Moaning Update: 10/31/24

Welcome, fiends, to this All Hallows Eve edition of the Moaning Update. As storms roll across the Midwest this morning, the lightning brings to life the deceased body of our creator who fell into that eternal slumber after caring too much about what he cannot control. Now, as he attempts to walk among us, it is his own mortal flesh that is uncontrollable. Beware, for this is not the genial soul of days gone by. This is a monster who would feed you cookies for dinner and then deny you a drink of milk. The blood of his enemies has stained his white whiskers. You are wise to run away in fear.

The good news is that Kat was dismissed from the hospital yesterday afternoon without needing any surgical procedures. They have her on blood thinners and pain meds for the time being. She has been warned that the recovery is slow and frequently takes as much as a year before she begins feeling completely normal again. When chatting with her last night, she admitted that taking only a few steps was enough to wear her out. The Salon has closed her books at least until the end of next week. They will do their best to reschedule everyone, but please understand that Kat will not be able to return to the heavy schedule she was accustomed to working.

The kids are participating in the day’s festivities. Tipper is going out with some of her Furry friends after school. G is… wearing heels. Apparently, his classmates were strongly encouraging this act. I’m encouraging him to pack his sneakers as a backup. He says he would have worn eyeliner as an accent if we had any, but neither Kat nor Tipper wears makeup that often, so there’s none in the house. Kat keeps hers at work or at Brandon’s. I’m not sure if he was truly disappointed or happy to have an excuse.

We thought we had the breaker issue resolved. Devon came yesterday morning and replaced the breaker with the one we’d purchased. He also kindly replaced the bulbs on our porch lights. Unfortunately, the instant G tried turning on his computer, everything went down again and stayed that way. No recovery. At least not until shortly after 6:00 this morning, when everything popped back on. I’ve no idea what is happening at this point. So, we’re expecting an electrician to come out late this afternoon and take a look at the situation. Will we have power in the bedrooms by nightfall? There’s a joke to be made there, but I’ll leave it alone.

There’s so much going on this morning, that I’m tempted to stop here. We’ve already had two Amazon deliveries this morning. There are more coming before 11:00. Ultimately, this is a good thing. We’ll have food and such for most of the month. I can miss my morning nap to accommodate that, can’t I?

Hmmmm … Let’s see, the Dodgers won the World Series last night, four games to one. This is the eighth championship in the history of the team. I didn’t watch the game, but apparently, the Yankees blew a five-run lead with an abundance of errors. Expect to see some players traded after that debacle.

Damn, the power in the bedrooms just went back out.

Want to know what’s scary? Get a load of some of these headlines:

• A Lebanese family planning for a daughter’s wedding is killed in an Israeli strike on their home
• Spain searches for bodies after flood of the century claims at least 95 lives
• Snow in Hawaii? Cold air and moisture deliver snow to the state’s tallest mountain
• US voters hear a stark message in the presidential race: The country’s fate is on the line
• The US election system is secure. But human nature is a vulnerability
• Uganda struggles to feed more than 1.7 million refugees as international support dwindles
• Opponents use parental rights and anti-trans messages to fight abortion ballot measures
• Nicky Jam withdraws endorsement of Donald Trump over comedian’s ‘garbage’ comment about Puerto Rico
• Millions of low-cost homes are deteriorating, making the U.S. housing shortage worse
• Pregnant women and babies face ‘terrifying’ threat from xylazine addiction
• Inflation Is Basically Back to Normal. Why Do Voters Still Feel Blah?
• Skewed polls and anonymous betting markets are building up Republicans’ expectations.

I mean, every news source I look at this morning is full of scary stories! This is just nuts! I think what all this tells us is that the entire world is wildly out of control. The election is only aggravating problems that were already there. There is a divide across the world between progress and authoritarianism that fuels violence and anger across the globe. People everywhere are scared and not just by Halloween stories. Although, AP has a bunch of fun stories if you need them.

Do we live in perilous times? Yes. Will the decisions we make in this election affect the entire world? Yes. Even your state and local elections can have a reverberating effect on other countries. How you vote, whether you vote, matters more now than it has in over a century.

As I’m typing, I’m hearing sirens yet again in the neighborhood. There are people everywhere who are making poor choices, perhaps out of ignorance, but also out of fear. I think fear is driving a lot more actions than we think. People are afraid of losing critical rights. People are afraid of losing important values. People are concerned that they may be hunted down and killed because of their sexual orientation. All those fears are valid. That’s why this is such a critical time to vote. Your vote, especially down-ballot, carries more weight and more power than it ever has.

Look, I’m old. I’m worried more about how our actions affect Kat and the kids than myself. If I die, it matters little. I’ve lived a life that’s had love and adventure. But the Kat, the boys, G and Tipper, are all still young. I don’t want them to suffer through the hate and violence of a GOP win. I don’t want them to have to worry about how they dress, what they say, who they are, or where they go. I don’t want them to be targeted because of who they love, where they live, or how they vote. I want them all to live happy and fulfilled lives that are not dominated by fear.

Talking with Kat this morning, she’s concerned about being around the cats. Even the smallest scratch could cause problems for her. The blood pressure cuff bruises her arm and causes her to have to put pressure on the IV wounds to prevent them from bleeding. I think she needs to stay put in Fishers, but she had also agreed to take care of her boss’s dog while they’re gone. And it’s going to rain.

I don’t have the answers I feel I need to have. I’m worried about everyone. I’m worried about all of humanity. Not being able to fix the world is a failure that weighs heavily on me. I want more for you. All of you.

Maybe we just need more coffee.