we can't lose john prine-

some would say to me so long ago that John's music was an acquired taste but not me. When it wasn't popular to listen to your insides I was listening to mine and John was singing my songs. The price of this virus will be remembered more for the lives it took than the money it cost. So many precious lives and so many lost souls- God be with us all-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXbEFTv9zr0

 

saturday night fever..

for what it's worth, last night I get out to go fill up the gas tank with some 1.50 a gallon gas. I turn the corner one block from my house in a nice neighborhood and the street is lined with cars on both sides of the street. I'm guessing 20 to 30 cars. I slowly drove by and saw an open garage jam-packed with people dancing and drinking and laughing it up with kids spilling out and running all around the front yard. I could not believe what I was seeing and I was beyond furious.

I thought about calling the Sheriff and then realized there is no law against stupidity and irresponsibility even at this level. But the rest of you don't live near this house and you don't know these people so no worry right? There were probably about 50 people at this house last night in very close contact with each other and you need to consider this one simple question. Where did all those people who put themselves and others at risk last night, where did they go today and who did they put at risk? The answer is we don't know. We don't know if any of them went to that party infected and didn't know it, and we don't know if some were infected AT the party and went out on Sunday to endanger YOU and we have no idea what they have had their hands on today at the grocery stores, the gas stations or the other places people continue to go. Did you go someplace today? Maybe you stood right next to one of them in line or walked by one who just coughed a plume of the virus in the space you walked through, who knows?

The we don't know far outweighs the what we do know but one of the things we actually do know is that there are people out there all over the place doing exactly the same thing these idiots were doing and that thing is, not giving one single shit about themselves, me, you, or anyone else. This was one house, on one street, and 50 some odd people risking their own health and risking the lives of people they will never even meet. Your parents, grandparents, kids, even you, THIS is how this extremely contagious virus is spreading like a wildfire all over the world.

Some people in our society today are risking the lives of everyone else on a daily basis. Those people need to be dealt with immediately and harshly or they will take this entire society to its knees. I know how I would handle them if I had a say but I don't so... The dangers we face today are now at a level where the open border and political correctness crowd is going to kill many many people. Some will need to be forced to comply with guidelines to keep the rest of us safe and the sooner we begin dealing with them, the better.       

everything leads back to you

it sneaks up on me and pushes me to the floor. For no reason or some oddball trigger it just opens up and attacks. Today it's been 19 weeks since mom passed away. She didn't have to wade through all the worries over this virus stuff and I'm thankful for that. Like anything else, she would have worried about me more than herself but I've been thankful I didn't have to worry about taking something over to her that she couldn't have fought. Maybe that's a positive takeaway I'm not sure-

The realities of not having any more connection to the world I'm living in don't hit me every day but when they do they are just as strong as the first day I had to endure without her. The process of going through things slowed after a few weeks and now I just do a little bit every once in a while. It seems like the heaviness of the reality I face when I walk in her door will one day soon just stop my heart from beating.

 Sometimes I wonder if maybe I could have prepared myself better. But how does one prepare for the day when life will no longer feel worth living. It's not supposed to be like this I tell myself. Maybe one day it will just get better and I'll look back at the times I was sure it wouldn't and see how far I've come and how much stronger I feel. That day can't come soon enough and it very well may not.


I'd like to just make it through another day God willing. I mowed one of the yards today and will go get the other one if I can muscle the lawnmower into the suv. Maybe tomorrow I should go get a second mower and stop testing my back.

Lord lead me on with your hand on my shoulder and show me light where darkness resides. Amen.

outside the window

The first part of this is a brief description of what I observed today during a two-hour excursion outside the window. I had to drop off some paperwork for my taxes and then I drove over to a food type place but not a grocery store.

The traffic middle of the day was very light and the drive quite easy. No one was cutting me off when I tried to get into the correct lane from the one I was in. I approached the office building I was looking for and with one exception, the parking lot was empty. My first thought was that it might be closed. It wasn't.

My accountant is also a very close friend and was to my mom as well. She came to mom's funeral and was visibly moved. My mom loved her and she is very dear to me. I've been keeping a very close eye on all the information about Covid-19 and rightfully concerned about it's spread to those who are least able to fight it. When I got my paperwork together this morning at home in anticipation for the delivery, I had the well being of my friend in mind when I washed my hands and then put gloves on to handle the papers and folders so that I could assure her that they were completely safe to handle knowing she was probably handling many dozens of sets of paperwork this time of year and would have no idea how they had been handled.

