In the Age of Trump, aren’t we all seeking coping mechanisms for dealing with Crazytown? Buff Honey can’t watch any news shows, including the local news, which, in Florida is regularly so nuts, it often turns up in a Carl Hiaasen novel. Remember Razor Girl?
Merry Mansfield, the con artist protagonist in the novel, is based on Megan Barnes, who crashed her car on Florida’s Overseas Highway in March, 2010. Megan instructed her ex-husband to take the wheel as she shaved her bikini zone. Megan claimed she was on her way to meet her boyfriend in Key West. Can’t make these things up.
I try to watch PBS Newshour but usually can’t get through an entire hour. Sometimes, I watch MSNBC but every hour is basically the same news, same outrage, same result. Overwhelming frustration.
I read. A Lot. Sometimes, I read two or three books a week. My friend, Harriette, is one of the most prolific readers I’ve ever known, but, since Trump’s election, she can’t focus long enough to read a book. Instead, she joined Liberal Ladies of the Lowcountry, based on Hilton Head Island. What started seven years ago as four women meeting for monthly lunch discussions has now mushroomed to a couple hundred members. There’s even a Liberal Men of the Lowcountry now. This is happening in South Carolina….gives me hope.
I have read every single one of Louise Penny’s 13 Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series and can’t wait for the next installment in November. I love these people….seriously, I want to live in that little village in southern Quebec on the Vermont border. Not only is that a fantasy, but it’s way too cold for me.
Then there’s The Crazy Rich Asians trilogy which I devoured in two weeks. Had to finish before the movie debuted. The books are much more entertaining than the movie, but who can argue with being #1 three weeks in a row and grossing $117 million as of September 4th? Its satirical slant on over the top wealth is perfect in the golden age of all things Trump.
Lately, I’ve been burying my nose in Beatriz Williams’ historical novels and Debbie Macomber’s latest bestseller, Cottage by the Sea. Best memoir in a long time was Educated by Tara Westover….an amazing story of a young girl raised by a survivalist family not allowed to go to school who fought her way to earn a PhD from Cambridge University. I will never complain about my own parents’ limitations after reading that….well, maybe not.
Where do I find hope? Basically, in the rise of people who are running for office who would never have considered it before. Before meaning before Trump and the Republican Party that is now the Trump Party. Generally, these are decent, honest, well meaning, ethical people who have decided not to wait for someone to rise up. It is up to them. It is up to us. It is time to rise up to greed.
Yes, I am a Liberal and a Progressive and I am tired of apologizing for my beliefs. I am also fiscally conservative and believe in accountability. I abhor the NRA but I am not hellbent on taking away responsible people’s guns. However, why anyone would need a semiautomatic weapon is lost on me? I do not apologize for being politically correct. I remember all too well when my grandfather used the N word constantly. I don’t find name calling or bullying appropriate ever.
The truth of the matter is I have voted for Republicans many times in my life, because I was voting for the person, not the party. Now, it’s the party first above all other considerations. Now, the Republican Party is the Trump Party. As long as this is the case, I will never entertain voting for a Republican. It is not the party of Lincoln and hasn’t been for decades. It is also not the party of Reagan or of other moral men with conservative principles.
So, how do I cope? Besides reading and playing bridge and going out to eat and listening to live southern rock and roll, I send money to people I believe in. The best story I ever heard was from a Liberal Lady of the Lowcountry. Every time her husband, disparaged a liberal politician, she sent the politician $1,000 of her husband’s money. That’s my kind of justice!
My best coping mechanism, however, is binge watching The Office most nights. BH had never seen it and there are many episodes I missed or don’t remember. Laughter is the best medicine as we all know. Are Jim and Pam ever going to get together? How can Angela be swept off her feet by Dwight? Will Angela ever smile? Will Michael ever do the right thing? What does Jan see in him?
As serious as things are in the world right now, find your laughter.
Thursday, September 13, 2018
Thursday, September 6, 2018
My Girl, KT
Those who know me understand that I am a sports junkie. Not all sports just baseball, tennis, golf, basketball, soccer. I’m less and less enamored with football which may have something to do with our white supremacist leader. But, also, the violence and damage done to practically any player who plays the sport long enough, which probably amounts to 10 minutes.
Never been a NASCAR or hockey fan, although when the Washington Caps went to the playoffs and WON, I celebrated with the best of them!
The sad thing is I never played any sport. I probably would’ve loved it but Title IX was not around. There were countywide Field Days in elementary school and I competed in the 50 yard dash and the broad jump. I was quite the sprinter but long distance running was beyond boring.
The most athletic thing a girl could do in high school was be a cheerleader. And, so I learned the cheers and did my jumps and got on the squad when I was a sophomore. But, I quickly got my comeuppance.
I blame Claudia Peterson. She was one gorgeous, southern bell type with the greenest contact lenses you can imagine. However, she had limited athletic ability. She did not make the cheerleading squad. It’s probably the only thing she failed in during her entire life. And, I took great pleasure in imitating her cloddish cheerleading tryout in my living room and, unfortunately, landed badly, which resulted in a torn cartilage in my left knee which plagued me for the rest of my life.
That’s karma for you. So, although my athletic prowess was thwarted, I love being a spectator whenever and wherever I can.
