I remember now this other downside of the colder part of the year: people get sick. And here's something else to consider: when families grow, the chances of someone being sick on any of the fall and winter days is, well, pretty high. There are three members of the young family in Chicago and four in the Madison bunch. Add the farmhouse duo and that's nine, with three that are at a vulnerable age in terms of sniffles and the like. Inevitably someone will have a cold.
Us grownups tend to be a little hardier. We don't get everything that they get. But we do pass around bugs freely. Perhaps we even introduce ones into the mix. After all, aside from Ed, we do go out and about where viruses run rampant.
All this to say that I had a disappointing day today. I was to go to Chicago to visit with Primrose, but a few days ago I picked up a familial cold and it's lingering. I decided it's unfair to the Chicago bunch to arrive with a good case of sniffles. So I stayed home.
I remind myself that this trip can be recreated soon. That it would be far worse if we had a special event, a holiday, travel plans. A bug can really mess with your plans then and there is nothing you can do but give a disappointed sigh and move on.
So what do you do with one of those annoying head colds? You feed the animals, glance at the garden...
... then spend the rest of the morning watching television. And for once, there was something to watch.
We sat down to breakfast with the TV on...
... and it stayed on until Dr. Blasey finished testifying at the confirmation hearings that are today taking place in DC. By then it was time to pick up Snowdrop.
(After that I only listened in bits and pieces. The girl, perhaps in possession of supernatural powers and therefore anticipating that at the farm, there would be the quiet hum of the TV in the background, begged to go to the park. Good idea! When you have a cold, being outside is sometimes a good thing. You're not sneezing at everyone in the same room. Snowdrop often uses swinging time to explain something to me: today she makes a strong case in favor of winter as the best season of them all!)
(The prettiness of purple...)
Toward the end of the afternoon, we returned to the farmhouse where we played "the dragon scares the babies." She appointed me to be the dragon.
I am cheered by all this. I'll be going to Chicago soon. Playing with my granddaughter was awesome. And the hearings were pretty interesting too.
Us grownups tend to be a little hardier. We don't get everything that they get. But we do pass around bugs freely. Perhaps we even introduce ones into the mix. After all, aside from Ed, we do go out and about where viruses run rampant.
All this to say that I had a disappointing day today. I was to go to Chicago to visit with Primrose, but a few days ago I picked up a familial cold and it's lingering. I decided it's unfair to the Chicago bunch to arrive with a good case of sniffles. So I stayed home.
I remind myself that this trip can be recreated soon. That it would be far worse if we had a special event, a holiday, travel plans. A bug can really mess with your plans then and there is nothing you can do but give a disappointed sigh and move on.
So what do you do with one of those annoying head colds? You feed the animals, glance at the garden...
... then spend the rest of the morning watching television. And for once, there was something to watch.
We sat down to breakfast with the TV on...
... and it stayed on until Dr. Blasey finished testifying at the confirmation hearings that are today taking place in DC. By then it was time to pick up Snowdrop.
(After that I only listened in bits and pieces. The girl, perhaps in possession of supernatural powers and therefore anticipating that at the farm, there would be the quiet hum of the TV in the background, begged to go to the park. Good idea! When you have a cold, being outside is sometimes a good thing. You're not sneezing at everyone in the same room. Snowdrop often uses swinging time to explain something to me: today she makes a strong case in favor of winter as the best season of them all!)
(The prettiness of purple...)
Toward the end of the afternoon, we returned to the farmhouse where we played "the dragon scares the babies." She appointed me to be the dragon.
I am cheered by all this. I'll be going to Chicago soon. Playing with my granddaughter was awesome. And the hearings were pretty interesting too.
Ok, you know where I stand, a life long liberal and supporter of women’s rights. BUT yesterday jangled all my alarm bells, it was not right, not right, not right. I’m sorry for this poor woman with the anxiety disorder she described, and clearly something or things have hurt her in the past, but there is actually no corroborated connection to the Supreme Court nominee.
ReplyDeleteHow can a random accusation derail this process? To take down someone, this nominee or future nominee who has been vetted many times over at high levels of government?
I wonder if you saw Kavanaugh’s testimony in full? Since it was your playground time:) it was riveting, the greatest outpouring of anguish and outrage I’ve ever heard. Ever. Well, I have since found that the media, my media sources, NPR and NYT, did not at all give a fair summary of yesterday’s proceedings to their audience. The way they described Kavanaugh’s statement sounded like a tantrum. It was not that. The media manipulation has been astonishing.
My husband says the whole thing is payback for what Mitch McConnell did, in illegally denying a confirmation hearing for Merrick Garland. So sad. So scary.
Smart phones were invented for streaming on the playground. I heard nearly everything, including his entire opening statement.:)
DeleteI am going to answer your comment not as a democrat or a republican or independent. I write this as an attorney, an American attorney who is horrified at what happened yesterday. Kavanaugh's anger at the situation is very real whether he was guilty or not. His lifelong quest for this position suddenly trembling on the words of a woman who claims he did something to her as a teen. But what he said in his opening statement was horrible for so many reasons! He stripped himself of any semblance of impartiality by lashing out at democrats, accusing them (without any proof and indeed try as she did, the prosecutor could not find evidence of it) of participating in a "financed by millions!" smear effort, coming up with any lie, anything at all to rock his nomination. That's a narrative that has no support. However the democrats handled this (poorly? respectfully of her wishes? I dont know), there is simply no evidence that they were doing anything more than bringing this real complaint to the table. For his words of venom and hatred toward the democratic senators, for his demonstration of his contempt for democratic institutions and the rule of law -- he should be disqualified.
