Living the Dream: Dream Journal #1

 I had a dream last night.

I don't remember most of my dreams.  They fade away quickly.  But the outlines of this one stuck with me.

Here it goes.

I was working.  I'm not sure of my age, and it's not at a job I've ever had.  It's with a big office in a large city. I work with a boss in a department that does ... I don't know what it does.

I come in with my boss and a few others to a luncheon conference.  It's a big group, dozens of people, maybe a hundred or more. The boss gets in front of the crowd, with me at his side.  He talks to the group.  "My new aide here tells me he is an actor." The audience guffaws a bit as if that is a ridiculous notion.  "So, I will give him a chance to convince us of his 'hidden' talent.'" He turns to me and puts his hand on my shoulder.  "Son, you have ten minutes to prove yourself."

I am in front of the crowd now, by myself.  I did not expect this.  I have nothing prepared.  I don't know what to do.

After about the longest thirty seconds of my life, just as the crowd was beginning to murmur, I began.  I do situational humor, funny stories about my life, and some gentle jabs at the company and the audience.  There is some laughter that increases as I continue.  When I am done, the audience applauds.  I smile.  I feel like a success.

The next day there is a second luncheon.  The boss asked the group what they thought of my 'so-called' acting.  The criticism is sharp and increasingly personal.  The general gist is that I'm nuts if I think I'm an actor.  At first, I nod and take notes, but as it goes on, I lose my cool.  "When I said I was an actor, I meant with a script and lines that I learn.  I didn't mean I was an improv comedian.  Given that, I thought I did pretty good."

A woman in the back said, "You thought it was pretty good!  Ha!  That shows how deluded you are!  The one thing you got right is that you're definitely not an improv comedian!" The group applauded in agreement.  "You sucked so bad. I would never pay to see you act. Please, in the future, let us know what plays you are in so we know what to avoid."

At that, I woke up.

So, what do you think it means?

Welcome to the Musk-O-Verse!

 

Welcome to the Musk-O-verse!

To the tune of some 42 billion (rounded - what's a few hundred million among friends?) Elon Musk has purchased Twitter. I'm not sure why.  He's exercised about free speech - which basically means - welcome back, Trumpleskin! 

Why are you upset about this one, Tom?  Why weren't you upset about Jeff Bezos buying The Washington Post?  Or Laurene Powell Jobs owning The Atlantic?  How about  Zuckerberg with Facebook or Bill Gates and Microsoft's control?

The answer is yes.  Yes, I am upset by them ALL!  The consolidation of the media and the world's wealth in general, in fewer and fewer hands, is very disturbing.

I vote for Democrats over Republicans. That's a no-brainer.  But neither party has done much to reverse the tide of consolidated wealth.  And it is perilous when we allow this concentrated wealth to control our media.

I don't know a whole lot about Mr. Musk.  He likes space.  I like space.  The rest seems like usual billionaire narcissism and God Complex.  I don't know his politics in detail - he appears to be some sort of weird-ass Libertarian. This is not too surprising to me.  Many of these billionaires think they're the Fountainhead incarnate.

I doubt that even Elon Musk has a spare 42 Bill lying around.  That means "the Deal" is some sort of convoluted mess.  Delayed payments, things other than money, weird stuff that only the super-rich and Trump think about.

I have a Twitter account, and I use it primarily as a source to post my blog articles.  I've never received many reactions from being on there.  Most of the time, I get no likes or comments.  Once in a while, I hit the big ONE like.

So, yeah, I doubt if I'll get in trouble if I say anything about Twitter's new ruler. No one will really notice.

Besides...

Free Speech...right, Musky?

Is the Pandemic Over? Saturday Political Soap Box 285

 

No. Not really.

But that doesn't stop everyone from acting like it is.

The best you can say is that recent variants have been less lethal than previous variants.  LESS lethal, not NON-lethal.

The vaccination rate at first looked like we were going to the lead the world.  But then the partisan COVIDIOTS kicked in and we his a ceiling of maturity.  We lost our lead and fell behind many other developed countries.

In my area of the world, and increasingly so in the rest of the United States, mask wearing has become a thing of the past.  Less than 5% of the people I see out and about are masked.  And among the unmasked?  Me.  Sad, but true.  I have one in my pocket in case I feel crowded, but that doesn't happen much.

