HEROES AND COURAGE

     It seems that we toss the word hero around very casually. Should not a hero do something awesome, out of the realm of ordinary, something that changes the world, changes the equation? Well, yes and no. Hats off to those who will run into a burning building or save someone from a train or car. Hats off to those soldiers who will save their fellow soldiers and as far as I am concerned, simply for having the courage to walk or run or crawl into battle.
     But there are other, quieter heroes that we often do not meet, whom we do not appreciate as they work quietly to change something. Could be personal or public, but they are heroes. It is the quiet ones who wake up every day and know that no, things have not gotten any better, but on they forge. It is the quiet one who shoulders the burdens that life has placed on their shoulders and live a different life from what they had imagined. These heroes are not the characters of praiseful songs but praise is what they deserve and recognition is what they should have.
     One of the most heroic people I have ever met is a woman whom I met in my physical therapy location. Slowly, I have gotten to know her and her story and I bow before her courage. It is a place filled with laughter and tears, with people working hard to fight mainly the PD that has afflicted them, but she is a tougher situation.
     She has a syndrome that comes with three stages, none of them good and the final one is dementia. She knows it is coming. She feels her body stiffening and becoming less flexible, yet there she is, singing to the music, working hard, achieving a small victory of movement, encouraging others, going halfway across the country to meet with others with this rare disease and to meet with an expert in it. Clinical trials. Working hard. Determination. A kind heart and a brave soul. Always smiling. I bend my knee before her in acknowledgement of her courage, of her heroism and can but only try to emulate her in my own cause as well. She is a hero. In fact, so many are heroes in this place.
     A hero is one who survives something awful and then has the courage to pick himself or herself up and do something. There is a bulletin board outside a nearby church which admonishes people not to just stand there. Sit here!  It is the encouragement to join forces with others, to fight for what one truly believes in and just look at those kids from Parkland, or the little 11 year old who spoke in DC. Look at the parents who have lost children to violence as they continue to live and have chosen new paths. 
     These are heroes, just as much as the lauded burning building person, but these heroics are ones that can change the world in a quiet way. This is not to demean the louder heroes, the more public heroes, just to ensure that we realize that there are others out there. Look around in your private life and see them. See the person struggling with medical disasters year after year as anything that could go wrong does go wrong and yet - there she is, still in the fray. See the parent operating with quiet desperation and determination as she/he fights to take care of a child in a disastrous situation.
     See the Iraqi farmers in a small hamlet who had the courage to defy ISIS and see the price they paid - and they knew it would be coming. See the immigrants, you know, those terrible people, taking the challenge to find a better world for their children - just as our family ancestors did and all of them demand our admiration. I am in awe at my grandmother who came all by herself at 17 with no family here, no friends, just herself and a determination to leave the Old World behind and begin a new life for herself and her future family. I admire these brave souls who stand up to the might of a now backwards government which operates on hatred and prejudice. Which separates a mother from her children. Who persecute and prosecute selectively - the brown skinned person from Central America and its violence over the other illegals. It is the unfair and cruel decisions to throw out Americans and yes, after all these years they are American and a piece of paper is not needed to prove it. To the Dreamers. To the Hondurans, 57 thousand of them who have grown up here, made lives and careers, gone to school, have jobs that help others. To all these people we need to give honor as heroes in a new rougher world, a world that does not honor fair, justice, rights and any other good thing one can think of.
     And it is in those who tell us by deed and action that we, too, must stand up and be heroes, not give in or give up. It is to a hero like the Teacher of the Year 2018 who read her speech on CNN when Trump refused to allow her to do so at her own ceremony and why? Because she spoke of admiration for the kids who are outliers, who are being demeaned, called names and who have lost much of their feeling of safety and security under this president and his awful minions.
     It is in the quiet heroism of Michelle Obama as she stands before a huge convention of women and remind them that it is WE who allowed this to happen. It is the woman who refuses to believe another woman. Or who is jealous of another who has dared to attempt to do something; it is the woman who challenges the one who has the courage to finally speak out against harassment. It is the woman who refuses to believe that another woman can do it better. Better than she can. Better than the opponent can. Better than a man.
    Time to look around and see the heroes in your life. Are you a hero? Not so hard to be one, truly. And think of the steps the world will take back on the correct path and think how you can help another, be a quiet hero and think how you can be a hero unto yourself in your own battles.
     Heroes and Courage. They come in all sizes.

IT'S MAY, THE LOVELY MONTH OF MAY

     Remember the song from Camelot, one of my favorite shows? The song is a jolly highlight in an increasingly dark and sad story  and perhaps we need to remember that it is May in our increasingly sad story.
     So skip the news for a day. Just go out and enjoy the nice weather or even if not nice, wonder at the majesty of the weather, at the power of Creation, at the understanding of science and then of course, wonder what we are doing to it. But enough of that. It's May!
     Take a walk on one of the wonderful nature trails that are growing in number. Go to the preserve. Take a trip to a safari park and truly get involved afterwards. Take a class. Be part of a project. Even better - if in Florida, rent a room in Animal Kingdom Lodge that is right on the safari land and just sit and watch for hours at a time. Fascinating. Awesome indeed.
     Watch videos this morning of the eruption on The Big Island, in Hawaii. Both beautiful and frightening at the same time. The power and the beauty. The plumes of smoke and the fiery lava.
      Take a walk. Go Skype with the kids. Break out a smile as the grandkids come on. Watch their faces light up when they see you and the excitement of their lives is shared with you, as you are asked to appreciate, to advise and just love them. And believe it or not, those annoying kids of yours have actually turned human and are worth it all.
     Read a good book and share with a friend. See a movie simply to enjoy it, sing a song, throw a ball, play a game, just sit and have a conversation in peace and quiet - and shut off that damn phone.
     But yes, I must confess, that even in the jolly month of May one cannot ignore the problems of life. Here in CV we are wondering how much more damage is Atlantic Broadband going to inflict upon the infrastructure, particularly underground, of our home. Electric lines, water pipes, Internet connections, and our irrigation line has been cut and out of commission for weeks already. Directional boring my.....! Trenching is more like it and evidently dig they must no matter what is in the way. Feh! Another hoax perpetrated upon us by you know who and his minions.
     Hey, but at least one can laugh - and then cry at the sadness of it all - but laugh first as the team of Keystone Lawyers continues to grow. Trump tweets and talks away and shoves his own feet deep down his throat and along come his lawyers, most recently Giuliani, who takes his own feet and each time he opens his mouth he is evidently following the directions to 'open mouth, insert foot, then repeat with other one'. Sorry, I cannot help giggling, but seriously, this is not really a laughing matter.
     Today we have a warning from the chief economists of the world that Trump is repeating the disastrous decisions of tariffs and isolation that were a major cause of The Great Depression. That kinda was obvious to anyone with a brain, but it seems that brains are not in fashion these days, at least not the ones who recognize the nudity of the Emperor!
    Anyway, thumbs up for the reporter who turned around and swung her mic at the guy who was groping her as she spoke. She clocked him good and he well deserved that! Will they never learn?
     Hey! Better we go back to the top of this blog. It is May! The lovely month of May. Today I plan on getting the ugliness over early in the day and then taking a walk, sharing a pound fit class with new friends and old and just enjoying life. Gotta take a break sometime.

