WWW.WEDNESDAY

WWW. WEDNESDAY asks three questions to prompt you to speak bookishly. To participate, and to see how other book lovers responded, click here. 

PS I can no longer participate in WWW.WEDNESDAY via that link because her blog won't accept Blogger comments. I mention this only to save you the frustration I experienced trying to link up.

1. What are you currently reading? The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene. Yes, I'm revisiting the first Nancy Drew book! Country Dew said she'd reread them recently, and I'm following her lead.

 

Shit just happens to Nancy Drew. She's motoring up the road in her blue convertible, a gift from her doting father (esteemed lawyer Carson Drew) when she encounters little Judy, a young girl who needs rescuing. She returns Judy to her guardians, a pair of elderly aunts, the Hoover sisters. Not only are the Hoover sisters broke and worried about how to provide Judy with the education she deserves, they have just been robbed! Wait, there's more. The Hoovers share with Nancy that their cousin, Josiah Crowley, the recently-deceased richest man in town, had promised to include them in his will and didn't. 

Who stole the sisters' stuff? Why would Old Man Crowley renege on his promise? If she doesn't get to the bottom of this, her name isn't Nancy Drew!

 

I'm having fun with this book, and remembering the 7-year-old Gal who first read it.

2. What did you recently finish reading? Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry. Wow. This memoir is scorchingly candid. There are times in this book when Matthew Perry admits to being selfish, insensitive, indulgent. He also acknowledges how much he threw away. During the run of Friends he got A-List movie roles and was compared to Tom Hanks and Bruce Willis (two other fast-talking sitcom actors who transitioned to the big screen). After Friends he was able to get three (3!) TV series "green lighted" by the networks. He had affairs with important, consequential women (Julia Roberts, Jamie Tarses) and countless girls who loved him. It all evaporated because of drink and drugs. As he says more than once, as an explanation and not an excuse, his body was trying to kill him.

It's sad, it's honest, and it's very funny, because Matthew Perry has a great deal of Chandler Bing in him. This is the book I wish Jenny Lawson had written, for the humor here is organic, not forced.

3. What will read next? Capote's Women by Laurence Leamer. I want to be done with it before the miniseries airs.

 

Why did it have to happen now?

I leave for vacation tomorrow at 7:00 AM. Today I had a doctor's and dentist's appointment. Laundry and packing. I've been busy and I'm tired and 7:00 feels awful early.

It was this evening that I saw him. A big, rather dirty tom. He certainly looked well fed. He was wary of me as I took out the garbage. I interrupted him as he made his way across our property to the neighbor's.

I called out to him and began trying to make friends when it hit me: I can't. I don't have time tomorrow to take him to the vet or the animal shelter to see if he's chipped. I leave for the airport at 7:00 AM.

I want to believe he's not lost and on his way to his own yard and home. Maybe he'll be safe soon enough.

I hope so.

As much as I want to, I can't save them all.

Photo by Jack Blueberry on Unsplash 

A memorable Easter

I've been upset with our interim minister lately. She's been pushing us to give up our church building. She says we're "too attached to an edifice," that we spend too much on upkeep,* that the Sunday School is too cramped ... Yadda yadda yadda. I don't care. I love this building. Our congregation has been worshiping on this spot since 1909. It's sacred to me. Besides, she's a short-timer who will move on sometime this spring, when our new full-time minister formally accepts the offer that's been tendered. So just shut up with this "edifice" talk and let me worship where I feel closest to God and community.

I'm being unfair, I know. We were a mess when our previous minister was canned. As a congregation, we were divided about his dismissal. Some thought he was insensitive to church employees and guilty of neglecting the administrative part of his job. Others felt dismissal was too severe a punishment for infractions that had nothing to do with stewardship. Our interim minister did a very good job of calming the waters and bringing us back together as a congregation. 

And she's good on the holidays. Her Christmas Eve sermon resonated with me. It was an unconventional musing about what she'd do if an angel appeared before her. It was warm, funny, and made me feel closer to her because what she imagined she's say to the angel sounded quite a bit like my personal conversations with the God. 

