Forced Hiatus....and the End.

So we left on September 5th for a three week RV trip out to North and South Dakota and stuff in between. I was looking forward to doing a few postings during the adventure but "fate" interfered. Either no internet or I couldn't access Blogspot! Oh well....we saw lots of bison, a coyote, hundreds of prairie dogs, wild turkeys and wild horses. Had good weather and no real "difficulties" except for the big stone a truck kicked up that left a lovely "dent" in the RV's windshield (to be fixed) and the fact that I hit a turkey as it awkwardly tried to fly across the road in front of me. 

We returned at the end of the month and somehow life kept getting in the way and I never sat down to just write my blog. Then I began to think about it. I wrote a weekly newspaper column for the small New Castle Delaware Weekly for at least five years....same kind of "my musings" type of format. Then took a two year break while we lived aboard Connemara where I just wrote my ship's log.

Once back in the real world of work, home ownership, family and community involvement I began my little on-line blog. It's been a real source of enjoyment for me since about 2011.

But I think I've run out of "steam" and just don't find the energy or inspiration to continue to share my "musings from Milwaukee." All these years I've had fun putting thoughts to paper maybe 5 - 10 times a month and so enjoyed the comments from my "loyal followers". 

Who knows.....maybe at some point I'll start up again, but for now I say goodbye! Thanks for being "out there"!

Fondly,

Linn

:-)

So Troubling.....

After his book club discussion Dave suggested I read A Fever in the Heartland by Timothy Egan. The book has been on my bedside table for weeks but I decided to start it yesterday. The subtitle on the front cover states the book is about "The Ku Klux Klan's plot to take over America, and the woman who stopped them."

Right now I am on page 105 and this part of our history is really difficult to stomach. The description of how the Klan was re-founded and then began to grow by leaps and bounds in 1920's America is sickening. And several times as I've read a paragraph I've thought "Sadly this sounds like someone we recognize in our United States 2024."

"As the names spread around the state, Stephenson (one of the founders spreading the Klan across Indiana and surrounding states) raged against traitors and spies inside his realm. He threw things against the wall, stubbed his cigar on the floor, screamed at subordinates until he was out of breath. Even when he wasn't drinking, his anger storms could overturn a room. He moved swiftly into federal court, seeking an injunction to stop Tolerance (a newspaper exposing who belonged to the Klan) from further publication."

And a few pages later, "A trick of his was to grab a girl's breast and fondle it in front of others. The shock effect gave him power, and revealed to him at a young age that he could get away with things that others could not - simply because he dared to cross a line."

Ugh.....I will keep reading just to learn about the woman who "stopped them" but know that the KKK and other white supremacist hate groups are still lurking just below the surface. This group was filmed training in Florida and the tape was leaked to a local news program. Two days ago a group marched in downtown Tallahassee.

These guys just look so stupid to me.....except that what they stand for and believe in is what I consider to be completely anti-American. Hiding in the woods to practice....they should at least be "brave" enough to do this in their neighborhood in their own back yard. Some parasites die when exposed to the light.

A Small Effort.....

I watched most of the DNC last week and frankly was pumped up by the speakers and the enthusiasm in the audience. So....that's over and now we'll just have to wait until November to see the results.

Last Thursday I followed Michelle Obama's command to "do something" and drove over to the Milwaukee County Democratic Office hoping to get a bumper sticker and a button to wear. They didn't have any road signs yet (which we can't post at our apartment building anyway) or buttons with the Harris/Walz ticket. I did get a Kamala button and the name of the website where I ordered postcards to mail. The smallest order was for 500 so I will be handing bunches out to friends and neighbors eager to help.

Then I saw an idea on Facebook so I am also preparing to share these whenever I am out and use a public bathroom at a store or restaurant or wherever:

I got my pad of post-it notes and started writing. They will "live" in my purse until needed. I plan to stick one at eye-level inside the bathroom stall so the next person in the "space" will sit and see! No name so no one can get annoyed with me, and I expect most will be taken down quickly and go into the trash. On the other hand my little note may bring a smile and a reminder to someone else of just how important it is to DO something and then VOTE!

