Certainly, in our complex world, there are a myriad of things I don’t understand: war, hatred, and astrophysics to name a few. I could rage on about 100’s of issues, but my angst would only send me to an earlier grave than the one I’ve been digging. So, I shall share my top four.

First, is math. From the time I was a child I struggled with arithmetic. Adding columns of numbers drove me mad. Then followed multiplication and division. When I advanced to algebra and geometry that was the end! Really, the alphabet replaced numbers? And to this day, I’ve never got a grocery receipt with x squared, minus 2 b on it. Nor do I care about parallelograms, nor the circumference of a circle. I’ve never even balanced my checkbook. Why should i? I have checks; therefore, I must have money.

Secondly, even though I was an English major and read and write a lot, I don’t understand written instructions for any high-tech, electronic device. I swear those instructions are written in a foreign language and loosely translated into English. It would help if there was a picture of part A that’s to be attached to part E. But no, I’m left to guess. When my frustration peaks, I must resort to calling one of my tech savvy kids to tell me what to do. Once they bought me an Apple watch for my birthday; I couldn’t make it work. I had to wait until we were together at Christmas to use it.

Thirdly, QAnon conspiracy theorists. How can any rational person who graduated from high school believe their absurdity? One pundit explained it as Scientology for hillbillies. Still, my mother was born in the South; she was a Tennessee hillbilly, but I never heard her say Elvis was alive nor Democrats eat babies.

But the thing that mystifies me the most is the dramatic change in the Republican Party. When I think of Lincoln, Eisenhower, and even the Bushes, I think of equality and equity. Modern day Republicans have morphed into Joe McCarthys; their platform focuses on banning books, rewriting history books, and closing down drag shows. Hello? America has far more important and critical issues than any one of those. Let’s talk about climate change, homeless folks, hunger, infrastructure, and labor shortages. Let’s talk about healthcare and prescription drug costs, and high interest rates. Let’s talk about transportation and international relations.

True, there are many things I’ll never understand. I try not to dwell on my shortcomings that frustrate me. But that’s easier said than done.