You Undoubtedly Noticed: I didn’t post a blog last week! I was with a couple of friends who died, one on Wednesday and the other on Monday. They weren’t close friends, but they were friends.
And then I read an article in (I think) the London Times by a man who was nine years old when his mother was diagnosed with cancer. I don’t remember what happened to Dad, but he wasn’t there. And this young boy became a primary care giver for his mom. She died when he was thirteen. He would take care of her in the morning, before school, and rush home to take care of her after school. He did everything, and when the pain got to be too much, she was taken to a psychiatric hospital, where she spent her last weeks without pain meds, and he would come buy every day on his way home from school to be with her, to help, to care.
He is a politician now, and when the vote comes up for medical assistance in dying in the UK, he will vote against it, because he thinks every child should have the same opportunities he did, to care for his dying parent, like he did. Do watch and listen to them scream in agony. Have you ever heard such selfish drivel? Not once did he think that maybe his mom was in enough pain she would have liked to exit earlier and to spare him the agony of watching her die. Maybe he’s a sadist in disguise.
I don’t know, but I sure think he was being mighty selfish. There was another letter a few days later, by a woman, a priest of her church, I forgot her title. Her letter was a little different, but it came down to suffering is good for the soul and I guess her god likes his humans to suffer now so they won’t suffer later.
The subject of death came up in our Death Café this afternoon. (now is that a co inky dink? or what? /snort/) and I mentioned that in this state we have Death With Dignity for those who want it and qualify. Yes, people have to jump through hoops to partake, and every effort is exerted to be sure it is what the client wants, and 2 prescribers, one a doctor, agree. And they have the right to say, “No.” at any time. One person asked me if Death With Dignity was euthanasia. Another gal said no, euthanasia is what we do for our pets. I thought that was a good response and agreed with her, and gave the patrons of our café two sites to go to for information.
I think about Death With Dignity like I think about Abortion—if you don’t want either one, don’t have it—but don’t force your god’s peccadilloes down other people’s throats. They have enough to deal with, with their gods and his peccadilloes.
So, that’s why I didn’t write a post last week. I was grieving for two new friends I’d made who died before we could even have an argument, and then read those two letters. I was in no mood to write. Anything. Deal with it.
This Week’s Photo: Took this photo two years ago this week, at Sheryl’s home. Thomas loved this tree, and could no longer see it as it was in the back of the house, and we couldn’t get him there, so I took the picture so he could enjoy the vibrant reds second hand.
from the desk of the mighty chihuahua; it’s really cold out, and dark. the sun doesn’t come up until after 7 in the morning, and goes away before I can eat dinner and go for my afternoon walk. my human says another month and the days will start to get longer. I think the sun should be out half the time and the stars the other half. but I’m only a dog, and I don’t get no respect.
What’s going on outside in the Tries: It appears we’re going to be warming up, with most days in mid-to-high 70s with a few days in the 80s. Summer comes, ready or not! Yaaaaahooooo!!!!!!
Deep End of the Pool (Trigger Warnings: Abortion, Religion):
I’m going to step into the deep end of the pool today—and hope my water wings keep me afloat!
I am going to talk about wo/men and abortion. Again.
Roe v Wade is under serious threat from SCOTUS. And it’s complicated. But it’s not.
What it boils down to is male dominance, power over females. Period. Full stop. Roll credits. The End.
It has nothing to do with religion, other than religion as a means of control, which is to be kept separate from government at any rate, but everything about power and dominance. Men have fought giving women rights for years, and the most basic right, that of her body, belongs to her. Unless, of course, she is a slave, then it belongs to her owner. Think on that.
If you are against abortion for whatever reason, then please, do not have one. Abortion is a medical procedure. It is, or should be, legal and safe for any who need it. It should be discussed by the woman and her doctor and no one else!
Why hasn’t the Equal Rights Amendment been ratified? Because the men in power, the male dominant caste, do not want to give up any of that power, especially to the perceived lower caste females of the species. It was alright to give women the vote, if it would make the little ladies happy, keep them quiet, content, and as long as they voted however their men told them. Alas, we have our own minds about who we want representing us, and we want more—we want equality and they don’t deem us as equal.
The claim of the male evangelicals is pure hogwash. They do not want to save the lives of the innocent babes. They want control over women. If they truly wanted to save lives, they would not support all the death they do — from insuring everyone who wants an arsenal can have one, that the death penalty remains in place, that war is fun, that people of color are here only for their enjoyment and target practice.
The perfect Facebook meme on abortion:
If they truly wanted to save the lives of the fetuses, they would see to it that all women have access to good pre- and postnatal health care, that all infants and children have access to good dental and medical health care until their majority or through college, that all families—whether one or more parents— have good, nutritious food, adequate clothing, etc. But they are against all that. the so-called pro-life people are in fact, pro-birth. Once the baby is born, they want nothing to do with it. It becomes the problem of the mother to clothe, feed, medicate, etc. They did their part in forcing it into the world with no back-up plans in place.