Today, for Easter, she talked about the Resurrection in a highly original way. She began by comparing/contrasting the discrepancies in the Bible. Matthew, Mark, and Luke seem to contradict one another on how many women came to the tomb, to whom Jesus first appeared, etc. She said, and I heartily agree, that these details shouldn't distract from the message: Christ rose. 

Instead, she said, she wondered how the Resurrection felt to Jesus. He'd spent three days away, three days in the realm of the dead. Was He confused upon His return? His wounds hadn't healed -- after all, He let Thomas touch them -- so was He in pain?

Resurrection must have been uncomfortable for Jesus, she reasoned. So we should expect it to be difficult for us when we reinvent ourselves, emerge from a bad patch, come through the rain. The important thing is that we maintain our focus on love and compassion, even as we navigate our new paths. His example is there for us to learn from.

Maybe because it's Easter, but I suddenly feel lighter. I heard the 1982 song "You Are" on the radio today. It was one of "our" songs, popular during the good times in my long, complicated relationship with a tortured man. I avoided this song because when I heard the refrain, "... and I'd do it all again," I felt it was mocking me. In real time, I felt I had no choice but to love that man and once I committed to him I had to stay. If I loved him enough I could heal him and us. My devotion and loyalty were rewarded with cruelty and violence. 

Yet today when I heard "... and I'd do it all again," I didn't feel angry, or rueful, or foolish. I felt like it no longer matters. It was half a lifetime ago. Yes, this relationship changed me, even damaged me. But I came through. I had my personal rebirth today, too, so I can finally forgive him for what he did, and forgive myself for all I accepted and how long I stayed.

It feels good.

*OK, that one's valid.

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Easter Parade

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) This song is best known from the 1948 movie of the same name, but it was originally written for a 1933 Broadway play called As Thousands Cheer. In the play, a young man reads about the parade in a New York newspaper and decides to go and show his lady love off to parade goers. What's the most recent parade you attended? It's been a long time. After what happened in Highland Park last year, it will be a lot longer. (You may be wondering, "Which mass shooting was Highland Park? I forget, there are so many!") For some reason, it's more important for us to be able to purchase AR-15s than it is to celebrate our holidays. Don't even try to tell me this is about the right to "bear arms." To protect your home and property, you could use a revolver or a shotgun, you don't need an automatic weapon. If you think an AR-15 will protect you from "tyranny," remember the government has tanks, helicopters, kevlar vests, and hand grenades, so good luck with that. No, these destructive guns are for civilians to kill other civilians. Happy Easter.

2) On Broadway, the song was performed by Clifton Webb. He'd had a busy stage career, appearing in musicals as well as plays by Oscar Wilde and Noel Coward, but when he was in his mid-50s, he was considered too old to be a leading man. Broadway offers stopped coming. He was unexpectedly cast by Otto Preminger for the film noir Laura and a new career was born. He worked steadily in Hollywood for 20 years and earned three Oscar nominations. Tell us about a time you were grateful your life took an unanticipated turn. This was a million years ago. I went on vacation with my friend, Mindy. First Disneyland, then San Francisco to stay with her friends, Ron and Susie, whom I'd never met. Now in between winter when we planned the trip and July when we took it, Susie left Ron. Let's just say Ron turned out to have better rides than The Magic Kingdom. It's the only "Love Boat" vacation romance I ever had, and it's a memory I cherish.

3) Today he's fondly remembered by the students at UCLA who have benefited from The Clifton Webb Scholarship of the Arts. If you could give an endowment to a school or charity, what would you like it to be used for? I'd endow my local animal shelter with funds to be used to care for senior dogs and cats. After age 8, it's very difficult for these lovable and loving animals to be adopted. I wish I could help them live out their lives in safety and comfort. 

If you need your heart warmed a little, watch this video about Grandpa Mason, an elderly feral cat with health problems who fought so valiantly to live and finally got  three years of love, care, and companionship.

 

4) According to Forbes magazine, the average American household will spend upwards of $150 on Easter dinner, candy, and decorations this weekend. Do holidays strain your budget? Not Easter. Christmas can be a bit of a pinch.

5) The biggest chocolate Easter egg was made in Italy, measured 34 feet tall and weighed a staggering 15,000 lbs. Do you think it's possible to have too much chocolate? I would love to investigate this further.
  

