It's Not Here Yet, But It's Close

 

"Autumn seemed to arrive early that year. The morning of the September was crisp and golden as an apple."

 

~J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows

 

 It's almost the mid point of September, so you know I am awaiting, anxiously, the arrival of the Sandhill cranes. I wake up every day, listening intently for their chatter as they fly over, but I know they just aren't there yet, but on a happy note, some water fowl that has arrived, and its the gorgeous Canada geese! What a treat! Cosumnes Preserve finally released water on Desmond road, and there was a small variety of other water foul swimming and enjoying the sun. In addition to the Canada Geese, there were Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Black-backed Stilt, Shovelors, and Northern Pintail, Brewer's Blackbirds, and I thought I spotted a Turkey Vulture or two! 

 

Woodbridge has some water too, but not nearly as much as Desmond road, still there was enough to attract a small flock of White-faced Ibis. I love them, but unfortunately they were a little too far away to get a really good picture. Soon. Every bird in it's time... right? And even the last of summer sunflowers are hanging on! I love that the highway hangs onto their beauties for so long, because they really are one of this prettiest part of the season. I was just telling hubby that one of the things that keeps me connected out here, is the nature... not necessarily the people. Sigh. But here I sit, happily awaiting one of the best things on earth, the return of the beautiful Sandhill cranes, and I am A-okay.

 

 

Welcome Aboard It's Love

 

"On my tombstone I want it written,

 'He never did The Love Boat'".

 

~Orson Welles

 

OMG, can you imagine if Donald Trump had done an episode of The Love Boat? I found myself pondering that for about 30 minutes the other day, after I spotted that meme of Trump's mug shot. His dumb puss is now on t-shirts, hats, posters and, as you might imagine, mugs. He had made the t-shirts available for order before he even got back on his plane to return to New Jersey, after his booking! He has no dignity. He will continue making money off his own mug shot, demonstrating what truly matters to him, the almighty dollar. Although I suppose if ever there was a time to cash in on his image, now is it!

 

But the cheesy slogan, "Never surrender" is nothing short of a bad joke, because he literally had just surrendered! And to add an additional bit of snicker to the whole situation, Chris LaCivita, whose one of Trump's top advisers, threatened to "go after" anyone who markets Trump's mugshot image in anyway. That silly man thinks he owns his own mugshot image? And he was president? And his "top advisor" didn't know any better either? So all things considered, I think the title of The Love Boat episode would be, Never Surrender. Which let's face it, sounds a lot like the title of a drugstore romance novel, and Trumps co-stars would be 282 Electoral Collage votes he managed to receive in the 2020 election.

Does all this finally answer the question of how we got here?

 

 

Love boat

By Jack Jones

 
Love, exciting and new
Come aboard. we're expecting you.
Love, life's sweetest reward.
Let it flow, it floats back to you.
The love boat soon will be making another run
The love boat promises something for everyone
Set a course for adventure,
Your mind on a new romance.
Love won't hurt anymore
It's an open smile on a friendly shore.

The love boat soon will be making another run
The love boat promises something for everyone
Set a course for adventure,
Your mind on a new romance. (1st time end)
Love won't hurt anymore
It's an open smile on a friendly shore.
It's love! it's love! it's love!
It's the love boat-ah! it's the love boat-ah!

 

 

 

 

BATS! It's The End Of Summer!

 

“The basis of all human fears, he thought.

 A closed door, slightly ajar.” 

~Stephen King,

 Salem's Lot

 

I always thought I would be afraid, if I ever encountered a bat, but as it turns out, nope, I wasn't scared at all, and I found that out, just the other night. You see, hubby and I were driving home, along Franklin blvd, on the bridge that goes over the Mokelumne River, when suddenly thousands of the Mexican Free-tailed bats, flew really low over the road! It was an astounding sight, and equally astounding was the fact that there were folks on both sides of the road taking photos, and videos, and enjoying the experience completely!