I got totally hooked on women’s basketball in 2006, when the University of Maryland won a championship with a very young and untested team against that goliath, Duke University. The Lady Terps’ starting lineup consisted of one junior, two sophomores and two freshmen. The game was tied 75-75, when their freshman point guard hit a 3-pointer over a 6 foot 2 defender. That was KT, Kristi Tolliver, who I have followed ever since.
For the next three years, I bought season tickets so my kids, new Maryland graduates, and I could see this exciting squad play. It was a blast! We even traveled to Raleigh to see them play in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.
My daughter, Chelsea, bears a striking resemblance to Kristi. They could easily be sisters. In fact, we were staying at a hotel in Raleigh and came down to breakfast and Chelsea was reading a book and one of Kristi’s aunts couldn’t stop staring at her. I laughed and started talking to her. “I did a double take. I thought Kristi would be at the gym by now.” And, of course, she was.
KT went third in the first round WNBA draft in 2009, following one of her teammates who was second. In fact, three members of the championship team are playing in the WNBA, one is playing for an Israeli professional team and one is a college basketball coach.
Fast forward to present day. Kristi plays point for the Washington Mystics who have never gone to the WNBA finals in their history until Tuesday. At last, they have an great team with conceivably the best women’s player in the world, Elena Della Donne, who asked to leave her Chicago team to be closer to her family in Delaware. Kristi left Los Angeles, where she led her team to a championship, to come back to the Washington area to be coached by Mike Thibault, the winningest coach in WNBA history.
Their opponents are the Seattle Storm, which also has some of the best players in the world…
Sue Bird and Breanna Steward, former UConn greats and one of Kristi’s former teammates from Maryland, Crystal Langhorne who was also on that 2006 championship team. Of course, I will be watching and cheering for the Mystics who might bring another championship to the Washington area.
What absolutely kills me, however, is that the WNBA games are rarely available on television and the news coverage is pathetic. Not one word in the Tampa Tribune. Not even the scores. Thankfully, I subscribe to the Baltimore Sun and Washington Post online.
Yes, Title IX has made a huge difference in the lives of thousands of women and girls. If only, we could watch them.
Never been a NASCAR or hockey fan, although when the Washington Caps went to the playoffs and WON, I celebrated with the best of them!
The sad thing is I never played any sport. I probably would’ve loved it but Title IX was not around. There were countywide Field Days in elementary school and I competed in the 50 yard dash and the broad jump. I was quite the sprinter but long distance running was beyond boring.
The most athletic thing a girl could do in high school was be a cheerleader. And, so I learned the cheers and did my jumps and got on the squad when I was a sophomore. But, I quickly got my comeuppance.
I blame Claudia Peterson. She was one gorgeous, southern bell type with the greenest contact lenses you can imagine. However, she had limited athletic ability. She did not make the cheerleading squad. It’s probably the only thing she failed in during her entire life. And, I took great pleasure in imitating her cloddish cheerleading tryout in my living room and, unfortunately, landed badly, which resulted in a torn cartilage in my left knee which plagued me for the rest of my life.
That’s karma for you. So, although my athletic prowess was thwarted, I love being a spectator whenever and wherever I can.
I got totally hooked on women’s basketball in 2006, when the University of Maryland won a championship with a very young and untested team against that goliath, Duke University. The Lady Terps’ starting lineup consisted of one junior, two sophomores and two freshmen. The game was tied 75-75, when their freshman point guard hit a 3-pointer over a 6 foot 2 defender. That was KT, Kristi Tolliver, who I have followed ever since.
For the next three years, I bought season tickets so my kids, new Maryland graduates, and I could see this exciting squad play. It was a blast! We even traveled to Raleigh to see them play in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.
My daughter, Chelsea, bears a striking resemblance to Kristi. They could easily be sisters. In fact, we were staying at a hotel in Raleigh and came down to breakfast and Chelsea was reading a book and one of Kristi’s aunts couldn’t stop staring at her. I laughed and started talking to her. “I did a double take. I thought Kristi would be at the gym by now.” And, of course, she was.
KT went third in the first round WNBA draft in 2009, following one of her teammates who was second. In fact, three members of the championship team are playing in the WNBA, one is playing for an Israeli professional team and one is a college basketball coach.
Fast forward to present day. Kristi plays point for the Washington Mystics who have never gone to the WNBA finals in their history until Tuesday. At last, they have an great team with conceivably the best women’s player in the world, Elena Della Donne, who asked to leave her Chicago team to be closer to her family in Delaware. Kristi left Los Angeles, where she led her team to a championship, to come back to the Washington area to be coached by Mike Thibault, the winningest coach in WNBA history.
Their opponents are the Seattle Storm, which also has some of the best players in the world…
Sue Bird and Breanna Steward, former UConn greats and one of Kristi’s former teammates from Maryland, Crystal Langhorne who was also on that 2006 championship team. Of course, I will be watching and cheering for the Mystics who might bring another championship to the Washington area.
What absolutely kills me, however, is that the WNBA games are rarely available on television and the news coverage is pathetic. Not one word in the Tampa Tribune. Not even the scores. Thankfully, I subscribe to the Baltimore Sun and Washington Post online.
Yes, Title IX has made a huge difference in the lives of thousands of women and girls. If only, we could watch them.
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