Now What ??

                                      

     

       Now our intelligence service knows for sure that Russians hacked our election for President and helped Trump win the position, what do we do about it? I don't think a sternly written letter to Putin is going to do  anything. At this point we have ascertained that a foreign nation has determined the outcome of the election; that makes the whole exercise nothing but a sham. So why do we keep pretending we have elected Trump as president-elect when he was only selected by Putin by throwing out nearly three million votes against him.

       For Donald Trump in collusion with Putin to claim victory is against common sense. Donald Trump, along with everyone in his campaign who had knowledge should be tried for treason against the United States of America with Russian government assistance. What will probably happen tomorrow is business as usual as republicans vote as instructed as a unit. Tuesday Donald and Vlad go back to selecting the most unqualified people to run this country.

      The incoming administration has the stink of food gone bad and crawling with botulism. I don't recall any suggestions on how to eat it without the danger of a very severe stomach ache at best and death at the worst. This tainted election will be the death of us and the only way to fix it is to simply throw it out. Regardless of cost.

      

p  

Safeguard ?

                                                           Donald?

     All my life I heard the Electoral College was the last bulwark against two biggest threats to our
democracy. Foreign interests and electing a moron without any semblance of ability. In just two more days, those impediments will be gone.

     If 38 republicans vote intelligently against Trump and Russia, then this was only a bad dream. No one who is aware could ever justify any other outcome. With Trump and Putin advisors shuttling back and forth between New York and Moscow. Only a brainless idiot would not suspect a scam when they are told 26 times a day there's is nothing to see here; move along now. Are they really going to renovate the Oval Office to include a side room for Putin to work in when he comes to oversee his latest acquisition.

     Unfortunately there are not 38 republicans who will put American democracy ahead of party membership, money or Koch Brothers. They will weasel out of any dissent and at last resort, tell you that God wants it this way. Not my God or my party. I feel screwed.

      Next Tuesday I will see my doctor for an annual physical. She is really a democrat because she will grease up with K-Y jelly before she sticks in a finger to check a prostrate. Under a republican health plan, you have to bring your own lube and a rubber glove unless you want that finger to go in dry and bareback. Their idea of a public option.


      

White trash in the White House

   When I was young I knew personally many of my relatives that were born in Europe and were acclimated to essentially foreign world views and cultures. They brought a lot of the values they learned as children. Among these were honesty, integrity, hard work, tolerance and acceptance.  They had also learned the consequences of corruption, greed and ignorance and such knowledge played a large role in their decisions to come to a new land.

     Their communities grew since history shows, they were as adept at growing children and grandchildren as they were at growing crops. Pictures of my grandfather and his father's family totaled over twenty people. But with growth came new people who diluted the principles the original people held dear. This process repeated a thousand fold led to the present day with Donald Trump and family moving into the White House. I remember a family conversation about a new family that had moved into the neighborhood. Within a few months their unkempt yard was overgrown with weeds interspersed with old car and appliance parts that were thrown here and there. The consensus was they were just white trash. A caste on the bottom tier in India called the untouchables.

     From all that I've seen and heard from them and about them, the Trump clan fits the classification of white trash perfectly. I can envision them scrawling graffiti on the walls, urinating on the carpets and drawing mustaches on paintings. The very lamest reason I've yet heard for voting for Trump was something Clinton allegedly said about the nursing profession they heard somewhere or other. A statement completely at odds with everything she had said and done for the last twenty or more years.  On that basis you have endangered your grandchildren's future education and welfare. And the security of our country. Trump told you what he planned to do and you enabled him to do it.

Washing

       I just finished an interesting story on the net about two women in the beauty consultant business who went without washing for a month to test a new product called mother dirt mist.

     Rather than try to post a link which doesn't work on this site I will just say to google it at -----

30 days without washing using mother dirt mist

The story will come up. It contains a link to "total beauty.com" that has a 20 page slideshow that's worthwhile also.

    From a male perspective the natural scent of a female body after two or three days is quite a turn-on as Jill notes about her husband's initial reactions.

Bullying Solution

     Today I read about a girl who been bullied and ostracized by her peers for some reason or other. I read often about autistic or down syndrome children forced to eat alone and be isolated from any interaction with their classmates.

     http://www.today.com/parents/teen-invents-sit-us-app-so-no-high-schooler-has-t103444

     I would like to post the whole story you can read by using the above link. But I will post excerpts.

   "Apart from the horrific attacks, the worst thing was being treated as an outcast and having to eat lunch alone every day. I believe that being isolated branded me as a target. All I wanted was to have just one person who had my back."

   After switching schools in ninth grade, Natalie found a supportive new friend group, but she never forgot how it felt to be the outcast.

  "Whenever I saw someone eating alone, I would ask that person to join our table, because I knew exactly how they felt. I saw the look of relief wash over their faces."

      Natalie created an "eat with us app" which I think is a really great idea and will do more to prevent bullying than anything so far. When students interact with them, get to know them and their thoughts and finally realize they do have feelings like anyone else.




  

Vaporism Explained

     This comes from vaporware in the computer age. It is hardware or software that usually doesn't exist yet or being worked on although it can apply to any project in any field that only really exists in someone's mind and is not usable yet as a final product.

     In my own mind this applies perfectly to Donald Trump's fantasy revolution that he believes in so fanatically. At this stage it is vapor like steam from a teakettle that one can dispel with a waving hand. He works every day to solidify that vapor and to help him out I created the Vaporite Party that will try to report his every positive gesture he makes although his negative gestures are more frequent and a lot more fun to watch.

     Basically Trump is more vapor than anything else and what will he do after his practical joke about a presidential campaign destroys the Republican and Conservative parties. My guess he and his people will enlist Glen Beck, steal his TV show and start their own political party with his fervent followers. Maybe he will bribe me to shut up, I'm hoping.

Vaporite Party

     The name of the Deplorables Party has been changed to the Vaporite Party to better reflect the real world views of  founders Donald J. Trump and his major acolytes Sean Hannity and Rudy Giuliani.
                      Mr. Hanky - party symbol

          I notice today Howard Dean said he heard DJT might have a cocaine problem. From his actions I tend to agree. I once had a problem with cocaine in all three of it's usual using methods. Injection as a liquid, smoke from the crack form and least preferred, up the nose as a powder. The powder form is the most used by people who want to deny it's use. They don't need a syringe or a hollow glass pipe. Just a little vial and an little plastic spoon like McDonalds used to supply with a cup of coffee.

     One thing I do remember is that nasal passages get dried out along with what we called dry mouth relieved by frequent sips of water, Kool-Aid or whatever liquid is available. Facial expressions gradually become less readable and when the high wears down so does the user. His brain is yelling at him "I want more" and his words get garbled until no one can understand him. Watch the Monday debate and see what I am describing. These are cocaine effects and if he had a snort on a break, all would be well. As an aside, a heroin user would be constantly scratching his nose. A different breed of cat

    Evidently Mr. Dean has been talking to someone in rehab. Mr. Dean didn't speak from the blue or like Trump out of his nether orifice. If he has been around anonymous groups, I know he has heard the adage "cocaine is  God's way of telling someone they have too much money."



                                       

Punishment for Truth

     This will my last post on the dust-up from Daily Kos. I have written a blog and published it long before I submitted anything to Daily Kos this time around although I joined in 2002 and submitted several comments in 2003. After a long hiatus I had to join again in the last year or so. After 90 or more postings without incidents I published a conversation with two holocaust survivors who didn't see other's being killed and someone at Kos decided that was proof of my holocaust denial which doesn't exist and never has.

    I've been banned from posting on Daily Kos because I related a conversation with two Auschwitz survivors about their personal experiences during a war that ended over seventy years ago. When two people stand in front of me with tattoos on their arms from a concentration camp they were in as teenagers and tell me their ordeal that at times seem at odds with the official story, am I to call them liars. I never said the Holocaust didn't happen at all, just that it didn't happen to two obviously live persons sitting across from me. One trained as a seamstress, the other as a cook in that prison.