 

Well, we circled back, and hubby decided to check what was happening. I stayed in the car. There was NO WAY I was going to get out of my lovely and very safe, Mini Cooper, just to stand in the midst of a million or so vampires. Nope. Not on this earth.Well, Alan was gone for about 30 minutes, so I was kinda sure he would be wearing a cape and fangs when he finally got in the car, but again, nope! All he was wearing when he got in the car, other than his clothes, of course, was a really big giddy smile. He went on to explain that standing on the bridge, as the bats flew off into the Twilight, in search of their meals,  was a really cool experience and he believed we should comeback the next night, so I could give it a try!  

 

I wasn't completely sure that was something I wanted to try, but after some thought, and a little reading on the Internet, I found out the specific species of bat that called that bridge home, was not something I had to worry about! It's called the, Mexican Free-tailed bat. It migrates from deep in South America, and it only spends a little time in this area, mostly the summer months, then it will continue on it's way north as Autumn comes. We might be able to see them at the Yolo Bypass early in October, but for the most part they will be on their way possibly this week, so we found out about them just in time.

 

I did something new. I got to be brave one more time. That is a good thing. Alan, and a medium sized bat, helped me gain a little more bravery in life, funny that! I am still conquering fear at 61 years old! It's not over for me! I can still move past the things that hurt me, and hold me back, which is a good lesson, because this has been one cruel summer. I lost my niece. She died. I also lost my nephew. He died too, but it was by his own hand. He committed suicide. I wish I knew why. I wish I understood my niece's car accident.

 

In addition, I wish I understood the death of my favorite actor, Treat Williams. He died on June 12th. According to the police report, he never had a chance. I think when all is said and done, and I know everything about their deaths, I will have grown a little more, because it all still hurts me, scares me, and in fact, devastates my whole being.

 

So, in the meantime, life goes on. There will be victories, and probably more pain along the way to closure, but there will also be great joys too! Like finding out that bats are sort of cool, and not at all interested in hurting me, as they go about their life. I love all the nature in the Central Valley, and as much as I hate to admit it, this place is starting to feel like the best home I had ever lived in! So I am a little sad that my new friends will soon be on it's way, just when I got to know them.

Oh my.

 

 

Monologue? Purple Gladiola? Cornflower?

“Cushions and rugs, goblets and trays and half-full decanters cover every surface- all of them in a riot of colors: vermilion and umber, peacock blue and bottle green, gold and damson plum.”

 
~Holly Black,

  The Queen of Nothing

 

Here's my project. We bought the condo in February, but we moved in, officially, October 6th, 2021. Due to various dramas, it has taken this long, almost 2 years, to fully unpack, and purge myself of useless clothes and material objects. But we are almost there, and that space you see, is about to be my new office! It was my office when we first moved in, but I was a little freaked out, and wasn't appreciating it very much, so I moved all my stuff downstairs. To say I didn't appreciate the room, or the condo for that matter isn't right. I HATED THE PLACE! I WANTED THE PLACE TO DIE. I, IN FACT, HATED THE WHOLE SITUATION SO MUCH, THAT I TOLD MY HUSBAND TO NOT BOTHER TO UNPACK, BECAUSE WE WERE LEAVING IN A YEAR, SO WHY MAKE WORK FOR OURSELVES1

 

LOL. A year has more than come and gone, and we are not only still here, we are the proud owners. It's home, good, bad or otherwise. Mostly it's been good, except for the occasional package being stolen off the porch. That happens everywhere now. And recently we took proactive steps to try and keep that from happening in the future. We installed a back up security system with RING. I feel safer now, and much more comfortable. So, life marches on. I hope to have my office painted by October, but that might be unrealistic, as we are working on several projects around the house, and it's almost time for the birds to start migrating again. I am moving along with this project, but at a pace as slow as molasses. Why so slow? Partly because I am tired. Partly because I don't want to exhaust dear hubby over it, and partly because I want the to room to speak to me about how it wants to look.

