Political trails: kindergarden "in session"

 

My rant for today.  But - you decide; is is REALLY all just "rant"?

Each day I awake and wonder at the changes occuring in the world today.  As a "senior citizen", I watch an already "alien" world around me - just from the normal changes that occur over a 50-plus year span.  All "seniors" have to deal with 50 years worth of changes in their lives; it is "reality". Therein - the "alien-ness" around us.

We are told to 'get with the times'...'let go of the past'...'grow up' (that's always a trip to hear at our ages), etc.  Indeed - just how much of the impact and 'reality' of your upbringing, your enculturation, your mor`es, your values, your beliefs, etc., can one ignore/change/let go of, before you are no longer YOURSELF!  And then - who the h__ are you instead??!

I have witnessed infantile humanness in the political arena for many years; it shows up now and then; after all - we are all HUMAN.  But - what I am watching on the current political front...for several years now...is more than deeply distressing,  it is dangerous.  Why? Because there are Constitutional issues getting trampled and thrown about like confetti. As the Constitution erodes...where goes America?....

Truthfully...it reminds me all too much of a kindergarden recess; Aren't the ELECTED supposed to behave professionally? Name-calling, all the EMOTIONAL ranting, the time/money - OUR MONEY folks, spent in Washington on who's right - who's wrong, etc.  What about American issues - REAL ONES?!  Like the messed up tax system? Like the national debt?  Like the no-accountability of corporations these days? Have you tried to resolve an issue with a utility or other large business lately?  IF...you can ever get released from the PHONE TREE...

But back to real issues, like the steady rise in prices - at the store, at the garage, at the parks, online, etc?  How does that match the extra 5 dollars most seniors received in their new monthly income over the past few years?!  You know... the REAL issues - the ones that address our eating and working and - oh yeah - being free?! Oh,  I just remembered...."get with reality, Grandma; this is the NEW NORMAL!!!".

This 'growing up' at 70 something is hard; maybe I should go back to school.  OOOPS...they're closed  now...to keep us SAFE! Back home...to watch kindergarden on TV.  HOME school...there you are., as my Grandmere used to say in her broken French accent. Now THERE was a lady with brains!  A whole lot more than I hear coming from...you know where.

But - this a a rant, a blog, a personal opinion; I can call life...as I see it. Unfortunately, there is a much bigger RANT going on; by a WHOLE LOT more people...back east; yup - you know where.

And the media?! Where is the factual, issue-driven content that NEWS is supposed to share with the people?  When I took my journalism courses in college, YELLOW journalism was a no-no!

Oh, that's right...I need to 'get with the times'...GROW UP.  Oh my, but I DO have a great deal of GROWING UP to do.  

I hope I die of natural causes LONG before I have GROWN UP....A SECOND TIME in my life. Once....was enuf.  

At least then...there was hope.

Loving Trails: MISS YOU!

 October 18, 1998.  A freeze-frame moment, for any child; the day their Mother passes on.

I held her hand.  I put a rose on her chest.  We were all standing around her bed - all 5 of her children.  A surreal moment in time...in space....in emotion...in reality. Life goes on.

It seems so long ago in my menory; yet...I can still 'be there', be in that moment.  When her breath stopped, so did mine. We all cried..a quiet, haunting cry.  Tho a family tied together by death, we were also - each of us, alone in our personal place with our Mother.  Each of us with our own memories, our own regrets, our own particular pain.  

But the grief bound us all together - to that moment. We all lost our rock; we all lost the person who held us together even in our disagreements and periods of not speaking.  She kept us tethererd to our roots, the genes that bound us to a legacy of strength and courage and Love like none other!

The years of pasta made in that large, dented, old pot; the memory of who might be the first awake the next morning to reap the treasure of frying up the wonderful remans in gobs of butter and Parmesan.

