We'll be okay (I think)

The world's goin' crazy and
Nobody gives a damn anymore
And they're breakin' off relationships and
Leavin' on sailin' ships for far and distant shores
For them it's all over
But I'm gonna stay
I wouldn't leave anyway
I know that someday we'll find a way
We'll be okay
'Cause I'm your brother,
Though I don't even know your name
I've discovered that,
Deep down inside, you feel the same

~~ "Brother" by The Kinks

It's oddly elegant, isn't it? 

Back to Coronavirus today because that's about all the news that matters right now, isn't it? 

It is affecting every aspect of our lives. People are being laid off. Retirement accounts are essentially wiped out. We are probably already in a recession, and it's going to get worse in the immediate future. Cases and deaths are soaring around the world (at least it seems to be slowing down in China) and we have an emergency travel advisory in my county, meaning that only essential travel is warranted. Indiana schools are closed until May 2, and I wouldn't be surprised if the rest of the school year is canceled. 

Ray Davies' "we'll be okay" lyric seems a little overly optimistic right now. 

So I'm going to step back for a moment and get clinical on you all. It helps me to be rational and all science-y and junk and maybe it will help you, too. 

My friend Julie on Facebook posted about Indiv-1 calling this novel Coronavirus the "Chinese virus." She felt that this is a blatantly xenophobic "dog whistle" on his part, and I completely agree. I went into science mode, though. I commented that naming bacteria and viruses and other organisms are frequently based on where they were first found. Virtually all subspecies of Salmonella are named after the location where they were isolated. The Ebola virus is named after the Ebola River. There is Lassa fever, named after a city in Nigeria. There is Pontiac fever, something caused by the Legionella bacterium, named after a city in Michigan, and Legionella itself is named after the Legionnaires because that outbreak took place at one of their conventions. So I said that there is a longtime tradition of naming things after where they originated. It's not because microbiologists are racist, it's just a way we name and differentiate organisms, subspecies, and even diseases.

Hear me out. I wasn't done. I said that the 'big but' here is that Indiv-1 is obviously using this as a dog whistle to create racism and xenophobia. There are already incidents of racism against Asian Americans and Asian immigrants. He is trying to place the blame on someone, anyone, other than his own failed response. He needs a scapegoat, and he has decided that calling it the "Chinese virus" does the trick. The virus has a name: SARS-CoV2 and the disease it causes is called COVID-19. These are the scientific names, and calling it anything else is blatant prejudice and discrimination and designed to gin up hatred against others. Because that's what he and his rabid base feed upon. Like some kind of weird, racist vampires. 

After I posted that, I realized that I was being that pedantic bore who feels the need to comment at length. I shut up pretty quickly, but I felt the need to message Julie and apologize. She said essentially that that wasn't needed, and I appreciated that. I have friends who seek out my thoughts on various things, including scientific papers about it, and I am happy to respond to that kind of question if I can. It's what I did for most of my career and I know that people are wanting answers. I can come at it from a scientific bent and I will do my best to answer their questions. I'll write about it here when I want but I need to dial it down a notch when it comes to commenting on others' pages. I don't want to be "that person," you know? Ugh. I don't like that person! Don't be that, Beth! 

Back to the music. I thought of this song today when I thought, "The world's going crazy." I think it is a very nice song with a nice message. Viruses and bacteria and other beasties don't give a fuck about where you're from or what political party you belong to. They're here to fuck your shit up and they do what they can to do so. (There's a whole other topic about beneficial bacteria and about how crowded conditions and poverty result in increased outbreaks, as well as how certain populations develop defenses against infections ubiquitous in their communities, but that's a story for another day. One of the most fascinating to me is that Africans developed sickle cell anemia to fight off malaria...that parasite doesn't infect sickle cells. But again...a story for another day.)

The point is that this is a pandemic. It's bad. It's nationwide. It's global. They don't care about your goddamn SPRING BREAK, and I'm looking at you, KAYLEIGH. (I don't know a Kayleigh...just a generic name for some chick on spring break right now.) This is a worldwide problem and we are truly all in this together. The actions we take now can save lives. 

We're all brothers and sisters in this. 

