Weather today in the Tries (Richland, Kennewick, Pasco WA):

The forecast for Monday is 51 High and 32 Low, Mostly Cloudy all day. Light and variable winds becoming west 5 – 7 mph in the morning. It ain’t freezing and we don’t have to shovel it or scrape it. And the best thing is, I’m not having to wear my fingerless gloves to type so much anymore. Yahooooo!!!!!!

AWP Conference

AWP stands for Association of Writers and Writing Programs. It also stands for Arctic Warfare Police, and a few other things that probably won’t ever make it into my writing. Anyhow, I’m using the first definition, which should be obvious.

First off, I love writerly conferences and have attended them for years. I especially liked attending the Science Fiction/Fantasy ones, they were short and not as pricey, and a lot of fun. When you factor in hotel rooms, transportation (I always went local), and food, they became pricey enough for my skinny wallet. I used to attend the local SF/F Con, as they are called, RadCon, as a pro so got my membership free. I usually stayed at the hotel and limited my paid meals to one a day, munching in the Green Room for the rest of the time. The panels were good (especially the ones I was on. ahem.) but the real fun came later, in the bar, schmoozing with the writers. And then I developed an allergy to the dry chemicals the hotel used to clean the carpets and decided breathing was more fun than the Con, so quit attending. Not just RadCon, but all Cons.

The “literary Cons” tended to be a tad pricier—they were also farther away, lasted longer, and I couldn’t attend as a ‘pro’. For a Litcon, I could easily drop a $1500.00 bill for a weekend. Uh, no. 

Then Covid came. And the AWP Conference went online. I looked at the cost ($60.00 for seniors), checked out the panels, and signed up. I think they were scheduled to hold it in Kansas City, but, obviously…. For a 5-day conference it would have been totally out of my league, thank you very much. But online? Oh, wow! And, oh joy of joys, it will be available on demand after for a month, so I can visit the panels I missed because two or more I wanted to see were on at the same time!

The panels were recorded earlier, but the panelists were live on Chat. So, there was some live interaction. I got to see one of my favorite poets read for 10 minutes! Now, he would have been one I’d like to have met in the bar later to share a beer with. Just to listen to his voice. Sigh. And before your mind goes there, he’s the same age as my son.

I heard lots of new poets, and writers. Or, new to me. I attended panels on memoir writing, poetry, a tribute to Tony Hoagland, and one on the difference between literary fabulism and sf/f. Learned lots of little interesting tidbits, and the scariest thing of all? All of this for only $60.00 because age has its perks, yes? Why is that scary? Because I also found a couple hundred dollars’ worth of books, I now need to buy 😉 Several of which have already been ordered. But that’s part of the fun of attending the Cons. Meeting new authors, buying and reading their works. 

I also attended the Keynote Speaker, our national poet laureate, Joy Harjo. What a delight. She has a small jazz band, and she wrote and performed a long poem with her band in the background, ending with a riff on the song Kansas City. 

Because I’m hard of hearing and my office is under my neighbor’s bedroom and they work shifts, I do all my zooming wearing headphones. they are not the most comfortable to wear for long periods of time, and it was a bit difficult to hear Harjo over some of the music, but what a joy to see her. By the time I was through for the day, my ears hurt from wearing the headphones for so many hours.

Many, perhaps all, of the panels had Handouts, which I didn’t tumble to until Saturday. They were listed in the Chat room under Files. However, I can go back to the panel and see what they had. 

I truly do like computers (except when I don’t) and I truly am thankful to AWP for putting the conference online. I hope there is a way they can do it for their next conference, even if it’s live, because for us old farts and fartesses on limited incomes, it’s the only way to attend far away and pricey conferences. Maybe record the panels and give them to us on demand? With no chat? I dunno, but I’m sure they can figure it out 😉

Entertainment:

Netflix: I’m still watching two episodes/week of Vincenzo, my K-dramedy series. I thought it was going to be a shoot-‘em-up-bang-bang gangster series, it’s got way too much humor in it for that, but oh, when the bad guy is bad, he’s marvelously bad! Wish I didn’t have to wait for the weekend and two new episodes!

Books: for complete reviews please see Rainy Day Reads at http://lenoragood.blogspot.com

Friday Night Bites, Book 2 of the Magic Market Mysteries —by Erin Johnson. I think this is the 3d of the books I’ve read. Great fun. Cozy mysteries with a twist. Great fun.

