Dear Blog Reader.
I hope that this finds you doing well. I have never been better. Never in my life has there been a Presidential primary election that mattered in Indiana. That has all changed now. Next Tuesday, it matters, at least on the Republican side. I know that I have some readers who will say that the nomination process is undemocratic or unconstitutional. You readers are not along. I am in a hotel in Iowa this morning waiting for a nephew's wedding. The breakfast buffet included Fox TV. I had to listen to the "smartest people in the room" tell me that It wasn't fair. To you (and them) I say, "I am sorry your education was so sorely lacking." It is simply not your responsibility to decide who will the republican or democrat party's nominee. (Presumably, the person most likely to bring success in the general election.) it is the members of the republican or democrat parties responsibility to decide. If you don't think that it is fair get over it, or get your own political party and nominate your own candidate any fair way you choose.
My political education was extensive and hands on. Estelle and Lloyd Sharritt immersed me in art of political warfare at a young age. My mom spent many an early May day at the polls challenging democrats requesting republican ballots. Another time, I remember running home crying because two high school kids were obviously bullying by chanting "Humphrey, Humphrey, He's our man. We'll throw Nixon in the garbage can." How could they be so mean? How could they be so stupid. When I was 11 years old, I watched all of the Watergate Hearings. I watched in fascination as big old jowly Sam Ervin questioned Halderman and Eirlichman. I seethed when that traitorous Howard Baker crossed the aisle in bipartisanship to sink Nixon's ship. Each day my father reassured me that these were things that all presidents had done. Nixon just got caught. There was even an episode when members of the John Birch society were out to ruin mom and dad. I have to admit that my recollections are fuzzy with regards to this event. I only remember hushed dinner conversations and the promise to shoot those people if they show up.
So you can imagine the glee that I find in this hot political climate. We are a country that was forged in full scaled rebellion based on the political suppositions of representation. We are a country that had to go through armed rebellion to answer the question of state's rights and people's rights. A little anger at a Trump Rally is a minor kerfuffel. This is democracy. We are people with varying opinions. We will reach some sort of consensus by our collective November vote.
So the participants on the ballot, comes down to Hoosiers. On Tuesday, we will walk into the polling place, request our ballots, step to the machine and place our vote.
Who will we vote for? One of 5 people will win our proud Hoosier votes. Who will you vote for? As fate would have it, I mentioned earlier in this blog that I have traveled to Iowa for a wedding this weekend. Iowa the place that the primaries began last January. Eight hours on the road thinking about primary season, gave me the perfect opportunity to weigh the pro's and con's of each of the candidates. These eight hours have resulted in 10 limericks (one pro and one con for each of the candidates.)
I share them here with you, a gift of clarifying poetry to help you make an educated selection next Tuesday.
They say I should mention Kasich
Although, Indiana he did ditch.
A moderate sort,
He failed to thwart,
With his party-line centerist pitch.
The firebrand candidate Trump,
Whose celebrity gave him a bump.
They say, "it's a sin,
If he should win,
The country will slide to the dump."
They say he looks like a Munster,
He certainly isn't a funster.
The moderates whine,
'Bout his conservative line,
Ted Cruz is still trailing the Trumpster.
There once was a Madam named Hillary
Whose mouth brings to mind loud artillery,
Her email kerfuffle
Some feathers did ruffle,
She, Republicans all want to pillary.
There once was a commie named Sanders.
Voted in by many Vermont-landers.
What's yours is mine,
He things is just fine,
A Mercedes for all the pan-handlers.
All the fans of little Teddy Cruz
Say that he should never ever lose.
The constitution is pure.
To be followed for sure.
President Hillary would make them drink booze.
My job was shipped overseas
All I want to do is work, yes please.
I am a Trump fan
He is the man.
I'm begging you down on my knees.
They say she has tons of experience.
So how can you still ride the fence?
In the Senate she rocked.
At state was top jock.
Her brain is rather immense.
Oh Bernie will care for the poor.
Banks and Wall Street he'll choose to abhor.
