Happy Easter & Trans Day of Visibility
Yesterday was not a good brain day. I try to have one additional post every day so that you don’t look over at the list of recent posts and see a string of Morning Updates. That wasn’t possible yesterday. My brain could not complete something as simple as sharing a YouTube video. There was no solid cognition. I’d read something and the content would immediately be gone. I’d watch a video and have no idea what I’d just watched. I baked chicken drumsticks for dinner and forgot to add any seasoning (we still ate them). I forgot to put my phone on the charger before going to bed. The dogs did remind me to take them outside, so that was done, but I can’t claim any other completed objective for the day.
In fact, yesterday was such a bad-brain day that I almost considered running for president. 🤣
Today isn’t starting off much better, just in a different way. It’s raining. The arthritis pain kicked in a little after 4:00 this morning. My overall pain level is sitting at an eight. There are still meds I can’t take until after I’ve eaten breakfast, but it still doesn’t bode well for the day. My typing is slow. I guess it’s a good thing I don’t have to play for anyone’s Easter service, not that I’ve been asked any time in the past 20 years. My fingers object to every move, the pressing of each key. I can only imagine what it would feel like if I had to use Poppa’s old manual typewriter to create this post!
I still find it incredible that there are people so fucking stupid that they think the President had anything to do with setting Trans Day of Visibility on the same day as Easter. I’ll say it again: Trans Day of Visibility is static: March 31 every year. Easter moves around: the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox, because you need a little paganism in your religious holiday. No politics in any of it. Get off your fucking stupid hobby horse.
There are no Easter baskets in our house this year. The kids aren’t remotely interested. Kat did get them both a chocolate bunny, which they’ve already devoured, but it wasn’t out of any religious commemoration; the bunnies were on sale. Yes, they do make sugar-free Easter chocolate, but you have to order it directly from Russel Stover two weeks in advance and there’s no discount. Besides, Russel Stover’s sugar-free chocolate gives me the runs.
We also won’t be having any big Easter dinner. I’m not sure we ever have, though I can’t remember any past Easters with any level of detail. Kat’s with Brandon’s family and even if we had the money the kids aren’t interested in dining out. So, leftovers it is.
My hands want nothing more than to stay balled up into fists. We’ll see if I post anything else later. Thanks for reading.
Thursday, January 16, 2025
The Holding Of Horses.
Pain. The last knuckle on the pinky fingers of my left hand decided it wanted not to cooperate last night. That’s all it took to make my night miserable. None of the larger joints seemed to have any problems for a change, but that one itty bitty knuckle was enough to make rest impossible for most of the night. This proves yet once again that little things can make a big difference.
There’s an interesting article in today’s New York Times reviewing the new book by Gay Talese, “A Town Without Time,” a new collection of his New York writings. One of the “little” things he notices, particularly as people get older, is how people dress. He and his wife, the retired publisher Nan Talese, live next door to a 16-story medical building. He sees cars pull up and people get out to see a doctor, and they’re dressed “dreadfully, in blue jeans, sneakers, windbreakers,” he said. If they’d only dress better, they’d feel better, he’s convinced. “Look in the mirror, you’d feel better,” he said. “You wouldn’t have to spend so much time in doctors’ offices.”
I’m sitting here in a long-sleeve compression shirt, old jeans, and baggy socks. I haven’t worn a suit in so long I’m not sure any of them still fit; they’d likely hang on me like an old dish rag. These days, I’m more likely to settle for less style and greater ease. Just the act of getting ready to take the dogs out in the cold each morning is exhausting. When I come back inside and un-layer myself, I have to sit down and catch my breath before doing anything else. Do I look like a mess? Yes. Do I feel like a mess? Yes. Would wearing a suit change that? Not one bit.
Headlines started hitting my phone late last night heralding a truce between Gaza and Israel. After 17 months of stupidly going back and forth at each other, this is good news, right? I wouldn’t start those celebrations just yet. Netanyahu says ‘last minute crisis’ with Hamas holding up approval of Gaza truce and hostage deal. Even if the Israeli Cabinet approves the deal, it wouldn’t take effect until Sunday. In between now and then, Israel is going to fire all the rockets they can. Israeli strikes in Gaza killed at least 70 people after the peace accord was announced! Remember, it was Netanyahu who torpedoed the Camp David Accords that Jimmy Carter brokered between Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat, preventing them from being approved. Netanyahu is a war criminal who can’t be trusted. The details matter.
The FDA finally got around to banning Red Dye 3 from food yesterday. The cancer-causing dye has been illegal in cosmetics for decades, but for some stupid reason, it’s still a mainstay in a number of overly processed foods and medicines. Store-branded gummy vitamins are especially likely to be full of the dangerous stuff, along with cake icing and candy corn. Seems like a little thing, perhaps, but have you noticed the increase in cancers among younger people? Little things. Pay attention.
Local Indianapolis news stations went nuts last night as the state’s governor signed an executive order eliminating the DEI office and related initiatives at the state level. Who does that most affect? Primarily anyone looking for a state job. It means no one’s going to be making sure that the handicapped person isn’t overlooked because hiring them might mean having to make costly accommodations. At the same time, the governor also signed orders for state agencies to reconsider whether state employees actually need a college degree and to eliminate ‘burdensome’ requirements from various state licenses. Why? Because the state’s workforce is too undereducated to meet the current requirements. Little things.
Before heading out the door this morning, G took a look at the seven-day forecast. In addition to a chance for more snow on Sunday, morning temps are all well below zero for at least the first three days of next week. That means we’ll want to make sure everyone’s blankets are clean and dry. Sure, it sounds like a small thing, but it can make a big difference when one is fighting off frostbite.
I wonder what Gay Talese thinks about snow boots.
You can wonder if I really give a shit what Gay Talese thinks.
Share this:
Like this: