Just now, I looked out from our screened porch and saw 2 does running across our yard, then into a grove of trees to the right. If our dog Willow had been outside, she would have gone crazy,
Here we go again with the blog.. I feel the need to post this right away in case it disappears again. Writing online is not as permanent as writing a letter or a document or a book printed on actual paper. Writings thouands of years old have survived, but what I jot down here may not last over night.
A former neighbor has suggested printing out the blog and saving it somewhere on physical sheets of paper. And doing the same with messages. I really don't plan on doing any of that. More than 10 years with the blog and its predecessor and two books are quite enough. But I do have a fiction book swirling around in my head, though without any plans to actually write it down. I've already mentioned the title, Cyber Song.
I also told my former neighbor::Thanks for all that. I never mastered text messaging because I never mastered a cell phone. I think that's too late for me to learn now. I just use email, postal mail, phone calls, and blog postings. Sometimes my son will send out a message for me on his cell phone. I've written 2 books, available in physical paper copies and online. I don't know that I need to have any more communication than that or that anything more about my life needs to be saved..I do appreciate your comments.{The blog postings do go back some years.}
Another lifelong friend also has suggested that I might run a discussion group out of the home that I now occupy with my son, who he is often away at work. I told her,
Carol, thanks for the suggestion, though now, at age 87, everything takes me longer and I'm not sure I still have the stamina to run a regular group.
Your mother was a very special lady who went through so much and still survived into old age. How old was she when she died? It was well over 100. And she had been born in Egypt, if I am not mistaken. How many children did she have? I think 3. Hope you and your husband are both still with us. How old are you now? None of us is getting any younger!
A couple living in Bethesda had this to say about a retirement community they plan to visit: Not too many walkers, no shorts and no low cut tops! We were warned not to wear shorts. Every one is on their best behavior--residents and supplicants!
So far the death toll from the Texas floods has been holding steady at 107.
The Wall St. Journal has now reported on an alleged letter the president sent to Epstein in 2003 for his 50th birthday. The letter, a copy of which was not featured in the piece, reportedly has text framed by the outline of a naked woman together with the line “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.”
Trump has denied writing the letter. The president sued the Journal the very next day in federal court, demanding billions of dollars in damages. Might he have done better just to ignore the whole issue? Donald Trump often acts impulsively without thinking through the consequences of whatever he says or does. His approval rating is still underwater and is still sinking daily. When will we ever get back to normal governance in this country? Yet, admittedly, Donald Trump has made life in this country quite interesting and always unpredictable, so we may actually miss his crazy antics when he is gone. But 3 1/2 years seems like quite a long time to have to wait. I don't know if I will still be alive by then.
The attack occurred after the Israeli military had told Palestinians to leave an area where many had sought refuge and where it warned that it may expand operations.
NY Times,Israeli fire kills 67 people seeking aid in Gaza, medics say, as hunger worsens
An accurate death toll of civilians killed recently by Israeli forces is hard to come by. And the numbers seem to keep on rising. At least 100 people are now believed to have been killed recently at aid sites.
A recent killing of Palestinians by Israeli forces adds to U.N. figures now showing that more than 670 Palestinians have been killed near sites built under a new Israel-backed aid system. [Isn't this actually genocide? Luring people, including the elderly, women, and children to an area for food, then attacking and killing them?]
Trump seems to support Israel in whatever that country's leaders decide to do and he always keeps the money flowing.
Let's pivot now to a country closer to home, one that we no longer pay much attentio to, Cuba.
Reuters, Trump imposes tougher US policy toward Cuba
A fellow Cuba watcher tells me:
"Displays of dissent, such as localized cacerolazos [beating on pots], are becoming more common. More worrisome to the regime is an outbreak of public dissent by university students who are furious over sharply increased fees for computer access. Even some student officials of the FEU, a powerful force in Cuban politics before Castro's takeover, have protested the higher computer charges. The situation in Cuba is worsening, como siempre [as always]. The government placed great hopes on the once-flourishing tourist sector, but fewer tourists are arriving as the word has gotten out about the poor food and declining accomodations in Cuba. A lot of tourists who formerly went to Cuba are now heading to the Dominican Republic and other islands...
David Orrio, one of the 'independent journalists' I knew in the early 2000s, who later proudly donned his olive green State Security uniform to testify against his old friends at trials during the 2003 Primavera Negra, has issued a public protest against the increased poverty in Cuba. Of course, when traveling to the island, I assumed that many if not most of the dissidents I met there were chivatos/undercover agents, but Orrio was such a great actor that I was genuinely surprised when he proudly revealed his identity as Agent Fulano, or whatever cover name he assumed for his State Security bosses. When the long-desired cambio [change] occurs, he might have a great future as a professional actor, assuming the chivatos are allowed to hold any jobs at all. I just hope the cambio (assuming it occurs during our lifetimes!) will be peaceful, with an emphasis on reconciliation rather than on vengeance.
And here's another item of local news:
CBS News, — A federal appeals court has upheld a lower court's decision to restrict abortion pill sales in West Virginia., West Virginia’s near-total abortion pill ban upheld by federal court.
Readers already know I have never supported "abortion rights" and have always advocated for the right to go on living by any human at any stage of development. Now perhaps because our country may soon be losing population due to Trump's immigration restrictions and because of the low US birthrate, citizen opinion on this issue may be shifting.
Most young women having unprotected sex know very well that pregnancy is a risk, something that's been true since the dawn of human history. That's why sex actually developed in the first place. But if and when a pregnancy does happen, they then act completely shocked that such a purely natural and expected outcome has occurred. It then becomes an emergency. Their first instinct may be to try to stop this whole thing right there, right now, just stop it and then go on with life just as before as if their pregnancy had never even happened. But some unable to get abortions have still gone on to give birth to cherished children and have forgotten all about their initial panic. Real life esamples of unmarried women who had sought and failed to get abortions have been recouunted before on these pages. I have mentioned the case of a Texas woman unable to get an abortion who went on to marry her boyfriend and give birth to twins whom the couple are raising together.
I also cited the case of a young teen who gave birth to triplets whom she was raising with the help of a woman who had offered her a home. These folks have shown others how it can be done.
People often have a way of adapting to actual circumstances; also, social mores and practices are in constant evolution. Our own country's current need to produce more babies may spur the development of additonal support, both moral and practical, for pregnant and new mothers, as has happened already in Scandanavia.
As noted before on these pages. I've observed many single mothers bringing their young children to work with them on weekends and holidays at CoolFont, my son's current employer in this rather conservative community. Mom and Dad raising kids togeher may still be the ideal, but often just isn't happening any more. My son Jon is helping support his own sons by 2 different marriages, but his 2 boys are not living with him right now. He communicates with them regularly online and by phone. I do think the influence and contributions of both parents are important in children's lives and that ways need to be found to keep fathers engaged, not only for the sake of their children, but also for the benefit of those very same fathers themselves. Human relationships, that's what life is all about.
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