      I have since done research on Auschwitz and learned that the camp encompassed an area of over 15 square miles. If I were confined to and worked in Humble Tx. I could truthfully say I never saw anybody killed in Spring. Tx. 10 miles  away. Other than one conversation, I never felt the need to question or elicit more details. Ingrid probably worked in one of the many industries around the area and used cheap labor the SS charged them for using Auschwitz prisoners in their plants and factories.

     To say I am disappointed in intolerance by people who purported preach freedom of thought. I realize that Kos is a personal democratic website and can censor whatever they choose. However, it's very unfair to accuse me of denial of a subject I have never mentioned in any of the over ninety posts I have made without incident over this last year. And really don't care about one way or the other. I have enjoyed posting there and receiving the comments of other people. If it is to be no more because I touched someone's exposed nerve. So be it.

The Deplorable Party Founded by Donald Trump.

     Now that the Trump rabble has an official name, they need a symbol like the other parties have; a donkey, the statue of liberty, a porcupine, a sunflower or an elephant. They also need a color like red for republicans, blue for democrats, green for greens, gold for libertarians

     I suggest brown for deplorables. For a symbol I think of a two-toed sloth, a parrot or Mr. Turd from South Park. I do think a burning cross would be going too far although it would probably win their popular vote.

    I've also been working on a party platform based on Trump proclamations. One can imagine the quandary involved. I finally hit on a yes or no answer format revised each morning based on yesterday's answers and today's predictions. All determined by the answers from a Magic 8-ball. This would make as much sense as listening to him personally, tuning into Fox News, reading tea leaves or rolling dice.

Monday Morning Revelations

     I hope this morning brings me news of exactly why I was cut off from posting anything on Daily Kos this weekend and whether the ban is still in effect this morning and what transgression I'm deemed guilty of exactly.

     I tried reposting with my conversation with Morris and Ingrid deleted which I assumed was the problem. All I've been able to get on the blogging link is "page not found (404) the page you were looking for doesn't exist." Actually we talked over an hour. Unfortunately this occurred at a family holiday gathering where I met them a few years ago and they are now both deceased and it never occurred to me to record a private personal conversation. I never took it to mean it was the same at Dachau or Buchenwald. They were only at Auschwitz and only spoke of people and conditions there they saw or heard.

     Daily Kos needs to post some definite rules for posting do's and don'ts. Like the fact that the word conspiracy is a no-no regardless of context as I once found out the hard way.

Sunday Morning Coming Down

     I always liked the Kristofferson song about Sunday morning and being alone. There were several gaps in my life when I woke up alone with a hangover from a Saturday night smoking, drinking and generally raising hell until I realized everyone had gone home to a family, a wife or girlfriend and I was in the weekend with nowhere to go and nothing to do. On my way to the Quikimart, I experienced the feelings, smells and sounds of that song. I bought a large coffee and a six-pack for later and walked to my solitary room somewhere.

     After my head cleared from the coffee, I rolled a doobie and laid back to wait for the Sunday football games to start. Later on after my second can of beer, I was feeling pretty mellow so it was time to roll another one, relax and finally have my breakfast of cookies and two or three Twinkies. Some game was under way and I watched a sideline conference of some kind when I was hit with an epiphany. Suddenly I thought "these are grown men making a huge income from playing a game and pretending it's worth taking seriously whether one side or the other wins or loses."

     Since that afternoon, I've never been able to care who wins or loses because I don't gamble and it's not going to make one iota of difference in my life. So I now can enjoy the skill exhibited by individual players no matter the fate of the whole team. At least one time in my life a drug made a positive future for me. Unfortunately my days of smoking anything are over for me due to a lung problem. As a result of smoking. Lungs make no distinction of what one smokes. They don't like any smoke at all.

Trump and Hitler

     I keep reading comparisons of Trump and Hitler. But I see it seldom goes deeper than superficial stereotypes of Germans and Americans. My great grandparents came to America from Germany just prior to the Civil War in the mid 1800's. None of them took sides or fought in that war. Family lore says they did not believe in slavery and refused to employ people in bondage, Every person who worked on their farms was paid a fair wage, be they black, Mexican or white. I feel justly proud of my ancestors and have always tried to carry on their tradition.

     Many of my relatives stayed in Germany and those in both here and there were caught up in wars not of their choosing. The fact is that my great grandfather and his brother were draft dodgers and came here rather than fight in Austria. They were the real German people, not the rabble and trash assembled by Hitler. Trump is a lot like Hitler except his rabble and trash hate Black people instead of Jews. In Germany they called them Nazis. Here they haven't settled on a name yet as they seem to be mostly conservatives, republicans or just simply idiots. Neo-Nazis is usually suggested.
I think the Deplorable Party might be a good name.

     I think it was some WW2 politician who said governments go to war and drag reluctant people along who just want it over with so they can go home to their family and farm in peace. I think that's kind of a universal feeling among sane populations.

    

Dream of Trump Arrested. Unpaid lawyer not available.

      I've been arrested several times in the course of my life. I've never been indicted or convicted of a felony although I've been arrested and spent a few days in jail several times. It will never happen to Mr. Trump although I enjoy envisioning him going through the booking in process for black people, Mexicans or poor people like me.

     First he will lose the laces out of his thousand dollar Italian shoes. Then he'll be taken to a room where he will have to put all his fine clothes in a wire basket. Next they will do a cavity search in which he will have to bend over and spread his cheeks for a finger in his anus and a flash light illuminating the area. If he gets smart with them, they will do the anal probe prior to the oral cavity. Then he'll be issued a prison uniform made of rough cotton.  Then he'll be told to get a pallet for sleeping and be directed to a 6 man cell with 14 people inside on pallets spread over the concrete floor. The barred door will be slammed with enough force and noise to be heard across the street.

     Things like this never happen to the average person who doesn't join protests, work with shady characters who abscond with money I signed checks for, hire lawyers who don't show up for trial, tend bar at a topless dance club, shoot it out with a home invader, spend weekends at a nudist camp or run a nightclub in New Orleans and finally get involved with drug dealers in California.

     Finally a little over thirty years ago, my excess testosterone finally ran out. I settled down here in Houston with a beautiful wife I've been true to ever since. I've lived in Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, Louisiana, California, New York, New Jersey and Michigan. I wouldn't trade any of those experiences that made me who I am.

Chromium Balls

Steel Balls

     It's often said of a strong man that he has balls of steel.  Luckily our president has balls of Chromium.  On a Mohs scale, this is the hardest metal, far stronger than steel ranking just below diamond for hardness.  With all the crap he has to deal with, he needs just that.  From the republican castrati whose scrotums must be stuffed with cotton wool and belly button lint.  They scream and shriek like school girls whenever Obama does what they are afraid to do.  They issue all sorts of threats and dire predictions; none of which actually happen.  As Shakespeare once wrote, it's "a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."  Exactly what the United States Congress has become.  So sad. 

      So now we are going to vote for and elect a woman to replace Obama. She probably doesn't have testicles but then she starts even with her opposition, he of the little hands. I once worked in a company headed by a man named Leo with an office manager named Bob. I will never forget an altercation in the plant with a disgruntled man who was threatening someone. When Leo heard, he jumped up and exclaimed "if he wants a fight, I'll give him one" followed by "get out there Bob and put him down."

     Every time I remember this incident, I can just picture Trump saying "if she wants a fight, I'll give her one" followed by "get out there Mike and put her down." I expect to hear a variation of this next Monday night at the first debate. There may not be a second debate as Donald Trump crawls back under the rock he came from.

Birthday Blues. My 78th today.

      I'm kind of blue realizing that I'm on the downward section of this roller coaster of life. Where the bottom flat track leads is anyone's guess. But inexorably I'm going to find out sooner rather than later.

     If I had to live my life over, I would never change anything. I can see now some opportunities I didn't jump on that might have led to some other end game but the truth is I'm well satisfied and happy that it all led here. Finally with a woman I love and who loves me. Who could ask for more.
When hot winds come, I'm under a cooling fan inside.

