Just Dreaming.......

Sometimes I have "movie" dreams.....usually just before I wake up in the morning. Dreams that are very complex and almost complete stories. Clear as day, with conversations and people I know as main characters. One of those special dreams fired my sleeping brain waves a few days ago.

It had to do with campaigning for POTUS and the dream took place about two months prior to the election. My college freshman roommate decided to run and in her introductory speech she talked about helping the middle class and working hard for the people she would serve. (Nothing new there.) And then she made a statement that if elected she would light a candle in one upstairs window at the White House....and keep it glowing. That would be her signal that she was busy working to fulfill her campaign promises.

Talking heads made dismissive comments....but within a few days they were beginning to report that candles were showing up in windows in neighborhoods all over America. Up and down the streets....house after house a candle flickered. The candidates leading in the polls scoffed at the ever-growing glow.

Until election day....when my college roommate won and was suddenly POTUS. I woke up and actually emailed her to let her know what was in store for her. (Laughter all around.) But the dream keeps flitting around in my brain. What if, maybe not my room mate, but what if.....

Neighborly Response.....

Wisconsin winter is on the way.....or should I say it's already here. We had unseasonably cold weather  many days in late October and now during November. And we've had three snow falls so far! Area organizations put out the word that warm coats, hats and gloves are needed for our neighbors unable to purchase them for their families.

My eighth floor friend, Karen, and I decided we'd put up a little flyer in our condo building and invited anyone who cared to participate to contribute either food for our local food pantry or a gently used coat.

The response was more than heart-warming. We have really nice people living in our Lighthouse Condo building here in Port Washington. Not all of the homeowners are here during the winter (some "chicken out" and flee southward!) but those who did see our request responded very generously. I took one load over to our food pantry, Karen took another and yet the cart up on the eighth floor began to re-fill!

2019 has been a year full of rancor and division, frustration and anger. But our neighbors quietly "came together" to provide much needed assistance for those less fortunate than we are. 

A thank you to all of them.....their generosity will help dozens of Ozaukee County citizens endure the test of a Wisconsin winter.

Laughter Then Tears.....

Dave has a subscription to The Week Magazine. It was founded in the UK and gives a short synopsis of news from around the world. Two pages cover 'The world at a glance" with quick info about events in London, Istanbul, Gaza and Syndey in the most recent issue. There is a some coverage of tech news, a column titled "Wit and Wisdom" with memorable quotes. A few pages cover business and another offers obituaries and even a crossword puzzle. Dave likes it because it's a quick and pretty balanced overview. The friend who recommended it was a staunch Republican so it doesn't always lean "left"....although the coverage on 45 is pretty sharp.

I don't read it every week....just glance at it once an awhile but this morning, with my first cup of coffee, I picked up this week's issue and quickly paged through it. Now I don't usually laugh out loud when I read (with the exception of books by Nora Ephron or Anna Quinlen) but this morning I did and almost spit coffee all over my lap. First was this cartoon that made me smile.

And then there was this paragraph in the Good week for section. The magazine let it's readers know that it was a good week for "Ivanka Trump, who has single-handedly created 14 million jobs since 2017, a senior White House official (her father) boasted in a speech. This means that Ivanka deserves credit for a staggering 233 percent of the six million U.S. jobs created during this period."

That's the part that made me laugh out loud. Math has never been my strong suit....but this struck me as really funny. I used my calculator and figured that she must have created 8 million jobs somewhere else....maybe China?

But then I made the "mistake" of listening to NPR's This American Life while driving to and from the grocery store. The hour covered immigrants at the Mexican/American border and the tens of thousands send back to Mexico under new asylum procedures. The reporter was visiting a huge camp just into Mexico and describing the conditions. I won't go into every detail of the whole hour, I hope some of you will find the podcast and listen to today's broadcast on your own. Lots of sad details to cram into my brain....one that really struck me was that there were five portable toilets in the camp where 250 were needed. The toilets fill up within five hours.....so residents of the camps go off into surrounding woods when nature calls. And when it rains the waste comes down the hills and into the camp. The health problems that result are never ending and serious. According to one of the health care workers at the camp (who had served in refugee camps around the world) these conditions were the worst she'd ever seen.

So I come home and walk into my condo and stop in my first bathroom....the one with the bath tub and the ceramic tile and the working toilet and the sink with running water. It makes my eyes damp....and thinking about our "master bath" with it's walk-in shower, jacuzzi tub, double sink and working toilet just finished me. My eyes were no longer damp....they were teary.

From laughter to tears within two hours....all due to 45. Thanks for that......

Lake Sculpture.....

Most of the Country is having a colder-weather-than-usual spell....and Wisconsin certainly is no exception. Our November started out bitterly cold and way too snowy. But yesterday and this morning, when temperatures reached the 30's it felt positively spring-like.

