Political Potpourri: Saturday Political Soap Box 192

Please forgive me.  It has been over a month since my last Saturday Political Soapbox.  I had been busier than usual recent Saturdays, and have not been able to put one out.  I have posted political things, but not on Saturdays.  I keep forgetting that Saturday Political Soapbox is more of a brand name, and can be done anytime.

Even given the delays, this is my 192nd Saturday Political Soap Box.  That's a pretty damn good record!  I may not always have quality, but nobody can argue that I don't have quantity!

Today, I have more random comments than a theme.  Hey, it's been a while, and I'm catching up!

Ain't the guy in the picture above a charmer?  Angry, belligerent, partisan -all the qualities you want in a judge that's appointed for a lifetime to sit on the highest court in the land.  And all of this he did sober!  Can you imagine what type of drunk he is?  Well, some people, like Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez, don't have to imagine.  They know.  As does his first college roommate.

So why does the Republican party stick with such an obvious piece of crap?  For most Republicans, it's the calendar.  They want to get this done in case the Democrats get the majority after the midterms.  For Trump, it's because Kavanaugh was the only candidate that made it clear that he didn't think a President could be indicted.

And indicted he should be.  The Mueller report, when and if it ever comes out, will clearly condemn President Bone Spurs, if not outright indict him.

Trump could stop and/or mess up the report if he removes Deputy Attorney General Rob Rosenstein and/or Attorney General Jeffrey Beauregard Sessions.  He doesn't have to remove Mueller to mute the report directly.  And Trump will most likely do it, probably right after the midterms.

My first speculatron, dating back to early August, predicted that the Republicans would retain the House of Representatives by 5 seats, and increase their narrow lead in the Senate by two.  Has anything happened to change that?  Possibly.  The debacle with the Kavanaugh nomination should increase the turnout of anti-Trump women.  This should make the capture of the House by the Democrats at least possible.

This may not be the marvelous blessing Democrats are hoping for.  The Trumpian machine will be running at maximum capacity, 24/7, blaming everything that goes wrong on the Democratic House.  It will give Trump a boogeyman to run on in 2020 (barring his resignation, impeachment, or removal by the 25th amendment).

One thing that will not be saved is Roe v Wade.  I'm sorry.  You can kiss that goodbye.  Unless Democrats play a McConnell and keep the Supreme Court seats open until a Democrat controls the White House and the Senate, the conservative extremists will take control of the Supreme Court, and there will be a majority to either end abortion outright or take it out by a thousand cuts.  That is only the tip of the iceberg of the things we will lose, and future progressive majorities will be thwarted in their ability to change things.  Elections have consequences, even Russian influenced elections aided by the quirks of an antiquated electoral college.

Progressives have not as clearly swept the primaries as I had hoped, but they have done fairly well, winning some important races, and should be a real presence in 2019 and beyond.  They will keep pulling the Democrats towards decisions that benefit the working class (and thereby benefitting everyone in the country), and I believe they will grow in strength across the nation.  At least, that's my sincere prayer and hope.  I really don't see any other way out of this mess.

I could go on and on, but I think the longer I make these, the fewer people that read them, especially without a well-organized theme.

Keep the faith, and I hope to be back with Saturday Political Soap Box #193 very soon!

T. M. Strait

Rumspringa Goes A-Courtin'

Man, you can almost find anything on television.  Reality series about nearly anything, from rich housewives to Pacific ocean fisherman, pawn shop owners to house flippers, dog whisperers to Amish youth on Rumspringa.

Amish youth on what?

Rumspringa is a rite of passage for Amish youth where they step outside of their home and culture, and experience life in the outside world.   The idea is to "sow wild oats," deliberately experiment with a lifestyle outside of Amish life, and then step back and decide whether the Amish world was for them.  This theme has been brought to our TV screens in series such as Breaking Amish (just to name one). 

They have contact with the dreaded electronics they otherwise avoid.  They may drink.  They may experiment with drugs.  They party.  They may have more intimate relations with each other than they would back at home.

When they come back, it is with a more profound knowledge of the alternative and makes their re-commitment all that more significant.

Rumspringa, or sowing wild oats, is not a concept used only by the Amish.  Other cultures, including some Christain denominations, allow something similar.

Don't think so?  Listen to a group of older gentlemen of some conservative Christian denominations talk sometime, especially about growing up.  There is often laughter and amusement over the shenanigans they pulled off in their youth.  Although not formally structured, like it is with the Amish, there appears to be a time, in the high school and college years, where bad behavior is considered just a rite of passage.