 

When we decorated the kitchen, the walls screamed, PAINT ME WITH A HAPPY COLOR, YELLOW WOULD BE NICE! So we chose a vibrant shade of yellow. Squash Blossom. It makes the kitchen feel inviting. It makes cooking fun. Now it says, GOOD MORNING whenever we walk in there. The living Room is done in dark colors of black and rust tones, and this fall we are painting one wall a beautiful BEHR color called, Colorful Leaves. I don't know which way I will go when it comes to a color for my office, there are so many choices, and I have A TON of curtains to choose from as accessories. sometimes I take a look at all the curtains I have accumulated over the years and I am so grateful I have them, but OMG (eye roll) how many damn curtains does one woman need? Oh well, like I said, I am grateful I have them because the curtains, my candles, my owl baskets and my earth tone pillows will pull it all together. 

 

This project is good for me. 

 

 

 

I kinda want to use the Monologue I bought a while back. It's such a lovely light shade of lavender, but the color I had in my office last time, Purple Gladiola, was an amazing medium color of purple, that was not at all blinding, but rather deep and calming. Like lavender does for the senses, that color relaxes me. But on the other hand, so did Monologue. Oh my, I am just not sure yet which way to go with it. There is a lot to still figure out.Which, believe me, is a good thing right now. On a happy note, the other morning I was in bed, it was around 6:30 am, and I heard the sound of ducks, or perhaps, geese, flying over the house. I was a beautiful sound. It was the sound of autumn.

 

I Won't Believe Anything Until I Hear Rachel Maddow Say it!

 

 

"You were wrong. There is something more dangerous than a humiliated man. A nasty woman."

 

~Ally Mayfair-Richards 

American Horror Story, Cult

 

 Donald J. Trump Booking Photo

#PO1135809

Watch the clip. It was produced in 2017. The Trump Halloween mask looks exactly like Trump's mugshot, which was taken just yesterday. Do you ever feel like you live in every season of that show? Now, don't get me wrong, I love horror, always have. I grew up on Creature Features with Bob Wilkins, on KTVU channel 2, which aired late on Saturday nights. It was a great cheesy camp. Lots of Vincent Price and Lon Chaney jr. Bella Lugosi too! I have watched horror whenever I got the chance! So when American Horror Story debuted, I fell in love with the show instantly. I have really enjoyed all their seasons to day, but so far the one that has deeply resonated with me was called, Cult. It wasn't quite about Trump specifically, but rather it served as a warning about what we can let ourselves become when we allow ourselves fixate on a single line of thought. Of turning our critical thinking over to obsessive devotion to... well... anything or anyone.

 

Is it a need to belong? Maybe. Is that what the "silent majority" means when they yell and attack the rest of us? Are the just wanting to belong? Maybe. I am not sure,  but one thing is really clear, Donald Trump thought so, and he knew that all he needed was a foot in the door of discontent, even if that foot wore a clown shoe. The circus of the world needed a few hundred thousand court jesters, so the masses came running and the MAGA cult was born. Why not? Insurrections began in other countries for partially, you have to throw in the word "patriotism" and you have the makings of a dangerous situation. But keep in mind, Sarah Palin designed the circus tent during the 2007 election cycle, when the Tea Party Patriots was conceived. She failed, but the circus quietly continued with the help from Ted Cruz.

 

And a little while later the biggest clown now had the biggest big top of them all. He had a circus called MAGA otherwise know as a CULT.

 

And like most leaders of cults, he will not only NEVER love them. He will never satisfy their needs or wants. He will always beg them to literally bail them out, and he will always, always, demand that they do his dirty work, and most of all, he will throw them to the wolves, or perhaps sell them outright. He did that last one once before when he lied about Covid-19 to further his own agenda. He lied about all of it. People died. Nothing changed. He came as close as it gets to shooting someone on 5th Avenue, and got away with it. Charles Manson. Jim Jones. David Koresh. Marshall Applewhite, and the fictional Kai Anderson, the mentally ill leader of season 7 of American Horror Story, Cult.

