The Crab Chronicles

Lies and Deception

The title of this post was easy to write (for once) because I know exactly what I want to say. I just hate saying it. I try very hard to steer clear of writing about politics on here or any of my social media accounts, but I want to make some observations that I think pertain to both parties.

A friend of mine posted a link on Facebook to a fascinating and thought-provoking essay by Camille Paglia about Trump and the election of 2016. I'm not sure if my friend realized it was originally published in June 2017. It may not matter. While I don't agree with everything Paglia said, she made some excellent points.

Part of the reason I like the Paglia essay is that she makes intelligent observations about both parties. For example:

"The administration bears full responsibility for fanning the flames of an already aroused "Resistance." However, I fail to see the "chaos" in the White House that the mainstream media (as well as conservative Never Trumpers) keep harping on—or rather, I see no more chaos than was abundantly present during the first six months of both the Clinton and Obama administrations." 

Americans need to hear voices like that. We need to hear folks who look at politicians in both parties and hold a mirror up to them so they can see their own foibles. 

 

When I was a freshman in college I took a class called Key Presidential Elections of the Twentieth Century. For the first time, I heard intelligent, lucid ideas about presidential elections that didn't come from either of my parents. (My parents were both very intelligent and active in politics. Mom is still alive, and in fact still feisty about politics.) This is yet another reason why college is important. We are all vulnerable to different ideas at ages 17-25 (roughly) and we need to hear ideas that shake us up and teach us how to think objectively. I purposely didn't tell my parents a lot about that poli sci class because they were staunch Republicans and the professor clearly wasn't. He referred to President Reagan as "the painted doll." 

I learned to watch the idiotic sound bites that are political ads and to ignore the inflammatory rhetoric. For instance, Democrat accuses Republican of voting against a bill to help xyz group. Republican seems heartless. I do some research and find out the bill had tons of other things in it that were bigger and more prominent and probably Republican didn't realize the rider about xyz group was there; or possibly he felt like he had to vote for the bill because the other issues were more important. You can make the exact same argument for Democrats and how they vote. We really need single-issue bills in Congress, not bills stuffed with a million pounds of pork. 

Politicians do this type of thing all.the.time. They have folks researching every single thing the opponent has ever done or said. By these standards, no politician is safe from mud slinging, unless they grew up in a monastery and have done and said almost nothing to anybody in their entire lives. 

What I find so horrifying right now is that both parties are viciously attacking each other, and things are escalating alarmingly. The mud slinging here in Georgia has become a mud avalanche, and I bet it's that way everywhere.

As yesterday's clumsy bombs sent to Hillary, Obama, and others demonstrate, and the attacks on politicians in restaurants demonstrate, we are becoming less and less about disagreeing respectfully and more and more about being childish. 

I blame Hollywood. 

Seriously. 

When I was a kid I went to see movies where there were lots of words exchanged, and violence was never the point of the whole movie. There were good guys and there were bad guys. 

Nowadays, dialogue takes a back seat to action. Character development is tossed out the window. It's all about special effects. I dare you to think of an intelligent action movie that has been released in the past ten years. It's all about comic book villains and comic book morals.

There's no time for silly old-fashioned things like character development, dialogue, and real ideas.

With CGI, movies have become the realm of ANYTHING GOES. Instead of just a bad guy, we have villains that have to be special in some way -- they can't just be guys who want to kill one or two people, or even one or two countries. Oh no. They have to be out to destroy all mankind, in nuclear-type annihilation. It's like the running joke in the Austin Powers movies about wanting "millions" -- no wait, let's factor in inflation -- BILLIONS -- in order not to detonate a nuclear device.

The mindset is: let's make it bigger and badder and bolder. BIGGER. BOLDER. Let's really BLOW STUFF UP EVERY FIVE MINUTES!

Politicians have taken their cues from the movies and now everything is reduced to shock-inducing TV commercials. People usually don't take the time or trouble to sit down for an hour or more and truly research the candidates, comparing their positions on key issues. Sometimes you see it done in the media, but most folks don't trust the media any more. Did CNN make that chart? Nope, I don't believe a thing from them. Did Fox News make that chart? Oh hell no. They are totally Republican tools. 

