BLUE CITY MIASMA MAY SWAY ELECTION

According to a recent study, people in the following Blue cities feel the most stressed every day: Los Angeles, New York, Dallas, Miami and Chicago. Having lived in Miami and Chicago, I can understand the stress one must endure in big cities: long commutes, lack of civility, high crimes, affordable housing, etc. Quality of life for someone in LA making $50,000 a year doesn’t compare to a person making the same salary in the Heartland. As a result, Blue city miasma may sway the 2020 elections. https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2019/06/07/angelenos-most-stressed/

Blue city residents feel the most stress — PEOPLE LIVING IN BIG, BLUE CITIES FEEL MORE STRESS

Let’s say you’re an ordinary citizen driving past expensive mansions, high rises, and resorts in these cities, The starkly uneven distribution of wealth enrages and frustrates the average working person. They want higher taxes on the rich to pay for free medical care, education., minimum wage, etc.

If they want cheaper housing and an easier life, they could pull up stakes and move to Podunk ,Iowa. But they don’t want to do that. Way too boring, right? No excitement or culture. And not nearly so many job opportunities. Blue city voters want to have their cake and eat it too.

Conversely, a person in a flyover country Red city can afford to buy a house a few minutes from work. Yes, there are mansions and country clubs nearby. But in small towns, you needn’t be wealthy to play golf, go boating at a nearby lake , take a walk in the park. and enjoy more leisure time.

Of course, there are small Blue cities scattered across the country in college towns. But generally speaking, Red city voters tend to be more conservative because they like things just the way they are. In fact, they worry that higher taxes and more government freebies will take away some of the things they enjoy.

Okay, I’m not a political pundit like James Careville or Karl Rove. I’m just an independent octogenarian making a few observations about our very divided political climate. It’s easy to understand why the East and West coasts are Blue, while most of the Heartland is Red. I have no idea what’s going to happen in the 2020 election. I guess it all depends on how people are feeling at the time, and how stressed out they are with their lives.

June 10, 2019June 10, 2019

ARE YOU A BRAKE SLAMMER?

There are two kinds of drivers in this world. Brake slammers wait until they’re an inch from a red light or stop sign before hitting their brakes, jolting their passengers, and worrying other drivers for fear they won’t stop at all. Then, there are the slow, steady brakers. who anticipate the change of the stop light as they approach an intersection. They don’t ride the brakes, but tap them lightly before applying a firm pressure as they come to a stop. Are you a brake slammer? And if so, why?

Many older folks are brake slammers because they were taught that way. My mother grew up on a farm , rode a horse to school, and didn’t learn to drive until she was 30 years old. She pushed her seat back and gripped the steering wheel as though she were holding the reins of a horse. Her driving was awkward, jumpy, and yes, she was a brake slammer.

Dad was a big city boy from Chicago, who drove a cab as a teenager. He was always alert, shifting his eyes from side to side, but totally comfortable behind a steering wheel. He maneuvered adroitly through heavy traffic even after he lost the sight in one eye. Dad was not a brake slammer. He taught me how to drive in the days when there was no such thing as drivers’ ed, and as you may have guessed, I’m not a brake slammer.

Brake slammers are apt to get rear ended by other brake slammers — BRAKE SLAMMERS ARE MORE APT TO GET REAR ENDED

Some brake slammers are known to be impatient. They may be driving over the speed limit, and hoping they will beat the light and not have to stop at all. Sometimes, they rush through as the light is changing and that’s when accidents often happen.

When I’m driving along a city street and a speeding brake slammer at an intersection stops abruptly at a stop sign, I feel prickles under my skin. My gut reaction is to slow down, irritating the traffic behind me, because I’m not sure that vehicle is going to stop at all.

Brake slammers are actually hurting themselves. Their brakes wear out so fast that they’re replacing them about twice as often as they should. Brakes are expensive, as anyone who’s had to replace them knows. Also , brake slammers are more apt to get rear ended by other brake slammers. https://www.autosimple.com/blog/10-bad-driving-habits/ But as far as I’m concerned, brake slammers are getting what they deserve.

June 7, 2019February 10, 2020

AGING BARBIE DOLLS IN POLITICS

In this era of raging feminism, it seems ironic that America’s two most influential females are so obsessed with their looks. Melania Trump’s smoldering eyes, pouting lips and stiletto heels remind us of a Stepford Wife. Nancy Pelosi’s beauty parlor hair and greasy slathers of makeup seem more like Gloria Swanson than Speaker of the House. Both women’s big boobs make you wonder if there’s some padding or surgery at work. And surely, yards of Spanx are squeezing their bodies beneath those tight fitting dresses. How can these women even breathe? These are Washington DC’s two Aging Barbie Dolls in politics.

American women can't relate to Melania Trump — MELANIA TRUMP’S SMOLDERING DEMEANOR DOESN’T APPEAL TO THE AVERAGE AMERICAN WOMAN

I’ve lived long enough to remember Eleanor Roosevelt, Bess Truman, and Mamie Eisenhower. That was before president’s wives were expected to look like fashion models. Then, we had Pat Nixon and Roslyn Carter. Both of these plain women were popular with the voters although married to unsuccessful presidents. Jackie Kennedy may have been too fashion conscious , but at least she acted her age.

