The Santa Claus Challenge

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th-2Most of us remember when one of our classmates declared that Santa wasn’t real.  Some of us ay recall the famous Dear Virginia editorial response published in the New York Sun in 1897.  Even though, I’m old, and even though I’m currently living through the most turbulent, hateful times I find deplorable, I still believe in Santa.

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Santa Claus is a spirit, who resides within most of us. When we were children, he miraculously answered our letters on Christmas morning.  In most cases.  I didn’t get a pony, but a got a Schwinn bike.  I didn’t receive a drum set, but I got a guitar.  Surprisingly, I was never disappointed.  I was happy with all my gifts–except the underwear.

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As I aged, my experience led me to a greater understanding of Santa.  A mythical figure, who lived in a dreadful climate, who urged children to be good, who fulfilled wishes, for what?  A plate of cookies and a glass of milk?  Doubtful. Santa Claus , St. Nicholas, Father Christmas, or whatever your moniker, came to teach.

His lesson embodied the Golden Rule–do unto to others.  But Santa tweaked it a tad.  Do unto others with anonymity.  For me, there’s no greater joy than giving without acknowledgement, nor accolade. And yes, there are a myriad of ways to get a tax deduction without revealing or bragging.   Trust me, I know.

Inside of each of us is Santa Claus.  In times of disasters, strangers help others; sometimes risking their own safety to render assistance.  With the holiday season fast-approaching, I urge you to accept the Santa Claus challenge.  Do something for someone anonymously.  You’ll be surprised by the joy you receive.    I double-dog dare you.

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The Best Laid Plans…

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“Of mice and men” has its origin in the poem To A Mouse by Robert Burns and was used as a novel title by John Steinbeck. In short, both Burns and Steinbeck conveyed the message of the unpredictability of life, regardless of how well we prepare. Each of us has found ourselves in these unforeseen circumstances:

As a child: “Daddy and I are taking you to the zoo next Sunday.” Friday morning when I awoke, I was covered with chicken pox.

As a teenager: “So, you will go to the prom with me!” Of course, I was so excited when he asked. I had a dress, I ordered his boutonnniere, and made a hair appointment. When I got up on Saturday morning, my mom informed me that my date’s mother had called her and said her son was unable to go to the Prom that night. Why? Something about violating a family rule. To this day, I don’t know what he did; he never spoke to me again.

As an adult: I could probably write a novel about the numerous times life happened and plans were changed. Once I was having a dinner party, but when I awoke that morning, my refrigerator was dead. No repair folk were available for several days; party postponed. Another time the pocket door of my bathroom slid off its rail. I couldn’t open the door to get my hair dryer, curling iron, makeup, and other necessaries, so I had to skip the monthly school board meeting.

Then, I entered the septuagenarian age, AKA old age. The age when everything is unpredictable. The age when my plans are no longer set in stone. The age of: I’ll be there, the Lord willing and the creek don’t rise. I sincerely appreciate all the invitations I get, and please know that unless s#*t happens, I will be there!

Build the Red Wall

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Perhaps, you know POTUS was in Phoenix on Friday for his Build the Red Wall political tour. As a parsed the title, I shook my head in disbelief. Why would a President ever use those terms? Obviously, no sane leader of the free world do so.

Build a Red wall? I equate the word red with STOP. Stop what? Voting rights? Equity? Ships from entering the Strait of Hormuz? Universities’ academic freedom? Money to public education? Funding of FEMA, Department of Forestry, and Lunch programs? Vaccine protocols? Pope Leo? Bruce Springstein?

Wall? Wall, for what reason? To keep our neighbors out? To keep the Congress polarized? To create a nation of isolation?

Our world has shrunk. If our planet is to survive, health, economic, and environmental issues must be addressed globally with collaboration, cooperation, and respect. As Ronald Reagan so aptly said, “Tear down the wall.” We can’t build walls high and deep enough to keep disease, climate change, and aggression out. We MUST build bridges, not barriers, if we want humanity to survive.

Finally, American leadership (?), if there’s such a thing, needs to end the mudslinging, name-calling, and to reel in the tyrant toddler, who has the audacity to even attack the Pope and mock his peaceful agenda. Bridges–not walls.

