Sybil Ludington Rides Again

Politics, Freedom and Farm Life

If I Could Turn Back Time

There is a make-up commercial currently running on TV that uses the song “If I could turn back time”, by the rather cheezy sleazy Cher.

Fabulous voice, I seem to remember she was good in Moonstruck. The words to the song don’t completely apply to this column though.

I’m growing older, it’s not so much that I feel it, though some days I do a little. It’s more looking at our country and what it has become. I’ve been thinking about this column since before the start of the Wuhan Flu that is devastating our world right now. I was thinking about it because of the political divide, how it can be so deep. I was thinking back to when my Dad was still alive and my sisters and I all lived at home, say circa 1960s and 1970s. Republicans and Demoncrats could actually be friends. There aren’t really Republicans and Demoncrats anymore. Republicans are more Democrat light, and Demoncrats are socialists working on moving towards communism. I figured out some time ago you can’t really be friends with them. The only exception are the ones that are pretty politically unaware and don’t realize their party left them years ago. Progressives don’t really have a moral compass, nor much in the way of ethics. So for the most part, I choose not to spend the little free time I have in their company by choice.

But that’s not where I’m going with this either. I’ve been watching the changes in my Mom and my Aunt, it’s hard. And since the divorce I think about the million memories I have of my folks coming down here when I first bought my farm to help me make it livable. I don’t think about the WLB (wormy little bastard) or have wistful memories of that at all. I guess my mortality hit me when I remembered thinking how strong my parents were for their age when they came down here almost every day to help me. And then it hit me. They were about two years older than I am now.

I think back to living at home with Mom, Dad and my sisters, the camping trips we took, all the way to the west coast. Of the ski trips to the lake and how Dad and I loved to water ski, Mom and my sisters loved to fish. I tried to get them to compromise by telling them Dad and I would pull each other skiing and they could throw their lines over the side and troll. They always whined they wouldn’t catch anything that way. They always were unreasonable like that. I never realized how wonderful I had it. I mean I knew I was blessed, I knew we had it pretty good, but our country united I took for granted. That feeling of being loved, I took for granted. The fun of thinking what life would be like when I met “the one”. The ability to trust someone, that was nice. To have someone special to talk to when things were really good or really bad, that was nice.

As of Valentine’s day 2019 I realized that I must never allow those kinds of thoughts of feelings to gain a foothold again. When the guy who swore he would love you forever hires the ethically challenged wife of the prosecuting attorney for his divorce lawyer you shouldn’t be surprised the sweet nothings he wants to whisper in your ear are “my lawyer says I should kick your f*ing door in”. Huh, he’s the one that left. Thank you G-d. One should remember words of “love” mean needing to padlock all gates shut when you’re home or gone. Words of love mean you need security cameras and to change locks. Words of love mean you might want to up your .380 to a 9mm, or more.

Handling life’s challenges

If I could turn back time, to when I was with my family and we did things together, to feel that sweetness. To work on a car again or a typewriter with my Dad. To have Mom help me with a sewing pattern. To go to my grandparents farm and learn from Grandma and Papa. Oh the millions of questions I wish I could ask them now! I’d be a far better farmer if I could. If I could turn back time to the figure I had when I was in my 20s, 30s, 40s and even 50s. Yeah, I miss that. I also miss having a shoulder and hip that didn’t hurt. Souvenirs of “incidents” with my horses. But I miss my figure more.

But if I turned back time, then I wouldn’t have my own farm. I would never have had my soulmate horse Cuchulainn, I wouldn’t have Captain right now and we are becoming closer all the time since he’s been on “stall arrest”. I wouldn’t have met some of the fabulous people I’ve met, I wouldn’t have gotten to go to Israel 3 times, I wouldn’t be so blessed to have found where I belong in faith. I wouldn’t have gotten to be involved in the Second Amendment movement and been part of a grassroots group and now writing for The Zelman Partisans. Or what if I got stuck somewhere in between? I might have my farm and my figure and Cuchulainn, but still be married to the WLB and getting knifed in the back for a few more years. Um, OH HELL NO!!

Letting go of the familiar

I have no idea what life is going to look like. The Wuhan Flu has pretty much shut down every nation on earth. I wonder what will happen to the little Mom and Pop businesses, having been one for many years. My profession now has me on the front lines of the battle against the virus. Between work, my farm, trying to get Captain healed up, writing, Hebrew school, Beit Knesset on Shabbat and beginning to study horsemanship again it’s a pretty full life. I’d like to start sewing and doing leather work again. Heck, I’d like to have a clean house and fixed pasture fences. I’m blessed with a wonderful puppy, my beloved horse, my kitty girl and my darling chickens. I have people and critters that need and love me. But still sometimes I think it would be nice if there were someone special to confide in, to share sorrow and triumph. But then I remind myself, those days are gone. That time has passed, that girl that had that openness and believed in partnership has left the stage. The woman that remains is stronger, harder and hopefully more capable and far less trusting. I believe that G-d has a plan for my life, as he does everyone’s. I believe if I ask him, trust him and do what he puts in front of me I can still live in his will despite mistakes I’ve made along the way, and some sins. G-d loves us, he created this world and he wants us to make a place for him in it, in our lives. We all grow, we all change hopefully. To remain on earth with no growth to show for it would be sad indeed. But still, remembering back, turning back the hands of time to when life was a bit different, when America was a bit more Norman Rockwell, sometimes I think that would be really nice. But what would be the cost? It’s why I think I realize I must live in the here and now, and just from time to time take out those sunlit memories of days and people long gone, relive a bit of memory, because those? Those remain.

Memory, the diary of our lives

 

The Party

There was once a wonderful man, he was actually the richest man on earth. But far from being arrogant, he was kind, merciful and loving. He was a real tzadik, צַדִּיק

He would help anyone who sincerely asked for help, and was willing to listen to what he advised. He had a lovely family, and they all worked together to help their employees succeed at their endeavors and also to achieve their dreams, if they were good and noble. No one in that family was going to be driving a get-a-way car if armed robbery was someone’s dream.

They did have rules though, it wasn’t because he was power mad, it was because when someone first started working for that company they had no idea how to be a “good” employee. The didn’t know the way the company worked, they didn’t know the other people, they didn’t know who was the boss, who was the foreman, supervisor or janitor. They didn’t even know where the bathroom was, or when breaks were given! So the rules helped the company run smoothly and ensured the employees would treat each other with respect, and pull their own weight in the company.

One month, the man decided to give a party. It was glorious. The weather was perfect, all the roads were easy to travel. There were big beautiful tents set up on the lawn of his lovely home. There was a band playing on the lawn as well and a choir of renown singing the most beautiful songs. I would have asked for Ana Bekoach and Vehi She Amda for sure! And the food! Oh my! He had so many different kinds of food! There were delicacies from every country and culture.

The man sat on a beautiful chair centrally located in the midst of the party so he could watch his family, friends, employees, the towns people and business associates all mingling and enjoying themselves.

But no one came up and talked to him. The people would go to his staff serving drinks or food and thank them for the lovely party. The people went up to his family and thanked them for the invitation. Some went to his business partners and thanked them for the good turn of fortunes they had experienced. When this happened, the staff, family or others would look at the people with astonishment and tell them they had nothing to do with it. It was the man, he was seated on a chair in the middle of the festivities.