I went inside the office and was greeted by a lady who looked shocked to see me walk in and did several double-takes at me wearing gloves. She appeared so confused at the gloves as if she couldn't imagine why anyone would wear them at a time like this. I set my paperwork down on the counter and told her what the papers were and who they needed to go to and left. This is an office of accountants and they handle untold thousands of papers every day and if you have paid close attention to the information from the experts, you know that the virus can be active on top of paper and cardboard for upwards of 48 hours. She was clearly unconcerned.

I left and drove to the food place where an older gentleman was walking in at the same time and I held the door open for him so he wouldn't have to worry about touching the handle if he was concerned about it. I watched him as he shopped touching things on the shelf touched by thousands of other people and then the nose scratches, face touching, picking up other things and setting them back on the shelf and so on. At the counter, the lady came from the back where food is prepared and had no protective wear on. No mask, no gloves, nothing. She was taking money that can have an active virus on it for days from customers with her bare hands. She touched the counters and the register, she then used her unprotected hands to give this elderly man his change and he took it and off he went having just taken at least a half dozen chances with his own life I presume,  unknowingly. Did he take those chances back home to an elderly wife or grandkids or?

Conclusions with opinion.

Clearly, people outside your window can be put into at least 3 categories which can result in someone else becoming from sick, to dead. There are those who are not taking this virus seriously enough, those who are taking it seriously but not taking all the precautions and those who are paying close attention to the problem and taking all the precautions. The problem is, ALL of these people look exactly alike and you aren't going to be able to tell which one of these people they are.

So this is why the Covid-19 virus is as big a deal as you have ever seen in your life whether or not you understand that or you don't. Despite the 80% who will be infected and be alright, 1000 people are dead in Italy just today. Over 9,000 total in Italy alone and rising. Those people aren't just unfortunate numbers, they were someone's mother, father, grandparents, and kids maybe. Almost 6,000 deaths in France and nearly 2,000 are now dead in the US. There are over 100,000 cases in America that we know of as of this writing and growing every second. The numbers sound so sanitary and impersonal, don't they? But some of them probably didn't have to die if not for the carelessness of someone else who may think this isn't all that big a deal. 

America went from the greatest economy this republic has ever seen to a crash in a few weeks that is going to have ripple effects for every one of you whether you understand that yet or not. The "cure" for the economy by itself is going to end up being a calamity of historic proportions by the time we're done. This country has never seen the levels of inflation that is coming from printing money over by the window and shoving it out. Will you remember that $1200 bucks you got when a loaf of bread is $25-$50 dollars and the job you used to have doesn't exist anymore?

Then there is the damage to America's healthcare system that was already tough for some. The new damage from this no big deal virus cannot even be imagined yet. The forecasts of how bad it's going to end up being too mind-numbing to repeat or think about. So what's the point in a post like this, well, you can take heart not many will read it, much fewer will believe it, and even fewer will understand any of it. A lot of people are just sitting back flittering around and enjoying the view while life, as we knew it in America, has already changed so fast that you haven't even felt the vibration yet. It's no wonder this virus is spreading like a wildfire with what little I witnessed today. The trouble with this pandemic and its ripple effects is that we were already suffering an extreme ignorance and ideology pandemic inside the last couple of the what's in it for me generations that we were counting on to be better than the generations that spawned them. That's a really bad combination of pandemics for a society that is so very broken.

I expect a full out depression within the next 12 to 18 months and unemployment to reaching 20 million within the next 30 days. Inflation, well, we aren't finished printing money yet so I guess we're waiting on a solar-powered fan capable of blowing it all out the window, but guessing the inflation number would be silly till we run out of ink in the printers. If we can't stay at home for a few weeks without "suffering", and if we can't take basic precautions to save our older generations from the threat of dying from our selfish and willful ignorance, then we aren't worthy of what we had before all this and we full out deserve what I believe is on our doorstep.

Take precautions till this is under control and if not for yourself, do it for those at your mercy-

have a cookie

Can anything come from a calamity that isn't just more of the worst thing in the world?

Maybe there is, and you had better find some of it really soon cause we aren't likely to be over this anytime soon and God forbid you actually get this virus and don't have a strong immune system.

Finances.

