Pondering While Wet......

Just why did we start saying "I'm going to take a shower?" I was shampooing my hair this morning and began to wonder about this phrase. Isn't it more accurate to say "I am going to step into the shower stall, turn on the water, get wet, get clean and turn off the water." I'm not taking the shower anywhere!?

So I googled the meaning:

                   1.  Lay hold of (something) with one's hands; reach for and hold

                   2.  Carry or bring with one; convey

Both of those definitions only make it more confusing to wonder why we say "I'm going to take a shower."

But then I saw the Merriam Webster site and the long, long list of uses for the word "take" and I'm sure it's covered in the list at some point. I wasn't interested enough to do any more research....just an odd thought that popped into my mind while wet.

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Why Would She....

There is so much drama (again) coming out of Washington DC. This time most of it swirls around the process in place to confirm the name 45 nominated to the Supreme Court. Lots of people taking sides, he said, she said. Asking for more information to be released....documents, so far, not available to the committee overseeing the appointment. Questions and more questions.

And for the past ten days or two weeks accusations of sexual misconduct or at least inappropriate behavior when this nominee was in high school and college. More she said....he said. And questions.

My question is, certainly there are many very well qualified candidates for a life-time appointment to the Supreme Court of the United States of America....so why continue down the road with this candidate? (I sort of know the answer to that question - but still.....)

And the commentators addressing the first accuser....."if it was true why didn't she come forward then"?  My question - why would she? Why would she put herself and her family through this gauntlet of publicity? Why on earth would she do this if it was not true?

I was in fifth or sixth grade when a boy (the son of one of my mom's very best friends and a family that we often shared time with) dropped his pants and wiggled across his basement TV room to show off his "equipment". I probably said "Eeuuuuww!" and buried my face in my hands. He laughed, pulled his pants back up and we continued to watch TV until I went home. I never told a soul. It was just a wierd moment.......but years later, when he and his wife came for dinner at our home in New Jersey, all I could see was that moment from about 20 years before. Dave and I talked and laughed with the couple (who later divorced) and all I could see was his limp dick waving as he crossed that basement room. I never told anyone.....certainly not my mom because it would have hurt her friendship with the boy's mother.

Haven't we all done stupid things when we were young? Is anyone's closet completely empty of all skeletons? Am I proud of having too much to drink at a frat party freshman year in college and literally rolling down water tower hill?

But should we The People really accept this nominee with all the "gray" areas and the unanswered questions? We shouldn't have to wonder about him.......as another accusation makes the papers.

Is he the best of the best? No.......

Two Years....

I opened my Facebook account this morning and, as usual, the memory page popped up and I clicked on it.

I know why this quote was first up:

"Grief never ends...but it changes.

It's a passage, not a place to stay.

Grief is not a sign of weakness, nor

a lack of faith...

It is the price of love."

Two years.......and I wake with a few tears.....

Fast On The Mute......

It's almost time for the mid-term elections. It's the final count down with only a few weeks to go. Talking heads analyzing races and quoting statistics and surveys. Talk of a "blue wave".

Who knows. It's probably no suprise to my few loyal readers that I plan to basically vote blue. I've never voted a straight ticket before.....trying to pick the best person for the position so often some "x's" go on the blue side, some on the red. I have a feeling this time it's just blue.....as my little "statement".

I will say we are so sick of the commercials and the he-said-she-said blaming that flies from one side to the other. I'm now in charge of the remote for the TV. And I am fast on the mute button.....I no longer listen to any of the commercials.

So I'll make my small statement in the voting booth in November and my small private statement when ever our TV is on.....

The Newbie......

When we travel my souvenir of choice is a refrigerator magnet. They remind me of the wonderful places we've been, they are inexpensive and they easily fit in my suitcase or a corner of the RV.

Dave adds to his bird collection. He likes to find unusual birds made of different kinds of materials. His souvenirs are often a bit more expensive than mine, but they are fun to use a decorations around the condo.....so I help him look.

On this RV trip we found a terrific bird....made of stones. We found it at a farmer's market in Northern Wisconsin. And it will sit on the carpet next to some other fun finds. This one reminds me of the "Angry Birds" video game....and since Dave was obsessed with that game for awhile it's another fun fit.

Welcome Angry Bird....you make me smile...

Just A Few Minor Blunders.....

While traveling northern Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula we’ve had very little TV reception and on-and-off internet. Sometimes it’s nice to be disconnected....sometimes it’s frustrating. When we do get on line we see coverage of the hurricane pounding North Carolina.....and the most recent of 45’s thoughtful comments.

A short tweet commemorating 9/11 and a fist bump after landing at Shanksville. Posting a picture of the White House staff honoring those who died on that horrific day....only it was an old photo that included some staff members no longer serving this fearless leader. Ooops.

But I guess my “favorite” was his ridiculous tweet about the aftermath of the hurricane that hit Puerto Rico. His death count determined that between six and 13 people died as a result of the storm....the formal study conducted by George Washington University found that 2,975 actually died due to loss of power and services destroyed by the hurricane. Yes, if you are on oxygen provided by pump....or need dialysis and there is no power for months you die....etc. Ooops.

Oh well let’s give the math genius in the Oval Office a break.....2,975-13 = 2962.  He wasn’t that far off......

Murmur.........

We’ve been traveling north through Wisconsin for a few days.....just a slow, no destination sort of RV trip. Absolutely beautiful weather.....and nice camp sites wherever we stop for the night. This is not the kind of spectacular scenery type of trip like the travels out West. This is a quiet-kind-of-Midwest-beauty excursion.

The other afternoon I was seated outside the RV in a comfortable camp chair reading a book. Very few other campers, little noise or activity....until I became aware of the breeze. A soft breeze moving through the trees....lifting the smaller branches and turning the leaves and they rustle against a blue sky background.

Mother Nature’s music.....

17 Years Later.....

« America’s longest war »......it was just a sentence on the news the other day....something part of a larger story. But it caught my ear......we’ve had troops on the ground in Afghanistan for 17 years.
17 years........and I began to wonder about the cost.

I don’t mean the monetary investment, I was thinking about the cost in human terms. So I googled and found the following information: 2,372 US soldiers have been killed....1,876 as a result of hostile action. (I don’t know what that means about the rest.) More than 20,000 of our troops have been wounded and more than 1,700 civilian contractors lost their lives in this far away place. And these numbers are probably already obsolete.

These numbers do not speak to lives lost from the countries partnering in this on-going effort. Nor do they speak to the families left behind or trying to help a loved one recover. Nor do they speak to the thousands of Afghan citizens.....both active fighters and innocent bystanders.

17 years fighting an ideology. Using guns to blast beliefs.

Something tells me this isn’t working.

Pet Peeve......

I admit it....I am getting older and arthritis is beginning to make some of my finger joints hurt. It's not as easy to do some things as it was a few years ago. Damn. But, again, this is a small complaint compared to what many friends and neighbors have to face....so I'll just take another Aleve.

And I'll crab about trying to get one damn pill out of its childproof/senior proof special packaging. Oh sure....if I take off my glasses and look carefully there is a tiny little corner I'm supposed to bend so I can pull off the foil and the pill will magically pop out. Hah.

So I usually end up just stabbing the back cardboard facing with a tweezers, or small scissors or whatever else happens to be sharp and handy.

Who invented this less-than-consumer-friendly packaging anyway?