No, it’s Power. They have it and plan on keeping it. Think about that long and hard before the next election. Think about the God they worship (sure hope those water wings are still inflated!). A Male God. One who keeps women subordinate, who doesn’t like women, who thinks women are here for one purpose only — to take care of the men. Think about what’s going on in Palestine and Israel at the moment. Here are two cultures who both worship a War God. Not only that, but they worship the SAME War God, just different faces of him. Think about the dominant caste in our country. They, too, worship this same God, just a different, third, face. And before you come back at me that YOUR god is a God of Unconditional Love, may I remind you that He killed his (allegedly) only begotten son and that He will save you on condition that you love his sacrifice. That that same (alleged) son said He had not come to change the Word but to fulfill it. Oh, and a special reminder for any white supremacists that might be reading this, Jesus was a Palestine Jew, not white Aryan. He’s just a third Face of that same God. If you think the Crusades, the Inquisitions, the Witch Hunts, etc. are really a way to show love, well, I pity you. Never forget, if you worship a War God, you have no right to whine when you become a target.
For those of you who worship the One True God, by whatever Face you gaze upon, think on the fact that you follow that Face of God because that is the one your parents and grandparents followed and taught you to do likewise. Also consider this: Religion serves one, and only one, primary purpose—Control. Control over the lives of people not in the “Priest Caste.” It controls the priest caste, too, but not as much as they make the rules.
You can’t have it both ways. If it is Love, abortion remains legal and safe. If it’s Hate….
Note: This post was written before the world finally convinced Netanyahu to use two or three of his functioning brain cells and call for a cease fire. By the time it is published, a new excuse may have been found to start killing each other again. Talk about family rivalry!
Found this meme on Facebook. It pretty much explains it, yes?
Entertainment: Oh, I have rediscovered the marvelous Cozy Mysteries of Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. Much more entertaining than the news which is filled with murder and mayhem for real. Yes, it’s true, this channel offers only brain candy, but it’s nice to have brain candy now and then, and not worry about unwanted calories. And, since I haven’t watched for a couple years, many of the movies are new to me, and the series, well, kinda like a vacation to see old friends and catch up on the gossip.
Books: Remember, when I finish a book I review it at Rainy Day Reads.
Am still readingI Contain Multitudes by Ed Yong. It’s a fascinating read, hope to finish it in the next week. Have also started frank: sonnets —by Diane Seuss. Wow! Her poetry blows me away! If my math is correct (always suspect), there are 127 sonnets in this book, and they be not in Shakespeare’s English!
Education: See books, above and writing, below 😉
Writing: Check out this site. This is something all of you can do, and maybe have some fun. Poems From Page 143. Be sure to read About This Project, it’s a fun page about one of our favorite characters, Mr. Rogers. Yes, that Mr. Rogers! Anyhow open a book to page 143, read that page, find words that go together, black out the others, and voila! You have a poem. If you like what you’ve accomplished, submit. Here’s mine.
Quote of the Week:
“To solve the human equation, we need to add love, subtract hate, multiply good, and divide between truth and error.” —Janet Coleman
Auntie Lenora and Sammy Brave Dog wish you a warm, sunny week is making your life bright and happy. Unless you’re in a draught, in which case they both wish you rain. Lots of rain! Take whichever wish you need and want, apply it liberally, and enjoy.
As of 26 Sep 20, 204,499 Americans have died from Covid19. At 5 seconds to intone each name, and maybe ring a bell, it would take 11 days, 20 hours, 1 minute, 35 seconds to read and tally our loss. At least half would still be alive if people cared about their neighbors and wore masks and the CDC had not been politicized.
…Ruth Bader Ginsburg (aka the Notorious RBG) has died. Age, 87. You all know that. I was too upset to write anything last week, so I’ll write it now, a week after her death. She was, truly, all those things, and she will be sorely missed. Her death may, at this time, bring about the beginning of the end of our country as we know it.
This is an opinion piece. But, what the heck, it’s my blog, so I can write my opinion. (You may counter in the comment section.)
It didn’t take long for the Unholy Swamp Triune to come out and say that they don’t give a rat’s hind end what the American people want, they’re hell-bent-for-leather to name and confirm, a new Supreme before the election. And she’s going to be a “Right to Lifer.” Rules and precedent be damned! Almost three out of four Americans support a woman’s right to control her body. They Unholy Ones don’t. They want to go back in time to the wonderful fiction of Father Knows Best that only existed on television, not in actuality.
And therein lies my angst. Oh, not that they will cheat, that’s a given, but how they have perverted the term “Pro Life/Right to Life.” For the sake of this discussion, I am going to make Right to Life and Pro-Life mean the same thing. These people, all good members of their faith, are NOT Pro Life. They are Pro Birth and Anti-Woman. They want to take all rights away from women, especially where her reproductive life is concerned, because they don’t think women are intelligent enough to think things through. You know, hormones rage and emotions swing, and they have power given by their patriarchal god to rule women and by their god, they’re gonna! After all, if they can keep women pregnant and at home, they won’t take a job from another testosterone poisoned male. And it’s easier to blame a woman than keep their trousers zipped.