The Last Inning Fan

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That’s what I am. Of course, there was a time when I was not. When I was in high school, I faithfully sat through every football and basketball game to root for my friends on the field or court. When my girls played tennis, I was there. When my youngest was a cheerleader I sat on the front row bleacher. As a football season ticket holder and alumna of Arizona State, I sat in the crumbling Pasadena Stadium and watch Ohio State beat us in the last seconds of the Rose Bowl. Admittedly, I closed my eyes when Luis Gonzales came to bat in the ninth inning of the World Series. But, with rain drizzling down my face, I saw him cross home plate, and I heard the announcer scream, “OMG! The Diamondbacks win!”

Time passed. My interest waned. Why? Perhaps because I didn’t know any of the players or I just didn’t care. In fact, some folk would ask me, Aren’t you excited about… and cite some random team name? No, I’m not. It doesn’t matter. At this stage in my life, I’ve better things to do than sit on the sofa for three and a half hours and watch football, or basketball, or baseball, or put-me-to-sleep golf.

My sports’ lifestyle today is best described as a two-minute-warning. Then and only then am I able to turn my attention to the TV, unless it’s Miller Time!

Sunday School and Easter: Who Brings the Eggs?

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A friend and I co-taught Sunday School to first and second graders for twelve years; our biggest challenge came from Easter week. Unlike the magical time of Christmas, our kids had great difficulty understanding and even believing in the crucifixion and the resurrection. One doubting Thomas announced to his classmates, “That’s not true. My goldfish, Nemo, died and didn’t come back to life.”

Another quipped, “My Mimi died, but she was real old. Too old to come back.”

One very precocious little girl announced, “Jesus is alive. He brings the eggs!” And with that comment, chaos erupted.

“He does NOT! The Easter Bunny brings the eggs!”

“Miss Sue, does the Easter Bunny hatch his own eggs or does Jesus?”

“No, Mandy, neither the Easter Bunny, nor Jesus hatch eggs. People and rabbits don’t lay eggs. Let’s think of some animals that lay eggs.” The discussion continued for a few more minutes about chickens, birds, and ducks, and then it was snack time. Thank goodness because my patience was ready to bolt from the room.

Curiously, though, years later I read that approximately 25% of Americans conduct an internet search this time of year to find out if rabbits are hatched from eggs. Hopefully, none of the inquiries came from my former kiddos.


An Absurd Notion: Equality

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To Whom This May Concern:

Please don’t waste my time by talking about equality. It’s an idyllic fairy tale that some call heaven, Shangri-La, or Utopia. But it doesn’t exist in reality. Of course, you’re entitled to your own contrary opinion, but only after you look at the facts:

  1. Equal pay for equal work. Women’s salaries for identical positions are 20+% less than men’s. Why?

2. Each person gets one vote. That depends. POTUS is demanding Congress pass his “big beautiful SAVE Act” that severely penalizes women, if they changed their last name when they married. Secondly, mail-in ballots would be curtailed, but yet last week POTUS, FLOTUS, and SOTUS voted by mail. Why? When asked, he said, “Because I’m THE President.”

3. All individuals are treated equally by the legal system, ensuring that no one is above the law. Really? This is nothing more than a platitude. Anyone who reads the newspaper or watches the news knows this is not true. Equality is solely based on money and power. Pedophilia is a heinous crime against our children. Boy Scout leaders, coaches, teachers, groomers are sentenced to prison for years. Yet, Epstein’s band of pedophiles continue to roam the streets.

Equality?

My Visitor Redux

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In August I shared the story of the night I returned home and found my dogs lunging around the television. I described my apprehension, as to what captivated their attention–a snake, a bat, a rat, or some other creature. It was a squirrel! A squirrel, who then escaped to an upstairs bedroom and eventually vacated my casa through the balcony door.

Two weeks ago, I saw Mr. Squirrel again. By now, a chubby, full-grown squirrel romping across the front yard. I was glad he survived the nightmare of inhabiting my house for a week and delighted I chose not to pay $2,800 for critter removal! Until….

