My father told me that when he got the call his father had passed away it was early in the morning.
He went to his mother’s apartment to give her the news.
As he was heading there, people were passing him going in the other direction toward the subway.
My Dad said he thought “Can’t you all stop? My father died.”
Of course, none of the people passing him were aware of how my dad’s world had changed that morning.
Off they went to work.
My Mom passed on January 1st.
I went to work on January 2nd.
I did get some strange looks at the office.
I am sure my coworkers thought “What is she doing here? Her Mom just died.”
Mom’s memorial service was not going to be for several weeks while we waited for the weather to improve for travel and a funeral.
I didn’t want to sit home and I wanted to keep busy.
It made sense to me.
Now, the whole world is filled with craziness.
The issues going on in our country are too many to list but just buzz words like inflation, gas prices, Afghanistan, supply chain, defunding the police, crime surges, CRT are enough to make our heads spin, empty our wallets and break our hearts.
And now the Ukraine.
Half a world away.
The people of the Ukraine are fighting for their lives and their freedom, while a madman has decided to take over their country.
The President of the Ukraine is the definition of courage. He is taking a stand and is facing his enemy in a defiant stance.
Seeing someone strong enough to say NO, you will not just take over my country. Bravo!!!!!
My memory may be somewhere fuzzy but I do remember a childhood where we had drills where we hid under our desks with our hands and arms covering our heads. There were “fallout shelter” signs attached to the outside of apartment buildings.
Fear of invasion.
Maybe it’s the rose colored glasses I would prefer to wear but I also remember a childhood where I was not fearful. My parents would keep me safe.
The adults I knew were called Mr. and Mrs. due to respect.
I was raised to believe I was lucky enough to live in the greatest country in the world.
As a young adult, I felt good that one of my favorite Presidents, Ronald Reagan, could lead with a conservative mindset. The Speaker of the House was Tip O’Neal, a Democrat. Two different parties but at the end of the day, they could end it having a few drinks together.
Not hatred.
I had respect for the Office of the President, even if I didn’t agree with the person who held the office.
I have no respect for the current person residing in that office.
He has done more damage in 13 months than I thought possible.
We have gone from being (in my opinion) the greatest country in the world to a paper lion since Jan 20, 2021.
The ugliness on both sides of the aisle makes me sad.
When President Trump delivered his State of the Union address, Nancy Pelosi took great pride in tearing his speech into pieces on camera. How would she feel or what would she say if a Republican did that on camera?
She would be offended and be very vocal about it.
How sad and how far have we fallen.
I understand why my Dad said that early morning of August 1963 when he wanted the world to stop even if just for a few minutes.
I would like a few minutes of my childhood back. Going out to play until the street lights went on or my mother yelled from the 5th story window (this was normal for our Bronx neighborhood).
Only paying attention to the news on TV when Walter Cronkite came on the screen to deliver the news. Not his interpretation of the news.. He gave us the facts and not his opinion, this is nonexistent in our world today.
I lived in a world where our parents held a tight rein on us and had certain expectations. And if we didn’t follow the rules, there were repercussions for our actions.
I look at some of the college students whose views differ from mine and who hate this country and I think what happened?
Is this the result of the “participation award” generation? Is this the result of parents no longer using the word NO? Is this the result of not holding children accountable?
Poor Jenn, each time I see some behavior from young people speaking or acting in ways of which I do not approve, I say to her, if that were you behaving like that you would be on the next bus back home and college would be over for you.
I am tired of being categorized as a racist.
I am tired of the ugliness.
I am tired of the hatred.
But I am also fearful of all the craziness and hatred of which I have no control.
I cannot solve the world’s problems.
But there is a light at the end of the tunnel at least for us as a country, it starts November 8th with the mid-term elections.
Time to take our country back folks.
Let’s get our act together.
Pray for the people of the Ukraine!
Pray for our country!
God Bless America!
See you next week.
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