"IN THE INTEREST OF JUSTICE"

     So states Rudolph Giuliani. Truly. I kid you not. In the interest of justice we are to shut down the Mueller special investigation and then prosecute Comey. I kid you not. This morning, the day after May 2, 2018, I sat here openmouthed at the utterly outrageous statements and doings of the President and those affiliated with him. May 3, 2018, does not seem to be any better than the day before, does it?
     Somewhere near Trump and his advisers there must be either a huge looking glass or a big hole in a tree, for they seem to go through these doorways to another world, a la Alice in Wonderland. But it is we who stand there agape, confused at the turn of events, at the degree of what? I know not a good name for it, so far has it progressed or more to the point, retrogressed.
     The last time I checked, this man has been clocked in at close to 5,000 lies, blatant lies, from daily events to world affairs. He then lies about these lies and contradicts himself. Personally, I think I know what the problem is. When telling  a lie one only sets up a self snaring trap for it is far more difficult to remember what lie you told, when and to whom than it is to remember the truth. Lies catch one in bear traps of the verbal kind and do not let go. That is our President for us - a perennial and habitual liar of the worst kind, for he lies not just about his own misdeeds but also to purposely harm others. Nasty, nasty.
      Is the man a degenerate of mind and soul? Or does he truly have a total absence of any moral structure? Does it even make a difference? He never had anything to do with Stormy Daniels. Oh, but wait, yes, he did, in a self admission. But he never knew about the payment; that is all on his lawyer. Uh huh, yet another one thrown under the bus. And the death toll rises. But wait! We are not done. Now supposedly Trump repaid the payment of $130,000 that he never knew about! Huh! How does one repay what one does not know about?  Put that in your pipe and smoke it. Or else get what Trump smokes for it seemingly has blessed powers of self righteousness and justification. Handy that, is it not? And do not forget the self dictated "good health" letter of his and his most recent action of raiding that medical office for any and all papers which could contradict his supposed physical and mental health.
    So Giuliani joins the lawyers as yet another one quits and the talk is of more lawyers. For a man who keeps on shouting his lies and claims innocence, sure are a hell of a lot of legal beagles hanging around. "The gloves are off," a senior official stated. But when were the gloves ever on?
     And in the meanwhile, there is enough filth to go around. What is it with men and their obsession with the sexual aspect of women, or rather what is it with men who think that sexual misdeeds are the way to show people their power, the power to inflict shame and debasement upon others. It seems that Snyder of the Redskins (hate that name) basically treated his cheerleaders as trafficked women, posing them nude in the sight of invited male guests, forcing them to go to a party at night as escorts - and shame on FedEx for having their executives take part in this debasing event.
     It is this underlying nastiness that has been allowed to come to the surface under the Trump debacle. And why not? If the President can act that way, talk that way, and get away with it, then why not the rest of the guys? Racism. Misogyny. Anti Semites running for office, and openly proclaimed ones at that. Open season for the misuse of guns and the sudden transformation of the Second Amendment into one blessed specifically by G-d, meant by G-d to allow people to own assault weapons.
     In the interest of justice? Fine. Chuck Trump. Tame Pence or chuck him too, and remind the missus of his that he might actually have to talk to a woman without her okay or presence. Sickening. Chuck those Republicans whose seats are up and bring in fresh and progressive air. Bring back the environmental protections. Return the public parklands to where they were. Protect the consumers and stop rewarding the big banks with a rollback of regulations meant to avoid another 2008. Prosecute the harassers to the full degree of the law. Teach our children right from wrong or let them teach us!! Befriend our allies once more and know our enemies.
    In the interest of justice there is much to be done. Let us get started.

MAY 2, 2018

     Today is May 2. 2018. How much longer are we going to be subjected to this nonsense and more important, why do people think that they can get away with this garbage? Why, for heaven's sake do people not realize that the truth comes out, no matter how hard one tries to hide it, to bury it.
     So locally. How many more times are we going to read of bribery arrests in the governments of our localities? How many more times are we going to see the last bits and pieces of undeveloped land go up for the destruction - the trees helping our air, the sights of nature, the endangerment of our watersheds and reserves. How much more traffic can our roads bear? Just take a drive - if you can - on Okeechobee early in the morning when people are going to work , and from Royal Palm to the Turnpike one could just as well be waiting to get on the BQE in NYC! And what about that 'city' they are building along Southern and 441. It is mammoth and just wait for those cars to come out in the near future! Closer to home, check out the backup on Haverhill in mid afternoons when from the entry to CV down even past Community, there is a long line of cars waiting for the light to change. Enough!
     Now for little tidbits here. I usually do not bother to read The Rag for I know it is full of lies, nonsensical and unnecessary articles written by the same people over and over again, but Gerry brought it up this time so I picked it up. The same lie about editorial policies of presenting the truth and all sides of an issues! Hah! The same mass of ads. Yet another article purportedly written by David Israel who, if he wrote that article, I will eat my new hat! It is simply not within his grasp to write such an erudite and formally written piece and I would guess that this is most probably picked up from some site or another such article he came across and possibly slightly modified it to make sure it was relevant to us here in CV.
      But wait, on May 2, 2018, there is more. Read the piece written by Joy Vestal and shame on you, dearie. How many ways can I count the grammatical and punctuation errors? Yes, license is allowed and rules are somewhat looser than they used to be, but..... Who is proofreading here? Are there any truly capable proofers for you or have you managed to scare them all off? Shame on The Rag and now you know one understands the nickname. At this point I simply put the paper where it belongs after cutting out the meeting schedule, the only info I needed, and deposited the rest in the recycle pile.
     So.....off we go to the wider world of the stinking mess of DC and the chief weasel in residence, Trump. Never before have I had such contempt for a sitting President. Never before did I think that anyone in his chair was as dangerous to our survival as a democratic country as he is. Never before did I ever think we had as morally bankrupt a Congress as we do now. Never before have the Republicans and their party sold out to this degree.
     Truly. When the emphasis seems to be how to avoid talking to Mueller; when it seems that the point is to avoid telling the truth and more to the point - to tailor the lies to match what others have said; when we hear that medical records were 'kidnapped' and to hide what, may we ask - when the concern is that the president is neither intellectually, nor morally, nor in any way for that matter, capable of undergoing an interview with any degree of success (meaning hiding the truth) - well, what the hell is he doing in the Oval Office?!
     The absurdities of life in brief and limited amount on May 2, 2018. Perhaps May 3, 2018 will be better. I hope. I dream.

