?`s and ANNEswers

Ten minutes to write. Less time to read.

Celebration

Posted on August 24, 2024

Celebration

My younger son, Buddy, was born on this day; but I don’t need to reveal the year or either of our ages to honor him. Just know that knowing him is to honor him.

For his birthday, Buddy and Chris, his closest friend, are taking a little trip to the New Jersey shore. I’m not sure what that means, except I believe there are a lot of tourist towns in the area, and they are relaxing at one of them.

What did I do for his birthday? Recently, I learned that his favorite cake was German chocolate, so I searched online how to send him one. There is more than one bakery ready to oblige for a handsome fee, plus tax, plus delivery. It would have amounted to over one hundred dollars.

And who’s to know if the cake would have arrived to sit in the porch sun while they were in New Jersey?

So I sent a German chocolate cake mix (Betty Crocker, I believe), German chocolate frosting, and candles – along with a birthday check – instead. Buddy can make the cake when the mood strikes and extend the birthday celebration in the deal.

And the money I would have spent on sending the cake was included in the birthday check instead.

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Back to Normal

Posted on August 23, 2024

The DNC has folded its tent like Bedouins in the desert cameling away. And life is as normal as possible in these times.

I turn to my gardens, which didn’t turn out at all like I’d hoped this year. My theme was red and white with my perennials adding a pinch of purple. What I got was such a variety of red, pink, and purple that my masterplan went nowhere. Some of my plants, purchased from reputable local garden centers, went nowhere either.

That said, what I’ve noticed recently is that the autumn flowers are starting to bloom when it’s just past the middle of August. The chrysanthemums are already bursting forth, while my annuals are giving up too. On a trip to Berrien Springs today, I noticed some trees are already flaunting fall colors.

I don’t follow the Farmer’s Almanac, but I wonder if it’s predicting the same thing I am. Which is: fall is coming early; winter is too; and we could be in for a long haul.

I’m glad the Bedouins left town in time. It’s going to be a long haul on the political landscape too.

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Kamala’s Night

Posted on August 22, 2024

It’s the last night of the DNC. Kamala (or ,la) Harris will make her case, The delegates will cheer; the pundits will pund; and the opinion columnists will opine. Tomorrow Chicago will remove all its armor from the streets around viable places, and I assume the mayor will breathe a sigh of relief that there were no extremely outrageous incidents.

There are 75 days to go until the election.

If you’ll excuse me, the thought of slogging through debates, defamations, and denials for 75 days is overwhelming. So  I’m going to take an aspirin and call it a day. Tomorrow I plan to write about how I think my gardens are predicting an early fall.

Good luck, Kamala.

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More in Play Here

Posted on August 21, 2024

This morning’s reveals and reviews of the various rah-rah speeches at the DNC last night made me wonder if I might have wanted to see them firsthand instead of reading about them in various publications this morning. I understand they were electrifying in their delivery. But I can find them online, just as I can find the transcripts.

There’s something more interesting to me going on here. And it is that various prominent Republicans have spoken in favor of Harris. Spoken so favorably, in fact, that they are endorsing her over their party’s nominee.

Some of them have made it clear that they are not endorsing Democratic policies particularly, but that they are embracing the idea that a Trump autocracy is not the way to go. They are realizing that it’s not just this election that is in question; it’s elections down the road. They don’t want King Trump I even if they have to vote for a bi-racial woman in the deal.

Maybe I’m being Pollyanna, but if Republicans can vote for a Democrat for president, might this suggest that they can work across the aisle (Sorry for the cliched phrase!) in the coming years? It was that way once.

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DNC Roster

Posted on August 20, 2024

I’ve seen the schedule for various speakers tonight, and I’m not up for it. It’s not that I don’t agree with some of them; it’s that I’m old and go to bed earlier than when the top tier people are scheduled to speak.  For example, Barack Obama is set to speak at 10 PM, which is when I usually retire.

And this is after Michelle Obama, Senator Schumer, Doug Emhof, and others have already taken the podium.

What to do?

I’m a writer; I wrote for a living. (Yes, I had a day job, but I wrote because writing is like breathing to me. Vital.) So I rely on the written word. Most of the speakers’ speeches are recorded somewhere, and I can read them without the applause and the delays that are often attached to convention speeches. Which means I can read them in a neutral manner without the hue and cry of the crowd.

As I write, it’s almost 10 PM; so I could catch Obama’s presentation firsthand. But I won’t. It’s not that I value sleep over political knowledge; it’s that I prefer learning something about political knowledge earlier in the day.

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Chicago, Here They Come

Posted on August 19, 2024

The Democratic National Convention arrives in Chicago today with the smell of change in the air. And I’m not talking about the seasons. I’m talking about the nominees. Instead of Joe Biden, we’ve got Kamala Harris as the nominee for president. And we have Tim Walz as the nominee for vice president.

From my point of view, this represents a potential generational shift in politics. Until last month, it was two old white guys vying for the highest office in the land. Now there’s  one old white guy and a mixed race woman a generation younger than Mr. Trump. Do you think it’s time old white guys left the stage?