I won’t go so far as to say NONE of these Right to Lifers are, but I’ve only met one, and that was years ago, and she put her money where her mouth was! She went to her lawyer, paid to have the papers drawn up, then went to the abortion clinic, talked to the manager in charge, explained what she wanted, and received permission to wait inside and talk to the women seeking treatment. She explained who she was and said if they would carry the baby to term, she would pay all pre-natal costs, delivery costs, etc., and adopt the baby. She showed them the papers, and letters of recommendation that she would make a good mother. She didn’t have any takers, but no one complained to management about her being there. She never adopted (she was single and at that time single women adopting was frowned upon, after all, a baby needs a daddy) but she did take in teens as a foster mother.
Now, I’m Pro Choice or, if you prefer, Pro Life. To me, they are the same thing. Yes, really. The same. I know women who have had abortions, and none chose that option lightly. There were medical reasons, financial reasons, real and solid reasons. Because they had a medical procedure in a safe and sterile environment, many went on to later raise, love, and care for healthy families.
They took care of themselves. They were Pro Life. They made a difficult decision and have lived with it. But they still live. I don’t know any who had an abortion because they got ‘knocked up’ at an inconvenient time.
My mini quilt, Walking the Red Road. (It really is square, the caera wonked it.)
Ladies and Gentlemen, if you don’t want an abortion, then by all means, don’t have one! If your god says it’s wrong to have an abortion, then don’t have one. But the face of your god is not the face of every other woman’s god. And this is NOT a religious country, it is a secular country founded to remain secular with a separation between Church and State. Remember, the world cannot support our current population, and add into that Climate Change, rising seas, and wildfires….
If you are going to vote as a Right to Lifer, then, please, vote for all that entails—good pre- and post-natal care for the mother, good medical and dental coverage for the child until an adult, enough money to have the necessities of life—shelter, food, clothing, education, etc, for that child until s/he is an adult. Don’t say you’re Pro Life when you really only want the woman to have the baby and you don’t care to help out after. That’s not Pro Life. That’s Pro Birth.
Again, I say, if you don’t want an abortion, please, I beg you, don’t have one! But don’t try to force your morality on others, for one day you may be judged by your morality as lived and thought and held in your heart, and you may not like it. One day, these words may appear on your wall, Mene, mene tekel upharsin.
Entertainment:
TCM: I have long said I’d go with any cable company that would let me choose 10 channels and charge me appropriately — Spectrum did. I now have, among other channels, Turner Classic Movies, and on Saturday night I turned it on just as the credits finished for The Red Shoes. The movie came out in 1948, I probably saw it sometime between 1950-1955. It ranked right up there with An Affair to Remember and The Quiet Man in my all-time most loved movies. I’ve seen the latter two several times, sometimes whole movies, usually bits, parts, and pieces. Saturday is the first time I remember seeing The Red Shoes in a reaaaalllllly long time—like since the first time I saw it. Yes, it’s a romantic drama, and I loved it even more now, as an adult, than I did as a kid of 10 or so. I remembered my favorite part, if not exactly the words, the intent. He: Why do you dance? She: Why do you live? I also remember sitting in the theater when it ended thinking that I was a big girl and big girls don’t cry. Well, I didn’t sob out loud. Do I get points for that? Saturday, I sat on my couch and decided it’s perfectly fine for an old Auntie to cry/sniff/sob/tear. I did laugh at the two white males discussing the ending after the end. It’s probably a good thing I wasn’t in the studio, or one might be walking funny now. He thought she was somehow weak. Both of them missed what, to me, was so blatantly obvious—she felt pressured to choose between the love of her life, her husband and the love of her living, dancing. It was obvious to the men, of course, that she should choose between marriage and family or singledom and career. How dare she want both? Why, that was/is a privilege reserved for men. /meow/ Not a HEA movie, but, if you get the chance to see it, well worth the 2 hours 13 minutes of your time to watch it. Some absolutely gorgeous ballet! It’s available to rent on Amazon Prime.
Amazon Prime:
IMDB has free (with commercials) tv series. I started watching the old Banacek series, again. Loved that show. We’ll see if it holds up.
Books:
For any books I may have finished and reviewed and mayhaps a bit of snark, see Rainy Day Reads Who? Me? Snark? Bwahahahaha!
CORRECTION: Last week I said I had Wyrds by Weld Champneys on my bed to read, I hang my head in unabashed shame, the title is Wirds, and it has now moved to my bedside table to be read randomly just before I turn out the light. A delightful book of poetic humor, review is on my site above.
Wearing a mask is a proven method to help slow down the spread of Covid19. Please, wear your mask. And wear it properly—keep it over your nose! Your Auntie and your Granny appreciate your thoughtfulness. However, when you come next week for a fresh cuppa and homemade biscotti, we’ll be properly socially distanced so you may remove your mask at that time. Honest. Trust me.
Notorious RBG, We Miss You!
Auntie Lenora
The “Red Road” is a metaphor for living a spiritual way of life. Oglala Sioux medicine man and holy man, Black Elk, spoke of the all the people on the red road as being one interconnected circle of people that made a sacred hoop. Only you can walk your journey, but many are on the road. https://www.spirithorsenation.org/the-red-road
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