THE TIMES, THEY ARE A-CHANGIN'

     So the song goes. But is it true and if it is, is it for the good or the bad? Think about the earlier times of one's life, or what one feels as a kid today as compared to what we older folks thought during our youth.
     I remember being taught that one should have respect for a position even if one does not like the person filling that position. Hmmm. Made sense then, as we stood in respect as a principal walked in to the classroom or a guest entered or even when referring to the President. It was always spoken of with a capital P.
     Even when criticizing a political opponent it seemed we had learned a lesson from earlier elections in our history as a country and learned to stop calling each other crazy names or shouting weird and false accusations. Policy is what I remember from the time I first paid attention. Talk re policy rather than personal accusations. Yes, I still remember the undercurrent of statements made re Kennedy's Catholicism and if he would listen to the Pope when making decisions. I cringe when I think of that and hope we have gone way beyond that.
     But I look at present political weather reports and are the times changing and in which direction? There is such disrespect for this president, such crossing of lines that never would have been crossed before, but then again, the President had crossed them first and contrary to his thinking, he was not above getting it right back at him whether he liked it or not.
     Now we have a time when the world is fraught with huge fault lines and not talking about the natural ones, but rather the ones that divide the countries, that split the populations of countries, to the return of tribalism, extreme tribalism even. And much to our dismay and to our peril, the so called leaders of the world have descended into the pits of fascism, of dictatorships, of mass killings, of encouraging hatred and prejudice amongst their own citizens and of course, against the "others".
      Most frightening of all, is the fact that we, too, here in America, are affected by this. We have a President who is being investigated for alleged collusion with an enemy of the country, Russia. Of possibly interfering with the whole process of justice, allegedly obstructing justice. We have a President who routinely and filthily and nastily demeans his own intelligence and justice arms of the government and tries to turn them into his personal enforcers!!! We have an allegedly deranged man at the helm, as we try to pas through dangerous shoals and reefs.
     So are the times a changin'? Doubts ring loud and clear. Will men continue to think that they can do what they wish with women, flaunt their 'power', abuse them? Will we allow women to lose the rights over their own bodies and health? That situation is  present right now. Has all this #MeToo changed anything? Not quite sure there as when Tom Brokaw was accused by two women, (yeah, I also was shocked but then again....), suddenly a letter came out defending him as a paradigm of proper behavior, signed by so many NBC female staffers, especially lower lever personnel. Today the truth. Here we go again and not Mamma Mia. Here we go again - men and executives forcing women to sign that which they do not wish to, that which they know is a lie. Again? Again? After all this? Again.
     When we have a head of government who praises the inhumane manner of 'catching' illegal immigrants. When we have this man and his minions speak of immigrants and descendants of such as lower than others. When we have children ripped from the arms of their parents, separated and lost in the system. When John McCain can write that this president makes no effort to distinguish our country and its actions from those of the countries of dictatorships. Well, when this happens - the times? Well, they are reverting! Not a changin' in the direction we want.
     Are there points of light and hope? For sure, as we watch the kids do the right thing; as we see the adults march ad organize; as we see the larger numbers of women running for office; we see the volunteers- well, there is hope and faith and perhaps, just maybe, perhaps the times they will change in the right direction. But we walk a thin line. It is so easy for a society to turn if one does not pay attention.
     Let us pay that attention and keep at it. There is too much at stake, too much to lose if we do not. And it is the responsibility of all. No cop outs.

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.

MUCK AND BRASS

     There is an old British saying that where there is muck, there is brass. Muck is filth, dirt, filthy dirt and brass is not the metal per se, but money, that and brassy nervy behavior in the worst sense of the word. As old as this saying is, it still applies, frighteningly so in the climate of today's political world. Its moral world as well.
     Money is the root of all evil, or so it is said, but actually, I think that it is not, for the most part, money as an abstract, to store away under myriad mattresses or millions of rusty tin cans. It is the things, the power that this money seems to buy in a never ending vicious cycle. Get money, get the power, act accordingly, get more money, more power and rule the world, whichever world it is that one chooses.
     Don't think I am correct.? Okay. Look around. Take the filthy administration in DC, the one drowning in its own filth, the polluted swamp we now have there. Read about and tote up all the millions upon millions of dollars that these appointees have assigned to themselves. See the signs of power - according to their twisted and benighted minds - that they have accrued, the use of the funds they have available to them - and allowed to do so by a wimpy, morally deprived Congress, particularly the Republicans which go tsk, tsk, and then have such nice little chats together. This saccharine tinged filth is enough to choke one.
     The top filthmaker and brass gatherer - Trump himself. Take a look at his latest rally in Michigan. What a  load of hooey! Now it is okay to bring in guest workers for the farmers who have no one to reap the crops? Well, of course he was always bringing them in for his hotels, but now that there is beginning to be reason for panic, as crops begin to rot in the fields, as prices begin to rise, so forget what he said before. He does, so what's the dif ?
     So the corporations are having their day again, piling up the cash, not noticing lots of money come back to these shores, anyone, are you, factories are still closing down and more will do so as Trump's crazy tariff war takes deeper hold and roots, and who will have the brass - why Trumpie, old boy, as he gathers his rosebuds from foreign powers in the form of hotel funds and rates, pretty gifts, the trappings of majesty such as 21 gun salutes, and parades. All the trappings of brass in the muck of the world he has created. 
     And this type of behavior does not stop a the boundaries of the DC swamp. Nope, we are graced with this filth and brass connection in almost all the states of the country as figure after figure goes down for the count - bribery, sex scandals, gift taking and whatnot. State level. County level. City and town level. Where does it stop? Who the hell knows what with the pseudo leadership at the top.
     And it transcends borders as well. Choose almost any country of the world, no matter its type or ostensible type of government. Democracies are being challenged and destroyed. Dictatorships are calling themselves democracies even as they lock up journalists and murder them, starting by demonizing them and calling them a danger to the country. Wow!! Sound familiar, anyone? Bribery abounds in so many countries, elected leaders become like the guests who overstay their welcome and remain and remain and remain. And why, well, look at  their personal accounts, the accounts of the families and see the bottom figure rise. Hey, Trump family, sound familiar?
     Now the question is  or should be - how long will the waiting be and what are we waiting for? Are we going to be able to resurrect ourselves, bring back morality, true democracy, stop the denigration, the dangerous denigration of journalism, stop the dangerous practice of the Big Lie? Are we going to encourage hatred and prejudice and encourage the violence that it engenders? Or will we be waiting for the final end, the dystopian world that we have long been warned about?
     Filth and muck and brass and power and waiting. Waiting. Waiting.
   

IS THAT FOR REAL?