Her Pea, Pickle and Celery salad, her cole slaw in a huge jar that we worked at for days to finish.  Her salads with home-made dressing birthed from her French and Italian genetics based in pure olive oil, as only she could concoct!

We knew better than to touch ANYTHING in her tool box.  Our Mother not only raised us with ternderness and Love and caring, but also built houses and welded airplane parts at Grumman Aircraft during WWII; one of the only woman there - and one of the BEST welders! I recall a picture of her then, with her welding hat on and a smile the size of Texas! Beautiful; strong; confident.

I am the oldest of her 5 children; I always recall the story of how she finally put a safety pin in her regular skirt two weeks before I was born.  Her stomach muscles were just as strong as her courage and intelligence.  

I recall her story about skipping two grades in grammar school.  She wanted to be a biologist, but life took over. But her children became 'her life' as she would tell anyone who would listen.  And from the time I, as the oldest, was 13, she raised us by herself - working two jobs most days. There were times in my youth when I had her clothes in my hands as she raced in from one job - ran thru the shower and I literally helped her dress as she scurried back out the door, since she had so little time between jobs.  

She would have died an thousand deaths rather than ask for money to help raise her family. She raised show dogs (Miniature Collies) on the side, to help us eat.  I recall one Thanksgiving; there was little food in the house - certainly nothing resembling a Thanksgiving dinner.  That morning, a buyer called to see if she had puppies left from her advertisement months before; she had one - almost full grown.  The buyer came from hours away and bought that dog.  I took her to work that nite and used the car to go to the grocery store to buy dinner.  One of our most meaningful Thanksgivings!

Was she the best Mom on the planet?  No; there is no such animal!  But her depth of Love, her courage in the face of life as it was dealt to her, her capacity for forgiveness, her ability and strength of character to persevere and press on when her road  had the incline of a cliff - was genetic; and I thank her every day for those genes. 

Her sense of fairness; I recall one time when there was a chocolate candybar for us to share.  She so carefully split it into five even pieces. She never showed favoritism; always strived to Love us equally.

When we would go for drives in the country, she would point to a stunning sunset or an awesome  mountain range and tell us;  "That is God's work...HIS beauty!"

She told me once:  "Make sure you go out every day and give three honest complements".  I never forgot that.  And I practice it often.  Her depth of Love...

She taught me to enjoy books, introduced me to my favorite story - HEIDI. Which, as I see things in my 'rearview mirror'...scripted my life in many ways.  

We had our periods of "quiet"; when I was convinced she was an unfit parent...when I swore I would never stoop to speak to her again.  Yet - each time I re-learned a tad more about those endless life-lessons...humility, forgiveness, understanding - and - of the true meaning of what FAMILY, Love and respect... are all about.  It takes hard work at times as life teaches us to bow to Love instead of pride...humility instead of 'self' and ego.

Now, as I experience that age where she was when she passed - with the life understanding that ONLY comes with that age, some regrets linger in my darker shadows of memory.  The many things I SHOULD have said, the many things I so wish - I had NOT.  The many questions I now have about our family history, recipes only she knew, information of my youth, etc., of which I had no interest at my yournger age - then.  I understand now, the chasm of age that separates us from the undetrstanding that parents have, that AGE has - that youth does not - CANNOT comprehend.  One of the sadder parts of life.

I miss her with all that I am. I "sense" her sometimes...a certain word spoken, a smile shared, feel her presence while I prepare a home made pasta sauce;  'feel' her energy as I build a chicken fence or use tools to create a closet shelf...as I fondly recall that untouchable 'tool box'.  

I recall her wedding picture; she was a beauty to behold, tho I suspect she never really understood that part of herself; her humility and poise said it all.

Rest in peace, "Me-mere". Know you are missed and Loved...forever.

Renee C Arcuri was born on June 22, 1921. She died on October 18, 1998 at 77 years of age. 

https://www.ancientfaces.com/person/renee-c-arcuri-birth-1921-death-1998/9094689

Butterflies; free to come...and free to go their own way.