6) After chocolate, the top-selling Easter candy is Peeps Marshmallow Chicks. They're so popular that they were once the subject of a Jeopardy clue. Do you often watch Jeopardy? Nope. I have no issue with Jeopardy. I just forget about it.

7) Jelly beans are also popular this time of year. In a 2020 poll, jelly bean fans responded that cinnamon is their favorite flavor. Do you have a favorite? Not really. Until all my dental work is done, I try not to even think about anything quite so gummy and chewy.

8) We've been talking a lot about sweets this morning. The only holiday that generates more candy sales is Halloween. When do you eat more candy: Easter or Halloween? I suppose Halloween, but I've never really kept tabs.

 9) Easter is considered the season of rebirth. What makes you feel refreshed or rejuvenated? I take a shower. To borrow from Judy Garland in A Star Is Born, "When anything happens to me, good or bad, I make straight for the shampoo bottle." (Did I get the quote right, Bev? ☺)

Thursday Thirteen #304

The thirteen top places we shop. According to the National Retail Federation, this is where we spent our money in 2022. At $460 billion, Walmart is #1 by far. I'm surprised. I expected it to be Amazon ($219 billion).

1. Walmart
   
2. Amazon
   
3. Costco
   
4. The Home Depot
   
5. Kroger Grocery Stores
   
6. Walgreens
   
7. Target
8. CVS
9. Lowe's
   
10. Albertson's
    
11. Apple Stores/iTunes
    
12. Royal Ahold (Stop and Shop, Food Giant)
    
13. Publix

Amazon, Target and Albertson's are my go-tos. I also go out of my way to shop at least once/month at the little mom-and-pop on the other side of town. What about you? Where does your retail money go?

Please join us for THURSDAY THIRTEEN. Click here to play along, and to see other interesting compilations of 13 things.

It must be nice

 ... to be MAGA in that every day is a new dawn and you have no memory of anything that went before.

There is much gasping and handwringing over the "political persecution" of Donald Trump. How now we are a "banana republic" with a "weaponized" justice department. How convenient to have forgotten that they voted for a man who made "Lock Her Up" his rallying cry in in 2016 and never let it go.

November 2016

A year after the election and he's still obsessed with investigating and punishing her.

 

This man's brand is pettiness and using power to "settle scores."

So I prefer to think the 38% of Americans who oppose the indictment just have remarkably short memories. Otherwise I'd need hip boots to wade through the hypocrisy.

WWW.WEDNESDAY

WWW. WEDNESDAY asks three questions to prompt you to speak bookishly. To participate, and to see how other book lovers responded, click here. 

PS I can no longer participate in WWW.WEDNESDAY via that link because her blog won't accept Blogger comments. I mention this only to save you the frustration I experienced trying to link up.

1. What are you currently reading? Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry. This memoir was published to tremendous media attention last fall. The blitz made me almost afraid to read it. I was concerned that it would dampen my enjoyment of Friends. As Chandler might say: Could I love the show more? Could Matthew Perry be a bigger part of it? But I needn't have worried. There really isn't that much detail about Friends in this memoir. 

It is, however, sad and breathtaking so far. Sad in all he endured as he battles addiction, breathtaking in its honesty and self-revelation.

2. What did you recently finish reading?Madam President by Nicolle Wallace.  Our first woman President, Charlotte Kramer, is in her second term. Her first was marked by marital and family scandal, and she has hopes that her last four years will be have less personal drama so she can do her best and make real change for the American people. No such luck. Just as she begins to move confidently forward, the country is attacked by terrorists.*

This is political chick-lit, and I love it. President Kramer is surrounded by smart, powerful women. Melanie Kingston is her Secretary of Defense. Dale Smith is her Press Secretary. As they efficiently shape domestic and foreign policy, they deal with (respectively) a disinterested husband, a high-risk pregnancy, and a suitor who is too ready for marriage. They also compare/contrast Eileen Fisher and Jil Sander, weekend at Camp David, and attend a Sondheim production at the Kennedy Center. 

