Category Archives: reflections

Should I Be Freaking Out?

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Our dear president is giving us an amazing buffet of issues to freak out about, and I’m just chilling out on the sofa, turning on Netflix before dinner, even cleaning house just a bit. In fact, I’m more nervous about the possibility of a serious discussion with friends than about what Trump will do next. How can this be?

Am I so chill because the world didn’t come to an end during Trump’s first term? Not really. I do think that Trump – and especially his “friends” – were not really prepared to exploit the power that was suddenly at their fingertips. This time, they’re rarin’ to go. That said, some initiatives will be stopped by the courts, some will simply take a bit of time to have an impact, and if our guardrails don’t hold, the rest of the world will gear up to resist at least the tariffs. Will Denmark send its mighty navy to protect its hold on Greenland? Will China take over Panama to prevent the US from doing so? Interesting possibilities!

I guess I’m chill because I’m just immensely curious to see what unfolds! My 80 year lifespan has occurred during a time when the “rules based order” has prevailed, not everywhere, but over the oceans at least, and I’ve recently come to appreciate the importance of peace on the open oceans. Yes, land wars have been a constant during my life, not at home, but often involving US troops. Yet, the shooting has occurred in places that have not disrupted my life beyond the price of gasoline. Shopping, still good. Food, still good. Income, still good. Travel, still good. Access to information, still good. Yes, the price of eggs, not so good, but that’s more because of avian flu than armed conflict.

So. No, I don’t like Trump’s approach to immigration, but I do want some control of our borders. I don’t like his attitude toward the Department of Justice, but will the Supreme Court truly permit him to do anything he wants to do? I don’t like his approach to dismantling DEI, but I also don’t like DEI. I don’t like his heavy handed approach to trans issues, but I think there are just two sexes. I’d prefer to have a competent Secretary of Defense, but a little shakeup at the Pentagon might be needed.

I actually think Trump might not give in to Putin as we all expected him to do – because I’m guessing he now sees Putin as weak and ineffectual. If Trump thinks he has the upper hand with Putin that could work to the advantage of Ukraine. We’ll have to wait and see.

Elon Musk worries me, and I don’t want to give him the keys to anything. But mostly I’m curious to see how long he and Trump will put up with each other. And if one of them has to go, it won’t be Trump. So, yes Elon could do a lot of damage, but will he last long enough to do so?

Part of my patience with Trump this time around comes from my disillusionment with the Democrats over the last four years. Pick an issue, any issue, and I probably disagree with how the Ds handled it. I actually liked Kamala Harris, and had she been elected I think I might have liked her refreshing presence as opposed to Old, Creaky, Impaired Biden and Orange Man Bad. But no female president is likely in my lifetime. Oh, well.

So, folks, I’m chill for now. Curiosity dominates my brain. How are you holding up?

Remember Martin Luther King, Jr.?

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Once upon a time, America had a leader with an inclusive vision for our future. He was not a President. Rather, as a simple citizen, Martin Luther King, Jr. campaigned for bringing black people into our society on an equal footing with the descendants of our founding fathers and the millions of people who immigrated here from Europe.

Despite the protections of our Constitution, the United States had found ways to keep black people down, de jure segregation primarily in the south, and de facto segregation everywhere else. When Jim Crow laws were exposed via videos of sit-ins, voter registration drives, and strategies such as the Memphis bus boycott, we could no longer deny the reality that we were not a nation with equal protection of our laws and equal opportunity for all. We were shamed into taking action to remedy the obvious injustices we saw on TV screens in living rooms across the country.

Slowly, we in the north accepted that policies such as red-lining accomplished the same work in the northern cities that Jim Crow laws did in the south. They kept black people out of our line of sight, “in their place,” so to speak. Yes, they could sit anywhere on our buses – as long as they agreed to exit into segregated neighborhoods, stay out of our unions, and not ask for things that would expose our complicity in their lower status. Slowly, very slowly, these policies began to change also as activists shifted from their work in the south and broadened their work to address issues nationwide.

