In keeping all these special dates straight, we may find our own memories getting rather fuzzy, something appearing subtly in our 50’s, more noticeable by our 80’s if we even live that long (as I have). American female life expectancy is now 77 which is, of course, only an average.
An estimated 40% of American adults actually become aware of “senior moments”
by at least age 65. So it is not too surprising
that President Biden at 81 would display some memory gaffes, and former
president Donald Trump as well. This might be an opportunity for Nikki Haley
to step up to emphasize her age, which is 52, and to show us that her memory is still
sharp.
When I joined the Peace Corps in Honduras in 2000 at age 62, fortunately I already knew Spanish. Most other senior volunteers were struggling to learn the language for the very first time and never were able to master it, having lost much of their ability to acquire a new language. Likewise, people who learn a new language after age 15 or 20 often are unable to shake their foreign accent (Henry Kissinger who came to the US from Germany at age 15 kept his German accent).
Although my bout with Covid seems to be over now, I am still not quite back
to where I was before and may never actually get there again. Common illnesses and
minor injuries may gradually chip away at our defenses, with recovery taking longer
each time until, finally, we can’t manage to bounce back again and our life then seems to
enter its final decline.
Having learned his lesson, Sec. Austin, age 70, issued a public
statement announcing his hospitalization again at Walter Reed, even giving
details, saying it involved a bladder issue. He had recent surgery for prostate
cancer, as has been indicated already. Now he has just said he will be going back to his office.
Prostate cancer is the second most common and second most fatal cancer for men (lung cancer is first for cancer deaths among both men and women). I've known men who have died of prostate cancer.
GMA, House Republicans impeach Alejandro Mayorkas in historic, controversial vote
This ridiculous Republican charade is actually going nowhere, designed only to give supporters a talking point when they run for reelection.
A word here about hybrid work, now trending, something which offers the best of
both worlds to hardworking families. How wonderful that option would have been for me as a single mother commuting 5 days a week from Md. to DC, rushing back each afternoon to avoid daycare fines for being
late in picking up my kids. Several days a week working from home would have given me a welcome breather.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////
Now for a brief dive into the past before returning again to current
events.
This blog and its predecessor, honduraspeacecorps.blogspot.com actually span 15 years starting in 2009, with both versions accompanied by photos. My readers and I have all lived through those times and can always go back to review the original postings, still existing somewhere in the cloud.
While scrolling through the predecessor blog, honduraspeacecorps.blogspot.com I came across this
photo of my granddaughter and her son sitting out on my front porch in DC back when
he was 10 years old.
Below, my great-grandson was even younger then, about 9.
Son Jon appeared with sister Stephanie in Hawaii in September 2017, right after
a homeless man had hit him in the eye with a metal pipe, prompting me to bring him here to my home in Washington, DC. But he didn’t stay
for long, going next to Winchester, Va., then on to Martinsburg, W Va., and finally,
in July 2018, settling down in Berkeley Springs, W Va., where he has lived ever
since. He has found a welcoming community there and a job he enjoys. His eye
has mostly healed on its own with nearly normal sight restored.
In previous blog postings, I also came across a narrative about my book talk at the Chappaqua Public Library, pre-arranged for Nov. 9, the day right after the 2016 election. I'd looked forward to celebrating Hillary Clinton’s election victory with local folks there in her own hometown, as how could she possibly lose against that crazy buffoon Donald Trump? Of course, she didn’t lose the popular vote, which she carried handily, but the quirks of the Electoral College had handed an upset victory to Trump, who was as surprised as everyone else. So the mood was all doom and gloom during my Chappaqua visit, with only a small turnout for my book talk. Hillary, her face drawn, was seen walking outside leaning heavily on Bill’s arm. Respecting her privacy, I avoided snapping her photo. Many of us were grieving with her. She would have been our country’s first woman president.
Returning now back to the present, when so many e-mail messages have come in, as word of my retirement from Amnesty International has begun circling the globe. Here’s one from Europe:
Hi Barbara,
I heard you are stepping back from your role
in Amnesty and wanted just to reach out and offer my sincere thanks for all
your work…
I know how very hard you have worked over the
years and your dedication. I am so thankful that we got to meet in Miami some
years ago now at the AGM. When was that, 2016? I still have a copy of your
book.
Whenever people ask me about activists in
Amnesty, and how they operate, you always come to mind as someone who used to
write physical letters and meet in groups, and continued with the same
enthusiasm as we all began to meet and mobilize online.
Thank you so much for being such an
inspiration.
Unfortunately for me, phone landlines are being phased out. Last year, I tried and failed to master an older cell phone, though I might do better with a newer model. If I should lose my landline, I’ll have to give a cell phone another try.
As has been noted before, most American
families these days have no more than 2 children, and some have just one child
or none. I managed to raise 4 children as a working single parent, but my own kids,
in turn, only have had none, one, or 2 offspring. Family ads and media articles now typically
show 2 kids with 2 parents, depicting that as a desirable norm. Indeed, it is difficult
for parents with more children to readily join the workforce. I don’t know any families now with more than 2 kids myself, except those living in other countries. On
national scale, that means our US population is not being replaced so we do need
more immigrants, but neither major party has supported that either. Most immigrants to
the US, even if they don’t yet speak English, are already full-grown adults, ready
and willing to step right into jobs. While our country cannot accommodate all those
seeking entry, we might welcome the few who do manage to get in by making it
easier for them to stay and start working right away. Media ads now not only
tout goods and services but also are soliciting new employees.