But no one went to thank him. No one went to express their joy and gratitude. They all said he was too foreboding, too stern a figure, too powerful, he might judge them. Just pass the message along.

And so the man sat there, in the midst of all he had given mostly alone except for a few people who joyfully came up to him with reverence and expressed their gratitude and love for all he had provided, not just that day, but everyday from the start of a beautiful sunrise.

I wonder if G-d ever feels like that.

Partners

I guess I’ve been thinking about this a lot. I’ve heard Mom talking about it a lot lately, so I guess that’s what got me to pondering.

I heard her talking one night about all the stray cats in Israel, wherever that is. They are like my sister Cowgirl Kitty in a way. They are the same kind of animal, but there the similarity ends. Cowgirl Kitty lives in the sewing room, she has a bed, and Mom gives her stuff in a fancy red filigree food holder, and she has her own dish of water. I’ve watched Mom fill it. She gets something special on top of her food every morning, and Mom picks her up and holds her and cuddles her. Sometimes when they think I’m asleep she jumps out of her sewing room and comes and sits on Mom’s lap while she’s working on her computer. They think I don’t know. I’m a Anatolian, I know. Mom says in Israel those cats don’t have a home, they roam the streets looking for food and someplace warm! Sometimes they get sick and die, sometimes they get run over and sometimes mean people hurt them. I don’t understand. I want to chase my kitty sister, especially if she will run, but I don’t understand people like that. Mom says it’s because they haven’t been tutored, or something that sounds like that. I guess what it means is nobody loves those kitties enough to make sure they don’t bring more kitties that don’t have homes into the world.

It happens in America as well, but here more people seem to take their “fur children” to the doctor. I went to a doctor before I came to live with my Mom. I don’t remember anything. I was sore for a day or so, but after that, nope. It did seem as time went on jumping the fence and running off wasn’t as much fun. Well, and that time my collar started vibrating like crazy as I jumped the fence. I really hated that. It quit just as I came back in the yard. Weird, it never happens when I’m in the yard. Oh well, one of life’s mysteries.

But back to partners. Mom told me about a picture she saw,

After battle

Obviously very brave, and obviously had been in a fight. At least one little sheep seemed to know the dog had put it’s life on the line to protect them. Mom says if anti-gun people have their way they would pull the dogs teeth. I’m not sure, maybe she’s kidding because that would be so stupid! How could a sheepdog protect the sheep without it’s teeth. But, Mom says there are a lot of stupid people.

יש הרבה אנשים טיפשים
אני מדבר גם עברית

I also speak Hebrew.

She also wondered where the dogs partner was. It seems Livestock Guardian dogs work as pairs. Either there should be another Livestock Guardian dog nearby, or a herding dog. When there is a threat, the herding dog rounds up the sheep so they are easier to protect, the the guardian dog has less territory to cover. The picture doesn’t show the partner. Mom was sad, she wondered it this is the only one that survived.

Mom says partners are a very special and rare thing. I looked up at her with all the love I could put in my eyes and put my hand on her leg. She leaned over and put her head on mine and told me I am an awesome partner. She said we do lots together and that I am wonderful company. That made me feel good. She’s not a perfect Mom. She’s gets twisted about weird stuff, like chewing that tantalizing white paper that’s all on a roll and ready to go. I don’t know what the deal is, it’s great for decorating, but she gets twisted, so I’ve quit doing it. She’s weird that way. She doesn’t like it when I try to share her dinner, but she’s right when she says she doesn’t do that to me.

So, here’s what I do know. There are millions of people like me and my sister Cowgirl Kitty, or maybe even my horse brothers that don’t have warm homes and anything to eat. I’m going to pray they get homes. Even if they have weird Mom’s like mine, maybe especially for them to have weird Moms like mine. I have a purple coat she puts on me when it’s wicked cold. At first I thought I was being punished for something. But she seems so happy and says how handsome I am. I have noticed it’s not as cold when I wear it, so who knows. Maybe Mom know something I don’t?

A most handsome boy in his coat

This partner thing must be elusive. But she tells me all kinds of stuff and knows I won’t tell anyone, I promised her. When she’s sad I cuddle up to her, and when she’s happy we do stuff. I’ve taught her to throw a ball and a frisbee ring! She is smart! I’ve taught her to always put the lid down on the toilet too. Sometimes we just sit on the front porch and cuddle, I like that a lot. And if I think she’s worked on the computer too long, sometimes I get up off my bed and sleep in her office till we’re ready for a bath. I like how she got a soft fluffy bath mat for me to lay on. I don’t get the fascination with bathing, mercifully she only does it to me once in a while, but if it makes her happy, I just guard the door. So I hope I’m being a good partner, because I really think she is trying to be a partner and a good Mom to me. We sure do have some fun. I hope we go to the feed store soon, because that always gets me treats!

So I’ve been thinking about that brave Anatolian fighter. This is how I sleep when I’m at home with Mom and Cowgirl kitty.

Sleeping soundly

Yes, I’ve chewed up one of my beds. Yes, it was fun! But here’s the thing, I can sleep like this because I’ve got my Mom, and she’s got my back. I can love her with all my heart, but this is about trust, not love. I know she loves me, but I also think it’s safe to sleep with my tummy up.

 

A cold day!

It was below zero today! I was cold and Mom made me wear my purple coat when I went outside. When I came back in, it felt so good to curl up in front of the stove and have a little nap. And now I’m thinking about all those poor fur children that don’t have Moms and homes because people didn’t love the parents enough to tutor them. Mom says it’s worse than that. Some people leave their children outside on a night this cold! They say they have a coat. That’s horrid. I have a lovely Anatolian coat, and my purple coat. And I was still so happy my Mom has me and Cowgirl kitty inside. We have water, food, warmth and love. I feel so bad for those that don’t. But not enough to change places with them.

Well, that’s how I see things, anyway.

May I sniff your leg?

The mighty Shimshon

Hi there, my name is Shimshon. I think I’m am mostly an Anatolian Shepherd, at least that’s what Mom says I am. I’m not sure how old I am really. I’ve lived with Mom and my sister Cowgirl kitty since early June of 2018. I rescued my Mom. I used to live in another town, I don’t remember much about my early life. I do remember, vaguely living in another place with a lot of chainlink and a lot of other dogs for a while. There were really nice people there, but it wasn’t like a “real” home. I saw some of the other kids there meet people and leave, they seemed happy and didn’t come back. No one ever came to meet me. Then one day this lady came to meet me, ME! She called me Shimshon when Kathy brought me up to meet her. I wasn’t sure what it meant but she held open her arms to ME! And I knew she could be good. After I’d been with her for a bit I could tell something was wrong with her. She was really hurt very badly inside. She was kind of like a walking wound. I wasn’t sure I could help her, but I was willing to try. She talked to me in two different languages. One was human, like everyone else. But the other was different, it was Hebrew, and I just kind of knew what she was saying and asking me to do. Mind you, I don’t always do it, but I usually do. We got along swell. So I was shocked when she left without me. She promised to come back. Yeah, that’s what they all say. But then a few days later, she did come back! This time she loaded me up in her car and we set off on our new adventure of a life together.