Betty Ford and Laura Bush were pretty, but down to earth , and immensely well liked. Nancy Reagan was a bit of a stick figure in her designer clothes, but her husband’s charm overcame the vapid, blue eyed stare. Poor Melania doesn’t even have that going for her.

More recently, we had pant suit Hillary, and Michelle Obama –famous for her youthful arms and gaudy sleeveless dresses. Both had the common touch, and could relate to ordinary women.

Nancy Pelosi reminds us of an aging Barbie Dall — NANCY PELOSI LOOKS MORE LIKE AN AGING BARBIE DOLL THAN SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE

Remember the bra burning sixties and seventies? That’s when women decided they would stop trying to meet impossible standards of beauty set by Hollywood. You would think that Nancy and Melania would get with the program.

June 5, 2019June 5, 2019

HOMELESS LADY WASHES HAIR AT LIBRARY

Most everyone who lives in a metropolitan area has grown accustomed to seeing homeless people at the library. We also know that soup kitchens serve hundreds of people every day. It’s a fact of life that makes us uncomfortable, because we don’t know how to deal with it But when I saw a lady coming out of the handicapped stall at the library with wet hair, it really hit me in the gut. Should a homeless lady wash her hair at the library?

Should the library allow homeless to clean up in their restrooms — SHOULD LIBRARIES ALLOW THE HOMELESS TO USE THEIR RESTROOMS TO CLEAN UP?

It wasn’t clear if she had washed her hair in the hand sink before she went into the stall, or worse yet, dunked it in the toilet. She seemed disoriented. The bathroom smelled of her dirty bags . There were food crumbs scattered all over the floor. After an initial reaction of revulsion, I was overcome with feelings of sympathy. The woman wasn’t that old—maybe fifty. She was someone’s child, granddaughter, maybe mother or wife. She was a human being in desperate need of help. And I had no idea what to do. And so, I merely smiled and left.

I couldn’t erase the scenario from my mind. What should I have done? I turned to an internet chat room (Reddit) and asked for other’s opinions. Most agreed that there was nothing I could really do, except smile and leave. Other’s felt that the library should not tolerate this type of thing because the woman could have Aids, STDS , and other infectious disease that could endanger others. Some said I should have reported it to an employee of the library.

I surfed the internet to see what other libraries do. Many cities like Seattle have specific policies and procedures for dealing with the homeless. https://www.newstatesman.com/world/north-america/2018/12/how-seattle-s-public-library-stepping-deal-city-s-homelessness-crisis Some have social workers available to help those in need.

I ‘m not sure if librarians are in a position to deal with such problems. In our town, various non profits provide homeless shelters. But shouldn’t the government bear some responsibility ? Homeless people were probably once taxpayers, maybe served our country in the military. At the very least, we should have public bathrooms where the homeless have access to showers. I know that security would be a problem, but it seems like that could be dealt with. The poet John Donne would tell us that any man’s misery diminishes us, because all of us are involved in mankind.

‘No Man is an Island’

No man is an island entire of itself; every man

is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;

if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe

is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as

well as any manner of thy friends or of thine

own were; any man’s death diminishes me,

because I am involved in mankind.

And therefore never send to know for whom

the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

John Donne, 1624

June 3, 2019June 3, 2019

WHERE DO HAPPY PEOPLE HANG OUT?

Where do you see the most happy people? In a bar or restaurant? At the beach? On a cruise ship? Actually, those places are often jammed with people TRYING to be happy. But if you want to be among truly content, satisfied people, look no further than your local home improvement or farm store. Regardless of their economic status , men and women congregate in home improvement stores, every hour of the day, any day of the week. They don’t have to dress up; they’re relaxed, and they’re shopping for something to improve their lives. I’ve never seen an angry person walking through a farm store. Here in Flyover Country, these are places where happy people hang out.

You see more happy people in home improvement stores than you do in bars and restaurants. — SHOPPING IN A FARM OR HOME IMPROVEMENT STORE IS FUN AND RELAXING

Most of these stores started out as something simple. Rural King was where you went for chickens. Lowe’s began as a hardware store. Menards was originally a pole building business. These retailers slowly expanded, and appeal to customers who are quiet and serious, and enjoy shopping for toilets and cone flowers. Couples wandering the aisles in these places seem more content than the average twosomes you see elsewhere. Let’s face it, you must have a fairly good relationship if you’re looking at new kitchen cabinets.

Unlike department and clothing stores where fashions fade each season, what you buy in a home improvement store is going to give you a longer lasting enjoyment. I’d rather have dirt in my fingernails from planting roses than bright, acrylic fingernails that will chip and crack. I’d rather wander the aisles at Rural King eating free popcorn, than try on bathing suits at Macy’s.

Now of course, you won’t set foot in these down-to-earth places if you’re the glamorous type. But I have to tell you, a new rose colored light bulb will do more for your reflection in the mirror than a slathering of expensive Estee Lauder foundation.

Maybe that’s why stores like Macy’s and Carson’s are closing, while places like Menards are expanding all over the country. These are happy people hangouts.