Pierce County Feels a 3% Bern

Finally stole enough time to look at the Pierce County election statistics from the March 1st Presidential Primary!

And, as expected, the results are not pretty.  These numbers were found from a Blackshear Times article of March 9, 2016.

The gap between the number of Republicans vs. the number of Democrats in the county continues to increase almost as rapidly as the income gap is in the country as a whole.  In the 2014 general election, roughly 13% of the vote was Democratic.  This March primary, the Democratic votes cast is a whopping 9%.  I think a disbalance that large is very, very damaging.

We did have a 45% turnout of eligible voters.  By recent standards, that is fairly large.  Isn't that a sad commentary when less than half the registered voters showing up is considered a better than average turnout?  Not to mention the substantial number of people who could register but don't bother too.  The reality is, though, that voter registration is neither made easy or even encouraged, except through some of the Christian Right churches.

Trump won with 40% of the Republican vote.  That's mortifying enough, but that other pillar of the apocalypse, Ted Cruz, won 31% of the Republican vote, and won my own precinct two to one over Trump. For those keeping score, that's 71% of the Republican vote, and two thirds of all votes, going to two of the most reprehensible political candidates of the last few decades.

Hillary Clinton won 67% of the Democratic vote, and my candidate of choice, Bernie Sanders, won only 31.8%.  Did I and my incredible influence make a difference in my own precinct?  Not really.  He got slightly better, at 33.2%, but nothing to write home about.

Could it have been the African American vote that gave Clinton the edge in Pierce County?  Probably, although eight years ago, she also beat Obama here by 70% to 30%.  So there is an attachment here that I don't quite understand.  And frankly, I know of maybe only one Pierce County Clinton voter that chose Hillary, so it's hard for me to get an explanation.  Most of the Democratic voters I knew were voting for Bernie Sanders.

When you combine it into an overall vote, then the statistics get really horrible.  Clinton received 6% of the overall vote, and Sanders a miniscule 3%.

The Sanders voters I meet are quite enthusiastic, even if we are a tiny minority.  And we are fairly diverse, at least by age and gender.  Many of them, are open to me, but are very quiet about it to others.  It's hard to fly in the face of 91% opposition.

Every election, I hope that the trend toward extremist right wing and Christian Dominionist positions will have peaked and that some balance begins to be restored in the county.

And every election, I am proven wrong.

Day After Easter Monday Musings

I was very shocked Sunday to hear of the passing of Maxine Higginson.  She was the beloved wife and best friend of the partner of the firm I work at, Bill Higginson.  She was the mother to two fine sons, and to a good number of fine, strong and attractive grandchildren.

The cancer that ended her life was not discovered until January.  Roughly two months later, she was gone. This was a surprise to me, and to many others.  The mother of my two older boys, and my first wife, had four or five years after being diagnosed with stage four cancer.  You hear of so many that battle cancer so much longer than what we were used to years ago, that sometimes you thing we've turned a corner, and are making significant progress against that dread disease.

I pray that we continue to improve our ability to conquer cancer, and the other diseases that take so much from us, including the scourge of Alzheimer's, where people lose grasp of the memories that are so precious to us.

I don't know what else to say now.  I'm still in shock.  The Strait family sends it's thoughts, prayers, support and love to all the Higginsons.   Maxine leaves a beautiful legacy in a bright, loving family, a kind and generous family that are such a blessing to our corner of the world.


----------------------------

Easter at our church was beautiful, a string of services culminating in the hope and resurrection that is the empty tomb.  I was ale to go to all of the major services (Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday).  I served as LEM (Lay Episcopal Minister) at the Good Friday service, and even though I had been assisting for years, found out too late that if there is a great deal of the wine left, that the LEM can finish it off.  I thought the priest had to do that, only to find her handing it to the other LEM to drink. I could have done that, but I didn't know any better.  Now I do.

-----------------------------------

Benjamin came back to us late Saturday night after having spent the last three nights in Orlando and Disney World with his Musical Theatre class and the Girl's Chorus, who performed at Epcot on Friday.  So he was down there with more than two dozen girls and just six boys.  Had I been in his place, well, I don't know if I would have spent my time just with the guys.  But what can I say?  He's just a Freshman, so there's time.

---------------------

I am afraid my writing has been somewhat limited this last week.  I have been suffering from serious back, hip and leg pain that is particularly severe in the morning.  It makes it difficult to sit and write.  Things are slightly better this morning.  I went to a chiropractor Friday, the first time in over thirty years. I do believe they can help some - they've been very helpful to Alison - but I don't want to get in the habit of going regularly.

---------------------------

Saturday I was able to wait until later in the day to write, and I was able to knock out  two "letters", one to Bernie Supporters and the other to Hillary Supporters.  Basically, all these differences between us are interesting, but they must be resolved,  so that at the convention we can unite to face down Sauron.

Let the miracle of the Bernie bird show us the way!

Until next time,

T. M .Strait

An Open Letter to Hillary Clinton Supporters: Saturday Political Soap Box 129

Dear Hillary Clinton Supporters,

Congratulations.  It is not a dead-lock certainty, but it looks like your candidate is the prohibitive favorite to win the Democratic nomination.