As for your problem with corroboration, Joy, this is the second major issue with his testimony. I stand with the men and women of the American Bar Association demanding an independent FBI investigation. Perhaps it would reveal nothing more than we already know, but I doubt it. There is a reason why every Republican and Kavanaugh himself refuse to go that route: it could actually get us closer to the truth. If I wanted to clear my name of a smear, I'd say yes! Please! Bring in the FBI! My reputation is at stake! If I were a Senator on that Committee, due diligence would require me to investigate allegations of criminal misconduct. Doesn't it bother you that no Republican Senator (thus far) has asked for this and most importantly that he did not ask for this?
If we're going to take it to a discussion of who is lying, or misrepresenting the past, I had this nagging uncomfortable feeling listening to Kavanaugh: did you see how carefully he avoided EVERY question about his past (except the one asking him whether he assaulted her)? He was careful not to incriminate himself. It's not impossible to imagine that further evidence would point to lies in his recount and he did not want to lie under oath. His professional life would truly be over then. So he simply evaded all questions about his conduct during the years under scrutiny. Every one of them.
Again, I don't look at SCOTUS as something that should stoke liberal or conservative interests. I look at it as a revered body that stands independently to consider the most profound legal questions facing our nation. It's been hard to maintain that vision given the last two or three years of political manipulation. But as of yesterday, I am in despair.
My reading comprehension is at a very high level, my listening skills less so. I tend to be swayed by the emotion of the speaker, as with both parties at yesterday’s clustercluck. But I can think it through later, and am less swayed by the emotion. George Stephanopoulos slipped up and referred to Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony as a “performance”. Whoops, George!
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your legal interpretation of yesterday’s events. I am in despair too. Our Senate is in danger of being broken by such partisan machinations on both sides.
I feel like yesterday was a metaphorical gang rape by Senators of MY party. They are all so eager to mouth the exact same thing for the record; it’s about their own re-election and in the short term, activating women for the coming election. (With the best hearts and humanity and youthful optimism, our own young women are politically active in a positive way) (also, of course, progressive, need I say it)
Interesting that immediately commentators all had one talking point about Kavanaugh: “he didn’t show a judicial temperament”. Well, that was the man, the hurt and furious person that we heard. The Justice will be what justices are: legal scholars. In my opinion he wasn’t showing contempt for democratic institutions, he was angry because he thinks THEY, Democrat Senators, are the ones showing contempt for the institution and process ny attempting to subvert it.
I was shocked at his personal outburst against the Senators. By then he’s thinking, fuck it, I’m in or I’m out, but I will speak my truth. I cannot but think that the the machinations (holding back the letter, delaying hearings again, asking for another investigation, are anything but an effort to delay this vote until after the election.
Not fair play. Not as the Framers intended. And neither was the shut down of the wonderful Merrick Garland. For which, as we have thought, this is all payback.
Another thing that makes me think I’m right about a concerted plan to sink him is that some Dems immediately say, well, if he’s confirmed we’ll move to impeach. Not even any respect for their own process.
You understand that Kavanaugh, with his rigid pro-life views, is NOT the man I would want on the court.
But I still have respect for the institutions, the process, the law, though what has happened this summer has been so ugly. You may be right that there’s been no proof of subversion in this confirmation process, but my instincts tell me that it has been wrong, wrong.
It has been a shameful event in our history. And we’ll survive it.
I'm more cynical: his outburst was dictated by strategists. It's also what Trump (who has the power to withdraw his nomination) wanted. Obviously, reading your thoughts on this -- I'd say it was pretty effective!
DeleteAs for Kavanaugh's scorn for our democratic institutions -- recall his put down of the confirmation process and his disdain for calling in the FBI, whose work could bring everyone closer to a good decision.
I’m ordering sushi now and just seeing news headlines scroll above the bar. I’m very pleased with this compromise (Flake). The investigation must have clear parameters and a deadline.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had thought to order sushi. I do not feel like cooking....
DeleteYour :) for the day ... if you google me, you’ll find I’m a registered Republican. :)
ReplyDeleteBut you know me better than that!
I did vote in the Ohio Republican primary. like many others, I hoped my vote for Johm Kasich would block Trump. Alas...
Feel better soon! You’ll shake this little cold off fast, I’m sure.
ReplyDeleteOh, Nina. I really think we (the people) will be all right no matter how the Washington elite behaves.
ReplyDeleteAll the sturm and drang we have endured lately ... we can rise above. Kavanaugh is not my choice, I don’t want Trump’s man, but I do want fairness and respect for the process. Is that a naive point of view? Civics 101?
I was out and about today, and filled with love for my fellow man - the farmer from whom I bought the mums, the other people who held doors and smiled and said hello and thank you, the drivers who let me in, or waved when I let them in... the teenagers walking by who were friendly and open, the children who, every day, behold a world of wonders that they know is all theirs to explore, if only we remember our responsibility to preserve it for them.
The sushi was excellent, and two lovely glasses of wine later, I’m sure I sound quite mellow, or incoherent.
I'm still on my first glass -- and yes, I would under oath admit to drinking wine on a weekday! :)
DeleteLovely thoughts, Joy. Ones I share, as you know.