Stupid purity tests

The world's goin' crazy and
Nobody gives a damn anymore
And they're breakin' off relationships and
Leavin' on sailin' ships for far and distant shores
The old world's fadin'
Now it seems so far away
Well, I'm not goin' anywhere
There's so much that we can share
I'm your brother

"Brother" by The Kinks

The last time I wrote about Mayor Pete, it was when he first announced. A lot has happened since then! 

I've always maintained that anyone who listens to Mayor Pete comes away impressed. It's impossible not to. We're seeing it play out every day. The most hilarious moment for me was when he was on "Morning Joe" and managed to get Mika and Joe to shut up for once. It was a thing of beauty! I have friends far and wide who are loving him and excited about him. Can we keep his momentum going? Yes, we can! 

Tomorrow we will be heading downtown to see him formally announce his run for the presidency. I am so excited and I think it's going to be quite a celebration! I hope to get lots of pics and video. 

The big news this week, what kept Mayor Pete on the media radar, was some of the stuff he said about VP (and former Indiana Governor) Mike Pence. Pete spoke about his own faith and contrasted the faith of Pence and his support of the "porn star president." I've had a hard time understanding how those same evangelical Christians who have told me I'm going to hell for drinking or smoking or swearing or any other litany of supposed sins could support a guy who obviously is—at least to some of us—the antithesis of those who do good in the name of their faith. So it's been refreshing to see Pete call them out on it and watch them squirm. 

Unfortunately, I am now seeing some people on the left who are dismissing Mayor Pete because of his faith. Seriously? The guy wants to help the least among us by good policies and you're going to automatically count him out simply because he believes in God? It drives me crazy when I see those polls that show that a big majority of people will never vote for an atheist, as if people can't have compassion, empathy, and intelligence if they don't believe in any sort of deity. And now these people are doing the same damn thing. Idiots. 

Let me tell you something. When Ken and I were in Florida and he got really sick and spent a month in the hospital, we had people lighting candles for us at the Grotto at Notre Dame. We had people praying for us. Do I think that any sort of deity intervened and made Ken get better? Nope. I chalk that up to modern medicine, doctors, nurses, support techs, and powerful chemotherapy drugs. But you know what? The fact that people cared enough about us to try to send us strength and positive energy meant the world to both of us. I don't think I've ever had a candle lit for me and it honestly made me feel pretty good. All of that positive energy helped us know that we had a lot of people pulling for us and willing to help us. 

We both vowed that we would never dismiss or discount anyone's beliefs even if we didn't share them. Because of their faith, these people cared about us and wanted us to be okay. That meant a lot. 

For me, it doesn't matter anymore what causes a person to arrive at a point of service and compassion. What matters is that they care about their fellow human beings and want to do what they can to help others. 

Mayor Pete is a person of faith. He believes in God, he goes to church, he married Chasten in a church. He is also a progressive Democrat who believes that government can do good for all people, with good policies. He absolutely understands the importance of the separation of church and state and he condemns those who cause harm to others in the name of their religion. 

If you won't vote for him because he's a person of faith, you need to pull your smug head out of your self-righteous ass and get a grip. If you have that kind of a "purity test," you're just as bad as all those pious jerks on the religious right. We have a "president" who is causing real harm to people, around the world and right here in our own country. The primary goal is to boot his ass out of the Oval and get someone in there who will treat people with fairness and compassion. 

Look at the policies! Is a candidate going to promote fair and reasonable policies? Just because someone believes in God doesn't mean that they are going to promote their religion. Eyes on the prize, people! 

Don't fuck this up, Democrats. There is way too much at stake. Including my liver and my mental health. The damage to both, as well as our country, is great. Can we really stand four more years of it? Stop 👏 this 👏 shit 👏 now 👏!

Living on a thin line

Now another century nearly gone
What are we gonna leave for the young?
What we couldn't do, what we wouldn't do
It's a crime, but does it matter?
Does it matter much, does it matter much to you?
Does it ever really matter?
Yes, it really, really matters
Living on a thin line
Tell me now, what are we supposed to do?

~~ "Living on a Thin Line" by The Kinks

Hey, long time, no see! 

There have been many times when I've felt like writing but just didn't seem to have it in me. It seems that much of my energy lately is devoted to just trying to hang in there as I watch everything go to shit around me. 