Nicolle Wallace is my fantasy Republican BFF. She worked in the George W. Bush White House and her insider knowledge shows. She's also spent a decade in TV and she knows that world, too. She cleverly imagines what the world would be like if Regis and Kelly had moved from daytime to evening to become "serious" network news anchors. (She changed the names, but it's Regis and Kelly, and it's wickedly funny.)

3. What will read next? The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene. Yes, I'm revisiting the first Nancy Drew book! Country Dew said she'd reread them recently, and I'm following her lead.

*That would be foreign terrorists. This book was published in Spring 2016, before anyone could even imagine MAGA nutjobs attacking the Capitol. Oh, I'm sorry. Do you actually believe 138 police officers were injured during a routine tourist visit?

 

Turns out I'm not Mary after all

I grew up on Mary Tyler Moore. First as Laura Petrie, then as Mary Richards, she represented everything I aspired to be, thought I should be, believed I was. Caring friend and coworker, competent, on time, kind and nice. The one you never have to worry about. However, unlike Mary/Laura, I'm a slob. (In that way, my sitcom doppelganger is Oscar Madison.)

Also, unlike Mary/Laura, I don't want a best friend dropping in at all hours. Mary had Rhoda, who lived upstairs. Laura had Millie, right next door. Many times, on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Rhoda would drop in as soon as she heard Mary was home from work. On The Dick Van Dyke Show, Millie was always coming over to gossip over coffee or compare notes on the carpool. 

No thank you. I would hate that. First of all, I'm a slob and my home is not visitor-ready at all hours (OK, it's never ready). Secondly, I value my alone time. Too much perhaps. I've learned since covid lockdown that just because something is comfortable doesn't mean it's good for me. 

Which leads me to Elaine. I think she wants to be my Rhoda or Millie. Or, since she's just a couple years older than me and likely grew up on MTM, too, maybe she wants me to be her Rhoda or Millie. 

We saw each other a couple weeks ago for her birthday. It seems that every day since she's got ideas of other things we can do together. She's nice, she's interesting and imaginative, we have many common interests. So all this is nice, right?

It just feels like too much. If I see one of my friends once each week, that's plenty for me. (This week it's Nancy. I think. She may cancel, and if she does, that's OK.)

But Elaine is a good person, and her heart is valuable. So today I'm going to send her a nice long email to keep the dialog going and to let her know she matters.

I'm not Mary Tyler Moore after all. I'm really a cat. I'm loving and devoted, in my way.

And this is why I'm fat

The weather has been cold and rainy lately. So the clear skies and 50º+ temps were beckoning me. I was going to put on my headphones and listen to the Yankees game (EST) as I walked the mile to The Dollar Store. Then I'd listen to the end of the Cubs (CST) game on the way back. Sunshine and the crack of the bat! I was happy.

I noticed, though, that there was something hinky with my phone. It said that today was Wednesday, February 1. It was also very quiet. No alerts or texts. Scariest of all, every time I tried to open the MLB app, it told me to "try again later."

Oh, no! I need the MLB app. So I uninstalled it and then went to install it again. I could not get into the Google Play Store. "Try again later."

Oh, no! I tried to download it via my laptop. I couldn't, because according to MLB.com it was still on my phone. But I'd just uninstalled it!

So I called Consumer Cellular. They really are as nice and accommodating as they are portrayed on the TV commercials. The customer service rep told me to first try this and then try that. Neither worked. She had to send a code to my phone for security reasons before we could go further. My phone wasn't accepting her texts. So she sent it to my email -- my laptop was working perfectly -- and she tried some things on her end.

"Your phone isn't connected to The Tower," she reported. She explained there was a problem with my wifi. Perhaps all I need to do is reset my wifi password.

Only I don't know my wifi password. So I'd have to call Xfinity. The Consumer Cellular service rep said she'd wait. 

I couldn't get a live person from Xfinity to help me with my password because -- wait for it -- there was a wifi "connectivity issue" in my neighborhood. That would be fixed by 5:30. 

Two hours.

On the plus side: after more than 40 minutes, we now knew the problem wasn't my phone. On the negative side: There goes the sunshine.

I was bereft.

At this point, while I was settling in to watch baseball on my TV, my oldest friend happened to call. My emotions were complicated (see the post below). On the one hand, I didn't feel like dealing with her because I'm pissed at her. And I've just wasted 40 fruitless minutes on the phone with Consumer Cellular, which never enhances my temperament. On the other hand, I've been friends with her since Kindergarten. She's more than earned the benefit of the doubt.