I still don’t get along with my sister Cowgirl kitty, but Mom says we’ll work on it. I’m better at not getting on her bed I get on it less often, and I never chew seldom chew her shoes anymore. MAN she was liv-id when I ate her sandals from a Tel Aviv (whatever that is). But I do it less. I really like playing with Mom, I’ve got her trained to throw my favorite pink ball so I can chase it. She just says

איפה כדור ורוד שלך

And off I go!! She’s clever that way.

She’s kind of good about buying me outfits. I know I’m special because I have a whole drawer full of cool clothes. Some are summery and some are more for winter. I had a way cool one for Hanukkah, it had a dreidel on it. I have ninja turtle outfit, pink flamingo outfit, dog outfit, flowers, farm, and regular bandana, Hawaiian, all kinds of cool stuff! I’m good with baths, but I hate, flipping hate having my toenails trimmed. I’ve figured out ears aren’t a big deal. Mom taught me what different parts of my body are called him Hebrew, so when she says אוזניים I know she’s going to clean my ears.

We have a lot of fun together, and I look forward to sharing some of my adventures with you. She’s even giving me my own blog page! I’ll see you there.

Shimshon

Moving on or up?

In the mid-1970s there was a TV show called “Movin’ On” about a pair of truck drivers, Will and Sonny, theme song by Merle Haggard. These guys were not pick up truck drivers as you can see, they drove the big 18 wheelers and probably why Kenworth is still my favorite. Can you imagine the nightmare of one being stuck in deep snow? Or mud? Those things don’t turn on a dime, they are not exactly light and agile, you add in deep slick snow or thick mud? There is a nightmare.

Do you ever feel like that in life? Like you are stuck in molasses or deep thick mud? You know you don’t like where you are, you have a glimmer of maybe not where, but how you would like to be but you haven’t a clue how to get there. Perhaps it is some goal you’ve set, to finish college, or start college, perhaps it’s to take up race car driving or trap shooting. How does one get from here to there? That’s a challenge in and of itself isn’t it?

Now add in perhaps you’ve made a commitment, one that you fully intended to keep. To help someone that needs it out every, say every evening. And so you go along for a few years helping them out every evening. You feel good in the knowledge you are helping someone who needs help, you are doing a kindness. But as time goes on it is beginning to wear on you. You have your own work to do, and your own deadlines to meet. And you are cutting yourself short on things because you do have other responsibilities, at home, at work and in life. And then, then that local community college nearby adds a course in the field you’ve always wanted. It’s for a limited time, only 3 years to see if there is enough interest in it to permanently add it to their roster, and it’s a 2 year degree.

To do it, you will need to face a mountain of obstacles, how will I pay for it? Do I make enough money I can support myself and my dependents? Can I stay where I live? If not, can I find another place? Do I have the time to study and really learn the material? Am I too old to start over in that kind of a college environment, those kids are probably really sharp, will I be able to keep up in class? I used to be a good student, but perhaps my best scholastic days are behind me. That’s a plenty to sort isn’t it?

And then you come to a really big obstacle. You help this person out every night. And they really do need your help. They’ve become accustomed to you, how you do things, and there is a sort of friendship there. You’ve said that you would be there to help them as long as they needed you. But now, now you want to do this. It would give your a different chance in life. Maybe better, maybe not. There are no guarantees, only opportunities, only chances, no guarantees, not a one. So you think you would like to take this chance, you think you would like to break free and run for the chance.

But, what right do you have to break your word? To break the promise you would come every night to help them? There isn’t anyone else and what makes your happiness more important that theirs? After all, you did give your word, you did promise. Oh, back then you didn’t have a crystal ball and didn’t know as time passed the situation would change, but it has. Perhaps you shouldn’t have promised rashly? Perhaps it wasn’t rashly. You really intended to keep that promise. But still, the situation has changed, they always do.

This week I listened to Temple Talk radio like I always do, I love that show and learn so much from it. You can listen to the whole show here.

But this is a little clip just a few minutes long, with the relevant part. Just a smidge over 4 minutes.

So are we allowed to change our minds? Even if it makes someone else sad?

And once we get past that, then we get to deal with all the other things I started out with, paying for it, income, staying where we are and being to old to start over in college and keeping up all our other responsibilities in life.

This was from one of my devotional books yesterday. I have some devotional books I like reading every morning with my coffee.

Another one of them is by Rebbe Nachman of Breslov and this was the page I read yesterday.

LIES

Ruler of the World, grant me truth!

Spare me from the lies of others.

Help me stop myself from lying to others.

Save me from lying to myself, and spare me from the lies of my own illusions.

O God, never let me live a lie, even for only a moment.

(LM 1:7)

And that’s where the wheels of Will and Sonny’s Kenworth are for I think a lot of people. A faint glimmer of what is wanted, but all 18 wheels stuck in the mud.

Do we live with the illusion that we won’t be sorry we didn’t take the chance, take our shot? Or is the illusion that we won’t miss the routine of our life now? It’s not really all that bad is it now? That when the challenges end up being much more than we dreamed of that we won’t berate ourselves for having thrown, perhaps not happiness, but a stable existence away? And what if it causes us to lose something that is even more dear to us that the thought of that college degree we always dreamed of? Those letters behind our name? The knowledge, oh yes, the knowledge we’ve yearned for. But what if the price for that is far more dear than we anticipated?

I have no answers for anyone, I know someone who does. Hint? He made horses…..

 

Facing the Quicksand

I’m sure everyone has had to do things they don’t especially want to do. For me lately it’s been a barn infested with raccoons. Oh yes, they are cute, they are adorable, very clever little bandits. Until you find they have killed one third of your flock of chickens like I did several years ago. I don’t want to hear the nonsense about them just being hungry. Not when you find your chicken dying having had a leg or wing ripped off, or just ripped open. Not when you find their corpses stashed in the upper part of the chicken house. No, it killed because it enjoyed it. And so I will tolerate no raccoons in my barn. It’s too close to the chickens. Not to mention they poop on the hay for the boys and they carry diseases. Nope, not happening.

So this year has been very bad for them, and me. I’m guessing at some point a mother gave birth to a bunch of them and they’ve all come back for a family reunion. So far they have chewed up the extension cord that my stock tank heater was plugged into. While it was plugged in. I’m still grateful it didn’t set my barn on fire. The tin I kept the boys treats in has been in use for years and the lid fit tight enough it was never a problem till this year. I don’t use it anymore. I’ve lost track of how many I’ve killed. But I’m very tired of having to clean up the “messes”. The last one I had to clean up was the worst. I just couldn’t make myself do it for various and sundry reasons. I finally ended up praying about it. It had to be done, I knew that or it would attract more animals. Believe it or not, an answer did come, and I was able to accomplish the necessary task fairly quickly. The sense of relief was amazing. Yes, I know it seems like a stupid thing, but not when you have to do it.

And it set me to thinking. How many other things in life do I try to do on my own willpower, or with only my own resources? Sometimes we just don’t have it in us to be nice to that person that really annoys us, or we don’t even like. Or to work on a task we are dreading but know we need to do it. I wonder, have I thought it was too lowly for G-d to want to help me, or to bother him about it? I know the only real strength, wisdom, courage, creativity or anything else comes from him. Perhaps I need to be quicker to ask for help with even things that seem lowly, or like I should be able to do them on my own. Because frankly? Some of those efforts don’t turn out so good.