      I've been a Dad to seven children and I think I've fulfilled the biblical admonition to "be fruitful and multiply." At least I did my best. My paternal family genes end in the early eighties while my maternal family genes last well into the nineties. It's a crapshoot which dominant genes I inherited. I'd be happy to just split the difference.

     I have a living will somewhere I need to locate that if my mind is gone, let my body go too. There's no point in living beyond that point. I once knew a man who played an ultimate practical joke by writing a will that left all his friends ten thousand dollars each. At the reading, they learned he had no money, he just wanted them all together one last time.










 

More Republcan Insanity. Arizona sex crime law targerts diaper changers.

     Arizona's supreme court upholds state law making care givers, sex offenders if they touch a child's penis,vagina and/or anus with their hands. This first noted here on Kos by a poster. As hard as it was to believe, I checked the Arizona law myself and learned that I was lucky to not live in Arizona as I would be charged along with my wife as serial sex offenders by cleaning seven children's genitals while changing their soiled diapers.

     How anyone except the lowest life form would be sexually aroused at the sight and smell of a dirty diaper and shit smeared immature genitals is unbelievable. It does however illustrate the Republican mindset regarding sex and arousal.

     The tragedy here is the time wasted on a non-existent problem when there are so many issues that need attention by an Arizona legislature. Voting irregularities, immigration and discrimination to list just a few. Guns and a vote against Donald Trump should overshadow any discussion of sexual proclivities Republicans are obsessed with.

Minor Parties

      I cannot understand why anyone outside of the two major parties would announce their candidacy for president of the United States. What is their motivation? To me it's like hunting big game with a 22 rifle. Or a high school football team trying to play the Chicago Bears. Both are lose-lose situations. Surely Gary Johnson and Jill Stein really know they cannot possibly win.

     Are their egos so inflated they really think an asphalt roadway will produce a lawn if they throw enough seeds on it. Surely neither one is that dumb. And speaking of dumb, their donors and supporters don't take any prizes home. The Green Party and the Libertarians have been around like forever and obviously don't believe in reproduction.

      Is money at the root of it? If I donated enough for these candidates to pay filing fees in all fifty states and take plane trips to the wrong event location and doesn't know Aleppo is a city in Syria. I would be a lot more strident about seeing some tax returns. Libertarians could set up funds to pay fines for driving without a  license from the state government. Do they pay taxes? The Green Party could go plant some trees instead of wasting money on lost causes. As a matter of fact, they would best serve America by both planting trees instead of dabbling in politics.

Home Chapter 17

Jim
      Jim finally made the decision he could no longer abide Des having to support both of them being in poor health herself from sheer exhaustion and a recurrence of the arthritis that afflicted her spine and hips. Leaving in the only way possible now, he crawled down the path, past the old tent and seeing the snag that had dumped him into the flood water so many months ago. Over the big log, through the brush and out to the service road. A light rain began falling and he was thankful he had wrapped his personal effects in layers of plastic sheeting. He was short of breath and his chest was hurting as he crawled a few feet, stopped to get his breath and resumed crawling a few more feet. He finally reached the last obstacle before the open field, a 12 foot wide mud covered construction road. slogging through was the only way over. He finally reached the open field in sight of a strip center and by shouting and waving from his knees was able to attract one of the workers who had met and recognized him and called 911 for an ambulance. He was loaded and taken to the emergency ward of a nearby hospital. He was diagnosed with pneumonia, a flare up of his copd, exhaustion and dehydration. He was admitted and spent over three weeks fighting to regain control. He was transferred to a rehab center where he spent three weeks gaining strength and learning to use his new wheelchair. Then he found a personal care home, moved there and lived in a room up to now.

    Destiny
      She had gained so much self-confidence and self-reliance over  these months as well as freedom that now she opted to refuse going to some shelter or home but stay in the woods in a smaller tent across the highway. A social worker helped her get her Social Security Disability, Medicare and Medicaid reinstated now that we no longer lived together. She and Jim kept track of each other through their son now working his way through college in another city. Once they settled they began talking regularly over the phone. Her mother passed away this year and she moved out of her tent and into the place her mother had occupied. They talk every day, see each other as often as possible and will always occupy a special place in each others heart.

Pleasure Principle

Pleasure principle

     There are some things built into the human brain.  A conscience, an innate sense of right and wrong is not one of them.  The first thing that forms I  think Freud called the Id; I call it the pleasure principle. The Freudian model of a human mind consists of the Id, unrestrained search for some desire; the Ego which grows in strength until it controls the Id and makes it possible to live with other beings, and the Super Ego also getting stronger and called a conscience, a sense of right and wrong.

     The Id is part and parcel of our personal fantasy world.  The things and feelings we really want to do or experience but are constrained by laws, religion or society.  Our Id set free to roam at will in imagination.  Our inner happiness depends on how much of our fantasy world we can bring into reality without hurting our self or anyone else.  Sexual impulses are the strongest force in the human mind and body.  Nature made it so to insure reproduction.

    I'm reminded of the angry old lady who called the police to report a man exposing himself and masturbating.  When the police couldn't see him, she explained "you have to climb this fence, go halfway up the ladder on this water tower and use these 20 power binoculars and there he is, plain as day and I'm offended."  Actually both the unknown man and the old lady fulfilled their fantasy world, both were happy and no one got hurt.  This is the way life should be - nobody hurt.

Home Chapter 16

          The sporadic rains continued for a time as Spring came to a close. Robo had taken a tarp that had covered our flooded tent and constructed a canopy that kept the rain away from our front door and created a dry area to sit outside even it was raining. Robo was a strange duck. He could be your best friend one day and turn into your worst affliction depending on his alcohol intake and his immersion in his own delusions. He cleaned up his flooded area and continued living close by. Ron, on the other hand entered an extended rehab program and was seen no more.

     We were wakened every morning by a pair of Cardinals talking to each other as the male checked the area for predators before giving his mate a tweet that it was ok for her to come down. She came and sat on a twig in some low bushes. He went down on the ground and looked over the food Des had left out for them last night. He finally selected a choice morsel and flew up to her and passed it from his beak to hers. He repeated this numerous times until she was satisfied, then he made one more trip to eat himself. Seeing this act of love between two birds set the tone for the rest of the day.
Finally a flock of Blue Jays arrived and their noisy and raucous chatter caused every animal or bird left to disappear.

     Oscar had been up for some time urging Des to get dressed and get started with their morning walk. As soon as the door was unzipped he bolted for the path. Des had to call him to stop and come back for his leash. He came shaking with anticipation as his leash was attached and they set off down the trail. Halfway to their destination they had to cross a street. She had to stop Oscar once to be careful and showing his intelligence and understanding, the next time he stopped and looked for traffic on his own before crossing. At last they came to the Walmart store where his friends worked. He gave out his loudest arrival bark that was heard all through the store. Workers came out and greeted him every morning and looked forward to meeting him. It seemed he made a new friend every time he came out and he recognized every one of them and shook with excitement whenever he saw someone he knew. At last they headed home and crossed an empty field before the woods. After entering the field Des removed his leash and said run Oscar, run like the wind. He joyously obeyed and left as fast as he could go, across the field, up the service road to the opening in the bushes that led to the path home, jumped a log across the trail and entered the path up the hill. Jim could see him coming at least sixty feet away, ears flapping like a bird's wings about to take off. He slid to a stop under the canopy waiting for Des to give him breakfast.

     All too soon as it does for all of God's creatures, age crept up on him. His joyful prancing around Des became a painful walk. At last God in his mercy called him home. He lay beside Jim and with the last of his strength crawled to Des and took his last breath with her hands holding him. Jim and Des cried the rest of that terrible night. The next day or so, Des helped with his burial and decorated his grave. We tried to go on with life but the impetus wasn't there any more, We realized more and more that Oscar had been the glue that held everything together. Jim's health was failing as was Des's. We had to make some hard decisions sooner rather than later.

