Happy Reminder

Every year I take the August Happiness Challenge. Here's a brief explanation of the Challenge: "Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world."

You're invited to join me. Visit me with a link to your daily August happy, and I'll come read it. I've found that experiencing other peoples' everyday pleasures is a great mood lifter.

It helps if your August Happiness Challenge posts are marked with an icon. Just something that means "happy" to you. Here's a pair of my past happys.

THE HAPPY BEGINS AUGUST 1!

We already have a winner

Next weekend is my village's library book sale. Every year there's a book that my neighbors donate in big numbers. Usually I have to wait until I wander the sale tables to find the winner of this dubious honor. This year, I helped sort the books and found one book that dominated the donations.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Again. Copy after copy of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo! Just like last year!

In 2016, it was The Help.
In 2015, it was The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest.
In 2014, it was the first appearance of The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo. 
In 2013, it was The DaVinci Code.
In 2012, it was Sixkill by Robert B. Parker (a Spenser mystery).
In 2011, it was The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. 
In 2010, it was Scarlett, the Sequel to Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind. 
In 2009, it was My Life by Bill Clinton.
In 2008, it was The Da Vinci Code.
In 2007, it was The Nanny Diaries.
In 2006, it was The Corrections. 

Apparently local book clubs selected The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in big numbers, but the readers didn't want to keep the book on their shelves for re-reading. Some copies had been on the shelves of other libraries and somehow made their way to us. Any way, there are so many copies, not all of them will find homes next weekend.

In exchange for my service as a volunteer -- first sorting books, then flattening and stacking packing boxes -- I got to choose a book. I went with this one. It's in beautiful condition, and I've always wanted to read it.

Next weekend, after the sale is over, I can return, show my badge, and take whatever didn't sell. Last year I left with Helter Skelter, a book that ended up having a profound impact on me. Let's see what the 2018 haul has in store.

 

Saturday 9

Gidget (1965)


1) Gidget was a sitcom that ran only one season. Have you ever seen it? I love(d) Gidget. Especially her hair and wardrobe. She was the epitome of 1960s teen chic!
 

2) Gidget is a high school student who is more interested in surfing and boys than in the books. When you were Gidget's age, was your top priority getting good grades? Or were you more involved in the social side of student life? Social, I suppose. But those years were difficult ones for me, I didn't feel like I was particularly good at anything.

3) Gidget's father was nearly always unflappable when it came to his daughter's high-spirited shenanigans. Who is the coolest, calmest person you know? My friend Joanna springs to mind. She has faced a lot -- divorce, loss of loved ones, bankruptcy, Hurricane Katrina (!) -- and consequently is confident we can each endure whatever comes our way.

4) Gidget spends as much time as she can at the beach, hanging out with her best friend Larue. Fair-skinned Larue doesn't share Gidget's passion for surfing and prefers to stay on the beach blanket, wearing a floppy hat that protects her from the sun. Are you a sun worshipper? Or, like Larue, are you careful about your exposure to the sun? I'm Team Larue. I used to get such painful sunburns that I don't even go swimming at the beach anymore.

Larue (right) has the right idea.

 
5) Gidget, the quintessential California girl, was created by Freidrich Kohner, an Austrian-born screenwriter. Can you think of another Austrian import? The Von Trapp Family Singers.

Eternally awesome Julie Andrews as Maria Von Trapp

6) Howard Greenfield and Jack Keller wrote this week's Gidget theme. They also wrote the 1960 hit song, "Everybody's Somebody's Fool." When is the last time you felt foolish? Last month, I literally walked into a glass wall. I was high on pain killers (I really shouldn't have gone into the office at all) and ... well ... I missed the doorway. Let's not speak of it again.
 
7) This is the show that introduced Sally Field. She went on to win two Oscars and four Emmy Awards. When you think of Sally, what role comes to mind? She completely rocked it as Mary Lincoln in Lincoln. I find First Ladies fascinating, and I've read a great deal about Mary. Biographers and filmmakers are not always kind. Sally Field and Steven Spielberg gave her the dignity she deserved.