 

From the start I identified with Ally Mayfair-Richards. She had fears and phobias. So do I. She was a democrat who cared deeply about her country. So do I. Donald Trump terrified her. And I share that too. She let her fears make her act irrationally. Paralyze her. And I pretty much did that too. When I wasn't crying, I was stomping my food in anger. I finally sought help, and today my confidence is almost back to pre-Trump levels. I am happy. I have better skills for handling things. I am exhausted from the last couple years, and really the last few months as well, but I get up, every day, and face life... with a little help from Alan, who has let me retire for a while, while I gain my footing again.

 

I don't know what the next couple years, leading up to the national election, will be like. I have an feeling it won't be good. Hopefully things won't turn out like it did for the town that Ally and Kai lived in. Hopefully, America will give up on Trump's drama. Hopefully, America will embrace rebuilding American ideals of community and and the use of the Golden Rule. Evil has been losing in the last few elections, so maybe the population at large will learn and grow in that. 

 

Now, about that quote. The first episode of Cult, takes place on the night of the election, in 2016. Ally and her wife, Ivy, were holding an election party, and watching the worst unfold. Hillary was losing, and only by a little in their small town in Michigan. Her neighbor from across the street, who also just happened to be a city councilman, pointed out that if Hillary didn't claim more of the swing states, her chance of winning was over. To which Ally replies...

 

"No! That's bullshit.

 I won't believe anything until I hear Rachel Maddow say it!"

 

Ironic, isn't it?

 

Happy 20th Anniversary, Now Where The HELL Is My Body?

 

“There came a time when you realized

 that moving on was pointless.

 That you took yourself with you

 wherever you went.”
 

~Stephen King

  Doctor Sleep

 

Caspian Tern

August 21st 2023

 

Here I am, yet again, gobsmacked that I am still blogging after 20 years! I was on AOL Journals for only a couple years, when that whole project imploded and we all had to decide if we wanted to continue to with this particular social media experiment or give up and run back to the chat rooms and search for friends and frenemies. I am okay. Right here, grannie blogging the tidbits of my life. I don't have many visitors, which is fine, it's difficult to build an audience on Blogger, so it's just my place to dump the head noise, and post some photos of things, wildlife, food and life I see around me. It's all there, begging to be seen, like O.J. in white Bronco, circa 1994. Like I said, I have a grannie blog and I am not afraid to use it. In fact, I am quite proud I stuck with it this long!

 

 1994... sheesh... what a fucked up summer THAT was! As bad as it was, the following one was so much worse. My father died in late August of 1995, and that event, while sad all on it's own, was the catalyst for the beginning of the end of all relationships in my family. I have plenty to say about what I am referring to, as all things have now come full circle, but I am not ready to speak about things right now. I am not trying to be cryptic, it's just that I have not fully processed recent events in my life. But I am okay, and getting better every day. Thanks in no small part to the anti-depressants I have been taking since 2017. Gee, what else was going on around that time? Oh yes, Trump. We will speak more about that a little later in this post.

 

Now, enough of that, I am back out with the cameras and it feels great! The birds are on their way back, and just the other day I spotted some new arrivals at the Clifton Court Forebay, in Byron. There was a Western Grebe family, some Caspian Tern, some American Coot, and some assorted ducks, mostly Mallards I think. Anyway, it was a very happy sight, because there had been nothing there all summer. Not at bird in sight... well maybe a few swallow varieties, and some crows, but otherwise nothing fancy. And there were several reasons for that.

 The avian flu hit the birds really hard this year, but it won't stop the return of the Sandhill Crane in a month from now or so or the usual migration along the Pacific Flyway. I want to be ready for it, which takes planning, my body doesn't cooperate like it once did. In fact, I would like to know just where they HELL it went. Well, I guess I know the answer to that question. It went to age. As the old joke goes, if I had know I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of my body. At any rate, we are beginning a brand new blogging year, and autumn begins in exactly one month from today. I love that symmetry!

