I thought I had ceased blogging but here I am. I do not do FaceBook or Twitter. I really don’t know how or why they exist, and I see no reason in the foreseeable future why I would need to acquire those abilities. Good wife, Pat allows me to observe photos and such that only seem to be available there. Thus, I am somewhat covered and will not need to learn those things before they are no more, and are replaced by something else. Digital citizens in our great digital universe move on, without me. Thank goodness I left teaching over 30 years ago, or I might be expected to understand it all.
The weather is improving in Iowa. There are heavy thunderstorms this weekend, which can always bring the threat of floods. I have not yet had to mow the grass but expect to within a week. Then I’ll have to see about some plants in a few pots, and clean and prepare the screen patio for a few months of enjoyment.
The two faces of Iowa are locked in deadly editorial combat. The current issue of course is Gay Marriage. Our farm state image is not always portrayed complimentary by the Eastern Press, nor understood by most of the rest of the country. First thoughts are often that we surely have been left behind by a lack of understanding of those things deemed important. How shocking it must be to learn that Iowa with a 1 Percent Black populace, launched our first Black President on his way to victory, or that a perceived Conservative Farm State would be one of the first states after Massachusetts to legalize Gay Marriage.
We are of two faces, and either face can emerge at any given time. Not always too slowly, but surely there is a steady movement to the Democrat, Liberal, Left. We continue to elect our two United States Senators, one far right and one far left. One by Unions, Labor, Teachers and University intellectuals with the superior minds — the other, wins election by support of Farmers, Preachers, and Business, Insurance, and Banking execs. And of course, don’t forget those with inferior education and redneck qualities. Lots of us vote for both. Anyway, the daily papers are filled with the pros and cons of gay marriage. This spills over to the supporters and detractors of our new Administration. Now that the government has taken over the banking, auto and insurance segments, most seem to be in favor, but hope they give them back after they get them fixed. Others believe we have already surrendered to Lenin and those that followed and our world is gone forever. As for me, I don’t like gay marriage, but surely do not want to deny them any benefits that they perceive they will gain from a marriage versus what they might have under a civil ceremony. I doubt if we will see any great disaster from this decision, but do not understand why a little compromise might not result in an acceptable situation for all. As for Obama, I feel he already is a great President. That doesn’t mean I think he will necessarily be a successful one. I am frightened by all that is happening and at the same time feel he just might succeed. And I have always felt that our Constitution does not prohibit in any way, a little Socialism. I suspect we may like it once we get used to it. And nothing should prevent us from moving to the right and returning again to our greedy Capitalist ways if we do not like the Socialist style.
This gay marriage thing has presented me with another quandary. I recently reached my 79th birthday (practically 80, and that’s 4/5 of a hundred). I have observed that within my family and certainly many others, (our street is full of them) most wives outlive their husbands by some ten years or more. Certainly I have been stressed as of late, because of the fear that good wife Pat (age 77) may not have much more than 10 or 15 years left. That surely puts a crimp on my own expected life span. Geeez. Now the quandary. Whatever is the answer for the gay marriage. Will they be required to specify for insurance purposes which one will be expected to live the additional 10 years. They do want to be just like the rest of us. Of course they are not just like the rest of us, and so it goes.
While we are at it, I will just mention another situation that sometimes irritates. While I want to care for our handicapped citizen companions, why is it we have to go so overboard in providing for their convenience that the rest are sometimes so inconvenienced. The Hy-Vee (supermarket) seems to be 7/8Th’s handicapped parking. I myself am just a hairs width of being a helpless cripple. Not really, but kind of close. Thus far I have refused to obtain a handicapped parking tag, likewise my nearly physically impaired good wife Pat. Thus we end up parking in the next county and by then after I enter the market I generally have to take care of bathroom issues only to find that the formerly three stalls have been reduced to one wheelchair accessible stall, which is occupied (Thank you, Depends). I have always said the kindest thing you can do for any handicapped person is to make them realize they are not just like everyone else. Then they will learn to do things the very best way for them, and we surely will always extend assistance when needed. It reminds me of the story of the King who did not like to step on pebbles when walking, so ordered the entire Kingdom to be covered with leather. Fortunately, one of his aides suggested shoes. Our government has covered the Kingdom with handicap conveniences, without considering shoes.
I will sign off in just a bit. I do despair at the anger between our two political parties and those that profess to have all the answers from the far right and the far left. I can’t take much more of the bickering between MSNBC and Fox. The business channels report terrible economic conditions. So I switch to the Science and History channels and discover that we have only three years left anyway. The Mayan calendar ends in 2012 with many dire consequences, already beginning to appear in the form of global warming, expected hurricanes, volcanic, earthquake, and tsunami catastrophes. Now the Mexican Swine Flu will surely be pandemic. And if that isn’t enough, we still have Pirates the world over to deal with, not to mention Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Or will we just run out of oil and gas or maybe food?
Before we all get out of joint at World Series time or when the Super Bowl rolls around. Instead of them being brought to you by General Motors, General Electric, AIG Insurance, or Bank of America, I’m sure they will be brought to you by your friendly United States Government, maybe at Nancy Pelosi Stadium on Barney Frank Field. Love and Live the best you can. Guess I am getting old just about the right time. Good luck to all. Have a good one.
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