My friends sadly nod, “We always knew there was a paranoid streak in him, but this is just so sad.” It might have been my declaration that we should all prepare for a very indeterminate future. It started with winter.
I heat the house with a mixture of wood stove heat and a small amount of boost from a backup oil burner. Over twenty-five years or so in this house, I’ve done a good job of accurately budgeting amounts of wood and oil based on historical consumption. This winter blew history out of the ballpark. I’m not yet out of February, and I am thinking of where I can stack extra wood…just in case.
Then, along comes a national and international political scene that is more than bizarre. Tariffs could threaten basic needs, as well as luxuries. And threats are being made to Social Security, Medicare and FEMA.
My friends have become used to my rants about how the USA is on a steep glide path to third-world status. But I think they are mostly upset that I was right.
When I was roaring about the environment, they offered tepid support and assured me it would all work out. Then came the fires, storms, and floods. I assured them they would soon need more than a stool to keep their feet dry. I was sneered at.
When the candidate they supported won, they cheered; I kept silent. A bit later, what did I hear? “It wasn’t supposed to be this way. It wasn’t supposed to be me in the firing line. Hey! That’s the medical, immunization, research, National Park, or program I use!” Well, somewhere, there’s a quote about “making it personal.” they thought it would be personal to someone else, just not them. Surprise. You don’t need to snoop into a fortuneteller’s crystal ball to see that we are about to be “living in interesting times.”
No. After I figure out how I’ll heat the house next winter I’ll be getting cash reserves together, stocking up on essentials, and working on getting the garden as productive as I can.
while it’s true that no man is an island, it doesn’t mean that you have to make it easier for the bastards to take you down. It’ll be an interesting six months. Well maybe twelve…uh, four years?
RESIST
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Resist and do it fast, I’d say.
I think the fact that organizing is a must is starting to dawn on more than a few conscientious objectors.
It’s the same here in the UK. Prices for fuel and electricity are at an all time high just at the time where we need to use most to beat the cold. Here’s hoping things change soon.
A great look at the struggles of life, Lou.
Thanks. Mason. But unlike the lioness in your recent story, we don’t seem to have much outside help.
Sadly so. Our governments seem intent on making us homeless, jobless, and ill of late, don’t they. Carry on carving my friend,
Lou I’m afraid you were right all along. I still am told by some who say my fears are much overblown, but it sounds like they tell themselves this in hopes of comforting themselves. I have heard from several people – as a joke – that I must be glad for the chickens and our garden, but I think they are envious. I’ve always thought that people talking about leaving the country were being silly, and for the first time ever, these investigatory conversations are happening in my own family.
I am envious of the people in my life who are yet so untouched they can’t understand why I’m upset. “Oh gosh, I never watch the news,” said my neighbor, “Is something happening?” My own half-brother said to me just the day before yesterday, “As long as you’re not breaking any laws, there is nothing to be afraid of with this administration. What are you afraid of?” “Losing my federal pension and veteran benefits at the same time Pedro loses his job in medical research,” I responded.
So I’m writing, and I colored in coloring books the other day, and I’m getting very creative in how to finish my back yard office, with paint and wall hangings. Creativity makes me happier, so I guess that’s what I need to do. I hope creativity works for you, too.
the ones with their heads in buckets of sand wil wake up when the baboon and his musk melon come for something they value – their social security payments, medical treatment, immunizations or FEMA. By then they’ll be screaming that this was not what they thought would happen. Tough shit!
Hello, may i reblog your work?
Yes, go ahead. And thanks for asking
I think that’s very true over here. I think a lot of people thought “Don’t worry, he doesn’t mean us”, which is already proving to be naive.
I don’t know what it’s going to be. I hope that the damage being done to human beings in areas like mine will wake up the people who have supported his idiocy all this time.
You nailed it with this post, Lou. I am afraid that we are very close to reaching the failsafe in this nation and if we don’t ratchet up the resistance in a big way, we may soon cross that failsafe point. When that happens, won’t these MAGA folks be thinking that this wasn’t what they expected even though he’s doing exactly what he said he was going to do? It’s too bad they were so focused on the price of eggs and immigrants eating their pets to see what was really going on.
I’ve been watching videos of Republican Town Meetings and the natives ( who voted for T- rump) are restless. Mid-terms should be very interesting.
I certainly hope so, Lou.
I’m right there with you, Lou. I have melted down into tears when I’m alone and just sob for what is happening to people in such an arbitrary manner. I’m trying desperately to get my neighbor on disability or long term care which he rightly deserves and afraid they will take it away just as we finally get it all worked out. I’ll have to live under a bridge if they take SS. I won’t live with the sweet son who thought that moron was a good idea, twice. I like to blame the cyst in his brain but know it just pure stupidity. Crystal and I are on the same page too. Her Pedro is a brilliant scientist but no one cares. I want it stopped…now! I can’t garden or raise chickens. Fortunately, or not, you got our winter. We had none. Never turned on my heat. and we are at 6300 ft. We are all with any intelligence, feeling the anxiety. It’s not paranoia if you know for certain the fox is running the hen house.
Winters pass, and we are at last having a major thaw. I am less sanguine about the political season.
This littlle blogging community is interesting. I too am concerned about Crystal and Pedro. I was invented out of existence under Clinton, but it wasn’t arbitrary, sadistic or cruel. All our rights were protected, and due process carried out. The current scene is like a bad scene from a bad Marx Brother’s movie with Musk being ( not playing) Harpo.
Agreed 100%. This old German knows a dictator when she smells him. There is no empathy anywhere in the mix. There is no humanity without empathy. They are not human.