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Maybe the Cold Will Kill the Mosquitos


The Name of My Companion Lizard is...

I happy to announce that a suggestion from Cathy Miller, a unintentional second by Michelle Mooney and approval from my Granddaughter, Devon, to name my deck companion lizard, Gordon, has settled the matter. As far as I'm concerned. He is Gordon the Gecko, formally known as the Lizard on Jeff's Deck. You will be occasionally hearing from Gordon in this blog as soon as we get his contract worked out. Negotiations are in progress and agreement is expected any day now.

 Frost on the Bamboo

You might have noticed, I posted an article on FaceBook warning residents in SE Louisiana of a frost warning. The warning period is narrowed down to the possibility of temperatures below freezing for four hours on Monday morning. The high temperature for Monday will be in the high fifties low sixties. I can hear you laughing Wisconsin. And you're right, I won't even bother to bring in the garden hose or worry about low lying vegetation. In fact, we may not even close the window in the bedroom.


Some of My Best Friends are Viking Fans. 

I've never suffered one moment of discrimination in my life. Oh yes, I have experienced some discomfort when I realized that someone genuinely disliked me, but I never thought it was my race. lack of religious belief or where I was born, and believe me I've met some rabid Christian, Republican,Viking fans.


The Immigrants are Coming! The Immigrants are Coming!
Seriously, I can't imagine seeing my country dissolving in front of me as armed assault destroys everything I hold to be iconic in my life. I can't think of what it would take for me to take my family away from their home, risk their lives and travel to a place that promises to be be better for them even though the people there speak another language, use different money and favor another religion. But I can certainly feel the disappointment and discouragement of not being welcome. I can feel the frustration of seeing my countrymen exporting the same kind of barbaric violence and inhumanity to the place I thought I would be safe. Then to top all of this off, I find my new neighbors think I support the insanity just because of my country of origin and religion.

So, now the Republican party, or at least the people trying to become their presidential candidate, are trying to outdo each other on ratcheting up fear and anger for people that want to come here, first to get away from the violence and bloodshed, and second to work hard to be useful to their new home.

Now I pause. Was this what it was like when my ancestors fled Ireland because of the famine. When they saw Ellis Island and thought they would be welcome and safe, only to find signs reading No Irish banning them from jobs and housing. Now I'm thinking maybe deep in my DNA is a slow recognition that these people are no different than my ancestors. They deserve a chance to raise their families in peace, to find a community that not only respects their differences, but welcomes them as human beings who have made tough decisions and don't need one more kick in the head.

No doubt some of these immigrants or their offspring in the future will be bad actors, but that has happened in every group that has come here since Columbus. When did we as a country become so afraid of everything? This is a question I ask myself more and more these days. Maybe a better question is when are we going to be come not fearful but concerned about the real problems and quit making up shit to distract ourselves from the real problems.




Comments

  1. AnonymousNovember 22, 2015 at 8:38 AM

    Distraction is part of a political strategy. It would take courage to confront Distraction. Distraction is so useful, so pliable, so ever-ready, so pre-adult. Let's call it the Distraction platform.

    ReplyDelete
  2. ThePetTamerNovember 23, 2015 at 5:27 PM

    I keep thinking of my cousin's husband. He is from iran. He was here when the islamic revolution happened. No one would give him a job. He has managed, though, to make a living and a life, to be a good husband, father, grandfather, american. What about the rest of us? Have we progressed? Learned anything?
    After 9/11 our republican pres wanted us to go shopping. I thought he was full of it, but he had a point. If you show fear, the terrorists win. Dont punish the wrong people.

    ReplyDelete

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