Walking Fenway early this morning along the shore I was reminded that Lake Michigan is busy creating reminders of our cold weather just past....and the fact that much more is to come. The wind was from the southeast so waves were breaking on the shore and spray was hitting the rocks. We've seen amazing ice formations before...but these three early efforts caught my eye as we walked past.

There is beauty to be found in "our" lake at all times of year, and beauty in the ice sculptures she makes for me....I'm honestly just not ready for this creativity yet. Oh well....

The Friends You Keep.....

Dave and I raised two kids....now accomplished adults with families of their own. They were basically really "good kids", did well in school, didn't break too many family "rules", did their chores,  interacted with us (except maybe during some of the teenage days) with smiles. We loved them and they loved us. And we enjoyed watching them grow and reach each milestone and go on to be self-sufficient and successful adults.

This week, as I watch the impeachment hearings on TV and just heard other news that Roger Stone was found guilty on all seven accounts against him, I remember some of the things we told our kids as they grew and spread their wings. They each had a nice circle of friends....almost all of whom were also "good kids". But each had one, during their grade school and/or high school years) that made our parental radar go on high alert. These were the kids that just didn't seem to be walking the same path that we hoped ours would follow. They were the kids that we invited to spend time with our kids but at our house so we could sort of supervise. And, as I look back, these questionable friendships sort of wore out as both our son and our daughter realized that time spent with them seemed to cause friction and problems with us and for them. (And our radar proved correct.)

So, as I've watched 45's actions since his election a quote kept running through my mind...one about the friends you choose. I googled and found it was Aesop who said "A man is known by the company he keeps."

Over and over again it seems to me that 45 has surrounded himself with a lot of friends with very "stretchy" ethics.....and they reflect his seeming lack of principal. I remind myself that it's hard for me to be objective because the man makes my skin crawl....but maybe that's my parental "radar" that's been on alert since he started his run for the White House.

"A man is known by the company he keeps." .... and the company HE keeps is less than stellar.

An Afternoon Matinee.....

On Saturday Dave and I went to our local cinema to see "Midway". Based on a true story, the Japanese attack on Midway Island and the American plan to turn the tide of war in the Pacific, it was an amazing film. And a hard one to watch. The tension begins to build from the opening scenes focusing on the unexpected attack on Pearl Harbor and it doesn't end until the final credits. I found myself half covering my eyes at some points and holding back tears over and over again.

And it seems to me, looking back a few days later, that it was a perfect movie to see just prior to Veterans Day. It made me think about my dad and my uncle, both serving in the Navy in the Pacific. They were on different ships. The only story Dad ever mentioned (or someone in the family did) was that his was one of the first ships to dock near Hiroshima after the bomb. He never, never described what he saw there, but we had a small Japanese sculpture standing on our bookcase at home. It was about eight inches tall and sort of "melted". He brought it home with him.

And the only story I ever heard about my uncle was that, as a pilot, he was shot down and obviously rescued. Again.....no details were ever shared. I only remember him saying that he'd never eat canned pineapple again because he'd had so much of it while serving in the Navy.

Watching the battle scenes portrayed in the movie I wondered over and over again....just how does anyone find the courage to do what those men did? How do you fly toward a Japanese battleship and keep on going with full scale anti-aircraft bullets and flak flying up to greet you. How does anyone complete the mission?

At the very end the credits showed a photo of the actor portraying each of the main characters and then the photo of the real man who served....and the story of what happened to him after the battle at Midway.

A handful of brave men turned the tide....and the movie does them justice. But it's so hard to watch, so hard to think about, so hard to see the film show how many didn't make it home.

A salute to all of our Veterans who serve in any capacity. And a salute to the people who brought this one story to the screen in 2019.

Novembruary........

Brrrrr.......I am just so not ready for this. Our weather has turned bitterly cold...this after a not-much-to-cheer-about short fall season. We've had two snow falls already and with the wind chill I walk out side into single digit temperatures. Ugh.

The national weather map shows that this unseasonably cold weather stretches over much of the country so I'm not alone in my "I'm not ready mood." But....I do have warm clothes to put on, layers and layers at this point. We have a warm and cozy condo so I can stay in with a cup of coffee and look out at the snow on the ground. I can take the car out of our heated garage to run errands or connect with friends.

So, in an attempt to remind myself that I should stop the complaining because I can't change the weather I took myself off to Goodwill. I purchased about ten winter parkas (gently used but still nice) and some scarves and a few knit hats. Some for kids...others for adults.

Tuesday they go to our local food pantry so that some of my Ozaukee County neighbors who might need a little assistance staying warm this winter can get a little anonymous help.

Sigh....is it really only November??? Or as our local weathermen are calling it "Novembruary"!