     Well, yesterday we all took a trip to Bizzaro land. As a teacher of Language Arts I shuddered at the incomplete sentences, the lies and accusations without backup, the non sequiturs, and the repetitions. It is one thing if there is someone in the world of private business or even a CEO of a company who is off the track, but when it is the President of the United States, one has to wonder: what the hell are we doing!
     We have no leader. That is clear. One that talks of the Republicans doing that thing, somehow connected in his fuzzy mind to the Civil War, is not normal. Even if we were to say that he knew what he wanted to say, he has lost the connection between mind and mouth, though I am fairly sure that his mind is damaged, severely so at this point.
     And here we go, back to the Admiral, the doctor to the White House, the alleged drunk, pill popping and dispensing doctor who is the one who tells us that Trump is just about in perfect health and his mind is sane. Uh huh! How could we trust this man's statements. I did not trust then and certainly do not now so now what? Can we demand that Trump get reevaluated? Hah! Try that. It might happen right after he releases his tax returns. Like the second Tuesday of the first week of the thirteenth month! Like never!
     The admission in his phone interview that he knew Cohen was representing him with Stormy Daniels - whoops! Still talking over who has a bigger - what? as he compares himself to the North Korean leader, such a good way to enter negotiations by demeaning your talk partner. Wow! I am so underawed once again by this damaged man.
     What I think, at least to me and many others, is the policy of the Homeland people, the ICE people, the Border Patrol that is truly indicating how low we have fallen. That is to take the children of immigrants and separate them from their parents. The age does not come into play, just rip them out of the arms. What is next? Will they follow this Nazi path, this path of horrendous destruction of children that we see in other countries? So what? Will they shoot these pesky kids? Slam their heads on the ground? Oh, for sure, that will teach the parents a lesson! No one will want to come here any longer, to such a cruel country, one that eats its inhabitants and those who wish to be among the inhabitants.
     What is even worse is that these kids receive no care, no help, in dealing with their situation. So one has little kids sitting and staring into space, or crying, refusing to eat, cannot sleep, all wondering where is their parent, they want their mommy or daddy. But  nope, must punish them. Must punish the parents. And worse, the Department has now lost track of almost 1,500 of these children. Did they run away? Were they killed? Are they living on the streets? Are they being used as slave labor as they found in one situation?
     And to add insult to so many injuries, Trump, the madman, the anti democratic leader of the largest democratic country in the world, threatens that he is going to take over the Justice Department, that it is his!!!! NO!! Most assuredly and emphatically no!!! It belongs to the people and this man has so twisted it that it is almost unrecognizable and the fact that he can find people wishing to do these things - well, do not say it cannot happen here for it is happening, Right now!
     As a last straw, hear the words and meaning of the Solicitor General who defended that awful immigration ban. When Justice Kagan posed a hypothetical question about a hate filled president who has animus in his heart, states that people from Israel cannot be admitted into the country. What then, she asked and the lawyer responded that the president had every right to do that, to say that, to enforce that and just get the Cabinet to agree, but even so, if that is what the president wants then we must give it to him for it is now law! No matter that it is wrong. Has this man not read history? Is he so ignorant of the difference between even questionable laws, legal according to the moment, and immoral behavior, the fact that we must distinguish between legal and moral? Or is he saying that all the people in Nazi Germany, all the killers of the Tutsi, all the slaughterers of the Yazidi, the Rohingya, are doing the legal thing and it is okay. Never mind that it is wrong with a capital W. Never mind the history of mankind on this issue. Thus we all become complicit in this horror or we need to fight against it.
     We need to come to our senses, people. And the first step is to depose the most dangerous man at this point. Impeach, convict, convince to resign, whatever, but get him gone and get Pence to understand what he can and cannot do, what the people of this country will tolerate and what not.
     Is that for real? Is this for real? Unfortunately so.

THE O'ER AND THE 'NEATH

     The world of the o'er is the world of the surface. It is what we see when we look. It is the seeming appearance of people and things and often has pitfalls waiting from the 'neath world. It is the quicksand waiting for the luckless person, seeming to be solid ground and then one is entrapped. So it is in our world and so it is that we need to look at the 'neath if we are to understand people and know what to do.
     So lovey-dovey. Holding hands and kissing and hugging, grooming each other. Macron and Trump, the new couple of the year. But watch out for there is more to it than that.  Macron ran circles around Trump and then in front of Congress slammed his cooing seeming partner right where it hurts - in the basis of Trumpism.
He spoke against the idea of strong men and dictatorships, against isolation and mentioned America First policy as wrong. It was lovely to see. The o'er and the 'neath.
     We see the hypocrisy that arises from the contrast of the o'er and the 'neath. We forget our own history. So Michael Cohen now is taking the Fifth on questions re his payoff to Daniels.. Huh!! This from the lawyer of the President?! Never before! This from the lawyer of the man who reamed out people for taking the Fifth, stating that only mob people did that! Uh huh! Are we supposed to forget that he himself took the Fifth during his divorce proceedings with Ivana Trump?
     The o'er and the 'neath. So a policeman who was supposed to serve and protect now turns out to be one of the worst serial killers ever, the Golden State Killer, a former chair of ethics  officer throws away ethics and sanity as she screams filth at an officer who pulled her daughter over. And the filth that came out during the two Cosby trials and the retrogressing of the defense attorneys who tried their best to damage the victims. The filth 'neath the o'er.
     Nor does it stop there. The promises of the Trump campaign have turned to dust for the most part and we hope more will continue to do so. He is surviving by governing via Executive Orders, just as a strongman dictator who despises the very idea of democracy would do. Despite giving heaps of cash back to the corporations, here we now have Ford doing major cutting! The o'er and the 'neath.
     We have lost our sense of balance, of decency and  now turn to fighting like children, calling each other names, touting lies as the truth, and why not, for is that not what the supposed leader does? So in Indiana there is a disgusting race for a primary victor in the Republican party. Personally, I would not vote for a single one of these filthy mouthed creeps who certainly set an example - the wrong one, and who have allowed the dirt of the 'neath to take over the o'er.
     So the question is and always will be, will we fight our way back from the quicksand into which we have fallen or will we give way and find a new world in the quaking grounds of the world of the 'neath? Will we learn a lesson from the new memorial to the victims of lynching, a chilling one, one that attests to the worst of mankind, one that shows what happens when we allow the 'neath to take over. And these same hatreds are popping up, rising to the surface, giving off a nasty stench and we must make a choice. Do we choose the o'er, a world which must be appreciated and maintained via hard work, watchfulness, or do we choose the world of the 'neath, seemingly easier but not so in the long run.
     Imagine if the world of The Handmaid's Tale was the world that we lived in. Not pleasant, is it. It happens when people do not watch, are not vigilant protecting our democracy and decency and allow the supposed little busting of the gas bubbles from the 'neath to go unnoticed, until their stench and their evil pervades the world above.
     Choose the world one wants to live in. Choose the world of the o'er where wrongs hopefully are righted, where mankind realizes that we are one, all alone on a little blue ball in space. Choose the world where struggle leads hopefully to something good, something right, something decent. 

     
     

VIGNETTES OF LIFE

     Sometimes it is the little picture that tells the whole picture. The words of love from a husband whose wife was taken violently and suddenly. The finger wrestling of a wife as she discouraged her husband from holding her hand. The signs held by the young as they plead for the right to safety or the right to live in a country that is truly theirs.
     It is the picture of a woman in the hat, a signature of Olivia Pope in Scandal. It is just as iconic as the pillbox of Jackie Kennedy, except that this hat represents an almost in your face defiant attitude - the question being who is she defying?!
     It is the glee and joy when a seat in a legislative body turns over, becomes Democrat, and the hopes are raised. It is the voices of dissent and disappointment that voters have when asked about you know who. It is the sight of huge semis lined up under a bridge to prevent a man from jumping to his death. And it is the GoFundMe page raising $100,000 in a day for the hero of the Waffle House shooting.
     It is seen in the rather silly fight over motorized scooters, you know, the toy of kids and now evidently of adults who think it is okay to use on crowded sidewalks. The answer seemingly seems to be to vandalize them!! Stupid. Use common sense is the answer.
     Life in not too pretty a picture in the so called Apartheid Week, a cynical and thinly veiled open demonstration of anti Semitism. It is in the shouting and even physical accosting of college students as they walk on campus with a kippah or a star or a religious garment showing. It is in the bewilderment of these students as they face something they never thought they would have to - not in America!!
     And does the hate ever end? Why must a boy ask a girl to a prom using words of hate? Where does it come in? Why was it necessary? But at least the DACA program was given a breath of life yesterday by a Federal court which gave the Justice Department - what a misnomer that is these days - to explain their reasoning for their shutdown, one, presumably, not based on hatred and prejudice and lies.
     And for  a funny side or an icky side - take your choice - we have the touchy feely behavior of Trump and Macron. Hugging and kissing and picking dandruff off a jacket - primate grooming perhaps? - and for what? Another duel of the infamous handshake only in different form? Actually, it was both silly and icky at the same time. Just shake hands like normal people.
     And it is in the scenes inside homes across the country, simple scenes of simple joys. Of welcoming home a traveler. Or hearing a good lecture. Or listening to beautiful music for it does soothe the soul. Or going to the library and bringing home a stack of good books, like a treasure waiting to be uncovered.
Or in the simple presence of a friend and in the hugs of a beloved child or grandchild.
     Vignettes of life. So small and yet so telling.

