The President of the United States appears to be inciting anti-government violence, via tweet, in the middle of a pandemic.
If you support this man, I am asking you to please stop. He is not a “conservative” or a savior or a man who is being “used by God.”
He is simply a madman.
This goes beyond “conservative” or “liberal.” We — all of us — are better than this.
I’d bitch about having to wash the cup, if I wasn’t already at the sink 20 times a day washing my hands to avoid a potentially fatal contagion anyway.
THIS IS NOT THE FUTURE WESTWORLD PROMISED US. It contains 100 percent less Dom Dolores Dangerbot and 100 percent more stinkbug-on-my-coffee-cup.
WE GOT ROBBED.
You can probably find your local fire/EMS departments on Facebook. (I’m not sure about Twitter and other platforms.) It’s quick and easy to comment with a thank you or some encouraging words for first responders.
It isn’t much, I guess, but it’s something.
Girl on Twitter: “Why does Trump insist on saying that we are in a “war”?”
Me: “He thinks it makes him sound tough. (If it were really a war, he would have gotten a deferment due to bone spurs.)”
I’m pretty sure that my older brother got Ideal’s “Rebound” game when it first came out in the mid-1970’s; it wound up in my hands a few years down the line. When I was in the first or second grade, I thought it was the coolest thing imaginable.
April is National Poetry Month.
“Master and Boatswain” by W. H. Auden
At Dirty Dick’s and Sloppy Joe’s
We drank our liquor straight,
Some went upstairs with Margery,
And some, alas, with Kate;
And two by two like cat and mouse,
The homeless played at keeping house.
There Wealthy Meg, the Sailor’s Friend,
And Marion, cow-eyed,
Opened their arms to me, but I
Refused to step inside;
I was not looking for a cage
In which to mope in my old age.
T’he nightingale are sobbing in
The orchards of our mothers,
And hearts that we broke long ago
Have long been breaking others;
Tears are round, the sea is deep:
Roll them overboard and sleep.
I’m probably repeating myself here, but if you are a healthcare professional or a frontline worker of any kind, seriously, thank you.
Doctors and nurses are facing challenges on the job that I couldn’t imagine. Lord knows most of us would have a hard time summoning the courage to face the dangers that they do. I can’t imagine being that disciplined or mentally tough.
And where would we be without essential service workers and store employees? I know that many of them are exposed to a frightening degree of risk — and often for little money. The rest of us would be screwed if they weren’t there. It really is just that simple.
Anyway — you customer service folks — lots of us are especially grateful to you … I hope that you don’t run across any bad apples that obscure the fact.
Hey — if you are reading this and you’re interacting with frontline workers of any kind … maybe we can all make a sort of honor-system-ish online pact here to be extra courteous? I used to work retail, and I can assure you that a sincere thank you or a kind word goes a long way. And tipping well can really underscore the point.
Hey, gang — here’s just a quick update of where my poems and stories will appear next.
And now the disordered goon
is hell-bent on mining the moon.
The strange new digression
leaves us the impression
that he’s a distractible loon.
CAROLINA PRIDE, *****es!
They mocked me once for favoring specialty meats. NOW WHOSE HABITUAL VICE IS CONSISTENTLY STOCKED EVEN IS TIMES OF APOCALYPSE-INDUCED SUPERMARKET SHORTAGES?
TODAY, THE MEAT AISLE. TOMORROW, THE WORLD.