Not personally, not at all. Ken and I are hanging tough and dealing with what we need to deal with. I have a great family that I can always count on if I need to bend their ear and vice versa. We have supportive friends, too, and I don't feel personally worried. 

But as for our country, OHMICOD WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIEEEEE! 

An exaggeration, yes. My greatest feelings of despair stem from realizing that we have lost our standing as a moral beacon in the world. And yeah, yeah, I get it...we are NOT always all that moral. We've done some shitty things over the centuries. But didn't we use to stand for something? Didn't we use to have that ideal that said that you could be whatever you wanted to be if you worked hard? Didn't we use to be the place that people wanted to come to because they knew that they would have a chance to make a better life for themselves and for their families?

Didn't our country develop its unique culture and strength through diversity and the input of immigrants? My own family came over from Germany in the late 1700s and began farming on land that my ancestors got because of early service to this country. Both of my parents' families were dirt poor when my folks were growing up during the Depression and I know that there are plenty of us whose families faced the same or similar hardships. So why are some of these same people looking down on those who want to come here to try to do better for their families? Didn't they all have the same motivation?

I love my country, I really do. Yes, we have made and continue to make mistakes (understatement of the year), but the past couple of years have left me ashamed and apologizing to my friends in other countries. "I'm so sorry," I say. "I apologize for what is going on right now," I say. 

I am sick of apologizing. I want to be proud of my country again. I want to be able to say "I'm an American" without immediately apologizing and saying that I do not support this so-called president and I do not condone his actions. Ken and I try to be good ambassadors for our city, our state, and our country, so how about if this so-called president makes an attempt to do the same? Can he please stop embarrassing us on the international stage?

I try not to feel despair...or at least I try not to dwell on it. I try to keep in mind that the arc bends slowly and that sometimes it's two steps forward and one step back. At the same time, I absolutely reject the politics of hate and I condemn every single person that embraces hatred and divisiveness. I have no time for your crap and I am going to call you out every time I see it. I may not have the "best words" but I've got some good ones and I know how to use them. 

We really are living on the edge right now, pals. Don't you feel it? 

It's up to each one of us to decide which side we are going to be on. 


 

Education saved the day

Well man built a boat and he learned how to sail

And he traveled far and wide

Then he looked up above saw the stars in the sky

So he learned how to fly

And the inventors with their high I.Q.s

And the professors in their colleges

Trying to feed me knowledge

That I know I'll never use

Thank you sir for the millions of words

That you've handed me down and you've told me to learn

~~ “Education” by The Kinks

I read something the other day that really dismayed me. NBC conducted a poll asking whether people thought a four-year degree was worth the cost and it turns out that there has been a sharp drop-off in those who feel that it is worth it.

You’ll get no argument from me that college is quickly becoming out-of-reach for far too many. This is certainly something we need to address and I wish that every person, no matter their age, would have access to affordable college classes. It is also hard to argue with the idea that many who graduate aren’t well-equipped with skills that will result in an immediate, good-paying job.

But what really bothers me here is that there seems to be a deepening notion that an education isn’t really needed. I’m not saying that college is for everyone and I am totally on board with vocational schools that teach much-needed skills. In fact, there are a lot of high-skilled jobs out there going unfilled and that is bothersome.

I also know that college is a lot more expensive than when I went to school. A lot more expensive. I don’t remember the exact amount, but I was able to get a Bachelor’s degree for under thirty grand at one of our state schools (Ball State...go Cardinals!). I am also really fortunate in that my folks saved for my education and with the help of some small scholarships, some loans, and some strategic T-bill investing (and high interest rates at the time), my college was paid for. Believe me, I know just how fortunate I am and I am grateful every day.

Ball State isn’t an Ivy League school, but I got a degree that helped me get a job (Medical Technologist/Microbiologist) that I found very rewarding and interesting. Because it was a four-year degree, I also got to take electives that didn’t relate to my major and I enjoyed those very much. Psychology, Sociology, Archaeology, things like that. In retrospect, I wish I had taken some literature or art history courses, but that’s where online classes come in now. I still love to learn and enjoy taking the occasional course (I’m about due for another one!).