 

 

American Coot 

August 21st 2023

 

Western Grebe 

August 21st 2023

Pied-billed Grebe

August 21st 2023

 

But don't forget, in less than 24 hours, Donald Jessica Trump will turn himself in for arrest and booking at the Fulton County Jail, in Atlanta. Rudy Giuliani just completed his intake and, like Nosferatu, is on his way back to his coffin, or other sunless place, so that his head won't melt. So all in all, it's not like things are boring! There is plenty to blog about! Plenty to see. Plenty to do. Plenty to process. And today begins a new year of doing it all here! Thank you, dear blog. I love you!

 

 

 

 

 

LOCK HIM UP!

 

 “And the most terrifying question of all may be just how much horror the human mind can stand and still maintain a wakeful, staring, unrelenting sanity.” 

~  Stephen King, 

  Pet Sematary

 

I am sorry, I don't usually post in this format, but Trump has done it yet again! What is it he, Trump, has done now? Well, see below.When is he going to be arrested, and made to suffer the same consequences, that all other defendants, would have to face if they broke the terms of their bonds? It's surreal how much and how often he is given preferential treatment. Is it because he is a former president? Does he pay folks to NOT make him have to answer for his behavior? What makes it so he can blatantly break the law with impunity? Will he EVER have to pay for his universal disrespect for the law? Yesterday, it only took him 4 hours and 25 minutes to post on Truth Social something that blatantly asked of him under the conditions of bond. LOCK...HIM...UP! As much as I want that, I predict absolutely nothing will be done by the legal system what so ever!

It Was Not On My Bingo Card For This Week

 

“Science fiction films are not about science. They are about disaster, which is one of the oldest subjects of art.”
~Susan Sontag 

 

The Southland is having quite a conversation with Mother Nature today. Not only is it experiencing the tiny drops of moisture from the tropical downgrade of Hurricane Hilary, but Ojai, and the surrounding ares, just experienced a 5.1 earthquake. To tell you the truth I kinda have cold chill up my spine about all things nature as I sit there. An earthquake would really not be unexpected, as this area hasn't had one for quite a while. But that doesn't mean I am ready to deal with one more thing! I haven't shared all the recent personal news I have. I just don't want to deal with it right now. I will open up about everything in time, for now I am just working on handling it and being okay. It has been a lot process. What a summer.

Here is what the California Earthquake Authority Says...

It's a lot to think about. We bought the condo last February, so maybe it's time to get the insurance. Shrug. We will have quake eventually. It's just a part of living in the Golden State. 

7?

 

“It isn't against the Law to be an idiot."

 
~ Cassandra Clare

 

  Clockwork Angel

 

Or is it? As far as I know he is only facing 5 upcoming cases.

• The E. Jean Carroll Case, being held in New York..
• The Stormy Daniels Hush Money Case, also being held in New York. 
• Mara-Lago Documents case. being held in Florida

• The January 6th case being prosecuted by Jack Smith in D.C. .  
• And finally, his RICO trial being prosecuted by Fani Willis in Georgia.  

 

And there you have it! 5 indictments. But he said 7! Was it a slip of the tweet? Has he received two addition target letters that he has not formally made public? Sorry, I don't count Truth Social as making it public! I am not sure what's going on, its always like a walk through HELL with him, when it come to trying to figure out what comes next! Stay tuned, and keep the cannoli handy.

 

7?

 

 

Meanwhile...

 

“Someday", you said you'd do it yesterday; Yesterday, you said you'll do it today. Today, if you push it to tomorrow, it's likely tomorrow, you'll shift it to "Someday"! Do it now!” 

~Israelmore Ayivor

  Daily Drive 365

Trump wants to delay his case in Atlanta for as long as he can. I sincerely hope the judge turns him down FULL STOP. I want to live long enough to see that traitorous MF go off to jail before die. He took my sanity. He took my health. I need to see him be handed his ass by Lady Justice!

And don't you just love that chyron?

Because, Of Course.

 

“That wasn't any act of God. That was an act of pure human fuckery.”
 