Auntie Lenora and Sammy Brave Dog 

hope you all are still wearing your masks, socially distancing, staying safe, and staying healthy! And we’ll see you back here next week, same bat time, same bat channel.

Weather today in the Tries (Richland, Kennewick, Pasco WA):

The weather person has scheduled a high of 59F. At 5am it was at 50, with 23mph winds and should be partly sunny later one, with SW breezes at 24-28mph and gusts as high as 28mph. A far cry from the past week of below freezing. 

Speaking of weather, I was introduced to a great weather app for my phone: WTF Weather . There are controls so you can control the language content, and the voice. But it’s fun. Check it out. And so far, it seems to be in sync with NOAA, just funnier.

Storm in Texasland and Elsewhere:

Like you, I have friends and family not only in Texas and the surrounding area, but throughout the South and the East Coast. Fortunately, they are all safe, though the ones in Texas got more than their share of cold. I hope Texas is now going to update and winterize their grids systems, and I hope the rest of the states will pay attention and do what updating they need to do to theirs to keep them going at optimum capacity. The absolute coldest winters I’ve ever spent were in the South, Texas, Alabama, Georgia. This wasn’t that much of an anomoly.

Friends in Portland OR lost power for three hours during the storm, but it came in the middle of the night, and they didn’t know until they got up the next morning and the clocks were blinking. Now, if you must lose power, do it right, do it while you’re sleeping and have it come back on while you’re still asleep.

Happy Ever After (HEA):

I’m no expert on publishing, but I’m pretty sure that stories/essays/et ceteras are accepted for publication weeks, if not months, prior to actual publication. As you may remember, I subscribe to Emergence Magazine (free) at https://emergencemagazine.org/explore/ and I heartily recommend it. One of the essays in the latest issue is Thirteen to One New Stories for an Age of Disaster by Marie Mutsuki Mocket.

Ms. Mocket had the foresight to be born to a Japanese mother and American father. She grew up bi-lingual. And in this essay, tells about Onamazu, the giant catfish who lives under the Japanese islands and is held in place by the Shinto god Takemikazuch. When the god dozes off, or drinks too much saki, or gets distracted, Onamazu moves, creating earthquakes.

While I found her essay and the story of Onamazu, riveting, the part that reached out and grabbed me was when she told of her mother reading her a nursery story that did not have a happy ending (Gon the Fox), and how she cried. She was raised in a culture that insisted she should aim for happy endings all the time. I’m one of those people, I want HEA in the stories I read. Especially fiction. I read enough nonfiction to take care of the sad endings. And I’m pretty sure I raised my kids like that, too. Did I do a disservice to them? Did I just take the easy way out?

This is a direct quote from the article: “Sometimes when I talk to audiences about the differences between Japanese and Western fairy tales, someone—usually a mother—will ask me, “How do you keep your child from being scared?” I always think back to my mother and her rage at Gon the dead fox, and for a long time, I wasn’t truly sure how to answer the question. Now I say, “You don’t.” Because I am now very clear: disaster is endemic to the structure of the world in which we live.

Things should scare us.”  

I’m too old to raise my kids again, and besides, I don’t think they’d appreciate my trying, but it is something to think about. A lot of ‘literary’ fiction has bummer endings, which are probably more true-to-life than my HEA stories, but at my age I’m going to pretty much stick to my HEA books. I get enough sadness in the nonfiction and poetry I read; I don’t need any more. 

Addendum to Last Week’s Addendum: I’m now being offered $50.00 to delete my bad review. Do I hear $60? Do I hear $70? The offer is still coming from Belinda, so apparently, she didn’t get fired. 

Entertainment:

No tv to speak of, barely even news. Was busy working on my stuff. Did spend a lot of time listening to Rocabilly on Pandora.

Books: Please go to Rainy Day Reads for more complete reviews.

I did get some books read, or perhaps I should say finished.

Occoquan —by Gary Worth Moody, historical poetry that takes place along, or in, the Occoquan river. 

Gone Astray —by Terry Korth Fischer. I actually read this a while back but had to wait until it was available to readers to post my review. A marvelous mystery!

the lost spells —by Robert MacFarlane and Jacki Morris. Loved this book! One of those books I deliberately read slowly, parsing out the poems and the art. 

Other Stuff:

Had hoped to give you an update on my second jab, but the freeze and snow delayed it from Saturday to Wednesday, so stay tuned for a follow-up on that one.

In the meantime, Auntie Lenora and Sammy Brave Dog wish you to stay safe, stay well, and stay socially distanced even though you’re wearing your mask and have had your shots. You can still spread it, even if you won’t catch it.