We talked about an hour. She's already having sex with her new beau, which bothers me. Not for any puritanical reasons -- I think sex is normal, natural and fun and besides, they're both senior citizens. There's no risk of pregnancy. 

It bothers me because, of the two of us, she's the puritan. She wrings her hands and clutches her pearls when people fall into bed. I know impulsivity is a symptom of her mood swings. So this is a red flag for me.

On the other hand, she's happy. She feels as pretty as she is. She has renewed hopes that her upcoming surgery will improve her quality of life. Best of all, she isn't counting on her cousin for help after surgery, which is good because her cousin doesn't fail to disappoint. 

By now the issue with my wifi is corrected, but the ballgames are over. I saw little of the Yankees or the Cubs. It's after 5:00, the day is over, and I haven't eaten anything all day.

So instead of walking two miles, I walked a couple blocks and picked up a thin crust cheese pizza from Lou Malnati's. Because I had gut trouble this morning, I skipped the vegetables I was going to have as a side dish in favor of mashed potatoes. Pizza with mashed potatoes on the side is not part of any diet plan, but I felt I deserved this after the frustrating, intense afternoon I'd had.

And this is why I'm fat. The end.

Temper, temper

I admit I'm pissed. Last week my oldest friend sent me a chatty, highly-superficial email about her life. Normally this wouldn't bother me. I know she's busy with her new beau and having a man in her life is very important to her. Plus I'm happy that she's interacting with someone who isn't her cousin or her daughter. She's been in California for a decade now and has made no friends, and that's just not healthy. I applaud this sprint to a wider, happier life. She's clever and funny and has so much to offer.

So, you're asking, why am I pissed? Two reasons:

1) Her email covered everything that we had talked about on the phone. She's apparently so heedless of our conversation that she didn't even remember.

2) She promised to call during the week and didn't. Too busy, I guess. Now her new fella still works, so I imagine her days are free. But I've been shunted to the back burner. 

I'd say I'm hurt by these two points but that's not true. I'm angry. Because I feel my oldest friend has been gaslighting me.

During my transition into retirement, she has insisted that her time in retirement has been the happiest of her life. I didn't believe her -- she had no friends, went nowhere* except here to Chicago for Beatlefest last August and her health is so problematic she spent one of her days here unable to get out of bed. She also tells me that her landlord is harassing her and wants her gone. Does this sound happy to you? Of course not.

But here's the thing: where's her empathy for me? My career was very important to me, and this transition has been difficult. Instead of drawing me out, or fuck, even acknowledging my issues, she went on about how happy she was. 

Now all of a sudden she tells me she's sick of "living like a shut in" and wants romance. Really? You were "living like a shut in?" You blathered that you were the happiest you have ever been and couldn't even fathom my struggles.

That's crappy. I deserve better.

I realize she has issues and allowances must be made. She has bipolar disorder. It's her body chemistry and she can't help it. I understand intellectually that her insistence that her solitary life of drinking coffee, vaping, and writing fan fiction about George Harrison (while living in an apartment where she isn't wanted) is glorious was likely bravado, the self-talk she needed to get through the day.

Because I understand that intellectually, I won't say to her what I've written here. That would be cruel.

But if I want to stay in this relationship -- and obviously I do -- I have to figure out where to put my anger. How to deal with it. 

I've read two books that have helped: Broken by Jenny Lawson and Friends, Lovers and the Big, Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry. Listening to two other people eloquently and candidly chronicle life with bigger emotional problems than mine has given me a peek into the world she's navigating.

I know what Topic A will be

And there's this: We've been friends since kindergarten. I'm not going to let her go. She can be so funny, so comfortable, and she knows where all my bodies are buried.

But I also know that she doesn't give me or my struggles anywhere near the attention I give hers. Perhaps that's because she simply doesn't have enough gas in the tank. How do you set boundaries with someone who is, in Jenny Lawson's term, "broken?"

I'm going to hold my tongue and temper until I can talk to my shrink on Tuesday.