With college, he's shown,
You won't need a loan.
All to show Hillary the door.
Yes, John's the only one sane.
SO don't throw your vote down the drain.
He won't rock the boat,
And keep us afloat
And won't cause the Democrats pain.
Happy voting.
Take Care.
Roger
Saturday, April 30, 2016
Sunday, April 17, 2016
On Bed Clothes, Gardening, and Voting
Dear Blog Reader.
I hope that this finds you doing well. Overall, I am doing well. Winter continues to hold on. This in spite of the fact that we have passed the Vernal Equinox. It is a little tough to have to look at more than 12 hours of cold and windy weather on the outside. The winter wood pile continues to dwindle. I am thankful that the Sharritt's maintained the flannel sheets on the bed. Those 4 days in March made it tempting to run to the cool light embrace of those cotton sheets. You thought that you had it made didn't you. Those rigid unbending traditionalists are roasting in their beds and you were cool as a cucumber between your 1000 count Egyptian Cotten sheets.
Some people ask "Do you really sleep better on $175 sheets? Is it worth it?" Recent scientific studies show that you really do sleep better on $175 sheets when compared to $25 sheets from Walmart. The scientists studying 10 subjects found unequivocally that those sleeping on $175 sheets slept better, tossed and turned less, woke more refreshed and with significantly less lower back discomfort than their $25 counterparts. The reason? Scientists hypothesize that when you pay $175 for a set of sheets, your wallet is significantly thinner allowing for better lumbar alignment and hence a better nights sleep.
No, you linen sheet lovers thought that you had pulled one over on the flannel sheet traditionalists. Look who's laughing now. It certainly isn't you. No you can't laugh because your teeth are chattering so loudly as your body tries to generate enough core heat to keep you from slipping into hypothermia.
Now it is a week later. My best plans for another timely and cogent blog were thwarted by the passage of time and the turning of seasons. I should have stayed with it. I should have kept writing long into the night. I quit. I went to bed. Now, I am writing about a lingering winter in 75 degree sunny delight.
A week has passed. The season has shifted for a while. Now, you good sleeping Egyptian Cotten cool cats have the upper hand. Your teeth have unclenched. You are free to ridicule the bitter clingers. You are free to go to the local garden shop and stock up on your July ripening tomato plants. I am free to listen to the voice in my head "cold weather can still hit." I am free to look at the Old Farmer's Almanac. It says that the frost free date is May 15th. I am free to remember watching that one really late frost on May 25th that stunned or killed thousands of acres of germinated corn. I am free to remember sitting in the grandstands for Indy 500 qualifications on May 12th 1973 and watching snow flurries just before practice started. I am free to chuckle just a little when that seasoned citizen plunks down his $10 for 5 tomato plants on April 16th.
Yes, I must confess to a bit of hopeful day dreaming; seeing in my mind's eye, this kindly gentleman waking up cold under his Egyptian Cotton, running to the garden to find a blackened, wilted, frosted tomato plant. I also get a bit of self satisfaction knowing (hoping) that he will spend a total of $20 for his 5 viable tomato plants. All the while, I imagine that he is hoping (knowing) that he will be eating July 4th tomatoes while I say that my cabbage in high in antioxidants and if I shred it up and mix it with kale and brussels sprouts I will never die because will be eating a super food. I will just wish that I were dead because I am eating this crap instead of a fresh BLT.
The big questions remain. How long can I hold out and keep the flannel faith? How long can I delude myself and believe that this year's apple crop is dependent on my stubborn adherence the words of Grandma. I want to be right. You tomato killing, Egyptian Cotton sleeping dreamers want to be right too. It is good to remember that our rightness will depend on whether the wind blows out of the North or from the South and has little to do with the cogency of our arguments.
It strikes me that bed clothes, gardening and electing are a bit similar. People of dissimilar outlooks are thrown together, doing the best their temperaments will permit. We cast our votes to the wind in the hope that we are right or at least you are proven wrong.