There are chuckles about minor property damage, whether it be teepeeing a house or moving a statue.  There are bemused shakes of the head over the silliness of excessive drinking.  And  over the top behavior with women is shrugged off as "boys will be boys."

Boys will be boys.  That is an essential difference with the Amish.  In those conservative Christian circles, it is only the boys that get the pass.  Women, of any age, are held to a different standard.

I don't know the truth about what Brent Kavanaugh did or didn't do.  I do know this.  His behavior, if true, falls outside of the acceptable.  Whatever Rumspringa is supposed to cover, whatever way you feel about the practice (and I object to it if it's not equally applied to both sexes, or if it excuses behavior that violently and cruelly exploits others), what Kavanaugh is accused of doing falls outside of it.

But not everybody feels that way.  Some apply the "boys will be boys" standard to even this.  It's not whether or not it's true.  Only an FBI investigation can bring us closer to that truth.  There are those who believe that even if it's true, it's excusable. 

No, it's not.  That does not mean a person's life can't be redeemed.  Most religions have a process for confession, forgiveness, redemption, and restitution.  I think one of the main things that bring many of the Amish youth back after Rumspringa, is the recognition that many of their indulgences hurt other people, even if they don't mean to.

But none of that means anything if you can't get to the first step - confession and asking for forgiveness.  What happens in Rumspringa stays in Rumspringa is a stupid and meaningless slogan.  Sooner or later, you have to face up to the consequences of your behavior.

Even if you're aiming for a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land.

Especially if you're aiming for that.

Fry it Up Southern Style!

Yee-haw!

Come one!  Come all!  Come Y'all!

Starts tonight at the Ritz!

Southern comedy at it's finest, and more importantly, at its funniest!

The cast of Southern Fried Funeral!

TV Fall Preview: Basic Cable & Premium

Basic cable and premium channels produce a lot of great shows.  Game of Thrones, anyone?  The Americans?  Better Call Saul?  They often dominate the awards shows. They don't have to produce as many episodes as broadcast TV does, and they have less censorship and can be expressive and explicit,.

One of the shows coming to HBO, a premium channel that often dominates the Emmys, is Camping, a comedy (mostly) starring Jenifer Garner (Alias)  and David Tennant (Doctor Who).  Garner plays a control freak, organizing a big camping trip for her family and friends, and finds that people and nature are not always easy to manage,.  It premieres October 14th and will be on Sundays at 10.

The Purge TV series started September 4th on USA Network, Yeah, I'm watching it.  At first, the idea seemed far-fetched to me.  How could we descend that far?  But after reading Margaret Atwood's book Payback, which focuses on debt and how it dominates us, both our politics and religion and prods us to consider sacrifices to balance things out ( animal sacrifices, Jesus sacrificing for our sins on the cross, doing good to atone for the bad, escape valves for human aggression), the concept seems a bit closer to reality for me.  There are also overtones that suggest the whole thing is a manipulation by the wealthy to keep the poor down and to thin the herd.  There are occasional Trumpian glimpses to it.

Sometimes the themes I am suggesting do not shine through.  The writing isn't always first-rate.  But it's still worth catching.  At least to me.

The Little Drummer Girl is a mini-series coming to  AMC November 19, Mondays at 9 PM.  It's based on the novel by the master of the espionage genre, John Le Carre.  It centers on a young Engish actress (played by Florence Pugh), who finds herself swept into the world of spies while on vacation in Greece.  I've read the book it's based on, and I'm very much looking forward to this adaption.

Jim Carrey is back, and Showtime's got him!  Kidding started on September 9th, Sundays at 10.  Jim Carey is children's TV host, Mr. Pickles, a figure as revered as Mister Rogers.  He, unfortunately, is coming off some bad experiences and finds his life and mental focus deteriorating.  So far, the writing has been great, and Jim Carrey has been both funny and serious, reflecting an intense, complex character.

Another Showtime series, Escape from Dannemora, starts Nov 18th, Sundays at 10 (I guess this is after Kidding is through).  It's based on a real-life escape conducted by two prisoners, aided by a female prison guard.  It's produced and directed by Ben Stiller and features some first-rate actors, including Benicio Del Toro, Paul Dano, and Patricia Arquette.


Yes, there are many more series coming, and a lot of returning favorites.  This list is just the five news I am most interested in.  Please mention in comments, hee or on Facebook/Twitter, any favorites of your own.