*When I say "nowhere" that's exactly what I mean. She has everything delivered. She doesn't even go to the post office. Part of it is mobility issues (she needs a cane) and part of it is, I suspect, crippling depression.

Photo by Kateryna Hliznitsova on Unsplash

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Fool (If You Think It's Over) (1978)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here. (I love this song.)

1) Do you have any pranks planned for April Fool's Day? Nope.

 

2) When Crazy Sam was a little girl, she once pranked her mother by putting bubble wrap under the bath mat so Mom heard a POP when she stepped on it. When you find bubble wrap, can you resist popping it? Yes. I find it very resistible.

3) This week's song is about a wise man counseling a heartbroken younger person. Chris Rea, who wrote and performs this song, says it was inspired by watching his kid sister endure her first breakup. Were you in love at 17? Do you remember the object of your affections? I don't recall exactly who I was crushing on at 17, but one of my teen-aged imaginary lovers died on March 13 and attention must be paid. This is Joe Pepitone. He was the Cubs first baseman for 2.5 colorful seasons and I adored him. In fact, I had this very baseball card tucked into my bedroom mirror. Thursday was Opening Day at Wrigley Field and there was a moment of silence in his memory. I loved that. A new season was beginning with new ballplayers (only 3 of the starting 9 were Cubs last season) and they took a moment to say farewell to one of the lions of my long-ago girlhood. A perfect moment. To borrow from Moneyball ...

 

via GIPHY

 

4) She's dressed in black as she mourns the end of her romance. Does your wardrobe include a lot of black? I used to, but not anymore. I grew tired of battling the cat fur.

 
5) He offers to treat her to her first glass of good wine. Do you prefer white or red? Wine gives me migraines, so I'll pass.

 

6) Chris' own teenage romance was highly successful. He met Joan Lesley while still in school and they have been married since 1968. Whose was the most recent wedding you have attended? My niece in 2020.

 

7) Chris Rea is a passionate race car fan and once worked as a pit mechanic for a Formula One race. Do you watch auto racing? Nope.

 

8) In 1978, when this song was popular, Laverne and Shirley was America's #1 TV show. It's still available via cable and streaming today. Are/were you a fan? Nope.

9) Random question: What are you grateful for this morning? My cat,
Constance Mackenzie, is healthy and happy. She's had some dental issues made more complicated by her old age and heart murmur. My regular vet referred her to a specialist, who did a deep cleaning and an extraction and a biopsy. Connie received terrific care and now she's bright-eyed, alert and comfortable again.

Ladies who lunch

Today was a good day. It felt so normal. Like it could have happened before covid.

I met Joanna at Miller's Pub. It's a classic, old-school Chicago restaurant. Laminated menu. Lots of burgers, chops and chicken. Framed photos on the wall of the luminaries who have dined here before. (We sat across from the Wicked Witch of the West herself, Margaret Hamilton, whose autographed photo was displayed beside Ghostbuster Harold Ramis. I passed Joey Bishop on my way to the ladies room.)

I took the train and wandered through the Loop. I was surrounded by people! Not as many as an afternoon in February 2000, but more than I've seen in a while. It made me happy.

I strolled on my way to the restaurant and saw this. The Huntington Bank branch on the corner of Madison and Wabash was a place of worship before The Fire. I've passed this corner dozens of times and never noticed this plaque before. For a moment I felt a tremendous kinship with the Chicagoans who were here before me.
 

 

It was nice to catch up with Joanna. She and I email and text regularly but this is the first time I've seen her in 2023. I loved her yellow raincoat. I told her she looked veddy veddy British, which makes sense she'd ordered the coat from a department store in London. She always puts such care into her appearance that I upped my game a bit. Sure, I was wearing jeans and tennies, but I chose a pullover instead of a Cubs t-shirt.

She's been working very hard, is tired, and I sense that she's a little jealous that I'm retired. Two years older than I am, she's long been self-employed and hasn't had the benefit of decades of 401(k) contributions. But that isn't why my heart went out to her today. She's been seeing Sid since 2019 and has been crazy about him since they met. A successful businessman, he retired because of a stroke and she's enjoyed being part of the new chapter of his life. But his health and especially his cognition are failing and she knows she's in the midst of a long goodbye. As she talked about him, she still laughed at things he says to her every day. He amuses her, she loves him, and he's fading away. Heartbreaking.