Take care
Roger
I hope that this finds you doing well. Overall, I am doing well. Winter continues to hold on. This in spite of the fact that we have passed the Vernal Equinox. It is a little tough to have to look at more than 12 hours of cold and windy weather on the outside. The winter wood pile continues to dwindle. I am thankful that the Sharritt's maintained the flannel sheets on the bed. Those 4 days in March made it tempting to run to the cool light embrace of those cotton sheets. You thought that you had it made didn't you. Those rigid unbending traditionalists are roasting in their beds and you were cool as a cucumber between your 1000 count Egyptian Cotten sheets.
Some people ask "Do you really sleep better on $175 sheets? Is it worth it?" Recent scientific studies show that you really do sleep better on $175 sheets when compared to $25 sheets from Walmart. The scientists studying 10 subjects found unequivocally that those sleeping on $175 sheets slept better, tossed and turned less, woke more refreshed and with significantly less lower back discomfort than their $25 counterparts. The reason? Scientists hypothesize that when you pay $175 for a set of sheets, your wallet is significantly thinner allowing for better lumbar alignment and hence a better nights sleep.
No, you linen sheet lovers thought that you had pulled one over on the flannel sheet traditionalists. Look who's laughing now. It certainly isn't you. No you can't laugh because your teeth are chattering so loudly as your body tries to generate enough core heat to keep you from slipping into hypothermia.
Now it is a week later. My best plans for another timely and cogent blog were thwarted by the passage of time and the turning of seasons. I should have stayed with it. I should have kept writing long into the night. I quit. I went to bed. Now, I am writing about a lingering winter in 75 degree sunny delight.
A week has passed. The season has shifted for a while. Now, you good sleeping Egyptian Cotten cool cats have the upper hand. Your teeth have unclenched. You are free to ridicule the bitter clingers. You are free to go to the local garden shop and stock up on your July ripening tomato plants. I am free to listen to the voice in my head "cold weather can still hit." I am free to look at the Old Farmer's Almanac. It says that the frost free date is May 15th. I am free to remember watching that one really late frost on May 25th that stunned or killed thousands of acres of germinated corn. I am free to remember sitting in the grandstands for Indy 500 qualifications on May 12th 1973 and watching snow flurries just before practice started. I am free to chuckle just a little when that seasoned citizen plunks down his $10 for 5 tomato plants on April 16th.
Yes, I must confess to a bit of hopeful day dreaming; seeing in my mind's eye, this kindly gentleman waking up cold under his Egyptian Cotton, running to the garden to find a blackened, wilted, frosted tomato plant. I also get a bit of self satisfaction knowing (hoping) that he will spend a total of $20 for his 5 viable tomato plants. All the while, I imagine that he is hoping (knowing) that he will be eating July 4th tomatoes while I say that my cabbage in high in antioxidants and if I shred it up and mix it with kale and brussels sprouts I will never die because will be eating a super food. I will just wish that I were dead because I am eating this crap instead of a fresh BLT.
The big questions remain. How long can I hold out and keep the flannel faith? How long can I delude myself and believe that this year's apple crop is dependent on my stubborn adherence the words of Grandma. I want to be right. You tomato killing, Egyptian Cotton sleeping dreamers want to be right too. It is good to remember that our rightness will depend on whether the wind blows out of the North or from the South and has little to do with the cogency of our arguments.
It strikes me that bed clothes, gardening and electing are a bit similar. People of dissimilar outlooks are thrown together, doing the best their temperaments will permit. We cast our votes to the wind in the hope that we are right or at least you are proven wrong.
Take care
Roger
Sunday, April 3, 2016
Just Kidding
Dear Blog Reader
I hope that this finds you doing well. Specifically, I hope that this does not find your emotional wellbeing held hostage by the hoops prowess of a 22 year old kid who has been worshiped by a sports mad society since the moment his genetics indicated that he had a good chance at being freakishly tall. As you can probably surmise, I have given emotional control over to such a 7 foot man-child and have been sorely disappointed in the first round of the tournament. Maybe your emotional wellbeing was postponed for a week even two but now all except two of us have had our hopes and dreams dashed.