Weather today in the Tries (Richland, Kennewick, Pasco): 

currently 21 and snowing, humidity is 100% (which makes it colder than a well-digger’s bottom), wind chill brings it down to 25. Under Hazardous weather conditions until noon. High today expected to be 30. See pictures at end of post.

Homesickness is coming:

One of the absolute bestest things about the time I lived in Florida was Swarm X of the cicadas. My first summer there, Swarm X emerged. OMG. I loved it. There were loud, but wonderful. I slept most nights with my window open just to hear them.

Swarm X is the largest of the swarms, and it will emerge again this year. And oh, boy, do I feel a homesick coming on. Frankly, if I spent 17 years underground and finally came out, I think I’d be pretty loud, too! Whoopeeee. Free at last. Free at last!!!

I’m no expert, but I believe all cicadas are underground for that period of time, fortunately, they are on different cycles so those fortunate enough to live in cicada country get to hear their mating songs every year, just not in the same numbers.

If any of you live in Swarm X country, send me a tape of their singing, will you? Please. Pretty please.

There are lots of things I miss about Florida. All the friends I made, and all the wildlife. Cicadas, birds (fortunately, we have several same or similar birds here on the Columbia River), even the reptiles—especially the alligators. The spiders, not so much. I wasn’t at all tempted to bring any of them back. 😉

Atlas Obscura, one of my favorite sites, has a short article on The 17-year Cicada Swarms of Brood X here.

Speaking of a homesick coming on, I realize I’m remiss in keeping the Entertainment Section current and up-to-date. I just know at least one of you cares. Don’t you?

Addendum to last week’s post: This past week, I was offered $40.00—again—and begged to delete or the poor thing is going to be fired by her boss in this time of covid. Last week she made it sound like she was one of the owners. Alas, I have not heart strings for her to pull. Actually, I’ve been told I have no heart. I contacted Amazon and filed another complaint and was assured they would be investigated. I wasn’t sure the first complaint went through, but one of my Amazonian friends checked, and this one went through.

Entertainment:

Hallmark Movies and Mysteries. Yes, I like some of them. And I tumbled to a new, to me, Gourmet Detectiveepisode the other night. I actually like most of the mystery series they have except the one about the flower shop. And the reruns of old network shows. I don’t care for most of those, now that Columbo and Perry Mason are off the schedule.

Books: Please go to Rainy Day Reads for more complete reviews.

River Hoard —by Neil Leadbeater. Poems of Scotland. A mini vacation to Scotland.

The Cup (The Moroccan Empire Book 1) —by Melissa Addey. This is a fascinating novella to lead us into the series I have not yet read but intend to. An excellent historical adventure.

The Consorts (Forbidden City Book 1) —by Melissa Addey. Another novella to lead us into another historical adventure of the Forbidden City in the 1700s. I can hardly wait to read the rest.

Death Retires (Death Retired Mysteries Book 1) —by Cate Lawley. What a hoot! One of the deaths (who knew there was/is more than one?) retires to a nice, quiet neighborhood with his ‘pet’ bobcat, Clarence who steals every scene he’s in. Laughed all the way through it.

The Cooking Gene —by Michael W. Twitty. Second read, second review. That should tell you something, eh?

Cozy Up to Death: a novel about a bookstore, a cat, knitting, and blood (The Cozy Up Series Book 1) —by Colin Conway. All I can say is to buckle up, Buttercup. This ain’t your standard Granny-owns-a-bookstore cozy! A one-sit read and I’ll get the rest in the series. (First clue it’s different: the author is male!)

Twenty Poems That Could Save America and other essays —by Tony Hoagland. A collection of 12 of Mr. Hoagland’s essays about poets and poetry. Loved it!

Other stuff

I ain’t goin’ out any more than the dog demands! Fortunately, he isn’t very demanding 😉 We got another few inches last night, and it’s still coming down.

We’ve been in the midst of a cold spell, really cold. Here are a few snaps I took to give you an idea of how cold. By the time Tuesday (tomorrow) rolls around, I believe it will be a week of never getting above freezing.

I subscribe to Rafael Jesús González blog. He is bi-lingual and writes in both Spanish and English. His post of yesterday was on Valentine’s Day, and it is here for your enjoyment.

Auntie Lenora and Sammy Brave Dog want you to stay safe, stay warm, and keep wearing yur mask, even after you get your vaccination!