She is one of the most qualified persons, male or female, to run for President.  She has an impressive resume and background, and possesses the kind of temperament that would make her a good, pragmatic President.Although not near as progressive as I would want her to be, she definitely will stand up for the right things more than any of the current Republicans would.

Thanks to a contest where the states that favored her were stacked up front, an African-American community (particularly in the South) that has stayed loyal in overwhelming numbers,  and a superdelegate base that is unlikely to budge regardless of primary and caucus results...thanks to these factors and more, she is in the driver's seat for this year's nomination.

But some notes of caution - just trying to keep it real!....

You need to stop attacking Bernie people as if you think they are vile contaminants of society.  All campaigns have loud supporters who say they will not vote for the opposition (remember PUMA?  Anyone? Anyone?)  You need to be more concerned about accommodating them than conquering them.  Because you have no chance of winning the Presidency without them.

Besides, it's not the Bernie people you need to worry about. It's the fact that millions of others don't like her, and almost certainly never will.  Yes, I know a lot of it is based on a huge pile of unfair demonizing and outright lying by a lot of right wing extremists over the last 25 years.  But it's there, and I don't honestly know how you combat it.  I try to talk to independents and Republicans about Hillary, and the anger and heat I get back practically singes off my eyebrows.

She's going to be tempted to tilt right rather than left once she locks the nomination.  She cannot do that. She cannot run as Republican lite.  Because if these last few years have proven, if nothing else, it is that if people have a choice between a Republican and Republican lite, they are going to pick the real Republican.

She needs to pick a Vice President from the Progressive wing.  At a minimum, she should pick Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown and shore up her base in the rust belt.  Because if it is a close election, that is where it will be decided.

It's true.  Hillary is a Corporate Democrat.  That's not ideal, but the best President of recent times has been President Obama, who most assuredly is a Corporate Democrat.  It's not the worst thing in the world.

But it's also not the future.  Catering to Super Pacs and the wealthy, shaping policy based on special interests and preserving the power of the elite, is the way things are done now.  But if we are to really survive and grow as a country, it cannot remain that way.  Bernie Sanders has shown us the way to the future, a new kind of politics that puts everyday people and the middle class first.

Even though she is of the present system, she does not have to stay in place with it.  Just as Bill Clinton promised to "bridge us to the 21st century", she can connect us to the political revolution of tomorrow, to the next generation of leadership that restores and revitalizes our middle class and democracy.

She can do it.  She is a smart, intelligent person, and I do think she cares deeply about this country and it's future.  But she has to abandon her corporate ties (as best she can), stop telling us what we can never, ever have, and start the process of dreaming us past our limits to a better future and place.

It took Nixon for us to go to China.  It took Bill Clinton to bring about welfare reform (whether that was good or bad is a different argument).  So maybe it will take Hillary Clinton to cut our ties to the corporatists.

One can only hope.

An Open Letter to Bernie Sanders Supporters: Saturday Political Soap Box 128

The Miracle in Portland: Best Endorsement Ever!

Dear fellow Bernie Supporters,

Do not lose hope!  The Bernie Bird is the WORD!

Our best states are yet to come!  Beginning with tonight's caucuses in Alaska, Hawaii and Washington, Bernie should start winning the lion's share of the delegates!

Yes, you should ignore and disregard the cajoling of the Hillary people that it is hopeless and time to get out.  But let me place the emphasis on IGNORE.  There is no reason to get angry or return fire.  This is a natural position for someone who at present has the most delegates to take.  It's just the way politics is played.

That said......

Yes, I hope Bernie wins.  I, like many of you,  believe he would make a great President, and would compete better against Trump or Cruz than Hillary would.

But you need to prepare yourself for something, and I'm just trying to keep it real....

The odds and math greatly favor Hillary being the nominee.  Bernie is already in a position where he cannot win the nomination without the help of some superdelegates.  And that's not likely to happen, not in the numbers he's going to need.

She is not a 100% lock to win the nomination, but she is kicking 80 to 90% certainty.

I still hope Bernie will defy the odds.  But you have to be prepared if he does not.

And if he does not, what do you do then?

This is what you DO NOT DO - withdraw your support from the political process and give up.  YOU DO NOT vote for Trump.  YOU DO NOT tell people you'll refuse to vote for Hillary.  YOU DO NOT pick up your marbles and  go home and abandon the process to the corporatists, the fascists and the Christian Dominionists.

This is what YOU DO - you stay together and you continue to fight for the things that Bernie believes in. You continue to back Progressive candidates throughout the nation, turning the Democratic Party back into the defender of the middle class that it is supposed to be.  There is a new Progressive majority coming by 2020, but ONLY if you continue to fight for it. 

The fight for single payer can continue.  The desire for free college can become a reality.  The battle for climate change can be engaged.  The quest for justice for all groups - African Americans, Latinos, the LGBT community, and so many more can be continued every day.  The power of the 1% and the nightmare of our growing economic inequality, and it can be done by staying together and NOT GIVING UP.

If you stay strong, and continue to speak out for economic and social justice, African Americans and other groups that have voted mostly for Clinton will join our cause.  And when that happens, when the middle class defies the artificial borders that have been ginned up to separate us, we will be a force for change, a political revolution that cannot be stopped.