I should know better. My guy had an interview in the newspaper that gave enough red flags to any discerning person. The paper says that he loves to watch SpongeBob "all day long." That is quite the resume declaration. "I would love to do a good and conscientious job except for those times when I download SpongeBob and binge watch every afternoon. I like to stay fresh." With that kind of mental fortitude, one shouldn't wonder that when up 13 points with 3 minutes left, your team folds because the other team becomes desperate and hits you with an intensity much stronger than Plankton's diabolical schemes to steal Mr. Krab's secret recipe. (No I don't watch SpongeBob and you shouldn't either. I looked the premise of the show up on google.)
It is not just that I like to feel good about my team. I have to make you sorry that you root for your team. I am shameless in my emotional manipulations. I have friends and relatives that I have personally ridiculed because of their allegiance to a school that their dad, mom, aunt, or uncle loved. Maybe, they spent their formative pre-adult years maturing at that school, forging lasting relationships, beliefs or lives that were their own and not their parents. Maybe their allegiance to that school is based solely on these intangibles and finds outlet on the basketball court in March. It doesn't matter. I have spent great effort denigrating the embodiment of their hopes and dreams. Look at my Facebook feed, or text message threads. They would make a Trump rally participant (pro or con) blush.
Oh sure, it is good natured teasing. You in your IU shirt giving the choke sign to your office mate on Friday morning. In his brain, he knows that he did nothing to contribute to the inability to handle the press, to score just one more point in 3.5 minutes. He did not attend a single practice, run a single drill. He could not dribble the ball down the court with both hands. He was not in charge of making sure that 7 footer's Nickelodeon cable feed was uninterrupted. He's an accountant for goodness sakes. He is not responsible for this loss. His brain knows that it shouldn't matter. But it does.
My office mate also knows that the proper response to this good natured teasing is to laugh at it; to chuckle and shake his head sadly side to side. He just has to say "what you going to do?" To do anything else would be thin skinned, petty, and a poor loser. We should not be those things. We have been well trained through the years. If you are less than magnanimous in the face of taunting, the heat will be turned up. The most obnoxious might even get you a little choking Boilermaker doll. Your life will be a living heck.
Why? Why do we tolerate the emotional thuggery? At best they are only bucking themselves up. They know that the fickle fates will turn against them soon. They will be on the bottom. Hopefully, a boost now at your expense will get them through the tough times ahead.
No wonder we have March Madness straddle April Fools day. Why go and forebear idiots more than once during a calendar year? Let's just test our patience one time for three weeks. Let's do it in the early spring while working our way out of the winter doldrums. We're not doing much. We're just waiting on the warm weather to get here in earnest. One day basking in the 70 degree sun; tempted to remove the coat and the flannel sheets. However, we know we can't. Tomorrow we may have 40 mile an hour winds and snow flurries. No, laughing at the good natured fool's attacks on our team, or reading the April Fools Memes Ad nauseam is good training for our fortitude. It helps build our character.
Go a head an pile on. We don't care. Sure your 60 years old and you suddenly found out you were pregnant. Of course, the boss says that you get the rest of the day off with pay. I am sure that you just cut your finger off. It must really hurt. I love it when you put that kick me sign on my back. Yes, my team is worse than yours. Your ability to pick the bracket is amazing. No wonder we call you Kreskin behind your back. It is all just hilarious.
An now, it is down to just two of you. We started with 64 winners, and have made losers out of 62 of you. We have questioned their drive, their dedication, and their determination. Don't worry in a couple of days, we will even make a loser out of another one. People will be disappointed, downhearted, and depressed. Don't worry though. Things are looking up. We have nearly gotten past the fools for another year.
Take care.
