Serenity

Serenity
The Breachway

Friday, August 23, 2019

Not my President/7 deadly sins

What tax break? I didn’t get one. I’m not in the top 1% . My grocery bill has risen. My prescriptions have doubled in price. Have you checked the price of insulin or an epi-pen? Betsy Devos has totally screwed up public education. Horace Mann is turning in his grave.

The people of Puerto Rico are still waiting for disaster relief, not being swapped for Greenland. That was stupid; pure, unadulterated, stupidity.Rather than funding schools, factories and social services, funds are being diverted to interment camps to house rapist and murderous children; pure shell game. Where is the money, then, if there is no wall?

Folks at the border are escaping horrors in their homelands, seeking shelter here, in our ports, as did other “tired and hungry” people... let’s offer them pathways to citizenship so they can work and live legally, and gee(!) pay taxes! Let’s give them an education so they can become mechanics, business owners, teachers, 5 star Generals, brain surgeons and politicians. Those women and children at our borders are not rapists, murderers or psychopaths. They are tired, hungry and poor. My grandparents took in refugees from the Ukraine after WW II who stole food, clothing and money; anything that they could,they were tired, hungry and poor. But rather than punish them, our family adopted them and provided shelter, an education and safety; a pathway. You know them. You’ve eaten at their pizza joints, their “houses of pizza.” Their kids educated us in Wakefield. Why are you so afraid of immigrants? 

You should be afraid of a core group of misogynistic, hedonistic people who want to control women’s healthcare. You have granddaughters who are going to need mammograms and gynecological care, who might not work in an industry that provides affordable care. They may need to face hard decisions you may not agree with, but they will need that choice. They need to be supported by a government by the people, and for the people, led by honorable and thoughtful individuals, not people who grab women by the pussy or who think it’s ok to rape girls at a frat party, because they were drunk.

Your granddaughters need to know it’s ok to get dressed up, go dancing, and get drunk. They also need to know it’s not ok to be slobbered over, held down, harassed, touched, grabbed or raped, just because. We need to stop normalizing this. It is not just” locker room talk.” It’s assault, plain and simple. Yet the occupant of The White House brushes off his behavior, boasting that he can kiss any woman he wants, they all lust after him. That is delusional, purely sick and twisted. This is NOT the person I want representing me to the world!

Your grandsons need to learn by example, what it means to be honest and charitable, and to serve their country, not just in the military, but in public service, helping and sheltering the “tired and hungry.” They need to be immersed in a society where men and women are equal in every way, no matter their race, creed or gender identity. They need to know that if they or their children face the world with physical, emotional or intellectual challenges, they won’t be disparaged and made a joke of, by the person elected to be a leader, an exemplifier. 

Our children need to know it’s ok to be Muslim. They need to know it’s ok to be Jewish. They need to embrace atheism , as well. We have that freedom built into our foundation. They also need to know they are NOT “ the Second Coming!

Our children need to learn, by example, that charity not only begins at home, but also in our neighborhoods, our cities and towns. In an honorable society, we pay our workers a fair wage. We don’t set up shell corporations and universities, with the intent to defraud. They need to live by the creed, that , “you don’t lie, cheat or steal.” Our children need to see that be stuff our President espouses to, as well.

How can it be acceptable that the person elected to protect our “alabaster cities,“ work to provide safety, security, and shelter for our own, only works part time, golfs at his own resorts, and complains about how much money he is losing at his job. He swore an oath to protect and defend against all threats both foreign and domestic, yet our mass shootings have escalated. Walmart is selling bulletproof backpacks for God’s sake! And not one, single “domestic terrorist” was Mexican, Guatemalan or Muslim! 

I don’t recall Barack Obama ever, ever spewing the vitriol the occupant of the White House does, not did Bill Clinton, George W or George H W. Yes, Clinton was a misogynist. We brought impeachment proceedings against him. It was our duty. We didn’t look the other way.