So do you vote for Hillary Clinton?  Yes, you must.  Trump or Cruz cannot gain power - the damage they will cause will be horrendous and irreversible.  Vote for Clinton, but stay united, so that the day she takes office you can pressure her to take up the issues you care about.

But that only happens if you STAY UNITED.

Bernie is about more than just one man gaining the power of the Presidency.  It's about a movement that can restore the REAL greatness of this country - a strong, vibrant and caring middle class.

You can DO IT!

Make Bernie proud!


UPDATE:  Bernie takes Wisconsin by a decisive margin!  Now if Bernie takes Manhattan on April 19th, we'll have a real shot at upending this thing!  Feel the Bern!  Feel the promise of tomorrow shine through TODAY!

UPDATE:  Bernie did not get the the nomination.  Everything I said remains true.  Every day Drumpf turns into a more and more frightening figure.  And defying all political reason, Trump continues to hover in the polls within the statistical margin of error with Clinton.   Yes, Bernie would have been a better candidate to run against him.  But it's not what happened.  And now we have to band together to defeat this greatest of all menaces, this foul, narcissistic fascist Orange Mussolini.  If Stalin and Roosevelt could combine forces to defeat Hitler, surely Hillary and Bernie forces can join together to stop this misogynist racist con man.

Bernie is our Moses.  Our John the Baptist.  He has shown us the way.  It is now up to us to follow.  Push the Democrats to adopt full-throated progressivism.  Fight for every US Senate and Congressional candidate that leans our way, and do it at the state and local level as well.

This will be a long, hard fight.  It won't happen overnight.  But it will happen if you don't give up.

The Ties that Bind

Yep.  That's me in the upper left corner again.  The one in the TIE.  This is the Student Council picture taken for the Yearbook.  I won't go into who all the students are here - hopefully I can do that in a post to be done later.  Just notice my attire compared to the others.

Here I am at a rehearsal for the musical It's A Bird, It'a a Plane, It's Superman.  The student actor I am pictured with is Tim Deneau, our Superman, who was truly that - all-star football player, all A student, and all around genuine nice guy.  Me?  I'm the one at an after school activity, wearing a TIE.

We had a yearly event that I helped manage called Sadie Hawkins Week, culminating in the Sadie Hawkins Dance.  I am handing a prize pig to Cheryl Holland, winning one of the contest events.  Notice her attire.  Yes, the event was inspired by the comic strip L'il Abner, and the dress was, uh, Appalachian casual.  Then notice my attire.  I am wearing a suit and TIE.

I wore a tie to school virtually every day my Junior year.  Part of it was because I was class President. Part of it was because I was rebelling against the standards of my peers and I was trying to be different, non-conformist in my own strange way,  And I'm sure part of it was to appear smarter than I was.

This was actually at a time when the dress code was being relaxed, with jeans and other casual attire being allowed.  So while my peers were dressing "down", I was dressing "up".

As I got older, I would continue to wear a tie wherever I could.  I wore them to church.  I wore them teaching, when many of the other male teachers were not.  And as I came into the accounting profession, they became fairly standard.

My work runs late, so I often have them on when I am at after work events, meetings and play practices.  I don't take the time to change, and I'm too lazy to take the tie off.  When I went to Benjamin's school for Daddy breakfasts or lunches, I was always struck by the fact that I was the only one there wearing a tie. Fewer and fewer professions, particularly around here, are requiring that you wear one.

In the last few years, my attitude towards ties have changed.  I have become weary of them, and look forward now to not wearing them.  The first thing that went is church.  I no longer wear a tie to church. Thankfully, at my church, we have all levels of dressing, from very formal to ultra-casual, and all are welcome equally.

I wear a tie to work Monday to Thursday still, but when I work other days, I do not.  I have not purchased any new ties for awhile now, in anticipation of the time I would not need them.  There is a natural attrition point of ties - some get lost, frayed or permanently stained.  But I am determined to make do with what's left.

I am going to start to take my tie off after work, even if I'm going to an after work activity.  If it makes me look like  I've dropped IQ points, so be it.

Maybe it's just aging, wanting less restrictions in my clothing.  Maybe I'm just ready to take on a new role. I'm finally ready to stop rebelling against my peers, ready to set aside my nerdy Junior Class President disguise.

No, I'm not ready for flip flops, wife-beater t-shirts, and jeans with holes in them.  I just want casual shirts without a tie, regular blue jeans and tennis shoes.  So no camo for me (unless I'm playing Dub in a play), no backwards baseball caps or sandals.

But you never know.  That day may be coming.

Yee-haw!

Branded New Monday Musings

It's Monday, March 21st, in the year that we have culturally agreed is 2016.

A day and a quarter of tax season remain.

I'm doing a little better on accommodating the fact that I failed to get cast for the first time in three decades or so.  I certainly enjoyed my time with my family this weekend.  We didn't accomplish much other than being with each other, but isn't that the greatest thing of all?

I've been down about my writing, but I think that's mostly because I haven't had the time to get into it again. I have no assurances, like I used to have in acting, that I do it at an high enough level to succeed.  I look forward to getting back to fiction writing soon.  I also need to face up to the fact that I have two completed novels that I'm still Hamlet-ing about.

I did find out that you can catch my newspaper column on savannahnow.com and by going to the Effingham page.  It's some of the same stuff you can read on the blog, but it's been cleaned up a tiny bit.  I guess nobody wants me to call Donald Drumpf  a son of a....well, you know.

