Boring

I won't stoop to your level

You'd have us fightin' everyday

If you had your way

I'm always wrong, you're always right

Now I'm getting on with my life

'Cause you bore me

Yeah you bore me

~~ “You Bore Me” by Blue Flannel

Hey, I'm yelling at you!

I didn’t watch the “president’s” Tulsa rally because I’m not a masochist. But I watched the coverage leading up to it and I watched clips after it. 

Empty seats. Subdued attendees. The Little Overflow Area That Wasn’t.

It reinforced something that I’ve been feeling for some time now: his shtick has gotten old. Old, boring, and dumb. Just like him. 

I remember way back in the old days of the 2016 primaries, when we watched the Republican primary debates with a weird combination of fascination and horror. What would that idiot say next? Ahh, we were all so naive then. We thought it couldn’t get worse than a candidate talking about the size of his dick on national TV. Silly young things, weren’t we? 

I think he realized how disastrous that Tulsa rally was. We’ve all seen the video of him getting back to the White House that night, getting off Marine One looking all disheveled, downtrodden, and defeated, his tie draped around his shoulders and his sad little MAGA hat crumpled in his hand. It’s almost enough to make you feel sorry for him. 

ALMOST. 

I don’t, not one bit. This horror show is all of his own making, his fragile, hungry ego crying out for adulation and praise and full-throated approval. Health concerns be damned. He needed his fix. When he didn’t get it, we saw the sad clown (with apologies to clowns) at the core of him. A hollowed-out shell of someone who never got the approval he so desperately desired, whether it was from his father or the East coast “elites” who didn’t accept him despite his supposed wealth. He is a sad and broken excuse for a human being. 

The whole thing was pathetic. But what struck me most about that sad spectacle was that he was so goddamn BORING. Even his die-hard supporters, the ones who were actually there, were yawning. Honestly, how often can anyone listen to his bullshit and find it even remotely interesting? It’s the same shit, different day. Yet another airing of his grievances. 

At a time when thousands of Americans have died, people of color fear for their lives from a police force that has abused its power, and our economy is tanking, he uttered not one word about the dead, the pandemic, the people who have been killed at the hands of police, or the millions of people who are out of jobs and struggling to pay bills. It was all about him. All of it. 

It was not a good look, to say the least. 

I think that a lot of people are starting to wake up to that. Even if they liked some of his policies (bless their hearts), they are starting to understand that he’s just not capable of fulfilling his duties. I know that there is a subset of people who will follow him to the end (that’s a subject for another day), but any fence-sitters or hesitant supporters are starting to grow weary of his lame washed-up comedian routine. Maybe when we boot his sorry ass out of the White House in November, he can get a decent gig at a seedy dinner theater in the Poconos. 

Even long-term comedians know that they have to come up with new material. This idiot doesn’t get that. 

I’m starting to feel a bit of a turning tide. With every humiliation, defeat, and failure, he continues his death spiral. We have months to go before election day, but things feel different now, don’t they? 

Christ, I hope so. My liver is about ready to cry “Uncle!” and I’m not sure I can take four more years. 

American Idiot

Yes, I feel quite a letdown today, but the sun came up, and we have beer in the fridge.

~~ Ken

I had a quiet day at home as I reflected on and processed what happened Tuesday night.

Boy, I sure called that one wrong, didn’t I? I take zero pleasure in the fact that it wasn’t just me. Almost everyone was wrong about it—the pollsters and the pundits—and they get paid to do that stuff!

To say that I am heartsick doesn’t do it justice. I am also disgusted, appalled, and embarrassed. What might be the biggest blow is that my eternal optimism and unwavering belief in the innate goodness of humanity has been shaken. I truly did believe that we would find our better angels.

But we didn’t. Some of us did. But not enough.

I’ve seen enough recrimination to last a lifetime today. Everyone wants to lay blame. I’m not going to target any particular group of people or any age group. We failed collectively as a country. We allowed our paranoia and fear and hatred to cloud our reason and judgment. Many of us did our part by contributing and voting and advocating for reason. But this didn’t happen overnight. The Republican party has been fomenting this unrest and anger for years, and this is the culmination of that effort. Should we have made more of an effort to speak out long before this? Would it have made a difference? Or was the worldwide sweep of nativism and populism inevitable in our country, too?

I honestly have no idea and it’s above my pay grade, anyway. All I know is that this is where we are right now.

So what do we do now? I have a couple of ideas.

First, we must speak out. I fear that a massive wave of bigotry, sexism, and hatred has been unleashed. We’ve seen some very ugly scenes lately and I am afraid that we will see more. I know that a lot of us have not been afraid to stand up for someone who is being bullied or abused. We must have zero tolerance for any such behavior. If you see it happening, make your stand! (With regards to Stephen King and my all-time favorite book, The Stand. I might be due for yet another read of it, because there are lessons to be learned and relearned there.) Those who are most vulnerable among us will be under attack and all of us must stand up, speak out, and defend and protect them. We must not let hatred become routine or ignored.