See how that works? The media outlets on both sides have lost all credibility.

We are all jaded. 

I think also we are all tired of the mud slinging and the distortions. 

I am tired of Congress in general. Why don't we have term limits or single issue bills? Simple. Politicians don't want those things. They don't want to shake up the status quo. 

I am disgusted and disheartened by all of this nonsense. Wesley was right -- too bad he's not running for office right now...

Weight Loss Ideas

Here's a little piece of trivia I will share with y'all, and I rarely talk about it, even with close friends: twice in my life I have lost over 100 lbs. The last time was from about 1999-2001. Lost 110 lbs. In my twenties when I was in graduate school I lost over 100 lbs. I don't recall the exact amount. 

When I was a kid I loved sports and I was pretty active. I loved tennis and swimming, and I liked to roller skate and play basketball in the driveway. I never walked up the stairs I ran. I skipped stairs. I walked fast. [below, me aged 6]

Of course, then I grew up and got more sedentary.

I inherited short fat legs and a fat fanny from my beloved Memaw, my grandmother. My other grandmother, who died before I was born, was tall and skinny. I didn't get any of these genes, although I was named for her.. 

The gene pool is a crazy thing, I often say.

Anyway, I am not now much of an athlete but I know it's important to MOVE. Don't just sit in a chair for hours. Bad for the back and the waistline. If you sit all day at work, get up every 30 minutes and just walk in place at your desk, for like 2 minutes. At lunch, walk for 10 minutes, even just around the hallways. Just MOVE.

Below, me and my cousin/BFF Lesleigh, when we were both pretty svelte, about 17 years ago. 

So I went to the doctor the other day for a physical. Everything was fine. Test results came in the mail yesterday. I need to up my Vitamin D consumption, and I will get that done. I am researching foods that have a good bit of vitamin D. Ironic. I am deficient in my name.

The doctor didn't fuss at me about my weight but I told her I was back on the program and would get the extra lbs. off. She has seen me do it before. 

BTW the currently popular "ketogenic" diet, Atkins, and plan old low carb are all pretty much the same thing. [You can learn more about the ketogenic diet here.]

There is a myth that low carb is unhealthy. Not necessarily. You can eat low carb and still be very healthy, although if you have naturally high cholesterol you will need to avoid a lot of bacon and butter, duh. Substitute good fats like olive oil and avocado. Honestly, I eat lots more healthy veggies on low carb than I do normally. 

So here are my suggestions. 

 

FOOD TIPS

I wanted to share some low carb tips I have learned over the years, through trial and error. 

One, make friends with cabbage. I hate chopping it so I buy bags of what is called coleslaw cabbage. You find it with the bagged salads, but on the top shelf for some weird reason, at least at Publix and Kroger. For lunch I like to saute 1-2 cups of it in olive oil, with a little chopped onion or onion powder, and add a good shake of soy sauce and garlic or garlic powder. Saute until soft. Add a piece of chicken and it's a good meal. Tastes a bit like an eggroll. 

Two, spaghetti squash is so yummy. You buy the squash and stick it on a cookie sheet and put it in the oven on 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Take it out and let it cool a bit. Slice it lengthwise. Pull out the big seeds and tough middle part -- the seeds look like pumpkin seeds. Take a fork and scrape the sides of the squash and strands of squash appear. I saute it in butter, olive oil, and some chopped onion, and throw in some cheese after about ten minutes. YUM. 

 

My friend Bronwyn has been doing Atkins now for months and has done super well. She is my current low carb guru. She has lost more than 80 lbs. -- and dealt with the death of her mom last fall, which was devastating and threw her off for a couple of months, but she got right back on track.

She has good tips. Just today she was suggesting kale chips. [I don't like kale normally but I might try it, down the road.]  She also suggested microwaving pepperoni slices until they are crisp, and using them as a chip. Also, cutting up slices of cheese and microwaving them until they are crisp. 