Feeling encouraged......

Looking Up....

For some reason this past week I've been looking up. Walking along the sidewalk, driving down the road (as a passenger), sitting at one of our outdoor summer concerts. The midwest blue sky with assortment of puffy white clouds framed with sky blue has been just hypnotic to me and the changing light can change each image within minutes. I can remember lying on the front lawn with a friend while in grade school. Like many other children we would be seeing pictures in the clouds above. Mother Nature giving us a beautiful display.

Spend some time looking up.....use your imagination.....what do you see?

....And The Excitement Continues

So our VP, Kamala Harris, chose a running mate and the internet is going wild. The headlines state the excitement as non-MAGAs learn about him and consider the team as a whole. The GOP is going crazy and getting more and more "wierd" by the day! Such fun to listen to 45 and or his VP pick or the pundits who are already just posting nasty comments, stirring the pot of false facts and watching his lead shrink.  This will be an interesting November.

I hear some people saying he's too liberal but while living next door to Minnesota while he was Governor we heard some pretty good things about what was happening in his state. As described in Heather Cox Richardson's letter this morning: "Strong tax revenues and spending cuts gave the state a $17.6 billion surplus, and the Democrats under Walz used the money not to cut taxes, as Republicans wanted, but to invest in education, fund free breakfast and lunch for schoolchildren, make tuition free at the state's public colleges for students whose families earned less than $80,000 a year, and invest in paid family and medical leave and health insurance coverage regardless of immigration status." So if this is too "liberal"....bring it on.

(I was interested to read something the other day that Wisconsin is following suit wiaiving tuition and fees for the 11 Wisconsin universities beginning in the fall of 2025. Even my alma mater (small, private Ripon College) is waving tuition for students whose parents earn less than $75,000 a year.....maybe other states will continue the trend.)

Somewhere along the line the word "liberal" became a four-letter-word for the GOP....they better check with Miriam Webster.

Will the level of excitement last? I don't know, but here's a picture of the line of cars full of people heading to the Harris/Walz rally in Eau Claire today:

(I can already hear 45 whining about the size of HIS crowd at HIS next rally and how it was SO much bigger than theirs. )

Personally I find Kamala's  qualifications, attitude, smile, optimism and thoughtful remarks so refreshing.  You go girl! Laugh your way into the Oval Office!!

My Wish....

Well hasn't the Presidential race suddenly become much more interesting? Watching 45 "deflate" even just a little is so satisfying. And seeing people "discover" what his VP choice represents is almost comical.

My first wish is that there are going to be debates between 45 and the most likely Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. Just fingers crossed because I would LOVE to see him try to dominate the stage and throw lie after lie toward her.....not a chance that she would not be able to cut him off quickly.

But my almost as high on my Wish List is to see Kamala Harris on stage behind her podium and when the camera pans to the other side we see a podium and blank space emtpyness  behind it. Or maybe a cardboard cutout of 45 with blue suit, red tie and orange hair.....fist in the air.

Come on 45....go ahead and step on stage. Or, if he won't, PLEASE ABC show the one-sided debate so the public can watch the democratic candidate answer the questions from the moderator. And when she finished each answer, with no interruptions, please ask her to turn and stare at the empty podium for about 30 seconds.

And at the very end watch the Democratic candidate look to the empty podium one last time, drop the mic and walk off the stage.

Dry Beauty....

A few weeks ago I got a lovely bouquet of flowers from my son....Mother's Day I think! I enjoyed the beautiful arrangement for many days, taking out the dying flowers as needed. I cut off the yellow roses and let them dry out

I now have a lovely glass bowl of forever roses. They make me smile every time I walk past the coffee table in the living room.

:-)