Sidetracked Charley

My high school was known for its debate and drama departments. Not its sports teams. And in my five years at the University of New Mexico our football team came close to only setting one record: The most football games lost in a row. And it shot that down by winning one on a fluke. The Democrats are a lot like UNM's football team. If they can lose it they will lose it. And with less than two weeks to the midterms they seem ready to do just that. Mind you the Democrats are not my team. And not the Republicans either. I am am independent with a small i. And the only reason I am sitting in the stands watching this defeat is I care about those in this country who blindly believe in the Land of the Free, Home of the Brave bullshit. We aren't. We haven't been for at least a decade. And if this goes on any longer we will never be get the chance to be that again. The worst things about college football is one horrible defeat can be quickly followed by another, and money b...

Dog Gone Alley Last year the big expansion of the "garden" was the poppy bed on the front of the deck. This year the new flower beds have been in Dog Gone Alley, a double gated entry to my backyard, and dog camp. It seemed a perfect place to put at least one raised bed for flowers. And as it has better sun for Iris than other locations I decided to make it an Iris bed. To which I add Italian Garlic (garlic has gotten lost in my hoop house) and most recently globe thistle. That left me with the other side of the walkway through Dog Gone Alley. I resisted doing another raised bed and instead yesterday went for the natural sowing method often used for wild flowers. I scattered seeds of Mexican Hat over the varied low vegetation (dandelions and a couple other creeping weeds) topped with potting soil and then mulched with straw. I also mulched the other side. And while I still had lots of mulching straw in the bag I bought (I bought two so much more to mulch) I mulched ...

Hold You Head Above the Crowd For anyone paying attention the last few weeks have been very, very, very stressful. And that is the goal of the other party. Makes us afraid, make us angry, make us give up. Surrender is not an option. Because if we go that route the Christian Right will get the Doomsday they have been planning for. Rapture for them, the righteous white, they believe. And doomsday for liberals. But you don't have to focus on the monsters without zippers. At least not all the time.Though an effort to stay totally away from news makes me anxious. So I ration my exposure. And then the rest of the day I watch reruns of comfort TV, garden, paint, take photographs, and tend to my dog guests. In the days leading up to Nixon's resignation I quit all news and quit all activism and the Republican party and Washington, DC. I hid out in the mountains of New Mexico without a TV. If friends had not called me to alert me of his announcement I would have missed it. There...

As a child I was drawn to horror flicks. These were generally in black and white and shown late at night on the only TV in the house. So I was generally alone in the living room in the dark with the sound really low. I was warned off this practice by my mother who was sure The Monster from the Black Lagoon would give me nightmares. Never did. Tarzan, afternoon reruns, however were a totally different animal. Mother, hoping to get a total night's sleep without a screaming child, explored why Tarzan gave me nightmares.  "Because they are real," I responded. "They are just actors," Mother explained. "But they have no zippers down their backs," I said.  Ever the very attentive to detail child I had seen the zippers on the monsters. I knew they were wearing costumes. But not the bad men on Tarzan. They were real. Africa, the dark continent existed. And there were evil white men who killed and enslaved. They also existed outside of...

Gained five pounds in last few weeks. I gained it because I tried to eat pain away instead of taking pills. Because I don't drink I ate when frustrated with the world today. Definitely ate when tired thinking it would give me more energy. I ate for all the wrong reasons and it is time to get back to conscious eating. I don't diet. Just saying the word makes me gain four pounds. Never tell me I cannot have something I crave. I was bulemic in my youth. I promised a mental health professional I would not diet again. Moderation in all things. And so I don't feel deprived that includes moderation. Feeling deprived is not good. Instead of dieting I try to consciously eat. This last few weeks I forgot that. I was thinking of everything but what I was eating. It cannot be comfort food if it gives you no comfort. So this week I return to being conscious of what I put in my mouth. My default will be hot coffee or hot tea. Maybe even a glass of water before going to the re...

Ute Park Fire Burn Scar October will be my turn it off month . I am so tired of the "background noise" of our political battles. It is killing my creativity and sapping my energy. I feel this way every Monday after the Sunday news programs.  And must admit it is good I learned to moderate my temper pr there would be a lot of smashed electronics. The world on Sundays seems reduced to sound bites and talking points and devoid of any reasoned debate or discussion. This Sunday Kelly Ann Conway seemed the most reasoned. Really! We have come to this. So absolutely NO Sunday talk shows for the month of October. The rest of the week I will watch only Rachael Maddow and Lawrence O'Donnell. They talk to their audience and give context. I will read all the rest of my news. I already know how I will vote this November. All the rest is just noise which keeps us plugged in, fearful, and confused. I no longer believe we will recover from this. I no longer believe in the governm...