One of Us Fighting For All of Us

We all know the problem.

Only one side runs for our elected offices, and there are no alternatives offered, no other viewpoints heard.

Someone needs to step up and speak up.  Someone needs to have the courage to run.  For all my blogging bravado, I did not step up.

But someone did.

And that someone is Georgia District 178 House of Representatives candidate Greg O' Driscoll.

He is seen in the picture above with Barbara Griffin, receiving the endorsement of the National Asociation of Social Workers, Georgia.

Greg is one of us.  He has a full-time job, working at a home improvement store.  He has a family, including the arrival of a new baby boy this summer.  He's experienced the same day to day financial pains and struggles many of us have.

He will not have a special interest agenda when he goes to be our representative in Atlanta.  He'll fight for the family farmer, and not be in the pocket of large agribusiness.  He'll do everything to extend Medicaid, and do everything in his power to ensure as many people as possible have access to decent health care and work to prevent people from going bankrupt just trying to provide basic health care to their family.   He'll deal with the terrible drug and opioid crisis in our area, in a way that emphasizes rehabilitation, recovery and work with the medical community.   He'll fight to preserve and grow the Hope Scholarship and to strengthen the backbone of democracy - public schools.  When industries pollute, he will be on the side of the health and well-being of your family.  He'll aim to bring green jobs to Southeast Georgia.

He is one of us fighting for all of us.

Please consider voting for one of us this election.  Please help revolutionize the Georgia legislature so that it once again represents the interests of its citizens.

Greg O' Driscoll - it's time one of us went to the statehouse!

Greg O'Driscoll being introduced by Melvin Johnson, chairman of the Pierce County Democrats.

Truth in Monday Musings

That's me, photobombing my two long-time thespian buddies, Kimberly and  Elizabeth Beck, as we get ready for our last performance of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

I completed another play.  I wish I had kept a list of all the plays I had been in since my Freshman in High School, but alas, I have not.  I don't think it would be an exaggeration to say the number is just over or close to 100.  I've been performing for close to fifty years (age 14 to 63) and averaging 2 to 3 productions a year.  Some years there have as many as 5, others years none.  So 100 is not an unreasonable guess.  

This play was very well cast, with some very dynamic performers in key roles, and even people at the top of their game in minor roles.  Like The Addams Family, I was in last year, they were very fortunate in getting just the perfect person for each part.  Conner Griffin was the ideal RP McMurphy, highly energetic and engaging.  Julianna Lacefield set her normally sweet personality aside and became the cold tyrant that is Nurse Ratched.  It would have been hard to come up with a better Chief Bromden than Duke Shiva Nanan.  Benjamin's friend, Brittany Burkett, was a tour de force as Billy Bibbitt.  Everyone was quite extraordinary.

For myself, just my own experiences as an actor, the play experience ranks as fair to middling (AGAIN - JUST MY ACTING EXPERIENCE, THE PLAY ITSELF WAS EXCELLENT).  The quick costume changes were tough on this old dude, as was the fall I had to take.  I played four characters (AIDE WARREN, AIDE TURKEL, TECHNICIAN, DOCTOR SPIVEY) that were consolidated into two characters.  The acting wasn't hard, although I had to be careful not to be too funny as not to distract from the serious content of the play.  Making sure I correctly changed in time and had the right costume on was a real pain.  Most plays I've been have had weeknight rehearsals, but this one had regular Saturday rehearsals. Truth in Monday Musings?  I did not like that all.  I will have to think hard about participating in plays that routinely have Saturday rehearsals, especially without Benjamin.  This is his Senior Year, and if I'm going to spend that much weekend time in a play, I would rather it be with him.

After a decade or so in plays together, Kimberly and I finally had parts where we dialogue together, both playing aides at the mental institution.

Here's Kimberly with the brilliant actress, Julianna Lacefield, who did a fantastic star turn as the bureaucratic and cruel Nurse Ratched.

Community theatre is fun, and it has been a great pleasure and a source of relief from my accounting career, which is rather bloodless and dull.  But it makes no money and is not providing a transition away from being able to completely retire from accounting.

Truth in Monday Musings?

I am not too bad as an actor/writer, but I am monumentally terrible as a self-promoter.