― Stephen King,

  The Stand

 

Elon Musk wants Trump's attention so much, I am actually embarrassed for him! Ever sense he took ownership of Twitter he has been actively ruining it. He has lost money. He hasn't paid his bills. Hasn't paid some techs he fired at the beginning of the year. Rebranded Twitter X, I still haven't figured that move out yet! He put a giant X on the Twitter building, without permission from the city of San Francisco. He refused to turn over Trump's DMs to the DOJ and was fined $300,00 for his efforts to block them. I could go on but why?

 

Musk has already deleted that post and has one of his engineers speaking with the community to try and have a summit! So who knows? Fucker. The joke is really on him. It's a requirement that to feature a social media app in the Apple Store and Google Play, it has to have a block feature for security reasons. Foolish man. If it is carried out I still have the choice of riding it out like I have all along, or pulling the plug. I am sure what I will do. Complacency seems to be my friend. After all there is the Mute button.

 

"The muting is better, anyway. More like burying them alive."

 

~Michael McKean

Twitter 8/18/23

 

 

 

 

Of Course He Did!

 

“In these difficult years, America has suffered from a fever of words; from inflated rhetoric that promises more than it can deliver; from angry rhetoric that fans discontents into hatreds; from bombastic rhetoric that postures instead of persuading. We cannot learn from one another until we stop shouting at one another, until we speak quietly enough so that our words can be heard as well as our voices.” 

― Richard M. Nixon 

 

 

It cost 10 cents for a copy of the New York Daily News, in 1973! Today I think it costs around $3! It was a lot cheaper to watch Nixon fall, which makes sense because the fall of Donald J. Trump cost him, his co-conspirators, and the rest of America so much more the the time we all wasted in the early 70's watching Nixon deteriorate. And so it goes, on Monday, August 14th, Trump was indicted yet again, but this time it was in the state of Georgia, it was on charges of trying to steal the 2020 election, and again he has 19 co-conspirators, including Rudy Guiliani. RICO charges for everybody! Yep, that's right...Trump and his band of halfwits, are just like John Gotti, without the brain, intelligence or sense of patriotism.

The newest case against Trump will be a lot different than the previous three, because if nothing else, there are so many conspirators that can turn against him. I think its a strong possibility Guiliani will turn, if for no other reason, then because Trump has stiffed him for work done while Giuliani was assisting Trump in his attempts to overturn the election. Guiliani should have known better. He was a former prosecutor who put away some of the biggest crime bosses of the Mafia. He expanded RICO definitions, so he can't claim ignorance of his own actions.

The irony that it was Richard Nixon signed into law the RICO act, on October 15th, 1970, and Trump loves dropping his name, and showing off a picture of the two of them, and sharing a letter, in the most basic of sense, that Nixon once wrote him. What would Tricky Dick think of Donald Trump today? It's fascinating that Nixon and his cohorts were not charged on RICO violations. It seems like the set criteria was present. Lots of folks went to jail for the conspiracy, yet they weren't charged that way. I will have to do more reading about that. I have a deep curiosity about Watergate, always have, so that will be time well spent. Perhaps it had to do with the prosecution of the co-conspirators without Nixon being named directly as the head of the criminal enterprise. 

That is certainly not the case here. Trump was named all the way at the top, with his toadies bringing up the rear. We will see what unfolds for everyone over the coming days, months and GOD HELP ME, years! He has until Friday the 25th, at noon, to turn himself in for processing at the Rice jail in Atlanta. Between now and the he has scheduled a big press conference for Monday, that he says will bring irrefutable evidence of his innocence. He, so far, hasn't mentioned if it will exonerate his co-conspirators. As of this morning, his currently lawyers were frowning on the idea. Also next week is the first republican debate. Chris Christie will be there, will Trump? And as I said, he has until noon next Friday to turn himself in.

Next week will not be dull! Will Trump give his speech on Monday? My guess is no. Will Trump show up to the republican debate? My guess is yes. Will Trump show up for processing at the Rice jail in Atlanta, my guess yes, but if he pulled an O.J. and ran around the streets of Atlanta with his head on fire, that would be highly entertaining also. Decisions, decisions. But can't you just see him in the back of a big, black SUV,  starring out the back window pitifully, with Walt Nauta driving? Oh sure you can!