Investments, where I've done really well since hiring Trump to get the government out of my way, took a sharp downturn when all this virus mess first hit the fan. Just like everyone else I went from feeling unsettled to semi-panicked depending on the day and the new information until I realized I was solidly prepared. I went from 90% invested to 80% cash in a matter of a week trying to avoid a crash and have the cash to jump back in when the dust settled. Now I'm about 50-50 and nibbling on some insane bargains on the worst selloff days and trimming big gains on the days when the market reaches for the moon. I was prepared for this disaster in a number of ways not the least of which is my minimalist lifestyle and I'll be even better prepared when the next calamity happens and it will. I'll hopefully be ready for that one too and for all the very same reasons. Being prepared, it's not the worst thing in the world. I highly recommend it.

Work.

Almost overnight the work I have been doing over the past several years stopped on a dime. No calls, no outlook, no future plans, nothing but silence. I have effectively been laid off or furloughed, or however, you would describe it it's gone at least for now. My finances are well and in order and there is no reason to worry where or if I would ever work again, so all is fine there. The things others have expressed as being hard to cope with like social distancing and hunkering down alone, I've been doing this for over 40 years and hearing how tough that is for some is very strange to me. I'd just say, welcome to my world, come on in, and in fact, I don't even notice a difference. Learning to live by and with yourself, it's not the worst thing in the world. 

Food.

For the past few years, I've been filling two homes with food and general supplies of all types and I always ordered from Amazon and Freshly.com all these large quantities of things to split between the two houses so my mom and I wouldn't ever run out of anything so all is good on that front for now. Nothing wrong with having too many of things you use all the time and it all came in handy when this virus hit the fan.

Peace of mind.

I think I relate more to much older folks more susceptible to this pandemic than younger ones and ever since mom passed away I've been on a steep learning curve about life and the things that really matter. I am worried about our elderly who need to see and talk to people but who are extremely vulnerable to this virus and the people who are a-symptomatic but who are carrying it. These folks are from a different time and value system and all too often they are left in the end to fend for themselves when in reality they need others to help. Needs is one of the many things I learned a lot about from caring for my own mom for the past several years. For me now that my number one concern is no longer with me, I no longer worry for much else related to me personally but I could see at some point when all this virus mess is controlled wanting to do something to help older people in some way who desperately need others and don't have anyone. What I learned during my mom's hospital stays and the home health care industry we tried to use was horrifying and someday I'll write about it. If you have loved ones who are elderly and have to rely in some part on others, you had better take a VERY active and present role in that care. That's all I'll say for now about that.

All the other noise related to this pandemic and the worrying about everything I have no control over, I've put all that in the hands of a much higher power. It helps to keep the TV muted except for watching CSPAN to see who exactly is trying to help people, and who subscribes to never letting a tragedy go to waste even while people suffer and die until we get money for our pet projects. Then I watch the press conferences held by those put together by the president who are actually dealing with and trying to address this calamity. Lastly, when totally bored, I do the infrequent drive-bys on social media to see how well I'm doing at avoiding the other pandemics of drama and ignorance.

Moral of the story.

There is no getting around the fact that millions of people are suffering and many more haven't even begun to fully appreciate what all this pandemic and its ramifications will mean to their future and health. The world and not just mine or yours, has changed. Some of the change is through no fault of our own, but a lot of it is. Not being prepared, and a short-sighted lifestyle is directly connected to one another regardless of your ability or willingness to understand that. The health ramifications if you are to get this virus and not have the immune system to fight it off, may kill you or someone extremely important to your life. Taking this health threat lightly is unconscionable. Nothing is ever going to be the same again for a lot more of you than realize it yet. Some will lose everything possibly even your life, and some will be lucky enough to just lose a lot and be OK. But there is hope for really smart people who are fortunate enough to avoid the virus and only have to endure losses you yourself have control over.

Really smart people who may have previously subscribed to flawed and unsustainable political views prior to this mess may go through a total ideological reset because of the effects this economic downturn is going to have on you whether you can see it coming yet or not. The "progressive," open border ideology so many thought of as racist, would now be unthinkable yet there is a candidate running for president in a few short months even in the face of this life-threatening pandemic who supports that threat to you and your families lives and only one who has fought every day of his presidency while being crucified to prevent it. Hopefully, this calamity has changed the mindset of feelings over common sense and may have already flipped some people around. That by itself would be a very positive outcome from a very bad situation. We can only hope and pray this is the case.

