Welcoming 5783

 Folks,

Tonight begins Rosh Ha'Shana, the Jewish New Year. Unlike the secular one, this is a time for introspection and consideration of that which has gone awry, as well as that which is not so shabby. For me, this is always a bit of a quiet period, running from Rosh Ha'Shana through the last two days of Sukkot...which ends on October 18th. 

I can't help thinking about rachmones. Rachmones is a strange word with no adequate equivalent in English. Too often it is used in place of pity, but that's not the essence of rachmones; it's more like compassion, mercy, and empathy rolled into one. Grandma Bessie used to say, "Have a bisseleh rachmones on your mother and help mit da dishes." Ziggy loved that word and used it on me a lot. "A little rachmones over here, please. I'm trying to read with my eyes closed!" he would grumble as I was getting dressed in the morning, always before him. It was a catchphrase for acts of true loving kindness.

But in the big picture, rachmones is what this country lacks. We bus migrants to cities without thought of what will happen when they get there. We refuse entry to refugees running for their lives. We refuse visas for indigenous people from overseas who served and supported us in foreign wars...and whose lives are now at risk because they did. One might think that those living in the Goldeneh Medina, the Golden Land, would remember how this nation came to be originally formed, how we should've learned something about the treatment of fellow humans...

Or not.

So I will be writing little unless something strikes me as egregiously horrid. Frankly, I need the down time. The elections are already pissing me off. 

To those who observe, l'shana tova u'metukah; may you be inscribed in the Book of Life for a good and sweet yea New Year.

Be of good cheer and all that jazz,

sj

Deep In The Heart.....

I had a remarkable weekend. We all went to Austin, Texas for a simcha...a happy occasion: Emma and Jon got married. All things considered, simchas are few and far between these days. Emma's grandmother, my indomitable Aunty Gladknit, is over 90 and is the last of my aunts. Her very spry younger sister is also up there, so having them both present was a spectacular treat. It was not-so-surprisingly-important to me for my kids to have time with them, even if it was a bit of a whirlwind. There are no guarantees there will be more celebrations in the very near future, and that we could all be there was fantastic.

This was the second time I've gone to Texas. Right before the pandemic, I went to Dallas for a family friend's wedding...and that was a bucket-list kinda experience. In Guns, Guns, and More Guns I wrote about how finally standing on the grassy knoll and walking around the Texas Schoolbook Depository were overwhelming experiences. What happened in Dallas in 1963 changed everything about this country. Once, I decided, was enough. Texas has some issues that make me not want to spend money there. However...and isn't there always a however....

Austin is not Dallas. It's a laidback university town with lots of interesting places to see and some amazing places to eat. I probably could've done more sightseeing, but there was this salt-water pool at the hotel and it was in the high 90s. I confess, I languidly parked my butt on a chaise, book in hand, soaking up some rays, and generally wishing I had had the smarts to bring a bathing suit. What was I thinking????

The one thing I really wanted to see was the bat bridge. Yeah, you heard that right. There's a bridge on Congress right next to the hotel beneath which live hundreds, maybe thousands, of bats. At dusk, they are supposed to swarm right out. We got there early enough to secure a good place, and yes, it got pretty crowded. Patiently, the tourists swarmed, waiting for the big bat show. Whether it was the season or the uncommonly hot weather, few bats swooped, much less swarmed. I was crushed. I loved our bats when we lived next to the pond and our friends fliers lived under the deck. Best mosquito control ever. But there were not enough bats in Austin to put on a show. I was so disappointed. The sunset, however, was epic. 

The other thing I saw is still a bit of a mystery to me. It's like a giant sail...and in fact, it's referred to as the sailboat building. Apparently, it's going to be Google's new headquarters...or something like that. Whatever, it's a striking building, and seeing it in person is, quite frankly, breathtaking for its audacity. Even in daylight, it's fascinating to look at. I guess sometime next spring Google is moving in. 

Meanwhile, back at the Pecan Ranch, we gathered for a wedding. My baby cousin Emma has always been a delight. Kind, funny, loving, and a teacher. Humans don't get much better than that. Grandma Don't...known to Emma's as Great-Grandma Bessie, would've gone gaga for this kid. She has a sense of wonderment and passion that makes her a fine inheritor of Grandma's story-telling skills. 

I met Jon for the first time and it was obvious why they are together. They fit. 