Well, that was quick. While I was composing this post, he changed his mind about his big fancy news conference. Sigh. Seems his lawyers "prefer" he not admit to even more crimes! Doh!

Doggone IT! I was going to get cannoli to enjoy while watching.

 

 

The Mary Tyler Moore Show Season 1 Episode 18 Second Story Story

 

 

"Enter, stranger, but take heed

 of what awaits the sin of greed,

 For those who take, but do not earn,

 Must pay most dearly in their turn,

 So if you seek beneath our floors,

 A treasure that was never yours,

 Thief, you have been warned, beware

 Of finding more than treasure there."

 

~J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

 

Flag Etiquette, 4th Of July, And How Do We Fix The Damage?

 

"One flag, one heart, one land,

 one hand, one nation evermore."

 ~Oliver Wendell Holmes 

 

Happy 4th of July 2023

 

Here is the Flag Code, please take it to heart, and think about it when you are throwing a party and deciding what your "patriotic" decorations are going to be. There is a right way and a wrong way to celebrate America, please choose the way that doesn't degrade the living symbol of our nation.

Flag Etiquette

https://www.usa.gov/flag

Dallas, Texas 2020

January 6th 2021

U.S. Capitol Riot 

 

America after Donald J. Trump.

 

 Whether he eventually goes to jail or not,

 how do we fix the damage he has caused?

 

Sigh.

Okay, Here Goes... Part 2: Unbearably Stupid And Incredibly Dangerous

 

"There doesn't have to be a process, as I understand it... if you're the president of the United States, you can declassify just by saying, 'It's declassified." Even thinking about it, because you're sending it to Mar-a-Lago or to wherever you're sending it. And there doesn't have to be. You're the president, you make that decision. So when you send it, it's declassified. We--- I declassified everything."

 

 

 

~Donald John Trump 

September, 2022

 

 

 

On June 13th, Donald John Trump was finally arrested for taking classified documents from the White House, when he left office and storing them at two his various homes. For what reason? Hell if I know! I don't know. Maybe to brag? Maybe to impress women? Maybe to sell to a hostile foreign nation for money? Any of those things could be true! He has never had a consistent explanation since this story erupted in the press last year. But what I do know is that he was asked, nicely, and given a lot more leeway than other folks in the same position have been given, to return them to the National Archives. He chose not to, despite telling the powers that be, including his lawyer, that he had returned everything. Big surprise, he lied. Let me repeat... HE LIED! So now he is under arrest again, under among other statutes,the Espionage act, because he just can't bring himself to NOT BE STUPID! Since his arrest, he has continually changed his story in the press, which is fine, because it's not going to help his case, at all, and frankly I don't wish him any good luck at all! He is incredibly dangerous, and he needs to go to prison. It seems like there is some kind of light at the end of the tunnel, but the true glee I thought I would feel, is instead, just plan relief. 

Its going to be a long hot summer.

 

 I just wish Treat could be here to watch it all play out. He genuinely cared about this country and I think he wanted to see the Trump years out, wherever it took us. Carl Reiner did too, and I still miss his wisdom daily. I will think of those two men as go along, and of course, as each verdict is read. Carl, Treat, you are in my heart, today and every day.

 

 

Okay, Here Goes... Part One: Autumn Friends

 "Death ends a life, not a relationship"

 

~Mitch Albom

Tuesday's with Morrie

 

I said I have two things to share. One will obviously be about the second indictment and subsequent arrest of Donald Trump. That took place on Tuesday, June 13th, but something happened before we all got there. On Monday, June 12th, Treat Williams passed away. It broke my heart into tiny pieces. It was sudden. An accident that never should have happened, but happen it did all the same. A motorist turned into his path, and Treat never had a chance to stop. He was on his motorcycle, and the wearing of a helmet did not prevent other injuries from happening. I thought I would be seeing a tweet from him about the arrest of Trump, but no, he was just gone in the early evening of June 12th. As I sit here writing this it still seems really odd, and surreal that someone so in touch with the joys of life, who still marveled at so much, and who got so much out of the smallest of things, and simplest of moments, is no longer here. 

