All Things to All People

One of my favorite expressions is "You can't be all things to all people." I firmly believe this. In my younger years, I tried to be all things to all people and failed. Eventually I realized that it's an impossible task and became okay with not trying to satisfy everyone. I got a text last week from some Bernie campaign folks. (How they got my number is beyond me. Maybe they got a hold of it through some Democratic database.) In any case, I was asked if I'd Feel the Bern for the 2020 election and my response was "Nope" complete with a thumbs down emoji. Then I got a text back asking why I wasn't supporting Bernie. I told these folks that I didn't feel Bernie could beat Donny T, but that I'd support whoever the Democratic nominee was. In any presidential race, you'll always have candidates who are good in some areas and bad in others. No candidate is perfect. You have to weigh the person's good plans against his/her bad ones and hope for the best. With this year's field of candidates, I dislike many things about many of them, but my main concern is making Donny pack it in and take his corrupt cronies, stooges, and family of grifters should all GTFO of the White House.

I just read an article today on Politico about Iowa residents being worried that they'll lose their status as the first state for candidate caucusing. They SHOULD lose their front runner status. Iowa and New Hampshire both should lose their front runner status because neither state has a diverse population that represents the United States. Two of the whitest states in the country get to have the first say in who should be the "winning" candidates? Please. It's a joke. One of the Iowans interviewed in the story said the citizens may not look diverse, but they vote in a diverse way. Obama! Yeah, whatever. It's past time to have another state lead the charge in primary voting, one that more favorably represents the citizens of the country as a whole.

Music

In my effort to drown out the impeachment, the coronavirus, and most of the other bad news flooding the airwaves these days, I've been listening to music by two artists I hadn't been familiar with: Leon Bridges and Jill Barber. I happened to hear a song called "Texas Sun" by Leon Bridges and a band called Khruangbin on a Sirius station while I was driving and really liked it, so I looked into some of his other music. He's very talented and I hate that I'm late to the game in even hearing of him, but I don't tend to listen to a lot of modern music.

Jill Barber came on my radar when I was looking for Louis Armstrong's version of "A Kiss to Build a Dream On" (thanks, Grantchester!) and I listened to her version via iTunes and was hooked. Her version "A Kiss..." is really great not only because of her voice, but because of the arrangement. The violin sections are really wonderful. She also sings a version of "Sukiyaki" that I enjoy.

After watching the first season of "The Politician" on Netflix, I was driven to download Billy Joel's "Vienna" (which, unfortunately, is not on my Billy Joel's greatest hits CD) and James Taylor's version of Joni Mitchell's song "River." I am not a Mitchell fan, but JT's version of "River" is very soothing and very Taylor-esque. If you're a fan of his music, as I am, you'll surely enjoy it.

This Is Why...

I need to stop watching these Netflix documentaries like the ones involving the Bikram yoga guy and the Fyre Festival because they only serve to reinforce my feeling that there are a lot of gullible people in the world. I'm constantly amazed at what people are willing to believe. This is why Donny T is POTUS. It's really sad that so many people seem to get taken my charlatans these days. You'd think with the wealth of information out there via the internet that people would do more research before investing in something, but the internet is part of the problem. There's so much bad information out there that sometimes it's hard to find the good information. When I watched both documentaries, I kept thinking about that posted from the X Files that Mulder had in his office that said "I Want to Believe." The Fyre Festival people wanted to believe they were attending an exclusive event with fashionable people. The Bikram followers wanted to believe they were in the presence of a true yogi who could transform their lives. Yeah. Okay. Irrationality loses to rationality on a daily basis. It happens to all of us from time to time, but hopefully not to such an extent.