Brain Files

Brain Files

I practice mindfulness meditation during my morning breathing treatment using a nebulizer.  I felt really extra drowsy this afternoon, having missed my noontime short siesta.  I read somewhere that it's for old people to take naps during the day.   Now although I don't consider myself old by any means, it might also be good for a youngster like me.  So I kind of fell into a good habit of napping about 2 hours in the morning about  9 to 11 and again from 1 to 2. Today while meditating, my mind hit on a theme of poetry.  I was remembering a huge file of lines from poems I read only once and couldn't remember where or when. Sometimes only one or two lines although I feel like the whole poem is in there somewhere.   Of the billions of neurons in the human brain. I'm sure there is a personal compendium of  a  "Bartlett's Familiar Quotations"  floating around in there somewhere.

     The trick is to find the index drawer.  There has to be a way.  So I've decided on the basis of wild, random thoughts to start searching for some trace of that key that will open up this treasure.  No matter that a multitude of Indian and Buddhist thinkers haven't found or taught that key.  Or maybe they have and they won't tell you unless you ask. So it may be just a matter of formulating the right question.  Google has a lot of answers.  I found the poem I remembered several lines from.  It was in a science fiction magazine in September of 1960.  Today I remembered lines I read 55 years ago.

      Google is pretty good but they will never match this wondrous brain in which God really lives.

Home Chapter 15

    With spring came warmer weather and more moisture from the Gulf. Sporadic weak fronts moved through producing more and heaver rain with the impetus from climate change. For the most part we were protected by our tent even though the zipper on our door was broken. Zippers on tent doors are their weakest point. They are fine for occasional campouts but fail after several weeks of daily use. All homeless people know this and plan for it.

     Des went out rain or shine to feed Jim and Oscar. Oscar went outside to do his business as usual and had to forego his daily walk often. Until a week the area received over six inches of rain from skies laden with more. Jim was first to notice when he felt he was floating. Daylight showed he was actually floating on the tent floor where water had entered under their tent. Looking out they saw the area was covered with several inches of flood water and rising.

    Des braved the water and obtained two raised cots for sleeping above the tent floor where the water was slowly getting in. And the rain continued to fall and the flood water grew deeper and wider. Oscar was hurting but refused to go inside or go out. Des finally took him out to higher ground to relieve himself. His training and his dachshund stubbornness wouldn't allow him to do anything else.

    Like a gift from heaven which we believed it was a check came and Des was able to buy a new and larger tent and located really high ground. Robo and Ron cleared a path up and erected our new home. Des carried Oscar up but Jim had a problem not being able to walk. He made it to his wheelchair and propelled himself backward through the water trying to reach the path up at the waters edge. He hit an underwater snag and ended up falling out of the chair so he half paddled and crawled through to the path. He crawled through the muddy and dry patches until he nearly reached the top where he met Des coming to help him out of the tent. She as amazed at what he managed on his own and he was proud of himself.

     Both Ron and Robo were invited to sleep in the big tent since their sites were also underwater but they declined so it was again just the three of us which we were all thankful for.

Riding a Runaway Horse

Riding Home

My little sister in her early teen years owned a beautiful Palomino horse like the one Roy Rogers rode in the old cowboy movies.  As I look back on this mare, I believe she must have been a Lesbian horse although in this distant past, no one conceived of such a thing.  She hated all the male gender and abhorred having a man on her back and unless she had a more pressing need, would do whatever she could to get rid of him including rolling over and trying to crush him beneath her, resulting in two males with broken limbs that I know of.  With a female of any breed she was like a playful kitten, horse, human, or whatever as long as the gender was right.  Thus it was that the horse was tethered in the back yard.  Like any young girl, my sister was at that stage of transition from horses to boys.  She had ridden her horse from pasture to backyard, left her there when a boy came by and invited her to the Dairy Queen or wherever teens went then.

   Meanwhile, the mare was getting thirstier,  hungrier and angierier by the hour.  

Finally, our mother asked me to ride her home and she would follow and bring me back. Sounded like a simple plan to me.  "Where's the saddle", I asked.  "Oh, she rode her bareback."  "Is it too much to ask if she brought a bit and reins"  Who knew what rapport she might have with this pet of hers.  Maybe she guided her with psychic commands.  By some good luck, this mare was guided in the normal manner by the steering wheel of bit and reins. After attachment and backing to the porch and at last I was aboard and ready for a gentle walk back to the barn.  But this she-devil had her own ideas when she saw an open gate to freedom and her pasture only a couple of miles away.  By the time we reached the front yard  she was in full gallop mode at top speed. Normally a horses accelerator is controlled by the pressure if a rider's legs against her side.  By the time we cleared the yard, all thought of control was out of the question.  I had one hand on the reins, the other wrapped in her mane and holding on as tight as possible, legs flying every which way desperately trying to sit as tightly as possible to keep on board. Each second of success pile up until you become convinced your balance will save you and you are not going to die sliding alongside the road.  Until about halfway there, you hear a pack of neighborhood dogs barking, roused by all the commotion rapidly approaching.

  Pictures rise in your mind of movies you've seen where a horse reads up and throw its rider when surprised by a snake on the path.  Surely, this encounter will have a similar result.  Ha!. With the thought in her mind only of fresh grass, gallons of cold water and a cozy stable, the dogs were past by the time anyone noticed leaving only yelps and whimpers where the ambush failed.  At last, we arrived at the gate, foaming and blowing  and both still alive, although it took me several minutes to be able to stand up after sliding to the ground.  She just stood there placidly munching grass  Her mission accomplished.

    All of this a lot like our president.  He sets a goal and goes for it regardless of obstacles or distractions like barking dogs in the way.  With healthcare or gay rights, he just rolls on home where he was going in the first place.  I've lived and watched 13 presidents now.  Roosevelt and Truman and Johnson were strong, Carter was strong in his honesty, but Obama is quietly strongest of all.  In my opinion.

Home Chapter 14

      Des had located a stand of undisturbed trees in a section across a service road from our original section of land. With the help of friends all of our stuff was moved there included our tent parts. Jim came with his walker. He fell twice before he got there indicating his legs were weakening, a result of childhood polio. He decided it was dangerous to use the walker anymore so he was reduced to crawling if he wanted to go out.

     After Des decided where she wanted the tent placed, it was erected on a rise along the clearing edge and Jim and Oscar moved in. Ron pitched his tent in a small clearing many yards downhill from us. Robo was evicted from his trailer home, obtained a tent and set up a distance opposite from us and Ron so our lives picked up where we were before the move and continued for a time.

     The morning quiet was broken by Oscar's strident bark of danger outside. Officer Travis had found us and came with a number of cops to harass us once again. Des was handcuffed on the ground and Jim ordered to crawl out holding Oscar by his collar as he was all in attack mode. He slipped out of his collar and made straight for Des on the ground ready to defend her at any cost. Des calmed him some and ordered him back to Jim. For once he minded her and returned to defending Jim who held him bodily to keep him from attacking anyone who came close. All the while barking out threats and warnings at full volume. A Dachshund behind a door sounds a lot like a two hundred pound Mastiff.

     At last after finding no drugs or anything illegal they went away berating Travis for this wild goose chase. Both of us were rightly proud of Oscar's defense and defiance of a threat to his family. Once we were settled in a very light sprinkle wet the dirt outside. A harbinger of Spring weather with more to come.

Different Ex-Presidents

      It's interesting to compare the living ex-presidents by party and present occupation. It seems we have two Democrats and two Republicans. Soon to be three Democrats and the same two Republicans. What's amazing to me is how closely these ex's hew to their parties base principles and priorities. Remaining true to the attitudes of their base supporters.

      The average Republican is a greedy and selfish individual thinking the government exists for his benefit and not for those poor, lazy people who think they are entitled to share in the largess of the richest nation in health care and adequate wages for their work.

      Democrats are poor hard working people who are always ready to share. They are the people responsible for Social Security. Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act better known as Obamacare.