Your oldest,

Danielle

Lasagna trails; CoVID FREE!

Meatless CoViD Lasagna

INGREDIENTS

-8 rolls toilet paper (the stronger, off-brands are better)

-1 container anti-bacterial wipes (ANY brand Amazon has left)

-small roll paper towels

-5 small bottles alcohol (currently large bottles are bought by local hospitals to clean their light bulbs, underneath stairwells and the underside of rain gutters)

-tomato sauce (or ketsup)

-beans (all dates prior to 1975 are safe/ CoViD FREE!)

-9 cloves garlic (best from your own garden; ensure your neighbor has NOT coughed on the plants)

-onions

-Parmesan cheese

-small spray bottle

************************

Undo all rolls of TP; spray BOTH SIDES with alcohol till moist. Hang on shower rod or clothesline (only if clothesline is at LEAST 6 feet from edge of property) to dry completely. Sometimes takes a week or more in wet environments.

Take half of package of antibacterial wipes; clean BOTH sides of paper towels for at least 20 seconds to ensure lack of possible viral remains!

If you can't find tomato sauce on the shelves in your local grocery, usually ketchup will work. Just make sure you held back a few antibacterial wipes to thoroughly wipe ALL surfaces of the ketchup bottle (for at LEAST 20 seconds) to ensure SAFETY!

Fry up onions till black – CoVid doesn't like heat above 574 degrees.

Remove onions; wipe pan with several antibacterial; wipes - just in case your pan hid a few of those pretty purple things with the little protrusions all around them.  One cannot be TOO safe these days.

Rinse black onion remains with alcohol; set aside. (alcohol evaporates; let them dry)

Alternately layer toilet paper and paper towels with Parmesan cheese sparingly; there may not be any more containers available till mid summer, and beans.

Top with tomato sauce.  Or ketsup.  And a few more crumbles of Parmesan.

Lastly, spray top of finished Lasagna (and entire Lasagna pain including underneath) with alcohol spray. Several people have used diluted spray and remained CoVid-free. A personal choice.

Bake at LEAST 5 hours at a minimum of 500 degrees to ensure there are NO SURVIVING CoVid particles. They are pretty tough little guys. After all, they encircled an ENTIRE PLANET...in 6 weeks.

Let cool, at least 6 feet from any other food.

Soak all eating utensils in remaining alcohol for at least – 8 hours. (over nite is safer)

Wash hands between EACH BITE; SAFETY is paramount!

Do NOT call urgent care IF...this meal causes stomach cramps. Health care workers have more important 'fish to fry'! (They probably don't like Lasagna anyway. At least not the CoVid version.)

Incinerate any Lasagna remains – just in case you were BREATHING when you were eating.

Enjoy.

NATURE PREVAILS!!

LOCKDOWN: ANY OPEN TRAILS AHEAD?

15 May, 2020

A lengthy article that covers many aspects of the political and CDC viewpoints.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-health-202/2020/05/13/the-health-202-most-states-lifting-coronavirus-lockdowns-haven-t-met-federal-guidelines-for-reopening/5ebaaf55602ff11bb117afb5/

State by state short info blurbs on lifting restrictions.
https://www.usatoday.com/storytelling/coronavirus-reopening-america-map/

Interesting info on long-term Covid 19 cases. This virus appears to be one of - 'do what I want to the body - when I want and how I want'. Scarey!
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/15/weird-hell-professor-advent-calendar-covid-19-symptoms-paul-garner








1 May, 2020

List of all states and their projected opening from lockdowns:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2020/04/19/coronavirus-lockdown-reopening-states-us-texas-florida/5155269002/.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/30/coronavirus-states-lifting-stay-at-home-orders-reopening-businesses.html

Pushing back on lockdown:

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/495743-protesters-in-at-least-10-states-demand-end-to-coronavirus-lockdown