Auntie Lenora and Sammy Brave Dog (who sees no socially redeeming quality to snow!) want you to stay safe, stay warm, and keep wearing your masks even after you get your vaccination!

My neighbor got signed up for her Pfizer covid19 shot and gave me the number so I could, too. I couldn’t get through. All I ever got was the fast busy signal that tells me the system was over-loaded. Then she said she got registered, and her appointment was Wednesday, 27 Jan, at 8:50 in the morning at the local fair grounds. Could I take her?  Sure.

So we left a tad early, and got to the fair grounds at 8:30. And from the judging of it, we were a couple hours too late. We were almost at the end of the line.

I have to admit, it was well organized, we drove two by two down one parking aisle, then up the next, and after doing this for an hour or so, we got to a human. She asked if we were both registered, “She is,” I pointed to neighbor, “I’m just hoping they’ll have more.” She laughed and said I’d be fine. After about 30 more minutes, we approached a couple young GIs (Army -National Guard?), they gave me a form to complete, and sent us to follow directions of where to park car. I get my flu shot every year from the pharmacist, and I can always tell if he was military—better at giving shots 😉

With both windows rolled down, we each got our jab. First jab of two. Being the old Fartess that I am and having spent the 9 years 5 months 23 days (but, who’d counting?) in the military that I did, I’ve had my fair share of jabs, shots, and vaccinations. I’m here to tell you the Army (probably all military) medics do the best job. The least amount of pain—both for shot and after-pain. Alas, any reactions one has is not their cause. Of course, it probably helps that I’m not afraid of needles and my arm is totally relaxed.

So, this cute young GI (I may be on a diet, but I can certainly read the menu!) came to me, rubbed my arm with alcohol or something equally cold, and it was over before I knew it. I was watching as the needle went in. I NEVER FELT IT! If you’re hesitating at all, stop. Get the shot. And if your governor has activated your National Guard to give them at mass inoculation sites, get in line! Eye candy to go along with a life-saving jab 😉

The only time I felt the shot, was if I tried to do an impression of Red Skelton with his Gertrude and Heathcliff seagulls. Now, my understanding is, the second shot gives both extra protection, and some extra and temporary effects for 24-48 hours. I can live with that. You can, too.

Outro:

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and I do believe it’s sunshine, not an on-coming engine! Yes, I’ll probably have to wear the masks for a few mor months. Yes, it will probably be end of summer before we are back to normal, but normal (if we can remember what it is) is closer now than when we started this rodeo. But when it’s over, there’s inside restaurant dining to look forward to, road trips, visits with friends and family. Yee-haw! We’re on our way!!!

Stay safe, stay healthy, for Auntie Lenora and Sammy Brave Dog, if we’re the reason you need.

Intro:

I’m still pretty damn furious, and if what is coming out on the news is accurate…. If investigation confirms that some lawmakers not only verbally incited, but actually gave “recon” tours during lockdown, if they pointed out offices, if they had anything to do with the removal of office “Panic Buttons,” if they had anything to do with the threats on the lives of fellow lawmakers and their families – well, I’ll be beyond angry/mad/furious/seeing red. Personally, I think they should receive a fair trial and a life sentence to Guantanamo! Not that I have strong thoughts about it.

I rather like what my Auntie Marie told me several years ago, “I forgive, and I forget, but I remember always!”

That oath I first took in 1965 meant something to me, I volunteered. I knew what it meant. My country means a whole lot to me. Part of me doesn’t understand how people like Ted Cruz & Co. can act like they do—other than greed and selfishness.

Last week I said I didn’t have a clue how we move on. This week, I have that clue. I remembered a book I read maybe 30 years or so ago, Inside the Criminal Mind by Stanton Samenow, PhD. I had a person I my life who was very difficult to be around, highly manipulative, but not, at least when I knew him, a criminal. A friend recommended the book. One of the best I could have read. It has since been updated, and I’ve long given my copy away to someone I thought could use it, and we all know how my memory, what there of it, is.

My memory is Dr. Samenow and some cohorts worked with some pretty nasty criminals within the prison system, to see if it was possible to get them back on the straight and narrow. And they succeeded, with an extremely low rate of recidivism amongst the men (I think they were all men). As I recall, the first thing the prisoners had to do before they would be accepted for enrollment in the program, was to admit responsibility for what they had done. They couldn’t play victim; they couldn’t lay blame anywhere but at their own feet. They had to admit they were wrong and be willing to accept their punishment.

