A Big Moment

tallthinman72Leave a comment

This is an all-hands-on-deck moment. Trump and his doomsday cronies aren’t gonna stop, so it’s going to be up to the rest of us to stop him.

The huge irony is that the system he so maligns is what’s allowing him to get so far with the plan. It’s not his plan. He doesn’t have the wherewithal—ok, the brains—to conceive of such darkness. But he’ll gladly go along with it, maybe even manipulate it a bit, if it generates attention and enrichment for him, and keeps him at the top of the pile.

It may be difficult for many to wrap our heads around such an evil infestation making it so far up the chain of command, but here we are.

We’re past the time of pointing fingers. Mistakes have been made, but Trump is President now, and he shouldn’t be. It’s time for blue and red, left and right to put our heads together, roll up the sleeves, and make it clear to this empty-souled traitor and all the cling-ons around him that their vision for America is odious, hateful, and totally unacceptable.

How dare they?

Screen Time

tallthinman72Leave a comment
Daily writing prompt
What movies or TV series have you watched more than 5 times?
View all responses

The Wizard of Oz, The Sting, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Forrest Gump, Castaway, Jaws, Hidden Figures, The Help, Back To the Future 1 and 3, Titanic, The Sixth Sense, ET, Mrs. Doubtfire, Close Encounters…, Good Will Hunting, The Blues Brothers, the first and third Indiana Jones movies, and probably some others. Only a few at the theatre, most when they show up on the small screen.

TV series– haven’t binged any whole series five times, but we’ve gone though Ted Lasso and Shrinking twice. We’ve watched multiple seasons of M*A*S*H, All In the Family, The Andy Griffith Show, Gilligan’s Island, Candid Camera, The Lawrence Welk Show, The Carol Burnett Show, Mr. Ed, Green Acres, St. Elsewhere, E.R., The Cosby Show, Cheers, Seinfeld, Home Improvement, Everybody Loves Raymond, probably several others.

Yikes. That’s a lot of time in front of the television.

Quirky

tallthinman72Leave a comment
Daily writing prompt
Are you superstitious?
View all responses

A little bit. To this day, I tie my left shoe before my right, because I once saw, a long time ago, that Phil Esposito always tied his left skate before his right– part of his pre-game ritual. I started doing that with my own skates, and it has extended to other footwear.

I don’t pay much attention to Friday the 13th, and more than one black cat has crossed my path with no ill effect. But I try not to walk under ladders.

I’m a creature of habit and routine, but I don’t know how much of that can be considered superstition.

Our Worse Angels

tallthinman72Leave a comment

Haven’t we seen enough? Hasn’t enough been dismantled already? As much as none of it should come as a surprise, it’s still unnerving to watch one pillar after another dissolve, just like Project 2025 said it would. It’s all a cancer, metastasizing very quickly.

I wake up every morning with a pit in my stomach anymore. I take this stuff very seriously. I’m already grieving, or at least apprehensive, because Trump and his army of sycophants and plebes just keep chipping away. The seeds are being planted for WWIII, alliances are being scrubbed, we appear to be moving closer to recession with people in positions of economic power who know next to nothing about their jobs and how to right the ship.

Fuck you, Trump voters. You had no idea this was what would happen if he got in again? You thought he was only gonna “fix” things? Well, the fix is coming in, and there’s no reason to like any of it.

The Cat’s Way Out of the Bag

tallthinman72Leave a comment

Volodymyr Zelenskyy certainly didn’t deserve the trap he walked into last week. He couldn’t have known what awaited him in the Oval Office, as Donald and JD pounced on him while Marco tried to sink into the couch.

Mr. Zelenskyy couldn’t get a word in edgewise. He was ambushed, belittled, treated like garbage instead of as a beleaguered leader who somehow has survived to lead his country in a war against not only Putin, but now us as well? Who were Trump and Vance playing to, if not Vladimir himself? What the hell were we watching?

And Trump had the gall to say that what unfolded would at least make great television. Yup, that sounds about right.

Anyone else had enough yet? MAGA? Bueller? Anyone? Holy shit.

What gets me more than anything is that, apparently, it was Mr. Zelenskyy’s bad for not knowing how to schmooze, for not bearing gifts for the King and bending the knee and mustering the patience —given everything he has seen and suffered—to show proper deference to a 78-year-old child who can’t hold a candle to the depth of character that was gracing his presence.

My word, America, how could you put this clown back in office?

Volodymyr Knows

tallthinman72Leave a comment

He’s our show pony. We’re so proud of him, because he really seems to have his shit together. He’s regal, carries himself well, knows when to offer just the right words that calm and reassure. He’s the leader we all rally around, because he exudes confidence and compassion. We respect him so…

Yah, in our dreams.

Pondering

tallthinman72Leave a comment
Daily writing prompt
Write a letter to your 100-year-old self.
View all responses

Dear self,

Congratulations on reaching the century mark! And you thought you might not see 80…

This is a letter from your 71-year-old self, written in early 2025, when seismic changes are the order of the day and many of us are waiting for the other shoe to drop. Since you’re 100, you obviously survived whatever upheaval ensued, but I have to wonder how things are going for you, and everyone else. Are you cared for, are your needs being met? Does America still exist? Does society still function? How’s the weather?

Look at me. I’m getting ahead of myself. My job is to report and convey current conditions. I’ll refrain from asking more questions and offering advice. Hell, you managed to make it to 100– there’s nothing I can offer on that front!

Anyway, it’s a mixed bag here in 2025– promise and foreboding. That you’ve reached 100 says something, I guess, considering what’s happening now.

Sorry I can’t be more upbeat. I guess it says something hopeful, though– that you’re still hanging in there. I didn’t think I had it in me.

The Pathetic State We’re In

tallthinman72Leave a comment

Trump says he doesn’t pay attention to the stock market’s activity, but that’s a lie. He says there are millions of old, old people still receiving Social Security benefits, but that’s a lie. He lies like he breathes, and with a similar frequency. He can say anything and it doesn’t matter if it’s true.

People stand and applaud as if he’s just issued a marvelous decree, but he’s just getting off on the attention.

In A Name

tallthinman72Leave a comment
Daily writing prompt
What is your middle name? Does it carry any special meaning/significance?
View all responses

Warren. Etymologically, some sources claim its origins in Normandy, where it was thought to mean “protect or defend”; another source has it of Old English/Celtic origins, meaning “gamekeeper” or “park-keeper.” Others hint at “warden,” or something similar.

All that aside, I believe it’s simply in honor of my uncle, my Dad’s brother, with whom he was pretty close.