I start this entry
with this declaration: after today, I will not be addressing politics anymore.
Here is why: back in May this year, I made the following assertion in one of my
postings:
“Regardless, I think
this fall may define a brand-new view of the USA around the world… I hope it
remains positive… After all, the combination of isolationism (I don’t give a
damn about what they think), nationalism (only the USA matter), populism (I’ll
say what they want to hear) and disdain for other peoples have never worked! If
you really think it works, read your History of the World, especially the
chapters about Germany in the 1930s…”
Well, the people have
spoken and I was proven wrong; what I viewed as impossible to happen here in
the noble and exalted U.S. of A., (the resurgence of Nationalism, Populism,
Xenophobia and disdain for other people) has happened.
I really hope Trump’s
government is successful, because then the USA will be successful; I had a fear
that the theme “Let’s make America
great again” really meant “…like it was when we all looked, sounded and prayed alike, and
those who didn’t, well they knew what water fountain to drink out of!” I sincerely
hope I am wrong again and, with that, I take my political final curtain!
Now, let’s talk about
some other things…
Sports: I don’t know if I shared this but, after 38 years as a loyal
fan, I resigned my membership as a Buccaneer’s fan. The team’s criteria for
success (win at all costs) and mine (always play at the center of the Ethical
Circle) collided; I could no longer root for them; we divorced! Instead, I
continue to follow the Dolphins, Giants, Lions, and adopted the Titans (had
to!) So, this past week, my teams went 4-0; they all have playoff aspirations,
with different degrees of possibilities. In college, the Florida Gators lost to
the FSU Seminoles; too bad! Don’t really care much about the rest… We’ll wait
for the playoffs and cheer for somebody (other than Alabama!) again …
Currently Happening: Fire on the Mountain… For the last six to eight months, we here
in Tennessee, have been affected by a severe drought… We have a small
creek in the Southern boundary of our property and, for the first time since we’ve
been living here (2009) it went dry around May and never again this year has
carried a drop of water… The pastures and lawns in the area were already brown by the time
Fall set in this past October… Now, and for a couple of weeks already, fires
have started in the Eastern part of the state (along with Kentucky, the
Carolinas and Northern Georgia). This past week-end, the Smokey Mountains area
of the state have been burning like never before; Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and
other places have been asked to evacuate… Closer to home and on Thanksgiving
Day, a fire started to burn on Horseshoe
Dr, right where the short Horseshoe Dr. meets the longer Horseshoe Dr. It
burned good for about three hours expanding about 200 yards wide and 50 yards
deep and, with the combined efforts of several local Fire and Forestry Departments, trenches
were dug and firewalls established and it all was contained (not extinguished)
by sunset… As per the Fire Department, it was deliberately set… Now, we had
rain last night for the first time since May; it was not a lot, but a good beginning…
Let’s hope there is more coming our way…
Family: my two younger daughters, Alex & Leah, came home for Thanksgiving, Alex from Atlanta, GA, and Leah from Rochester, NY;
that was very good; we cooked up a storm, enjoyed some libations, ate most of
what we cooked and baked… My grandson, Dominic, turned four on Nov 23rd; he and his parent spent Thanksgivings in Kentucky, with my son-in-law’s family.
Good book read lately: “Destiny and Power, the
American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush”, by Jon Meacham.
Food for thought: “Nothing is as frightening
as ignorance in action” – Goethe
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