But she's a survivor. She's looking ahead, too. The cost of living here is too expensive and she's considering a move to Kalamazoo. Or Paris. I tried not to laugh but that's so Joanna. She of the Paddington Bear raincoat. She always has one foot in the Midwest as her soul soars over the ocean.

And so it begins

Today was Opening Day! And it was all good. I was emotionally invested in three games, three time zones, and I have nothing but positive news to report. In chronological order ...

 Anthony Rizzo got a single at his first at-bat of 2023 season. So now I can breathe.

Our awesome new short stop, Dansby Swanson, lived up to the hype. 3 hits and some very flashy glovework.

This game is still going on, but let's face it: the Padres aren't going to get 6 runs in this inning. I'm happy about this outcome because Kris Bryant got three hits. He was hurt most of last year and there were nasty whispers that he isn't worth his big contract. I want only good things for Kris Bryant. He was one of my 2016 Cubs!

Hopefully, this is finally the beginning of the end

Today, Donald J. Trump was indicted. The details are not yet known, but it's likely tied to hush money paid to a porn star to keep their liaison secret. Is it a federal election crime? A white collar bookkeeping crime? The details will be shared soon. 

He now dismisses the porn star as "Horseface." Of course he does. She was good enough to bed, but now she must be insulted and demeaned. That's how he rolls.

It will forever gall me that people wrap themselves in my Christian faith and then defend this man. He's crass, he's cruel. He applauds and encourages vulgarity and racism (why do you suppose he still insists on calling Covid "the China Virus?"). He not only doesn't care who he hurts, he believes inflicting pain makes him appear strong. Which book of the New Testament endorses that?

46% of the country voted for him in 2016. Even after this.

 

Clearly he was right. Even after all the hate and division he's wrought since coming down that escalator in 2015 and declaring for President, even after encouraging an insurrection, 41% of the country says they view him "favorably."

Donald Trump may not lose a single voter because of this lawlessness, but he's still accountable for his actions. I hope this indictment is the first of many, because I fear it will take more exposure to finally break the fever so his supporters will see who they have been slavishly following.

Because I insist on believing that his voters are following him. That most of them are good people at heart and just have to be awakened. (Ah! "Woke!") But I'm terrified I'm wrong and they aren't following him. What if he's reflecting them? What if he's just the megaphone broadcasting their views?

No, I can't believe 40% of my countrymen are like this man.

I've got to have faith.

Thursday Thirteen #303

 

Thirteen popular items at the grocery store. Since I'm not very domestic, I've often wondered if my grocery cart is unique compared my neighbors. So I checked and here are 13 of the most popular items on my local store's website.

I purchase none of them. Either they don't interest me (coffee) or the sizes are too big (I buy my milk by the quart, and there's no way I'm hauling 92 oz. of Tide down to the laundry room).

1. Charmin bath tissue (24 rolls)

2. Chicken thighs (5.5 lb. value pack)

3. Tide (92 oz. size)

4. Honey Nut Cheerios (18.8 oz.)

5. Store brand bottled water (24 pack)

6. Whole milk (1/2 gallon)

7. Pampers Sensitive Baby Wipes (192 count)

8. Pepsi (12 can pack)

9. Store brand medium roast coffee pods (80 count)

10. Cage-free large eggs (18 count)

11. Brawny paper towels (8 rolls)

12. Zatarain's Blackened Chicken Alfredo (frozen)

13. Fat-free shredded mozzarella

What about you? I realize that this list is influenced by what was on sale this week. But still, do any of these items land in your grocery cart?

Please join us for THURSDAY THIRTEEN. Click here to play along, and to see other interesting compilations of 13 things.

WWW.WEDNESDAY

WWW. WEDNESDAY asks three questions to prompt you to speak bookishly. To participate, and to see how other book lovers responded, click here. 

PS I can no longer participate in WWW.WEDNESDAY via that link because her blog won't accept Blogger comments. I mention this only to save you the frustration I experienced trying to link up.