When smart people begin to focus on how valuable capitalism, prosperity, and self-reliance is at a time like this, personal values are also going to do an auto-reset almost overnight and may already have done so for those who weren't too sure why some ideologies always fail and others can lead to unfettered prosperity while preparing for the worst. Who you choose to vote for in the next election may already have changed as a result of this calamity now that you have been home and able to see who pushes ideology while the ship is taking on water and sinking and those who will stop at nothing to push you into a lifeboat to literally save your life. We'll have to see who has been paying attention and those who have not who I feel deserve the consequences of ignoring it.

I'm not sure there has ever been a time when the differences in political ideology have ever been as clear and life-saving or life-threatening as the past few weeks. If you aren't seeing it then you are willfully making a personal choice to ignore it and I feel zero obligation to enabling your ignorance now, or ever in the future when your bad choices in the voting booth begin to affect your life AND that of others.

Ask yourself after all this is controlled and we come back outside, who is best suited to get this government out of your way of becoming self-reliant and financially independent so you will suffer less next time and who is more likely to encourage you to vote for skin color, gender, or a more likable personality. Really smart people already know the answer and those new to common sense thinking we welcome you to a better way of life no matter what gets thrown at you. God gave us more sense than a goose to be able to handle situations like we face today but you have made the choice to start using it prior to needing it in order to mitigate your suffering and everyone else.

Those who are never prepared and who choose to spend and live on the edge of being insolvent or in debt and dead broke, those who have no understanding or concern of their own responsibility in never being able to survive in this world without relying on the rest of us who would never live that way, those people are of no concern to me now, or ever. And you are a threat to America.

There is no better time than right now during a calamity like this when an involuntary world reset is upon us to change the ideology you may have been subscribed to that is completely incompatible with capitalism, fully independent self-reliance and personal responsibility, prosperity, and the values America was founded upon. Come on in the water is fine and the life it may save might be your own. Think about it and have a cookie.   

hunkering

Search Results

dWeb results

Tonight I lost my senses and went to Whataburger not thinking it would be a problem until I got to the window to pay. Gal with no gloves on takes my money and tries handing me a paper receipt and I'm like are you kidding me? Then I get my paper bag of what was supposed to be a cheeseburger no onions, and an order of fries and when I get home it's a cheeseburger with ONLY onions that I didn't want at all and a head full of regret for having gone in the first place. No gloves at a time like THIS? No one in there that I could see had gloves on and they are handling everyone's food, bags, money, NOT a smart move on my part- 

"Sometimes you just have to hunker down like a jackass in a hail storm and take it." -LBJ

the mouse and the elephant

The lessons available from this virus calamity are all over the place with dozens of new ones popping up every hour and unfortunately, most of them are likely to fly over the heads of many.

A pandemic like the Wuhan China Virus only comes around ever so often but the price paid for it is paid mostly by those who can least afford it. Our parents and grandparents are now unfortunately at the mercy of a lot of the "ME-llennial," generation and that is as frightening as it is chilling. Some thankfully are heading the call to change behaviors in an effort to save others and some are gathering on beaches for spring break and in parks spreading the virus who are clearly glib and don't care.   

But there is actually some hope.

Today I was invited by a very real friend of mine to a link to their church service where the pastor had a great message that was current with a direct link to history that I feel is so important to our survival whether we are in the throes of a worldwide pandemic, or whether all is going exceedingly well like just a few weeks ago.

Reading the anguish and fear some are feeling today made me think of posting this even though only a few dozen will see it. There is no denying we are as a society in very real trouble with this mess today. Some of you are going to lose your jobs, some will lose family members or friends, and the suffering and anxiety are very real and just beginning. Death is very real and easily understood, but the economy and financial health of America for some, is harder to relate to but trust me, you are about to get a better understanding of it all regardless of whether or not you think it relates to you. There are direct unmistakable links between politics, the stock market, the economy, you and your job, AND your future and all of that is going to become more clear to you personally if it hasn't already and regardless if you get infected with the virus or you manage to avoid it.

I want to keep politics in this post at a minimum but it is intrinsically related to where we are and where we will be going and it is going to affect you and everyone you care about. I will only say a couple of things and then leave it here for those who understand it's importance. Imagine if you can, where America would be at this very moment if the economy had not been on a rocket ship to the moon when this virus began and yes, lead by a businessman with an annoying personality. While this unforeseen calamity has vaporized 30% of the gains since Trump's election, just take a minute to think of where we would be if we had elected a professional politician whose ideology sees removing the government's boot off the necks of business and innovation as an afront to social engineering logic. Right now if Trump hadn't had the economy on a rocket ship to historic levels this republic has never seen before, we would already be inside a depression before this virus is even under control. Think about that for a minute. Now think about this, after this pandemic calamity has run its course, what will happen to the rest of this economy that has already lost so much of the cushion Trump gave it, if we elect someone else in 6 months who has already said he will turn back every policy this president has used that boosted this economy to heights never seen before? The bottom line is this if you don't understand the connection between politics and the economy that includes you, your job, and your family's future, educate yourself before you vote to do damage to America that may be impossible to recover from. That's it for politics. Some get it, some never will.