      First is Jimmy Carter who at age 91 has been building homes for poor people for nearly forty years since his retirement. He is a key figure in Habitat for Humanity and after recovering from brain cancer is going to Canada to help the poor there build homes.

      George H.W. Bush retired twenty three years ago and helped Bill Clinton raise funds for the flood victims in Haiti who lost everything. After that he went back to just living with Barbara which must be a chore in itself. He is 92.

        Bill Clinton along with Hillary and their daughter Chelsea set up and run the Clinton Foundation which raises millions and buys Aids medicine for people all over the world and helps millions of people in programs all over the world. He is 70.

       George W. Bush lives in Dallas where he paints pictures of his toes in his bath among other things. He occasionally gives a high priced speech somewhere he gets paid to come. That pretty much rounds out his time for the last eight years. He also is 70.

      Now one can see why I state that ex-presidents stay true to their basic party identity. I expect that next year Barak Obama will keep to this pattern.

Home Chapter 13

     We settled into our new site and tent. The road in was blocked to cars by several large tree trunks which we assumed were knocked down by Rita, the hurricane that came through the area lately.

      Robo went home to his trailer while Ron was given a one man tent by an old friend of his. He set it up at the far side of the fire pit. Later Dave showed up with another small tent which he set up about twenty yards down the road from us. So now with the five of us our little community was complete except for occasional visitors which were welcomed but discouraged from staying very long.

      With the cold wet weather came Thanksgiving and we feasted on contributions from passers by on the highway so Oscar gained another few pounds as except for his daily trip to do his thing and exercise walking with Des, the rest of the time he stayed under the covers with Jim staying warm. The days passed with Jim doing a lot of reading alone in the tent with Oscar while Des went about obtaining food and supplies for both of them.

     Some city official came up with a plan or scam to sell gift bags to clueless but well meaning people to give to the homeless on the street. This plastic bag contained a tiny toothbrush and a miniscule tube of toothpaste, a bar of motel size soap and various small trinkets. All of the contents could have been purchased at a dollar store for less than ten dollars. The city sold these bags for twenty dollars. If someone with a brain had thought it through, then Jim who had no teeth would not have ended up with twenty tiny toothbrushes and tiny tubes of toothpaste.

     A lot of people on the street are homeless but not really stupid. If anyone has asked, there was no need for a bag. A simple Christmas envelope containing coupons for a cold drink, a burger and fries from McDonalds or Burger King would have meant more than a dozen useless plastic bags. And no one ever admitted where the profit went.

     After the new year 2014 came with a strong north wind we found out why the site was abandoned in the first place. The noisy crash of falling trees echoed this morning. It seems water damaged the lower trunks of tall trees so they could no longer support the weight, snapped off and fell. Des immediately set out to find a new site.

Obama Asia Trip

     Although American media has made such a big deal of it, Obama himself has not weighed in on it without even a comment. He came for a meeting with the President of the second largest economy in the world on Global Warming and to firm up each nations commitment to its containment via the Paris accords. Their talks were for saving billions of people from it's worst effects. He also went as the representative of the United States at the G20 summit along with the leaders and finance ministers from nineteen of the world's largest economies to discuss finances involving more billions of people and money.

      He definitely did not go there as a ego trip or photo op. Or even really notice a dispute among airport attendants over where the pilot had parked his airplane. He simply used another door and an alternate set of stairs. This is what a real leader does, not as Trump advised leaving in a huff of upset
feelings. Just one more reason Trump is not qualified to lead a Klan group much less lead the most powerful nation on Earth.

     Later though, he bypassed a meeting with the Philippine  president over a personal insult to his person rather than toward the United States. If every president retaliated every insult or criticism of the United States it would consume all his time and energy. After he thought about it president Dutarte realized he had made a terrible mistake, sought out Obama with an apology and his hat in his hand. Being the great person he is Obama accepted the apology and went on to discuss human rights violations by simply executing accused drug offenders without trials or judgements. No conclusions were reached but Dutarte was made aware that both the United States and most free nations were awake withholding judgement until seeing how he proceeds.

     After that meeting Obama will open commercial ties with Laos expanding trade in Southeast Asia. For a president with only four more months in his eight years Obama is working up to the bell not standing at the time clock waiting to punch out.

Home Chapter 12

     We woke this morning to the sound of saws, bulldozers and fifty foot high trees crashing to the ground. Upon learning the trees were being cleared to build a new fast food outlet. We watched heavy equipment uproot the trees and workers with chain saws denude the trunk which was cut into logs to be loaded on a truck for disposal. Yellow tape delineated the area to be cleared which didn't include our campsite but close enough to make staying too dangerous.

     Several people knew of an old abandoned site not far away. Des went to check it out and we decided to move there as soon as we could. We were hastened by a constable and the landowner threatening to charge us with trespassing if we weren't gone in two days. Our displaced leaders found a semi-relative to take them in. We loaded most of our belongings into two shopping carts and were ready to go. Jim was still using a walker to support his weak legs but he pushed one of the carts.

     Once out of the woods, John offered to drive us when he was able to find so jumper cables for his dead battery. A cold wind had sprung up as we finally got loaded and gone. At the new site, Robo had built a huge bonfire and helped us unload. We were grateful for the warmth as we spread blankets around for sleeping that first night.

     The morning brought a welcome surprise as some church members arrived with a new tent big enough for the three of us. That afternoon Ron and Robo erected the tent where Des wanted it. Just as a light cold rain began, we lay dry under warm blankets inside our new home. We talked that night how our life had changed so fast and how we dealt with it with help from our friends, To be honest we were a little proud of ourselves.

Trump Polls

     Something isn't making any sense to me. On the net, I read story after story how Trump is gaining over Clinton in the polls and the race is tightening. Then I read how Trump does one stupid thing after another to alienate voters and sabotage his own campaign.

     My question is where are these gains coming from? Are people leaving Clinton or Jones or Stein and moving to Trump? Are there that many undecided voters left at this late stage of the election? There are lies, damned lies, and statistics as Mark Twain said. We seldom see and hear all three at one time as  we do in this 2016 election for a new president.

     Someone out there in the Ethernet is feeding us patently false information. Who is lying and what are their reasons for doing so? Clinton has an interest in not appearing so far ahead that her supporters won't vote thinking it doesn't matter if they stay home. Trump is so ego driven that any suggestion he might be losing is anathema to him. The media will trumpet a close race to drive viewership as will the press and pundits. So what is one to do?

     Watch and wait is my suggestion and intention. As AA's big book advises us to "change what we can and accept what we cannot change." Real good advice for 12 steppers and also the general public.

Home Chapter 11

   Destiny threw her purse across the clearing. She was more angry than Jim had ever seen her. She needed to calm down and a cigarette would help. When she could find her voice she finally explained she had gotten a ticket from patrolman officer Travis. This policeman was well known by the people who lived around the area. The consensus was that probably he had been frightened as a child by a homeless person and it left him with a lifelong aversion to seeing them on the street. Except that now he had a gun and a badge to protect him as he set about ridding his area of such people.

     Travis's MO was to issue a ticket in another precinct that would be difficult to contest without personal transportation. With the possibility of payment nonexistent a judge would issue a warrant which would show up on computers whenever a name was checked out. When a number of these misdemeanors were accumulated, the person would be taken to the city jail to stay overnight. In the morning a judge would take served time, wipe out any warrants and release them. Now the problem is getting home from across town with no money or transportation.

     All of it was simple harassment of defenseless people. The city or the taxpayers incurred numerous costs for nothing except Officer Travis's vanity and personal satisfaction. I personally believe he had a sadistic nature but was too afraid of imposing his will on someone who might strike back.  Destiny finally accepted it as an occupational hazard to avoid in future.

Trumpland Discovered

     Explorers have stumbled on remains of a small country in the Alps that was once surrounded by some sort of wall. Natives around the area remembered talk of a country with a wall. It was originally thought by the inhabitants to have been to keep the rabble out, the rabble consisting of people who didn't agree with them. i.e. most of the civilized world. Actually it was a good idea to keep insane people isolated as much as possible so their building such a wall was a godsend economically. The inmates were paying for their own asylum.