It’s important to remember that King did not act alone. Rosa Parks did not spontaneously decide to remain in her seat. Black people had been meeting and talking and planning for many years to develop strategies to bring about change. King was an amazing leader, the key word being leader. His ability to articulate a positive future enabled white people to listen and work with him. But there were many other local leaders involved in planning the non-violent actions that elicited the brutal reactions that were impossible to ignore. By anticipating the reactions that exposed the true status of black Americans, these local leaders could plan legal strategies and support for those who were jailed and/or attacked for their actions.

Rosa Parks was a hero of mine for many years before I learned about all the planning that preceded her refusal to move to the back of the bus. I learned that another woman with a more checkered history was not supported by those planning Park’s moment of fame. The civil rights leaders decided they needed a woman who could not be criticized for any reason other than her decision to keep her seat in the front of the bus. You can agree or disagree with that position, but we often face the same consideration today as we continue the work for equal opportunity for all.

So much has been said in recent years about the unfinished work for equality. Are all disparities the result of racism? Some insist they are; others argue that equal outcomes cannot be achieved, that many factors contribute to disparities. Would MLK have favored equality of outcomes? I doubt it, and his name is not often used in current campaigns that seek to erase disparities. Still, I doubt that he would be silent if he were alive today. There is always work to be done. Biases are likely with us forever. We honor King on his birthday to remind us that we always need to be vigilant in order to keep our biases in check.

So: Happy Birthday, Dr. King, and thank you, thank you, thank you for your vision, your powerful words, and your work to bring that vision to reality.

December, 2024, Odds and Ends

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The year is coming to an end. What are we to make of it all? 

Syria

Bahar al-Assad is in Moscow. Good that he’s gone, but will something good come to pass in Syria in his absence? Check back a year from now.

Two Presidents

It has been customary in years past for the US to have only one president at at time, but this year we have two. The inauguration is not until January 20, but Trump is already wheeling and dealing with other world leaders. Hey, it’s Trump, so no one objects. Meanwhile, there is some hope that senators will grow a little spine as they contemplate his various cabinet appointees. Some are at least familiar with the basics of our government – stuff like three branches and no king. Others, not so much. I can’t wait to see if nominees will get background checks and if the Senate holds actual confirmation hearings. 

Health Care Anger

Periodically, I get angry at our health care system. That said, I don’t support assassinations of health care executives. Still, when I see YouTube videos with doctors saying things like, “a traumatic brain injury can last a lifetime,” I think, where were these docs when we needed them? Several years ago, when a certain friend was struggling with things as he did in the first few years after his TBI, I called two regional medical centers to see if I could get an appointment for him. Their first question was, “How long since his injury?” Decades, I responded. “Oh, well we don’t admit anyone to our program more than two years after an injury.” TWO YEARS??? WFT! Yeah, I get angry.

Hibernation, Anyone?

Why can’t we just hibernate during the winter? Wake up for holidays, then go back to sleep. Especially in the gloomy northwest. Even the winter sun is a problem because it aims right at my eyes when I’m driving. Yup. Hibernation!

 Seahawks

What is one to do with a floundering football team? The Seahawks are above .500 for now, but not by much. And even the games they win are hard to watch. Fumbles, interceptions, yellow flags, honestly it’s a miracle they win any. What to do, what to do???

SCOTUS

What is one to do with the Supreme Court? Yes, our Supreme Court, i.e. SCOTUS? This past week, they listened to arguments regarding a Tennessee law prohibiting medical transitions for minors. (You can find the transcript online.) Sadly, the only justices who seemed grounded in reality were the conservative ones. The liberals (remember Justice Jackson who couldn’t really say what a woman is because she’s not a biologist?) were off in la-la land with the trans-rights activists. Sigh. I just hate it when I have to rely on conservatives to stay tethered to earth. 