This is what I know for certain about fear and the damage it can do.

The very worst thing I could have ever imagined in my life was losing my mom. She knew I felt this way, she knew how afraid I was, and before she passed away she gave me something that I can say is the only reason I am still alive. She gave me hope and faith that if I would get closer to God that we would see each other again and I know it to be true.

Today the pastor a young guy, relayed a story of him and a colleague who has a picture on his wall in his office that they talk about often. It's a picture of a tiny little mouse dragging a huge elephant up a mountain. This pandemic isn't the only struggle most of us have faced in our lives and how many times have we looked back at where we have been and what we are struggling with and wanted to give up? I know I have MANY times. Maybe the mouse in this picture is dis-couraged at how far he has yet to go dragging this giant elephant or just maybe he's en-couraged by looking back at how far he has come. Just a little perspective on how to look at the days ahead.

We are all still here after all we've been through so far and we took it one small step at a time and decided at some point literally not to look back at where we had been and the struggle that looked impossible, but to look up where we are going and we took another step and then another one and here we are closer to where God is leading us to go.

The struggle and fear is real but you are not alone. There are very powerful people some are hated beyond belief who are doing things to help mitigate the ramifications of an enemy we couldn't see coming. There is a much higher power at work here too that has already paid the full price for you to get from here wherever you are to the top of that mountain where you are headed. Do not waste your time or the price already paid by looking back at where you have been and the struggle ahead. Look up to see where you are going and take another step, then another, and with every step you take you'll be that much closer to where you are intended to be.

When this whole pandemic thing is over do not forget who and what some are doing to help others get through this. Do not ignore the good feeling you get when you see good replacing evil. Look to those generations before us that went through really tough times and instead of folding up they forged ahead and while they were at it, ended up saving the world. If we go through all this and fail to learn the lessons that came with it, all the suffering we experience today will pale in comparison to the next time.

Be well.

saw the apocalypse with my own eyes at the grocery store

people were everywhere pulling things off the shelves and loading their arms with can goods, fruits and vegetables, bread, paper towels and toilet paper. It was like a scene from the actual apocalypse. The tension, the look in people's eyes, it was a madhouse and I was glad I was carrying my concealed handgun. If only President Trump had acted sooner and if there wasn't all the mass confusion and misdirection in the White House like CNN and the NY Times says. Trump when he said we would get through this well we haven't yet, so clearly he is a liar. The end of the world is closer than I thought with Trump being in the White House. If only we had a socialist or a lifetime politician who sometimes doesn't know where he is or whether he's married to his wife or his sister in charge at a time like this we might have a chance but it's a dark time for America and we may not survive.

Well, that is what broadcast media spews at you and your kids and the world and you see how easy it is to take one photo and add a completely made up and falsified script written to alarm and mislead. That empty row of shelves in ONE ROW where lunatics took all the paper towels and toilet paper and it is the ONLY empty row in the entire store. I should have taken photos of the fruits and vegetables piled up as usual, the frozen prepared foods stocked for the most part, the milk aisle full, EVERY other aisle that was mostly full and being re-stocked as I cruised through.

But I took that one shot and then went on my way to get things for me and my elderly neighbor across the street. No fighting, no hysteria, the employees didn't appear stressed and were as friendly as always, I bought frozen dinners, heat and eat meatloaf and potatoes, bananas, apples, carrots, soups, LOTS OF cookies, pizza, bread, chips, sandwich meat, and so on.

The virus is a real deal. It's EXTREMELY dangerous to some more than others and it's so contagious and can live on clothing and surfaces from hours to DAYS. So I'm not making light of it. What I AM doing is showing how easy it is to produce a narrative that is used to ALARM and PANIC and ATTACK. I spent almost 20 years in broadcast media and THIS is how it's done. We are given a preconceived narrative and then our jobs were to go out and find words and pictures to support that narrative. I could talk about this for days and no one other than those who work in the industry prostituting their integrity for a paycheck would believe it.