Colorado governor: Announcing the reopening, Polis told Coloradans they were entering “the time of individual responsibility and choices,” and he trusted them to “make good choices.”
https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/like-test-dummies-colorado-is-ending-its-covid-19-lockdown-but-is-the-state-ready

Michigan is making a statement:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2020/may/01/armed-protesters-michigan-state-capitol-demanding-end-to-coronavirus-lockdown-video

Italy is opening with reservations:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/05/contagion-risk-remains-high-italy-ready-reopen-200501171703457.html

Herd immunity seems to be a difficult definition which includes both natural immunity and vaccine-induced immunity.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/01/opinion/coronavirus-herd-immunity.html
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11078115

Why...is the news not bombarded with ways to raise individual immunity?  That seems to me to be the bottom line for fighting ANY bacteria or virus?  To be as healthy as possible thus letting our own bodies do the job for which they are intended - and CAN do; to fight off pathogens.

YOUR THOUGHTS ??

Social Distancing; a Lonely TRAIL

A colorized image of cells from a patient infected with the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. The virus particles are colored pink. The image was captured from a scanning electron micrograph.

NIAID/Flickr


In the midst of a new Pandemic, American life grinds to a scary, sometimes fatal halt.  Toilet paper shelves laid bare; minimum traffic on freeways during the current non-existence of RUSH HOUR.  Planes with cold engines parked in long lines on the sidelines of airport taxiways.

Many MANY employees losing work hours that will - not so far down this pandemic road - lead to less or no food in their refrigerators! Children sequestered at home with little understanding about the stress in their parents' eyes and tones of voice and their new restrictions and separation from their friends.  The separation of teens from each other when PEERS are their new backbone.

National Guard called into action with training in CROWD CONTROL and feeding Americans.

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/coronavirus/2020/03/24/latest-guard-update-more-than-10000-troops-mobilized-for-covid-19-response/

So much rhetoric online about the 'Constitution tossed aside' as the general public is treated with increasingly 'war zone' detention.  So much blame targeted at the President - the various leaders for this and that wrong-doing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4OKsUNRMzY

New CREATIVE terms used to restrain the freedoms we Americans took so for granted not even three months ago; now called SHELTER IN PLACE, etc. Is this legal?  Is this reasonable protection to halt this Pandemic?

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/03/21/coronavirus-lockdown-orders-shelter-place-stay-home-state-list/2891193001/

IS IT Constitutional?

***And if not - what ARE the alternatives?    How do we as a nation, retain our freedom to BE...while saving each other from infection and POSSIBLE/PROBABLE death - if infected?!  Where is that line, that demarcation where our "protection" becomes our "enslavement"?

Just how far should we allow our leaders to PROTECT us....from OURSELVES? Where-oh- where...is that line?  And who...has the right/responsibility to create it - let alone enforce it?

A lengthy article in THE ATLANTIC from 2 days ago speaks to these issues ad nauseum, yet necessarily.  For when THIS conversation stops, our Constitutional protections fade.  According to this article, and the poll quoted therein, most Americans, non-partisanly - only a few days ago, are more than willing to defer their freedoms for the intent purpose of slowing the Pandemic death toll.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/coronavirus-america-constitution/608665/

I wonder how much sleep our world, national and local leaders obtain during these insane weeks.  An old curse (of seemingly conflicted origin), was brought to mind by a friend the other day;  "May you live in INTERESTING times."

Please comment below. Share your feelings, your REASONABLE thoughts on this INTERESTING time - right here, right now, at your local SHELTER-IN-PLACE.

"DANGER, WILL ROBINSON, DANGER!"

Trails of ANGELS

“I believe in Angels” - a popular song around 1970.

-Do you believe in physical angels from the kingdom of heaven – sent by God?

-Do you think they are an energetic manifestation of optimal good energy?

-Do you simply embrace the lovely idea that such ethereal creatures take care of us when we are in need?