In theory, it was a Jewish wedding. Both kids are Jewish, but it was before sundown on Saturday, ergo no rabbi. The friend who officiated clearly is close with both of them and the ceremony was unique and lovely. Of course, there were Sheva Brachot (7 Blessings for marriage) as well as a beautiful Ketubah (marriage contract.) The bride was beautiful in an amazing gown, and the all-smiles groom was handsome and charming. 

Bride, groom and sloth

There was also a petting zoo with donkeys and a sloth. I kid you not. It was unusual and it was fun. Junior Son and Mrs. Junior Son immediately sent pictures back to the kiddos in Minnesota. Of course, knowing Emma's penchant for manatees, I was surprised she didn't arrange for a tank. Lots of mileage on that expectation.  When Emma is involved, there's always a bit of a twist at the end, so this suited them perfectly. 

The levity woven into this wedding made it delightful. And unusual.  And unexpected...especially the dog poem. That really got to me. I think it's worth sharing. 

How Falling in Love is like Owning a Dog

                  by Taylor Mali 

         First of all, it’s a big responsibility,

especially in a city like New York.

So think long and hard before deciding on love.

On the other hand, love gives you a sense of security:

when you’re walking down the street late at night

and you have a leash on love

ain’t no one going to mess with you.

Because crooks and muggers think love is unpredictable.

Who knows what love could do in its own defense?

 

On cold winter nights, love is warm.

It lies between you and lives and breathes

and makes funny noises.

Love wakes you up all hours of the night with its needs.

It needs to be fed so it will grow and stay healthy.

 

Love doesn’t like being left alone for long.

But come home and love is always happy to see you.

It may break a few things accidentally in its passion for life,

but you can never be mad at love for long.

 

Is love good all the time? No! No!

Love can be bad. Bad, love, bad! Very bad love.

Love makes messes.

Love leaves you little surprises here and there.

Love needs lots of cleaning up after.

Sometimes you just want to get love fixed.

Sometimes you want to roll up a piece of newspaper

and swat love on the nose,

not so much to cause pain,

just to let love know Don’t you ever do that again!

 

Sometimes love just wants to go out for a nice long walk.

Because love loves exercise. It will run you around the block

and leave you panting, breathless. Pull you in different directions

at once, or wind itself around and around you

until you’re all wound up and you cannot move.

 

But love makes you meet people wherever you go.

People who have nothing in common but love

stop and talk to each other on the street.

 

Throw things away and love will bring them back,

again, and again, and again.

But most of all, love needs love, lots of it.

And in return, love loves you and never stops.

****

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world....

I got home Sunday night, so yes, I did get up to watch Queen Elizabeth's funeral this morning. A fine juxtaposition of one life beginning as another one ends. I appreciated the Prince and Princess of Wales...aka William and Kate...allowing the children to attend the service for their great-grandmother both at Westminster Abbey and again at St. George's Chapel. Once upon a time, that would not have been permitted, but these kids have access to electronic media. To deny them participation would have been cruel. The other thing that struck me was that it is impossible to know what William and Harry are thinking, just as one never knew what the queen was really thinking. As the mother of boys, I've seen the good, the bad, and even a bit of the ugly. It's all human nature. And it's all sibling stuff. If you've got one, you know what I mean. 

I wish Diana was around to dope-slap those two back into sensible behavior. 

The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week

Never mix vodka and cranberry juice with gin and tequila fruity cocktails.

Just trust me on this one. 

A'COSTCO'ed: Boosted With No Waiting...and Eyes Opened Wider

The joys of old age! 

One of my hearing aids was a bit wonky, so I popped into Costco to have someone tell me what I screwed up. The nice lady had someone ahead of me, and said it would be about  10 minutes before she could do a total reset on my hearing aids which would probably solve the problem. Well, I had only one thing I needed from Costco today, so off I went to find PreserVision Areds 2 vitamins. (More about that in a moment,) As I headed to the vitamin aisle, I was accosted by two ladies, one with a syringe and one with a clipboard who smiled as she said, "Free COVID samples today! 

Huh? It was a good tactic. I stopped.

"I've got your booster right here, no waiting," grinned the syringe lady. And then they both giggled. 

Like every other drugstore, Costco is doing boosters. I figured, what the heck? I was going over to Walgreens anyway. So, in ten seconds, I had my new COVID booster and I crossed that obsession off my list. I coulda gotten my flu shot, too, but I usually wait for October for that one. Shot done, vax card updated, I set off into that great labyrinth of retail to find my vitamin pills.

