Life On A B-I7

Why I’m Not a Yankees Fan

One Hundred

The longer I live, the older I wanna get. —Curtis Salgado

I wouldn’t mind living to the age of 100. In fact why not? When I reach 100, I’d like to do something spectacular like ride my bicycle across the country. Well, maybe not something quite that spectacular, but you get the general idea. It’s likely that by the time I reach 100 there will be electric bikes capable of going five days before needing a recharge. That may make it possible. Changing gears slightly (no pun intended) I definitely want to be a member of the 100+ Ski Club. Perhaps the best part of living to 100 will be to see all the marvelous things my children do with their lives. I’m looking forward to that.

Barbershop

Three guys walk into a barbershop. The first one sits down in the chair and talks about fishing. The second one sits down in the chair and talks about Elk hunting. The third one sits down in the chair wearing a Seattle U. sweatshirt, the barber looks at him and says, “How did you vote?”

I explained that I was disappointed in the result of the election, but I was willing to move forward and look for ways to understand and be friends with those who don’t look at the political scene the same way I do.

The haircut was $16. The fisherman gave my barber a $1 tip, the elk hunter didn’t tip my barber. I gave him a 20 and told him to keep the change. He smiled. On my way out the door, I told him to have a beer and think of me. He smiled again and told me to have one for him.

Who’s To Blame

Kamala Harris ran a good campaign but she was handicapped from the outset. Her campaign failed to understand how unhappy the electorate is, including how unhappy they are with the Biden administration. She failed to understand the electorate’s desire for change, as a result, she failed to offer the substantive direction required to rally the votes needed to win.

Sometimes the simple answers are the best. I realize it’s more complicated. The bottom line: the Democratic Party now has a very long road ahead of it. They have lost the trust of the majority of Americans. Winning that back is going to take a lot of work.

Voting

Voting is not something we do every four years. Voting is something we do every day with our smile, with our actions toward one another and with our pocket book. It is quite literally how we live our life.

You’re not stuck in traffic; you ARE traffic. We blame society, but we ARE society. —Anonymous

I am trying to look at the long range consequences of my actions. It’s not easy. I fail as often as I succeed. The important thing is to try. Don’t blame others without first asking, what am I doing.

Best Truck Ever

I love my truck.

It might not be everyone’s cup of tea. If not, fuck you.

That’s how this conversation would go if we were using the script from Midnight Run… When it comes to the real world, my response would probably be “too bad…” probably.

Election Mess

I feel sorry for my children. We will all have to pay for this result, some of us more than others, but none more than our children. They will have to clean up this mess. It won’t be easy.

Steamroller Election

When James Taylor wrote Steamroller Blues in 1970, I’m sure he didn’t have any idea he was describing a future presidential candidate. Here is what he had to say about that future candidate.

He’s a steamroller.

He’s a napalm bomb.

He’s a churning urn of burning junk.

He’s a demolition derby.

He’s a hefty hunk of steaming bunk.

Two words were changed for clarity, the rest was all Taylor’s prescience.

What the Words Mean

I’m writing this the morning of November 5, Election Day. Tonight I will be watching election returns from Democratic Headquarters in downtown Seattle. If at any point from now going forward, Trump claims election fraud, that simply means he knows he lost the Electoral vote. Period. Of course, if he wins, there will be possibility of fraud.

I Can’t Think of Anything More Important

I’m writing this the day before Election Day. This is the most important election in my lifetime, perhaps even in our nation’s lifetime.

I’m nervous, but also scared about what potentially lies ahead for our country. There are people in our country that are willing to commit acts of violence if their candidate does not win the election. It’s as simple as that. Saying an election was stolen from you without providing proof (court decisions supporting that conclusion) is not only an act of insurrection against our laws and our Constitution, it is also immoral and cowardly.

There is nothing more to be said. If you loose, go home. If your party is tired of losing, perhaps it should change its platform and policies.

Election Claims

Any candidate that claims to have lost the election before Election Day or claims that there has been election fraud is a coward and a thief.