I have been keeping track of statistics daily from the Georgia Department of Health, trying to stay on top of what was happening state-wide and in my local counties.  Several months ago, the DOH cut back to the five weekdays.  Now, they are only posting once a week.

Do the numbers warrant that?  Meh.  Hard to tell,   Cases still exist.  There are still several dozen deaths a day. The numbers are down from the peak of the last surge.  But it ain't over.

Locally, the number of cases haven't gone down.  THEY'VE REVERSED.  Ware County, since the start of the pandemic, had 9,998 reported cases on April 7th.  They were on the verge of five figures! As of the last report, April 20th, Ware County had... 9,894 cases.  WHHHHAAATTT?  Total cases went down 104!

Well.  That could mean 1) they screwed up earlier, 2) they're screwing up now, or 3) they have chortingly applied a new standard that allows them to edit out what they consider marginal cases.

I'n betting on option 3.

Biden and the Democrats have done many good, positive things to help the country weather the pandemic storm.  They did everything humanly (and democratically) possible to promote and make available the vaccines.  They supported mask mandates  wherever they could.  They passed and provided COVID prevention funding.

But hang on to your hats.  I'm going to tell you where the Democrats fell short.

The State of the Union.  When they did that speech sans masks, it sent a message that it was over,  Even to me.  Was it the medically sound thing to do?  I don't know.  I know that many of the congressional Democrats who had not gotten COVID for so long finally scummbed to it.  Granted, they were very mild cases, as they were vaccinated. but they nevertheless got it.

School districts around the country reversed their mask mandates, including New York City under the guidance of NYC Mayor Eric Adams (who also recently got COVID).  Why?  Maybe partly science, but also because they want to stay in office.  It's clear that many parents, for better or worse, don't want a mask mandate, and Democrats fear their power.

I don't like the Democrats caving like that, but I sadly understand the point.  If they don't do it, they will be swept from office.  

I don't understand it.  The politicians most responsible for their state's poor reactions and for endangering more people are being hailed as successes.  It disgusts me.

DeSantis forged state COVID numbers.  He promoted false cures.  He bullied students who dared to wear masks near him.  Every step of the way, his behavior in the COVID crisis has been reprehensible.  And yet...he is likely to be the Republican nominee in 2024.  Can anyone explain that to me?

My church, which has been extra cautious throughout this, no longer requires masks.  Alison does not wear one at work.  It is rare to see them at stores.

Given the current state of the pandemic in Georgia, this may be a fair reaction.

But it is still unnerving.  Because it is not over.  It may be in slight "remission" but it is not gone.

We must remain vigilant.   

Strait Line Book of Proverbs: Chaptereth 1

 Chaptereth One

1

A stitch in pine...requires special equipment.

2

An unwalked monkey...won't play the accordion.

3

Verily, I say unto thee - you cannot collect your justly earned inheritance...without a lawyer.

4

Love is the foundation...bricks and mortar will keep it sealed. Be sure to wait for the banging to stop before you invite anyone else over.

5

If at first you don't succeed...try doing it louder.

6

Fool me once...shame on me.  Fool me twice...I must be George Bush Jr.  Fool me three times...I must be a Trump voter.

7

You cannot win if you don't...have a good lawyer.  What can I say?  Lawyers are important.

8

Spare the Rod...and spoil The Twilight Zone.

9

Give a man a fish, and it will fill him up.  Teach a man to fish...on a lake you own so can charge him fees.  Have a lawyer set it up.  They're important.

10

Watch the skies.

11

Seriously.  Watch the skies.  You never know what's going to come out of them.  Probing by aliens is no fun. And even if you get a good lawyer, aliens are really hard to sue.

12

A penny saved...is hardly worth the effort.  Who knows?  Like the Canadians, we might get smart, and just round amounts up or down and not even use pennies. But, wait.  This is America,  Scratch that.  Keep the penny.  At least use them for scratch-off lottery tickets.  Don't use pennies to pay your lawyer.  They will just laugh at you.

The first chapter of The Strait Line Book of Proverbs is brought to you by the law firm of...