Whatever your personal belief, Angels are revered and cherished world-wide. They are a soothing incantation; or maybe a true representation of the “good” in life. They harm no-one or nothing. 

They soothe our hearts when we are sad and lost. They fill our souls with wonder and hope. 

Angels are part of NATURE, part of the beings that we are...even...if only in our fruitful imagination.

Abba did a lovely rendition; enjoy!

I have a dream, a song to sing
To help me cope with anything
If you see the wonder of a fairy tale
You can take the future even if you fail
I believe in angels
Something good in everything I see
I believe in angels
When I know the time is right for me
I'll cross the stream, I have a dream

I have a dream, a fantasy
To help me through reality
And my destination makes it worth the while
Pushing through the darkness still another mile
I believe in angels
Something good in everything I see
I believe in angels
When I know the time is right for me
I'll cross the stream, I have a dream
I'll cross the stream, I have a dream

I have a dream, a song to sing
To help me cope with anything
If you see the wonder of a fairy tale
You can take the future even if you fail
I believe in angels
Something good in everything I see
I believe in angels
When I know the time is right for me
I'll cross the stream, I have a dream
I'll cross the stream, I have a dream

As always...NATURE PREVAILS!

TRUST; a tricky trail

22 August, 2018 (REVISED 2/8/2019)

I read a sad essay online today...a former friend talking at length about trust and friends and the boundaries between reaching out and protecting – in. She touched on many vital "friend" issues, stones...sometimes BOULDERS we must traverse to continue relationships.

Sometimes...it is easier to lash out,  go away from the pain endured from climbing those 'boulders', from the struggle to UNDERSTAND the differences between our own pain...and that of others. Our "egos"...a constant war within.  In our everyday lives, we so often rely on gossip and judgements - opinions that can get in the way - blind us from the REAL truth of who we all/each of us - REALLY are. It is SAFER to be a part of the opinion of the TRIBE; to 'gang up'...join the crowd...instead of seeking truth by relating to each other each day, and ACCEPTING each other as we REALLY ARE - IN THAT MOMENT....at any given moment. 

We all have the human ability to grow and evolve and be a NEW MOMENT - at any given time, while we breathe and live.  Gossip - hides our NEW TRUTHS from view.  Our daily reality...becomes mute, unseen.  INDIVIDUAL REALITY dies, replaced by  STORIES/OTHER DIGESTED VIEWPOINTS OF WHO WE REALLY ARE.

---FORGIVENESS...a bridge. 

---"I AM SORRY"....a sacred phrase....

Transactional analysis is one of many 'maps' out there for us to use to guide our relationships, our unsure paths as we wander about this life journey trying to 'find our way'. Do we function from our Adult ego-state, our Parent ego-state or our Child ego-state?

The literature generally states that we ought to have a strong Adult ego-state that directs our Parent and Child to come into play AS NEEDED.  So much easier said, than done!  The literature explains that EMOTION lives within the CHILD and PARENT ego-states of mind, wheras the ADULT is always a mixture of calm, intelligence, and a guidance system for the other two ego states-in-residence. 

Trust is not easy - it is tough; not for the faint of heart. Especially as we age.

Friends come through our lives for varying periods of time. We learn lessons; we treasure the shared Love and Learning. We store away – the laughter, the smiles, the joy.. and go on. Sometimes these fabrics prevail...sometimes, not so much.

Nothing is forever; ALL is a JOURNEY.

As I passed our mirror by the front door the other day, I literally snapped back to the reflection ….and cried; my Mother was looking back at me! Her nose, her eyes, the tired look I used to see as she slipped into her 70's, the frustration...before she passed. Let me tell you – that was a freeze-frame moment I will take to my grave!  I am NOT 36 any more - at least, not in the mirror.

A friend once told me...”I pulled my Grandfather's hand out of my pocket yesterday...”. Indeed!

Trust; a tough subject.

NATURE...prevails.