Thank God we have Trump for a president especially at a time like this. The guy says things I wish he hadn't and then I remember why I voted to hire him and it wasn't his rough personality. The man is crucified every single day being accused of totally made-up bullshit, lies, and slanderous accusations that often are written, produced, and broadcasted to the world as if true over and over and over. Unfortunately, what broadcast media does actually works and the evidence of that spews out of the mouths of millennials and other mind-numbing liberals who protest and sew anarchy based on scripts written by other college indoctrinated loons who just happened to get paid to spew it.

This president works 20 plus hours a day for free to unravel previous messes and create an America for everyone else that gave him so much and for that, he gets crucified daily by those who lost power and want it back. I wouldn't have taken a minute of it before I'd be back in my penthouse living the dream and saying you want to hire a socialist liberal AGAIN to set this country back another 100 years, go ahead, I'll be up here at the top of the world as a billionaire and watch the carnage you voted for.

Check on an elderly family member or neighbor, someone who may be too afraid to venture out to get food. Share some of yours. That older person is going to be you one day and you'd better hope someone gives a damn about you.

most of you will be ok

The panic and gloomy expressions of despair over staying cooped up with self-isolation decisions some are making are somewhat amusing I have to say. To all of you newbies to the lifestyle I've been living for over 4 decades, I say, welcome, come on in, it's not that bad!

Making peace with the cards you're dealt has always been my mantra and it's been some of the best advice I've ever given myself. These cards are the only ones you're ever going to get so you may as well deal with them. I got married very young and had no idea what I was doing. So when it all went to hell and everything was taken away from me, my little family, my house and furniture, my wife and son, peace of mind and all I thought was my future, I just set about making decisions that would change the course of my life and ensure I would never go through that level of loss ever again. Anyone can do this. You just deal with it.

The excruciating pain of losing that life almost cost me my life. It forced me to have to make peace with the fact that marriage was not a viable option for me. The entire little family that I was trying to hold together and take care of was taken from me with one knock at the door on a Saturday afternoon when I was handed paperwork that instructed me to vacate my house in 10 days and take nothing but my personal belongings. I guess what I'm saying is the worst thing you can imagine can happen in an instant and you can be left to fend for yourself in the blink of an eye and most people have this ability inside to adjust and get by. This is a virus, an illness, and for most, not the end of the world. 

So if you're afraid you'll run out of toilet paper remember you can always strip down naked and scoot around the backyard when you need to. (providing there are no stickers) Food, I order from a place called Freshly.com and it's chef-prepared meals that are surprisingly pretty damn good. About 10 bucks a meal and you choose 4, 9, or more meals a week and they are delivered to your door. There are a lot of these places. I just don't have the right temperament to go to the grocery store during all this. And if you don't want to do this and have to skip a few meals a week well, some of you could do well with skipping a meal or two so there's that..

I've always gone to Sam's for other things and had to buy double and triple what I wanted but NOW having all those extra things here are keeping me from worrying about stuff. Maybe you should do some of that too. You have too many bars of soap, so what. 

Don't worry about spending some time alone and away from all the rush towards the end. It will come soon enough but it probably won't be tomorrow. Being alone isn't all that bad and avoiding all the heartache and frustrations out there with everyone else who is trying to make impossible things work, is a bonus. Most of you will be OK.

Now back to Andy Griffith and Gunsmoke..

what comes around goes around.

Every new day brings me closer to feeling like I may just drown in irony. My neck is sore and I'm getting migraines from shaking my head all day. I contracted a virus years ago called "I told you so-itus.." The president has this too I'm certain of it. How many times did Trump take incoming rounds over trying to close our borders to protect American's first? Even some liberals who maintain some level of common sense think that's a good idea, now.. 

It took a virus that threatens some of our most vulnerable and valuable people in this country, the elderly, your grandfathers and grandmothers, the already sick and fighting just to live. This is what it took for some of these liberally-minded lunatics to come to the conclusion that separating some who pose a possible threat to others isn't related to race, or nationality or xenophobia like democrats have been preaching nonstop about Trump on liberal cable news frauds to their mindless voting groupies. Those accusations aren't based on any facts they are based on politics for the purpose of persuading young voters not to think for themselves but to practice the mindless group-think they were taught in college. 

Common sense, something so rare today that people are throwing punches over a roll of toilet paper seems to be making a comeback. Even California and New York are now coming around to separating those who may pose a threat to others and locking down areas and normal daily life till we can overcome the threat. The irony of it all is as funny as it could possibly be in a very serious situation like we have now. The safety of innocent others is now being promoted and practiced by those who crucified a president for trying to do this nearly 4 years ago. Now it's happening all over the country for a virus and liberals are having to eat their own ideologies in order to favor the common sense to do it.

