Prayers for the Upcoming Future

 

Well... Happy Martin Luther King's Birthday! It's a lovely cold, sunny day and a good day to remember the lessons of Martin Luther King and all he did for the furtherance of civil rights in our country. The picture above was taken of yours truly at MassMoca (in North Adams Massachusetts) back in November. It seems appropriate that this particular installation was about the Internet as a sort of modern day place of worship. Bob and I made good at the offered shrines.

Bob preaching his heart out at the pulpit, probably praying that the election results were a bad dream...

Anyway, let's all hope we somehow survive the next four years of whatever is in store for us. Heavens help us!!

OMG: Election Edition

 

(Yes, I wrote in Harris/Walz as I on the other side of the signs.) Bob and I went shopping on Saturday and Lo! There was a rally at the corner. I thought initially they were all maga lunatics, and yes, the supporters of the twice-impeached felonious orange monster had staked out the corner. But to our delight, they were flanked by Harris/Walz supporters on both sides of the corner!!

We shopped and I drove Bob home as he was not in a socially-engaging frame of mind and I returned to lend my enthusiasm to the Democratic cause. I'm glad I did!! It made me feel happier to see the energy of my fellow lovers of the Constitution and our democracy. Hooray for clear-headed people, unmuddled by the racism/sexism/homophobia/xenophobia/insanity pumped forth by trump and his weird followers. (A little Tucker Carlson, anyone? Don Jr.? JD Vance? Margery Taylor Green? Steve Bannon? Steven Miller?!?!? Oh what a weird list of certified weirdos!!)

Anyway, that's me, hoping crazee incels in big wheel trucks don't decide to pull a Charlottesville and off road all over us!! I made instant best buddies with the people on the Harris/Walz line and we all bonded over our rights and the stakes being as high as they are. We all face-palmed over "undecided voters" and the occasional mis-guided woman driving by giving us the finger. Please!!!

Some good signs and good messages! Happily, there (honestly) were more of US than THEM and I enjoyed the nice weather and nicer people. The maga crew just stood and glowered and generally looked like they had eaten something bad for lunch. (Dogs? Cats? Pets?!) 

I spent a good hour in the company of my fellow patriots and we cheered as people honked at us... although because of where we were positioned, it was hard to tell if they were honking for us or for the nut jobs at the very corner... I'll assume they were cheering us on!

Boy, I hope you can read these signs! The one on the left says, "It's Not Your Body". Well, whose it it then?!? This was the "pro-life" side with a woman carrying a sign reading , "Only Demons Kill Babies". Ay carumba! You make decisions for your body and let others make their own decisions... but I guess they really don't think it's a woman's right to chose even after rape or incest or her physical well-being. Oh don't get me started... 

Preaching to the Choir

 

Amen to that, right? Above, my latest vote piece. I have a history of these; it continues to be a necessary message. Although- correct me if I'm wrong- it seems many of our countries weirder elements take this more seriously then choir to whom I preach.

It seems- according to polls(*1), so-called young people aren't turning out in large numbers for early voting so far. Do they ever? I seem to remember young people adoring Bernie Sanders and then simply not turning out to vote for him in presidential primaries. And they have so much at stake! I am old enough (ahem) to know that I may not have to personally worry about the death of our planet. Fuck it: I may not be around 20 years from now. But aren't young women concerned about losing autonomy over their bodies? Aren't young people- particularly in southern states worried about gerrymandering and the stacking of the Supreme Court? Or LGBTQ+ rights? Younger people can't all be white incels who cherish gun rights uber alles!!!

See? This one's from a coupla years ago. Still beating that same old drum...

Here's another early one:

Hey! I even SOLD that one!! You never know: maybe my message will actually get through somehow.

(*1) And we all know how reliable polls are! (NOT!!)

 

Exhaustion... And Relief!

 

I'm so relieved! So relieved, in fact, that I am starting a new piece that has NOTHING TO DO with The Orange Menace or all the lies and trouble he has caused. How's THAT for radical??!?! Although when I was shopping for fabric, I had three people exclaim, "Oh! that's such pretty material! What are you going to make?" (I think they expected me to say, "A winsome frock!" or some such nicety.) I replied, "I make profanity-laced political banners." One woman retorted, "Oh, that's nice." Another older (even than me) woman asked and I once more offered that I make political banners. She suggested that the election is over... implying that there's no room for politics anymore. I replied that although I was very happy with the outcome of the election, as an artist, there is always something political to address. Such is my mission!

But yes, relief and exhaustion. I know that many of us are experiencing this combination. I wanted to call friends and sing praises of democracy in action, but I've been so tired that crawling into bed and reading and then... YES!! SLEEPING!! Deep, restful sleep. Or, more to the point, safe and restful, sleep, sleep, sleep.(*1) I am certain we face many up-hill and stupid battles between here and inauguration day (biggest one EVER!!) thanks to intransigent rethuglicans and a little poor-loser dictator that just won't quit. But we won!