Dewey, Cheatham & Howe

666 Mordor Parkway

Mar-A-Lago, Fl 33480

Suitsrus@lost.com

561-555-5555

A Season of Renewal

 

Spring has sprung.

It is a season of renewal and hope.

The time of Lent has ended, and we are now in the season of Easter.

There are many worries and concerns.  The Russian invasion of Ukraine is costing many lives and is destabilizing the planet - militarily, politically, and economically.  Putin roars and threatens the world with nuclear annihilation. Inflation is as bad as its been since the early years of Reagan. The authoritarian bug that has bit this country is still wreaking havoc.  COVID-19 still exists.

And yet...

The rallying behind the Ukrainian people has been impressive. Most people understand that inflation is caused by COVID supply chain issues and our commitment to boycott Russia, including their oil.  The history of the 2022 election has not been written yet, and there is always hope that the American people will do the right thing.  And although COVID has not vanished, we have many more tools to tame its effects.

And me?

Alison and I were re-confirmed at church.  Alison went through Inquirer's class to support a friend, and I joined her.  It was inspiring to hear the roots of our faith again and revitalize our commitment to it.

All three of my sons continue to be impressive in their work and personal lives.  

And I am now a GRANDFATHER!  Doug & Paige have a beautiful baby daughter, and we look forward to seeing her in July.

With their seasons just starting out, I can even delude myself into thinking my sports teams - Atlanta United, Detroit Tigers, Michigan Wolverines - will have record-setting seasons. But, please!  Let me dream until reality crushes it!

Retirement is a joy.  It means the world to me to be able to go through an entire tax season without thinking about taxes!  I even took my personal taxes for them to do  -  Daddy don't do taxes no more!

I hope to write more, sell my comic collection, read to people (young and old), maybe someday do a play again, and pursue all the hobbies and interests that I have time to do.

I look forward to time at home with Alison, participating more in our daily chores and reading together, binge-watching TV good and bad, going to church and visiting children and grandchildren.  

I hear the birds a-chripin'! I see the sky a-clearin'!  I feel the gnats a-swarmin!!

Ok, we'll forget that last one.

Happy Easter, everyone!

The Kingdom Always Strikes Back

 We thought we were on our way out of it.  That, with the election of Biden, we would return to a restoration of democracy and decency.

We thought wrong.

Except for William Jenning Bryan (who ran for President three times and lost by a bigger margin each time), they generally fade from history when our politicians lose the Presidential race.  Nixon came back after eight years and won a deeply divided election in '68.  But most are permanently sidelined.

So, Trump's persistence as a central political figure was a bit of a surprise. His only accomplishment as President was tax code revisions that primarily benefitted the rich and increased the income gap.  America's response to COVID under his watch was, by far, the worst reaction in the world.  He spent four years dividing us and demonizing so many people. He sided with and emboldened dictators while dissing democracies and NATO. With a strong hat's tip to Mitch McConnell, he packed our courts with far-right radicals, who will not only gut women's reproductive rights but also stymie civil rights and worker's rights and side overwhelmingly with the powerful. I could go on and on, but it's senseless.  It doesn't change anyone's mind, and the horrors have gone so far beyond Trump.

Trump was just the face of a movement, and as his baggage became too much for all but his most ardent supporters, it was inevitable that someone else would rise to represent those people.

And that is where we are at now, dear sister.  I pray that you get this smuggled letter.  I know that the Great Lakes Union has its problems too,  but it is not like us here in The Kingdom. Openly speaking against President DeSantis and Vice President Haley is considered an act of sedition and could result in being sent to a re-education camp.

I know.  We should have moved when we could have.  We could have accepted your offer to move in with you in your Grand Rapids home and apply for asylum in the Great Lakes Union.  Or we could have moved to the Catskills with Doug, Paige, and my granddaughter, living in the remnant that still is the United States of America. Or to Pacifica, either with Greg in Los Angeles or Benjamin in Seattle.

No.  We hesitated too long.  We thought this was a fluke and that things would soon return to normal. Alison had her job here.  We had family and church. And Alison was not going to leave her mother here, knowing her health would prohibit her from being moved.

Then when the walls went up and the Kingdom Guard numbered in the hundreds of thousands, we knew we were doomed.  We stripped our house of anything that showed support for any Democrats or liberal causes.  We kept completely silent about any issue.  It was hard to talk to anybody about anything besides the weather, sports, and the most inane TV shows.