I would rate myself as a B in writing but as a D in self-promotion.  Although my grammar is not perfect, I think I tell fast-moving and interesting tales.  And I do some things to promote my books, but what I do is not very consistent or successful.  I had my books on display throughout the play, but made no sales, not even to fellow cast members.  If I can't figure out how to get more reviews on my books online, they are never going to take off.  They determine where they place your book based on sales and reviews.  Without reviews, no one will ever see the books online unless they are specifically looking for them.

I would rate myself as an A in acting but as an F in ever making money off of it.  I have been completely lost all my life as to how to do that.  I saw a thing about extras for a nearby Stephen King movie (Dr. Sleep), but I found out way too late to do anything about it.  Of course, just being an extra is not quite what I'm after, but at least it would make a little money. With books, I can at least pretend to self-promote.  With acting, I don't even have the pretense at self-promotion.

I would rate myself as an A+ as a voice talent.  I know that sounds like Trumpian-level conceit, but it's the truth.  I can read out loud as well as anybody on the planet.  What I don't have are the technical skills to build my own sound studio to do recordings.  So it remains a dream deferred, but what could be my best chance to make money to lead out of accounting,  And I do nothing about it.

More Truth in Monday Musings - 

I need to lose weight and get my blood pressure under control.  For that, I need to concentrate on myself for a while, get a good structure and routine going.    That means minimizing my outside commitments, particularly in the evenings, until I can get this straightened out.  How long will that take?  Maybe a few months, perhaps a year or more.  I'm not sure.  But when I do come out of it, I want to come out stronger and more confident.

I will continue to write and try to figure out ways to self-promote.  Heck, I might even figure out a sound studio (with Benjamin's help)!

Well, this has turned into to one of my longer posts.  Oh, well.  Like all of my posts, some will be your cup of tea, and some won't.  I have a feeling this will be one of my lower viewed posts.

But that's okay.  I had my say.

Until next time,

T. M. Strait

TV Fall Preview 2018: Broadcast TV

It's that time again!

Although it might not feel like Fall here in the Southland, that doesn't stop the new Fall TV season from premiering!

Of course, with the advent of basic cable, premium channels, and streaming, Fall TV does not have the stirring impact it used to have.  I used to present the daily summaries with a grid, but those are getting harder to find, and with DVR devices, it is becoming less relevant as to when programs are actually on.  Given these changes, I am previewing based on media type rather than days.

First up - broadcast TV!

First category- most anticipated new shows!

I like the look of Manifest, a new drama appearing on NBC Mondays at 10 PM premiering September 24.  Its mysterious premise is about a plane that disappears and lands five years later, yet only moments have passed for the passengers.  The show contains elements of science fiction, mystery, and also emotional character and family drama.  I'm looking forward to it.

The Cool Kids will be on Fox at 8:30 on Fridays, premiering Septemeber 28.  This great cast includes Vicki Lawrence and Martin Mull.  It's fun and games at a senior living center and should feature some old favorites in comedic situations.  Think Golden Girls meets Mama's Family.

Although I may not watch them, I'm going to make sure Alison gets a chance to sample A Million Little Things, which looks like it could be this year's This is Us, on ABC Wednesdays at 10 PM, premiering September 26.    All American on CW at 9 PM (premieres Oct 10) looks like it could be this year's Friday Night Lights.  She may want to see The Rookie on ABC Tuesday at 10 beginning Oct 16.  It's got Nathan Fillion - what else can I say?

Second - returning shows I anticipate watching.

My favorite of the Fall returning shows is Supergirl (Season 4, CW, Sundays at 8, Oct 14).  I also like the other DC shows on the CW, including Arrow (Season 7 Mondays at 8, Oct 15), The Flash (Season 7 Tuesdays at 8, Oct 9), and DC's Legends of Tomorrow (Season 4 Mondays at 9, Oct 22).  We do not get the local CW station, so we watch wither on the CW app, or when they come to Netflix.  I watch these with Benjamin and Alison (except Arrow - that's only me).

I may resume Black-ish (ABC, Season 5 9 PM Tuesdays, Oct 16), which I stopped watching when the separation storyline started.  It is a funny show, with high social relevance.  I also will see Modern Family (ABC, Season 10, 9 PM Wednesdays, Sep 26), although it's getting a little long in the tooth.  They are foreshadowing the death of a significant character, but who knows what that means? 

Alison and I watch the very funny, very smart The Good Place (NBC, Season 3, 8:30 Thursday, Sep 27) and the over the top drama of How to Get Away with Murder (ABC, Season 5, 10 Thursdays, Sep 27).