8) Today Gidget is a grandmother. Sally reports that her grandchildren especially enjoy "sleepovers at Granny's." Where were you the last time you spent the night away from home? Last month, I went to Springfield, IL, with my friend John to see the Lincoln sites. There is an exhibit at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum devoted to the Spielberg movie, and Sally's costumes were there. My friend John found Sally's portrayal of the TV teen so memorable that he referred to her Mary Lincoln as "Gidget in a hoop skirt." A funny line, but so unfair!

9) Random question -- Describe your perfect lazy afternoon. Not having grocery shopping or laundry hanging over my head. Not checking my watch and worrying about missing this doctor's appointment or that hair appointment. Just doing what I want. Watching a good movie, curling up with a good book.

 
 

I can do this job!

There are days when I feel like I add value to my client's efforts, when I know I made a unique contribution. Friday was one of those days.

One of our clients, Doug, really cares about his projects. His passion is touching, especially when you realize that his projects depress everyone else. He promotes care for the long-term ill and disabled. The only time I ever use "toilet" as a verb is when I'm working on Doug's projects.

No one wants to works on Doug's projects. I admit that includes me. It reminded me of my uncle's slow decline via Parkinson's Disease. It reminded me that I am alone and 60. It's not a feel-good.

But it's my job. And it's Doug. And Doug deserves my best effort.

Friday I presented his new brochure to him and his assistant, Becky. I dialed up the energy to 11 because I know Doug isn't used to us matching his enthusiasm. I walked him through it, paragraph by paragraph, photo by photo. I explained why it was on brand, how it was emotionally resonant.

Doug and Becky thought I was hitsville. Not only that, this was the first time our new account supervisor, Amanda, saw me in action. She was as impressed as Doug.

And you know what? Right now, I'm feeling pretty good about me, too.

But then there's Joe

Ok, so Friday's Cub game wasn't so good.

And, after the 7-run 4th inning, it was effectively out of reach.

But we Cub fans still had something to root for. Our manager, Joe Maddon. He is genius!

This game went into the record books. Not (just) because the Cubs sucked, but because Joe allowed three position players to pitch. The final outs were made by third baseman Tommy LaStella, first baseman Victor Caratini and right fielder Ian Happ.

Joe saved the arms of his bullpen for more important fighting on Saturday, and he gave 40,000 Cub fans in the stands something to enjoy in a ridiculous game. You can just imagine them elbowing one another and laughing "Shit! Joe's letting LA STELLA pitch? What will Joe do next?

We have the most audacious, entertaining manager in the majors.


via GIPHY

How awful to be her!

In the heat of the 2016 campaign, I accidentally happened upon a Facebook poster who referred to herself as Julia Sugarbaker, the sassiest character on Designing Woman. It would be unfair to Bernie Sanders to refer to her as the typical Sanders supporter, but she was indicative of "the more progressive" wing of the Democratic Party.

OK, the nuts.

She railed against Hillary for being "an American oligarch," for killing people, for the "neurological disorder" that caused her to "short circuit" during interviews.

She hated on Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Donna Brazile for the unfair way the DNC hated on Bernie. She ignored, of course, that she was getting all of her information from Wikileaks and never stopped to wonder why the Sanders campaign wasn't hacked. (Or the equivalency the Sanders' team emails would likely have revealed, since Presidential campaigns are a rough-and-tumble business.) She ignored how bad it was to take off on Brazile, since Bernie had an issue with women in general and women of color, specifically.

Now, of course, she has to deal with knowing that everything she believed, she was fed by Russia. She was manipulated by an enemy greater than Hillary Rodham Clinton.

She used social media to advance Putin's aims. To borrow from the 2016 debates:

via GIPHY

How is the lady herself dealing with all this? I mean, if it was me, and I realized how thoroughly I'd been played, I'd feel terrible. I like to think I'd become introspective, and look at how my passion turned to animus and blinded me to what was happening.