The NCAA basketball tournament is soul-crushingly disappointing.  Both Michigan teams were out in the first round, and the overdogs are romping.  At the sweet sixteen level overdogs are teams that are seeded at #1 to #4 - there are still 11 of these left, including all four #1 seeds.  There are three underdog teams seeded #5 to #8 left, and two super underdogs, seeded #9 - #12.  There are no Cinderellas left - all teams left have had a reputation for winning in past tournaments.  There are no truly small schools, no genuine surprises. How boring.  This tournament will not be the pleasant diversion it normally is.

Also not helping is the election.  Drumpf may have the force to actually win the nomination, or get so close it may be too much to deny him.  More Republicans in leadership are trying to rally around Ted Cruz.  Just great.  Like they say, do you want to get poisoned or shot?  Every day I wonder if the people around me support Trump, and it makes me angry and sad.

My Hillary friends,,,,CHILL OUT!  Stop trying to demonize Sanders!  He has the money and the crowds to stay in the race, and his message is too important to not go to the convention.  Can he win?  Probably not, but so what?  Everyone in the country should have the right to participate and make a choice.

I'm catching up on our DVRed programs.  Yeah, I like serialized television.  I know some of you who read this can be, forgive me, quite snooty about how you watch little or no television, but I enjoy some of the scripted shows that have a serialized narrative.  I am enjoying Agent Carter, Better Call Saul, The Americans, Supergirl and You, Me & the Apocalypse.  Deal.

I feel another hermitage period coming on.  It happens sometimes when I'm feeling insecure and somewhat rejected.  It's almost inevitable, anyways, at this time of year.  Hopefully, I can come out of it in the next few weeks.

Until next time,

T. M. Strait

P.S.   For my friends who prefer the upbeat, I apologize if this post seems too down.  I'm aware of that, but I think if you read my blog in general, things balance out.  If you write a blog as diverse as I'm trying to do, it can't all be Puppy Uppers.

Which Parade do you Choose?

And the colt he rode in on.........

21 When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, ‘Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, just say this, “The Lord needs them.” And he will send them immediately.[a]’ 4 This took place to fulfil what had been spoken through the prophet, saying,

5 ‘Tell the daughter of Zion,
Look, your king is coming to you,
    humble, and mounted on a donkey,
        and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’

6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; 7 they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. 8 A very large crowd[b] spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,

‘Hosanna to the Son of David!
    Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!’

10 When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, ‘Who is this?’ 11 The crowds were saying, ‘This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.’

The above is the NRSV version of the events of Palm Sunday, as described by the Gospel of Matthew.

An important thing to note is that this event is the opposite of the way a Roman leader or ruler would enter Jerusalem. It is meant to be a contrast, a satire, a mockery of the way it would be done by the Romans.

Entering that day as well, from the west, was Governor Pontius Pilate,  in a large military parade filled with pomp  As described in a sermon by Pastor Dawn Hutchings, as sourced by the writings of several biblical scholars, Pilate's parade included “cavalry on horses, foot soldiers, leather armor, helmets, weapons, banners, golden eagles mounted on poles, sun glinting on metal and gold.”

The Romans wanted to display overwhelming force to intimidate the Jews into subservience and obedience, to show them they were in control of their lives, and that resistance was futile.

Jesus came in on the back of a baby ass, in a humbling almost demeaning way, without the display of force or military might.  No, he came in a humbling way, lit only bt the power of love.  And that love was reciprocated willingly.  Because ultimately, love and hope are more powerful than hate and fear.

We forget that again and again.  We tend to preach love and than resort to hate.  We are attracted to the politician who has own jetliner and entourage, and show little interest in the one that flies by himself in the economy section.  We admire the one who forcefully shuts down dissent at his rallies over the one who listens to others speak.

Again and again, we choose the arrogant over the humble.  Even Christians who have this beautiful example of Palm Sunday before them sometimes are distracted by the pomp and noise of those who are more interested in control and domination than in love and walking together.

So, please, take a closer look at Easter and decide which parade you want to be a part of.

I know what my decision is.

Voters in a Mood: Saturday Political Soapbox 127

That's me in the corner, reading my religion, President of the Junior Class.  Then there's John Wilson, Vice-President; Brenda Sanderson, Secretary (later our Homecoming Queen) and Melody Austin, Treasurer.  Three beautiful, intelligent young people, and some doofus wearing a tie and reading the help wanted ads.

Yep,

I was our Junior Class President, at good old Bridgeport High School.

Little did I know that it would be the very pinnacle of my political career and everything would be downhill from there.

As you can imagine, I was a strange duck running.  I campaigned, put up posters. passed out little cards people could wear with a "Strait pin", had a platform, gave impassioned AND substantive speeches, organized a political party and slate of candidates to run with, even did polling. I was admittedly quirky but also very dedicated to what I wanted to do.  

Of course, note every student saw it that way.  

I was running against one of the most popular boys in the school.  He was all A's AND athletic.  The other athletic guys followed his lead.

One time, in a hallway near the gym, this guy, James Wilbur, saw me by myself, with my campaign materials.  He was with his athletic buddies.  He asked me, "Why are you running?"  I gave him a long, spirited answer, filled with facts and detailed solutions,  I was at my rhetorical best.