The experience of getting a four-year degree and living on campus taught me more than information. I grew up in a small town and getting away to meet new people and experience new ideas was a gamechanger for me. It exposed me to so many different concepts and ways of looking at things and taught me to see other viewpoints. Not everyone gets to go live on campus but taking different courses in a community college or local university can still give you insight into the experiences of others. This was invaluable to me and I wouldn’t be the person I am today without it. I’m certainly not a perfect person but the education continues. There is always more to learn!

It makes me sad that the value of education has dropped so low. Maybe a lot of these people still want to learn and just think that a four-year degree isn’t the way to go about it. I’m okay with that. But I think this survey shows a little more than that...it seems to show that knowledge is no longer a valued commodity.

This is dangerous. The successful operation of our society and our republic depends upon an educated citizenry. When education is not treated as a top priority, and is sometimes even ridiculed, we have a problem.

This can’t end well.

Looking forward

No more looking back

No more living in the past

Yesterday's gone and that's a fact

Now there's no more looking back

Got to be hard

Yeah, look straight ahead

That’s the only way it's going to be

Yesterday's gone and that's a fact

Now there's no more looking back

~~ “No More Looking Back” by The Kinks

Before I start, I’m thinking about everyone in the path of Hurricane Irma. I have lots of relatives and friends in Florida, and New Smyrna Beach is our home away from home. I hope everyone will be safe. Hunker down, pals.

This entry is prompted by a couple of recent stories about Hillary Clinton’s upcoming book. Excerpts are being released here and there as the book is hyped. First was the part about how the Yam was creeping on her at the one debate. There was also a bit about how Sanders’ attacks contributed to her loss. To be fair, she also claims full responsibility for the loss, because she was the candidate, after all. But then she continues to blame others.

When the excerpt about how she wishes she’d “gone nuclear” on James Comey came out, that was just a bridge too far for me. Don’t mess with James! Not on my watch!
Okay, okay, I know I’m biased here. I’m in total fangirl mode. And honestly, everyone knows that I was a proud and enthusiastic supporter of Hillary, and I was happy to cast my vote for her. But something about this just strikes me as so...off. I posted on Facebook that I really don’t feel like reading her book and it led to a very good discussion, which made me want to write more about it here.

I think that plenty of us were traumatized to such an extent by the outcome of the election (as well as the ongoing actions of the current administration) that we are just ready to move on and start working on the future rather than relitigating the past. She has every right to voice her thoughts and I hope she will continue to be a force in the Democratic party. She is a smart and formidable woman who has plenty of ideas and I completely disagree with anyone who says she should “sit down and shut up.”

But can she maybe be a force behind the scenes?

Friends commented that she has valid points when it comes to people to blame. I don’t disagree that many of the players were a part of her loss, including Sanders and Comey (Jaaaaaames). But it is absurd to blame it on any one person or any of several people. It was a total shitstorm of circumstances, and yes, plenty of the blame goes to her.

I can’t begin to tell you how conflicted I am about this because I truly did support her. It wasn’t a matter of “I don’t like her but I’ll hold my nose and vote for her.” I thought, and still think, that she was the most qualified to be President, and I think she would have been a good one. I feel almost guilty about my feelings about this, like it’s kind of a betrayal. I still love ya, Hills, but I really think it’s time to move on.

And that goes for much of the “older guard” of the Democratic party. I respect and admire many of these folks, and I adore Joe Biden. But NO. Don’t run for President again. I feel the same way about Sanders and Warren. Continue to make your mark in the Senate. You can do good things there and have a big influence. Can we have some younger blood, asked the 55-year-old?

Non-gratuitous picture of Comey

Many of my friends are still angry about Comey, but I still get his reasoning and understand his rationale. I’m not going to belabor the point, though. I’m not going to change their minds and they aren’t going to change mine. I’ve read enough and watched enough about his thinking to believe that he was doing it from a standpoint of how best to protect the FBI and the DOJ from any sort of partisan label. I’m really not sure how anyone can think that he was for one side or the other...he was directing investigations of both sides.

While I’m on the subject of Comey, the latest brouhaha is that he was drafting a memo that was circulated within a small group of FBI higher-ups. Some are up in arms, claiming that he’d decided the outcome of the Clinton email investigation well before the FBI closed the case and even before they’d interviewed Clinton herself. My initial thought was, “A draft memo doesn’t mean that.” He didn’t close the investigation until everyone was interviewed, but it doesn’t surprise me that he saw which way the investigation was going and that it probably wouldn’t result in any charges. He was a prosecutor, remember, so he knew what was prosecutable and what wasn’t. If things had changed, the outcome of the investigation would have changed. A draft memo circulated amongst a small group doesn’t mean that he’d made up his mind. I’ve read that it is not uncommon for court decisions to be written up as a draft before the final verdict is made. So this is a silly criticism.

