What the +%#* ??

When did it become socially acceptable to shovel anathema and vulgarity on people with whom one does not agree?   Now a commonplace act.

On our way to a favorite restaurant we saw a cute bungalow along this public and very visible national highway, boasting a huge flag with the words "F --- Biden!" for everyone, young and old, to see.  (Try explaining this one to your six-year old.)

And in beautiful Rehobeth Beach, on the lovely square not four blocks from Biden's family home, and only two blocks from the church he attends, sits a pick-up truck with hundreds of Trump signs plastered on it.  Not a problem.

(This is when I wish my pointer finger were a flame-thrower).

What I failed to mention is that it includes vulgarities aimed at both Biden and Harris.  Vulgarities that  I blush at mentioning.  Despite efforts of local residents and Rehobeth business owners, the man refuses to move his truck as it is his First Amendment right.  No matter how it affects others. To those the vulgarities are directed; to those who live there; to those whose businesses are affected by it.  Evidently he is not capable of otherwise expressing himself.

What a dual-edged sword freedom of speech is.

Musings on a Reunion

 I attended a very large high school (it might have been the largest in the state) outside of Philadelphia.  I had not gone through the public school system, but had attended a Catholic parochial elementary school, and my first year of high school (ninth grade) at a private girls' school.  

So when I transferred to Upper Darby High School as a tenth grader I was very much the odd man out...  Friendships had been formed in elementary school, enjoyed and cemented in junior high.  I did make friends:  There were lots of chums I met in classes and homeroom.  I had lunch with Dee and Michele everyday, took the trolley with Richie to early morning choral rehearsals, sang in the Concert Choir with Roger and Richard M, attended plays in Philadelphia...

My husband and I attended my 15th reunion.  I saw folks that I recognized, but no one with whom I had been close attended.  In fact, the folks I had been closest to had seemingly fallen off the face of the Earth.  After we married 53 years ago, we moved to my husband's 'stomping grounds' outside of Baltimore, Maryland.  I always envied that at any moment he could run into someone he went to school with; someone from his past.  I missed that.

Fast forward a decade or three.  I had tried contacting a few classmates.  Dee made it clear she didn't want to be found; R never answered notes and invitations I had sent to him and his wife; Roger had died out in San Francisco (from what and when I never did learn).  R2 did contact me.  Now retired from a distinguished career in the military he lives not far from us in Virginia.  He visited me at the school where I was teaching, we had a great lunch, and a sweet time catching up with one another, and then I never heard from him again.  Lest I be misunderstood, these were not romantic interests, but a connection to a time and place I missed.

Our reunion is scheduled for October.  Two of these folks will be there.  I'd go but it would be for all the wrong reasons:  primarily, I'd want to know why they ghosted me, and while I'm curious, I realize it's not that important, that I'm not important, at least to them.

Living on Ginger Ale

 Last week my dear husband had a slightly scratchy throat.  Five years ago this would have meant nothing, but now...  A few days later his symptoms developed into a cough, running nose, and lethargy.  He tested, and of course was positive for COVID.  He alerted our doctor who prescribed Paxlovid, which mitigated his symptoms within 24 hours.  He's feeling much better and has now tested negative.

Several days after his positive test, I began to feel 'weird':  the tops of my fingers hurt --(there was no visible injury (look up 'COVID TOES')), my upper back hurt to the point I couldn't move comfortably, and then I began to feel horrendously nauseated (I wouldn't wish this on...wait a minute, I take that back, I can think of a few public figures), and sleepy...and then lower GI symptoms ensued.  And, I tested positive.

It seems one of the newer strains of COVID is this lovely GI version, and more than several people I know (no one with whom I've come in contact) have had it.  Five days later and I'm doing a lot better.  The nausea has abated for the most part, although Canada Dry and I are still close friends.

We have no idea when or where we picked this gem up, but rest assured:  it's out there.

Our Own Oasis

 Several years ago we applied for a grant in which we entered into an agreement with the State of Maryland and Columbia Association to have a 'rain garden' installed on our property.

You may have seen varieties of run-ff mitigation along highways and in medial strips, where strategically placed river stone, and native plants have replaced grass.  These areas not only protect bodies of water like the Chesapeake Bay from contamination, but they do not have to be so constantly maintained, and they look good!!

Rain gardens are one of the many ways to mitigate uncontrolled run-off from heavy rains.  But in addition to controlling storm drainage into the Chesapeake Bay, they feature native and non-invasive flora, and so the added benefit to these gardens is they attract pollinators such as bees and hummingbirds, and they are beautiful as well as functional.

Here is ours in various stages of growth.

A Walk in the Park...

 Since the pandemic we've been walking when we can, usually around one of the four local lakes that thanks to Columbia Association, have beautifully mailed bridges and paths, benches for that well-needed rest or just to gaze at the plantings surrounding the lakes, and the frequent fauna visitors:  amphibian; reptilian; fowl; and mammalian.  

Each walk is a discovery and we take time to really stop and look around us.  I marvel at those walking while looking at a phone screen -- I really have no idea how they can do that and remain vertical!

We have favorite spots including the swings that CA installed.

Coming to You From a New Computer!