But then, I'm not "Julia." She's coping by ignoring. By moving on. By disseminating more misinformation. She gave an "A-fucking-men" to a post discrediting the intel agencies with this: "Because these same intelligence agencies were proven to have attempted to silence Martin Luther King Jr. through coercive force and legal force in an attempt to get him to commit suicide until his eventual assassination."

Um, that's simply false. There was total antipathy between King and the too-powerful J. Edgar Hoover and MLK was the victim of illegal, immoral and unwise wire taps. But "coercive and legal force" designed to "attempt to get him to commit suicide until his eventual assassination?"

Nyet, comrade, nyet.

But keep saying it. Keep posting it, girlfriend. Keep sowing seeds of racial division as you dance  at the end of those merry marionette strings. Let your hate and your conspiracy fever blind you to what you're actually doing.

PS Here's the perfect evidence of how totally "Julia Sugarbaker" ignores context. The character she has chosen as her "spirit animal" -- the original Julia Sugarbaker from the CBS TV show -- is the creation of Linda Bloodworth-Thomason. Linda and her husband, Harry, did the TV spots for Bill Clinton's 1982 gubernatorial campaign and have been close friends of Bill 'n' Hill ever since. They were involved in every Clinton campaign (his and hers, both) and were advisors in the Clinton White House.

You can't expect her to notice a relationship that's lasted 35 years and played out in public. Because it's true and transparent. Obvious. She foolishly prefers to concentrate on swampy conspiracies.

Remind me to wait another two years before I check her feed again!

Dirty books

That's the unholy truth. Books are like money in that that they really retain dirt.

After work I went to the local high school and sorted books for the library's annual book fair. I handled poetry, lots of poetry -- including self published works, poetry in Spanish, and a collection of Keats and Shelley. Scholarly books that I'm pretty sure won't sell, like a study of the intersection of law and medicine and a volume that compares/contrasts existentialists. Bodice-ripping romances set against the backdrop of war (the wars change but the cleavage on the cover remained the same).

When bending and carrying began to bother my knees, I switched to stacking empty boxes. After an hour, I went home. I'll go again over the weekend. After all, it's estimated that 100,000 books will make their way to the sale tables.

Every day that I work, I get "paid" with the paperback of my choice for 25¢.* I didn't see anything that called out to me especially at the biography/memoir table, and I didn't even peek at the mystery section. There's time for that between now and July 27.

*The volunteer coordinator told me with a wink that hardcovers are "negotiable."

Not good

I spent a little time with Napoleon and Caleb today. I wish I had better news to report.

His wife, Randi, is at the Mayo Clinic. She was driven there in an ambulance. Traveling at a regular speed -- without sirens or flashing lights -- it took about 6 hours. She is simply not getting well, not getting stronger. She is cancer free, and the virus that landed her in the ER in the first place is no longer present. Yet septicemia has set in. Why is she so vulnerable to infection? Why isn't she getting stronger?

Caleb says he's not worried, that he's confident that in MN his wife will finally get the care she needs to recover. He is lonely and sad without her. He can drive up on Friday evening and stay with her until Sunday afternoon. Caleb's boss is lending Caleb and Napoleon his "beater" for the drive. I got the impression that they will be spending their nights in the car, but that Napoleon will, without a doubt, be sneaked into the Mayo Clinic. Randi really wants to see "her baby."

I am heartened that the Mayo Clinic is taking the case of a woman who is nearly indigent. She has been ill almost all of 2018. And in March, after her cervical cancer diagnosis and hysterectomy, the surgeon left a sponge inside of her! I am sure that the Mayo Clinic will treat her with greater respect and care. But I worry about how serious her condition must be that her doctors here felt this was the best option.

While we were talking on the street corner, a woman handed Caleb a grocery bag that included individual serving boxes of cereal (his favorite, I learned today) and a pair of popsicles. After she was gone, he asked me if I wanted the popsicles, since he can't have anything that cold. He has a bad tooth.