EVER WONDER?

     Did you ever wonder how things got to this point? Did you ever wonder how the hell we make some progress and fix the messes all around us? Does it make you feel blue, disconcerted and in despair? Well, take some ......... and you will feel so much better, that is, aside from suicidal tendencies and thoughts, headaches, strokes, heart attack and awful rashes!
     Sound familiar?  We hear this and similar statements countless times daily, be it on the TV or radio as the sponsors have their moments. So one can be cured, but then dead! Great job! So why continue this? Because we have been taught and encouraged to think that there is a quick fix to everything. Just pop a pill or two, call x, y, or z, or better yet, go for a payday loan and blow the rest of your life!
     There has to be a stop to this type of thinking for it permeates all of our thinking and when we come up against something that cannot be all better in or with a quick fix, then we kind of fall apart, either curling up in denial or bluster away or threaten who knows what and waste our energy on useless paths and ideas rather than getting to the crux of the matter.
    We are all guilty of this type of false thinking, looking for that magic cure-all. We then look for a guilty party or even an innocent party to blame. Oh, it must be those immigrants breeding away - a la Trump. Or it is those poor people or even it is that filthy rich class that has sucked up all the money in the world. And then we listen to words of foolishness and inanity, words of no sense and think we have gotten some answer, and we need to place our trust in the person or persons making and backing those statements.
     So we get to who's on first situations. So we cannot discuss the possibility of presidential pardon for Cohen by Trump because it has not happened yet but if it does....? And then we are told to speak to attorneys about this but hey, they have nothing to do with it - it is all on Trump and therein lies a huge problem for me. Ever hear of one crook pardoning another so the second crook will not rollover on the first? Huh? Kinda the fox and the henhouse situation. And yet here we are in that very situation.
     And by the way, why is a pardon needed if he did not do anything wrong? And why does Trump not stand up and say he is not worried because he did nothing wrong but Trump is not doing that. Instead he is ranting and raving all over the twitter world with his ignorant and infantile and limited language and use of capitals to make his point.
     We get to the point of wondering if there is anyone left out there who is honest and righteous and patriotic in the proper sense, who does not have an insane desire to harass or cheat or run people over or even better shoot them and then of course have the rant of the NRA re the importance of access to assault weapons! Certainly we cannot feel safe and secure when yet another nominee of Trump's is under suspicion for some "raw allegations' and what the hell does that mean? And why did that semi nude guy shoot up the Waffle House - gee, not even an immigrant! And why does it seem that people now seem to think that vans are weapons of mass murder?
     I have no answers to these questions. We need to be more vigilant and careful in whom we place our trust. We need to think more carefully and for the longer term. We need to look into the future and evaluate all consequences and most important of all, somehow, someway, we need to inculcate morals and values, true ones, not fake ones, not hypocritical ones, not surface ones and we need to develop a moral backbone, an open heart and mind, and a knowledge of the fact that we are all one on this lonely planet and what one does affects all else. Think there is a pill or quick fix for that? I do not.


     

THE DARK AND THE LIGHT

     Never before have we lived through such times. Yes, there have been times of crisis, some pretty bad. The country rocked back in shock with Nixon, older times had the corruption of the Harding administration or the incompetence of that of Grant as President. But never before, certainly not in modern times, have we had such a crisis. And worst of all is the fact that the taint and darkness of it all strikes from top to bottom.
     Actually, worst of all is the fact that we are finding out how much dirt and darkness have been hidden, willfully hidden beneath the surface. We find out the depths of the hypocrisy and cynicism as people in authority forgot their responsibilities to those in their charge or their duties and others were just after the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and G-d help anyone who got in their way. And all thought they would never be found out and yet here it is, all the filth coming to the surface but, a great big but - how to deal with it.
     The sports federation, USA Gymnastics, expressed horror and shock at the disclosures of the molestation of so many young girls and women. Oh dear , oh dear as they acted as if they had never known and yet we now find out that they not only knew, but worked desperately not to protect these kids but worked oh so hard to - keep it quiet!!!!! The hypocrisy. The lack of caring as these girls and young women were molested, affected for life, trust betrayed, evil alive!
     We have the shouts, the frenzied charges of the alt right, particularly those in the world of media. How they ranted and raved against policies of Obama or threw charges at the environmental and business regulations that protected the country and consumers and wow, who'd a thunk, huh that such darlings as Sean Hannity would be proven to have benefitted from the very same policies he insulted, made money off the woes of so many during the real estate crisis and even now has a huge real estate empire, including slum properties. Huh! Just like his buddy, Trump and Kushner, who mistreated tenants and/or workers.
     We have Secretaries of the departments that run the country, that should be serving the people and instead we have a bunch of characters who think they are the reincarnation of Saudi princes who have a non ending spout of money pouring out just for them. The open greed, the secret greed, and the nonchalance about it, the 'who me' attitude that they oh so innocently display as if they never would have known that what they were doing was so, so very wrong, so very immoral.
     And of course we have the wonderful leader of it all, Trump, who gives the okay to do all this, to live the wrong way, to ignore their duties, to turn their responsibilities upside down, to ignore conflict of interests and in fact, it seems as if the more there are of those, the better one's chances of getting affirmed!!! And now a question remains to be answered - how much did the rank and file of our representatives on the Hill know about the truth and if so, if they actually knew then why did they allow this, vote to confirm, shout, cynically and dishonestly, their oh so justified rants at the Democrats? It boggles the mind.
     But they knew that THIS president would allow it all and in fact approved of this behavior as he was the paradigm of it. He has made the act of hatred, crude statements and dishonesty out to be the right thing to do. He has brought the level of government down to the level of rewiring adolescents who tweet their lives and brains away, ignorant or uncaring of the mess they leave behind and the disaster they are making of the future.
     And the crap just pours down as lesser levels spout the same stuff and the same behavior. Brian Mast in his tailored short pants sends out emails that purport to show how people oriented he is and yet he consistently states that he is a Trump man all the way. His votes prove that. We have the politicians who still kowtow to the NRA though at least there is some light there. We have bribery scandal, misdeeds in the Sheriff's Office and in police departments around the country. We have citizens who feel disenfranchised and others feel disillusioned and even hopeless.
     And it gets no better here in CVWPB. We have a supposed leader who is cynical, unbalanced as he waltzes through the workday singing Gilbert and Sullivan songs out loud, constantly voices insults and crude nicknames - hey, just like you know who - and whose business workings are veiled in silence and denial. Oh, so you think there is something wrong with a multi million dollar one page contract or one which does not have liability clauses or managers of projects? Silly you.There is always a catchup for him and his. When there are issues, such as with this ABC installation, it seems to wait to be caught out, for someone to take notice and then, and only then, is action taken. The status of our reserves? Who knows? How is it being spent down? Who knows? How will we pay for needed big capital expenditures? Who knows? Just make sure the snacks are in place and ignore the growing buzz of dissatisfaction, of growing apathy as people feel that we have to let nature take its course if we are to get anywhere, to rumblings of rebellion and to growing inertia as if to say  nothing can be done.
     The world outside is breaking into a tribal mentality, the country is doing the same thing and we are apparently not immune to it either. We are now composed of not so much CV residents, but of CV residents who belong to this group or that and who see the Village thru the prism of their tribe. It is nasty. It is counter productive and it is wrong. If it keeps up then it will prove to be the undoing of our wonderful home.
     So where is the light in all this? Simple. It is in the innate goodness of people. It is in the hopes and dreams and actions of the young. It is in the revived efforts and interests of the old and in the powerful growth of women in and on the playing field. It is in the push for voter registration. It is in the determination of state's attorneys general to use the courts to fight the darkness that is Trump and his cohorts. It is in  the simple goodness of life, in the smile of a friend, in the hug of a child, in the enjoyment of a show, or a good read and certainly in the victories we can achieve over the forces of the dark.
     What we must do is hang in there and strive, always strive for the better part of us. It is the only way.