      From artifacts left behind archaeologists have been able to tell these people were a particularly nasty bunch. They treated their women worse than their cattle. They had no concern for their health, welfare or happiness other than maintaining their ability to have sex and babies. This was considered all women were good for and never allowed them to complain or actually say anything

    The climate there was terrible and varied with the position of the cloud overhead. Some put forth  ideas to plant crops that did well in shade rather than sun but they were shouted down by nearly everyone. The reason they said was their god wanted it that way. For this, the people were always hungry and ill-natured.

     The god they had created in their image was a vengeful and easily provoked deity. For this reason they were very careful of their associations and support of new ideas. Their idea of  doing nothing and saying no to any new plan or idea was the best way to worship and placate someone they believed lived somewhere in the sky and could see everything.

     Catastrophe came about a hundred and fifty years ago when earthquakes in that area destroyed the wall and like malignant microbes that combine to create a disease, the inhabitants escaped and infested the new American nation. They called themselves Republicans and soon took control of what had been a beneficial political party.

     Unfortunately they brought their sick way of life with them. They still all despise any female and to have one in a position to control them is unthinkable. They are still fearful of saying yes rather than no as usual. They have picked a leader; one Donald J. Trump who embodies their entire former life in walled asylum.

      Fortunately civilization today like their ancestors recognized insanity when it appeared and once again will try to isolate these individuals. But we have progressed from a wall and rely on sane people to vote against any Republican and thus protect our progress and our future. It's our only chance to stop madness in it's tracks.

Home Chapter 10

    Destiny brought up a large container, put in the clothes, detergent and enough water to soak them.  Oscar danced around wanting to help.  Unfortunately his self image is a 4 pound puppy.  He can't fathom why Des can't hold  him under one arm while she's washing with the other.  He's finally banished from her vicinity and joins Jim sitting at the door of their tent, looking as pathetic as only he can and hoping she'll call him back out.  As women have washed for centuries, she used her hands and a stout stick for an agitator.  Actually she washed like women in refugee camps without running water from pipes or a flowing spring, creek or river.  She might get bitten by a mosquito but at least not an alligator.  When at last she poured in fresh water, rinsed them and wrung them out, she carried them to the wire and hung them to dry in the sun.  At last she sat to rest, looked at Oscar and released him from exile.  He sounded his thank you bark and in two bounds had landed his thirty pounds squarely in her lap.  She decided to rest for awhile after she finished her cigarette.  She was really tired and drifted off to sleep where she sat holding her furry baby.

Voting Democrat

          Thanks to Democrats and the federal courts, I'm awaiting my absentee ballot in the mail. Republicans did all they could to keep me from voting at all especially since I'm a registered Democrat. What's even worse in their eyes they don't know yet I'm going to vote a strait Democratic ticket.

           Although I live in a red state my vote won't be wasted as if I voted for a third party. With the increasing number of black Americans and the new emphasis on legal Mexicans voting along with votes like mine, this state could turn blue in a heartbeat.

         If we could then rid ourselves of the Republican infestation and send ignorant voters back under the rocks they crawled out from, then we could rejoin the human race. We could enjoy expanded Medicaid and stop throwing old people out of rest homes due to lack of funds. We could revitalize our schools with the money Republican leadership stole from federal funds for education. And our governor wouldn't get big bribes from Donald Trump for turning a blind eye to malfeasance in our court system.

      As Dylan sings "the times they are a changin'." The sooner rich white ignorant old coots realize it, the better.

Home Chapter 9

      Des pushed her shopping cart filled with empty gallon jugs to the back of the NTB store.  Like most people, she hadn't known the store's actual name until Jim told her it stood for National Tire  and Battery.  Having worked in that industry for years, Jim knew practically all there was to know about car parts and auto stores.  It's too bad he never got paid enough to get rich or get any retirement  pay from the last job he held for over 26 years.  The owner got rich and he got the boot.  But that's life, she guessed.  After filling the jugs, they pushed the carts back to just inside the woods and parked them while they walked back to the dollar store and Walmart.  Cary had a food stamp card and offered to let Destiny use it and pay her back when Social Security checks came in before the first of the month.  Cary had some tip money from her job and Destiny had some money from begging on the street.  She had to get some cold water detergent to wash and she wanted to get something good to eat for Oscar and Jim.  Jim loved chef salads and she wanted some good dog food for Oscar.  He was getting too fat from all the people food he'd been eating although she couldn't resist a pint of ice cream to share with him.  And some dollar packages of cookies that Jim liked and shared with Oscar.  Oscar loved cookies and ice cream.  Two of his favorite things.  She gathered up all the goodies and she and Cary headed back to camp.  She decided to wash tomorrow and just stay home with her family tonight.  She got Oscar's leash and took him for his day's walk out and his run back home.  Usually they went in the morning but this morning they both overslept and Des had to hurry to get to the intersection where she flew.  Homeless people refer to flying as standing beside roads or traffic lights with a homemade sign asking for help.

Home Chapter 8

Over the subsequent days and nights I learned more about the individuals peopling our little group. They aren't the ones I would pick as a crew but adversity makes for strange bedfellows.  There is one overriding bond holding us together; Survival.  All other issues become secondary to that.

     Bill occasionally slept on a blanket at the camp or slept on a ledge under the intersection bridge nearby.  Tim lived at his brother's house somewhere, John slept in his car and Ron usually joined Bill under the bridge. Robo lived in his brother's extra trailer some miles away.  Dave joined Doug and Cary in the hut. Destiny, Oscar and me shared the green tent.

     The only thing certain about any of our situations is they were subject to change at any moment.   You get used to the idea of impending doom from a myriad of external forces all seeking to disrupt us.  As the people in California growing complacent about the ground shaking almost daily.  They expect their state to come loose and slide into the ocean at any time but they, like us, go on with their daily life in spite of such knowledge.

      Speaking of daily life, Des and Cary just left camp with two Walmart shopping carts filled with empty plastic milk jugs to refill with water behind a service station.  Water for the makeshift shower and to wash a few clothes at the tent.  Destiny plans to do that in the morning.  As Samuel Pepys always closed his diary entry; "And so to bed."

Mental Health

     Today Hillary Clinton announced her agenda for mental health treatment in the United States. She made a promise to Americans that by the end of her term, there will be no distinct difference between mental and physical health care in access, cost or quality. Good news for such mental sufferers.

     Hospitals dedicated to mental health care and treatment are an excellent option except they can only be afforded by wealthy people or carriers of the most expensive insurance plans. These centers are out of reach of the majority of ill people or their families.  Medicare limits such care to 120 days in a person's lifetime and will not pay for any more.

     Anyone familiar to mental problems from a young age forward knows not much can be accomplished in this time limitation. They can still be treated by a regular hospital with a mental ward except they are closing all the time and shifting patients to overcrowded state facilities. State hospitals are now limiting time. I have heard 30 days is maximum time per commitment in a state hospital.

     Psychiatrists have become more or less shills for the drug industry simply passing out the latest formulas for what the doctor decides is his diagnosis. There is a desperate need for more trained people in the field of mental health. Much more is needed than finding out what best relieves the most obvious symptoms.

     Treatment by pills is simply inadequate. It has to be comprehensive enough to include addiction, living conditions, homelessness and more. There has to be created a class beyond Psychiatrist, a super doctor group proficient in all these named areas and others to be discovered. An undertaking beyond my ability to conceive.

Home Chapter 7

 

Trans People

     I'm reading a book sent to me by a good friend about the human brain and how it affects a newly conceived fetus. For it's first six weeks, the fetus is a formless blob with a brain developing according to it's chromosome arrangement. Two X chromosomes will produce a female brain while an X and Y will initiate a male. After the brain takes control the hormones testosterone and estrogen come into play. If they are in balance, the fetus will develop naturally with a body consistent with brain sex. Too much testosterone or too much estrogen will cause the fetus to develop a body inconsistent with it's brain. Thus a transgender is born.

