Cats are flinging themselves at each other as I try to read this morning’s news updates. The noise from the laundry room sounds as if one of them may have fallen into the washing machine for a while. Don’t worry, they’ve done it before and they can get themselves out. This is the kind of chaos we can expect for today, though. Brace yourself because there are enough on-the-edge events that it feels as though anything could happen at any time. In fact, if I had a fraidy hole, I might just go ahead and jump in it to be safe.
With all the pop-up showers and brief downpours yesterday, we once again lost out on being able to do any yard work. That doesn’t mean the kids were satisfied with the downtime. Tipper decided that the dogs needed a bath. Outside. Oh, this was entertaining. She was especially concerned about Hamilton. Hamilton doesn’t like water on his skin. He refuses to stay in the tub if we try to bathe him inside, but the kids figured if they put a leash on him they might be able to get the job done with the hose. I stood under the tree and watched, knowing exactly what was about to happen. The instant water hit his back, Ham slipped out of the leash and shook hard, sending water everywhere. This went on, back and forth between the two dogs, for almost twenty minutes. By the time they gave up, I’m not sure who was wetter, the dogs or the kids. Of course, the dogs immediately went and rolled in the dirt.
We’re starting the fourth week of school and I need to make some adjustments to accommodate the kids’ changing schedules. What it boils down to is that most days neither of them will get home before 6:00 PM, and some days could be even later. This means they’ll be coming in exhausted, frequently in less-than-positive moods, and prioritizing sleep over eating. They will eat, eventually, but sometimes that may not be until after I’ve gone to bed. We’ve tried different things, but both inevitably go for what’s easiest. For G, that means Ramen, with zero nutritional value. Tipper usually chooses a fruit smoothie, which is better, but still not giving her all the nutrition they need. Neither of them will touch leftovers. I’m grasping at straws for the moment trying to find a reasonably healthy solution.
This was a rough weekend for Indianapolis. Take a look at these headlines:
- 3 men killed in Lawrence shooting
- IMPD searching for suspect in fatal hit-and-run on Indy’s near northwest side
- Child shot following armed robbery on Indy’s northwest side
- Child in critical condition after apparent self-inflicted shooting on Indy’s northwest side
- 4-year-old boy critically injured in shooting on Indy’s near northeast side
Those last three hurt my soul because this isn’t the first weekend we’ve seen headlines like that. We’re not watching our little ones. We’re not protecting them and keeping them safely out of harm’s way. We’re being careless and there’s no way to police carelessness. Child Protective Services is already overwhelmed with the number of cases they have, to the point that they cannot be the solution for every kid who lives in danger. The solution is for adults to wake up to the problem, and help out overwhelmed and overstressed parents who are working two and three jobs to barely pay rent. No, it’s not convenient, but children’s lives are on the line.
There was some positive local news. Caitlin Clark broke the WNBA rookie assists record as the Fever beat the Storm 92-75 last night. The well-hyped rookie is living up to her reputation, but she’s facing a one-game suspension if she doesn’t get her temper under control. She was charged with her fifth technical of the season after punching the pads at the bottom of the goal post. Two more, and she gets to sit out a game. I’m wondering if the WNBA and NBA are possibly being a little over-reactive, though. Look at tennis. Portuguese tennis star Christiano Rinaldo has thrown so many tantrums on the court that the New York Times has ranked them by severity. Why is it okay to display such childish behavior in one sport but not another? Make it make sense.
Of course, all eyes are on the Democratic Convention opening today in Chicago. They’ll try to keep it light and lively so that they come out of it with a nice surge in the polls. History paints a different picture, though. Democratic conventions can be rough. Already, anti-war protesters have gathered and are making noise that won’t go unnoticed. Moderates be warned, 3 Women With Harrowing Pregnancy Stories Will Speak at the Convention. While the goal is unity, I think we can expect a lively exchange, though probably not to the extent of the 1968 riots.
Secretary of State Blinken is warning both Hamas and Israel that they may be looking at their last chance for peace. What bothers me, and likely bothers the Secretary, is the fact that there are too many people on both sides who are more than willing to keep on fighting. I don’t see how the people of Gaza can handle much more. They’ve already lost their homes, their families, access to food and clean water, and the constant bombardment of medical facilities. If a cease-fire isn’t reached, Iran is almost certainly going to enter the war, making a bad situation worse. I’m not sure the innocent people even stand a chance.
Like I said at the beginning, the day is made of chaos. There are so many potential eruption points around the world that it’s impossible to list them all or guess which one is going to explode next. What can we do?