In the morning, instead of toast, I scramble a couple of eggs and either add a handful of spinach or a bit of grated cheese. I love eggs but they get boring. [BTW I have been eating eggs every day for years and my cholesterol is normal]

On low carb you tend to miss crunchy things like chips and fries. If you will saute spinach leaves in olive oil they get crunchy. Ditto for kale.

High protein snacks are crucial.

I get sliced turkey at the deli and snack on it. When I am bored with it I add cheese. I also snack on cheese but I try not to eat too much of it or it upsets my tummy. 

I love hummus with carrot sticks, too.

 

I have been doing pretty well for the past week, week 1, and I am down 6 lbs. Woo hoo! I still need to modify it a bit. I love love love sweets. That's my downfall. For this week I have kept chunks of cantaloupe in the fridge and when I wanted something sweet I ate a couple of chunks of cantaloupe. This really helped me. Hopefully next week I can live without the melon and without my 1 slice of bread a day. 

 

RANDOM TIPS

Here's what I have to remind myself and what I always tell everyone about dieting: figure out what works for YOU. Listen to your body. If you are miserable on low carb, like really miserable, maybe a different plan is better for you, like just counting calories, or increasing workouts. Weight Watchers didn't work for me but lots of folks swear by it. Check it out.

Exercise is important but you don't have to go nuts with it. Just walk 20 minutes a day, and gradually work up to more strenuous workouts. I have a dog. She has to be walked. That helps. Or take your BFF and go walk around the mall. Or go to the pool and walk up and down the pool.

I have read that if you exercise really hard for a couple of minutes, then moderately for 5-10 minutes, the interval thing really helps you burn more calories. 

Also, drink LOTS of water. I keep a plastic pitcher of water next to me all day and I sip on it literally all.day.long. You can add slices of fruit or lemon or something if you are bored with it. 

You can add a lot of empty calories by what you drink. I drink nothing but water and unsweet tea. Do NOT drink alcohol. No beer or wine especially -- they turn to sugar in your body. Don't drink diet sodas because I've read studies showing they actually are harmful for you and don't help.

Whatever diet you are on, modify it to suit you. Eat foods you like. COOK. Plan your meals and snacks. IF you plan you are more likely to succeed. 

I only weigh once a week. Otherwise I would go nutty. A weekly loss of 1-2 lbs is great. Don't get crazy. If you lose too fast you tend to gain it right back -- trust me, I know this.

 

SUMMARY

The important thing is to be in it for the long haul. If you fall off the wagon when you're out to eat or at a party, get back on the wagon immediately and don't let it completely derail you. 

I have a birthday coming up. Am I going to eat cake? Probably 1 piece. However, the next day I will be back on the program. 

above, me in 1991, with Dad and some friends -- I still have that dress somewhere. Love it. One day I will get it back on...

Trading Places

Have you ever talked to a friend and thought wow, I would HATE to have her life! I had that experience last night. I had a phone chat with a friend I haven't seen or spoken to in many months, although we have been friends for nearly 20 years. 

I only got a call back from her because she was in the car headed home from working out at the gym. She works 40-60 hours a week at a law office, and works out every day.

She lives in midtown, walking distance to the Fox Theatre. I would love to be able to walk to the Fox. However, when she was pulling her car into the lot behind her condo she was annoyed at having to wait a couple of minutes while a guy standing right on front of her car took his time peeing. 

EEUW. 

Compared to her, I live in the country. It's suburban Atlanta, inside the perimeter, but comparatively? The country. I saw a rabbit in my back yard last night when I let Lola out to tinkle. Lola wanted to chase the rabbit. Holding her back from that was fun. I've seen foxes, possums, coyotes -- in my back yard.

She can walk to fancy, expensive restaurants, to museums, to theaters. She lives smack dab in the heart of everything the city has to offer, and in Atlanta that's quite a lot. I can't do that, but I don't want to.

She is going to have to continue to work the punishing hours, at a high-stress job, for the next 15 years or more, to be able to retire and live at the same high standard she has now. I started to feel sorry for her, after we hung up and I reflected on that. Then I thought about it some more and realized wait a minute, she is very smart, very educated. If she WANTED to change jobs, to get out of the city, to get away from all that stress, she could totally do it. Her child is grown. Her car is paid for. She bought her condo years ago and I doubt the payments are that bad. She is working those awful hours and putting herself through that stress because she WANTS to. There is something holding her to that, and deep down she likes what she does. 