Alison watches This Is Us (NBC, Season 3, 9 Tuesdays, Sep 25) and Splitting Up Together (ABC, Season 2, 9:30 Tuesdays, Oct 16).

Third - Longest running scripted shows!

Now tied with Law & Order (the franchise mothership) & Gunsmoke, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit starts Season 20.  If I'm not mistaken, Mariska Hargitay has been the featured player form the start.  One more year and it will set the record!  Yeah, I may have seen a few episodes of this, but not in a while, and it's not a particular favorite of mine.

Shattering all the records is The Simpsons, starting Season 30!  What can I say?  The lead characters don't seem to demand raises every year, so, there you go.

There are two members of the 16 Season club- the animated Family Guy, and the who knew there was so much crime in the Navy,  NCIS.

Airing Season 15 is Grey's Anatomy.  Its ratings are still rock solid, so this might be around for a while longer. 

Criminal Minds will be airing Season 14.  It's a show where the cast comes and goes, but the basic premise endures.

The Big Bang Theory will have its final season, Season 12.  It's an example of why even very successful shows don't endure forever.  The central lead, Jim Parsons playing Sheldon, doesn't want to do it anymore.  They can't perceive of the show without him, so bam! it's done.

Modern Family and Will & Grace are both at Season 10.  Will & Grace had a long pause after Season 8,.  I'm not sure why that's considered Season 10 when....

Hawaii Five-O is only at Season 9.  If they included the show's original run of 12 seasons, it would be at Season 21 and the new primetime drama champ.  Oh, well, I don't get to decide these things.  Blue Blood is also at 9 seasons.  So is the animated series Bob's Burgers.

Three series will show Season 7 - Arrow, Last Man Standing and Chicago Fire, part of NBC's Wednesday's Night in Chicago.

Another part of Chicago Night, Chicago P.D. is at Season 6, as is Mom.

There is a horde showing Season 5 - black-ish, NCIC: New Orleans, The Flash, Empire, How to Get Away with Murder and Madame Secretary.  I predict that this will be the last season for at least half of these shows,

I'm sorry that this is consolidated this year.  There is just so much to cover that I thought this might be the best way to handle it.  If there are other series you want to mention, please do so in the comments section.

Sometimes You Feel Like a Favorite Nut

So on Facebook, I asked: What's your favorite nut?


Always dangerous to ask anything on social media.  You're never quite sure what kind of answer you'll get back.  The most frequent response to the question was me.  Their most favorite nut was me.

Those who did answer with a nut you can eat, cashews may have edged the others out.  But it varied quite a bit, which is good news for the nut industry.

For those who get mixed nuts, there are always one or two that are not favored children.  Alison will leave the Brazil nuts.  I think she thinks they taste like dirt.  Benjamin won't eat them at all - he's allergic (childhood allergy that is now mild discomfort, not OH MY GOD WHERE'S THE EPIPEN!).

Me?  At the risk of sounding blase and common, my favorite is the lowly peanut.  Roasted, salted, plain or honey roasted - I love them all.  Except maybe boiled - I can eat it, but it's not as good as dry roasted.  They're also pretty good stuffed into the middle of an M & M, or the exquisite treat of chocolate peanut clusters. My favorite ice cream is Tin Roof Sundae - vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce and peanuts.

In order, my next favorites are:  cashews, pistachios, and almonds.

There are a group of nuts that I'm not highly fond of, but I can eat.  They include:  Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, and pecans.  Yes, I said it.  Pecans  I can put up with, but I don't really crave or enjoy them.  That's a hard thing to admit living here in pecan country.  Alison likes them, so we do have them now and again.  They are easy to find, and we usually have friends who give us pounds of them.

And there is one nut that I can't stand.  It is the walnut.  I don't like the taste of it, and it gives me terrible heartburn.  The most frustrating thing about the walnut is how most commercial maple ice creams come with walnuts,  I LOVE maple ice cream, but I can't stand walnuts.  It is so sad.  I wish they would just leave them out of maple ice cream.

The very best home-churned ice cream is maple.  As a child, the best part of Strait family reunions was the ice cream churning party, and my favorite was homemade maple because they made it without the dreaded walnuts.  All this reminds me that I may need to reinvest in an ice cream churn.


So there is my review of the nuts I love, tolerate and the one I can't stand.

All our lists are different, I would wager.  That's good for the nut industry.

We're all just a bunch of mixed nuts.

Return of the Monday Musing!