Coyotes and Hypocrites

We've had a few coyote attacks in Chicago lately and a few of the animals have been rounded up, but I believe there's still one (or more) out there on the loose. The animal experts keep saying it's unusual for coyotes to attack humans, but they're clearly attacking folks around here. A kid was attacked and a man claimed one bit him on the ass. (The ass attack was still under investigation.) Animals are just that...animals. Their behavior is unpredictable and that's why your dog isn't held accountable for biting someone (or for biting another animal). You, as the owner, are held accountable for your dog's actions. I've watched enough episodes of The People's Court and Judge Judy to know that. Two of the theories I heard on the news were that the coyotes that attacked people around here were sick and, therefore, exhibiting abnormal behavior as a result of illness and the other theory was that the coyotes had become too familiar with people because people had been feeding them. I can believe both scenarios. I could see someone mistaking a coyote for a dog and feeding it. Sad, but true. It's still amazing to me to know that we have wild coyotes roaming the streets of Chicago. Crazy!

In other news, I was emailing with a coworker last week about Harry and Meghan's exit from the Royal Family since that fiasco has been all over the news lately. I am not a royal watcher at all. I might take a look at pictures of the kids that show up in the media, but that's about it. I don't keep up with the palace intrigue because I largely don't care. But when I was asked to give my views on Megxit, I admitted my feelings were mixed. On one hand, Harry and Meghan should live their lives as they see fit. If they want to walk away from royal life, then they should. On the other hand, I think Meghan got a rude awakening after marrying Harry and just wasn't prepared for the changes her life would take as a result. I remember telling someone back when they first announced their engagement that no amount of love in the world would make me marry into something like that, not after I'd been free and controlling my own life for more than 30 years. To go from being an independent person to under the thumb of the Queen, unable to make even basic decisions about what to wear or where to go? Forget it. But that's what she signed up for when she married into that family. Still, it kills me that the media just dump on this woman and act like the royals aren't a hot mess themselves. They're far from being squeaky clean, yet they want to pull rank on the half-black American woman? Please. Such hypocrites.

Up in Smoke

Since Illinois is now allowing for the sale of recreational marijuana (effective January 1), the dispensaries have been doing a brisk business. Business has been so brisk that some sellers have sold out and they've been forced to shut their doors due to a lack of supply for recreational users. Did they not anticipate the crowds that would come for this? Apparently not. I have issues with the legalization of marijuana for a couple of reasons. One, marijuana is a gateway drug. I've witnessed someone in my own family go from being a recreational pot smoker to being a crack smoker. It happens, people! Two, marijuana use can devastate already vulnerable people. For example, I knew someone, again, who was a recreational pot smoker for years. But she worked in a medical environment (not as a medical professional like a doctor or nurse) and when a new company took over her place of employment and required drug testing for its employees, she tried to use her daughter's drug-free urine to pass the test, was caught, and lost a job she'd had for more than ten years. This wasn't someone who was in a financial situation that enabled her to take a hit (no pun intended) like this. She wasn't wealthy. (Clearly, she had enough cash for weed, but still.) This woman lost her job because of marijuana use. It's not a harmless drug!

I'm all for people having civil liberties, but there's a dark side to marijuana use and I think a lot of folks who advocate for the legalization of weed don't see this. Illinois is broke and becoming the legal weedman allows the state to rack in a ton of cash quickly to cover costs. I saw a story on the news last week that $100 worth of legal weed in Chicago will set you back another $28 in taxes. That's almost 30% in taxes! That didn't stop folks from lining up in the cold for hours to get their legal weed on and after January 1.

Another thing that bothers me about the legal weed is that these dispensaries deal in cash only. That's a recipe for disaster! Banks don't want to deal with marijuana transactions, so the dispensaries have to deal in cash, but those places are sitting ducks for thieves. One dispensary was robbed recently and I heard on the news the thieves didn't even take any of the weed! They went straight for the cash. Better security is needed for the dispensaries and for the people visiting them.

Happy New Year

For the first day of 2020, I'm really going to try and put 2019 in my rear view mirror and leave it there. Not that 2019 was a terrible year for me personally, but it wasn't that great either. I remember posting that I was going to try and go into 2019 with a more positive outlook and that worked for a while, but didn't last. (I'll try again for 2020!)

What I'd really like to see for myself in 2020 is personal growth and that may mean a change in my day job, a class, a travel adventure, or all of the above. One thing I am working on is a new book. After a lot of starts and stops, I'm finally moving forward with that and hope to have it done in another couple of months. It's been a struggle, but I feel like it's finally coming together.

Happy New Year! Keep calm and carry on!