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since last we met
April 11, 2012
Pardon my political outrage, but I need to rant a bit.
I've come up with a name for the conservative plan to thrust us back a century: I call it the Republican Agenda of Pure Evil--RAPE for short. Rape of women, rape of the environment, rape of the economy.
Women are chattel with no rights, we plunder the planet for energy, polluting as we go, and we devolve back into dichotomy of wretched working poor and bloated plutocrats, where unspeakable outrages against the masses are perpetrated daily. Ummm...sounds very 1912 to me. Where the hell is Teddy Roosevelt when we need him?
From the 1912 Progressive (Bull-Moose) Party Platform:
"Political parties exist to secure responsible government and to execute the will of the people. From these great tasks both of the old parties have turned aside. Instead of instruments to promote the general welfare, they have become the tools of corrupt interests which use them impartially to serve their selfish purposes. Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government, owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people."
The more things change, right?
Since my last post:
We bought a car from my dad. I know...it's against my principles to do that. But a compromise was in order. I let Daddy be a hero, and provide us with a reliable car. I didn't let him take a bath on it. He refused to make any money, but I tried to make sure he wasn't eating any costs. (And I still don't subscribe to my brothers' philosophy of "a car from dad comes with perpetual care", either!)
The price ended up being $4,000.00, cash. And what that got us was a 2002 Ford Taurus, nicely loaded.
Mileage: 101,528 miles
Exterior: Silver
Interior: Charcoal
Engine: 6-Cylinder 3.0 liter V/6
Transmission: Automatic O/D
4 Door, Front Wheel Drive, Alloy Wheels, ABS, Air Conditioning, Cruise Control, Power Steering, Rear Defrost, Tilt Steering, Tinted Windows, AM/FM Radio- CD Player, Driver Air Bag, Passenger Air Bag. Power Door Locks, Mirrors, Seats, and Windows. Keyless Entry.
It's a very nice, comfortable, servicable car.And it's paid for. What can I say? After a lifetime of being in a car dealer family, I have no romantic illusions regarding automobiles. They don't excite me. (nothing does, really...but that's a different subject) And oh, yes--it's another fucking silver car. But I don't even bother to care about that anymore--it's never done me any damned good, anyway.
My leg is better. Well, some better. It'll bear weight now, and I don't need the cane anymore. Hardly taking anything for pain now. Still can overdo pretty easily, though. Got a temporary parking space that helps, and I've been consciously trying to go slow and to shorten my stride, which both help. If this keeps up, I'll be able to let the Dr's office know that we can call it "case closed".
Spouse and I went to his brother P�s house for a big family dinner. My mom and dad were supposed to come too. P & his wife E are very fond of my folks, so they always invite them.
But they didn�t make it. Mom had some kind of stomach bug, and they really tried to make it. But by the time they had to stop for the third time, they decided not to come after all. Mom was afraid that she would end up giving it to someone else, so they turned back and went home. I was disappointed, but I certainly didn�t want Mom to feel bad about it. Hey, stuff happens, right?
So it was mostly his family�plus a co-worker of P�s who joined us.
Four brothers, 2 wives, a girlfriend, one kid, and the co-worker.
We had a nice time; lots of good things to eat, of course. P is a gifted cook, that�s for sure! And it was good to visit with everyone, since we don�t see each other as often as we would like. But frankly, my knee was aching when I got there, and after Dr. P fixed me up with an oxy and a bourbon & ginger? things got a wee bit fuzzy...oh, well! At least Spouse and P had gotten to see Daddy on the day before, since they had driven down to the dealership to pick up the car.
Uncle was happy to get our Easter card, and even happier the next day when he got his cookies; he is doing extremely poorly and the cheering up mail is more important than ever. Per my cousin, every holiday is bittersweet, since she feels like it's "Dad's last...Christmas, Valentine's, Easter, etc." Frankly, I'm going to be devastated when we lose him, but I almost feel that wanting him to stick around in the shape he's in now is selfish and cruel on my part. He's so cut off, so miserable, it just breaks my heart. I am currently working on an epic that is crammed with pictures of the "new" car, the washing appliances (he wants to see them!?), and Easter.
Somewhere up there, I mentioned that nothing excites me. True. I feel so detached from happiness, from pleasure, from anticipation of pleasure...it's like the best I can hope for is a temporary numbness and cessation of misery. I can still feel sad. So my new definition of happiness is "not wretched", I guess. It's weird. What I really crave is peace, and peace, apparently, does not equate to happiness. For me, anyway. Oh, well. Not important, I guess...
Memoranda for future reference.
Got my period on Monday, 04/09
Got a haircut/wax on Wednesday, 04/11
Reading:Kent Knowles: Quahaug, (1914) by Joseph Crosby Lincoln. The main character in this is driving me crazy, because he's completely lacking in self-esteem. Also, "Keeping up with Lizzie" (1910) by Irving Bacheller. For a story from 1910, this one certainly has our number in 2012. Conspicuous consumerism has a profound effect on the economy in this tale, but the scale is kept small and easy to get your head around.
Listening: Kings of Leon, GooGoo Dolls, KT Tunstall, The Kinks
Surfing: .
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