     There is no way to discern people who have this condition from exterior observation and usually they don't realize it themselves until normally in their early teens. Boys tend toward style and clothes while girls become tomboys interested in sports and masculine pursuits but this in itself doesn't prove one is transgender. One can only know if a person tells you themselves.

     Many more studies prove male and female brains are not the same in the way they are wired and how they process incoming information. Working together a man and a woman can solve a problem easier than either could working alone. This is true of any cooperative project and has nothing to do with personal relationships or any other construct people use to support a belief or point of view.

     Statistically the US population is 1.7% gay, 1.8% bisexual and 0.6% transgender. This implies that for every thousand people using a restroom anywhere six will be transgender. This implies that any law concerning bathroom etiquette is absurd and only enacted for nefarious or religious reasons. But that's another blog for another day.

Home Chapter 6

       Our little  dog strained at his leash watching Destiny down the lane until she disappeared among the trees. Then he lay down with his head resting on his outstretched paws, with such a downcast look that the sadness of his eyes radiated from his whole face and posture.   Actually he is the perfect complement to our family.  He is deeply emotional and like me wears his heart on his sleeve.   But unlike me he doesn't stuff his feelings down deep in his heart.  He broadcasts his feelings in everything he does.  When he's happy, he literally shakes with his joy in his life.  But when he's sad like now it's like his whole world is crumbling in front of him.  Destiny is the world to him.  He is never truly alive when she's not near him.  He loves her with a passion no man could ever match.
      
     Oscar was a dachshund.  In his mind, he stood three feet tall on his short front legs.  He was the most intelligent fellow I ever met.  His barks were as meaningful as any human speech.  Within a very short time one could learn his particular sounds.  He learned our language even faster.  When he stood up in alert mode, I knew that Destiny was in range of his big floppy ears.  Or in range of his extrasensory perception, I never knew how or why; he just knew.  When she appeared among the trees, I unsnapped his leash and watched as his little legs churned like an egg beater to get to her as fast as he cold.  She laid the bags down and Oscar nosed in them until he found the promised toy or bone.  He took possession and proceeded to bark out instructions and warnings.  Basically he was saying " this is mine.  Don't mess with it." 
     Finally he put the prize away somewhere and climbed back into his favorite place in the whole world, Des's lap.  He'd adopted her as his mother when he was a sick, little puppy and formed a bond with her that will never be broken.  They give each other pure, unconditional love.  One could never ask for more.

          

Windows 10 Upgrade

     Back in December I wrote about the new Windows 10. If you were planning to install it immediately, my advice was to wait until those people with an excess of patience worked with Microsoft to get all the glitches and bugs solved and fixed. It's still not perfect but it's far better than any other browser I've used.

     If you were waiting, the time has come to install Windows10. It's no longer free but in my estimation it's worth paying to get a really good product. It's still a work in progress which is a good thing as Microsoft continues to work on new builds and continues it's improvement. So get it now.

     A last bit of advice is back up every thing on your computer before you do anything. I ignored this one time but I never will again.

Home Chapter 5

Destiny counted the crumpled bills and coins she had collected and stuffed into her most convenient pocket.  She even got a twenty dollar bill which she spent for food for her two men waiting patiently back there in their tent.  She had dropped the change from MacDonald's among the day's contributions.  Now she divided up what she needed for cigarettes and a coke in the morning and pocketed that apart, She had promised her dog a bone from the dollar store and he didn't forget any promise that involved food or a chew toy.  He would pout for days if she showed up empty handed.  She didn't have enough money for some things she really needed so they would have to wait till tomorrow or maybe longer.   She wondered how she would ever get used to not getting a check every so often more than the first of the month.  But she would.  She was never a quitter and was not going to start being one now.

Stigmas

     A stigma is like a stain on your shirt that just won't wash out. In spite of that indelible blot, it's the only shirt you own so you still have to wear it every day,

    One of the worst stigmas is having been treated by a psychiatrist or mental health facility. It may have been something as simple as mild anxiety or depression easily treated with weak medications or something more serious. But it doesn't matter; a file folder has been created for you whose contents will follow you the rest of your life. Everything that happens in your life is interpreted in light of that files theme. Have an auto accident and a note will be made that you have an attention disorder. Have an argument with someone, a note says you have an aggression problem.

     Those files follow you everywhere. Apply for a job, you won't get it. Apply for credit, you definitely won't get it. Apply for medical help, sorry our insurance won't cover mental help. I remember 1972 when Thomas Eagleton was picked to run for Vice President. He'd been treated with electroshock which was regarded as a magic cure for whatever ails you back then. He was released and had no more symptoms. But he was forced to drop out. I thought then it was ironic that he was the only proven sane person available. The race was won by Nixon and Agnew who both had to resign because they were crooked and got caught.

     It's heartening to see even our president Obama has said illness could be either physical or mental and should be treated as such and entitled to treatment and respect as any other condition of human life.
    

Home Chapter 4

    At this time our camp boasted five permanent people and an assortment of visitors that stayed over for various times ranging from a few hours to a few days. The permanent group was Doug, our self appointed leader with Kari, his girlfriend and Dave, Doug's brother. Then Des and myself. Dave was one of the nicest people you could ever hope to meet. He was always there when anyone needed a helping hand with anything. Kari worked at various bars in the area while Doug watched her there. By the end of her shift, they were both drunk and commenced their loud nightly fight and shouting match with one or the other stomping off into the darkness. By morning though evidently it was all resolved and all three were sleeping soundly.

     Transits were Bill, a closeted gay guy;  John. another brother to Dave and Doug;  Tim, who worked for his brother;  Robert called Robo, a psycho who unsuccessfully fell in love with every female he met. He also loved to set fires;  Ron, an old alcoholic who mostly was reliving bogus memories of his service. At least he was actually a real veteran who did serve in Vietnam.

    These kind of rounded out our little camp in the woods. If we had to live it again, we wouldn't come within a mile of any of one of there denizens. Unless fate dictated otherwise.

Voting Rights

     Kudos to a Supreme Court that has finally gained some sense with the departure of justice Alito on his one way trip to his personal promised land. Godspeed to him. Unfortunately he left so much debris in his wake that it will take years and many new cases to unravel and clean up. I am thankful that one of the first successful efforts was right here in my home state of Texas. Which I believe is gradually turning blue. There are many more ALEC messes to reverse here but we are working on it.

     Late last year my state driver's license expired. Since I don't drive anymore but do want to vote, I tried to exchange my license for a new state ID so I could vote absentee since I am disabled and have no family or friends to take me physically to the polls. It was explained to me on the phone that to effect such an event I would physically have to appear at a state driver's license office. I faced the same dilemma here as I would trying to vote in person. Frustration at how Republicans suppressed my vote for any Democrat.

     Then out of the blue a revitalized court overturned the Texas voter suppression regulations and suddenly I could get an absentee ballot by simply applying on a mail in form that I received in the mail without asking. I promptly filled it out, signed it without a notary seal required and mailed it. Presently I am waiting for as absentee ballot as soon as available on which I now intend to vote a Democratic straight ticket thanks to the new and improved Supreme Court.

Home Chapter 3

     She sat disconsolate holding onto her dog and idly petting him and surveying her trashy surroundings.  So much had changed in the last few months and she felt an aching sense of loss.  The door had closed on a phase of her life and a new one was opening so slowly, she was afraid.  She wished for the equanimity of the man across the clearing sleeping.  The infection in a cut on her ankle was throbbing again from walking so much lately.  There was no money left to buy medicine or painkillers until the end of the month when their checks came in.   She knew she would have to go out to the street and display a homemade sign asking passers-by to please help us.   No one was in camp today.  The self appointed ruler was in jail for trying to steal from a nearby Walmart.  His girlfriend was downtown visiting him.  Finally, she stirred knowing she was getting hungry and wanted to get the ordeal over as soon as possible.  She handed the leash to her husband and walked into the heat of the September afternoon.