We thought our church would be a safe haven, but when the Diocese was seized by the Government, we could continue to exist, but only with the leadership of the most conservative elements of our church.  We lost our long-time Reverand, only to have her replaced by a Christian Right male priest who immediately reversed all our progress with the LGBTQ+ community.

We feel so lonely and cut off.  When our former country finished its Great Sort, we were left on the wrong side of the divide.

I love you, Carol.  I miss all of you.

Maybe, someday, I have faith that we will see this through.  Maybe Anne Frank was right.  Maybe, in spite of everything, people are really good at heart.

It's one thing to read it.

It's another thing to live it.

God bless you.  I pray we will see you and my children and grandchild again.

Love,

Tom & Alison

Wednesday Wishes

 

Sorry for my prolonged absence. I guess it's just the way it's going to be. My routine varies more than I expected.

Alison didn't work last week - the school system she worked for had their Spring Break. It was good just to spend time with her - readin' and chillin'.

I wish I could develop a better routine. There are too many things I want to do. I would like to get back to writing the second volume of History of the Trap. I want to promote the writings I already have, including a novel I have finished but have not tried to find an agent for. I would like to return to daily drawing lessons - I don't expect to be any good; it's just something I've always wanted to do. I want to see more old movies. I want to read more.

I wish I could do more for others. I am devoting more time to church, both in attendance and as Treasurer. We have Holy Week this week. I attended a mass yesterday and will be attending services for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday. I want to use my superpower more - reading aloud. I will be reading at Ware County library for Children's Hour on June 14th. I would love to do more. I am doing a much greater share of the housework than I did while working.

At first, I was happy with how much money we had coming in. It was more than adequate to meet our needs. But now I have a granddaughter in New York, and I just wish I had more money to travel and even rent places and such. My oldest son, Greg, is in Los Angeles, and my youngest son, Benjamin, has a year left in college and then will wind up who knows where - most likely very far from us. I don't desire to be super-rich, but I would like to have enough to see everybody.

I wish I could finally focus enough to lose weight and exercise more - the goal being to help with high blood pressure and lower blood glucose (I am prediabetic). This week, I've reinstituted my chart for the food I eat and tracking weight, blood pressure, and blood glucose. If I'm going to be alright, I will have to keep it up.

I wish the country and world would get their act together and finally do everything possible to prioritize combatting global warming. I want my granddaughter to have a livable planet to grow up on.

I wish people (particularly those who live around me) would stop supporting authoritarian fascists like Trump and DeSantis and return to the principled conservative opposition we once had in this country.

I wish these same people would stop demonizing and persecuting the LGBTQ+ community. I am so sick of progress of this country being held up by phony culture war issues I could chuck a tuna bunwich.

I wish the Russian people would end the Putin regime, withdraw from Ukraine, and restore some semblance of democracy.

I wish income equality were to be addressed.

I know that the midterms will be dominated by inflation. And if you think voting for a Republican is somehow going to help. I wish you would explain to me why. What in the world do you think they will do?

I wish Firefly would come back.

Well, that's enough wishing for now.

Except for I wish you all well and...

Blog y'all soon!

Tuesday Harmony

 

Why can't we be more like my pets and live together in harmony?

Ok, they aren't always like this.  Sometimes there are growls and hisses.  But not always.

It's a nice moment, though.

Now that I'm retired, I catch more moments like this.  Walks are more relaxed.  Sitting on our back deck, I notice more about the world around me.  I can get absorbed in the sky and clouds, the breeze through the trees, the birds at the bird feeder, the squirrels picking up what they can.  We even have a frog living in the stump of the oak tree we cut down.

There it is, peering from its hidey-hole, in the lower part of the picture.

Yes, I still stress about the world and the suffering I see.  I still worry if I've done the right thing.  If I should have kept working...

But there is no denying the joy in the little things.  And there are people that I love and who love me.

That is all for today.

Love,

T.M.

Through the Dark Lens: Saturday Political Soap Box 284

 

Here is a picture of the man most likely to be the next President of the United States. Ron DeSantis, the bigoted, bullying Governor of Florida.