After lunch, I stopped at Walgreen's and got Caleb a bottle of "oral pain reliever" (liquid benzocaine) and a $20 Visa gift card. I figured he'll need gas money. When I handed it to him, he said that was exactly what he'll be using it for.

Throughout the day, I sent prayers Randi's way. I did not pray for God to make her healthy and whole. Instead, my heart told me to ask that she be comfortable and peaceful. She has been through so much this year! Cough, fever, infection, cancer, surgery and now more surgery ... I pray that she finds relief from pain and stress and fear.

And, of course, I pray for her guys -- Napoleon and Caleb -- who love her so.

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. 

1. What are you currently reading? Ticket to Ride: Inside the Beatles 1964 Tour by Larry Kane. Larry was 21, just out of college, and working in the news department of a Miami radio station. He was a broadcast journalist, not a disc jockey. (In other words, he wanted to be Walter Cronkite, not Dick Clark.) That's why he was lukewarm, at best, about being assigned to the Beatles beat in 1964. He was sure they were a frivolous phenomenon, a flash in the pan, and this wasn't the hard news story he wanted to cover.

Of course, the Beatles changed the world. And being on that tour was a career-making opportunity for Kane.

His non-fan, reporter's perspective gives his tale a tone different than you generally get from Beatles' books. He writes about the entire scene -- the fans, the other journalists, the Beatles' entourage, the local police -- and not just about John, Paul, George and Ringo.

On a personal note, I received this book as a gift from my mom back in 2010. She was so excited for me to read it, but died before I got to it. Thank you, Mommy. I'm enjoying it.

2. What did you recently finish reading?  

Thereby Hangs a Tail by Spencer Quinn. Our narrator is Chet the Jet, a big dog who likes to leap. He works with Bernie Little, a workaday PI. As he likes to say, "Bernie and me, we work cases."

Chet is a good boy with a big heart. He loves smells, he loves to eat (often, but not always, food), he loves balls (but not basketballs), and he loves Bernie (always the smartest person in the room).

But was this a good mystery? It was OK. Having Chet as narrator is a gimmick. An entertaining and most charming gimmick, to be sure, but this book is not about the plot. Thereby Hangs a Tail is #2 of a series. If I happen upon another Chet-and-Bernie, I'll read it. But I won't be seeking this series out.

3.  What will you read next?  

Maybe another biography? Or a mystery. My TBR pile is stacked dauntingly high with both.

He's hitting again!

Anthony Rizzo went nearly a week without a hit. He was 0-21. That's Oh. 4. Twenty. One. That's not my Rizz.

It was positively ridiculous how worried I was about him. Was he hurt? Were he and girlfriend Emily on the outs? The Cubs' team shrink died suddenly -- though it was after his slump began, I was worried that it exacerbated the problem, whatever problem he was having.

I cannot stand it when he's not doing well.
He's such a great kid. He not only hits for power, he patiently takes his walks. He's a solid and dependable first baseman. He works with pediatric cancer patients. He reached out to the Parkland survivors after the shooting at his alma mater, Marjorey Stoneman Douglas high school. Someone like Anthony Rizzo only deserves good things.

I'm so glad that he's going into the All Star break hitting 6-10. This old heart of mine couldn't take it if his slump continued!

Good for what ails you

I thoroughly enjoyed this documentary. It restored my faith in America and reminded me why I'm sure we'll survive this Trumpy nightmare. It was also delightful -- well worth $6 to see Ruth Bader Ginsburg watch Kate McKinnon's impersonation on SNL, and oh! The real life love story she shared with her husband! If that doesn't touch you, you're not human.

Reflections on two friends

Friday night I blabbed with my oldest friend. We were on the phone for nearly two hours. We talked about nothing of consequence, really. I don't know how she's feeling physically, or whether Medicaid has helped her get her meds. I don't know how she's doing emotionally or financially. She didn't seem to want to go there, and I didn't want to force it.