And speaking of old age, I have macular degeneration. This is a fine legacy from both sides of my family, and one I have been monitoring for years. Well, a couple of years ago, my eye doctor announced, "It's time," and I headed straight to the drug store for PreserVision Areds 2. I've been popping them twice a day ever since. The need was subsequently confirmed by my cataract guy AND my retina guy. Both of those ophthalmologists specified PreserVision Areds 2. I trust these guys with my eyes, and after seeing my dad and grandfather go nearly blind from macular degeneration, I am doing what they tell me to do.  Enough with the endorsement.

What I have discovered since I started taking them is 1) they are really expensive in comparison with other regular vitamins, 2) there's almost always a coupon in the box, and 3) prices vary wildly from place to place. So while I'm standing at Costco in front of the display, I note that 210 capsules is $36.79, or 17.5¢ per dose. I decide to check prices on my phone just for the heck of it. I quickly learn Sam's Club is a buck cheaper for the same pill count, but then it gets crazy. 

This screenshot is taken from Google Shopping. The prices are consistent with the prices on websites today. The top one is Bed, Bath, and Beyond. The middle is Walgreens, the bottom is CVS. The boxes on the left are all 120 capsules, the ones on the right are 130. Anyone wanna explain Bed, Bath, and Beyond's pricing? Unless that's a loss leader and folks, that made about as much sense as the 120 capsule price being almost identical to the 210 capsule price. I wish I knew what the wholesale costs were because people, we are totally getting gouged here. Keep in mind, this is an Over-The-Counter drug, not eligible for most insurance, and access controlled. Why do the prices swing so wildly from store to store?

I know drugs in general are a racket. People in other countries pay a fraction of what we pay for specific drugs. Insulin is the biggest racket of all. And people die because of this.

Yeah, sure, this is nothing new. But why do We, the People allow it to continue? Why aren't there riots in the streets protesting the general lack of health care? Why isn't access to meds as big a hot button issue abortion? Where are all those fine right-to-life people when it comes to right-to-life for diabetics? Are they worth less than blighted fetuses? 

This is supposed to be the Golden Land, the Land of Opportunity, yet We, the People don't think enough of ourselves to demand any sort of responsible/responsive health care system. Insurance is basically prohibitive, there is no social safety net for even the working poor, and a significant portion of kids don't have any access to reliable, regular healthcare. Still, an entire political party is devoted to adding more kids with absolutely no access to reliable healthcare into the ranks of uninsured Americans.

It's not just about social failures; there is a significant amount of infrastructure sagging its way to collapse. The 35W bridge collapse was a canary in this coalmine. Rolling blackouts strain the power grid during heatwaves in California putting millions of people at physical risk. Floods in a whole variety of places that never had floods before will require all sorts of changes to topography and physical plants of cities and towns. Jackson, the capital city of Mississippi hasn't had DRINKABLE water since July. Seriously....the GOP doesn't want to invest in infrastructure? What is wrong with those people?

What makes anyone think this is a one-off summer when we can see years of systemic degradation in the highways, rail lines, airports, water systems, and power grids tumbling into tragedy as we speak?

The only noise I hear from the GOP side is that Democrats spend money on this stuff. Why the hell aren't they? All those great behemoths can't do their good ol' bidness if there's no electricity, can they? They can't move all those Chinese shlock products to markets if bridges collapse under the weight of 18 wheelers rolling with no standards. They sure as hell won't have any low wage workers if the water supply is unsafe to drink. Never mind who's gonna take care of Grandma in the home or serve up their chicken sandwiches at Chick-Fil-A?

And they want tax cuts?????????

Maybe it's time for the political wonks to start hitting the electorate with the real cost of tax cuts. If anyone caught PBS Newshour tonight, there was a discussion about just this topic. Instead of fanning flames of terror tactics, the campaigns oughta try presenting unvarnished facts. Tell the people the truth about what is happening to the internal workings of this country without finger pointing and assigning blame. Tell your constituency what you actually support to make their lives easier...things like water and electricity. Use examples. Talk about Jackson, Mississippi and Flint, Michigan. Remind them about the 35W bridge collapse and the stress fractures in rail lines. Show them what their tax money is paying for in their district/state/country and let them decide if the investment is worth it. Yeah, yeah, pork barrel boondoggle from the other side. But just lay out the reality in terms that are close to home and personal.

