21st Century Lesbian Trailer Trash

Moving On

In some cases, there is no room for platitudes. Life always moves on. People change. Situations change. Emotions kindle or die.

My niece's killer received 36 years, the stiffest sentence possible in Denver for four counts of vehicular homicide. This does not make me feel any better. She is gone forever. Her family is changed forever.

Cancer is unfair. Homicide is a crime against humanity. I watched Ghadafi murdered. That was not satisfying for me. We are better than that; at least I would like to believe that the human race is better than that. Understanding that people kill, I still cannot wrap my mind around such deliberate acts.

Drinking and driving is deliberate. I only had a few drinks? Are you nuts? Once alcohol has passed your lips, you do not drive. People do so every day. We like to think that we are responsible. That we know our own limitations. My observation is that most of us are not aware of our own limitations.

Perhaps this is a genetic fact that allows us to keep moving forward in the face of insurmountable odds. But like much about being human, that fact is a two edged sword. It allows us to do stupid things.

There is no end to this story.

Google Chrome vs IE

OK.  So here is what I have discovered.  IE sucks with my wireless connection. It appears that Google Chrome works pretty well.  I posted a piece here last night using IE and the sucker disappeared in some sort of frozen black hole.  

Another thing.  With IE, I cannot separate paragraphs using rich text.  I have to go into HTML and use code.  Even then it's hit or miss.  What's up with that?

What was I talking about last night?  Stuff you probably don't want to hear about anyway. Today was better.  Heard from my long time iVillage friend Beth who reminded me about our trip to Lynchburg.  The trip where we followed GOD for miles and met Bubba and all of his troglodyte cousins in backwoods Mississippi.

If you can top that, please tell me all about it. 

Reconnecting with old friends is part of my Reclamation Project. Welcome aboard mateys! She's old but hearty. I doubt she'll sink.

Reclamation Project

Bear with me people. I am on my second glass of Pinot Grigio. A light and fruity wine, perfect for a Friday evening dinner lite. Hummus and whole grain sandwich thins.

I just made my reservations for Madison. That would be two days and three nights of Fun and Frolic with the siblings. The last time we were all together was at Ellie's funeral last Halloween. Not the kind of family bonding one wishes for. But bonding nevertheless. Perhaps one day we will make sense of all this.

I have visions of floating on a cloud with Elena, breathlessly lovely in her diaphenous white gown and gold tipped wings. Her halo, no doubt, a bit tarnished. Maybe she just tried to paint it a different color. You will have to forgive me for rambling about her. I plan on doing that a lot. She was, as her daddy said, my heart.

Today we did something wonderful. Our workplace family. We made a field trip to the local animal shelter and adopted a charming little Norwich Terrier, Ripley. He bounces from lap to lap and bestows love and kisses on anyone who will have them. There was a sweet little Yorkie also. I'm wondering how Jaz and The Cat would do with a new dog. I need that like I need a good case of Shingles.

But there is something about a dog that heals any heart

.

Hillary v Barak

PunditMom has an interesting article on Hillary Cinton. Is she better suited for 2012 than 2008? Did Democrats make a mistake in nomitating Barak Obama?

I don't think so. Hillary would not be faring any better than Barak today in my estimation. From where I sit, the Republican Party is like a gang of boys ala Lord of the Flies. And the Democrats are participating in the gang wars.

Clinton has had the benefit of three years of image repair. Had she been thrust into the Presidency in 2008, she would be stuck on the same tropical island of social chaos that today is the personal hell of Obama.

Young'uns

I love Book TV. I can watch for hours on the weekend. It's an Education in a Box for free. And sometimes the information that I glean helps me to sound smarter than I am.

This morning I was watching a young man by the name of Don Peck, who wrote a book entitled Pinched.

He had a lot to say but the thing that struck me most was his brief discussion of "twenty-somethings." This is not the main thrust of the book but the concept was like watching a barracuda in a wading pool.

Apparently, as a society, the young'uns are feeling disenfranchised from government and we are blaming them. Blaming them for their "failures" as well as for the failure of the economy. WTF?