Again, memory says that those who went through the process got out early and, I imagine, had support on the outside, but their rate of recidivism was something like 1% if that. But you know me and numbers. Not to mention me and memory!

I think that’s where the healing must start. Those involved must accept their responsibility, must admit the lies they spread caused great and grievous harm, they must accept the will of the people, and either resign or be expelled. They not only put lives in danger, they caused serious injury to many, both physical and psychological, and the deaths (so far) of six people. They played. Now they must pay.

Another book that has helped me through the years since reading is The Sunflower by Simon Wiesenthal. This is a short essay/memoir about his time as a prisoner in various concentration camps in Nazi Germany. It takes up the first half of the book, which ends with the question, What would you do (in regards to forgiveness)? The second half of the book are short essays/answers to that question by various people from religious leaders around the globe to people on the street. The only people who can truly forgive a person are the ones hurt by that person. I can’t forgive George for beating the stuffing out of you, only you can, providing you want to and live to do it.

So, until Cruz & Co. (and all those who support them) stop the lying and truly apologize and ask for forgiveness, admit their guilt if you will, there can be no healing. Until Jim Jordan and all his buddies go on Fox News, etc., state that there was no fraud, the election was not stolen, but honestly won by Joe Biden, until they all own their culpability, I cannot forgive them. I cannot forgive them for killing Officer Sicknick or the others. Only the deceased can forgive that one. Their families can forgive for their loss. Once Cruz and Co are serious about their apologies, that is the time those of us who have been hurt can forgive. Not before. That is when the country can pull together and begin to put all this behind us.

The Washington Post put together a timeline of incidents, it’s 14:27 minutes long and worth the watch. Or at least, the read. 41 minutes of fear: A video timeline from inside the Capitol siege. Guantanamo may be too good for the seditionists. 

Healing will begin with admission of personal responsibility and then forgiveness. Remember, forgiveness is primarily for the person forgiving, not the one begging for it. Consider your forgiveness accordingly.

Auntie Lenora! Enough of the rant!!

Yes, yes it is. Time to change the subject!

Remember my New Year’s Resolution to write each day A Word A Day (AWAD) popped into my inbox? Well, so far, I’m doing it. Sometimes I have to wait till the end of the day to get it, but I’m doing it. Some words are pretty, well, hard to place, but I’m a doin’ it. Whatcha gonna do with vardy, or meech, or juberous? Yeah, I understand.

Well, this is embarrassing. I believe I told you about my new kitchen toy, my sous vide? The more I cook with it, the more I like it. I’m actually cooking real meals and sitting down at the table to eat now, instead of dumping everything into a bowl, nuking it, and eating while doing something else. So, the other morning, I decided to try cooking soft boiled eggs. My brother says they’re the best ever! (And he’d never lie to me). I took my eggs out early to bring them up to room temperature. An hour before I usually eat, I brought the water up to temperature. Forty-five minutes before breakfast time, I put my eggs in to cook, set the timer on my phone, and came in to work. Timer went off, I nuked the beans I wanted with the eggs, and realized the eggs weren’t ready. They weren’t even a wee bit cooked. I’d set the timer on my phone, not the timer on the sous vide. sigh. As Annie used to sing, Tomorrow,  there’s always tomorrow! 😉

Wednesday is the tomorrow I’m waiting for. It will be a breath of fresh air and sanity blowing through our country. 

Books:

I read a couple of fun books. One, A Cat’s Guide to Bonding with Dragons by Chris Behrsin, is a Teen/YA book, and a lot of fun. Poor Ben, a happy, spoiled, and well-fed cat in the south of Wales ends up between one bite and the next that never came, serving an evil mage in another plane. Ben is not happy, until he meets and bonds with his dragon.

Murder on the Old Bog Road: The Galway Homicides Book #1 by David Pearson is a delightful murder mystery. The description of how the body became a body is short, and not particularly gruesome beyond the obvious, there are no gun fights, no car chases, not too much bad language and what is there, it fits the story, and a bare bit of sex, but not in your face. You could give it to your grandma. Really loved visiting the Irish countryside, not horribly far from where Ryan’s Daughter was filmed so many years ago.

Still reading The Cooking Gene by Michael Twitty, very enjoyable, and The Lost Spells by Robert MacFarlane and Jackie Morris.

Outro:

So much has happened since the New Year. Frankly, old Auntie will be glad when things simmer down. 

Covid19 is out of control. You all know the drill. Don’t be selfish. Don’t get sick. Don’t give sickness to someone else. Mask. Socially Distant. An irritation now, a life later.