I cannot fathom it. Then again, she asked me about my life and what I do all day, and I told her about caring for Mother, Lola, and Michael, and her response was "I don't know how you do that. I couldn't do it."

I started to chuckle but I realized she was being serious.

I used to think I wanted to travel. Ireland, Scotland, Japan, Australia -- lots of plans and daydreams about going places and seeing things. Now I watch Travel Channel on my nice TV and I am grateful my feet don't hurt from all that walking, and I don't have to worry about finding a clean restroom in some out of the way place. I've been to places like that. I don't care to go back.

Now I am perfectly happy to be right here, in Atlanta, in my own messy old house, doing pretty much exactly what I want all day. Yes, caretaking can be really tiresome, some days, but most days now I am pretty content. I wish I had more money, but I don't want to spend 80% of my waking life at an office slaving away for people who don't care if I live or die, who view me simply as a cog in the wheel. (I used to work where my friend works, still, and I know what type of place it is. Stress City.) In that instance, I would have more money but less time to spend it.

No, I can go outside and take a photo of beauty that's right in my back yard, like the shots below, and marvel at how beautiful Atlanta is in the early spring. I love watching the robins and cardinals in my back yard. I wouldn't trade walking Lola and chatting with neighbors for walking city streets where drunks feel free to pee right in front of me. No thanks.

This country mouse is a happy camper right here.

Pictures from My Life

Life is pretty quiet and calm right now, knock wood. Car runs. We have money in the bank. Mom and Michael are fine. I am fine. Lola is a hot mess but basically fine. 

My old house always has something going on.

A couple of days ago the heat upstairs quit working, which was scary. (Thanks goodness it was not cold on Sunday.) Air would come out, but not heated air, and the Auto thingy on the thermostat wasn't working at all. Called the HVAC company we use and they came out yesterday morning. One tiny wire had come loose in the thermostat. That was fixed easily. YAY. 

I am slowly but surely gathering all the stuff so the taxes can get done, asap. I help Mother get hers done and I do Michael's taxes with him, using a program called Tax Act, which is easy. Mine have to go to the accountant, like Mom's.

I spent the weekend contemplating and then making a red velvet cake, for a friend's birthday. I had never made one before. It's basically a chocolate cake with red food dye in it. The cream cheese icing was easy to make and the recipe made a TON of it. I will definitely make this cake again because it's not that hard and it's festive.

I am not great at layer cakes. They are always lopsided. I also didn't refrigerate the layers, which is a great trick. Nonetheless, when my friend came to pick it up we all had a piece. He loved it. 

Saturday was a rainy and gloomy day so after Michael and I made the obligatory grocery store run -- which can be kind of fun because he has a list and I have a list and it's sort of like a contest to see who finishes first - we went and bought donuts. Not Dunkin or Krispy Kreme, no... a new, no-name donut place in Tucker -- Donut City. Everyone in the Tucker Facebook group had been raving about how wonderful the donuts were so I thought why not try them. We had never been there before and the guy threw in two extra donuts -- of course, he was fixing to close for the day and might have been going to throw them out but it was nice, anyway.. They were more cake-like but they were much more light textured than Dunkin and they didn't have the weird oily industrial taste that Dunkin Donuts have that I hate. These were more pastry-like. They were out of apple fritters, which they are famous for, but oh well..

A friend of mine went out to Comfort Farms yesterday and took photos for me, for an article I am writing for a cooking website. Wish I could have gone, but it's a 2 hour drive and I was waiting on the HVAC guy. Plus, I can't leave Mom all day. Jon posted great photos of his prized pigs on the Facebook page, noting how well-mannered they are. I love this photo -- it looks like they're gossiping. Plus, look at the cool rainbow behind them!

Reminder: please Donate to Comfort Farms and support their wonderful mission of helping veterans

Christmas Gift Buying Ideas

My mother and my son LOVE Christmas. They love putting up the tree, seeing the house decorated, the baking, all of it. Even though she is 83, my mother still loves Christmas and she started telling me back in August that Christmas is "not that far away."

