Sunday Morning Coming Down

 If you never had a paying job, if you lost your job, if you are underemployed... Living these days is a simple challenge.  How do you get to the point of paying for stuff, having a place to live, trying to maintain your health and getting around to doing all these things. Meanwhile there is a huge issue regarding the distribution of wealth in this country and worldwide. Yesterday was the 80th Anniversary of D-Day.  Many of those that survived that invasion spoke eloquently that freedom isn't free.  Who pays that bill and who is getting exploited.  It's like occupational therapy 24/7. This morning I read that the total national debt is approaching 35 trillion dollars. The interest on that debt no doubt stymies some good things and some good people who could live better lives with better skills, simplified universal healthcare, and a safer place to live.

 The Miami Herald reported this morning that a local attorney, whose father was the former owner of the Tampa Bay Bucs made a $500,000 political donation. Whoever got the donation isn't that important.  I just feel that the money could have been used in a better way. There are a lot of issues where $500,000 could do good or make things better. The problem is bi-partisan. It is a subset of self enhancement bias. The very rich can do things I can only dream of many times over. People will take their phone calls.  Institutions will accept their gifts.  But the very rich are not perfect. How they use their vast resources should be more transparent.  Sometimes wealth is confused with worth and dignity. Life is not a board game.

The presidential election of 1800 was very similar to the 2020 presidential election in that it was very close and politics as in partisan politics had its 'birth". You might think the 2020 presidential election was the absolute worst one in history.  You might be right if the Supreme Court decides by not deciding allows a president is effectively above the law.  If the former president is reelected this November, and even if he loses the consequences of complaints about a rigged process will not stop. Until 1845 States could hold their elections for President within a 34 day period before the first Wednesday in December.  Can you imagine if that had been the process in 2020. The country was blessed when George Washington was elected, reelected and then retired from office. Thomas Jefferson was elected President in 1800 for two terms.   "Those who labor in the earth are the chosen people of God" asserts Jefferson in his well-known support of the "agrarian ideal,...

 There are many questions and not enough time to answer them all.  The rest of this post is from Ms Ledbetter who wrote this for the Tribune News Service that was picked by the Miami Herald. For those who do retire, many find it’s not enough to play pickleball, travel and spend time with the grandchildren. Because eventually, the sands of time feel like hail drops, and at some point, we’re all awaiting the final diagnosis. If you believe the final act is the last chance to leave a legacy, look to former President Jimmy Carter for a master class in aging with purpose, dignity and humility. Indeed, his post-presidential life was more successful than his presidency. After facing international challenges such as the Iran hostage crisis and domestic difficulties including inflation, he and Rosalynn left Washington in 1981 to return to their home in Plains, Georgia. Instead of accepting lucrative speaking gigs to enrich himself, he quietly championed the causes he cared about. He wo...

 Last Saturday night the time on my phone and television changed and I slept right through that change.  Sunday Morning Coming Down saw me take out the dog in the very early morning and pick up some trash along SW 56th Avenue near, where I park. It's kind of a fool's errand because the Saturday Morning Bicyclists are not garbage neutral. Three days into daylight savings time 6:30 AM isn't daylight and 7:30.PM isn't dark.  The bph of things has its own schedule which according to experts in the field is unavoidable.  Amazon also seems to have adjusted. Stuff gets delivered overnight and if you spend enough it is still kind of free delivery. I bought Aloe and pet shampoo to reach a $25.00 minimum for free and quicker delivery. The new paperboys are the early morning Amazon deliverers.  The hard copy of the newspaper rarely had sports scores that the online version has. Doctor appointments are fraught with uncertainty and are taking longer than they used to. Insura...

The title of this post is the first line of "Seasons of Love", from the play and movie "Rent".  The song asks the question how do you spend your life?  And down the rabbit hole we go. This morning a high school buddy posted the first verse from "In My Life", by the Beatles. " "There are places I'll remember All my life, though some have changed. Some forever, not for better; Some have gone and some remain... On Sunday, the UU guy that plays the piano for the choir and chooses a lot of the other music we listen to, Joseph Telleda played: "Imagine", by John Lennon. And this morning I researched the Spiritual Songs of The Beatles and found that Apple had already curated a list. In My Life Mother Nature's Son All You Need Is Love Here Comes the Sun Across the Universe The Word... I really did not remember "The Word" and listening to it on You Tube wasn't much help. And without skipping a beat, You Tube played an ad t...

 Hours before Sunday's Super Bowl I went to check my numbers in the Pool at the Moose Lodge.  Steve, sitting across the bar started playing CCR songs.  His tastes and mine are similar.  I think I'm going to add some CCR to my phone playlist and skip the juke box. 8:00 AM is a little early for a doctors appointment.  There probably isn't an ideal time. It all depends.  Yesterday, I spent more time waiting for my car in the valet parking lines than I did in the Dr.'s Office, had a $20.00 co-pay for drawing blood for another appointment in two weeks, which to my mind means all the other tests I have taken in the past six weeks have been overblown in importance. Sunday Morning at church I arrived to discover three functional banana trees cut down, so that there could be other plants planted in the same place.  Some things will be eternally a mystery, even if they can be rationalized.  There is always a backstory. Joy Klein of Miami Dade County's Divis...