I guess it depends on how we choose to spend our time. We all have time, sometimes it seems like not enough, but I think it’s a case of what I choose to “spend” it on. I can waste it on a multitude of things, or I can treat it like the gift it is, and spend it wisely.

This is from a meditation book I love called The Daily Stoic for March 15th.

The Present is All We Possess

Were you to live three thousand years, or even a countless multiple of that, keep in mind that no one ever loses a life other than the one they are living, and no one ever lives a life other than the one they are losing. The longest and the shortest life, then, amount to the same, for the present moment lasts the same for all and is all anyone possesses. No one can lose either the past or the future, for how can someone be deprived of what’s not theirs?”

MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 2.14

Today, notice how often you look for more. That is, wanting the past to be more than what it was (different, better, still here, etc.) or wanting the future to unfold exactly as you expect (with hardly a thought as to how that might affect other people).

When you do this, you’re neglecting the present moment. Talk about ungrateful! There’s a saying—attributed to Bil Keane, the cartoonist—worth remembering: “Yesterday’s the past, tomorrow’s the future, but today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present.” This present is in our possession—but it has an expiration date, a quickly approaching one. If you enjoy all of it, it will be enough. It can last a whole lifetime.

And that brings me to facing quicksand. There are things, situations and events that happen in life. They are big, and they didn’t turn out the way we had hoped or wanted. We feel like they are so painful that there is a psychic tear or something in us. We heal, but we are not the same. Sometimes it’s the lose of a much loved family member. Sometimes it’s something career oriented, sometimes it relationship oriented. So what do we do with that? All of these are situations we don’t control really. We can never really control another person.

We just don’t want to let go. We think it will get better, just a rough patch, be patient, be kind. It’s only when the decomposition process begins we are finally forced to admit that it is done for. Stick a fork in it, it’s done. Let it go Jim, he’s dead.

They do what they do, but we can choose how we react. If we do choose to react. Sometimes we go on, get over it and go forward with the relationship, the job, the hobby or whatever. But sometimes? That tear is strong enough that we choose to alter our course in life, or our thoughts or opinions about the job, the person, the opportunity. I think of it as quicksand. If you’ve been caught in quicksand once and made it out, you know what it looks like when you see it. When you’re out walking, you aren’t afraid of it, you have an appreciation for what it can do to you and you just tip your hat and walk on by it. Because there is just not a good enough reason to examine it up close again. It’s not living life based on fear, but on how you chose to react to something that doesn’t work out well for you.

So, today is a present, may I spend it wisely and remember, G-d cares about the situations I face and that he can use those psychic tears in our souls. I don’t know that I want to “mend” or “heal” from some of them. I think I will just begin to see it as something of a quicksand avoidance system. And perhaps with that system in place? I will become even closer to who and what G-d created me to be in the first place. I may be a very flawed creature, but I’m a flawed creature that G-d has a plan for. I’ve discovered his plans for me are often better than the ones I make for myself. I shoot too low from time to time. My hopes and aspirations for myself are sometimes pittance to what he has planned. Because his? They are always on the mark.  I’m sure many have felt bruised and battered. I do. But I will keep going on with as much dignity as I can, learn life lessons and be the stronger for it.

Love Notes From G-d

Some times I get to thinking that things I think need to happen aren’t happening fast enough. Or perhaps that I’m not doing enough to make them happen, or that I’m doing things that keep them from happening. And, perhaps, sometimes some of those things are true. But sometimes I think that it’s also that I think I have more control over people, situations and circumstances than I really do. Or that I want to have more control over them than I should. I suppose it could be a bit of arrogance. The flip side of that is sometimes it’s mired in uncertainty because I don’t know which direction to go or how to get from here to there.

A few days ago I started trying a new nail painting technique I saw on Facebook. A friend of mine had posted a video of different techniques for pretty designs that could be done at home. Of course he posted it a few months ago, but it stuck with me. So a few days ago I finally got around to trying it. I liked it. So a few days later when the polish had a chip, I decided to try it again with a couple of different colors. I chose a melon with a blue accent, then added a couple of drops of silver sparkley polish for good measure. It wound up being really pretty.

Yes, this is going somewhere.

Last month I ordered three really pretty polo shirts from The Zelman Partisans Queensboro store. Since the things are made to order, they take awhile to get here, so you never should count on them being in at a certain time, unless you placed your order way in advance. They came on Shabbat.

The Jewish Arts Festival was on Sunday. I wasn’t scheduled to work it, but I wanted to. I had a friend who had been asked to help at the Israeli Technology booth. I love Israel, and I love my technology. So a call had been placed with a plaintive request, “could you see if they would let me help in the booth?”. Call them and ask. No, I want you to call and ask. I was afraid they’d tell me no. I think I see a couple chicken feathers floating past my desk right now. To my great joy the answer was a resounding yes, and have her call me at once. I did and it was all set up.

You’ve probably guessed this part. The nails I had done a few days before perfectly matched the melon shirt and the embroidery of the design. The shirt I hadn’t seen yet and didn’t know it would be here.

Since I was a last minute addition to the roster, I just wore my own shirt rather than accepting the Jewish Arts festival volunteer shirt they were giving volunteers. They were thrilled, guess medium is a popular size.

Many, many people saw that Zelman Partisans logo that day as I spoke on my topics of ReWalk and Netafim’s Flexnet drip irrigation system.

It prompted some interesting comments, “Are those guns on your shirt???” “Why yes they are”. From there the discussion went to my extreme aversion to cattle cars and ghettos. The history of gun control laws, the Weimer Republic and living life as a free person. The people that point blank asked me about it seemed very interested in discussing it, and it was an excellent conversation all the way around. They actually already leaned that way, but they thought TZP was amazing. It is.

So here’s the thing. For some reason I decided to chose the soft melon orange over the brighter orange. I chose the blue accent rather than the green or pink or purple.

I don’t know that G-d is fixated on my nail polish color, but I do think he can urge us to do things if we are open to hearing him.

Little miracles and big ones, he gives them all to us. I want to be open to seeing the little miracles, matching nail polish and shirt for a very put together look at a public appearance. A beautiful sunset or sunrise. The very corral panels I wanted being on sale just when I’m working enough hours to buy them, and they are the only corral panels on sale. Passing my ACLS class when I really didn’t get to study as much as I wanted or needed to study. Little and big miracles, he gives them to us all. I do not want to throw the little miracles back in his face because they weren’t “big enough” to suit me, or impress me enough, or the “right” ones. The more aware I am of the little miracles, the more I realize how many of them there are. I want to be attuned to his voice, to his presence to his will.

And sometimes I just feel like I flounder. I know he loves me, I know he wants what’s best for me, and for me to be happy. I also know sometimes the path that I think will bring those things will not bring them. But he knows the path that will. Things happen, to make me a better person, for soul correction, to help me empathize with others. I’ve learned to appreciate the little bits of happiness when I have them. For me to fixate only on my problems, and worry will not necessarily change anything. But when I do that, to the exclusion of the little bits of happiness I was offered along the way I am being foolish. It does not cause the problems to sort themselves quicker, it does not shorten the time of trouble. It only prevents me from having some peace and happiness along the way that I was offered. Arrogance and lack of emuna (faith).