Vindicated

     I've tried to feel gladness at Tony Perkin's house being flooded and destroyed by the disaster in Louisiana. Mainly because of his pretense at knowing of God's moods and actions regarding Gay and Lesbian people. His handbook bible contains for him a belief that a man being with another man  is an abomination and should not be tolerated. He interprets this as meaning women too. This chapter also states that a woman who wears something made of two different kinds of thread should be stoned. I never hear him calling out the fabric industry for violations in the Bible. As he calls out the LGBT society for following their mind and hearts.

      As I wrote that although others might feel pleasure, I simply can't. It's just not in me. I feel nothing but sorrow for all the people there who lost so much including Mr. Perkins. I have no concept of God as some old man who lives in a mythical place no one has any experience about; having human  emotions like anger and displeasure. I rather picture God and Nature to be one and the same. As the rain fells on the just and the unjust alike. Nature caused a weather system to stall over the area and it just kept raining in the same place instead of moving out to the northeast as usual.

Home Chapter 2

        Morning came muggy, hot and overcast. A typical September day on the Gulf Coast. A very weak cool front was moving in setting off rain showers. The first warm drops hit Jim's forehead and he and Oscar huddled together under an old black umbrella someone had probably salvaged from a dumpster. When the shower passed they were a wet bedraggled  pair of animals. Oscar shook himself reasonably dry while Jim decided to let the sun which just came out dry him a little bit.

     In mid-afternoon Des returned from her morning errands and together they worked on clearing out the abandoned old tent of debris; trash, dirt, old empty can and bottles. It took three trips to the trash pile before it was reasonably clean and semi-livable. They took dry blankets and spread them out on the floor and an area on some boxes that provided an elevated surface.                               

      That night they talked and slept securely under a roof. Even though it was a green canvas roof, it kept the night forest animals at bay. Also dry and protected from the occasional shower. They felt their lives were settling in and they could get started with getting back to where they were when this nightmare started. Harder for Jim not having the resilience of his youth unlike the much younger Des.

The Whole Homeless Story

       We first lost my job, then our car and finally our home. We banged around from one place to another for some time and finally arrived at our temporary camp in the woods on Labor Day in 2013.

A Homelrss Story

   What was it like to be homeless and live in a tent in the woods? Like an extended camping trip and  not a very good time. Hopefully it will not happen to most Americans but if it does one can be assured they will survive and things will change. By the grace of God and love, nothing mortal is forever except death. Change my happen gradually or instantly but it inevitably will. Accept whatever come with an open mind and heart and trust that the flow of life is always toward good.

     In my own life being homeless lasted fifteen months although it felt like years. Our condition was voluntary and taken out of love for a dog and each other. Our only other option were shelters and separateness. My wife wouldn't abandon her dog and I wouldn't abandon them both so we took the woods and our tent with all three of us together.


     What it was like, we wrote so notes which when taken together was a true story in fiction form that happened to two other made up people, Jim and Des. Oscar was not made but was very real. I will tell that story in alternate blog posts unless it's contrary to posting rules at Daily Kos. I would appreciate someone advising me.

Latest Mobile Phones

      I might have written something about cell phones and smart phones. If it was more than a couple of weeks, it's total disinformation by now. The industry is rapidly changing as fast as consumers can accumulate enough money to buy the latest model which is reputedly able to shave  men every morning and women shave their legs every day.

     I bought a prepaid phone for about $14.00 a little over 10 years ago along with a card that was another $20.00 and good for 120 minutes of talking. Even though it was inadvertently left out in the backyard during a hurricane and laid out there in the sun for two weeks or so to dry out, all it needed was to charge the battery. To this day it still works fine.

     When I got old and poor, the government gave me a free Reagan phone with 500 minutes every month. It's just like my old prepaid phone except it has a camera. The old phone has a setting to download pictures you can't take with its imaginary camera. As I noted, the industry has made some improvements. My phones won't do anything except connect people to talk which is why I own them in the first place. People in public places look at me sadly and just can't believe I still drive a  Model-T when the new Thunderbird just became available.To me they are the same for going from point A to point B without getting rained on. Like my Timex gives me the same time as your Rolex at a tiny fraction of the cost,

     My first home landline number was 19. No dials, you simply picked up the receiver and a lady said "number, please." You gave her a number and she connected you up. She would even tell you the time if you asked. If you had a party line you could listen to other conversations. Just as you can now with a scanner that can set to cell phone frequencies. Who among us isn't curious about what other people talk about? I admit I am.

     The very best things about cell phones is their portability.  As well as the fact that everybody with an ear has one. It wasn't so long ago that people had to be at home or standing in a phone booth or close to a pay phone. If you took a survey I think it would show that phones have evolved faster than fruit flies or anything else except computer speed chips.

American Humor

     I haven't done a  lot of research into humor around the rest of the world. This topic is one of those searches that give too many answers to learn anything universal by Google, Bing, Dogpile or DuckDuckGo. So I will have to go with my own observations of the evolution of humor in my particular lifetime.

     My starting premise is from the Bible; "When I was a child, I thought as a child.." This was the era of  innocence like knock-knock jokes we sometimes can't forget even when we want to. Next cane cruelty jokes. Children and adolescents liked them. I think because they hadn't developed a repugnance toward pain in other people. When people grew up they lost their sense of humor in the disabled, but retained a sense of amusement toward themselves. I worked with a man who had lost two fingers. As he typed with his remaining three, he looked up at me and said "hire the handicapped, they're fun to watch" as he laughed at himself.

     In the middle of the century puritanism took over movies, printed matter, radio and television. Henry Miller was all the rage with "Tropic of Cancer" that defied all the no-no's. The Hayes Office controlled film with iron fisted rules. You can't show two genders in a double bed. George Carlin, a comedian, listed the seven filthy words you couldn't say on the airwaves. Now they are often heard in mainstream media.   Pornography was only seen in smoke filled back rooms at conventions and lodge meetings.

      With the advances in maturity and new devices like the digital cameras, digital computers and the internet, people demanded more realism in media. Sugar coated shows like "Leave it to Beaver" fell out of favor replaced by shows like "Baywatch" which was really soft core nudity and bottomed out with "America's funniest videos" featured by what I call banana peel humor. A man slipping on a banana peel and busting his butt was as funny as a child on a tricycle running into a brick wall. Or so  the funny video people would have us believe. Yet millions watch  and anticipate each new disaster that befalls every participant in this contest show.

      Where did we jump the tracks in this latest time period. Something went wrong with American humor. Hopefully we can move in some new direction fairly soon.
 
 

Desperation

       One of quiet desperation as Thoreau said of most men's lives. Some think he meant that men and women  too often dream in their youth of what they will do and accomplish in their life. Then for one reason or another those dreams and hopes fall by the wayside. A great number of people hate the work that fate chose for them. But they stay trapped there out of responsibility for a family and economic necessity.

     It's true that some do achieve their dreams but the vast majority of us think we don't have the time or means to become the great artist, painter, writer, singer or athlete whose potential lies within ourselves. Just remember that nothing in this life is forever. Circumstances can change gradually or in a heartbeat. Your children grow up. Your spouses ardor cools with age and familiarity and they might leave or become your best friend still standing by you.

     Now is not the time for complacency. Now is the time to look for that job you think you would enjoy going to every day. Take a cut in pay if necessary. It's worth it. You will survive. I lost a job I grew to hate after twenty seven years. Consequently we lost our house. There were no savings since I spent every penny raising and educating seven children of my own. Even now my youngest is starting his fourth and last year of college. So for two years we lived in a tent in the woods because neither of us would abandon a dog we both loved. We are still together although living apart for various reasons. But we both survived is my point.

     You can read about how very many people achieved their goals late in like Grandma Moses or Colonel Sanders. In college I wanted very much to be a writer. Now at seventy eight I write and publish every day. I want people to read but if they don't I will continue writing because it gives me great pleasure and satisfaction. My son is studying journalism and is already a staff writer for a print newspaper as well as on internet sites. I'm so glad he found his passion early and not like me after over seventy years.