Instead we laughed a great deal. We talked about TV, her kids, the Cubs, Frank Sinatra's penis ... I miss her. I don't laugh with anyone like I do with her.

I hope she's OK. I'm going to try to get her on the phone more often. Perhaps I can get her to open up a bit more. And besides, it makes me happy to talk to her, to remind me of the decades-long connection we share.well.

Saturday I saw Joanna with my movie group. I was recovering from a bout of diarrhea, so I didn't join her for drinks afterward. Perhaps I should have, for she looked different to me. Older, smaller and more vulnerable. She's usually so sophisticated, so stylish. It's as though the problems she's had this summer have diminished her somehow. She had to say good bye to both her cat and her dog this year -- such a cruel coincidence -- and I'm not sure her business is doing well. We're meeting up again soon. I'll have to go out of my way to spend some time with her afterward. (And avoid potato salad. I think that the potato salad, while delicious, could have been the culprit that messed with my digestion.)

Fabulous!

Saturday, I saw Joan Crawford rock the hell out of a pair of glasses.

My movie group watched Humoresque, a 1945 film starring Crawford as a bored, horny socialite and John Garfield as the gifted violinist she "sponsors." The movie itself was pretty soapy, and since I truly can't stand classical music, the score left me cold. But I loved the lush black-and-white cinematography, and Crawford looked great in frames that she could have ordered from Warby Parker.

The joy I got from this little detail makes me hope I can get myself to The TCM Film Festival this coming spring. It's a wallow for classic film fans, and I think I would enjoy it extravagantly.

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: I Love Lucy (1951)

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

1) Before today, did you know that the "I Love Lucy" theme had lyrics? Yes. I'm a fan of the episode the clip is lifted from. (Lucy is convinced Ricky, Ethel and Fred have forgotten her birthday, while in reality they have all been secretly collaborating on a big surprise party. As one who considers her own birthday a holiday, I relate to Lucy's desire to be fussed over.)

2) Since its premiere  1951, I Love Lucy has never been off the air. Are you a fan? Very much. To borrow a phrase, I love Lucy. Also, I'm fascinated by Lucille Ball. She was no comic, meaning you couldn't put her in front of a mic and expect her to tell jokes and make the audience laugh. She was, however, an amazingly gutsy actress. She threw herself into every part she played with total commitment. If you get a chance, check out her movies from the 1940s. Like The Big Street. She plays a trashy, hard-hearted showgirl who completely exploits the poor schmuck who loves her (Henry Fonda). She's beautiful and sexy and really rotten. It's hard to believe it's the same woman who played lovable, daffy Lucy.

3) On the show, Ricky Riccardo supports his family by performing in a nightclub. Do you know anyone in show business? Only peripherally. My coworker's ex-husband is an actor, which means he's available for temp office work. (That's just me being snarky. When they were still married I saw him onstage a couple times and he wasn't untalented.) A couple I know only slightly -- friends of friends -- lives rather well on what the husband makes as an actor and director on the Chicago theater scene. He is unarguably talented and well regarded.

4) Lucy and Ricky's best friends are Fred and Ethel, their landlord and his wife. Are you friendly with your neighbors? Nope. And I don't want to be. I want to be left alone in the evenings and i hate hearing that rap-rap-rap at my door.




5) One of the most popular episodes has Lucy and Ethel working on the conveyor belt at a chocolate factory. When did you last have chocolate? Today. I'm a huge fan of these mini ice cream cones from Trader Joe's.

 
6) Another famous episode has Lucy promoting Vitametavegimin. This tonic is made with vitamins, meat, vegetables -- and 23% alcohol. Do you read the ingredients statement before you take an over-the-counter medication? Or do you trust that it's safe because it's on the store shelf? I read labels. The older I get, the more likely it is that something I buy over-the-counter will interact with one of my prescriptions, so I'm more careful.