Early stage construction on One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest which begins this Thursday at 7:30 in THe Studio at the Okefenokee Heritage Center.

Well, I have a little time this morning, so I thought I would return to a Monday Musing.  It's my mix of topics, some of which you may find interesting, and others will make you want to skip whole paragraphs.  Oh, well.

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

I am in Hell Week.  That's not quite as deadly as it sounds, but it is hectic.  It's the time of community theatrical production when you have a long series of rehearsals and performances.  It can help improve the play tremendously  (crap! - that's a Trumpian word now, isn't it?), but can also wear some of the performers out before the opening curtain even rises.  We've rehearsed Saturday and Sunday already, and are set for rehearsals Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday nights, and performances Thursday-Friday-Saturday nights, wrapping up with a Sunday matinee.

I'm a little beat already this morning, but I'm not ill.  Thankfully, my accounting work schedule is light this week, so that may help.  It seems incredible to me now, but I used to do this while also working a full-time plus work schedule.  What was I thinking?

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

Moving slowly along in my writing goals - some progress on The Extra Credit Club has been made.  Super polishing A Christmas With Pegasus, readying it for publication as an eshort.  Hopefully, I'll have some exciting cover news pretty soon!

Don't forget - Crowley Stories: Swamp's Edge is available now.  You'll want to read this series of stories set in a Southern swamp town!

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

Excited to report that Atlanta United will be in the playoffs, and are back in first place!  How much into soccer are we now?  We watched the game via Twitter on the desktop, passing up the Michigan  Wolverine football game that was being played at the same time!

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

The Great Limbo Contest that is the Trump administration continues.  How much crap, lies, corruption and foulness will the Trumpeteers take before they turn on him?  The current attempted rape allegations against Brent Kavanaugh are credible enough that they should be thoroughly investigated,  and that's not just a committee but also by the FBI.  This story has history, and the accuser has passed a polygraph test.  If you're in favor of just brushing this aside, you need to take a hard look at your politics and your basic human decency.  The ends do not always justify the means.

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

I hope to put together a Fall TV preview soon.  It will not be as comprehensive as prior years, but hopefully, I can hit the highlights.

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

The college cavalcade has begun!  Benjamin has been accepted to Georgia Southern!  We are still putting together applications to Georgia College and the University of Georgia.  I'll keep you posted!

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

Until the musings hit me on another Monday,

T. M. Strait

Benjamin's First Car (Sort Of)

Alison loved her Mazda Protege.  Her manual drive car had served her well over many years. It was simple and basic, no frills or whistles, but it got her where she needed to go.  But the time had come where it was getting more expensive to repair and keep on the road.

We had struggled hard, but by 2004, eight years into our marriage, we had cleared enough financial space that we felt we could afford a car payment.  It wouldn't be easy, but we thought it best just to get started on it.  We wanted to get a car that would survive well past the five or so years it would take to pay it off.  So, we decided to take a gamble on getting a new car, and maximize its lifespan.

I believe we picked wisely.  A 2004 Toyota Camry, new from the local dealership.  They even had an enticement - buy the car, only get it serviced by them, and they would supply free tires for the life of the vehicle.

When we got it home, parked in curb of the dirt road in the back of our tiny house, I brought my young son, Benjamin, only three years old, and showed him our new car.  I told him, "Son, this is going to be your first car."

And sure enough, it is.  The car, now fourteen years old with over 150,000 miles on it, is the car he is driving to go to high school with.  It will most likely be the car he takes to after-school jobs and any extra-curricular activities. He might take it to college with him

There was a time when many people could handle a house payment and two car payments.  Except for the very well-off, those days are gone.  My parents could pay all three, and the cost was less than the mortgage payment that many of us pay.  And wages have not grown enough to cover the increase in car and home prices (not to mention the rise in medical care and college costs).

This rise in costs does not deter everyone.  Social media is flooded with pictures of newly minted teenage drivers, proudly standing next to a brand new or gently used car.  I don't know how their parents do it. 

On the other hand, as high as the cost is for new cars (and the correspondingly whopping big raise that comes in insuring young drivers), it pales to the astronomical rise in college costs.  We have chosen to concentrate our limited financial resources on helping with covering college expenses.  Benjamin will need to get a new car on his own unless he keeps the Toyota.  Every family has to make their own decision about these things.  That is ours.