I used to feel the same. I loved Christmas. It was exciting and magical to me, even as an adult. That lasted until.... about 2009? When I got laid off from my job and trying to buy Christmas gifts became a big challenge?! Now I feel somewhat like Scrooge. I grumble and grouse. To me, it feels like just 15 minutes ago we put the tree away from Christmas 2016.

However, this year I am going to make a concerted effort to not stress over Christmas, and to purchase gifts that are useful/meaningful, stressing quality over quantity.

Every year, I try to sort through stuff and sell or donate what we don't need/want/use. Goodwill gets a TON of stuff from us. I don't want to buy gifts that will just go on the donation heap in a year or two..

I have friends who, months ago, purchased an Instant Pot -- the 21st century high-tech pressure cooker/everything cooker. They love it. Everyone I know who has one loves it. I am thinking about getting one for my brother. He likes to cook, and he works a lot, so anything that cooks food fast seems like a good idea. 

I am still pondering what to get my son but I am thinking about a pass to Stone Mountain. It's only about 15 minutes from my house and there are tons of fun things to do there. He has plenty of clothes and buying him THINGS seems less desirable than buying him experiences. I have a friend who doesn't do a normal Christmas [she has more than 20 adopted kids] but every year they go to the beach for Christmas, which I think is an excellent idea. Experiences will be remembered long after things are put away or given away.

Mom is harder to buy for, but she has lost a ton of weight so clothes would likely be a good choice.

BTW, neither my brother or my son read my blog, so no worries about spoiling the surprise... LOL

What I do not want to do is get stressed out about gifts. Some years I stress more about little gifts for neighbors than anything else. I am so glad I work from home now so I don't have to worry about gifts for work colleagues or bosses.  

I hate shopping in stores but I have been able to shop totally online, in recent years, which makes the whole experience easier. I am sorry a lot of brick and mortar stores are closing but I think online shopping will continue to be popular. I miss great stores like Borders but online IS the wave of the future. 

below, our card from a few years ago...

 

Let's Agree to Disagree

I think the reason I have a number of friends who have been good friends for many years is because I can say "Let's agree to disagree" and they can do that. Most of my friends are either very conservative or very liberal. Few are in the murky waters in the middle, like me.

I was reminded of the fact that this country has become disturbingly divided when I read this excellent piece in the New York Times, The Dying Art of Disagreement.

An excerpt from this piece really hit home for me:

"We disagree about racial issues, bathroom policies, health care laws, and, of course, the 45th president. We express our disagreements in radio and cable TV rants in ways that are increasingly virulent; street and campus protests that are increasingly violent; and personal conversations that are increasingly embittering. 

This is yet another age in which we judge one another morally depending on where we stand politically."

This REALLY hit home, and made me stop and think how I would feel if one of my kids married someone I disagreed with politically:

"The polarization is personal: Fully 50 percent of Republicans would not want their child to marry a Democrat, and nearly a third of Democrats return the sentiment. Interparty marriage has taken the place of interracial marriage as a family taboo."

Of course, part of my pausing to think included me wondering if I would be more disturbed by one of my kids marrying a diehard Democrat or a diehard Republican. I am still thinking over that one.

I have friends who no longer speak to me because they disagreed with me during the last presidential election. It bothers me that they cannot see that I did what I always do, every four years, voted for the lesser of two evils. I couldn't even debate with them about it, they just un-friended me on Facebook and in actual life, mush to my sadness.

Last night I mentioned to my son that I think pro athletes should show respect for our national anthem and not use a sporting event as a political platform. I didn't expect the violent response I got from him. He literally shouted at me until I just stopped trying to talk to him. I found it a little frightening, frankly, because I wanted him to just calmly talk to me and explain why he disagreed, not shout me down.

Of course, when I read the New York Times article this morning it really resonated because I thought of Michael's reaction last night.

Unlike most 21 year olds around here, my son wasn't born into middle class or wealthy privilege. He lived a pretty wild existence his first 8 years with an alcoholic birthmom, often homeless and hungry. He didn't get appeasement instead of discipline. He didn't get any participation trophies.