This is not an endorsement. It is a warning of where we're headed.

Just check with your most conservative friends (populist authoritarian Christian right conservatives, less so traditional conservatives) and ask who they like the most besides Trump. Odds are they will name DeSantis. If any of them named Romney, Cheney or Kinzinger, or someone similar, I would be astonished. Please let me know if that is the case.

There is a certain inertia to events. The American Will often moves counter to what would be best, to even achieve the basics of what they want. Sorry, conservatives, most Americans, even y'all, side with progressives when polled on individual issues. They understand that climate change is real, and we have to do something about it. They believe in science-based solutions to COVID. They want a raised minimum wage. They may not like abortion, but they're hesitant to completely eliminate women's reproductive choices. They want the wealthy and corporations to pay more of their fair share of taxes. They love their LGBTQ family and friends and don't want them persecuted. They want common-sense gun control measures, like background checks. They know that Putin is the bad guy and want to see Ukraine as a free democracy. Many of us want to see our children taught the truth in school, not religiously-infused right-wing propaganda. We realize we can't move forward unless we can recognize the truth about our past.

Yes, the voices against these and other common-sense measures are loud and strident. Those who oppose them do so with an angry passion that brokes no compromise. 35 to 40% of the American people will always vote for people like Trump and DeSantis. They are dedicated to an authoritarian, Christian right government.

The political system is set up in such a way as to advantage this fraction of the population. Small states have outsize power in both the electoral college and the Senate. They control most state legislatures (via past gerrymandering) which allows them to gerrymander the House of Representatives. They steal and control most of the nominations of the Supreme Court and have a 6-3 majority. They have the loudest and angriest propaganda outlets in their right-wing controlled media, drowning moderate media (liberal media is completely swamped).

And yet...if that was was our only problem, we could still win the majority of seats. No, the problem is the wanderers. That 15 to 20% of the American people who wander between the parties and seem to flop from one extreme to another. Yes, there are people who voted for Obama and then flopped to Trump. People who voted for Trump and then switched to Biden.

Voting based on identified interests, the Democrats would have won and increased control of Congress in 2010. They didn't. They lost badly.

And that is what it looks like will happen in 2022.

Sure, there is some inflation. Sure, Biden didn't get all the legislation he wanted. Sure, the Afghanistan exit had its problems. Sure, COVID-19 is incredible in its persistence.

But that is mostly window dressing for what the wanderers have already decided. They didn't get all they wanted, so they will switch to the other side. There is no rationality to it. It's just the way it is.

That is the view through the dark lens. Maybe next week I'll try to look at it through rose-colored glasses.

Maybe.

My Time on Password Plus

It was a terrible summer. At least it felt that way in the beginning. I had been fired from my first teaching job, and my life was utterly adrift.

When the school year ended, I didn't know what to do. Having to look for another teaching job while trying to explain it to any school system that bothered to interview me was too much for me to bear.

My father encouraged me to take a break and regroup. He and his brother, my Uncle Mike, had reconciled, and they would pay for my flight to visit him.

Uncle Mike was a television director, now retired. I had stayed with him for a couple years, starting when I was just five years old. He helped me get parts in a few programs, including his most significant achievement as a Director, Peter Gunn, where I had a recurring role playing the son of Peter Gunn's secretary. I also had a brief appearance in Twilight Zone and also Gunsmoke. I didn't mind it, but I was too young to understand what I was doing.

Then something happened that upset my father, and I was brought back home to Michigan. I don't know what it was - maybe a wild party or drugs or something that Uncle Mike was doing my father didn't like.

I wasn't a traumatized child actor like you read about. I was too young and my career too small to really affect me. It's hard to explain why I didn't go back to it. I did some acting in high school but nothing in college, except in an acting class where the professor really didn't like me and thought I had no talent. Then by the time I soared as a community theatre actor, it seemed too late. And sadly, my Hollywood connection, Uncle Mike, had passed away.

When I came out that summer of '78, I was surprised that Uncle Mike had used his connections one final time to book me as a potential contestant on Password Plus. Allen Ludden, the Password host who was married to Betty White, had revived his show of the 60s and would remain involved with the show until his untimely cancer death in 1981.