When I was finished, he just looked at me and said. "Strait, you're crazy!"  All his buddies yelped their agreement, thumping Wilbur heartily on the back.  They left me standing there, by myself, drained, alone, feeling like I had made an utter fool of myself.

Nevertheless, I won.  Many of the popular kids that were dominant in the class decided to back me instead of Wilbur.  To this day, I'm not sure why.  Maybe they just wanted to bring the occasionally arrogant James Wilbur down a peg.  Or maybe it was just the free Strait pins.  Who knows?

My administration was what you would expect.  Lofty ambitions that either got ignored or done by somebody else.  I gradually figured out that the "popular kids who ran things" were indeed the popular kids that ran things.   They would listen to me a bit, and then go off and do what they wanted.

Because I failed to live up to my platform (specifically I promised I would raise $1500 and I fell short of that), I did not run for Senior Class President.  I probably would have gotten my posterior kicked in anyways.

They instead turned to someone who was sort of the antithesis of who should be representing the class.  They elected a burnout as kind of an act of defiance.

It turned out as disastrous as you might expect.  The Senior Treasurer, Dona Bow (who is now one of my bestest friends) discovered missing funds from a magazine subscription fundraiser the class had put on.  I don't know the exact amount, but I believe it was at least several hundred dollars.   I can't remember the extent of the legal trouble he got into, but the whole thing was not pretty.

But what could you do?  The voters were in a mood, a really self-destructive mood, and the election of someone like that kid was inevitable.

Voters sometimes do that.  They elect people they know are not worthy, simply because they are in kind of an "eff you" mood.  I saw that in 1972 when people would tell me they KNEW that George McGovern was the better person, and they KNEW that Nixon was a crook, but well, "eff you!"  In 1980 I knew there was no substance to Reagan, that he was an empty suit echoing far-right-wing talking points, that he was too extreme to be elected, but you know what?  The voters decided to say, "eff you!"  And we have been trying to recover from Reaganomics and trickle-down B.S. ever since.

And now we are getting ready to experience the biggest "eff you" in American political history.  A cadre of voters have taken advantage of the jumbled mess in the Republican Party, and are about to foist into nomination the most unsuitable presidential candidate I have ever seen. Trump is more racist, given our times, than George Wallace.  He is more unstable than Ross Perot, more misogynist and sexist and all-around horndoggy than Clinton or Kennedy, less intelligent and articulate than Bush, Jr., more militarily and foreign policy ignorant than ANY candidate we've ever had.

And YET, he is about a five to one favorite to be the Republican nominee, and like it or not, about even money that he could actually be the next President of the United States.

Why?

Because the voters are in a mood.  An irrational, hateful, defiant, brutal, "eff you" mood.  And the Democrats seem to be determined to nominate someone that it will be easy-peasy for Trump to run against, someone who represents the very essence of the "special interest -  Citizens United"  system that voters are rebelling against.

Let's hope that the voters got out of their "eff you" mood by the first Tuesday in November.

I fear greatly that they won't.  And it makes me tremble and pray for our country and our world.

Because there is a lot more than magazine subscriptions at stake.

The Paragraph That Ended It All

One of my favorite writers is Margaret Atwood.  The Canadian author is most famous for the dystopian novel The Handmaid's Tale, depicting a world where people very much like the Christian Dominionists have taken control. She has written a great variety of excellent stuff, including science fiction, slice of life books, short stories and poetry.

I have just read her book Cat's Eye, a tale of growing up in mid-century Canada.  The main focus is on the central character and her relationships with the other girls that have befriended her.  She is sometimes bullied and abused, and at other times those roles are reversed.

Early on, there was a paragraph so overpowering that it changed my opinion about something fundamentally important to me.

And what was that life changing paragraph?  The central character was introducing her family, bringing them to life by describing their ears.  In great, loving detail she brought them to focus, using colorful and imaginative language.  Each are distinct and hints cleverly at who they are.  I don't want to get in trouble so I won't quote much, but here is just one sentence of it -

"My father's, which stick out from under the brim of the old felt hat he wears to keep twigs and tree sap and caterpillars out of his hair, are large and soft-looking, with long lobes: they're like the ears of gnomes, or those of the flesh-colored, doglike minor characters in Mickey Mouse comic books."

And what life changing lesson did I derive from this?

I am not a writer.  I'm just pretending.  No matter how much I study or plan or research, I don't think I could ever write a paragraph like that.  I just don't have it in me.

My writing is quick and joggy, usually barely one step ahead of the Grammar Police.  You're lucky if I tell you my characters have ears much less what they look like.  Some writers spend pages describing a lunch a character is at, whereas my plotting hurls along at the pace of a toddler building a sand castle.  It's built sloppily and in a hurry, and is washed away at the first high tide.

My hopes and dreams of writing providing the financial means of escape from accounting are ridiculous and immature.  I am no Margaret Atwood.  I'm not even a Stephen King or George R. R. Martin.

The rational thing to do is to move on and do something more realistic, something that may better help me make the transition out.

But I won't.

I love writing too much, even if I'm not very good at it.  It brings me too much joy.  The weeks I had off last year, where I was able to write for six or more hours a day, was one of the happiest weeks of my life.  It helped me finish up Crowley Stories, something no one else has read as a book, from beginning to end.  But I enjoyed creating it, and maybe someday a few others will.