So, I’m going to take my new shirt, and perfectly matching nail polish and design coupled with a wonderful chance to talk about Israeli technology as a love note from G-d. Sybil, I know what you need, I know when you need it, and I put things into place and play before you even know they are important. You concentrate on doing the things I put in front of you today, and remember child, I love you. I’ve got this.

Love,

G-d, אבא

Perfect nails, perfect shirt

 

A Lot Can Happen In 30 Seconds

A tornado hit my best friend’s farm the other night. I got a call from her a few minutes after it happened. She sounded pretty calm, it crossed my mind it could be the calm of someone partly in shock. I wanted to go down then, but there was still a storm going and she told me that too many power lines were down. I said I’d come the next day. She told me I’d never get through. I said I’ll come Wednesday, she said I might be able to make it then. She said they were all safe except one kitty who was missing. The roof was gone off the barn, windows were broken through the house, but they were safe and at her Mom’s which didn’t sustain much damage.

So today was the day, I went prepared with two big foil pans full of Cafe Rio Black Beans, a bag of mountain trail mix, 2-2 liter bottles of Coca Cola, a 2 liter of cherry Coca Cola (the only thing she asked for was that I bring 4 Coca colas for them) a gallon of Arizona Sweet Tea, a 2 liter of Diet Mountain Lightening, it’s like diet mountain dew and 20 pounds of ice. 2 packages of baby butt wipes, in refreshing cucumber scent since in addition to no power, they had no water. A box of assorted flavors of black tea, and since she sounded so down Tuesday night I asked her what I could bring her to give her a lift. She couldn’t think of anything. Luckily I knew just the thing, I got her a bag of Hersey’s kisses with caramel. One of her favorite things is caramel. While chocolate may not solve life’s problems, it does make them easier to bear.

When I finally got there she and her Mom were having a sandwich, I unloaded and went in. She offered me a cookie, one relative had brought sandwiches last night, someone else brought a box of cookies. Their Golden retriever Charlie came up to me with his zebra toy in his mouth excitedly telling me about what had happened. I listened and commiserated with him.

As I munched my chocolate chip cookie Celeste told me how it all went down.

First, a little of the layout. Celeste and her family live in one side of a earth contact duplex, her Mom lives in the other. The two share a common laundry room/mud room. Each has a separate entrance to the respective houses from a shared patio area that used to be covered with a charming arbor trellis. In the summer it would be lovely shade made of vibrant trumpet vines.

Bill, Celeste’s husband, had been outside the front door of Edith, his mother in law’s side. He saw the flashes of lightning and the power flashes, then he saw the tornado.

Now some of this is hitting me strongly because of the recent Systema class I took, and because I just finished Joe Mayberry’s first book, The Systema Warrior Guidebook. I’ll give you a link to the series of articles I’ve been doing for The Zelman Partisans at the end of this column.

Bill didn’t stand there and think, well, it’s a tornado, it may turn, they do that. He didn’t stand there and watch it to see what it would do, he read the writing on the wall and reacted instinctively. He spun and whipped back into the house and started yelling for them to get down. Celeste was at her Mom’s but they didn’t know where there 20ish son Jake was. Bill was yelling at Jake to get down, Edith was already on her knees and Bill put her all the way down and shielded her body with his. Edith was worried about her only pet and constant companion Molly, a little dog. Celeste put Molly under her, and shielded Molly with her body. Jake was in his house, he lives with Bill and Celeste when he’s in town. When Bill yelled at him, Jake didn’t say “Aww DAD, seriously?” He didn’t argue with his Dad, he didn’t look out the window to see if he could see it, he didn’t go out the door to check it out. Had he done any of those things? He’d be dead. This young man I’ve known since he was maybe six? He’d be gone.

Jake grabbed his Golden retriever Henry and threw him in the laundry room, then dived in after him. As he was diving into the laundry room, which has no windows the wind sucked the door closed after him. Estimates are within less than 2 seconds time from when Jake hit the laundry room to the door slamming shut. One thousand one, one thousand two. You’re dead. The wind came from the massive beam that flew through the kitchen window where Jake had been standing.

I absently reached down and rubbed Charlie some more as he continued to tell me his odyssey. Charlie had been missing for a while, he was finally found hiding in the garage, sitting on the golf cart that they use to putt around the farm. Everyday Celeste and the Goldens get on the golf cart and go down to their beautiful woods that Bill keeps like a park and the boys have a nice run through the fields. So I guess to Charlie? The golf cart is a “safe space”. It’s a bit disconcerting to realize a neutered Golden Retriever has more balls than most liberal snowflakes.

We finished our cookies and took the boys for a walk and she showed me the devastation. We fed the horses at the barn, all three were ok. One has a small scratch on his nose, that’s it. The roof was ripped off the barn while the horses were in it, and they are ok. Matt cat had reappeared yesterday and Celeste said in spite of the horror of all of this, after Matt cat came back she felt so much better. She said he was all sticky and covered in something, they have no idea what but by the time I saw him, he was sleek and shiny. Orange and white Paladin cat accompanied us, to supervise I suppose. She had managed to tie up the field fence around the pony pen with hay twine, so she had been able to let the horses out of their stalls after almost three days. So their brains were improving. We fed them and changed water in their buckets since the white van in the drive when I got there was the nice water man and water had been restored. Seems when water pipe is ripped out of the side of your house it creates lakes in your patio area. Huh. So fresh water all around for the horses and Matt cat.

Bill and some buddies from work were nailing a barn door back on to one end of the barn, that cut down on the wind tunnel, it’s a temporary fix, as is the barn roof, but if it works for a few weeks it’ll do.

About then Celeste’s cousin Charlie (not the dog, a really nice guy) got there with a big dish of fresh homemade chocolate chip cookies. I just laughed and said “Well, we are people of the South, when disaster strikes we show up with food and work gloves”. FEMA? BAH! The government? BAH, we bring food, tools and work gloves.

Bill came up on the golf cart when Charlie got there, I don’t think the chocolate chip cookies had anything to do with it though. I walk over to Bill and said “This will never happen again” and gave him the longest hug. I am SO grateful for this smart, savvy, brave man who does whatever he has to do to protect and take care of his family.

Then Celeste, Edith and I got to work. Celeste pointed to a debris field and said “salvage”. While she worked on salvage with her Mom cataloging what was saved and what was lost for insurance purposes I started treading beams of what used to be a storage shed. I found old photos of pets I vaguely remember Celeste having when we first met and became friends, they were fine. They were right next to ruined books, covered by a pair of men’s underwear. I found numerous marbles from Jake’s collection. I took great joy in giving them to Celeste and telling her, “no matter what you may think, or people may say, you have not lost them all”.

The field was littered with broken glass and boards loaded with nails, so the dogs had been penned up in the house. The cats were still on hand to supervise us though.

A set of intact china belonging to their daughter was found, but much of Bill’s Mom’s china was broken, although we did find some pieces. I found vases, some of Celeste’s beautiful silk flowers she makes lovely arrangements from, pieces of their nativity set, handmade quilts and afghans.

It was very sobering. I was chewing over what Bill said, “Sybil, a lot can happen in 30 seconds”. I searched through this family’s memories for things I could save for them, baby books? Bill’s letters from college, a vase that had been aunt somebody’s. Memories saved and treasured strewn over huge swathes of land decorated by uprooted trees and the neighbors clothes.

