Saturday, April 14 – April 21: Sometimes I wish I was the hamster, with nothing to worry about except whether it’s going to be lettuce, apple, or egg for lunch. No raging, tumultuous thoughts and horrible events taking me here, there and everywhere just in the span of one week! Such as waking up after a restful night of sleep, dreading the blasted TV. What now? Oh! The missiles flew over Syria last night! It seems that Trump had to go through with his threat, evil as it was. Wicked Theresa-May is flexing her miserable cahunas. But, Macron? Quite an Espece de Cochon that one! I thought that together with Merkel they would stand up against the US/UK/Israel aggression?!! Now what? I did not like the sound of that “Mission Accomplished.” It wasn’t the end of an event for Dubya, but only the grim beginning of a criminal and senseless war. Are we following that sordid script again? I heard Brian Williams say that our weapons are “beautiful?” Since when do we call lethal instruments “beautiful?” Pretty disgusting! And that rogue Cowgirl Nikki saying that our weapons are “locked and loaded?” The tragedy and insanity of what’s going on overwhelms me! We sold enough of those lethal “beautiful” weapons to the young, naïve Prince Salman. Now that he’s finished destroying Yemen, where will he be directed to aim those weapons? Why do I have the nagging feeling that the next proxy war might be on Iran, plotted, choreographed and supported by Trump and Bibi? In their sinister thinking they might be saying that perhaps it is much better, propaganda wise, to have our puppets go at it and have the anger and hatred directed at them, rather than at us. Such sinister conniving! Isn’t this obvious to His Highness, the Prince? That he’s going be used, and then spat out like a date pit into his desert just like all the other penniless and abased Arab “allies” before him? Distressing!
. . . Nevertheless, my life goes on, as all our lives must, in spite and despite of the outrageous events. Went with my daughter to pay a condolence visit to a friend who’s husband just passed away. Over coffee, we reminisced about our lives, she having been married for fifty-one years, and I for fifty when my husband passed away. Memories that brought a bit of laughter, a bit of wistfulness.
. . . I watched a very interesting interview on C-Span with Trey Gowdy and Tim Scott about their book: Unified. Coming from one black, one white guy, both from the South, it talks about how to unify our polarized country. I wish!
. . . “Things to Come,” is a French-German 2016 production about a philosophy teacher, comfortable, successful, married for twenty-five years, two children and how one day her husband informs her that he is moving out as he has fallen in love with another woman. Talk about your world come crashing around you! And, while trying to deal with all this, her mother passes away. An emotional, philosophical and beautifully made film that offers a deeper, more nuanced, mature and subtle approach to life than the regular Hollywood fare.
. . . I had a doctor’s appointment to follow up on my annual blood test results – the only tests I do at this stage. The Doctor informed me that my cholesterol is getting up there and maybe I should consider a medication. I looked at her funny and she smiled! She knows my philosophy on this. At this age, pills can mess me up more than letting nature take its course, so what for? I’m no spring chicken, yo! When it’s time to go, it’s time to go, hopefully in as elegantly an exit as possible.
. . . Comey’s interview is all over every media outlet. What a prick! He should have kept his mouth shut and behaved with more dignity, however, finks and whores are now the 24/7 contemptuous subjects of our corrupt and superficial MSM! No integrity whatsoever!
. . . Hamster had a small piece of apple. He clutched it the minute I put it through the cage slats like his life depended on it! So cute!
. . . Finished reading a short book: The Stranger in the Woods by Michael Finkel. What a treasure! I learned a lot about the numerous present day hermits and survival skills. Never knew!
. . . At the gym they were running a test of the alert system. Okay. But how does one know what they’re alerting us about when the audio is so terrible? Just as it is on our Metro. No one paid attention, anyway! How hard is it to get a proper audio system going? Alert siren went on again a few minutes later, we walkers looked at each other and ultimately realized that they were testing again. And then it went on again, more urgent, and we heard them – barely! – saying that there was a fire in one corner of the building and that we should evacuate immediately. I looked around and no one was evacuating! Cry wolf, I guess! The company that is in charge of this building’s security should be fired. Hell, what if this was for real?!!
. . . Barbara Bush passed away. RIP. She really was a steadfast and traditional woman in every sense of the word. I think we all liked her and her amusing witticisms, and I believe that it was she who once said that if you’re an ordinary person (my words) and say something really smart no one pays any attention, but when you become First Lady, every word, non-consequential as it may be, becomes quotable! I’m not fond of the Bush family, though, nor of the damage and agony that the Sr. Bush and his son have caused to the Middle East. However, Randa Jarrar, a young Palestinian woman has been tweeting (I don’t do Twitter) some very nasty things about Mrs. Bush, her husband and son. She created quite a brouhaha on social media. It was unnecessary, especially at this particular juncture. I am an angry Palestinian also, and I use the F word liberally, but there is a time and a place for everything in life.
. . . With Spring finally popping its head shyly around the corner, my agenda for next week has filled up with a book club meeting, two lunches, a dinner and a BBQ. Ah, Spring, you get us all active again!
. . . A friend is distraught over a phone call she received claiming it was the IRS and that she had to send out a payment immediately, or else! There are so many evil and wicked people out there, and still I hear that some of my friends pick up that damn phone when it rings without checking the caller ID. Don’t they know the traps yet? I don’t pick up unless the caller ID indicates a familiar name, otherwise there’s an answering machine. I wanted to record a message on it that says: if you’re a telemarketer/scammer fuck off. I didn’t, though. Not yet anyway. Maybe one day when I’m mad enough . . . I also click on the Delete button and Trash every solicitation on my computer. Immediately. I don’t read, open or click on any of them. No one should.
Hamster was busy giving himself a bath. He totally ignored me!
. . . So the Queen of England anointed her son, Prince Charles, to take over the helm of the Kingdom and the Commonwealth after she retires. Isn’t “Commonwealth” the best explanation for why Colonialism exists? To suck up the wealth of all the planet for a Colonialism that has never ended. Makes me totally cringe!
. . . Weekend viewing: a repeat of J Street’s Annual Conference and 10th. Year Anniversary celebration on C-Span (I love that station). It was quite impressive. The speech by Husam Zomlot, Head of the PLO Delegation to the US was one of the most balanced and honest speeches by a Palestinian that I had heard in quite a while. Inspiring speeches on the one hand, and the Israeli Government still shooting at unarmed, peaceful protestors on the Gaza border on the other hand. Who will prevail? Doves, or Hawks? So far, it’s been the Hawks. I’m afraid that this will continue. Aries is dominating Irene!
. . . Enjoyed an energizing two-mile walk at the end of the week after which I stopped at the grocery store and bought parsley and onions to garnish the foul mdammas that I am making for the family tomorrow morning. Yum! In the afternoon and evening I was babysitting my very precious granddaughter. We had so much fun. We played with the hamster who just loves the attention she gives him, and then we sat down for a game of Snafu, which has her laughing from the bottom of her beautiful heart as I never manage to get all the steps right and always lose! These are the treasured moments of life that make it worthwhile and that manage to distract me from all the crazy, sad, unjust and boiling cauldron that is our world today, a world that is sorely in need of a long vacation from wars, conspiracies, terrorism and . . . corrupt politicians!
On May 15, Palestinians will mourn and relive The Nakba, our Catastrophe. It is as much of a stigma on the world as is the Holocaust. But while Germany, and the Western World have gone to inordinate efforts to surmount that tragedy, neither the majority of Jews, Israelis or the Western World have made one tenth of that effort for the Palestinian people. To the contrary. Pretty dismal and utterly unjust!
My Seventy Year Old Eyes 