 I made the transition yesterday.  Or began it...  There's a strong learning curve and this old dog...well, you get it.  But I strongly believe that change, while sometimes painful, is very good for the soul.  "Complacency is the hobgoblin of little minds."  RWE

Now I'm hoping to be able to include pictures of our gardens and from our walks.  Taking daily photos was something we initiated during the Pandemic. Today, however oday, I'm going to try to publish some of our garden photos...

Some have asked about my gardening, specifically is it too much, or when is enough enough?  My answer is it's enough when it no longer brings me joy.  And right now these gardens, the flowers, the blooms and some of the critters they attract bring us both great joy.

 

IT'S OKAY, HON

A good friend was lamenting an experience they had had at a local restaurant, where the server was overly affectionate, call them "Honey, Dear, Sweetheart..."

And while I agree that this is a little over the top, I wonder if the use of these terms of endearment is perhaps not such a bad thing.  Granted too much can be sickening, but an occasional "Hon" or "Dear" isn't that overstepping... Is it?  

We're living in a time when vulgarity, name calling, and hate in speech seem to be the norm.  Is it so bad to temper the anger with a little sweetness?

Miriam Margoles OBE is a British actress -- often salty-mouthed and cutting, frequently shocking.   Recently I heard her speak on the use of non gender- indicating pronouns.  She was bristling at having to use "they" or "them" and also found it confusing.  (I, too, while not feeling as strongly, find the use of the plural pronouns a bit baffling.  Chalk that up to my teaching English for so many years).

Upon some introspection, however, she realized that this is such a miniscule issue.  Furthermore, and most importantly, if it makes someone happy, why not?

Why not, indeed?

 

Something Remarkable

Enter the Pied Piper, the Don Quixote, Superman, Spiderman.  In mythology, film, and fiction we await the hero, the infantry who at the last minute ride in and with courage and ability lure the rats to their watery deaths, make the victims of the Inquisition rise up with hope, or detonate the Bridge Over the River Kwai.  

For the past four years I've been awakening each morning with hope, awaiting for special forces to 'ride in' and relieve us of first, the insanity, hypocrisy, danger, and incompetence of the Trump Administration; the tragedy  of COVID, and now the horrors and devastation provoked by Vladimir Putin in his ravaging of the Ukraine, and his seemingly being hell bent on pulling us all into yet another world war.  

"Where is the cavalry?" I asked my husband,  "When does something remarkable happen to relieve us?"  

His answer surprised me.  

"We have a democracy that succeeded against an insurrection.

Drug companies worked diligently to release vaccine that saved millions of people.   People were vaccinated, they wore masks, and kept the virus from spreading even further.

Putin's criminal invasion of the Ukraine has not only brought out examples of astounding bravery and compassion, it has brought much of the world together in recognizing that courage, and in joining in to relieve the suffering of those affected.  Despite Putin's aggressions, and perhaps in spite of them, the world is more united now than it has ever been."

Something remarkable indeed.

Semper Vigilans

 

It has all become frighteningly clear.  The nod to the Proud Boys: ”Stand proud, stand by”; the 126 from Congress and the Republican governors wanting to reverse Electoral votes already cast, and the death threats against the Electoral College members forcing the need to sequester some of them.  This was an attempted coup.  The United States of America (not some banana republic) – heretofore the epitome of democracy “The land of the free, and the home of the brave” thwarted a subversion of our blessed Constitution.

Our country, the only one founded on the idea that we are born equal under the law, all have a voice in the running of its government, a country where when we work together we overcome great obstacles, clearly yesterday averted a take-over. 

We all must be vigilant; we must recognize threats for what they are, and we must all work together to safeguard and ensure our freedom.  Next time, we may not be as successful.

Okay, It's not your typical Christmas Letter...

 

What began as the ubiquitous Christmas letter to include in our Christmas cards has quickly morphed instead to this, as I found that I could not avoid the insipid and couldn’t even write a tongue-in-cheek missive.  I was not spreading tidings of good cheer.

Projections for deaths due to COVID are as high as 500,000 by January and yet there remains a large part of the population who disavows the virus entirely.  Some recognize it, but claim it is ‘only the flu’.  Our hospitals are crowded and our caregivers over worked and overwhelmed, and still many deny the urgency.  After Governor Larry Hogan’s speech last week cautioning Marylanders about the risks of travel and Thanksgiving gatherings, one person left the comment:  "I am having 20 people over to my house on Thursday, so take THAT, Hogie!!" 

And while I’d like to think that this spiteful, ignorant individual is one of only a few, I suspect with all the outrage expressed by having to wear masks that he is not.  Seems Americans have a horrid case of “you’re not the boss of me” and it is killing us.

Yes, our country was founded on ideas of independence and individuality.  These traits were nurtured by many long after the last shot of the Revolution was fired, and Bostonians could sip their untaxed tea.  Emerson and Thoreau, for instance, called for independence from sameness and following the crowd.  And while these ideas are crucial to a burgeoning democracy, and certainly inspirational, right now they are our most certain demise.

I miss meeting up with our friends.  I miss going to restaurants, attending football games or concerts.  I imagine with inordinate glee walking into a store and shopping regardless of occupancy.  And I adore the idea of being able to see through my glasses without the fog created by a mask.

This country has endured many challenges, but we’ve always come together and worked for the common good.  I’m hoping that with actual leadership from a new administration we can unite to overtake this current threat, but I am frightened and doubtful given the animosity that has festered for the last four years.