It was interesting, for the last few months, I don’t really know how long, I’ve felt my intuition and instinct have been jammed up. I don’t really know why, I think I’m getting a glimmer though. But as I mused on Bill’s words, I began to think about what is really important in life, what really matters. And about how we live our lives. And I began to try to let my instinct and intuition guide my searches. I found some amazing things intact. Celeste was overjoyed and shocked. I had been searching in a part of the debris field that had already been searched. By three people. So perhaps in trying to good for someone else, I am having some healing of some sort. Because the radar was working.

When Celeste and I got our turn with the golf cart we took the Goldens and went to the field again. Heartbreaking, trees over a couple hundred years old, laying on their sides with root balls exposed far taller than I am, they left holes 8 feet deep in the ground. Their woods will never be the same again. Not because they didn’t take care of it, but because something beyond their control whipped through, a lot can change in 30 seconds.

No matter how rooted we think we are in this life, no matter how rooted we think our lives are, they aren’t. Nothing on this earth is rooted beyond destruction. Only, only the things we have rooted in G-d are beyond the reach of this life. And a lot can change in 30 seconds. Live each day, the best we can, try not to borrow trouble, try to appreciate the things that bring us joy. Horses kisses? Oh yeah, a kitty on the lap, your dog nuzzling you? A friend on the phone, a random text message saying someone thought of you, coffee with a friend, good music and fabulous sunsets and sunrises. Enjoy it all, drink it in. A lot can happen in 30 seconds, and some of them may well be miracles.

Cutting Calves

The Warrior’s Path, Systema Part 1

The Warrior’s Path, Systema Part 2

The Warrior’s Path, Systema Part 3

 

Massive root ball leaving 8 foot hole

Damage near by

 

Amona

I just can not seem to let the injustice that is occurring in Amona, in Samaria, Israel go. I just can’t.

For some background on this issue, I’ve already written about it at The Zelman Partisans. This will give you the historical part that you might need.

The residents of Amona have excellent reason not to trust the government. The government is offering them a chance to move to a different spot on the same hill. There are some big problems with this.

First, you can’t trust the Israeli courts about this issue. David Wilder has an excellent column, Amona, on this detailing his experience with a similar situation involving the Shuk in Hevron. He also mentions how the eviction from Gush Katif has turned out pretty much the same way.

Government: Leave your homes, we will provide an alternative location for you to live, or you can come back in a few months and live here legally.

Threatened Citizens: Gee, I don’t know, you haven’t been good about keeping your word.

Government: Don’t worry baby, I’ll still respect you in the morning, you can trust us.

Until today, the 18th of Kislev, the 18th of December the residents of Amona had rejected the governments “generous” offer to let 24 of the 42 families losing their homes stay in the town on the hill known as Amona. If you haven’t read the background, and you should, this town was built with government help and blessing. Yes, the same government throwing them out now. Because of the absentee arab landowner that hasn’t paid taxes on it for years, ever, and may not even know they own it, who knows? The previous agreement was only going to let 12 families stay, so my my, how much more generous this is! I’ve found no mention yet of how the residents decide who gets to stay. Nor have I found where the ones that don’t get to stay are going to go. Who is going to handle the arrangements for those families. The government says it’s going to build 52 new homes and buildings for the residents of Amona. Yeah, you can take that one to the bank.

So why am I so angry? I love Israel, I love the land and the people (the coffee), but I am angry, very. Because it’s wrong, so very wrong all of it.

Let’s start with this, Amona has been evacuated before,

No, this isn’t the same video that I have up on TZP’s column. WHAT. THE. HELL?

This year Israel went after a young soldier, Elior Azaria who shot a wounded terrorist because there was fear that the terrorist who was wearing a heavy jacket on a warm day might have a explosive device on him. But luckily there was an Israeli hating group call B’Teslem around to film (without audio) the whole thing. The whole mess is a steaming pile of crap. This was a terrorist that wanted to kill Israelis, and the court and military will go after the soldier that protected innocent Israelis. But go after Police and soldiers that attacked innocent residents of Amona? That beat and killed them? Oh, no, that’s not such a big deal. They’re just “settlers”, and we’re coming back to that. OH we are SO coming back to that.

Ariel Sharon was Prime Minister when this travesty occurred. His coalition at the time was made up of Kadima, Likud, Agudat.

But as the wrangling was going on this time about what to do about Amona, people were calling for the residents of Amona not to be violent.

“It is absolutely forbidden to raise a hand against soldiers or policemen. I hope this expulsion will be passive and nonviolent,” she said. “The demolition of a town in Israel is not an everyday occurrence. It’s a very painful and difficult event, and a democratic country must accept all forms of passive protest.”

But Minister Shaked is not the worst. This is the opposition to Jews and the Likud, Hertzog

“We’re talking about good people and Israeli citizens. It really does hurt a lot to have to leave your home, but we’re talking about an act of theft. Zionism was built on redeeming land, not stealing land. It really hurts me these settlers refused the solution offered to them,” he said.

Hurts you? I didn’t see you out there with Effie Eitam getting your head whacked open trying to keep the Jewish residents of Amona in their homes. Hertzog doesn’t believe Jews should be living in Judea and Samaria. Not really. But he’s not very truthful about how things have turned out for Gush Katif either. Hurts to leave home? Doesn’t that just smack of the left wing stuff we’ve heard? “I feel your pain”. Sure you do. No wonder his nickname is Bougie, it should be Buggy.

Bibi, you say the government did their best, their maximum by Amona. Wow, that is pathetic. Very pathetic.

Seriously? Do these people forget what the heck happened to those residents a mere 10 years ago? It wasn’t the residents that were violent. I wouldn’t blame the residents for wanting to sit on their mountain with a Davidka this time around. Or perhaps a Sho’t Kal. I suppose one would have to check eBay and Amazon.com.

They’re back on duty now, but some soldiers even left base because they didn’t want to be part of the assault team. I don’t blame them. But it seems that the Israeli Police get to have all the “fun”.

But, it’s all settled now, the residents of Amona have agreed to the deal with the devil. The government.

But it’s wrong, it’s all so very wrong.

You see, in my opinion, and since this is my column, Jews belong in Israel. In all of Israel. Judea and Samaria are in Israel, it’s listed in a really big book, called Torah, or Bible. None of this “green line” or “occupied territories” crap. You hear Israel crying they want Jews to make Aliyah. Why? Where are you going to live? In the housing units in Jerusalem that haven’t been built? And if you don’t want to live in a city, in Judea or Samaria where the government will kick you off your land violently? Land you have lived on for years? Land they said you could live on till some left wing loon “human rights (except for Jews) group” turns up with a Falestinian to claim ownership without proper proof? As anti-Semitism increases around the world due to the influx of different countries own imported Falestinians. Why would Jews want to consider moving to another country where arab rights are far more important than Jewish? Why do I say that? Oh, maybe because arab buildings that really are illegal are still up after 8 years?

שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל Shema Ysrael. If you want your children to come home, you have to show them they are valued and treasured. The world is not going to love you because they do not want to hear the message you are suppose to bring to the world. J street, the ADL, B’Teselm, Yesh Din, the Falestinian Authority, Hama$$, John Kerry and Obama and the demoncrats are not going to approve of your actions unless they are something like kicking Jews out of their homes. They like that, because they don’t really believe that Jews should live in the land G-d gave them. That’s why they use terms like “green line” “occupied territories” and “settlers”. They are not “settlers”, they are residents of Israel living in Amona. Words matter, and the words you chose sends a message. These are all terms used to delegitimize the people living there.