 Some leading doctors in the fight to mitigate this virus are just today advocating for a national lockdown like in Italy. Imagine the outrage if the president had come up with that idea. Common sense is as valuable and rare as it is in a voting booth. The irony, on the other hand, has lost ALL of its practical value but it's entertainment value for me, has skyrocketed while I watch some of the most liberal people known in this country have to swallow their politics in favor of policies that actually protect the very people they have been begging for votes from so they can drown everyone equally in poverty and hate.

Celebrities who build massive walls around their homes who then preach in public that walls built by Trump to protect ordinary people like the rest of us are racist and xenophobic like Tom Hanks, have to now publicly separate themselves for the sake of others from this possible threat they themselves pose to others.
Colleges and public school systems are shutting down resulting a lag time for these indoctrination camps to pump up socialism while creating hate and mistrust for America. Social distancing? I was doing this decades ago for a lot of refreshing reasons, now everyone wants in on it. Oh, the irony of all these things coming full circle. 

Sometimes people have to suffer the consequences before they learn the lessons. Like Trump or hate Trump, it doesn't matter to me. There are times when I see him at the podium and I'm cringing at some of the things he says. But I know where he is coming from and despite his personality quirks that make me wish he'd just do the work and let the talkers talk, the guy is working night and day to try to keep America as safe as possible and to keep Americans from hurting themselves with ignorance, fake news, and a lack of common sense. Imagine having THAT job while being crucified and doing it all for free. Uh, no thank you, you people go ahead and destroy yourselves with liberalism and socialism and professional politicians and I'll be in one of my penthouses watching and feeding my told you so-itus.    

look on the bright side..

this virus scare may be doing what a lot of people (me) have wanted to see happen for a very long time. Common sense not as common as it once was, may be experiencing a forced but welcome come-back. Think of the ease of life benefits from getting people to stay away from you without having to insult them, ask them to go away, or revealing that you are carrying a weapon. Glad handing professional politicians are now re-thinking the practice of hoodwinking the fools who vote for them out in public where fake "journalists" can record and promote their flawed ideology making it appear these vile thieves have support.

Your fake friends will now have to pretend to have your best interest at heart and then stab you in the back over the phone where you don't have to hold yourself back from letting them know you are on to them then punching them in the throat. No more Jehova Witnesses on your porch to be chased down the driveway with a fully loaded garden hose. Cuddling with your significant other will need to be banned and replaced with romantic video conferencing that can save and extend your relationship till this thing is under control and you can find someone you're more compatible with that doesn't make you want to poke their eyes out with a hammer while they are asleep. 

Shaking hands with people you can't remember while telling them how nice it is to see them again and we have to get lunch soon and catch up, no more of that BS. Hugging people you could never stand the sight of in the first place, preferring instead to trim your toenails with a running self-propelled lawnmower than to ever see them again, no more of that.

As bad as it may seem this virus and how contagious it is, the irony of how it has caused EVERYone now to want to live like I have my entire life, is certainly not lost on me.     

mosquitos carrying coronavirus

I've been wondering about it and haven't yet heard the subject addressed. Italy, the entire country, is now quarantined. No movement being allowed.

it's the middle

this one needed to be written outside. It's early morning Saturday at my house and 52º with a slight breeze. A bit cool but very nice. It's March 2020 and going on 4 months since my life blew up. The new medication for one of my health issues instead of giving me more energy like the doctor told me it might, has actually been taking my energy level down or could it be my general mood I'm not really sure anymore. I pulled up an old chair at the garage door opening where I could sit down and as I looked towards my next-door neighbor's house some memories began piling up from several years ago when she had a handyman type fella come over and paint the trim and do some grout work around some of the brick that had separated. I can still see where that work was done and I remember the process. him doing that. Ms. Edwards was an elderly lady in her 80s or 90s who didn't talk much to other people and more or less stayed locked away inside her house since her husband had passed away some years before. She was a kind lady who was frail and already into her 4th quarter of life when I moved here some dozen years or so ago. She was the first one I spoke to and got to know. I was her long-haired new neighbor who she more than likely would never have talked to but for my reaching out to her that one day when we became friends and I let her know she could call on me for anything and that I would be looking out for her. 