So it was a harsh realty check, reading that paragraph, and has made me face up to the impossibility of what I had hoped to achieve.

Nevertheless, I will soldier on, even with my vastly lowered expectations.

I can't help it.

I love tilting at windmills.

Play's Wake Monday Morning Musings

The play is done.

For me, there is not a new one coming, at least for awhile.

I am left with the accounting reality, made even more intense because of the time of year it is.

Not having been in a musical since 2001, and never having performed one on the Ritz stage, I was struck by the number of people who assisted at all levels.  There was a lot of people on stage acting, but that was only the tip of those involved.  We had Director with two Assistant Directors, a Choral Director, a Music Director, lighting and sound people, a band of fifteen or more, a choreographer, a costumer, and many more. It was an awesome effort, involving many, many people.

One of the great things about these huge musical productions is that we have multiple family members involved.  Children and parents, cousins and friends, newcomers and veterans - just an incredible range of people.  There a variety of religions and ethnicities, diverse political opinions and cultural interests.  But everyone is working together to achieve a common goal - to entertain hundreds and a have a blast while doing it.

I want to thank all those who took the time to show me friendship and kindness in the show.  KImberly Beck, it was a great pleasure to finally perform with you and Emily on the WACT stage.  Taylor Hereford, our marvelous Music Man, you are a great talent and a generous and kind person.  Brittany Peacock, it was wonderful to get to know you and my other stage daughters better, including Emily Beck, Mallan Gill, Amara Grace Jeffords and Taylor Mulkey.  It was a blast being able to talk to so many others, including Tom Etheridge, Brenda Luke and my stage "wife", Nikki Spivey.

It's going to be difficult not being in the next one.  There were many of my friends whom I was hoping to work with again  I encouraged them to try out, and then I let them down by failing to get cast.  It was the first time I'd fallen short in some thirty years, and the very first time I failed at the community theatre level (the other three failures were at theatres that were more professional or semi-professional).  I will miss the most the opportunity to act onstage with my good friend, Anita Lynn.  She had been in two other plays where I was not able to try out, so I thought we were finally in sync, but alas, that was not the case.

Theatre has been vital in my life in helping me get through the long tax season, helping me face spending so much time doing something that is well, something I do to keep the lights on.  The May play is especially important as it helps give me light at the end of the tunnel.

But I have other interests to keep me spinning ahead, and a wonderful, loving family.  And even if I can't be onstage with them, I have looking  forward to seeing so many of my friends from the viewpoint of an audience member.

And we can't forget - March Madness!  Go Wolverines and Spartans!

Better start filling out my bracket now!

I Went a Wednesday Wandering

It's a whole week of themeless madness!

-----------------------------

Benjamin's play/skit last night was AWESOME!  He did a great job of a scene where it was just he and a girl, and he came across as charming but awkward and shy dater.  He showed to me that special spark that makes one an entertainer.  He delivered his lines clearly and realistically.

-------------------------------

Rarely am I as stunned by election results as I was last night.  The final polls showed Hillary Clinton winning Michigan by double digits.  Instead, Bernie Sanders won!  The media kept thinking that Hillary would pull it out, but Bernie got double the percentage of the African-American vote that he was getting in the South, and it made the difference in the end.

This helps ensure that Bernie will be able to go until the end, planting the seed for Progressive victories in the future.

----------------------------------

On the other side, the vast majority of Republican voters have decided they want an a...hole for President, either the bigoted, narcissistic fascist Trump or the nasty Christian Dominionist Cruz.  Rubio is now a real nowhere man, and Kasich may be the last great hope to prevent the Republican Party's complete destruction.  He has to win Ohio, or Trump wins the nomination.  O Republicans! Ye know not what you do!

---------------------------------

Speaking of which, so there is no confusion, I am not now nor have I ever been, a Clintonista.  I have always thought they were a bit smarmy, and more than a tad too corporate.  But no one needs to operate under the delusion that I would ever vote for any of the Republican candidates over Hillary Clinton.  She may be far from perfect, but she is a hundred-fold better than any candidate on the Republican side.  It's not even close.

-----------------------------------------

Tax season drones on, the corporate deadlines hanging over me and my colleagues. Getting past it may only be a psychological barrier, and not that meaningful in relation to the stress, but I will be grateful when that deadline is over, anyways.

------------------------------------------

I used to hate zucchini.  Now Alison has used them for a substitute for pasta, spiralizing the zucchini and seasoning it just right.  It really tastes better than regular pasta.  Surprise!

--------------------------------------

I wasn't sure that I could hold my weight down during this intensive play period, coming home so late after The Music Man, and usually ravenous after being onstage.  But so far, so good - actually even going down a bit!  Maybe at tomorrow's biometric screening, they won't use the "O" word (Obese).


And now, I must go a-wandering in the land of tax returns and windowless attics.

T. M .strait

Tossed Out Tuesday Tidbits

Disjointed, disconnected, discombobulated.

Nevertheless, I struggle for coherency.  I may have to settle for occasional complete thoughts.

------------------------------

Today is the Michigan primary.  I have family and friends who will support Bernie, but the polls have not been showing him closing the gap quickly enough.  I fear the media will try to make it his Waterloo, even if he only loses by a small margin.