Running a country is not like running a company! Brain surgery is not the same as a haircut. When I choose a leader, I want someone who is experienced in government, foreign affairs ( not sexual affairs), and protocol. When I get my hair cut, I want someone who knows about hair. My brain surgeon may be “ the smartest person, ever, “ but she’s not touching my cowlicks! To know the difference between a contractor and a con man, you have to check their references; what is their experience?  Initiating sanctions and tariffs are not going to hurt the foreign economy. They will hurt our economy. To offset the tariffs, goods and services will cost us, our people more hard earned money. It’s not just our cellphones and iPads that will cost more, our defibrillators, our heart/lung machines, our ambulances, breathalyzers, and farm equipment will be ensnared. It doesn’t take a Fulbright Scholar to figure out that! It does, however, take experience in government and diplomacy. I guess we forgot to note bankruptcies and dalliances when the electoral college, not the people, installed a liar, cheat and a fraud into the most revered house in America.

Next time, let’s do better.

Thursday, May 30, 2019

A Father's Love is Forever

October 10th, I had a heart attack. I didn't know, at the time, it was a heart attack. I felt a weird squeeze and a bit of hmmm....heartburn? What whipped my head around was the squeeze went up my neck, both sides and caused my lymph glands to swell. A tiny bit of sweat on my upper lip, the slightest tingle in my upper left arm. Come to thin of it, I remember feeling something similar to this a couple of times before, but I ignored it; dismissed it as just a weird feeling. This time was different.
Not wanting to leave my car where I was. I didn't think an ambulance was necessary. I was fine! It was just a weird feeling. I called my daughter, Ellie , who insisted we go to the Emergency Room at our local hospital. I carefully and slowly drove myself home down busy Rte 1. Ellie drove me to the ER, and yes, I was having a heart attack; a women's version of a heart attack. The rest is History, which I hope to journal at a later date. What I need to write is the presence I felt when the squeezing became weirder than before.

Sitting quietly, trying to accept that I really might be in trouble, I felt my father's hands, from behind, on my shoulders, warm, strong and large; comforting. There was never a doubt. Dad was there. My dad was always there for me.I felt a calmness, a peacefulness never imagining what was to come.

Throughout my hospital stay, the implementing of a stent in the "widow maker" artery, and the following days at home, I felt completely at peace, never a fear, no anxiety about my heart attack. I knew, or felt, I was no longer in control. I "let go of the wheel," and trusted. Not a specific being or thing, or procedure. I just trusted.

My father's body left 21 years ago; my father's protection, love and guidance remained. I am grateful he has that dime in his pocket to call home.


Monday, February 18, 2019





We travel the world, my love and I,
we sometimes never leave our sofa.
We travel the world, my love and I,
every where I could hope fa.

Kids and Guns

I worked many years in Special Education at the Middle and High School levels. I worked with kids who aggressed with weapons, as well as fists and feet.  A common thread was video games, along with family discord, and learning challenges  Many were bullied as children because of their learning difficulties and turned to video games as escape from their “society. “ As the games became more “mature,” the kids did not. They assimilated the actions and emotions of their “friends” in these game scenarios. They did not develop healthy conflict resolution. They continued to be bullied by those who labeled them as slackers, druggies or emo. I witnessed this everyday. Everyday.  When you pile on PTSD from early trauma, easy access to guns, and lack of mental health treatment, you have a problem.  These kids learned, at an early age, it’s ok to hit someone on the head with a hammer,(Mario) to enjoy sling-shotting stuff to smash and die (Angry Birds) and their alphabet from Baby Einstein, not a parent who read to them or a teacher, overwhelmed with up to 30 little ones In a class; all with learning challenges.
Read to your babies, folks. Learn everything you can about Emotional Intelligence, and the signs of Social Disconnect. Turn off the TV ; you’re a better teacher than Sesame Street. Do not allow your phone to babysit your children while you attend to tasks, give them a book, a puzzle, crayons, or music. Please don’t regift your children, tweens,and young adults to someone else’s idea of education. Growing a healthy child; mind and body, is the most important job you will ever have. Do your job!  Rant done. Over and out.