Untethered

Our country has become completely untethered from its history. I do not understand how that has happened. The reasons are many of course, but I think it comes down to greed and anger. The failure of both parties to work together to serve the needs of the populace is also a major contributor to the climate we find ourselves in.

Projection

Trump projects himself on everyone else. The evil he sees around him is nothing more than the evil within himself that he is unable to own.

The Worst

Since 2015, when Trump decided he wanted to be President and started his take-over of the Republican Party, he has said many terrible things. What is the worst? That would be hard to say. Occasionally, we all say things that are not exactly “perfect” in every way, myself included. But in the case of Donald Trump, The terrible rhetoric only gets worse. As distasteful as this task was, I decided to share a couple of examples of what I’m talking about. I do not endorse speech like this, I post it here as an example of why we should not allow someone this morally depraved to lead us.

”I would bring back waterboarding. And I’d bring back a he’ll of a lot worse than waterboarding.”

”I don’t fucking care that they have weapons. They’re not here to hurt me.”

One last quote. In case there is an question in your mind what he is capable of…

”IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I’M COMING AFTER YOU!”

Leadership

“A leader must always remember these three: First, that he leads men. Second, that he leads according to the law. Third, that he will not lead forever.” —Agathon

Trump’s journey to the White House has been one that Agathon would have a difficult time comprehending. Trump is not a leader. It would be a poor choice to use him as an example of good leadership, or even being a good man. He is unable to follow the law. He has no intention of leaving the White House should he be elected and take office for a second term. There is a distinct possibility that he is planning to take the White House, should he lose the election, either by force or by chicanery. The ancient Greeks understood better than a lot of us what is required to be a good leader.

Something Peculiar

I saw something peculiar today. The car in front of me had two bumper stickers on it. The first bumper sticker read, “I stand with Israel.” The second bumper sticker read, “Trump 2024.” How in the world do those two things go together? The last thing Donald Trump will do will be to stand with Israel. He will stand with a person, as long as that person is himself, or perhaps that person is someone that is giving him money.

Rural America

You know you’re in rural America when you drive through a middle-class neighborhood and every third driveway has a travel trailer parked in it. Also, on October 31 every third house has inflatable Halloween decorations.

Open Letter

An open letter to Trump. You are a criminal and have no business calling yourself an “American.”

Come and get me. I dare you.

Of course, the irony here is that his speech goes to great length to point out whom he thinks is and isn’t an American. So in some way, you might say I have fallen victim to his perverted brainwashing.

Amazon Prime

I cancelled my Amazon Prime membership. Jeff Bezos is a coward.¹

Societal Norms

I fixed dinner for my sweetheart the other night. After we finished eating she said it was very good, but she had one comment for me. She told me that in the future she would like to dress the salad herself. She explained that she prefers her salad undressed or only lightly dressed. I said that’s odd, that’s how I prefer my woman.

If you find this story crude, I don’t blame you. My only excuse is that I’m just following the new societal norms being established by the Republican Party, and in particular by their leader.

Election Day

Today is the most important day in our Nation’s history.

Today, and over the course of the next 100 days, we will find out what our President and those who want to be president are made of.

General John Kelly speaking at Mount Vernon about General George Washington’s greatest contribution to our nation, summed up that contribution in three words: “He went home.”

Any President that has served his term in office should do just that, leave office. Any aspiring candidate that looses an election should do the same. It is un-American to do anything else.

Sunrise in Redmond Oregon

Generals and Grunts

True leadership, from General and President George Washington to commanders in the modern military always follows this credo:

“Listen, learn, and help, then lead.”

For those of us not so fortunate to be leaders (or fortunate, depending on your perspective) we should always follow a similar credo, with slight modification:

“Listen, learn, and absorb, then act.”

This applies whether we are learning to play Pickleball or talking to a friend on the phone. It applies to everything we do.

Note: The latter credo never releases us from the obligation to be helpful.

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