It is important to the future of the Progressive movement that he campaigns and wins votes all the way through the last primary.  The whole nation needs to be exposed to and feel like a part of his message.

-------------------------------

I watched part of Last Word with Laurence O'Donnell last night, and was struck by the importance of education in this country, particularly Civics/Government, and also the development of critical thinking skills, and how the emphasis on these have been slowly decreasing for the last fifty years. It explains how an ignorant, bigoted,fascist and superficial realty star like Donald Drumpf can rise to such prominence.  It reflects ignorance of our history as a nation, of our constitutional form of government, of our growth to a more participative democracy.  Everything depends on an informed citizenry,  We apparently don't have that anymore.

---------------------------------

I have been just reminded that I have a biometric screening on Thursday morning.  My weight is down (I'm at lows for me -at least in this century), but this is not a good time of year to take blood pressure readings. Oh, well.  We all have our things to watch and try to improve.

------------------------------

Here Comes Tommy, my ebook available on Kindle for $2.99, now has FOUR reviews! Woohoo!  I haven't gotten any payments yet, but I await with great anticipation my phat one digit check!

----------------------------

I will be glad when the corporate deadline is passed (past? Passe'? over? -I don't know. I can't research it right now).  There will still be a lot more to go, but at least that pressure will be gone.

-------------------------------

I would talk about TV, but our DVD is accumulating many things and is about to explode.  I will say that the best show on TV that you're not watching is You, Me & the Apocalypse.  Very well written with great characters.  And science fictiony to boot!  I think it's done by some of the people that did Parks & Recreation.

-------------------------------

I have to stop tidbitting.  My writing time has runned out.

Midrun Monday Morning Musings

The first weekend of The Music Man is complete!  The exhausting theatre "hell week" has been survived.  Not without some colds and laryngitis within the cast, but we did endure.  Now we have a two day break until Wednesday read through, and then start it all over again.

Even though I was tired and low energy, Sunday afternoon was my personal best.  I stepped on some poor young girl's foot because I changed my blocking without warning, and I was so mean in one scene I made a baby cry.  The audience was very responsive, and I loved it.  They were reacting to lines and facial expressions.

Today I will probably work a little later in order to make up for the times I leave earlier than normal (leaving at 6 PM instead of 7 PM).  This is based on hopefully keeping my fried mind focused long enough. There are jobs with longer hours, but it does require a lot of mental focus and energy.

Tuesday night Benjamin performs in a high school play/skit.  I don't know how he does it, being both in that and in The Music Man at the same time.  He is the lead and has the bulk of the lines.  When he found the time to learn them, I don't know.  But we're looking forward to seeing it.  Benjamin is turning into a very good actor.  Hopefully, he'll find theatre to be an excellent outlet, like I do, to help balance and cope with the regular work world.

Wednesday night is the play read through.  This is a theatre tradition to help refresh the play in your mind and get refocused.  Our director has made this rehearsal not mandatory.  It will be interesting to see how many show up.

Thursday night the play returns, and then will continue for Friday and Saturday nights, and then wrapping up Sunday afternoon,

Such an intense schedule makes you wonder about your commitment to theatre, and makes it hard to plunge into the next play.  Nevertheless, that is exactly what I am going to do!  I plan on trying out for The Beverly Hillbillies, to be performed in May.  Am I crazy?  Well, yes, but that's beside the point.  I look at some of the others trying out, especially Anita Lynn, a great friend from church, and I can't resist.  Anita has been in two plays recently, both of which I was not in, and I can't pass up a third.

Sports is gone as an element of my life.  I guess spring training is on, although I know nothing of results or how individual players are doing.  Do the Tigers or Braves look promising?  I have no idea.  I guess March Madness is coming soon, but I've lost complete tract as to who is contention.  I hope both the Michigan State Spartans and the Michigan Wolverines make it in, but I don't know whether that's possible or not.

Movies must be playing at the local theatre, but I haven't seen one since Christmas season.  I suppose I'll see Superman v. Batman, although I am more apprehensive than excited.

Writing has slowed considerably, and I have done nothing to get more on Kindle, or to publish the two books I have completed.  Maybe that will get better in a month and a half, or maybe I'm phasing out of writing so much.  We'll just see.

I love politics, but the primary season has me depressed.  Trump won the state on the Republican side, which means I have to be coming into contact daily with people that voted for him.  I'm scared to ask some of my friends.  some of them it would really hurt to know if they had voted for that fascist clown.  Church members whom I thought would know better, cast members from Anne Frank who unfortunately did not absorb the message of the play, co-workers who may have abandoned reason in the voting booth.  It's like looking around with fear in the world of The Invasion of the Body Snatchers, not knowing whether the person next to you has been replaced by an alien pod - they're here!  You're next!

Until next time,

T. M. Strait

America's Political Future: Saturday Political Soap Box 126

I know.  For many of us, it seems very, very dark right now.  In the Republican Party we have a fascist contending with a Christian dominionist and two corporatists. In the Democratic Party we have a corporatist contending with a democratic socialist.

What does it all mean?

There are a lot of ways to analyze how we got here - gerrymandering, low voter turnout in midterms, Citizens United, the determination that it was more important to discredit the President than to lead the nation.  These and other reasons led us to this mess.