I understand there are also planned protests pro- and anti-Israel, pro- and anti-Palestine. Pro- and anti-abortion rights; pro- and anti-LGBTQ+. And there will probably be pro- and anti-everything else too. Maybe there’s even an Old White Guys contingent who thinks the status quo is fine. If so, I’ll be joining the group that pickets against that.

Chicago, here they come. It’s time to see where we go.

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Ugh!

Posted on August 18, 2024

And while we’re on the topic of advertising, our first holiday-inspired catalog arrived yesterday. Make no mistake, it was a Christmas catalog wrapped in the veneer of late summer items for your patio. But once you got to the stapled middle, the tone changed.

There were a few pages devoted to Halloween but none devoted to Thanksgiving. The second half of the catalog was very Christmasy in tone.

People of my generation often discuss the creeping Christmas season that ignores the traditions and holiday between Labor Day and the end of the year. Time was when Halloween was a home grown affair where parents and children created costumes from items at their disposal. Time was when the Christmas season was defined as starting the day after Thanksgiving with Black Friday sales. Time was when each season or holiday had its due.

Time isn’t like that anymore.

At least the catalog that arrived yesterday served notice that our mailbox is about to be swamped with all kinds of Christmas pleas and that I should be vigilant about sales, freebies, easy shipping, not-for-profit solicitations, BOGOs, and loss leaders etc.

And, like the blog last night, this one is brought to you with no advertising concerning the catalog that inspired it.

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Advertising, Grrrr!

Posted on August 17, 2024

If you read my blog regularly, you know that Earl and I are Cubs fans, he more than me, but still.

I like the players, I like the home announcers, and I love the fans. What I don’t love is the hawking of every movement during the game.

This strike is brought to you by (Nameless bank). This change in pitchers is brought to you by (Nameless car dealership). And this rain delay is brought to you by (Another nameless sponsor). Rain delay? Really? It was brought to me by a sponsor. Grrrr!

I could mention the names of the sponsors, but I’m not willing to give them free publicity. Just trust me, find a Cubs game and see what I mean.

And this blog was brought to you with no advertising.

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BCYF

Posted on August 16, 2024

Those initials stand for the Berrien County Youth Fair, which is held every August in Berrien Springs, Berrien County, Michigan. I tried to learn more about youth fairs before writing this, but not much came up on Google.

So what I know could be inaccurate. Still, given this disclaimer, here it is.

The Berrien County Your Fair has been around for decades. Unlike many other county fairs, the contestants are under the age of 21. This means a young applicant is not competing with Grandma’s apple pie or her quilting skills.

S and I went to the fair for the fun of it; neither of us had been in a long time. For senior citizens the fee was five dollars, for which we got to view many animals, crafts, baked goods, sewing samples, the Midway with its rides, and unbelievable junk food.

I really liked the animal buildings, although they seemed to be fewer than the last time I went. I really liked the home crafts too. Midway held no interest, BUT the real attraction was the junk food. It seemed to have expanded exponentially since my last visit.

There were elephant ears, corn dogs, funnel cakes, ice cream, soft serve, corn on the cob, chicken tenders, pigs’ ears, pretzels, lemonade, steak tips and potatoes, tacos, chicken on a stick, turkey legs, and salad.

Salad doesn’t seem to fit in this group, but it was available. However, neither S nor I invested in it. I got chicken on a stick, which was cooked in Frosted Flakes (Go figure!) and S got chicken tenders from the same vendor. Later she got ice cream and I got lemonade.

Given the fun we had, I hope to go back next year. I’d probably try the tacos, which tells you what we’re going back for.

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Life Is Complicated

Posted on August 15, 2024

Historian Heather Cox Richardson wrote yesterday that the White House is trying to combat junk fees, excessive paperwork, hold times, and other ways companies “deliberately design processes to be burdensome in order to deter people from getting a refund or a rebate, or canceling a membership or a subscription.”

She also noted that the administration has opened a public portal where Americans can submit their own experiences regarding these issues.

So I went online to find the portal, since Ms. Richardson didn’t mention it by name. And what I found was most surprising: there are a number of ways any American (and probably those who are not citizens . . . yet) can express their concerns. Just Google® how to contact the administration, and you see the myriad ways.

Of course, you still have to go the next step, which is making your voice heard. I  haven’t done this yet, but I have spent the day thinking about how difficult life is when it shouldn’t be.

Personal cases in point: 1. I was on hold at our doctor’s office for 50 minutes and never got through. I don’t think my doctor wants me to contact him. 2. I sent something I’d purchased from Macy’s back because it didn’t fit. Most companies refund your money. Not Macy’s. It gives you a credit card to spend in their stores for the amount of your refund. I shall never shop there again. 3. Talbot’s, Land’s End, Bas Bleu all have my email address and inundate me with various “sales” that end at midnight tonight. I don’t like being pressured.

And, finally, when I called to cancel a subscription to The New York Times I was given the third degree. “But why do you want to cancel? What if we reduced your rate? How can resist a dollar a month for all-access?”

I plan to revisit the administration’s portals and make my voice heard.

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