My parents replaced cars every few years.  They rarely had a car go over 100,000 miles.  And my father was the thriftiest man you ever met, keeping elaborate log books of his car's mileage and costs.  I thought I would be the same, and it's taken me a while to get into a different mindset.

It's no longer a priority to change out cars.  If the costs of keeping a car on the road are less than the cost of purchasing and making payments on a new car, we're keeping the old car. 

Who knows?  Maybe someday Benjamin will show that old Toyota to his own son, and proudly say, "Son, this is going to be your first car!"

Throwing It Back Theater Style

A friend was telling me about a picture from Little Women she had found, a play that we were in about seven years ago.

I wondered, did I have any pictures from that play?

I couldn't find any from my iPhone or on the pictures I have on Facebook, or on my desktop.  I either don't have any preserved, or I never had any to begin with.

I've been in close to 100 plays, and I have pictures from only a fraction of them.  It's getting harder and harder to keep them all straight in my head.  I have some whole plays on VHS tapes.  Yes.  VHS tapes.  We don't even have a VHS player anymore.

So I wondered, what are the earliest pictures I have of productions?

Well, thank goodness for high school yearbooks!  I only have my Junior and Senior years, but they covered the plays I was in during those years.

The pictures in this post are from David and Lisa, a drama set in a mental institution for young people.  I played David, an obsessive-compulsive who did not like to be touched.  His defenses were gradually broken down by Lisa, a teenage girl who behaved more like a four-year-old, played by my next door neighbor, Barabara Bloomfield.  She was Bridgeport High School's finest actress, and whom I aspired to be as good as.

Currently, I am in a production that takes me back to a mental institution.  One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest begins Thursday at 7:30 PM at the Studio of the Okefenokee Heritage Center.  It stars my friend who was in Little Women with me, Julianna Lacefield, as Nurse Ratched, the cold and cruel dictator of the mental ward.  This is a role she has long wanted to do, and she is outstanding. I play FOUR roles (combined into two characters), surprisingly none of whom are the mental patients. My good friend, Kimberly Beck and her daughter, Emily (Anne Frank, Juliet) are also in it, as is Conner Griffin, shining in the role of Randle McMurphy (the lead played by Jack Nicholson in the movie version).

I wish I had kept better records, scrapbooks and such, but I didn't.  Now everything is mooshing together in my soggy brain.

Oh, well.  I will continue to pillage what resources I can and preserve them here on this blog.

Maybe this would be easier if I'd had a film career rather than theater.

Don't let the rush of life stop you from preserving memories with whatever you can.

Assignment Acrostic

There is a distant land I once was from.
Hostility emanates from my new to old
Ominous sounds to those who don't blend
Matchless no matter how I try to light
Assertions that I am the alien beast
Smelling out of place

Michigan is my unforged home
Atlanta the metro I raised my young boys
Rockmart was the way between
Then the city that was Black and Shear
Into later the county Pierce
Next back to the city and interneted life

Straight the path that leads to the Way of the Cross
Theater is all there, as is work and church
Restaurants and movies and stores and such
And everywhere 
I go
Trains disrupt the flow of life

Aliens Attack 2!

I love science fiction!

From my earliest years, I was mesmerized by it in all its forms.  I sat entranced by The Twilight Zone and  Star Trek.  When The Outer Limits took control of my television's vertical and horizontal, I'd stay with it even though half the episode I would watch with my hands covering my eyes.  I read everything, from H.G. Wells to Issac Asimov, and I started buying science fiction magazines when I was only 8.  When school ended, I would rush home to watch the old science fiction films that the local channel would run in the afternoons, even the ones where giant octopi would overrun San Francisco.  And when I saw Star Wars, I wept with joy, as the type of movie I had dreamed of all my life was finally on the big screen.

One of the more common themes of science fiction is that of the alien invasion.  Starting with the Martians of  H. G. Well's War of the Worlds, and running through more recent epics like Independence Day, the aliens would invade, and through the inventiveness of Mother Earth and/or humankind, they would manage to defeat the invaders.

In many of these, the world would unite to challenge the alien invaders.  All the nationalistic and philosophical divisions would fade away.  We were mankind, and there was more that bound us together than that which divided us.  But it took a common enemy for us to see that.

And that's just about where we're at right now.  There is an alien in charge, an alien who does not believe in all the principles that we as Americans have struggled to achieve.  An alien to our civic culture, who does not believe in democracy and the constitution, who openly pines after the worst authoritarian dictators in the world.