I love Israel, I think it would be a wonderful place to live. But not like that. The people in the government need to change their thinking. I listened to a webinar today. I very much enjoyed it. It was a presentation of how the Israeli political party Zehut intends to conduct some internal matters. Beyond that, I’m not at liberty to say anything. It was a members meeting, and I, your lowly scribe, am a card carrying member of Zehut. Membership has it’s privileges. But at the end of the world wide conference, I asked about Amona. Aryeh said he thought an agreement had been reached. I replied Amona is why we need Zehut. And for my Israeli friends, in case you think it doesn’t matter to you, you might want to know there is a bill in the Knesset right now to allow Israelis living outside of Israel to vote in Israeli elections for Knesset.

One of the things I find shocking and appalling is the residents of Amona were to have been out by the 24th of Kislev, 24th of December, the first night of Hanukkah. Apparently the people on the court don’t realize there is a Jewish Holiday called Hanukkah. I’m pretty sure they have no clue what it was or what it means either. But then, when you give away Har Habayit, the Temple Mount, why wouldn’t the arabs think you will give away any other land as well? If you will give away the site of the Holy Temple, what’s a few homes and a Synagogue in Amona, or Gush Katif, or, or, or.

Where is Judah Maccabee?

There is something I read recently, the book of Obadiah, it’s not long. Only one chapter, and well worth reading to those who condemn the Jews living in Judea and Samaria. Who think they have it coming to them and secretly, and sometimes openly look down on them.

But, hey! It’s all good now! An agreement has been reached!

Except:

On Sunday morning, the extreme left-wing organization “Yesh Din,” claimed that they have succeeded in thwarting the most recent plan for saving Amona proposed by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Education Minister Naftali Bennett.

The organization claims that a Palestinian Arab owns “parcel 38,” which is where 24 of the 42 families currently living in Amona are supposed to settle, according to the latest plan.

Uh oh.

Why Trump? Little Things and Big Things

I guess some people are genuinely baffled at how President Elect Trump became President Elect. They just don’t understand how that could be.

No one has asked my opinion, and I’m not really sure anyone really cares what it is, but I think I’m probably pretty much run of the mill here in “fly over” country. You know, us mouth breathing, knuckle dragging, hillbillies clinging to our Bibles/Torahs and our guns. We, the uneducated rubes, the hicks who still revere our Veterans and our Flag, the, dare I say it, deplorables.

So, in no particular order, I will give you a few reasons I know of that I, or people I know voted for Mr. Trump.

We like law enforcement for the most part. I’ve had bad experiences with Law enforcement, but for the most part these are men and women with a genuine desire to help people, to protect them as best they can. They are wired that way by G-d I believe. If you don’t understand this, refer to Lt. Col. Dave Grossman’s essay On Sheep, Wolves and Sheepdogs, from the book On Combat by Lt.Col. Dave Grossman. From the beginning of obama’s* reign he despised them and made it clear. Remember when the buddy of his, professor something or other locked himself out of his house and a neighbor saw him crawling in a window so they called the police? And barry’s response? “The Police acted stupidly” Seriously. Then he had that ludicrous “beer summit” and some of us began to feel we had fallen down some kind of rabbit hole. Who the heck says the police acted stupidly when they are doing their job? Oh, I guess people that have never really had a real job, you know, like community organizers. And from that time on barry has made his disdain for law enforcement clear. And who did hillary have on stage with her at her rallies? Black Lives Matter mothers. Except the lives of black police officers don’t matter, or the lives of black members of the military, they don’t matter to demoncrats. BLM, which used to mean Bureau of Land Management, is now Black Lives matter, and both look pretty evil to me. BLM riots in Ferguson, burn business, loot and terrorizes law abiding citizens. They attack police freely and police are told not to do their job and arrest their sorry asses. And more businesses get burned, more innocent people are dragged out of cars and beaten because they are white, and more innocent citizens of every and any color are held up on freeways with no thought of the harm they might cause. They don’t care if they cause wrecks, if parents with sick children can’t get them to the hospital or they terrorize people. It’s all good with them, because they are sure there will be no repercussions. We’ve had enough of this crap, and hillary would have carried on barry’s “legacy”. Seeing the results of the Trump win? We did the right thing. We NEED grownups in charge.

Lets talk about some of those businesses burned to the ground, and business owners. We’re tired of hearing “you didn’t build that”. The HELL you say! We DID. We gambled, we worked, we gave up things and built a business. And the response from the obama administration as people watch their life’s work and capital go up in flames to a bunch of rioters? Nada. A demoncrat governor like Jay Nixon? He chimes in on the side of the thug. Justice for Michael Brown? Michael Brown got justice. He ATTACKED a police officer after he attacked a store owner. And the media portrays him as a “gentle giant”??? Oh, I’ll get to them. Listen Nixon you dipwad, you want to be the crooks representative? Message received. Hopefully Governor Greitens will be the representative of the law abiding, hard working citizens. Demoncrats seem to be the party of thugs, probably why governor terry mcauliff restored about 60,000 voting rights to felons right before the election. He knew how they’d vote. Demoncrat. So yeah, we tired of hearing that “you didn’t build that” crap and our hard work being downplayed by a community organizer.

The media, journalism died in 2008. Sadly, people still watched cnn and mslsd nbc, abc, cbs, nbc and thought they were watching the news. HA. The media did everything it could to smear Donald Trump. They accused him of mocking a disabled reporter. He didn’t.

And that brings up an excellent point, while they kicked kitty litter over every rotten thing clintoon has done, and went after people that brought up things she had done, they couldn’t be troubled to actually INVESTIGATE anything. Claims against Trump were accepted wholesale and replayed endlessly. But this year, things were a bit different, this year bloggers took on the role of the media and investigated things. Talk radio hosts brought the truth out, and people by and large have learned the mainstream media is useless as tits on a boar hog. They lie like rugs to put it plainly. They are not journalists, or media watchdogs, they are demoncrat party lapdogs. They are the propaganda arm of the demoncratic party. So, we’re tired of that crap too, we’re tired of being lied to by the likes of rachel madcow, wolf blitzer, anderson cooper and little chrissy matthews with tinkles running down his legs. And they still think we are stupid enough to believe their crap? Inconceivable!