Second, we must speak out against policies that are antithetical to what we believe. We have elected a new president whose policies (what little he has proposed) I find absurd and whose personal behavior I find repugnant. But he has been elected president. That is reality, and unlike most of his supporters, I’m a big fan of reality. I will respect the office. I will no longer call him the Yam, the Vulgar Talking Yam, Yamboy, or any of the other things I’ve called him. (Tool, Asshole, A-hole, and many others.) I will refer to him as the president or as Trump. Not even Mr. Trump. He doesn’t have any respect for women, so why should I have respect for him as a Mister?

I’m not going to call him names, because as Michelle Obama said, “When they go low, we go high.” It drove us all crazy when people called President Obama and Michelle names, right? So I’m not going to resort to those tactics. However, while I am forced to accept that he is the elected president, I absolutely, unequivocally and forever reject his brand of hatred.

I refuse it. I will speak out against it whenever I see it. I will post about his lies and misdeeds (and there will be many...have you been paying attention?), I will post about the lawsuits against him, I will post as much as I want, when I want. All based in fact, of course, because I don’t traffic in conspiracy theories.

I know many of us feel disheartened and bereft. I felt that today, too. (The nausea was a side effect.) But listen to me and know this: we are not done. We have work to do and it begins with us. Speak out. Do not be ruled by the politics of fear. Reject bigotry, sexism, homophobia, and hatred of any kind. Do not let this negate your belief in what is true, what is right, and what is just. They have not taken those things from us...we still have them. They have not taken our country from us...it is still ours, too.

We still have a voice. Let’s use it.

This song has never been more appropriate.

Takin’ care of business

I got an early morning phone call today from the other septic company that was supposed to take a look at our “dose tank.”

Okay, so early morning for me is 9 AM, but whatever. Anyway, they could come out in the late afternoon and check it out and see what we needed to do. I got up and around and ran my errands in the morning so I could be home in the afternoon.

By “errands” I mean “beer run.”

Got home, did my weights, called my Mom and arranged to go and see her on Sunday, headed out to the deck to catch some rays...and the company showed up almost two hours early! Glad I got stuff done when I did! We needed a new pump, and they stuck around to install it. Really nice guys, and they even put all the dirt back in place where they dug, and raked it all nice and neat. We’ll be going on vacation soon, so I was happy to get that taken care of before then.

We also got the tickets for our Broadway Theater League shows, including the information about the two extra shows that aren’t part of the season, “Stomp” and “American Idiot.” We saw the former a few years ago, and agreed that we weren’t really interested in seeing it again, but you’d better believe I am ALL OVER “American Idiot!” There was an order form included for extra tickets, and I called the box office to ask if I could just send that in now, because we’re going to be out of town when they go on sale in a couple of weeks. Not a problem, the guy said, so that is all filled out and I’ll mail it tomorrow. I hope we get good seats! The show isn’t until next April, so I have plenty of time to look forward to it...and plan my outfit! Haha!

I made burritos tonight, and I tried my first ever made-from-scratch sangria, and let me tell you, this stuff is FANTASTIC. I just kind of made it up, too! I had a general idea of what to put in it, and used what I had in the fridge. BOOM, good stuff!

Tomorrow will be a Nutwood day...ribs, cucumbers, corn on the cob. More tomorrow, and I hope everyone has a great holiday!

Rock on, Citizens!

I got a rock ‘n roll car

I made a beer run this morning, and I was waiting for a lady to back out of her parking space so I could get in there.

She backed out and as she passed by me going the other way, she smiled and said something to me. I turned down the music and rolled my window down all the way and said, “What?” She said, “Nice car!” I grinned and kind of flapped my hand at her, like “Oh you!” and thanked her.

It was just one of those pleasantries you sometimes get from strangers that makes you smile and brightens your day, and I thank her for that. You rock, lady!

What was funny was that I was listening to Green Day’s “American Idiot” CD (on heavy rotation in my car right now), and the song was “Homecoming.” It’s a rather long song that consists of five distinct parts and subtitles (“American Idiot” is essentially a rock opera, remember), with one of them “Rock ‘n Roll Girlfriend.” That part includes the lines “I got a rock ‘n roll house, I got a rock ‘n roll car.” I’m not so sure about our house (Although the Retro Lounge might be a little bit rock ‘n roll...our property is a little bit country. Haaaa! I slay me!), but I think my car could reasonably be called a rock ‘n roll car!

I listened to “Homecoming” twice as I was driving, and I was struck by just how damn good it is (the whole CD is great, actually). I love the different tempos and beats, a little bit of wistfulness followed by full-blown rock bombast. This stuff is anthemic, with the martial beat of the drums at the end and the chanting “Home...we’re coming home again!” Makes me want to pump my fist in the air and sing along!

Although it’s not part of the Broadway Theater League season package in 2013-14, the Morris will be bringing “American Idiot” (the musical) here this year, and as season ticket members, we’ll get first dibs on seats. I am so psyched about this one, and I think it’s going to be a blast. I’m not sure how they can recreate the sound of Green Day and the CD in the theater, but the Morris has a pretty kickass sound system, so I’m thinking it’s going to be great. This will be kind of weird, though. These are balls-to-the-wall rock songs, but it’s a musical. I’m guessing that the crowd will sit for most of it, and I will be cool, don’t worry! I hope there will be plenty of chances to stand up and dance, though, because this isn’t sitting-down music!

I’ve never had a chance to see Green Day, but I’m going to start watching for them. I would love to see them. Talk about a high energy show!

Rock on, Citizens!