But do not fear.  Forces are starting to reunite.  This can be seen in the recent funeral that honored the passing of an American hero, John McCain.  It united figures from across our political spectrum, working together to show respect for the beloved Senator, and for our American civic institutions. Men who had stood in fierce opposition, like Presidents Obama and Goerge W Bush, now stood together, sharing the eulogy, and in the case of W and Michelle Obama, even sharing candy.

Who was not there was the man who has been an alien to America's civic culture, a man who would take us down a dark and divisive path, the alien in the White House, President Donald J. Trump.

But do not despair.  We are at the point in the tale where more and more are standing up to him.  The opposition to him is increasing among even Republicans (well, at least those not up for re-election).  Books, including the upcoming book by Watergate Reporter Bob Woodward, that paint a chaotic and dangerous picture of a White House out of control, ruled of by an amoral dictator, who operates without any knowledge or caring, without any constitutional underpinnings.  We even have the chaos confirmed by insiders in the White House, in a dramatic anonymous letter to the New York Times.

So take heart, my fellow Earthlings!  This invasion, aided and abetted by foreign powers, will not stand.  It cannot survive if we stand together!

Reality is not like science fiction stories.  The good guys don't always win.  But I have faith, faith in our civic institutions and our basic human decency, that in the end, we will emerge a better and stronger nation and planet.

As Mongo sez:  I like Candy!

Fly to the Cuckoo's Nest! (or drive, if it is more convenient)

Purlie Productions will be putting on this extraordinary drama starting Thursday, September 20, at the Okefenokee Heritage Center.  The performance begins at 7:30.

There will also be Friday and Saturday performances at 7:30, and a final performance Sunday at 2:30.

A first-rate cast and crew have been put together for this show, including the talented Ingmar Connor Griffin in the seminal role of Randall P McMurphy, and a terrific Julianna Lacefield as the bureaucratic, soulless and overbearing Nurse Ratched.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a thought-provoking show about mental illness, and about the suffocation of institutional control, about forced conformity, about the worth of every human being, about the value of people over rules.  Although a play with a very serious theme, it also has many moments of comedic humor.

This play is for adults only.  It contains profanity and sexual themes.  If it were a movie (oh wait - it was, in 1975, starring some dude named Jack Nicholson), it would be rated R.

It will be performed at The Studio on the grounds of the Okefenokee Heritage Center.

Update: Concerning the argument as to whether the show is PG-13 or R, I personally stand by the R rating.  Often, movies are given an R rating without explicit nudity or bloody violence, but because of the profanity and mature themes. 

The truth is that the rating system is pretty arbitrary, and its subjective standards can be quite puzzling.  So who knows?

The important thing to keep in mind is that this is not in any way a kid-friendly show.  If you have a young person (you set the age for that - I don't) that you don't want to expose to profanity and mature themes, please keep them home.  If you are easily offended, you may want to consider not attending.  It is a significant and well-done show with an important message.  Whatever questionable things they are in the show, I feel are worth it in effectively communicating the message as a whole.

September Weather Blues

Trust me.

This is not what September looks like here.

Maybe in parts of North Georgia at some point in time, later in the Fall.

Not here in South Georgia. 

In South Georgia, Fall is an illusory concept.  Technically, Fall is still 18 days away from today (Sep 3).  Practically, we may have a few days that approach Fall-like weather in December or January.  And we may have something that ghosts Winter every decade or so.

Of course, this could change as climate change further shifts weather patterns.

Today, the high is projected to be 86.  I don't even want to talk about the feels like temperatures.  They range from seven to ten degrees higher.

Looking at a fifteen-day forecast, today has the lowest high temp for the next fifteen days,  The rest range from 88 to 91.  So much for any approaching Fall cooldown.

The way people get into holidays here is by over-decorating, mainly outdoors.  Even if it's not cooler, crisper temps, you can decorate like it is, and maybe fool some people.  It doesn't work.  Many a Halloween, I've sat on our porch giving out Halloween candy while swatting mosquitoes, gnats, and flies. The same phenomena happens when you try to walk off your Thanksgiving meal.  Heck, some years I do Christmas shopping while wearing shorts.


This is the most depressing time for me in the South, at least in relation to the weather.  I keep thinking it's going to get cooler, but the heat goes on and on and on.

All in all, though, it's not bad living here, disregarding the relentless heat and the right-wing extremist politics.  I have my family and friends here, and it's easy to find sausage 'n' cheese biscuits.  There are upsides.

The weather just isn't one of them.