Behavior, Family, Government, Opinion, Personal, Racism and Prejudice

From 1984 To 2026

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Several of my social media friends have been posting 1984 quotes. 

“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”

I have two of Orwell’s most famous books in Spanish. I’ve been reading “1984,” constantly finding parallels. I included “Animal Farm” in the picture because it is a companion warning to what’s going on around us.

Listening to the loons of this administration attempting to reframe what they’re doing takes me back to my childhood. Surrounded by violence and racism. Even though my dad was violent, the family members who justified their horrendous worldviews loom larger as villains. I think of them as I listen and watch. They were scared of losing control of a world that wasn’t just theirs to begin with. They could not admit that they might have been the bad guys.

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Government, Opinion, Trump

Ugh

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For any “Catch-22” fans, the breaking news I woke up to this morning inspired me to write my own Yossarian quote: “Having tried nothing proven or reasonable, the administration decided the only way to keep the foreign country safe was to bomb it.”

If I behaved like this administration behaves, I would be fired, exiled, vilified, and hated, and deservedly so. 

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Holiday, Personal, TV

Years And Years

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It’s 2:00 a.m. and I’m sitting on the landing watching traffic. It wasn’t until car number six passed that I could say with certainty that the driver probably drank too much and shouldn’t have been out on the road. The first clue was that only their running lights were on. The second was going past the intersection and then reversing erratically to make the turn. 

As Philomena Cunk quipped, “Things got worse before they stayed the same.”

Just for amusement, anyone who texted me Happy New Year got a reply text from me first thing when I woke up. You’re welcome. 

When I went back inside to make my first cup of coffee of the year, Güino stood at the door, caterwauling in protest, informing me that he wanted to go outside and explore. He did the “penguin call” repeatedly, much like he did in the animal shelter when I got him in 2008. That’s how he got the name Güino, a shortened version of the Spanish word “pinguino.” 

Not many people saw the British/HBO show “Years And Years.” It was on my mind this morning. The TV show was made in 2019, but the parallels for our current state of affairs are unmistakable. 

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Lemon Moment, Personal

Last Day

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It was 70° at 1:30 a.m. The wind howled, finding breezeways and crevices to make metal groan and heavy dumpster lids slam over. My weather app claimed that the wind speed was 20 mph, but I’m certain that a few of the gusts were easily twice that speed. 

Even though it’s December 28th, the insects accompanied me on my walk. Surreal doesn’t cover it. I can’t be convinced that Christmas was a couple of days ago or that 2026 is just around the corner.

If you did like me and watched clouds race overhead, you would get vertigo. They raced overhead fast enough to create the illusion that I could see the planet spinning.

There were a lot more people out than should have been. I’m sure it was the weather that brought them out or kept them out, even though they would not know that some primal or instinctive drive contributed to their decision to be out.

When I exited the inconvenience store after getting a soda, I laughed as a car of young guys drove up. Each of them had on a shower cap. Not your grandma’s shower caps. These had designs on them. I burst out laughing. 

The driver popped out, still smiling. 

“Are you laughing at me?”

I didn’t hesitate. “Yeah. Surely you realize how unusual you guys look. I think it’s cool, but you can’t blame me for being caught off guard.”

“Fair enough,” he said. “Styling though, aren’t we?”

“Yes,” I agreed. 

As I headed back toward my apartment, I couldn’t believe it was still four and a half hours until sunrise, or at that time tomorrow it would be 40 plus degrees cooler. 

It was a beautiful walk on a December morning that should have been bitterly cold. I think I’m going to remember this one. 

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Animals, Lemon Moment, Personal

Cold Meteors

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Güino hasn’t been feeling his best the last couple of days. 

I knew he was okay when he pawed at the door this morning at 1:00 a.m. I took him out yesterday evening without a leash and let him wander. 

Even though I haven’t been feeling my best, I went outside to catch a few of the meteors, which were peaking early this morning. They were beautiful as I stared up between the gaps in the clouds.

By 3:30 a.m., he was registering is dissatisfaction. So I put a leash on him and we went out into the bitter cold so that he could high-step it through the fallen leaves and sniff the bumpers and tires of all the vehicles he wanted to.  The wind and sub-20° weather didn’t bother him. 

I did notice that he retreated to one of his favorite blankets directly under the heat vent though.

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Exercise, Fayetteville, Lemon Moment, Personal

I Won

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I started the walk trying to protect myself against the cold, rain, and blustery wind. I gave up and let it try to win the war of wills. There was magic out there early this morning, because I had a little bit of it trapped in my head before I went out there.

Don’t get me wrong, I would have preferred the weather that allowed me to walk hundreds of miles in the dark during the summer. But that’s the kind of stupid thinking that convinces us we need to wait until everything’s perfect before we do anything.

By the time I entered the inconvenience store and got another delicious cup of hot coffee, I’ll admit the walk had me chilled to the bone. That’s why I call these stolen moments. I stole this cold beautiful walk from all the excuses I could have easily given to skip today.

The prose of it comes from the exercise.

But the poetry of it is a private thing.
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Behavior, Personal, Psychology

Sometimes

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It ain’t always peaches and cream.

Yesterday morning, I got angry and couldn’t shake it. Rationalizing it, my attempts to set it aside failed. It was disrespect, coiled inside repetition.

When I finished work, I walked out into the cold breeze and stood in the middle of the trees, watching the crows berate each other.

Paradoxically, what gave me peace is that someone sent me a funny video. At its heart, it was a nihilistic reminder of the stupidity of how important everything seems. The cause of my anger hadn’t dissipated but I did succeed in punting it into the future.

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Food, Humor, Opinion, Review / Critique, Safety

Campbell’s Soup

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The Campbell soup controversy is both fascinating and amusing. 

I had a can of Campbell’s tortilla soup last night, with a can of Mexican tomatoes, sliced potatoes, and a ton of hot savory spice added. It was delicious. 

I’ve worked in food facilities. Y’all are out there eating all sorts of things you don’t want to know about. If they are 3D printing chicken or beef, that’s fine with me. If they throw a horse leg in there, I don’t care about that either if I don’t know. Doubly so if it’s treated so that I won’t get sick. 

I survived my childhood. My dad forced me to eat things that were featured in the Temu edition of National Geographic. Other than some observable brain damage, I survived. These symptoms allow me to either be the Secretary of Health and Human Services or the President.

The amusing part of it all is that an executive got caught with his pants down, spouting what we already know.  I’d rather be eating oysters right now than working in the Campbell marketing department. (And oysters are just repackaged mucus.) 

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