Roger
I hope that this finds you doing well. Specifically, I hope that this does not find your emotional wellbeing held hostage by the hoops prowess of a 22 year old kid who has been worshiped by a sports mad society since the moment his genetics indicated that he had a good chance at being freakishly tall. As you can probably surmise, I have given emotional control over to such a 7 foot man-child and have been sorely disappointed in the first round of the tournament. Maybe your emotional wellbeing was postponed for a week even two but now all except two of us have had our hopes and dreams dashed.
I should know better. My guy had an interview in the newspaper that gave enough red flags to any discerning person. The paper says that he loves to watch SpongeBob "all day long." That is quite the resume declaration. "I would love to do a good and conscientious job except for those times when I download SpongeBob and binge watch every afternoon. I like to stay fresh." With that kind of mental fortitude, one shouldn't wonder that when up 13 points with 3 minutes left, your team folds because the other team becomes desperate and hits you with an intensity much stronger than Plankton's diabolical schemes to steal Mr. Krab's secret recipe. (No I don't watch SpongeBob and you shouldn't either. I looked the premise of the show up on google.)
It is not just that I like to feel good about my team. I have to make you sorry that you root for your team. I am shameless in my emotional manipulations. I have friends and relatives that I have personally ridiculed because of their allegiance to a school that their dad, mom, aunt, or uncle loved. Maybe, they spent their formative pre-adult years maturing at that school, forging lasting relationships, beliefs or lives that were their own and not their parents. Maybe their allegiance to that school is based solely on these intangibles and finds outlet on the basketball court in March. It doesn't matter. I have spent great effort denigrating the embodiment of their hopes and dreams. Look at my Facebook feed, or text message threads. They would make a Trump rally participant (pro or con) blush.
Oh sure, it is good natured teasing. You in your IU shirt giving the choke sign to your office mate on Friday morning. In his brain, he knows that he did nothing to contribute to the inability to handle the press, to score just one more point in 3.5 minutes. He did not attend a single practice, run a single drill. He could not dribble the ball down the court with both hands. He was not in charge of making sure that 7 footer's Nickelodeon cable feed was uninterrupted. He's an accountant for goodness sakes. He is not responsible for this loss. His brain knows that it shouldn't matter. But it does.
My office mate also knows that the proper response to this good natured teasing is to laugh at it; to chuckle and shake his head sadly side to side. He just has to say "what you going to do?" To do anything else would be thin skinned, petty, and a poor loser. We should not be those things. We have been well trained through the years. If you are less than magnanimous in the face of taunting, the heat will be turned up. The most obnoxious might even get you a little choking Boilermaker doll. Your life will be a living heck.
Why? Why do we tolerate the emotional thuggery? At best they are only bucking themselves up. They know that the fickle fates will turn against them soon. They will be on the bottom. Hopefully, a boost now at your expense will get them through the tough times ahead.
No wonder we have March Madness straddle April Fools day. Why go and forebear idiots more than once during a calendar year? Let's just test our patience one time for three weeks. Let's do it in the early spring while working our way out of the winter doldrums. We're not doing much. We're just waiting on the warm weather to get here in earnest. One day basking in the 70 degree sun; tempted to remove the coat and the flannel sheets. However, we know we can't. Tomorrow we may have 40 mile an hour winds and snow flurries. No, laughing at the good natured fool's attacks on our team, or reading the April Fools Memes Ad nauseam is good training for our fortitude. It helps build our character.
Go a head an pile on. We don't care. Sure your 60 years old and you suddenly found out you were pregnant. Of course, the boss says that you get the rest of the day off with pay. I am sure that you just cut your finger off. It must really hurt. I love it when you put that kick me sign on my back. Yes, my team is worse than yours. Your ability to pick the bracket is amazing. No wonder we call you Kreskin behind your back. It is all just hilarious.
An now, it is down to just two of you. We started with 64 winners, and have made losers out of 62 of you. We have questioned their drive, their dedication, and their determination. Don't worry in a couple of days, we will even make a loser out of another one. People will be disappointed, downhearted, and depressed. Don't worry though. Things are looking up. We have nearly gotten past the fools for another year.
Take care.
Roger
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