And how's this for a hopeful sign? I was walking past the compost pile and I spied something orange. It was a gazania, alive and still in bloom despite last week's below freezing temperatures and being chucked out of a pot. A bit of sunshine to help us along!

(*1) Although I did have a truly weird dream that Rudy Giuliani helped me steal a very large (blue) dump truck to help try and rescue someone. He was actually a good person in the dream; how warped is that?!?

 

 

And A Little More Anxiety Please!!

 

Don't be fooled: the photograph of our jack o' lantern is a distraction. I didn't think to document the following story as it was unfurling as it was too real-time awful and all-demanding of our attentions.

Never a dull minute around here! I trotted out "bright and early" (read actually pitch dark and fucking freezing) to feed the ponies. (*1) (You knew it had to involve them, right?) There's Neko, never one to be late for a meal, already waiting at the gate issuing, "I'm hungry!" and "Where have you been with my morning slops?!?!" whinnies. I'm wondering where Maggie is but figure she knows by now I feed her on the other side of the fence, away from our friend Neko (who bolts her food so as to scarf Maggie's down as well). I'm looking and looking and still no Maggie so I open the gate and start walking down the field when I spy a dark lump on the hillside. My first thought is, "Oh hell; Maggie has gone and died!" but when I called her name, her head came up and she nickered to me. 

Sure enough, just like last year (look it up on my blog) Maggie had once again cast herself on the hill. Her feet were uphill and she couldn't right herself. Additionally, poor Maggie is as old as that hill and probably not the strongest equine around. I went down to her and petted her head and made sure her blanket wasn't caught on her legs and preventing her from standing. Tough old thing that she is, she kept trying to stand. I even went and got her grain, thinking food being a super inducement, she might succeed in standing. It didn't work so I retreated to the house to inform Bob that, "Houston, we have a problem." I'm positive that Bob's love of horses is growing astronomically every day!

Did I mention that there was snow on the ground, it was 22 degrees and still only 7:00, pre-time change? And then I remembered that my riding instructor had always said to call the horse farm if anything like this happened. And I did just that, despite not having left on especially hospitable terms. (Don't ask: an unfortunate string of events this springtime). Anyway, I called and Jess answered and agreed to rouse her husband and come right over. Troopers these horse people!!

A darker, nighttime picture for a visual interlude.

Neko kept eating, Jess and Scott arrived, Bob located ropes, I thrust a thermometer into Maggie's posterior (such fun!) and when it was documented that she was still warm and alive, ropes were looped around her feet and hey presto! Maggie was flipped over and stood up in a single bound and trotted off up the hill just like that.

Horses! Gotta love them (or not). They do some pretty stupid things and it is documented that they can get hurt on almost anything- including a slight hill in their pasture. I thanked Scott and Jess profusely and later bought them a really nice bottle of champagne (which I know they appreciated. How else to reward their heroic call to duty?!) (Although Sabina my riding instructor informed me, drily, that they didn't come to help me; they came to help the horse! Hahahahaha! Who cares?!) 

Bob was mad at Neko who seemed blissfully oblivious to her pasture pals distress but I guess someone among us had to maintain calm. 

So I'm still a nervous wreck about Tuesday's election, somewhat sanguine about the outcome but expecting havoc. And everything inducing stress in the last blog posting still applies. Bob thinks I need an exorcism!

(*1) I also have to insert that I really hadn't slept the night before at all (full blue moon etc) and had said to Bob, "After I feed the horses, I'm going back to bed". Really!??!?!?!!?!?

 

A Little Anxiety Anyone?!?!?

 

Oh look! I made a "puppy" for Robin out of a bit of her shedding fur. It's what an artist does when she's so overcome by generalized anxiety... Couldn't fall back to sleep last night. I wonder why?!??!?

F'rinstance (and in no particular order, although I could clear my throat and sing this litany to the tune of "My Favorite Things"):

*The upcoming ELECTION (only 5 days a way)... Aaaauuugh!!!!!

*A full moon.

*Mercury (continuing to be) retrograde (until Nov 4th. It figures; day after the election)

*COVID 19. Have we forgotten about the pandemic?!?!?

*Lousy stinkin' weather. Will it ever stop raining?!? (After a droughty summer!)

*Will they extend my unemployment benefits?

*Will I  ever be able to show my (art) work again?

*What's for dinner???!!?

*Did mention the upcoming election?!?

So you get the idea: just your typical, run-of-the-mill anxiety. Nothing to see here!

'Tis the Season

 As you may have noticed, I am seriously interested in politics and especially this upcoming presidential election as democracy itself is on the line. And with COVID 19 on the rise (again), the issue of voting is increasingly fraught as so many obstacles present: who wants to risk voting in person (and perhaps standing in line for hours and hours as seen in some states with early voting?!*(1) and get sick, the rethuglicans are threatening to intimidate those that show up to vote in person, the US Postal Service is under attack and being messed up by... you guessed it! rethuglicans and (once more) rethuglicans are removing ballot boxes and polling stations in some states and putting out phony ballot boxes in others (like California: and they're putting them at churches and gun shops(!?!?)