The only time I would see her outside was to get the mail and tend to a bush at the front of her house that produced these brilliant red flowers every spring. She would reach in to cut a few of those flowers to take in the house and she did that every year and she would tell me how much she loved those flowers. I would sneak some fertilizer in under that bush from time to time to keep it healthy but I didn't tell her. The hedge is still there and every year it produces those flowers she loved so much but Ms. Edwards passed away 4 years ago while I was out of the country on some work trip and I miss her and remember her often especially when those flowers bloom.

This is a nice mostly quiet part of this neighborhood and I'm sitting looking out at the leaves that trickle-down my driveway with the breeze making that clickety-clack sound a leaf makes even when there's no life left in it. A car drives down the street and the leaves that have served their purpose all gather and fall in behind the car as if chasing it away.. The silence for me here is fitting for the time in my life. The phone isn't ringing and there is no reason any longer for me to know exactly where the phone is to see if I've missed a call or a message. There are no messages on that phone any longer that speak to me and no email alerts I have to keep on top of. The deafening silence emanating from all corners of my life and the heartache that will not let go is now my world.

In our beginnings, we have no control over much other than this natural need to touch and feel.  There is a purpose for us being here that all too often only gets realized long after much of our lives have been lived. For me, there seems to be 3 stages of our existence here and two of them are completely beyond our control. There is the beginning and there is the end and those are left to a much higher power than we ever fully understand and then there is the stage we have total control over and it's the part of life we choose to lead between the other two. It's the middle. 

 When mom passed away a flood of wishing I had another minute or hour or day to talk to her and say all the things I had said already but just wanted to be able to say again and one more time. I tried to make a deal with God I would do anything to have one more hug one more smile, one more minute with her. Those prayers were answered but not the way I intended. The answer to my prayers were to learn the lesson that all those times in between my beginning and her end when I would see her and be with her all those times, or when something got in the way and it was 3 or 4 days before we saw each other again and God wanted me to learn how important those times really were and why they were not have been wasted on something so very much less important and oh do I ever get all that now-

It's going on 4 months now since the end of her life here on earth and I realize now more than ever how important that middle of life was when we cooked lunch for each other, talked, sometimes argued and laughed till we cried at the stupid things we would see and hear about. Mom was an extremely attentive and wise lady who had already experienced much loss and happiness in her long life and she no doubt fully understood then how important that time was going to be for us both when the end would eventually come. For me, it was just another weekend, a Saturday lunch and a Sunday dinner with the most important person ever in my life. Very important times but so much more important now than I realized then. As I type right now a single brilliantly red cardinal is singing in the tree above me. My mom loved cardinals and I'm taking this as a sign that she alone sent to me to lessen my constant despair.

I think there were a lot of times that I failed to recognize the importance of the middle of life and instead just kept rushing towards the end that indeed will come soon enough for me and already did for her. That is where my regrets are today and why I continue to ask my mom and God and myself, for forgiveness. The beginning you have no role in, the end is going to come with or without you being ready for it, and it's the middle you can control and if you do that middle part of life right, your end will be filled with much more peace and much less regret.           

coronavirus - the truth and the bullshit

This youtube video may help you put this virus and all the hullabaloo over it into perspective. You'll have to try to ignore the arabic scribbles on the screen but the information is informative and full of perspective.

At the time this was posted February 27, 2020 about a week ago, deaths per month in the USA from the virus were compared to deaths from other ills as follows:

Coronavirus - 25
Aspirin - 250
Iatrogenic (deaths from medical treatment!) - 20,000
Flu - 38,000
HIV - 49,000
Car accidents - 90,000
Heart Disease - 1,000,000

Now, try using whatever levels of common sense at your disposal to ask yourself just why it is AT THIS MOMENT IN TIME when the economy is on rocket fuel and an election is in a few short months, ask yourself why it is that media has made such a massive story out of a virus that is no doubt worthy of attention, into this humongous world coming to an end daily "story," that has effectively halted at least temporarily the gigantic gains in the economy, potential job losses from historic unemployment lows for every race, creed, color, and gender, and caused outbreaks of fear and calamity that simply do not add up to the realities in the numbers. If you pay any attention to what the liberal left in conjunction with the media has been doing since the election of 2016 and you have any common sense left to use for this situation, look at the numbers above and ask yourself one simple question, why? The numbers of deaths from taking aspirin are 10 times the deaths from this virus! Aspirin! Just putting this out there in case there are still some people left of center who still think common sense has value anymore.

Here is the video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAtAd6_Wh9Y