Me? I blame it on the "I've got mine so screw you" mentality of the middle class and the elite. I detest that mindset. I love the young'uns. They have heart. They have vision. They have youth on their side. And we need them far more than we know.

Youth is the only real kind of social security that we have. That penny ante social security check that I hope to receive when I am older and grayer will not be my security in this world. That will be dependent only upon the success of the young'uns.

And what are we doing to ensure that success? Offering limited educational opportunity, little to no health care, and a bushel of bad examples. No wonder that they find us boring and inconsequential. While they try to weave their futures, we cast swine upon their pearly path.

I know that I'm right.

Who's Old?

I don't know how you feel about my new design but I am rather taken with it. Looking at my blog header and thinking about changing "middle aged dyke" to "old dyke." Even if I live to 90 I would now be 2/3 of the way through my life. Some days I feel really old. Most days I feel about 30. Very peculiar to talk with the young'uns and realize they think of me as an old lady. I was in Denver a few weeks ago. One night my niece and I sat up until about 2 a.m., talking and drinking wine. At some point I realized I was in a whole new category. Like a stranger in a strange land I struggled to define who and what I am in that context. Maybe it would be different if I had children. Actually, I doubt that. I don't think anyone likes to be plunked into the old and useless category, even though most of us did exactly that to our own elders. This is one reason I look forward to our upcoming Sibling Reunion. Nothing like a bevy of over 50's arguing, laughing, drinking and generally acting stupid together.

Life is funny that way. Long time no blog. So long in fact, I had to update all of my information (especially credit card). Still working at the little psych facility. Still have the felonious ex-roommate's cat. The dog is good. New trailer with a yard. Other things I am not yet ready to share. But I am ready to reclaim parts of myself left untended.

Refuse to Hate

Eight days ago, Californians passed the anti-gay marriage proposition by a narrow margin.  This saddens me but I am not surprised. 

It also disturbs me that many of the protest gatherings happening around the state are focused on the role of the Mormon church.  The church is very right wing and shockingly wealthy.

But I think it is a mistake to blame the Mormons.  My personal preference would be that we focus on our legislators and main street America.  If we pick one group to blame, I think we will miss the Freedom Train. 

Trading hate for hate, pointing the finger of blame, and declaring war on religious doctrine will likely backfire on us as a group.  Americans are very protective of their religious freedoms.  It's why this country was founded.

Recently, on my favorite lesbian message board, there has been some discussion about Prop 8.  I talked about forgiveness as a tool for moving through the strong emotions in order to carry on the cause.  A few have not been happy with that.

Once again, I will say here that forgiveness does not mean to lay down and die.  It means to see your opponent as a flawed human being, just like oneself, who has some ideas borne out of ignorance and misinformation.

What they need is information, example, and respect.  Not respect for their ideas but respect for their humanity.  Respect for their right to believe as they do.  And information to help them understand that this issue embodies the true meaning of the separation of Church and State; to understand that this is not an issue of religious doctrine but an issue of civil rights.

Thanks to Lori from Hahn at Home, I found this video from Refuse to Hate.  It is worth watching the entire video. 

 

Refuse to Hate from Refuse to Hate on Vimeo.

CBS Projects Obama Next US President

I am so thrilled to hear that Barak Obama appears to have swept the election.  America has reached heights about which I thought I could only dream. 

This is an exponential leap into the future.  It means, truly, that everyone has a voice.  It means that anyone who feels disenfranchised can have hope that America is a country for all of its citizens.

The man, I know, is just a man.  He will certainly prove at some point to have feet of clay.  But tonight, he is a symbol of possibility.

We have turned that intangible corner to become the nation that we were destined to become.

Most of all, I think of our Chinese nurse who recently received her citizenship, so proud to show me her "I voted" sticker from her very first United States election.

Thank you Martin, Bobby, and John.  Thank you Rosa Parks.  Thank you to the Mississippi Freedom Riders.  Thank you to all of the veterans of Vietnam who marched off to war without the support they deserved.  Thank you to all of the warriors of the past, peaceful and otherwise, who only cared to put their lives on the line for the greater good, whether or not we agreed with them.

Thank you to every young person, whatever their background, who have renewed my faith in our future.

And thank you to John McCain for his graceful and lovely concession speech.