So it stands to reason that Bob and I- taking no chances and trusting nothing to fate- sent out our requests for absentee ballots in a timely fashion. Most of our friends also requested their ballots and have voted, too. So Bob's ballot appeared about and a half  week ago; he signed it and drove it to the town hall and deposited it in the secure ballot drop box. I checked the mail box the next day, and the next day, thinking maybe they mailed the ballots out alphabetically and me being a "V", I was later in line. But a week went by and I'm starting to think, "Hello! Me of all people! I'm constantly haranguing friends to vote early and I'm not getting my ballot. Maybe they put me on a "Do Not Let her Vote" List." Yesterday, I finally called the town hall and they agreed I should have received one as it had been sent out like two weeks ago!

This morning, I went to the town hall in person and had to sign a request for a replacement ballot. The irony, of course, is that I had to put in an appearance and I've been seriously trying to minimize the time I spend in public. I filed the form and then asked that they give me the ballot so I could fill it out RIGHT NOW, which I did as I had no need to reconsider for whom I was voting. 

I asked for am "I Voted" sticker but they didn't have any so I'll have to make my own.

So... I VOTED!! But I did have to work at it...

*(1) And leave it to me to wonder where do you go take a pee if you're standing in line for hours at a time?!? That's a major concern!

Warning: A Most Political Editorial

Yes, Satan himself makes a guest appearance in my despairing, dispirited post. Election day is only two days away and my stomach is clinching at even the remote possibility that Trump could win. I am old enough to have been through many a presidential election but this one is definitely the weirdest!
I am among the many Americans that finds her/himself wondering... "Just WHAT are people thinking?"* How can anyone ever consider voting for the republican offering? (I mean, I wonder that in years where (groan) people like Mitt Romney or Dubya were presented. But Trump is obviously an even stranger choice!)
 And there is a distinct possibility that Trump could win... the polls are saying how close this election is. And (we all know) it shouldn't be. As you may be aware, Hillary Clinton was not my first choice but she is so obviously head and shoulders better qualified, better prepared and just all around BETTER a candidate than Trump. (And yes, I miss Bernie Sanders! I am wearing his name on my tee shirt and my bumper sticker still shines.)
AND I miss Barack Obama already! A good president (if racist, obstructionist Congress people hadn't prevented him from doing more- like appointing a Supreme Court justice!), a good man, a good dancer, a happily married, non-philandering man with a lovely wife and two great kids; the Obama's even have two swell dogs! Too bad he couldn't have had a third term and let the country come up with more time to sort out dilemmas, such as how Donald Trump became the republican nominee...
So, let's all cross our finger, toes, tails, hooves and whatever other appendages that we have that sanity prevails and Hillary Clinton is elected. And it would be nice to have a woman (nasty or otherwise!) president!

* And I am not going to start listing all the ridiculous and relevant evidence proving that Trump is an appalling and legendarily awful choice to "lead" the country- lead it straight to Hell!

Still Celebrating!

We're still celebrating and I certainly think the planet and people of many stripes are also. Sanity has prevailed and that bottle of champagne that has lingered in the back of our refrigerator- a gift from my boss at our End of Summer party- proved just the libation.
I'm not much of a white wine or champagne drinker as we all know. Red's my preferred swill, but when presented with a better bottle of the bubbly than I'll spring for, I'm game. Especially when concluding the recent endless slog through red herrings, mud slinging, turd blossoming Season in Hell that was
Election 2012. Republicans are doing their every-several-year hand wringing and wound- licking wondering what they did wrong. I can tell them. Hell, we can ALL tell them. Everything!
As I'm preaching to the (unaffiliated, non-Mormon tabernacle) choir, I'll skip the exegesis and just say I'm available as an inebriated consultant (at a reasonable rate) to the regrouping, non-Karl-Roving GOP. I have loads of swell ideas! Cheap!
Two fun images to leave you with are as follows: George W. Bush (and I sure hope this is true!) ostensibly went into his polling place way down there in Texas and accidentally voted for Barack Obama. And then argued loudly with poll workers that he wanted to change his vote, which of course, he wasn't allowed to do... still stoopid after all these years!
And damn! I just can't remember the second one; there are just too many things that float to the surface and then run away- like dreams. But we never (hopefully) will ever again see a "Linda" sign on anyone's lawn. That in itself is a blessing.
I know! I know! I remember what that other truly awful (not really funny) image is: Mitt Romney's canceling all the credit cards of the people who traveled and worked and put out for him. So when they went to pay their hotel and restaurant bills, the cards provided by the campaign were declined. How pathetic!!!