ZECHARIAH SAYS

     You rub your forehead or pull at your beard. Who the hell is Zechariah? Where is his name in all this mess - no, - in all these messes we are dealing with? Well, one has to go far, far back to find this Zechariah, way back to the times of a man who spoke words of wisdom - and too bad no one listened, not then and not now.
     He was a prophet, with his own book and in the pages of his book there is a telling statement. 
     "These are the things that you shall do. Speak the truth to one another, render in your gates judgements that are true and make for peace."
     Simple, yet it seems that we are never able to reach that point in our lives, either individual or societal. What would our present situation be like if we spoke the truth, if we did not play these ridiculous and dangerous games wherein we competed to see who comes out on top. Certainly it is not humanity. Even the good guys tell lies, certainly do not render true and just judgements and as for peace, well, just take a look around and list the conflicts around the world.
     Albert Einstein said once that one had to learn the rules of the game and then play to win. A tad cynical, yes, thinking that we can reduce humanity and its survival to a crude game, but there it is. So how do we play this game and is it worth it if we lose our souls in the moves of the game?
     These are questions that I can answer only for myself. If in fighting the good fight we lose the fight for our souls, then what have we won? Nothing, for we are then corrupt ourselves, and in fighting for that better country or status of life for all we simply lose our way and forget our original goals, or sell out for a piece of it. Cynical? Maybe. Pessimistic? Maybe. But what else have we learned from all this current mess?
     We have learned to thumb our phones, to click the computer links, to scan the papers, to laugh and cry at the same time and perhaps give up just a bit more every day. How much more filth can we tolerate? How many more lies will we uncover. No, he does not have business with the government but oh, yes, now we remember. Or no, there were no extramarital affairs - I just paid her money because I liked her or other nonsense, all that speak to the severe decline in our morals, in the nerve of our supposed leaders, in the contempt that they have for the electorate, thinking that no one will ever uncover the truth and even if so, no one will care.
     Zechariah says. He says the truth. That is what he says. A five letter word, not four, and yet we treat the truth as if it were somehow tainted and only the foolish of the Don Quixotes among us speak the truth, honor the truth. Is that the point we have reached? Are we at the time when the voices of yet other Biblical characters ring through. 
     "They said to one another, behold here cometh the dreamer, let us slay him and we shall see what will become of his dreams." (Genesis 37:19 - 20)
     At present we are seeing some glimpses of hope but I wonder, I really do. Remember the power of our anger, of the demands of our generation. We stood in the streets and gave out flowers or hit back. Oh, we were going to change the world and yes, we did, in a way, by actually bringing that war to a close and by riding on buses in the south but then we lost our way, descended into drugs, into nonsense and then into greed. We lost ourselves, spoke not truth nor just judgements.
      So our hopes that are pinned on these bright high schoolers today, the ones who say they will not stand still to be killed nor allow others to do so. These kids that know that more than violence, the quiet speaking of the truth, the registrations to vote, vote, vote - this is what will bring about a change. We will get rid of the dinosaurs, of the petrified wood that our former high charging representatives once were, and we will once and for all surge for equality and justice and truth and honor and hope and peace.
     And if one needs inspiration, if one needs to seek for aid and comfort, for a vision of what can be and should be, then read one of the best and most powerful speeches ever spoken, The  Mountaintop speech spoken by Martin Luther King, Jr. only a day or so before his death by violence. Hear his words and then wonder.
     "The nation is sick. Trouble is in the land. Confusion all around.... (but) only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.....Something is happening in our world...... And let us move on in these powerful days, these days of challenge to make America what it ought to be.....to make America a better nation."
     "He's allowed me to go up to the mountains. And I've looked over. I've seen the promised land....we as a people, will get to the promised land."
     Read the entire speech. Hear and read the speech in its entirety. Remember the words of Zechariah. Then take accounting of one's own life and of the life of our nation. We need to make a choice. Do we stay in the bogs and mud of the marshes or do we choose the high road, the roads of Zechariah and the words of King? Do we slay the dreamer or do we work hard to attain the dream? Think hard on this, very hard.

WHAT TO SAY, WHAT TO THINK

   

    I sit down every morning, usually at ridiculously early hours of the morning, (thank you, insomnia!), and write something. Sometimes it is a summary mixed with my thoughts. Sometimes it is simply a thought piece on a more personal level. Sometimes it is on a national or international aspect of life and other times it is more local, usually another piece criticizing the deeply misguided and poor leadership of David Israel. But today is different.

     No international. No national. Nope, not even David Israel. It is just that the world seems to have disintegrated so much that today is a down day. When people discuss the finale of Scandal more than the real scandal in Washington - well, that says something, does it not? When people scream diametrically opposed statements about the same thing - why have we reached this point and why have we allowed it.

     When we have people threatening to 'lock' up others because they say something that displeases, then we have truly reached a bad and dangerous point. Ten years ago would a sitting President have ever said that? Five years ago? 200 years ago? And what about the future?

     I think we have all lost sight of the value of taking a stand, a righteous stand, a stand where we place people or ideals above us. We need to stand for something. We cannot just go thru life moaning and whining. We must know that there are higher callings, a better way to live.

     We also must know that there are those who have paid the ultimate price either by their own death or by the death of others. I believe that we, our country, the USA, is now sacrificing our young, throwing them into the maw of enemies that will never stop, who profess ideologies, but act as thieves, crooks, murderers, kidnappers and just all over nasty and cruel people. Military defeat means nothing for there are always the deluded and the forced who will give up their lives to take others down with them. What is another way? Sorry, way above my pay grade. Need more facts, more input, and that input must come from the disengaged, meaning those who do not have a finger in the pie on a personal basis.

     And then I think of the country of my heart, Israel. I think of how I felt when Gerry and I stepped off the stairs of the plane and actually stood on the land of Israel. How we felt when reciting a prayer commemorating the destruction of the Temples while sitting on the ancient tiles and ground at the Kotel, the Western Wall. How we felt to see the kids running around free, unafraid, proud to be Israeli. How beautiful it was to meet and begin long relationships with family members , people who were of the surviving remnants, people who defied the British and came over, saving their lives, out of the murderous hands of the Nazis. And now I think of the sacrifices that have been made in the name of the survival of this Jewish state.