Swedish Death Cleaning

We have too much stuff and are too mired in winter lethargy to deal with it. A friend recently recommended a book about Swedish death cleaning. I started it, but wandered down a path of self-recrimination for not tending to such. Actually, it’s not just winter lethargy. We have opted not to deal with the stuff during all seasons for the past several years. A certain friend thinks we should sell it online. I can’t imagine gearing up for such an activity, so yesterday I actually emailed an estate sale agent nearby. Sadly, I waited until after 2:00, their office closing time on Saturdays, so I have to wait until Tuesday for a reply. Some of our stuff is worth some amount of money, but not so much that we are counting on it for our waning years. Check back with us in a year. 

Power Outages

We survived our first power outage in our new home. We were warned about big wind storms when we moved here, so we brought the porch chairs and the garbage bins inside. Then we watched TV until it blinked out about 7:00 p.m. First night, not too bad. Next day, (short winter day, remember), chilly but survivable. Second night: chillier than the first. Second day: we headed to Seattle. We had reservations at a hotel for our anniversary weekend, and decided to go a day early. Smart! Power came back 72 hours after it blinked out. Many others suffered much longer than we did.

Spare Heat

Some of our neighbors are planning to buy generators, but I think we will skip that solution. Been there, done that. We got a generator after a few outages at our Skagit house. But the problem with a generator is that it needs fuel. Usually gasoline. Which means you need to have it on hand just in case the power goes out because when the power goes out, the gas stations shut down. How much fuel? Depends on how big your generator is and how long you run it. We just ran ours for a couple of hours in the morning and evening to keep the fridge cool and run the furnace for a bit. But we had a propane stove, propane fireplaces, and propane lanterns. The house wasn’t toasty, but it was tolerable. What I really want here is a gas fireplace. I might even get out of bed to go shopping for that!

The End

I could go on, but I think I’ll do more odds and ends in the new year. Be well, folks.

The Blizzards of My Childhood

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We are spending today at home, mostly inside the house which, at this moment, is comfortably warm and cozy. The “warm and cozy” could change at any moment as we are under a high wind warning in an area which has a reputation for wind events that knock out the power at least once each winter. 

The terrain outside our windows is white. We had a bit of snow night before last. Not deep, but there’s a layer of ice under it which makes it a bit treacherous for walking. My first experiences of that little layer of ice were humbling. I grew up in Wyoming and prided myself on my ability to get around in the snow, both on foot and by car. But I soon discovered that there’s a reason Northwest drivers are chicken when it comes to driving in the snow: what looks beautiful covers that layer of ice which changes everything. Caution is, in fact, advisable here.

Blizzards are uncommon here, but they were an annual event when I was young. They were exciting (for us kids, not necessarily our parents). No school, for one. For my sister and me, it also meant that we were home with mom while dad was working. He was a railroad engineer and seemed always to be trying to get his passengers from one station to another following behind the snowplow. (My sister and I would not exist were it not for a blizzard in the ‘30s. Dad met mom in the hospital where she was his favorite nurse treating his frostbite from a blizzard misadventure.)

If we couldn’t go out to play, we invented adventures inside the house. We rearranged the furniture, draping blankets over chairs and tables to create tunnels to crawl through. We got out every single board and floor game in the house and played them all. (Tiddly Winks was my personal favorite.) We got to dine on cocoa and toast, still a go-to meal at times of despair. And we fought. Angels we were not. We cannot today figure out how mom survived it all.

Once the winds died down, we could bundle up and work our way out of the house. Often, either the front door or the back was blocked by snowdrifts. But the drifts created a unique opportunity for adventure. I remember a year when we could climb a drift all the way to the roof of our house. In ordinary blizzards, the drifts provided instant forts for snowball fights. 

We were blessed in many ways. Power outages were rare for us, even during the worst storms. Dad always survived the storms, even when the train got stuck, though more than once he had to leave the engine and walk to the nearest town to fetch milk for the tiny tots in his care. Mom might even have enjoyed the chaos we created at home. As kids, we were oblivious to the impact of the storms on the world around us. And such breaks from routine, when they end well, are a valuable part of childhood. These anomalies expand our sense of what’s possible and rev up our problem solving abilities. All good – when they end well.