Eat well. Stay safe.
Morning Update: 08/23/24
Somewhat to my own surprise, I’m still alive this morning. There were moments yesterday when I wasn’t convinced that would be the case. I’m assuming at this point that I contracted some manner of stomach bug that left me thankful that the bathroom is right across the hall from me. I’m feeling tentative still this morning, but I’ve been up for an hour now and haven’t puked, so let’s take that as an improvement. Since I spent most of yesterday either in bed or in the bathroom, I have no idea how the kids’ day went. I’m pretty sure we were all three asleep by the time Kat got home last night.
The dogs, however, managed to provide a story to share this morning. As construction on the house next door continues, the pups have a habit of running over to the fence and checking out what’s going on. There was extra noise yesterday as heavy equipment was digging trenches for the gas and water meters to be installed. So, I wasn’t surprised when I let them out the back door and they bolted around the side of the house. But then, I heard a different kind of barking than what they normally give the construction workers.
“No, no… Gigi! Come back!” was what I heard. I stepped around the house in time to see a young Irish setter running as fast as she could back toward her home. The sudden appearance of our dogs scared the living daylights out of the pup and she wasn’t going to stick around to see what happened next. She slipped her collar and took off. As a young woman chased after her, a man was trying desperately to keep a second setter from doing the same thing. In desperation, he yelled, “Why did we come this way? The sign on the gate says ‘Beware of Dog!'” He finally got his dog under control and headed back home.
The boys, of course, came trotting over to me with smiles on their faces, proud of themselves for having scared off what they saw as potential intruders. I could only laugh. I can’t count the number of times our dogs have been the ones who slipped their collar and started running. That’s the primary reason we use front-fastening harnesses on them now when we take them for walks.
Naturally, all the news this morning is focused on Kamala Harris and the last night of the DNC. There were some highlights, such as Kerry Washington and Harris’ grandnieces teaching DNC attendees how to pronounce Kamala. But there were some slips and problems as well. There was also a lot of attention on Tim Walz’s son, Gus, after Ann Coulter, a wicked bitch if ever there was one, made fun of the young man for openly crying as his Dad accepted the vice presidential nomination Wednesday night. Advocates for special needs individuals came out of the woodwork in support of Gus all across social media. The convention was the easy part, though. Now, the real work begins to convince fence-sitting voters to vote for the Democratic ticket, and that may not be an easy sell.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. tried to take some of the attention away from the DNC by hinting that he would drop out of the race today and support the Orange Felon. While the press did take note, it doesn’t seem that voters cared. It also raises the question as to whether increasing the number of crazy people in the GOP’s campaign is going to increase or decrease the entertainment value.
What seems to have slipped past most major news outlets is the Secret Service’s abrupt interruption of an interview the Felon was giving. While the story popped up all over aggregator’s feeds yesterday afternoon, none of the mainstream outlets picked it up, raising the question of whether it actually happened or not. None of the websites still carrying the story this morning can exactly be trusted, and NewsNation, who was conducting the interview, is far from being above creating a sensational headline for their own benefit.
The security detail that is concerning comes from Germany where security was stepped up at a NATO airbase in response to an “Increase in threat level.” This came just a day after the FBI Director said that he’s never seen so many different kinds of threats. Put the two together and perhaps there’s reason to be lowkey worried about what’s going on. At the moment, there’s a lot of focus on Iran, partly because of their hacking of both campaigns and also because of the continuing war in Gaza. That doesn’t mean they’re the reason for the status change at the airbase, though.
Religious tyranny jumped to the forefront yesterday as the Taliban published new laws that bar not only women’s faces but also their voices in public. Are we surprised? No. This is a return to the exact situation that existed in Afghanistan prior to 9/11 and the subsequent invasion by American forces that temporarily toppled the religious extremists. What bothers me is not only the severe human rights violation but the fact that it was in this environment that the whole 9/11 plan was formulated. We have to be on alert and not be so cocky as to think it can’t happen again.
In lighter news, The biggest diamond in over a century is found in Botswana — a whopping 2,492 carats. The rock’s as big as the palm of your hand, so trying to put it on someone’s finger is probably a bad idea. And a second set of giant panda cubs has been born in Berlin. This means that within a couple of months, we should be seeing plenty of videos of the cuddly little cubs rolling around and making us smile.
Okay, I still haven’t puked this morning, but I’m questioning whether it’s safe to eat breakfast and take my meds. Nothing hurts quite as much as vomiting up a chemo drug. I’m weighing my options carefully.
Hey, it’s Friday! Smiles, everyone! Smiles!
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