Maybe when We, the People, start demanding answers as to why we cannot afford basic living conditions, the GOP et al will figure out we're getting to be mad as hell and with any sort of spine, we're not gonna take it any more. If they can't tell you what the government is going to do to improve the actual quality of life, then you don't want them in office because they're not there for YOU, they are there for themselves.

Actually, some of us may not have to take it much longer because a whole lotta people will be dead, and it won't be from some random pox. It will be from drinking local city water. 

Oh, yeah. The hearing aids were ready in ten minutes, and they are much less wonky now. Don't get me started on the price of hearing aids. There's an abusive market if ever there was one. But let's save that screed for another day.

The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week

If you want to know what made Elizabeth II a great queen,

look no further than what she didn't say.

Her job was to advise and warn, not to demand or enforce.

She did her job well.

Queen Elizabeth II with her eyes closed.
Photograph: Chris Levine

*DFL: STOP PANDERING TO THE LOWEST POSSIBLE IQ. YOU'RE ONLY HURTING THE STATE.

 [*DFL: Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party...aka Minnesota Democrats]

I like Esme Murphy of WCCO. Because I want to know what the opposition believes, I watched her interview with Scott Jensen, the GOP candidate for governor live from the State Fair on the Sunday morning show. Murphy tends to ask blunt questions then not back down from pushing for an answer. And when she asked Dr. Jensen about his position on abortion, I stopped. I wanted to hear what he had to say because the ads made him out to be as regressive as a Mississippi legislator. I wanted to hear him tell Minnesota he was so "pro-life" that he would push to outlaw abortion completely.

Boy, was I surprised at his answer. So surprised I went to his website to see what it said there. And that matched exactly what he told Murphy. The following is the Dr. Scott Jensen for Governor  website's section on women:

Acknowledge Circumstances [when abortion is requested]
Acknowledge that any arbitrary list of exceptions to abortion restrictions in the future would include, but not be limited to, allegations of rape or incest, or circumstances endangering mental or physical health of the pregnant woman. As a physician, Dr. Scott Jensen has consistently talked about life being fundamentally threatened by such events. The life of the mother extends beyond the process of childbirth.

Going forward, the highlights are mine.

Endangering mental or physical health of the pregnant woman. The life of the mother extends beyond the process of childbirth. I found nothing objectionable in his statement on abortion. Sure, it's carefully worded, but what he says on his website is, indeed, vastly different from what he said in early interviews before back-peddling. So I went to check the interviews cited in the WRONG FOR MINNESOTA ads. 

Whoa, Nellie! There are some major discrepancies between his statements and his website.

In a "meet the candidates" interview with MPR's Mike Mulcahy and Maja Beckstrom back on March 18th, 2022, the following exchange occurred:

The U.S. Supreme Court may well overturn Roe vs. Wade this summer. If that happened, abortion would still be legal in Minnesota. If you were governor, would you try to impose new restrictions on abortion? Or would you try to ban it outright?

I would try to ban abortion, I think that we're we're basically in a situation where we should be governed by … there is no reason for us to be having abortions going out. We have tremendous opportunities and availability of birth control. We don't need to be snuffing out lives that if left alone will produce a viable newborn, that may go on to be the next Albert Einstein. We can be so much better than we've been. We do not need to be having Hillary Clinton casually discuss the value and the reasonableness of late third trimester abortions, when you've got literally, you've got a life that's a few inches away from passing through a birth canal and being the source of tremendous love. And we're saying no, if mom changes your mind, she can go ahead and slice and dice it and be done with it. I don’t think that’s where we want to be.

But on the other hand, you say people should have freedom over their medical decisions. Many women would just hear what you had to say and say, you're taking away my freedom to decide my medical care.

I think it gets down to, so and I understand your, your situation, Mike. You're basically saying, OK, Scott, you're for choice when it comes to health, freedom and taking a vaccination. But then when it comes on the issue of abortion, you're not for choice. And I understand exactly what you're saying. And I would say that my position is based on the fact that I think that that's a life in utero. And if left alone, spontaneously, it will grow. It will get to a point where that will come up. You don't have to have any doctors around, don't have to have any hospitals around. That baby will grow. And that baby will come up, and you then have a life. That is a life. And I think you and I may have a fundamental difference between what you think a life is and what I think a life is. And I think we have we can still honor each other's perspective and talk about so many other issues. But on that one, we sharply disagree.