Anyway...jeez, I’m tired. Sometimes I just get so tired of all the chatter, you know? I’m ready to move forward.

A Well Respected Man

And he's oh, so good,

And he's oh, so fine,

And he's oh, so healthy,

In his body and his mind.

He's a well respected man about town,

Doing the best things so conservatively.

~~ “A Well Respected Man” by The Kinks

My, my, what an interesting week.

Like millions all over the country, I was glued to our TV set (not literally) Thursday morning as I watched former FBI Director James Comey have his say when he appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee. (I really wish Senator Al Franken were on that committee.) It promised to be quite a spectacle, and it didn’t disappoint.

Let me preface this by saying that while plenty of my friends hate Comey for the way he handled the Hillary e-mail brouhaha, I’ve always had mixed feelings about it. I didn’t like it, either, and I think it may have played a part in her EC loss, but I don’t think it’s fair to lay it all on him. There were many factors involved. I also read quite a bit about his thinking, and I get where he was coming from. His goal was to protect the Justice Department and the FBI from any allegations of wrongdoing or coercion or undue influence or whatever you want to call it. Of course, it turned out that it probably did influence things somewhat, but I just don’t think we can lay it all at his feet. I remember talking to Ken about it at the time, and we agreed that he made the decision that he had to make. The guy was between a rock and a hard place. Neither of us cared for it much, but we understood his reasoning from a logical viewpoint. I felt then, and still feel, that Comey was a man of integrity.

I know that some of my friends on the left will disagree with me. Hell, probably plenty of people on the right will disagree with me. If you’re pissing everyone off equally, doesn’t that mean you’re nonpartisan? I don’t know. But really, I think the guy is the real deal and genuinely wanted to follow the law and fight crime. One of the Good Guys.

As for the hearing...holy shit! I was so riveted that I didn’t even get up to take a bathroom break, and since I’d fixed myself a Bloody Mary, things were getting quite urgent by the end of those two and a half hours! It was absolutely fascinating and Comey was beyond impressive. He was a cool customer who came across as highly competent, committed to the truth and the law, self-deprecating, but obviously intelligent and sharp as a tack. I enjoyed it so much that I watched it again via video from another network, and this one included lots of dramatic closeups of Comey’s face. That was fascinating in itself because you could see his rapid eye movements and his nods as the Senators were asking their questions. He was like a machine processing everything and figuring out how he was going to answer. Probably exactly how he reacted when sitting with the Yam, figuring out how he was going to answer those inappropriate requests.

I’ve said from the very beginning of this whole mess that the Yam picked the wrong FBI director to fuck with. This guy is a true professional who knows how things work.

Speaking of inappropriate requests, I’ve seen multiple stories equating how Comey felt in these encounters with his boss with how women sometimes feel in the workplace when we are faced with such comments. It even extended to the hearing, when several Senators—including a couple of female Senators!—asked him why he didn’t do more, say more, speak up, fight back at the time. Amazingly enough, James Comey was victim-shamed. As one Twitter comment said, “Mr. Comey, what were you wearing at the time?” The awful truth is that anyone, no matter their gender or any other qualifier, can be subjected to feeling that their job hinges upon how they respond to the advances of their superior. I think plenty of us have been in such a situation and it can be very uncomfortable and you try to tread as lightly as possible. Imagine that your boss holds the most powerful position in the country. How would you react?

Comey did the smart thing and documented everything. Ken and I have both been in that situation, too. His situation did turn into one where he had to give a deposition and his notes were invaluable. I give that advice to anyone having issues at work. Document, document, document! Of course, Comey didn’t need my advice. He was the freakin’ FBI chief, so he knows about documentation.

He also knows how to play the long game. One of the most fascinating things that came out of the hearing, at least to me, was that he said yes, I gave my notes about the meeting to a friend and asked him to give it to a reporter in the hopes that a special prosecutor would be appointed. He just flat-out said it! And that is exactly what happened. Checkmate, em-effers!