     Are there issues? Yes. Are there questions which seem to have no answers? Yes. Can I have difficulty understanding the attitude of some towards Israel, their at times statements and thoughts that revert back to medieval times? Yes. Can I wish for someone to come along and solve it all? Yes. But who? When? How? Will people even be willing to listen? 

      And I read and listen to the videos and articles that talked and spoke in recent days of the sacrifices that Israelis have made. I heard the voice of a mother mourning the death of her kidnapped son, how life seems to have stopped, how she is still watching for him to come through the door. I hear the words of an 18 year old girl who lost her father to terror and who is first now beginning to understand who this man who died at age 29 was and how he is and always will be her Abba, her father. I watched the entire video and the tears came and the words in my heart were anguished.

     Golda Meir said that peace will come when the Arabs love their children more than they hate us. Has the State of Israel not been perfect? Of course, but think of double standards and think of the times when Israel has done or said something and the world, including the ridiculous UN, shouted to the heavens, but then turned around and did the same thing and then justified their actions or just ignored criticism.
     So what is the answer to the world? For the world? In Biblical times it seemed that there were times that a 'voice was heard from the heavens'. Would that we would hear it again. Would that the whole world would hear it. We can but dream, can we not. 

FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT

    Almost immediately after Passover, a holiday celebrating our exodus from slavery and the start of the journey back to our homeland, Israel and the Jewish nation around the world, begin a series of commemorations, ones that turn from joy to tears and from tears to joy.
     First comes Holocaust Remembrance Day, a day wherein the murdered and butchered Jews of Europe and North Africa are remembered, mourned, spoken of with love and sorrow. It is a day when the children and grandchildren of survivors can proudly stand and say "we are here", alive and well, and we have our own nation once again. Tears and joy mixed together.
     Quickly, Yom Hazikaron arrives. This is a memorial day unlike what we celebrate here in America. While here there are ceremonies, much of the day is spoken of as a day of sales, the beginning of summer. In Israel, it is a day of complete and total mourning. From the night before one is immersed in a nation bleeding from the loss of so many of its citizens, men, women, children, lost through battle, through terror, through massacres, even in their own ancestral lands.
     Tuesday night was filled with a sounding of the siren and the TV began its portrayals of the mourned, the stories of the heroes, the reminders that the land and the state of Israel exist because and through the sacrifices of these kedoshim, these holy ones. One watches, glued to the TV or the radio and its sad music, and stays there, as if glued, until there are no more tears left to cry.
    At 11 AM there is a siren and an entire nation comes to a standstill, from the pedestrian to the cars, to the truckers, to the stall owners at the open market, to people in their own homes. The day continues in this mood until late afternoon begins a change.
     The music gradually eases in key from minor to major. There begins a realization that though many have tried, WE ARE HERE. We are alive in our own state. A Jewish state among the nations of the world. It is a state as are other nations, making both right and wrong decisions, yet is always under attack, by word and action, yet takes upon itself a duty to the world in its destruction of Iranian and Syrian nuclear and chemical weapons.
     It is a nation which has taken in literally millions of refugees. Lost remnants of Jews, of all ethnicities and colors, truly a melting pot. The descendants of Anusim, the Jews of Spain, the descendants of wandering tribes from Biblical times, from times of exile - from the four corners of the earth - no longer to be beaten, tormented, hated, slaughtered, but to be citizens of Israel.
     I am the same age as Israel and am enjoying the special celebrations of the day. The largest extravaganza will be here this year, performing all over, including many places within the South Florida area. Fairs, games, concerts, laughter, dancing, singing and over and above all - pride and love.
     And for the rest of the world who take Israel for granted - do not, for we do not. It is a young state as ages go and it is a state still with growing pains. It has its own internal battles to fight, our own enemies and divisions within, but make no mistake about it - Am Yisroel Chai - the nation of Israel lives - and will continue to do so, for while we argue, while we struggle to find the absolute best way to answer and undo Gordian knots of concern - even as we do this, we all know that we are one, that this state of Israel is ours and to be cherished, valued, and protected all the time.
     I am a proud American - well, used to be prouder -  but when I fly over the coastline of Israel, when I walk the streets of Jerusalem or the beaches of the coast, beneath the remnants of Roman aqueducts, or talk with the teens who are defending their nation, well, there is a pride here that is beyond words. It is a pride that overwhelms. And it is a pride which still swells the heart every time I sing the national anthem, the Hatikvah, the Hope. After thousands of years, to be a free nation in our own land, a hope that lasted through the pogroms, through the forced conversions, through the burnings in England, in Spain and Portugal, through the chasing of Jews by the Inquisition even into the New World, through the decimations of ancient Judea and to the modern day Nazis and their cursed followers even today - we are here.
     Happy Birthday, Israel. We sing and dance along with you today and for all days.

SHOULD WE?

       Diane, a major character in The Good Fight, a spin off from the hit show The Good Wife, has been having a tough time this year. She is almost crazed by the outcome of the presidential election and the constant Trump noise on and in the media. It is only when she lets loose in a meeting that she feels better - and then states that she has a gun in her desk drawer, afraid of the times, afraid of a crazy someone out killing lawyers.

     I know the feeling. Trust me on that!! It is truly difficult to turn on the news stations or shows and not find half of it Trump related and mostly bad news at that!!! Are we supposed to laugh at his antics, which are not really antics as he is supposed to be the pacesetter of the world in his role as President of the United States of America. It is with that recognition of fact that the question is asked - Should we or should we not? Should we be afraid, very afraid, or should we look past the demented and obsessed behavior and rants and hope that our country, our government, is strong enough to withstand his attacks on our democracy and of the safety of the world?

     Syria. North Korea. Russia. Iran. WAR. That is my fear, a great big one. Will he go pushing buttons and giving orders without Congressional approval or will he be ruled by some sanity, some people who will finally stand up and say this Emperor is naked, butt naked, and he needs to be taken out, off the parade route and a substitute placed in his stead. Now mind you, that substitute is Pence, a pretty dismal replacement, but at least he is somewhat sane. He cannot talk to a woman alone in a room without his wife's permission or presence - can you just see this with Merkel or May - but I do not believe he will get us enmeshed in WWIII, in nuclear oblivion, or the Syrianization of the world, leaving a bombed out carrier of rubble, spinning thru space with a humanoid race on its surface who have been reduced to the Stone Age!! Sound far fetched? But those are the structures such that nightmares are built on.  

     Trying to find other news, news that will cheer one up is difficult. We lost a stalwart figure on the American scene yesterday, Barbara Bush, an exemplar of loyalty and decency. May she rest in peace.We also had a nightmare take place in reality, life imitating art, the movies of epic disasters.

     How many times have we seen the scene in the movies. A bullet goes off in  a plane and a window is hit. Or something smashes into it from the outside. And then the action that has lived in my nightmares forever. A person is sucked out the window. I am afraid of heights and the thought of this just turns me petrified. And look what happened yesterday on Southwest, an airline I fly often enough. The woman killed was a good person,  led a good life, served her community, raised a family and look how she died. Hanging half out the window, cut by the broken glass, squeezed by the pressure into a space smaller than her body and only the heroics of other passengers prevented her being totally sucked thru!! Should we be afraid? Glad I have no flights till June and hopefully this picture of reality will be diminished by other things. May she rest in peace as well.

