MUSIC? MAYBE

     I simply do not know. Is there anything out there that can put paid to this dangerous nonsense, this adult game of the dozens? While I cannot speak for all of you, I can for myself, and I wonder all day, every day, how and when we can get an adult into the most dangerous and powerful position ever.
     As a former principal I would have sat the participants in a nasty game of oneupsmanship down together, given them one pad and pencil, displayed a small piece of dismay and disappointment and asked them to come together on one joint account of how they had reached this point. By the time they had returned to me with this assignment complete, they were on talking terms and asked to be excused as they had apologized to each other and knew what and where they had gone wrong.
     But somehow all I get in my head when I think of the possible participants in such an exercise is an image of one in particular simply sitting there and spitting garbage and nonsense, name calling to the nth degree and seemingly deaf to words of calm and sense. Yet that seemingly intractable adult is the President of the United States.
     Yes, Wolf spoke some strong comic lines at a dinner wherein it is expected to hear some roasting. The roasting was on a high temp Saturday night, but then again, the roastee was always on a high temp as he spoke and was always calling people names, denigrating women, immigrants - I guess other than his immigrant grandfather - and any other person or organization which displeased him. So goose and gander here, folks?
    "Ready, shoot, aim." That was how one WH official put it, trying to explain the bizarre procedures of the current WH and its head. It is the story of how one royal wannabe demands the loyalty of a monarch of medieval times, the kowtowing of a servile individual, and self abnegation giving all to the would be monarch and losing all of one's morals, soul and dignity.
     So what is the answer? How do we stop this? How do we get back to the time of adults in government? How do we return to a time of decency? How do we honestly and forthrightly face up to the filth underneath, wipe it up, clean it up, prevent its return and make the consequences clear to ALL if and when they cross or have crossed the line? When? When?
     So we know, via Shakespeare and Caliban in The Tempest, that music soothes the soul of the cannibal, of the savage. So perhaps that is what we need. We need the soft strings of a waltz or the Muzak of an elevator, or perhaps New Age tinkling and chiming, Whatever, as long as it does its jobs. Too bad, The Donald I could not have been with me yesterday afternoon (shudder, shudder) as we sat with a theater full of people of a certain age - which includes him! - and sang plaintive songs of the 60's and 70's that were written by women. It was a  return to the days when we were kids, adolescents just starting out on our journey, when we still had hopes and dreams, plans and morals.
     All came out of there with smiles and laughter, humming the tunes and finding more, thanking the people who had put this together. So maybe we should take a lesson from the ATF and the Army and anyone else who used music the wrong way, mistreated it and blasted it at people they felt deserved it. Perhaps we should pipe in the soft music straight into the WH and hey, the offices of the Secretaries as well. Can't do any harm at this point. Think what a glorious world it would be with the air filled with the soft lilts of calm and love, of beauty and hope. Dreaming? Maybe. But anyone have another plan? Open for suggestions! So sad that this is what we have come to - wondering how to settle down the president!! The dangerously deranged president. The foul mouthed tweeting madly president. Oy, enough for today! Going to ask Alexa to play me some sweet songs.