So much mourning

Here's a pic of one of many aviation-themed Christmas cards I ordered years ago, but can't use any more, because I ordered them with a pre-printed signature from Kristan & Sumner. I've been mourning the loss of so many things, these past seven years and longer. When things here kept getting worse, and the many aspects of her illness were driving us into a dark mental hole, I procrastinated indefinitely on sending out Christmas cards and letters. It seemed pointless to talk about all the fun things we weren't doing any more, or to itemize all the minor and major emergencies, and trips to the doctors and hospitals each year. So, after an unbelievable amount of time (15 years?) of not doing that, I've slowly been feeling more positive, and working my way back into sending some cards to family and friends I don’t see regularly. 

This year, I was surprised to find that I actually had the time, energy, and inclination to put together a short summary of the year again. I went outside my comfort zone, and ordered some Shutterfly cards with an upbeat picture showing Jennefer and me smiling and holding Mandy, while we were out on a walk. While I was going through the process of creating address labels, I found several years of old address lists, and was a little shocked to realize just how many people I used to send cards to, that have passed away. That got me thinking about everyone I've known that has died, and I started making a list, which has been a real eye-opener, as it's passed three dozen lost connections, and still counting... No wonder I've been feeling more and more isolated and lost over the years... I'm such a procrastinator, that there's a part of my brain that feels like it can always come back to an unfinished project, and finally see it through. It's strange and sad, thinking I might want to check in with someone I haven't talked to in awhile, only to realize they're not around any more.

On Your Left!

Haha! 😂 Here's a funny New Yorker article about bikers and pedestrians. This is my life lately, from the guy on the bike’s perspective. 🚴‍♂️ I used to say it all the time, but I got all these same reactions they mention. Mostly now I say nothing, make sure our differential speed isn't too high, and cruise slowly by, a safe distance to the side with the most space. Sometimes I ring the bell a long ways away, and see what they do, before I make my move… 🤷‍♂️ Sometimes I will call out “on your left!“, and a group of walkers will start to drift left, then I call out “on your right!“, and then they split in the middle and head to opposite sides of the trail, and then I call out “coming through the middle!“ and surprisingly enough, that usually works out fine. Bikers have trouble with bikers sometimes, too... Not that *I* pass much of *anybody* that’s riding, as I’m pretty much the slowpoke on the trails. More often than not, I’m like the guy in the article, only I’m on wheels getting passed. I can’t even count the number of times I almost jumped out of my skin, when a much faster rider waited until they were a few feet from my ear to say something…

Bomber's Moon?

Lovely moon Thursday night, behind thin clouds - what my first boss Ed used to call a Bomber’s Moon - we didn’t have it in us, to stay up late, looking for the eclipse, so this is all we saw.

Voting my conscience

Done! I dropped off my mail-in ballot at the county admin building last night, as has been my habit for the past 26 years. As always, I trust that the right protections are in place, so that my vote will be counted, and that no one will change it for me. And just because I can, I’ll be checking online, to make sure my ballot is processed. 

One particularly hilarious (for me) issue on this ballot, was yet another attempt to increase the already exorbitant taxes on marijuana sales, presumably because “all them other folks” who use pot should be the ones paying for our schools. Basically, another one of those “tax THEM not me“ approaches to public funding. 

I will continue to vote my own conscience, regardless of all the “big lies“ that are being propagated, by people who have no inclination to look behind the curtain, as long as the misinformation causes damage to their political opponents. And some go beyond not looking, to actively attacking anyone who questions the lies. Whenever another lie is disproven, they are more than willing to take aim at whomever has made the effort to do the research necessary to uncover the lie. Lately I’ve seen even more signs of a movement to discredit fact checkers, as if they are the problem. Yeah, that’s it, let’s tear down those who are helping us get to the truth. Unbelievable. 

I read another article today, about how the “Big Lie“ about voting fraud has so completely poisoned the Republican Party, even though it’s been disproven so many times. But people who watch Fox News, or pay attention to Qanon, Newsmax, OAN, Breitbart, WNG, or the myriad other conservative conspiracy sites that are more than willing to propagate similar lies, seem to be taking it all in, hook, line, and sinker. 

As if lying isn’t enough, physical attacks are also on the agenda. I was especially incensed yesterday, when yet another news article popped up, about the police officers in San Marcos, Texas, who refused to respond to 911 calls from people in a bus on its way to a political campaign rally. I guess the officers agreed with the physical harassment on the road by a caravan of trucks driven by their political opponents. How many other law-enforcement officers are harboring malicious thoughts towards anyone different than them, and are willing to act on those thoughts? 

On a slightly more positive note, apparently some Texan Republicans are so fed up with the big lie, and the damage it’s doing to their party, that they’re paying to have billboards posted around the state calling for an end to the election audits. 

The common thread that appears to keep repeating, is that attitude a lot of people have, that it’s OK to mistreat anyone who isn’t the same as them. Hey folks, we ALL have our differences! How about a little respect for our fellow humans, even if we disagree with them?