But do not despair.  Analyzing the groups of candidates still in contention reveal as much about what our future might be, beyond the analysis of how we got here.

The Politics of the Past

Trump and Cruz represent efforts to take the this country backwards, to a time each man considers better.

Trump represents the last gasps of white cultural dominance.  It is the final battle of many who supported candidates like George Wallace and Reagan, who were inspired by the antics of such political consultants as Lee Atwater and Karl Rove to use white resentment as the "Trump" card to win elections.  As the nation becomes more diverse, this becomes a strategy to win a fractured political party's nomination, but a losing strategy to win a general election.

Cruz represents the final curtain call of the older evangelical voter, the ones for whom social issues and holding back a changing culture is more important than their own economic condition.  This was never a majority of Americans, but it was enough to intimidate the Republicans into catering to their interests.  The problem they have is that many millennial evangelicals are no longer as concerned with social issues as they are by doing right by their brother and sister.  Look at many of the new mega- churches.  They are becoming fuzzier and fuzzier on social issues.

These are political strategies of the past that, although incredibly frightening, no longer have the power that they did.  They are fading forces that are dimming more each year.  Right now, they seem so intense because they are like a wounded bear in its death throes - more dangerous than ever until it finally expires.

The Politics of the Present

Current politics are dominated by Citizens United, Super Pacs and special interests.  This allows politicians to often ignore the will of the people and cater to the wealthy few.  The representatives of this politics are Rubio, Kasich and Clinton.

Yes, I include Clinton in this group.  I'm sorry.  You don't become super rich like they have after Bill's Presidency by just your own guff.  You call in favors and you take advantage.  You get Hundreds of thousands of dollars from places like Goldman Sachs and then hope people are naive enough to think these supposedly intelligent corporations did that without any expectation of return.

I'm not trying to call out Clinton by herself.  You haven't been able to be a contender for President without being a corporatist.  Obama has been a very good President, but he is most definitely a corporatist, as was W and all recent nominees. This is way politics have been for quite awhile, and it has been getting more so every year.

Well, that;s the way it's been, up until.......

The Politics of the Future

.......Bernie Sanders!  Funding not through Super Pacs, but through small donations, he defies the present-day logic, and thrives by offering solutions that are aimed at making life better for the middle class.  America is only as strong as its middle class, and it has been under great and relentless siege since the Reagan Revolution.  So Bernie Sanders is calling for "New Revolution" that restores us at the center again.

It's a great change.  It's a tremendous defiance of conventional wisdom.  But it is attracting a  motivated and enthusiastic group of younger voters.

I don't think Bernie can break through this year.  I wish that he could.  But the forces of hatred and ignorance, with the additional impetus of corporatism, will make that very difficult.

But this much is true - the future belongs to the young.  They will stay inspired and committed.  They will become the next generation of politicians.  They will provide he backbone for the coming new Progressive Majority.

I believe this with all my heart and soul.  For the alternative is too awful to contemplate.

Win, lose or draw, Bernie will start the flame that illuminates our world and saves us all.  Bernie's not Jesus.  He's just an everyday guy who has intelligence, passion and spirit.  A socialist Jew who has great things to say?  Who'd a thunk it?

So, yes, things seem dark.  But I do see a light.  We might not run to it.  We might walk to it instead, or stumble to it.  And, yes, there is no guarantee that we'll even take that path.

But I pray that we do.

It may be our only chance.

My Six Stage Daughters

Pictured from left to right: Taylor Mulkey, Emily Beck, Tom Strait, Brittany Peacock, Mallan Gill and Amara Grace Jeffords.


Yes, Yes, Yes.  I have been blessed in life with my three sons: Greg, Doug & Benjamin.  

But, alas, I have no daughters.

Well, theatre has helped make up for that!  In the last three plays I've been in, I've had SIX daughters!  - double my number of sons!

Taylor Mulkey plays Zaneeta in The Music Man, the slightly defiant one who is hip and up to date with 1912 culture.  She is a junior at Pierce County High School.

Emily Beck played Anne Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank.  She is the daughter of my good friend, Kimberly Beck, and I have watched her grow in the theatre since she was a wee one.  If you missed this great show, there may be more opportunities to see it in the near future.  Stay tuned!

Brittany Peacock played my daughter in Dearly Beloved.  She is a very gifted young actress, whose facial expressions and reactions are extraordinary.

Mallan Gill plays my second daughter, Gracie Shinn, in The Music Man.  She is enthusiastic and very responsive, very impressive in her part.

Amara Grace Jeffords played Margot in The Diary of Anne Frank.  She is another who I have had the pleasure of watching grow up and mature into a great actress.  She was at my church, Grace Episcopal, and had been prominent at the Flying Dragon, the wonderful children's theatre founded by her parents.

Not pictured is Elizabeth Beck, Kimberly's older daughter (just a month younger than Benjamin).  She also played Margot on a second run of The diary of Anne Frank.  Elizabeth, like her sister, I have had the pleasure of watching grow in the theatre.  She is also a fine dancer and a basketball player.


The Music Man starts Thursday, March 3rd, and runs through Sunday, March 13th.  Make me and my "daughters" happy and come out and see it!
Oh, yeah. Benjamin is in it too!