In a second interview with Mulcahy on August 10th, 2022, Jensen said something quite different.

A few months ago, before the Supreme Court ruled you and I were talking and you told me you would try to ban abortion outright if Roe v. Wade were struck down. Lately, you've said you would not seek to overturn the State Supreme Court ruling that found a right to abortion in the Minnesota Constitution and that you do support some exemptions to an outright ban. Can you just clarify for us now, what your position is?

Yeah, I do remember our conversation. First and foremost, abortion is not on the ballot in November. There's no question about that Doe v. Gomez in 1995 assures Minnesota women access to abortion. So from that perspective, it is not on the ballot. The conversation you and I had, seems almost like eons ago, it was prior to the Roe v. Wade overturning by the Supreme Court. It was in the process of an endorsement. And I didn't think that it was necessary to articulate what specific types of exceptions or exemptions would take place. Because I've always felt that if a pregnancy is jeopardizing a woman's mental or physical health, that that would always be a situation where you're not dealing with the legal matter, you're dealing with a private health care matter.

But in the conversation that we had after the courts overturned Roe v. Wade, at the end of June, I think both Matt Birk and I, together, arrived at a place of consensus that yes, we need to articulate very clearly that rape and incest would absolutely be exceptions. But we also say clearly, that it has to at the end of the day, if a pregnant woman's mental or physical health is endangered, then this is no longer any kind of a situation for the legal system. This is a private matter between patient and doctor and we have to do everything we can to preserve the health and the life of the pregnant woman. So that would be my position.

Those are diametrically opposed ideas. Granted, this is Minnesota where two-face is an art form. it's conceivable that Dr. Jensen believes one thing on Monday and something else on Thursday. Near as I can tell, that slides right into line with some of his more controversial medical opinions... like vaccinations should be optional.

And  if all that isn't scary enough, we can't exclude his running mate. Cretin-Derham Hall and Harvard grad, and former NFL center who has clearly had a few too many concussions, Birk made the following comments at an anti-abortion event in Georgia (not even Minnesota) back in July. The guy's a Neanderthal who thinks rape shouldn't be an exception. You gotta listen if you dare. 

Our culture loudly but also stealthily promotes abortion. They’re telling women they should look a certain way. They should have careers, all these things... 

....One of the arguments I probably saw 20 times online today was about rape. And obviously they always want to go to the rape card...Rape is obviously a horrible thing. But an abortion is not gonna, it’s not gonna heal the wounds of that. And, and two wrongs is not gonna, is not gonna make it right... 

A lot of things have been legal before that we’ve changed, right? I mean, we always hear about the — I know I’m talking to a bunch of pro-life warriors here — slavery used to be legal, right?  Which is an interesting comparison to make, because, really, the way that the other side treats an unborn child is the unborn child is the property of the mother.

Excuse me? Is that jackass implying women shouldn't have careers? What century is this dweeb from? 

There is no response to that level of stupidity other than to say what was once the proud Independent Republican party of Minnesota is anything but. These two clowns are Kool-Aid imbibing disgraces to the IR. 

But there's a punch line here. I still think the ads being run by DFL-type operatives are low class, low bar, low everything insults to the people of Minnesota who are already fed up with election bullshit and it's the first week in September. What's pissing me off is that instead of addressing how to handle an issue, they are already relying on scare tactics. Come on, party-goers, you know better than that. 

Sometimes, I listen to these guys and I wonder how America has lasted this long when this is the caliber of our candidates. Unless someone actually begins to take the high road and starts talking to the constituency like we have a brain, and pays attention to the total dislike of shrill in this state, the DFL is doomed. 

I cannot begin to tell you how nauseating this campaign is already. And ya know what the worst part is? It's playing right into Feckless Loser's strategy. He is playing a very cagey long game and the Dems don't even know it. 

I am gonna try like hell NOT to write about politics in the next few weeks. I'll try to save it up for closer to the election because right now, every time I think about it my hair spontaneously combusts.

The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Day

I'm really excited that THE POMEGRANATE has been selected for Amazon Prime Reading. Already it's in the top 100 list for Historical Fiction on Kindle. 

That might not seem like a big deal to you, but it's huge for me.

As Sally Field once said, "They like me! They really like me!"