 

I had followed him on, Twitter, for the better part of a decade. He made me laugh. He made me reconsider my opinions from time to time. I enjoyed seeing his photos from various sets he was on. Movies and tv shows alike. The man never sat down when it came to his craft. I loved seeing his home and family. His property in Vermont was nothing short of paradise. And the trips he took with his various airplanes took my breath away, especially his flights over Vermont during the autumn. From the sky you could get lost in every single color you could imagine, demonstrating autumn wasn't always about earth tones, autumn was vibrant and joyful and beautiful. It was all... so damn amazing, so much so, that the thought of that amazing life being gone so fast, was never in my mind. Why would it be? He was one of the few, if not the only one at times, that didn't dwell on the negativity of life, but rather how to handle it by searching for the light and the joy.

 

That's not to say that he didn't have his moments. Trump could have gotten to Gandhi. One such moment, I don't even know exactly why he tweeted it, but suddenly Treat tweeted, "Shut up and do your job, you big fat baby!" which I have to say, delighted me to no end! I laughed and laughed and used about 200 laughing emojis in the reply form. Sheesh. Maybe my reaction was a little too much, but I felt that way all the same. He had just expressed, what I had always wanted to say, except it was now coming from one of the nicest folks around, which in my mind made it fabulous. It was funny, and appreciated. Then one day, sometime later, I left a comment about one of his autumn flights over Vermont, and something kinda nice happened, if not downright magical, he answered me! A great big movie star answered me, and I blushed, I really did. Treat said he was, "proud to know me". Wait... we know each other?

 

It took me a little while to consider that. It never dawned on me that he knew I was even there, let alone... gulp... know me. Or... yikes... was "proud to know me." Now what? Are we pals? Are we friends? How did he come to that assessment? Was it the things I said in my rambling comments? It's not like one could ask, that would be rude! Imagine this... "Hey buddy... whats that nice comment all about?" Twitter can be a strange place sometimes. Friendships are made fairly easily, and then just as easily folks can disappear from your timeline, for all kinds of reasons, it's never really been something I take too seriously. Life just happens, and it happens on social media too, only with walls that are invisible, but that are as strong as any wall can be. I like walls when it comes to celebrities. On my best day, as a fangirl of 61, I can sound like a nutty stalker, or a childish girl of 16, amazed at the talents of Shawn Cassidy. Who I also follow by the way.

 

So he answered me a few more times, and wished me a "back at you" at Christmas one year, and sweetly sang for us during Covid-19, at my request, although I think he had thought of it first, and was merely,  again, taking the time to answer me. But it was nice. It was always nice. He made folks feel at ease. He made me feel at ease. He felt like a friend. I guess that's okay, right? Do a few interactions over Twitter make you a friend or does the word "hello" followed by a lifetime of happy lunches and intimate sharing of ideas? Things can get fairly deep and philosophical on Twitter, so I know enough to believe we were of like minds, so maybe that is enough, to consider him my friend in the most basic sense of the word. I looked forward to his silly tweets and his opinions. I had respect for him and maybe that is enough.

 

In any case, I know I will miss him forever, he was my friend. He has left a hole in me. No one fills the holes left inside our hearts when loved ones pass, it's the part of us that belonged to someone special. To fill that hole is too much like replacing them. Some folks are irreplaceable. Treat was a part of me, but I will always have the movie, Hair, to watch in the moments when I am feeling blue about things. As scary as things ever got with the world, he had a way of looking at it and reminding us, we could make it through, and we were all connected as part of the tribe. I was so very lucky to connect with such a good person. And how lucky I was that an extraordinary man was proud to know me. I sure hope I made him smile once in a while, because I was so proud to know him too.

 

Goodnight, Treat

God's speed.