7) I Love Lucy was filmed before a live audience. Desi Arnaz (Ricky) always maintained he could identify the chuckle of his mother-in-law, who attended every taping. Do you know anyone who has a distinctive laugh? No one springs to mind.

8) The show ended when the Lucille Ball/Desi Arnaz marriage ended. Have you ever had to choose sides when a couple broke up? Not really. It's always turned out that I was decidedly in one camp or another before the breach.

9) Random question -- You must eat the same dinner, every day, between now and Labor Day. An identical menu, no deviation. What will you be having? I like what I had on the 4th of July: A grilled hot dog with no bun mixed with in with baked beans, Coke to drink, ice cream for dessert. It's cheap, offers the bonus of easy prep/easy clean up, it's high in fiber and I like each element of it well enough that I won't be suicidal by Labor Day.

Oh, Honey, I know!

At Sunday's ball game, my nephew and I sat next to a family of four. Mom, Dad and two girls -- aged, I would guess, about 7 and 9. The younger one was fidgety but happy. The older one, though, she was noteworthy in her Cubs jersey with the number 17 stitched into a pink heart.

Kris Bryant wears #17.

The girl's face was red and swollen. She looked ill, as though she was having an allergic reaction. My nephew was eavesdropping and got the full story: the girl just found out that Kris Bryant was still on the disabled list. Not only was he too injured to play, he wasn't even on the roster. He wouldn't start the game, he wouldn't come out of the dugout as a pinch hitter, he wasn't even in the park. There was no way she would see him at all. Just thinking of this caused a fresh torrent of tears.

The mother was beyond exasperated. She was very grumpy, even hostile, as she and the girls squeezed past us time and again, leaving their seats to go to the bathroom, to go to the refreshment stand (first for ice cream in a little Cubs helmet, then for a bowl of cubed watermelon), for souvenirs ... While Dad may have been a baseball fan, the women in his family couldn't care less about the game. Not now that HE wasn't here.

They left before the game was over, which was too bad for Dad because it was a really exciting game. But I get it. He probably didn't want to be stuck in post-game traffic with his three pissy family members.

As they were leaving the row for the last time, one of the girls called over her shoulder, "Daddy! Our signs!" And he patiently turned to retrieve two very wrinkled pieces of notebook paper, covered with hearts and baseball stickers, and of course, HIS name in marker. Thinking of them sitting up the night before, making these "signs" that KB would never see, just broke my heart.

I suppose I can sympathize with the mom's annoyance with her dramatic daughter. But, no, I think Mom should have understood. Have we ever loved anyone as purely as a little girl loves The Man of Her Dreams?

Trust me. I know.

Extra Innings!

My nephew and I spent a wonderful Sunday within The Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field. The weather was fine. Sunny and 85º (and it's always "cooler near the Lake," as we Chicagoans know so well). The company was, as always, fabulous. My nephew is not only a knowledgeable Cub fan, he's a genuinely good guy and an interesting young man.

The Cubs have had trouble with Reds all season -- "I fucking hate the Reds," my nephew kept muttering -- but I'm happy to report that the right team prevailed. It wasn't a pretty game, but it was a thrilling one. It was lovely to stand there, singing "Go, Cubs, Go" after the 10th. And extra innings meant more time with my nephew, which was important to me as he prepares to go off to college in little more than a month.

I am that slowly boiled frog

You know the premise. Put a frog in a pot of boiling water and he will immediately jump out to safety, put him in a pot of cool water but slowly turn up the heat and he will lazily allow himself to be boiled to death. He just won't notice the incremental change.

That's so me, and that's how my home became such a mess. Little by little. I was just oblivious to my incrementally increasing sloppiness.

For example, my bathmat. It is, literally, no big deal. Retails for $9.99 at Bed Bath and Beyond. A piece of PVC rubber with suction cups.

Oh, yeah. And it was once clear. I didn't realize how hideously discolored mine had become until I spotted them on a display while I was buying a new shower curtain liner.

