Daily Blues & Views

37 people encapsulated      under a dusty blue sky they comprise: 7 pairs of closed eyes    5 energy drinks       8 coffees,          7 hidden in hoodies,             14 pairs of ear buds,                28 small, glowing screens,                     12 backpacks                          6 tote bags,                             32 sneakers                                  10 boots,                                       2 umbrellas               ...

Today is "Giving Tuesday."  It's another in a long line of contrived commercial events that sprang from Black Friday and Cyber Monday.  Yet I, like many, seem more accepting of a day when people can choose a worthy charity or group and help raise funds for worthy causes.  The internet has been wildly successful at doing fundraising. I should have known something was up with the amount of email that came in this morning.  Seems like every group I've ever given to and any dimly related group was smiling with hands out in my inbox today.  Am I complaining? Hardly.  Like many of my friends, in recent years I've stopped giving those obligatory holiday gifts and chosen to make donations to groups that I and we support.  It's doubly satisfying because not only do we eliminate the need to get in line at the post office or have the expense of using an overnight carrier, but we no longer have to spend time in crowded shopping malls or retail districts wondering...

Maybe it was the masks.  People walking around with surgical masks over their mouths and noses do add a dystopic element to reality.  Sonoma county is usually noted for the quality of the wine it produces.  Wine that becomes exceptional because of the ideal growing conditions.  Lots of clean water and a very temperate climate.  But after spending a week in Northern California...a week breathing toxic air from the horrendous wildfires that now extend the fire season into winter, the reality we face is as topsy-turvey as ever. As Bob Dylan asked during another dystopic time in our lives "..and you know something's happening, and you don't know what it is, do you Mr. Jones?" Something is definitely happening. The fire season has lengthened, the hills are dry and dryer.  The climate is not what it once was. It's changed. To those who deny, the only response can be... It's the environment, stupid. The week piled on more bad news.  Florida is incapable...

The sun came up a larger and brighter orange this morning.  November is nearing its midpoint and ash, not snow falls from above.  New California normal. The President strangles the press openly now and the mass shootings occur on a regular basis. We slide from synagogue to night club, from school to church.  And all the while the drum beats from Is this who we are? to yes, this is...who we are.  This is what we have become. People always kid about getting their passports ready and moving to Canada. They don't want us. The time for kidding is over. The Constitution is in a vice. Two versions of the future pull at each end of the handle. Civil War takes many forms; Civility only one. The burning question is literally burning.

I had a little problem with my front door lock the other day.  That's when I met Jack.  The key to one of the two locks on my front door would go in, but wouldn't turn.  Time to call a locksmith.  I phoned a recommended source and Jack appeared. Jack can best be described as a journeyman.  He's a career professional and his career just might be a dying breed.  Everything is going digital and locks and safes are no exception.  But until that day, an old school locksmith like Jack will continue to make a good living. Jack can get you in.  He can actually diagnose a problem from a fairly accurate description. "This will take about 20 minutes," Jack said after looking at my problem.  He adjusted a few things and then returned my key.  It seems some small part had broken off on the top lock.  When his repair was complete, in about 15 minutes, Jack went on to explain that the top lock, the deadbolt, was in fine shape and really all one...

When I first heard the term it struck me...this idea really fits.  "Tabloid culture"... we live in a tabloid culture.  All the signs were there.  One had only to hear those two words fall into place. This was right around the time that reality TV shows were coming into vogue and tabloids, themselves were beginning to appear in grocery stores at the check-out counter.  And appear they did, in numerous forms.  Newspaper and magazine formats took the place of Time and Newsweek. Of course, television stations were programming the likes of Jerry Springer and Maury Povich.  Who impregnated whom and who done him or her wrong shows were the new ratings toppers. So what does this say about who we are as a people and how that relates to the current state of the union and those who are in the halls of power?  With all sensitivity to personal tastes and differences, to class, race, and gender...it says that we've come down a few pegs and are, perhaps, in fre...

I've been spending a fair amount of time lately reading Ron Chernow's massive new biography of General Ulysses S. Grant.  At over 900 pages, there is a lot of history here, and much of it quite interesting and thought-provoking.  It is also fascinating to read about this historical era when the country was so divided in a time when the country is so divided again. Even though it seems like these divisions will never end or be resolved, they somehow dissipate for a time, only to surface decades later in an altered form.  Altered, yes, but not entirely different from their original content and intensity. We live in a time of tremendous division.  Much of that division concerns the interpretation of what is loosely termed the direction of our country.  We have at the helm, a political newcomer who thrives on pandering to his base and overtly expressing his racism, sexism, and self-righteous indignation.  This is not unlike the world that Grant inhabited w...