Most of the time I was there was spent waiting to see if they would call you up to compete. You spend time with the other potential contestants, both backstage and as part of the audience. Five shows were taped at a time. It took most of a day to do that.

I got to know my fellow contestants more than the celebrity contestants. We had much more time to talk to each other. I really got to talk to one of the contestants quite a bit. Her name was Suzie Wilson. She was a few years older than me, recently single, and very funny.

In the third episode, my name was finally called. It felt surreal to actually be on television again. I saw the cameras, the small audience, the celebrities, and Allen Ludden, but it was hard to absorb that millions might soon be seeing this.

The celebrity I was paired with for that first game was Elaine Joyce. She was (and still is) beautiful. She had a spotty acting record, mostly guest appearances on shows like Love Boat and Carol Burnett, and was very frequently on game shows. Later she married Neil Simon, the playwright.

 It was hard for me to hear anything; my heart was pounding so loud. Allen Ludden asked me to say something about myself, and I stuttered out my name and that I was a teacher in Michigan. I mentioned that I like to write and read, specifically naming comic books. Ms. Joyce wrinkled her nose at that like she had smelled something foul.

 

The other celebrity contestant was Bart Braverman. No, that's real. I'm not making it up. He was a regular on the TV show Vegas and had appearances on M*A*S*H.

I wish I could tell all the clues I was given or gave, but much of it was a blur. You had to guess a word based on the one-word clues you were given. Then, if you got that right, the word would be used as part of up to five words representing something you would have to guess.

The contestant with Bart was named Kelly. I don't remember her last name. I only remember Kelly because it was on her name tag. She had won before I came on, winning Alphabetics and collecting $5,000.

One I remember was where the first clue was piano. Elaine got me to say it on the second try. I think prior clues and been like instrument, keys, and I got it when she said ivory. Then Kelly got lessons when Bart said instructions. Amazingly, Kelly missed the third clue.  It came back to us, and when Elaine said tick, I said tock. Taking the three clues into account - piano, lessons, tock - I guessed metronome and was right! That gave us 100 points.

This was a different time. The level of contact between celebrities and contestants was much greater than it is now (thanks and a hat's tip to COVID, and sharper views on sexual harassment). If you remember Richard Dawson macking on virtually every contestant on Family Feud, you'll know what I'm talking about. Although the most contact between me and Elaine Joyce was her squeezing my lower arm once, Kelly and Bart were going to town. Constantly touching, kissing at every answer or clue. If they got one right, it would be full on the lips. Even at that time, it was kind of uncomfortable to watch. Allen Ludden asked if they needed to get a room.

At any rate, I surprised myself and won the first game, 300 pts to 100. This entitled me to go to Alphabetics with Elaine Joyce. They presented you with words from ten letters, and if you got all ten, you won $5,000!

We started with the letter D, and I remember most of these. Elaine would give me a one-word clue, and I would guess. She could provide another clue if I gave the wrong answer. We had 60 seconds. This is what I remember - the hint that got me there from her is in italics, and my correct answer follows -

School  Desk

Escalator Elevator

Bird, Maltese Falcon

Stone Gem

Service Help

Break Intermission

Clown Jester

Diamond Karat

Italian ???

Castle Moat

Yep. I missed one. I didn't get Lasagna. Now Alison's Lasagna is one of my favorite things, but it was fairly unknown to me back then.

I became the champion for the next round, paired this time with Bart Braverman. Luckily, he was able to keep his hands off me. I think he was kind of miffed that I had eliminated Kelly.  

My challenger was Suzie Wilson, who I had talked to so much. She smoked me. I'm not saying Bart didn't try hard to help me, but, you know, the suspicion was there.

Suzie stayed on through two more challenges, actually winning two Alphabetics, collecting over $11,000. We talked some between games. Enough so that I actually worked up the nerve to ask her out.

We had a pretty intense few days, but it soon ended. My excursion was over, and I went back to Michigan.

I had earned $1,200. Not a fortune, but it was enough to fund my next trip. To Georgia, where, unlike Hollywood, I wound up staying.*

*April Fools! I never was on a game show, I do not have an Uncle Mike, I was not a child actor. What is true is that the Password programs have become my retirement guilty pleasure. That and my overactive imagination,