Until, I had to prepare for out-of-town, house guests last week: my niece and her husband and their two kids. After tidying the first two bedrooms, I wandered into the third–the one Mr. Squirrel had vacationed in. I pulled the hide-a-bed sofa apart. WTH? Underneath the sofa was a mass of shredded wood! WTH? Was he feasting on my sofa innards? No wonder he’s fat. I examined the shards of wood. Hmm.

To my horror, I looked up. Mr. Squirrel had chomped off the tops of several slats of the pricey, plantation shutters! I was livid. As I cleaned up his mess, I cursed his soul. But my anger subsided when I learned that squirrels are known to plant thousands of trees across the earth–an interesting fact. And who knows, maybe one of his reforestation projects will replace my ragged shutters?

Money, Money, $$$$$

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According to ABBA,” Money, money, money isn’t funny in a rich man’s world.” Agreed. Certainly not in Washington, where all of the politicos are bathing in it! ICE Barbie’s luxurious, mile-high, flying bedroom. Orange Foolishness’s $400 million-dollar ballroom, the Arc de Trump, his wrestling ring, his weekly, pricey trips to Mar a Largo. Additionally, His Foolishness’s personal wealth ballooned:

But most egregious, wasteful, and disgraceful mismanagement of money was the whopping $93 million the Pentagon blew through in ONE month. Now I wouldn’t have been appalled if had been used to pay our valiant soldiers higher wages and expanded benefits, but it was used on extravagance by and for Pete and his cronies. Behold the expenditures and decide for yourself:

As the rest of us continue to struggle with rising fuel prices, food costs, and America’s soaring debt burden, the rich keep getting wealthier and greedier. Any questions about who is swimming in the Washington SWAMP?

The Cornered Liar

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“I am the Peace President.”

“I guarantee that if Kamala Harris is elected, the United States will enter World War III.”

“Our President (Obama) will start a war with Iran because he has absolutely no ability to negotiate. He’s weak, and he’s ineffective.”

“I’ve ended eight wars.”

“Obama will launch a strike in Libya or Iran. He is desperate to distract from his domestic failures that haunt him.”

Sounds to me like someone else is desperate to distract from any number of domestic issues, including the Epstein Files. No, we Moms, Grandmothers, and Aunts haven’t forgotten about the abusive, revolting treatment of our youngest, most vulnerable members of our society. Prosecute and try every sleaze ball! This is an embarrassing national scandal of epic proportion.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. Dr. Suze

RAGE UP AMERICA

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I tried to read the recently released Epstein Files, but I became so enraged I had to stop. The pictures of leering men, the dental office, the bedrooms, the decadence and depravity were nauseating. Rumors of murder and mutilation swirled in my head. My thoughts turned to my own daughters, my nieces, and to all of the children. Allegedly even young boys were targets for some of these millionaire lechers.

Now my mind is haunted by a three-year-old adorable blond, Madeleine McCann, who went missing in 2007 while on a family vacation in Portugal. According to an FBI investigation, someone reported her being accompanied by Ghislaine Maxwell. A tip that was never taken seriously. Yet, the newest batch of files speak of the “recruitment” of children from abroad.

Americans are better than this. We must no longer accept these atrocities as things we can’t change. We must CHANGE the things we cannot and will never accept. Every sleaze in the Epstein file should be prosecuted and tried. Every enabler, including Patel and Bondi should be prosecuted and tried. And perhaps, when the dust settles America will be great…again.

Protest Songs

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For my tenth Christmas, I asked Santa for a clock radio. As the technology improved, I had a transistor radio, and by the time I went to college in 1966, I had a primitive stereo system. I also learned to play the guitar and strummed a lot of folk music, written by Bob Dylan, Buffy St. Marie, and Joan Baez. I played and sang, Universal Soldier, Where Have All the Flowers Gone, If I Had a Hammer, and Blowin’ in the Wind.

On my car radio this week, I heard Buffalo Springfield’s For What It’s Worth, and time stood still. I was blasted back to the past! To the mid- 60’s and 70’s. To my era of protest songs: Turn, Turn, Turn; Respect; Give Peace a Chance, Eve of Destruction, Requiem for the Masses, and my most poignant memory–Four Dead in Ohio.

And now, almost sixty years later the music of the past is alarmingly relevant. Have we not learned anything? I guess not, or Springsteen would not have surged to the top of the charts with The Streets of Minneapolis.