Most days it’s the latter. Now that I’m retired, I try to convince myself that I’ve somehow earned some lazy days, but even when that works, there’s still a part of me that feels like I should be more gainfully engaged in… something. Whether it’s irony or just guilt, most lazy days are not very satisfying, and the ones that are usually are only parts of a day, after a period of busyness and exertion– a deserved reward, I guess.
More Than Glitz and Glamour
Daily writing prompt
When you think of the word “successful,” who’s the first person that comes to mind and why?
It wasn’t Elon Musk or Donald Trump. Without thinking very long, the first name that came to mind was Warren Buffett. I don’t know much about him, but from what I’ve seen and heard, he seems like a pretty practical guy. Not flashy, but sensible and wise.
With a bit more deliberation, I am thinking about anyone who has felt purposeful or called, had or has a certain drive or vision, and sees it to completion. Success is often tied to money, but there are other ways to measure it: self-satisfaction, goals reached, improving lives, relieving suffering, overcoming challenges and doubt.
Ignominious and Pathetic
Maybe next year, Donald.
Your perennial efforts at securing a Nobel Peace Prize will have to wait until at least 2026. But don’t give up! If things keep going the way they’re going, maybe by this time next year you will have scratched enough backs, remembered enough previous favors, and dabbled in delusion and outright lying often enough to have stopped every major and minor conflict anywhere in the world. And someone will have compiled a list of these achievements so the folks on the committee have a quick reference tool and will be duly impressed by all the great work you’ve been doing. Single-handedly, no less. The Jeffrey Epstein files will be a faded memory.
Trouble is, there will be people who actually understand the difficulty of protracted, historically messy and ferocious differences of opinion, and who will express doubt about the ease with which you operate and claim victory. There will be questions concerning an actual framework for sustainable peace with long-term provisions. And of course, there will be consideration of the source—you. Your biggest liability will always be you, and the mystifyingly loyal mouthpieces groveling at your feet. Because you’re a bombastic, sniveling crybaby who needs to be constantly stroked and fed and only sees dollar signs.
And maybe your secrets are catching up with you.
Peace? Real peace? You couldn’t care less about it. You have no idea what it is or how to achieve it. You just want to grab the headlines and the bling, and to wave it all in President Obama’s face.
All this while the country you’re supposed to be leading and inspiring rots in place. Because of you. On your watch, and that of the deceived and delusional brain trust propping you up.
Every Day is Trash Day
We’ve joined the masses who have rented a dumpster and contributed some poundage to the local landfill. I’ll admit that it’s a somewhat guilt-ridden experience, but it’s also kind of freeing—no bagging everything up and waiting for trash day. You just throw it in the dumpster—pieces of the shed you’re tearing down, contents of the shed you’re tearing down, other junk you’ve kept that you didn’t know what to do with.
Everything goes. Well, except those little Coleman propane canisters you’ve had sitting around forever, rusting away. Apparently, they’re as toxic as uranium.
Civil-minded
Good question. I think maybe there are different levels of neighbor. Some keep to themselves, others are more outgoing. For me, it’s someone who stops to say hi and chat, someone who exerts a bit of effort to maintain their property, who respects boundary lines but isn’t necessarily a stickler about it.
A good neighbor lets you borrow a tool if the need exists. They have a sense of decorum when it comes to making noise, they keep an eye on the place when you’re away, pick up the mail, etc..
In general, someone who’s cordial and considerate.
Nothing Too Extravagant
Zip-lining, various food items, wood turning, maybe driving a stick so I could do a lap or two at Pocono Raceway.
Solid
Be loyal, be kind, be willing to lend a hand, find a way to respond when people in power are acting like idiots. Find courage, fight fear. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.
The NRSV version of Romans 12, particularly verses 9-13, sums it up pretty well. I don’t know what to make of the church anymore, but Paul’s words here still strike a chord.
Memories
The first thing to come to mind is digitizing the collection of 35mm slides and negatives we have. There’s quite an accumulation, it’s a painstaking process, and I can see myself getting easily sidetracked by the sleeves of prints mixed in– I’d be sitting there looking at those instead of tending to business. And we currently don’t have the piece of equipment needed for the transfer.
It’s a project worth doing, and also one easily ignored. But it’s not like my schedule is packed…
Hard to Pinpoint
Daily writing prompt
When was the first time you really felt like a grown up (if ever)?
Something changed the day we got married. Life was joyous but somehow more serious. Parenthood instills a sense of responsibility, and at various times during the years I was an employee of the church, I felt grown up and capable on occasion, especially at moments during certain services– weddings, funerals, etc., and always in the pulpit– or in certain settings, visiting people, the occasional counseling session.
I guess I don’t remember the first time I felt like a grown-up. It might have had something to do with being on my own, holding down a job, owning my first car– pedestrian stuff like that.
Now that the grandchildren are here, I’ve settled into the role of Silly Papa. Some sort of switch gets flipped when I’m around them. I figure I can leave the parenting to their parents, though offer some advice or a bit of discipline if it’s called for. Mostly it’s indulging them, feeding their curiosity, and trying to make them laugh.
Disheartening
It won’t be for a lack of trying. YouTubers and others in the know have been trying to get the nation’s attention for a while now. For many, it’s been DEFCON 5 since forever, or at least since November 2016. Trump’s status as fascinating side show and anomaly have morphed into a ten-alarm fire.
Nearly half the country elected him for a second term, and nearly half has been miffed and mystified on a daily basis for nine years—even when he was out of office and being convicted of multiple felonies, chirping and snipping away like the poor sport he’s always been, insistent on a “glorious” comeback, the whole time putty in the hands of the real brain trust who have the country in a headlock with its poisonous Project 2025.
The fall has been meteoric and perilous. We’ve lately seen news footage of events that shouldn’t happen in a democratic republic, or whatever we aspire to be. Add to this the conditions on the world stage, and we have Russia and China licking their chops, realizing that America is led by a paper tiger, an impostor with no appreciation of history, a lying ego monster with next to no leadership skills and a penchant for only talking a good game, seemingly capable of doing something rash and stupid at any moment…
… a pushover who cares more about gold leaf and leveraging a Nobel Peace Prize than leading a country that either aspires to be a melting pot and shining city on a hill, or has been deceiving itself all along.