It’s cold out, and some of you are really, REALLY cold, so here’s a photo from last summer, a time of sunshine and warmth, of a Great Egret across from my home.

Auntie Lenora and Sammy Brave Dog

I’ve gone through the shock, and the horror, and the hurt, and the tears, and now I’m mad as hell!

Below is what Donald J. Trump swore four long years ago. Emphasis mine.

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

I believe he made it with his hand on the Holy Bible. Please note, the oath is not to his wallet, his bank account, or even to him or his office; it’s to a piece of parchment. A very special piece of parchment—The Constitution of the United States. I don’t remember if he added, “So help me God.” but I imagine he did, to show his evangelical buddies what a good God-fearing Christian he is. (Presidents have the option of adding ‘So help me God’ if they want to their oath.)

Trump has pushed the boundaries on many norms, he has gotten away with egregious transgressions because of his enablers. But he crossed the Rubicon when he deliberately incited an attempted coup d’etat of our country Wednesday last. 

He needs to be gone and gone for good, before he can do more damage. He has lied, he has given away classified information, he has aided and abetted felons, he has asked/begged foreign powers to help him in his re-election, he has shamed us on the national stage, and he has done his best to hang on to his power and deny the people of this country the president they voted for. There was no fraud. Well, yes, there was, I believe 3 dead people voted in PA — all voted for Trump.

He has broken his oath. Repeatedly. This last time was too much. He crossed the Rubicon. He provoked an armed attack on the United States of America. There will be investigations and more investigations. There are a great many unanswered questions—who declined to send in the National Guard? Who sent the police out in street uniforms instead of riot gear? Everyone in the area knew this was coming down. Why did it take so long to break it up? Why were there so few cops? Where were the feds? Why did the cops allow the seditionists to walk away instead of herding them into a guarded enclosure? Questions. Too many. This must not happen again. Yes, a major part is the seditionists were white, and therefore they were no real threat. OMG, can you imagine the blood bath if they had been people of color???

He thought, when he appointed all those judges, they would be beholden to him. He had no idea; they all knew what the oath they took meant. He kept referring to them as ‘his’ judges. I can’t even imagine what he must have felt when they continued to follow the Rule of Law, and the Constitution of the United States, and not just didn’t give him the election, but all but laughed his lawyers and him out of court. Talk about trying to commit fraud!

Below is the oath I took. Four times. Note, I, too, swore to defend a piece of parchment, not the President, not my officers, but a piece of parchment. Something else worth noting, for those of you who never served, although we took an oath to obey all orders, if they are not lawful orders, we have recourse and do not have to follow them, according to the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice).

“I, [name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.^“

Members of Congress, Members of the Cabinet, any federal employee who takes an oath, takes a similar one. ALL swear to protect that piece of parchment. Loyalty is to the Constitution of the United States, not to another human being. Period. Full stop. The end. Fade out. Roll credits.

There should be no place of welcome in our country for White Supremacists, for Anarchists, for Fascists, for people who hate anyone who is different than they are, who worship a different Face of God (or no god) than they do, just because they are different.  It is time to stop being a Victim. It isn’t easy, but it can be done with hard work. You’ll feel better when you succeed. Honest. Trust me.

It is time for the media to stop calling lies something soft like “misstatements.” If a politician lies, they need to be called on it, but the caller needs to be sure their facts are correct. The people who drank Trump’s Kool Aid will have a hard time changing their minds, no matter the facts and how they’re presented. They will probably go into cognitive dissonance. It behooves us to find a gentle way to convince them their ideas need to change. It will take time for the antidote to work.

How do we move on? How do we help those who believe the delusion, who believe the lies? To be honest, I don’t have a clue, but I suspect love and patience will play a large part in it. And move on we must. And we must not let another fascist autocrat try to destroy our country. 

As President Elect Biden said, they are our opponents, they are not our enemy, they are fellow Americans. So, yes, I’m mad as hell. I’ll get over the mad, the hurt, the pain, and then I’ll do what I can to help my fellow Americans and this country we love heal. 

A Buddhist chant from the opening of an illegal temple in the midst of a Khmer Rouge prison camp in Cambodia:

Hatred never ceases by hatred

but by love alone is healed.

This is an ancient and eternal law.

Think on it.

Auntie Lenora and Sammy Brave Dog

And because in all this madness, even Auntie Lenora can find a laugh-out-loud moment now and again. I share one and my Thank You to Randy Rainbow! and his latest parody.