However, he is susceptible to influence by other people his own age, and they do not brook disagreement.

As writer Bret Stephens points out that many millennials consider it "...“acceptable” for a student group to shout down a speaker with whom they disagree. An astonishing 20 percent also agree that it’s acceptable to use violence to prevent a speaker from speaking."

Everything is offensive nowadays. Everyone is "spoiling for a fight" as my daddy used to say. How can one argue anything if there's a huge fear of offending some group?! Stephens illustrates this well:

"The result is that the disagreements we need to have — and to have vigorously — are banished from the public square before they’re settled. People who might otherwise join a conversation to see where it might lead them choose instead to shrink from it, lest they say the “wrong” thing and be accused of some kind of political -ism or -phobia. For fear of causing offense, they forego the opportunity to be persuaded."

What is the remedy for this situation? I don't know. I don't agree with everything Stephens says in his article. I am not sure journalism is the cure. However, I will note this -- journalism today is more infotainment than it was when I was a kid. I watched a lot of news programs as a kid because during the commercials I could actually talk to my dad. He rarely sat still except to watch the news at night, so there were only small windows of time when I could talk to him. All that news watching made me aware of the greater world outside myself more so than many of my peers.

However, maybe journalism is our only hope.

 

I sometimes think my curse is that I am always able to see both sides of any question.

I understand the viewpoint of the athletes who "take a knee" during the national anthem. They are trying to illustrate that people of color in America often aren't treated fairly. They aren't, oftentimes. It's a valid point. I just don't think their protests are the best way to effect real change.

We are all biased, even those of us who are wicked smart.

I have a friend who is homeschooling her kids and overall doing a terrific job, except for one thing. She doesn't encourage any of them to go to college. She didn't go. However, she is one of the smartest people I know and I am often in awe of her ability to express herself in writing. (She blogs.) Truthfully, only perhaps one or two of her many children might do well in college. However, it's impossible to point out to her that her own personal bias shouldn't extend to her kids. She cannot see it.

I have dealt with that before.

I grew up with parents who said YOU WILL go to college. No discussion. I asked my Dad if I could take off a year after high school and just work and his response was a vehement NO. So I started college at 17 but I think I would have really done better if I had taken off that year, grown up a bit more. My parents were able to pay for my college without me having to get loans and pay them back, or work to pay my tuition, and so they viewed my not wanting to start college right away as evidence of ingratitude. They both had to work very hard to get through school, with little or no help from parents.

The point I am trying to make is that we are all prisoners of our individual life experiences. How can we really "think outside the box" if we cannot acknowledge there actually IS a box and we are in it?!

When I was in high school I took a class in debating. I was assigned to debate with another student and I had to argue that Communism was a good thing for China. I didn't agree with that, but as an intellectual exercise it was good for me to have to research and present that point of view. However, the teacher assigned the opposite view to a student who was Asian, whose parents had fled communist China. Very smart girl. She didn't do as well as I did in the debate because to her it was personal. It was impossible for her to be really objective and she got upset with me for taking the opposite side. We were casual friends before the debate but afterwards she wouldn't speak to me. It hurt my feelings, but it taught me a harsh lesson: it's all personal. All of it.

Journalism will never be truly objective because we journalists are human. However, we must STRIVE to be objective, even if it's an unobtainable goal. We must try. We must try to understand views different from our own. We must listen. We must research. If we don't, if we allow blind anger to prevail, everybody loses.

We must teach our children to try and really understand the views of people we disagree with. The kids need to put down their phones and actually talk to each other. They have to try. Only when this current climate of divisiveness cools down will I feel less anxious about the future.

Fixing the Problems

I don't have much respect for athletes or anyone who doesn't respect the national anthem or the flag of the United States. My ancestors have fought in every single war since the revolution, fought so that everyone can live in freedom in our great nation. They put their lives at risk. Some lost their lives.

Why?

America is worth fighting for. It's worth dying for. It's the one nation on earth that overthrew its oppressors and changed the world, at a time when that looked impossible.

Do we have problems in America now? Of course. We have tons of problems. So does every country in the world.