Fox, Texas mother tortured, cut children with knives,
attempted to put 3-year-old in oven: police
Quite obviously, not every mother is cut out to be an adequate parent. This Texas woman was trying to manage her 4 kids alone while undergoing mental health challenges. Even for me, parenting 4 kids by myself was hard, though I never disciplined them physically, instead sitting them down in a “time-out” chair to calm us both down. I once slapped son Jon on the cheek when he kept getting up from the time-out chair, though he doesn’t remember that; it was the only time I ever recall using corporal punishment on any child. As a child myself sometimes being hit on the bare bottom with a bristly hairbrush, I vowed never to use such tactics on my own future offspring, and I never did.
While most young people after a surgical gender transition report being satisfied with the change, that may reflect acceptance of a fait accompli only achieved after years of expense and pain and much family disruption. Also, it would be very hard to actually reverse course later on, as even sex-change pioneer Christine Jorgensen found in undertaking such efforts at one point.
Many women after breast augmentation surgery have often had the implants removed later. Therapy or even just the passage of time might reduce the urge to undergo costly and painful surgery to enhance physical appearance which, except in extreme cases, is often of relatively minor importance in a whole life trajectory. If some physical attribute is interfering with ordinary functioning, like seeing, walking, or eating, of course, a remedy should be undertaken, but let’s save finite surgical resources for such vital cases. Even Barbra Streisand’s odd nose proved to be her defining feature.
People, King Charles, 75, Announces Cancer Diagnosis, Postpones
All Future Engagements for Now
Among those seeking fame through politics, Donald Trump knows his base will stick with him through thick and thin, no matter what he says or does. If he should even be jailed, they will rally vociferously around the facility in protest. Few Trump supporters ever seem to change their mind. Mr. Trump is still boasting about the mental test that he "aced," a simple screening test to measure dementia. I have taken that test myself also have "aced" it.
ABC News, Nikki Haley requests Secret Service protection (after “swatting” incidents at her home)
Nikki is keeping up the fight but has not been overtaking Donald
so far. After Trump had called
attention to her public appearances without her husband, Nikki revealed that Maj.
Michael Haley is a commissioned officer with the National Guard now on
deployment in the Horn of Africa.
In a recent poll, some 59% of Americans said they consider both Trump and Biden “too old” to be president, yet they are the most likely candidates to be facing voters in Nov.
Now if faced with that choice, I will have to go with Biden.
Reuters, S&P 500 closes at record high; earnings, rate outlook in focus
And former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, now almost forgotten, is still in prison.
Wash. Post, Scores of Palestinian civilians are being
killed daily by Israeli forces.
The total death toll is Gaza is now approaching 30,000. Israel
says it does not target civilians, considering them only “collateral
damage,” but they are still dead. Here below is the scene in Gaza after the recent Israeli
attack that freed the 2 hostages.
Wash. Post, Israeli Protesters block aid shipments to Gaza
Wash. Post, Biden says Israel’s military conduct in Gaza has been ‘over the top’ Egyptian president reaffirms ‘alignment’ with U.S. after Biden remarks
Decades ago, during World War II, the Allies carpet-bombed Dresden and the US dropped deadly atomic bombs on Japanese civilian populations. Fortunately, unleashing such brutal tactics against civilians has now been condemned worldwide, but Netanyahu seems not to have gotten the message.
Telegraph, Body of six-year-old Palestinian girl who pleaded to be rescued found in Gaza The body of a six-year-old Palestinian girl who had begged rescuers to send help after being trapped by Israeli fire has been discovered in Gaza.
In
a phone call, she said she was “so scared” and asked to be rescued.
Netanyahu has called civilians being killed in this war “collateral damage.” This little girl’s death has now put a human face on that collateral damage, perhaps even helping turn the tide of war.
NYTimes, Terrified Palestinians are awaiting an Israeli advance in Rafah, where over half of Gaza’s population is now sheltering.
Fox, Saudi Arabia warns Israel of 'very serious repercussions' if ground invasion of Rafah proceeds
Netanyahu and Israeli forces, so far, seem undeterred by increasing warnings and appeals coming in from all over the world. Only an actual pause in US aid might have any real effect. What is Joe Biden waiting for?
President Biden is under increasing pressure now to halt Israel aid and to stop Netanyahu from the pending attack on Rafah. He can do it, but will he? Human lives hang in the balance.
While
war keeps raging here on earth, our planetary home remains a mere tiny spec floating
within the vast and immeasurable cosmos. The far-flung universe may well contain
other forms of “life,” that is, independently operating self-replicating beings,
but so far, earthly humans have only ventured as far as the moon, which appears
completely lifeless. Nor has there been any evidence of even so much as a
microbe existing beyond our earth—nor is anything significant likely to be
found during my own limited lifetime.
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