Thursday, February 15, 2018

Bears, Dogs and an Untamed Horse


Well, I made the mistake of looking at The New York Times before writing this post, and now my brain is full of information about the latest school shooting and Reince Priebus' description of Donald Trump as a headstrong horse. And what can I say about any of it, really, except that America still needs to address its gun addiction and stop making excuses for its dimwitted, dangerous leader? And this whole thing about Trump's lawyer paying $130,000 in hush money to a porn star -- does anyone really believe those were the lawyer's own funds, as he insists? What lawyer does that?

Robert Mueller, your mandate is expanding.

I just can't believe that the same Congress that made such a stink about Bill Clinton is going to sit idly by while these revelations come tumbling forth. And what about all those evangelicals who support Trump? How can they justify that support now? WWJD indeed!

On the personal front, I'm happy to report that my back problems have improved greatly. I don't know whether it was the massage that made the difference or what, but I felt pretty much normal yesterday and I slept through the night both last night and Tuesday night -- a welcome change. Dave keeps telling me I should get a massage regularly, and maybe he's right. Now that I've found a massage place I like, that's not out of the question.

I got a request to say more about these little critters that live on our kitchen windowsill, visible in yesterday's photo. They're salt and pepper shakers, and there's not much of a story behind them, really. I saw them in a shop in the Brussels train station (of all places) several years ago and bought them. They weren't expensive. We don't actually put salt or pepper in them. They're just decorative.

I tried to figure out who produced them -- there's no visible manufacturer name -- but I had no luck. I did find, however, a pair for sale on eBay. First come, first served!

As I sit here on the couch in the pre-dawn darkness, drinking my morning coffee, I'm hearing a bird singing brightly outside. Another sign of the changing seasons!

(Top photo: Mama, Papa and Baby bear outside a garage in Hampstead -- along with a rooster, for some reason.)

13 comments:

e said...

We could circumvent dimwittedness if that were the only problem. Unfortunately, it isn't...glad you feel better.

Yorkshire Pudding said...

I am so sorry to hear about the school shooting in the suburbs of Miami. I wonder where the next US school shooting will be and the next and the next. When parents send their kids to school in the morning they should do so in the full belief that those beloved children will come home. That doesn't seem to be such an outlandish thing to expect.

Ms. Moon said...

I am beyond anger and bewilderment with the country I live in.
I have seriously lost all faith in the law making process, the government in general, the executive branch specifically.
Who are these men?
I am glad, though, to hear about your back. Take the experience as a learning one- be gentle with yourself. You are still young and still strong but things do start to change a bit and you must take care.
Thank you for the bears and rooster. A bit of playfulness on a dreary day.

ellen abbott said...

this country is done. whatever greatness we might have had has been squandered. we're nothing more than a cesspit of violence.

Vivian said...

Evangelicals place a great value on forgiveness and a magical redemption in Jesus Christ, not so much on accountability. That's why their churches are so full of low lifes, and that's how they rationalize their support for der Drumpf and all those lying Republicans. WWJD? He'd forgive rapists, racists, child molesters, adulterers, hypocrites, and thieves. He'd forgive murderers, as long as the victim was an abortion doctor.

The Jesus that these people love is a deplorable.

If you read der Drumpf's lawyer's statement, he only listed two specific entities that did not reimburse him for the hush money payment. This still leaves a lot of other conduits for Drumpf to channel money to the porn star. But don't worry: Mary Magdelene was a fallen woman, too, and Jesus loved her anyway, so der Drumpf is actually becoming more and more Christ-like every day.

Nothing is going to change: we live in country of 18 million AR-15s. There will be more school shootings, and we will do nothing about it. This is our country now.

Sharon said...

I came to work this morning feeling totally frustrated after listening to politician after politician saying that guns aren't the problem. That coupled with having to constantly hear more and more outrageous things from the White House is starting to take a toll.
Not in a million years do I believe that lawyer.
Glad your back is better! I think massages are a good idea!

Red said...

We get muscle knots at times and the massager can work those muscle knots out voila...no more pain.

Anonymous said...

There are no words for me anymore that describe the utter anguish I feel about the state of my country. I keep thinking of Kate Wolf's "These Times We're Living In." This is all we have, the present... and it's a nightmare in every way. There are some paths we walk down that are incredibly hard to find our way back.

Vivian said...

I am a believer of Jesus Christ..and i love all people. I don't believe I am deplorable..I think it is really unfair to put people into groups. Evil has always been a problem, it is person problem.
To continue to blame the politician, religious groups shows a hate.
I don't hate...if I did would I be on Steve's blog...because Christians are said "we hate the gays" I believe he is a wonderful, decent person.
Ridiculous!
Go ahead an bash me...

Catalyst said...

Just to avoid the political commentary, I believe the rooster is there to wake the bears from their hibernating state.

jenny_o said...

Thank you for the additional info on the little china dogs! They're just so darn cute :)

And bears can't have a pet rooster? That's just wrong thinking! hah Love the critters

I won't get into the political/social stuff, except to say that those kids - and all the kids ever caught in these tragedies - will never be kids again.

Steve Reed said...

Thanks for the comments, everybody.

Vivian Swift: I know what you're saying -- that perception of Jesus by some of the evangelical community has been twisted to accommodate all manner of evil-doing. This is true of all religions, I think. It's the extremists, who thwart the true message of the religion to their own ends, that give the religion itself a bad name. You could say the same about extremist Muslims or Jews or Hindus.

Vivian No. 2: I'm glad you stop by here and comment! I certainly don't think you deserve any kind of "bashing." I agree that individuals, rather than classes of people, are the problem and it's almost always unfair to generalize. My concern is with people who turn such a blind eye to Trump's transgressions (and there ARE transgressions, no doubt about it) that they forget the moral foundation that they purport to live by. It's not ALL Christians or all evangelicals, but it's certainly some. And I'm not saying they're the only ones to blame for Trump -- he, of course, is first and foremost to blame for his own behavior, and there are many other supporters who bear responsibility too.

37paddington said...

I am sooooo glad that your back is better with a massage. It seems your ailment was muscular after all!