Should we have elected Trump? I don't know.

I do know this: refusing to be respectful when the national anthem is played, refusing to honor our flag -- those are actions which are empty. Nothing is accomplished by those actions. Nobody is helped by those actions.

Here's what I want to say to Colin Kaepernick and all those athletes who take a knee rather than stand for our anthem: PUT UP OR SHUT UP.

You don't like the way things are? Change them.

Angel McCoughtry is a professional athlete. I love this story about how she opened an ice cream store in her neighborhood. She puts people to work.

What about feeding the hungry? Jason Brown was a highly paid football player and now he is a farmer.

Ex-NFL player who made $25 million quit football at age 29 to become a farmer

He is helping the hungry and making things better.

Shaquille O’Neal Raises $5.8 Million for Charity with Toys”R”Us

Shaq is making things better.

Athletes are in a unique position to use their celebrity and influence to help people. The ones who do so have my respect and admiration.

The ones who simply "take a knee" should be thankful they live in a country where it's okay to protest. We have freedom of speech. We have freedom to speak and write what we like. We have those freedoms because men and women who love America risked their lives and some DIED for them.

You may not like everything that happens in this country, but you should still respect the flag, the anthem, the office of the president. It's basic courtesy.

The Aftermath

I never thought that I would ever see any effects of a hurricane or tropical storm while living in suburban Atlanta. It takes about 5-6 hours in the car to get to the nearest beach. However, Irma proved to be the exception.

I don't mean to complain too much though. Comparatively, we came out nearly unscathed.

Monday we got a lot of wind and rain and some tree limbs came down. However, we were snug and fine in the house.

Monday night about 6 p.m. Mom and I were both watched the local news and they had just said "About 50% of Atlantans are without power" and pffft, our power went out.

We had no power from then until about 6:30 last night, right around 24 hours.

Michael came over Sunday to help us out, and he was great. On Sunday afternoon we got all the outdoor furniture either pushed against the house or in the garage, and things like garden implements and birdhouses, etc. were put in the garage, along with the trash cans.

He also went to the store for me several times.

Mom came home from the rehab place on Saturday afternoon. She has had some stomach issues for a few days and I didn't want to leave her alone so I have not left the house since Saturday. Didn't really want to go anywhere Monday or Tuesday. Might venture out today. She is feeling better.

We have a gas stove so we cooked on the stove.

Michael went and bought ice and we took our fridge food and put it in a cooler with ice and that worked out fine.

Yesterday, we listened to the battery-operated radio and talked and played board games. I read a book, off and on, all day. I looked at my phone a few times but I didn't want to deplete its power so I tried to stay off of it. Easier for me than for Michael -- he has two auxiliary chargers and we used those up.

I contemplated going to a hotel but that wouldn't have worked for Lola -- no dog-friendly hotels nearby, plus Mom was more comfortable here at home. My neighbors went, but they have toddlers and she is pregnant so I totally understand that.

I hate to admit this but I so missed my little creature comforts while the power was out. It was hard to find enough light to read by. I couldn't run my electric tea kettle. The house was either too hot or too cold. I missed my white noise machine while I was trying to sleep.

I am so thankful I live in the 21st century. I am not one of those "back to nature" folks. My idea of "roughing it" is sleeping with the window open, I always say.

So many folks in Georgia and Florida were devastated by Irma. My heart goes out to them. We were very fortunate.

Today, back to work and bill paying and appointments, and normal life..

Doing Better

 

August was a truly stressful month. Mom was in the rehab place. I was sick with a virus and then an ear infection. Michael was trying to find a job. Too much going on, and all of it nerve-wracking.

September came in with some cooler temps and progress all around.

I am feeling better. Not 100% but much better.

Michael started a new retail job last week. It's a full-time job, which is new for him, but it offers full benefits after 90 days and I am hopeful it's a keeper. He likes it so far, although it's a bit tough on his feet.

Bruce came in yesterday for a visit. The photo below shows us chatting in the little courtyard area of Mom's rehab place. It's a nice area, with benches and chairs, flowering plants, a fountain, etc. She has a bit more work to do on being fully independently mobile, but I am hopeful she will come home soon.