Now the Yaministration is trying to portray Comey as a “leaker.” Good luck with that, you incompetent dolts. He was a private citizen—you know, ‘cause you fired him—and he was careful to ensure that nothing included in his memo was classified. The Yam maintains that Comey is lying, which means that he is accusing him of perjury. I think only the most rabid Yampeople would look at the Yam and at Comey and conclude that the Yam is more trustworthy. Comey will win that contest every single time among the majority of the American people.

Also, James Comey is hot. Everyone knows that intelligence and integrity are attractive. Two of the many reasons I married Ken.

Lazing on a sunny afternoon

What a difference a day makes!

After a hot and humid afternoon yesterday, followed by a strong line of thunderstorms in the evening, today was cool, breezy, and beautiful. Easy breezy beautiful Nutwood! It really was just a perfect day, with a bright blue sky and only a rare cloud to be seen.

I spent all afternoon out on the deck, catching some sun for an hour or so, then sitting at the table under the umbrella (mostly...still caught a little sun on my legs) and reading. I always feel glad to be alive, but today I felt a little extra-glad! I had a moment where I felt like belting out “Green Acres,” but decided that would spoil the perfect afternoon, so I held back. Ha!

After an unexpected extra night in Houston, Ken made it safely home today. Sheeba and I are glad to have him back, but we were happy to “loan” him for a few days to Cousin Ros and family to help provide support to them. Despite the sad circumstances, he says it was a wonderful visit. Love you, Ros and family!

Watch and/or listen to this. It’s important.

The Fine Art of Surfacing

After a good night’s sleep, I got up today and was feeling better. Shortly after I got up, my sister Diana called, and we talked for an hour. It was a great start to my day, and we talked about things good and bad, spoke of philosophical matters, and had lots of laughs. She is less than a week away from retirement, and I am so happy for her!

One of the things that she has resolved to do upon her retirement is to lose weight and exercise. I said that one thing that has really helped me and made me feel good is working out, and I usually do it five days a week, 45 minutes at a time. She said, “That’s great!” I said that I was really working on my arms and trying to get Michele Obama arms. She got a kick out of that. I’ll keep working on my definition and put a picture up! Anyway, we laughed a lot, and that was a very good thing. Diana is super cool.

I’ve been ordering lots of CDs lately, and one I got recently was one of Keith Richards’ solo efforts, “Talk Is Cheap.” I listened to it when I as working out today, and you all know how much I love Keef...but when I listened to this, I thought, “This is why you and Mick are a team.” Honestly, Keith is a great guitarist and writes some great music, but the sparks don’t fly without Mick. I also had a discussion with some friends on Facebook about Aerosmith and Steven Tyler. Could Aerosmith continue without Tyler? I don’t think so. Joe Perry is badass, but Tyler’s voice is so distinctive. Can you imagine the conflict that musical teams like this have? I’ve read that it was the same with Lennon and McCartney. Knowing that your success depends so much upon another person would be really hard. I can’t help but think about things like that when I read about such artists. I find it fascinating.

I finished Tina Fey’s book, Bossypants, today. I want to be her when I grow up. I’m not sure what I want to read next. So many books to choose from! I’m catching up on Time issues at the moment.

It was warm and humid today, and after I worked out, I put on a bikini and sat out in the sun and read for about a half an hour. Vitamin D is important. Enjoying the warmth and sunshine after a long winter and some sad times is also important.

Tomorrow I’m having lunch with Cousin Shane and Matt. We’ll talk and laugh, and I’m looking forward to it.

I apologize if this is disjointed, but right now, simple thoughts are about all I can process. I’m working on coming up for air. There is much to discuss in the political realm, including Mitch Daniels deciding not to run for President, but right now that stuff doesn’t seem all that important to me. Well, I know it’s important, but right now I just don’t care. The rhetoric is becoming increasingly ludicrous, and it’s amusing to watch people scramble to clarify, pander, and pontificate. There will be time to address that in the near future. But not right now.

I want to thank everyone for their kind wishes, good thoughts, and yes, their prayers for me and my family. You are all very kind people, and it is very much appreciated. If you have a moment, stop by my friend George’s site and give him some good thoughts, too. He had to say goodbye to one of his sweet kitties today, and I know that many of us know how much that hurts.