     So, should we be afraid, very much so, just a bit, or not at all? You make your choice as I have made mine. Additional factors? Well, Nikki Haley says she is not confused re her statements in the UN and I believe her, so what gives? Another Trumpian moment? Senators come out of a briefing on Syria policy and walk out with trepidation? OY!! Pompeo was in North Korea having a secret meeting with them? Trump in charge? Double oy! Oh yes, a moment of security - Sean Hannity coaching the President in late night conversations. Well, isn't that giving one a feeling of security and warmth? Well, folks - be afraid!

     

THE FILTH BENEATH

     It is true that people value their privacy and use the statement 'none of your business' to avoid answering questions and much of the time the attitude is proper, for people need not know everything about someone's personal life. Where the buck stops and where that sentence carries no weight is when the 'business' is tainted. Plain, simple, and when a public figure refuses to answer questions, when that same public figure is trembling at the thought of his dealings being exposed, well, we got troubles, right here in the Potomac city and evidently elsewhere as well.
     When one becomes a public figure all bets are off. Transparency is the only way to go for secrecy only provokes more curiosity, more suspicion. While we may not have any right to ask about Barron Trump, a child of 12, or even demand answers as to why Melania's clothing bills could support a small country, for that is truly private and as long as she pays the bills or Donald does, no harm, no foul - just a lack of sense.
     But when that curiosity leads to the uncovering of a dump beneath the oh so pretty lawn, then uh oh, that smell, that filth then overcomes all. Why is Trump so adamant about his tax returns? Why does he have a person whom he calls his own fixer, a la Ray Donovan, a man who does much to fix his clients problems? The reek grows ever deeper in its stench when it is revealed that there are ties between Sean Hannity and Cohen the lawyer and Trump and it stinks!!! 
     Trump rants against the media and yet here is a true bad, bad connection. And why is everyone so afraid of what the records reveal? It only raises the level of suspicion and the level of concern. Just what do we have here in the WH? Do we have a major crook? Do we have a business idiot, a personal moral failure whose misdeeds and errors in these fields constantly get him in trouble? Is that why he needs a 'fixer'?
     The growing garage dump beneath the lawns of Mar a Lago and Bedminster and even the WH is shocking to us and the world. It is shocking that we have allowed the master of this dump to climb so high on its rolling hills of trash. That, my friends, is on us. And it is on us to push the investigation, to allow nothing to lock it, to dig into those reeking and  stinking hills of trash, to dig beneath the fancy cars and the big mouths and dig out the filth beneath.
     This attitude of 'I can do anything I want and then call foul if someone demands the details' has affected much of the world. Dictators in Europe, especially Eastern Europe, are beginning to take over. The garbage, the bloody garbage, of their past is being dug up, given fresh breath and new life and why? Well, one reason is that they see the USA going the same way and certainly not objecting. And business is going the same way in nasty actions as well.
     Oh, they push ads on us, send us emails, inundate us with paeans of glory over how much they care for us, their customers, the people they claim to serve and yet, with this administration in charge, these same companies are cheering on the dismantling of all the regulations that have been put in place to protect the people. Banking rules. Environmental rules. Legal rights to sue a business in court. Economic protections for the workers and consumers. Proper and proportional taxes. Proper and safe work rules and spaces.
     And most of us go blithely tripping down the primrose lane, so satisfied that we have found bargains, that we know how to shop Amazon for the cheaper price, yet beneath that sense of accomplishment, that oh so kind to consumers with their lower prices, there is that filth beneath again.  In fact, some of it goes back to times when workers had no rights, when they were locked into their place of work, when they were treated as wage slaves. So ask Amazon why in some of their warehouse centers their workers are peeing in a bottle at their station in order to fulfill ridiculous quotas, afraid of losing their jobs? Wage slaves, no basic human rights. Are we willing to have this happen so we can shave a dollar here and a dollar there?
     We need to dig deep, to go thru the trash, to look beneath the pretty but shallow outside coverings and find the truth beneath, the truth that tells us that we must ever remain watchful, for if we do not, we will lose it all. That is on us.

DREAMS

     Life can be tough at times. Things seem to hit the fan all at the same time and one gets beaten down by the realities of life. It is easy to fall into a well of depression and despair, but then, somehow, so many manage to pull themselves out by the simple power of dreams, of dreaming what could be, what one wishes it to be, what accomplishment one dreams of reaching. That dream can inspire one to climb out of that well and live and breathe again.
     In our world of today it seems that dreams can be far and few in between. Are there any left? In fact, is there room for anyone to dream at all what with the horrors of chemical warfare, horrendous massacres, cruelty rife throughout the world and the dashing of human rights, of humanity's best traits? The answer is yes, hard as it might seem. The trick? Pick a dream which dares and challenges. Pick a dream that is seemingly impossible and then get others to join you, dream with you and then.....
     Believe it or not, in this seemingly miserable world of ours we have had dreams and achievement. Take the dream of the 15 year old autistic boy who dared to dream of building the world's largest model in Lego of the Titanic. Despite naysayers, he found yes sayers among his family and friends and even strangers and he did it!! And he is now changed by the accomplishment of this dream. It can be done.
     Closer to home. We have had massacres of our young, of music lovers, of churchgoers, of dancers in a club for no one appears to be safe. Yet the young among us said they too had a dream, a dream that the NRA would not have its way unopposed. That they would fight them, march against guns and assault rifles and so they did. They marched - throughout the world, throughout the nation. And in the upcoming primary campaigns it seems as if the NRA has lost some of its clout. About time this dream had some reality.
     MLK had a dream too. We had appeared to be on the road, the slow road, but still, and then along came the hate filled campaign of Trump where there were "fine people" in the ranks of the haters who shouted anti Semitic and anti black and anti immigrant epithets and threats. This is a dream we must return to, must advance towards reality. It is not only 'their' rights but also ours, yours and mine, for once fascism and bigotry get their way it is hard to dream once more.
     One of the touching moments, no - two touching moments took place last night and no, not talking about Comey. Talking about the awards show where it was opened with a lovely tribute to the victims of the Las Vegas killer. In fact, many of these same performers were actually there or near there for the big event. But what awed me, what showed me the power of dreaming, was the moment that Carrie Underwood appeared on stage and sang from the depths of her soul, sang 'Cry Pretty', a song of despair, of survival and of strength. She dreamed to return to the stage after her disaster and so she did! Dreams!!
     And as for me, well, I too have a dream, many dreams, actually. Can I attain it? I hope. It will be a  difficult road, one of both that same despair, strength, and perseverance. A road and a dream wherein many have joined with me to get me there. My dream? Simple. To have the strength, the courage, the power to look beyond the advancements of Parkinson's, to help raise money for research, to participate in studies and to keep at a difficult regimen of strenuous exercise and plenty of it. And where will this dream take me? What is the end of my dream? A simple one. To have more years with Gerry, to live to see my grandchildren grow up, get married, show off their grandmother as she walks down the aisle, and even, dare I dream that far, to hold their child in my arms. Simple dreams. Nothing like winning the lottery - though that would be fine too! Nothing complicated. Simple - yet so difficult.
     Here are the words of the Titanic builder's mom. Read them and cherish them.
      ""Dreams keep us going. That is something nobody can take away from us. It's something good to have when you are feeling a little bit stuck or sad. You can always dream."
     Dream we must for that is a necessity of life.
     Dream we must for a future.
     Dream we must for that is road to achievement and progress.   So dream on and on and on.