Mine was clean, mind you. I regularly tossed it in the washing machine. But it had gradually become a dingy yellow, and I never noticed.

The perfect metaphor for my entire home.

Sunday Stealing

SWAP BOT

1.Where were you 3 hours ago? Under the covers.

2.Have you ever eaten a crayon? No. As a Kindergartener I did sample Play-Doh and found it salty, but I never consumed a crayon.

3.Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you? Yes. The padded envelope my Posh cosmetics arrived in. I plan to reuse it if I mail this book I'm reading to my aunt.

4.When is the last time you went to the mall? Two weeks ago. I had lunch with Nancy at The Olive Garden and picked up a new ceiling fan at Sears. (Now I have to call Cute Handyman and get the sucker installed.)

5.Are you wearing socks right now? Nope.

6.When was the last time you drove out of town? That would be never because I don't drive.

7.Have you been to the movies in the last 5 days? No.

8.What was the last thing you had to drink? Water. Cool, clear water.

9.What are you wearing right now? An oversized Elvis t-shirt and underpants.

10.Do you wash your car or let the car wash do it? No car

11.Last food that you ate? I had a piece of cheese.

12.Where were you last week at this time? I don't recall

13.Have you bought any clothing items in the last week? Nope. I nearly bought a blouse from ThredUp because I have $9.80 credit. But just because I have a credit doesn't mean I have to spend it right now.

14.When is the last time you ran? I ran across the busy street last week so I could catch the yellow light. I am old and fat and it was hot. I was not happy about finding myself in this predicament.

15.What's the last sporting event you watched? I watched my Cubs come from behind to beat the Reds, 8-7. It was a shocking game. At one point, we were down by 5 runs. But, as our manager Joe Maddon says, "We like the fight."

And she's a retiree!

There's a woman whose blog I visit occasionally as part of Saturday 9. I know Bud wants his venerable meme to survive, if not thrive, and since I took the mantle of "Samantha Winters," I've tried to make sure everyone who plays is happy, or at least not UNhappy.

Anyway, this weekend, she posted something that really disturbed me. Not because of her political inclinations. I've long ago given up trying to understand how evangelicals can support a thrice-married, self-proclaimed "pussy grabber" who knowingly lied about President Obama's birth certificate. She and I will have to agree to disagree. (Though she is a proud "Cat Lady" and rescuer, so there has to be a heart in there somewhere!)

No, this was about Walter Cronkite. "Uncle Walter." She wrote that today's news media is "hard to digest when you know a lot of it is fake news.  There are no Walter Cronkites anymore. 😞."

This woman is certainly old enough to know about Vietnam. To know about Walter Cronkite's famous 1968 editorial denouncing long-standing U.S. policy. He said the President was lying to us, and told America that the war was simply not winnable.

Back in those days, we weren't conservatives or liberals. We were Hawks or Doves. And the Hawks sharpened their talons and took off after Walter Cronkite. They didn't use terms like "fake news" because they were more nuanced. They said his reporting was "slanted." But the message was the same -- if you don't just accept what the President says you are wrong, unpatriotic, prejudiced. You are using your media platform to sway Americans to your agenda.

Except, of course, that Walter Cronkite was telling the truth. Just as CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC, "the failed NY Times" and the Washington Post are telling the truth about Donald Trump.

So, Madam, there are Walter Cronkites out there. Reporters and newscasters who risk their reputations and sometimes their lives to speak truth to power.  

In his 2017 documentary, filmmaker Ken Burns says some Americans just want to forget about Vietnam. It was so sad, so divisive, so violent. I guess this blogger is one of those people. After all, as a retiree, she was born in the 1950s. She must have been cognizant when Cronkite gave his editorial. She must have known boys who served -- boys who are now old men or who, sadly, were deprived of the opportunity to live to old age.

It's convenient to always believe your POTUS is telling you the truth. It's easier to dismiss dissident voices as "fake news." But it's perilous. We should know that by now.