Here’s to better things. This is one of my favorite songs. For you, George.

Here's wishing you the bluest sky,
And hoping something better comes tomorrow.
Hoping all the verses rhyme,
And the very best of choruses to
Follow all the doubt and sadness.
I know that better things are on the way.

Here's hoping all the days ahead
Won't be as bitter as the ones behind you.
Be an optimist instead,
And somehow happiness will find you.
Forget what happened yesterday,
I know that better things are on the way.

It's really good to see you rocking out
And having fun,
Living like you just begun.
Accept your life and what it brings.
I hope tomorrow you'll find better things.
I know tomorrow you'll find better things.

Here's wishing you the bluest sky,
And hoping something better comes tomorrow.
Hoping all the verses rhyme,
And the very best of choruses to
Follow all the drudge and sadness.
I know that better things are on the way.

I know you've got a lot of good things happening up ahead.
The past is gone it's all been said.
So here's to what the future brings,
I know tomorrow you'll find better things.

A day shared with others

First of all, the Silver Squirrel Award has multiple winners! The reference I mentioned was "paranoia will destroy ya." Dannelle sent me a video of a band called the Assembly doing a song with that title. Now, that's not what I was referencing, but that is obviously a correct answer, so Dannelle gets her second Silver Squirrel! Dannelle also made me that awesome tag. How cool--and appropriate--is that?! Thanks, Dannelle! Dawn of Carpe Diem weighed in next with the song "Paranoia" by the Kinks. That's not the name of the song, but Dawn gets a Silver Squirrel for knowing that it was the Kinks. Never let it be said that I am unwilling to compromise! Finally, we have Cousin Shane saying that the song is "Destroyer" by the Kinks, off of the "Give the People What They Want" album. Shane gets a Silver Squirrel for knowing the completely correct answer. Some say that the lyrics go "Paranoia, the destroyer," but I've always heard it as "Paranoia will destroy ya." If Ray Davies is reading this, feel free to weigh in, Ray! [grin]

Many of you have seen, via either Ken's blog or Facebook, that today is my birthday. Alaina, Joy, and Miss Ginger also posted entries on their blogs wishing me a happy one. (I hope I didn't forget anyone!) I want to thank everyone who sent their good wishes--it really touched me. I also got several cards from family and friends, one mentioning Cindy Brady (So funny...thank you, my friend!), and one from Shane that made me laugh so hard...it says "If you're not going to snort, why even laugh?" He knows me so well...I have, on rare occasion, been known to snort when I laugh. I won't lie and say that I snorted when I read it, but I did laugh really hard!

I thank you all very, very much. {{hugs}}

Ken and I don't do birthday gifts--we'd rather spend the money on things fun for both of us, so I said that the Alice Cooper concert could be my birthday gift--but we popped over to Granite City Brewery this afternoon for some appetizers and cool amber beverages. Thanks, Honey! (He also got me a little carton of Sangria, and a big chocolate bar. Is it any wonder I’m crazy about the guy?)

I've enjoyed my day and the kind thoughts of others, but I have to mention two things that will always stick with me. This morning, we watched Senator Kennedy's funeral Mass, and it was very moving to see the tributes given by family and friends. Ted, Jr.'s remarks were especially touching, as were President Obama's. If you don't like the guy's politics, I don't really care, but at least respect the man for serving his country for decades. He helped many people in his lifetime, and in learning more about the man rather than the legislator, it seems that he was a friend to many and the rock of his family. He made plenty of mistakes in his life, but I believe he faced them and did his best to atone for them in his latter years. Rest in peace, Senator, and thank you.

I will also never forget that it was on my birthday that Katrina hit New Orleans. I remember sitting out on the deck on that hot summer day (unlike today's cool weather), talking with my Mom, who had called to wish me happy birthday. We even talked about the hurricane, and at that time, it looked like New Orleans was weathering it well and everything was going to be okay. It wasn't until the following day that the levees were breached, and the true nightmare began. Here we are four years later, and things still aren't back to normal in New Orleans for many people, and probably never will be again.

I'm grateful for the thoughtfulness and kindness shown me today; I hope everyone will take a moment to remember Senator Kennedy and his family, and all those in New Orleans who are still struggling to find their way.