Learned last night that one of my Houston cousins was flooded out of her home, but she is okay. Thank goodness for that. Still praying for everyone in Texas and Louisiana.

Life goes on.

A Few Thoughts on the Eclipse

Facebook is lit up with everyone frantically saying "Where can I buy eclipse glasses?!" and I am not all that interested. I get that it is an exciting scientific phenomena and all but I just can't work up any enthusiasm for a few minutes of darkness during the day tomorrow.

Tomorrow afternoon it will be 91 degrees here, and partly cloudy. With 30-60% cloud cover, there may not be much of the eclipse to see, even if one is standing outside and looking up..

I remember the 1984 solar eclipse really well because I was in college and my Creative Writing teacher took us all up to the roof of the building and we looked at the eclipse. I don't remember if we had "glasses" or not, in all honesty. I remember wondering why it was such a big deal. My Writing teacher was Coleman Barks, who has since become pretty famous as the poet who re-introduced the west to the poetry of Rumi. I love Coleman -- a unique and brilliant man. I talked to him on the phone almost ten years ago when I was looking for a publisher for my first book, and he remembered me and was very encouraging.

According to the 11 Alive story  about how Atlantans acted that May eclipse day in 1984, "Adults shared moon pies and moonshine with each other." Only in the South, y'all.

Of course, if you're scratching your head trying to remember it, FYI, that 1984 eclipse was only visible here in the Southeast.

We are not in the direct path of the eclipse here in Atlanta (only about 97%) but folks in North Georgia are, and the traffic heading up there was horrific on Friday, as the local news reported. They interviewed a lady who drove down from Maine to see it. Probably the last time she will ever come to Georgia in August, unless she likes 90 degree temps with 90% humidity.

Part of my disinterest may be due to the lingering virus I am still dealing with. Felt okay last Thursday and Friday and then yesterday I felt horrible all day - headache, chills, nausea. Today, just feel listless. Sinuses are acting up. Feels like I have the flu. Doctor tested everything and pronounced me fine last Tuesday except for the blood test which indicated I have a virus. To add to the fun it's like 95 degrees here today. Michael is at the grocery store for me, thank goodness.

There was an eclipse in 1979 and I have absolutely no memory of it. I have wracked my brain trying to figure out why I have no memory of it. Finally, I read the article about it. it was only visible in the Pacific Northwest. DUH.

Talked to my brother last night. He is even less enthusiastic about the eclipse than I am. He is working all day tomorrow. I asked him if Columbia is in the direct path and he didn't even know. It is. There is a website about it. It notes: "Throughout the long weekend of August 18-21, 2017, attractions, cultural institutions, hospitality and retail businesses in Columbia, S.C. – the total solar eclipse capital of the East Coast – will host more than 120 special eclipse-related events leading up to and during nature's grandest spectacle." My brother will not be attending any of those events, I can promise you. 

We come from a family that tends to take weather and scientific phenomena pretty casually. My father always said "I never let the weather make my decisions for me." Of course, he lived in the south all of his life so there were only a few times the weather was even interesting. He would show up to work even if there were 12 feet of snow on the ground. He thought staying home was for sissies, and I don't think he ever did. One time he had to park his car a good ways from the house, when he and Mom lived on the lake and it was snowing like crazy, but he had been at work all day. He used to call me up early in the morning on snow days and say "Be outside in 20 minutes. I'm picking you up and you're going to work." We worked in the same building for 6 years. I never missed work due to snow, even though I wanted to! Knoxville usually shuts down and everyone stays home when it snows, just like Atlanta. I was usually the only female in the office, though, on those snow days. I learned every single job at the office because of that, well, except for actually being an attorney...

I was fascinated to learn that the next solar eclipse is not until 2045. I will be 83 years old, if I am still alive. Right now, my mother is 83 years old. My son will be almost 50, which is hard to imagine.

I plan to keep Lola inside tomorrow and watch out the window, see what my backyard looks like during an eclipse. I am not planning on looking up because I don't have any eclipse glasses. I will watch the news later and see it, though.

I don't let eclipses make my decisions for me...