1. What are you currently reading? Madam President by Nicolle Wallace.  Charlotte Kramer, America's first woman POTUS, is in her second term. She has welcomed a CBS news crew into the White House to share "a day in the life" for 60 Minutes. She couldn't possibly have known that today would be a tragic day in American history and the most important of her Presidency.

 

I'm loving this book so far. Because President Kramer surrounds herself with powerful women and, for the most part, they get along remarkably well. I like imagining a world where badass women shape foreign policy while comparing notes on the latest from Christian Louboutin. 

 

It's not silly, exactly. But it is from a parallel universe. Madam President was published in the spring of 2016, before Donald Trump and all the MAGA divisive chaos and vulgarity. It's refreshing but also naive to consider a White House where the President and Vice President are both women and from different parties.  Female public servants who are fond of one another and serious about serving the country? Seems like a fantasy now.

2. What did you recently finish reading? Broken (in the best possible way) by Jenny Lawson. This is a memoir about the author's battle with autoimmune disease, depression, and anxiety. She discusses it all  with admirable frankness and humor. And yes, I recommend it.

 

But for the compassion and candor, not the humor. While the book was funny at times, the yuks were overdone and, at least to me, often more forced than funny. Film critic Roger Ebert once said that comedies were the hardest to review because everyone's sense of humor is personal and different, so maybe the problem is me and not Jenny. But at times I simply wanted to scream at her, "Stop being Shecky Lawson and just tell your story!"

Because here's the thing: when she's not imitating Mrs. Maisel, she's genuinely touching. There was a passage in particular about her passion for saving buttons, what they mean to her, and what she hopes they will mean to whoever takes them over when she dies. It was a lovely piece of writing. I wish she did that more often.

3. What will read next? I don't know.

Sunday Stealing

YOUTUBE QUESTIONS

1. Working on anything exciting lately? I don't know how exciting this is, but I'm slowly divesting myself of all the stuff in this condo. Next up: sorting through the bath towels toward a donation to the local animal shelter.

2. What was the highlight of the day today? I'm doing this Saturday night. I've spent most of today fixating on next month's TCM Classic Film Festival. Four days of classic movies on the big screen, surrounded by fellow film nerds! Bliss!

 

The official schedule just dropped Friday and we've been planning our strategies. At any given time we have up to five movies to choose from. These movies are on different screens in three different locations. If I choose the one at the TCL Chinese, when it's over will I have time to get the special screening poolside at the Roosevelt Hotel? Do I want to finally see a movie I've loved my whole life on the big screen,  or discover a gem from the 1930s I've only read about? Would I rather compromise on my choices to share the festival experience with members of my movie group or go off on my own? It's as delightful as it is impossible. Here's a photo of us working out the logistics.

 

Photo by Christina@wocintechchat.com

3. What is your favorite thing to do on the weekends? Fart around on the internet and watch movies. Starting next week that answer will change to, "Fart around on the internet and watch the Cubs."

 

4. What are your favorite restaurants? The nearby sports bar that serves the best New England clam chowder. They have great tater tots, too.

 

5. Do you follow any sports? If you have to ask, you don't read this blog often. I kinda like baseball.

 

6. What is your biggest fear? I am terrified every time I fly.

 

7. What is your biggest regret? As someone once said, "Regrets? I've had a few, but then again too few to mention." I wish I could remember who that wise man was.

 

 

via GIPHY

8. When you were growing up, what was your dream job? I wanted to be a singer. That was before I learned I was tone deaf.

9. Do you say ‘sherbet’ or ‘sherbert?' While I spell it right I pronounce it wrong, which means I add that second "r."

 

10. Have you ever had a paranormal experience? Nope.

 

11. What is your favorite food at a cocktail party? Bacon-wrapped dates. They're delicious, but I only ever see them at parties.

 

12. Who is a book character most like you? Do you know the Andy Carpenter mysteries? I think I'm like Laurie, Andy's work partner and wife. She's much better at derring-do than I ever could be, but we both think Andy is terrific. Some of her retorts when they bicker sound like things I'd say, too. 

 

13. Do you read reviews before you go to movies? Yes.

 

14. How do you feel about cilantro? I feel that it tastes like soap.

 

15. Have you ever cried in public? Yes, but I can probably count the times on one hand.