect would apply to the
American people - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">disdain</i>.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Disdain for being mentally and/or physically
challenged, another race, another gender - you name it.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">But what I
really think it boils down to is that he has disdain for us simply because <i>we are
not him</i>.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">For he can
do no wrong, never lies, and has absolutely no accountability for his
actions.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In his eyes, if we were all <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">him</i>, the world would be a better place.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">A world
where anyone could say anything, regardless of it making sense or not, or even if
it hurt anyone.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And any actions would
only be a boon, not a burden.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Because
after all, life is all about doing what's best for yourself.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Other people are just collateral.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">But the
President-Elect lucked out, actually.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>No, he wasn't born into a world full of himself, but into a world where
some people <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">desperately want to be him</i>.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>They want him to succeed, because they believe
that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">his success will be their success</i>.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">And that's
where the disdain comes in, because to quote Ferris Bueller - "you can't respect
someone who kisses your ass."</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">So the
President-Elect will become President in a few short days, after an election
that may or may not have been rigged by Russians, may or may not have been
influenced by hate groups such as the alt-right, and may or may not have been
just decided by a bunch of people who desperately wanted the world to be full
of him.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">So let's
take a moment and take a peek into his head - so to speak - and you might
discover his definition of "respect":</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px 48px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><b>Why shouldn't you admire me?</b></span></i></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px 48px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><b>I have an ability.</b><span style="margin: 0px;"><b> </b></span><b>I have an ability to persuade people who are
normally in their right minds to accept things that just aren't true,
regardless of the evidence which suggests it.</b><span style="margin: 0px;"><b>
</b></span><b>Who are you gonna believe, them or me?</b></span></i></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px 48px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><b>I have a quality.</b><span style="margin: 0px;"><b> </b></span><b>You don't get to where I am without having
something that appeals to a certain group of people.</b><span style="margin: 0px;"><b> </b></span><b>And of course, that certain group of people's
money.</b></span></i></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px 48px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;"><b>I have achievements.</b><span style="margin: 0px;"><b> </b></span><b>I have a lot of achievements.</b><span style="margin: 0px;"><b> </b></span><b>I have the best achievements.</b><span style="margin: 0px;"><b> </b></span><b>Just read my Twitter feed.</b><span style="margin: 0px;"><b> </b></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">So
okay.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I'll go along with my
acquaintance.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I have decided that, on
Inauguration Day, I will respect him just as he has respected me:</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">1)<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Expected me to believe things that aren't
true because he doesn't believe I have the capacity to figure things out on my
own, like truth.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">2)<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Promised to benefit the wealthy over me
because hey, it's my fault I never made millions, right?</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">3)<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Taken credit for things he either had nothing
to do with, or even worse, did.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">So I will
respect the President-Elect just as he has respected me, and for that matter,
the American people.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0px;">Which is to
say, not at all.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Fran inTexashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06641856761168782321noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2794562388759617153.post-217992859840090052017-01-08T13:50:00.000-08:002017-01-08T14:28:43.072-08:00RANTS AND WORDS<br />
<div style="background: white; margin: 0px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; margin: 0px;">In a world where too many countries, including our own
beloved America, are roiling with dissent and refusal to cooperate within
themselves, personal foibles and frustrations really do not signify, in one
sense.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>But in another sense, words do
matter.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It is important that we use our
individual languages as accurately as possible, in order to communicate,
because communication, along with organization, cooperation, and respect, are
the four skills that we could use, if we only would, to help each other and
ourselves.</span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bMeGQO2O5gM/WHKzLD3glLI/AAAAAAAAA7c/oOMegzABXN8TotAY7dRZrgl0gI4ORHEswCLcB/s1600/Making%2BWords.jpeg" /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin: 0px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; margin: 0px;">So here is a small personal rant, shared by both of us.
We have at least 3 major uses of the English language that we really do not
appreciate. First is the use of the word 'hack' in articles about recipes or
organizing the kitchen or whatever. 'Hacking' represents, to us, illegal and
unauthorized access to personal information electronically and for it to be
used casually is to us, to diminish its awfulness, when 'hacking' is
despicable. :(</span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; margin: 0px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; margin: 0px;">Secondly is the use of the word 'curate', a word overused
in describing the grouping of everything imaginable, particularly in home
magazines; someone 'curates' their salt and pepper shakers when what is really
meant is that they like their salt and pepper shakers and like where they keep
them. Museum curators curate, the rest of the world simply picks and chooses,
according to us. :)</span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; margin: 0px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; margin: 0px;">Finally, in articles about houses or celebrities or
designers, the word 'bespoke' is used when they simply mean 'custom made'. But
'bespoke' must sound so very much more grand. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; margin: 0px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; margin: 0px;">Well, phooey, we say. If any reader of this rant has not
encountered this usage before, we apologize for bringing it to their attention.
</span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; margin: 0px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; margin: 0px;">Otherwise our personal solutions are to 1) stop reading
those house magazines, 2) stop reading any article that uses these words, and
3) deleting any e-mails with the word 'hack' in the title, even if it is about
cookies, etc. Enough for now!</span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; margin: 0px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , sans-serif; margin: 0px;">Oh, and Happy New Year.</span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Fran inTexashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06641856761168782321noreply@blogger.com0