Islam is a religion of pieces. Yes, I did spell it right. I do mean pieces. Unless you’ve been foolish enough to listen to the MSM, you know that ISIS is islam, I don’t care what barry keeps insisting that ISIS has nothing to do with islam. Barry is a lying twit, with his own agenda. We read the reports, Jews and Christians, Kurds and Muslims of the opposing belief are being butchered in the middle east, and I mean cut up, butchered. Men, women and children, it’s all the same to the pieceful, piece loving islamists. The media tells us these poor refugees are running here for safety. But it seems most of them are young men. Who have left women and children in danger? ISIS has said they are getting jihadists in with the refugees, the media doesn’t find that newsworthy? Government employees have said, we aren’t vetting them. They catch them, give them a court date to appear, then they don’t. DUH. And they are where?? We are not as stupid as the MSM thinks, we read what’s happening in Germany, the rise of crime, the massive increases in sexual assaults and rape. We see how the countries in what was formerly known as Europe are changing. The no go zones in Britain, France, Sweden. Where police or medical teams can’t safely go in and rescue people. The number of police that are resigning daily in Sweden because they aren’t allowed to actually do their jobs regarding the poor refugees, and, the refugees now have no fear of the authorities, so law abiding citizens are basically on their own. Resorting to rubber bracelets that say “Don’t touch me” in arabic. Yeahhhh, a buddy and I had the idea that it would work much better stamped in the bottom of a cartridge casing. Germany tells the press not to report a number of crimes committed by “refugees”, Britain has newspapers change the arabic sounding names to more “English” sounding ones, or not report muslim crime. And this doesn’t even begin to look at how the culture of a country changes when there are enough of them imported and voting. Anybody want to go to Dearborn wearing shorts? There was a large amount of MS-13 gang members coming in from Mexico, I believe it’s neighborhoods in Long Island being terrorized by them. But if we object and want the incoming from other countries vetted, we are xenophobes and haters….right. We’re tired of that.

Then there’s obamacare. Keep your doctor and premiums go down by $2,500? I understand that most of the obamacare exchanges are dead, doctors are pulling out of it, and my insurance premiums are now FOUR times as high as they were. And any person with a brain KNEW this was a load of crap when he blathered it. Passed by all demoncrats. But, to be fair, Repubs have campaigned they would repeal it. Have they? No. And to make it more fun, people that couldn’t afford insurance now have to pay fines because they are too poor to afford obamacare. And demoncrats praise this, and hillary was going to keep it, and probably expand it. Sick humorous note, when asked about late term abortion hillary simpered that she didn’t think the government should be involved in healthcare between a woman and her doctor. Seriously, and she wants MORE government run healthcare, or the lack thereof. Not to mention, we are paying for it for all the illegal aliens. And before you give me that crap about people dying in the street, they can walk into ANY ER, in ANY hospital and be treated, whether they can pay or not. That was already the law. So, we’re tired of that obamacare crap, and we didn’t want more hillary care crap.

Amnesty of illegal aliens and “poor refugees”. The hillary plan would have whacked every household with a $15,000 tax increase, per year. Because they get all the government benefits and then would get more. Probably why she wanted to start a 65% inheritance tax. Because you worked hard and put aside money to leave your family, friends, charitable organization or your pet mouse, whatever. This is something that is an obscenity in hillary-world. The government is entitled to that money, not who you wanted it to go to. And we’re tired of being taxed to pay for obamaphones, and every other hare-brained government goody give away the demoncrats came up with. We earned our money, and we want to keep some of it. We’re tired of being bled to death by government leeches who choose to whom they will “give” our money. And don’t say you had no clue, it all came to light the first time barry ran and Joe the plumber asked him about redistribution.

The IRS has been used to target “political enemies” of the obama regime. A popular game with tyrants the world over. The Tea Party groups and leaders audited, Dinesh D’Souza thrown in jail, money confiscated because they were political “enemies”. We’re tired of that crap.

We’re tired of discussing issues and raising questions and concerns about policies and being told that we are racist, haters and xenophobes. We’re REAL tired of that crap.

I want to be able to go to the bathroom and not worry about some dude following me in because he feels “pretty” today. No, I don’t think all gay, transgender men are evil. But I think there are evil people out there that will follow you into the ladies room gambling you know you best not say anything about it or risk being labeled a homophobic or hater.

Common (rotten to the) core, dumbing down school children. There is a whole story behind common core and it stinks. We want a quality education for children, not indoctrination. And if parents want to homeschool, that should be peachy. If a school is lousy and parents want to let the kids go to a better school, fine. The bad ones will have to shape up if they are to survive. Oklahoma uses this system. We’re tired of school children being taught “global warming” and being clueless about the civil war. We’re tired of the 5 pillars of islam being taught in public schools and children aren’t allowed to pray before a football game. No Judaism or Christianity explored, only islam including sometimes trips to mosques. We’re very tired of that crap.

And speaking of war, we here in flyover country love our Veterans. We respect them, and love them for the sacrifices they’ve made for us, and for the U.S. And barry stealing money from Veterans to pay for his crap programs and finance importing refugees, a policy hillary promised to continue and expand is just the limit. The VA scandal? Has that been fixed? No. There are homeless Veterans and this country is spending money to import people that last week may have been on the streets of their home town yelling “Death to America”. Not only NO, HELL NO! You take care of these men and women with dignity and respect. We are real tired of the decimation our military and then treating them badly when they come back. Benghazi? She left those men to die. Probably because she got a juicy donation to the clintoon foundation from the Blue Mountain group. Who the heck hires a security firm with NO employees, that no one in the security industry has ever heard of and pays them 9.2 million dollars. They then run a newspaper ad in Libya for employees and don’t vet the people they hire. Some of the Blue Mountain employees joined in on the attack on the embassy. After hillary had ignored multiple requests for more security and help. May she rot for this. I’m not even going to go into how much more unstable the middle east is since she had her turn as secretary of state. Calling and yelling at Bibi Netanyahu for building Jewish homes in a Jewish neighborhood in Jerusalem? Really? For 45 minutes worth. And the current regime blathers on about building Jewish homes in Israel in Judea and Samaria as being an impediment to peace? What a huge load of חרא. Enough of this crap. There would have been no change under hillary in any of these policies, word has gotten out how she treats her Secret Services team and the military, and she is no lover of Israel. Thank you wikileaks, we know how her team refers to Jews.

And this brings up jobs, our unemployment rate is way higher than the number the barry administration and the media report. Because it doesn’t take into account the people that have quit looking for work. And we’re importing more people? I saw a interview a few days ago on some show with a young woman who was a veteran. She is a social worker, and her goal was to have a job helping people find their ideal job. She can’t get a job. How many unemployed people can we support? We’re tired of this crap. We need jobs, real jobs, not government jobs. The only shovel ready job barry ever produced was that of shoveling dirt over the crap of his multitude of lies. And we’re tire of his crap. And hillary would have been more of the same. We need the growth of private businesses.

And since the soros funded occupy wall street babies may not know any better, that crap about the 1%? America has about the highest corporate tax rate in the world. No wonder businesses leave. And barry pushing for the $15 and hour minimum wage? Look, what does a community organizer know about business? You have X amount of dollars for wages, wages have to go up? People are going to get laid off. Some of these jobs are meant to be starter jobs, for kids in high school, not to support a family of four. Not to mention what that will do to the cost of eating out even at McDonald’s. The prices go high enough folks can’t afford it, and guess what….more layoffs or automated kiosks.

As long as we’re on the subject of fast food. We did NOT need a food nanny like moochelle obama. And I don’t think lunches in the schools have been all that happily received since she forced them to do her bidding. We’re tired of the food nanny crap. Maybe Melania will have some mercy on them.

And, while we’re on moochelle, I do believe the obamas have set a record for the amount of taxpayer money spent on expensive vacations. Many working Americans can’t afford vacations now, thanks mooch, we’re tired of that crap. And since hillary is as much of an elitist as the obamas, that would have stayed the same.

But Donald Trump said bad things about women!! Yeah, and hillary tried to ruin the lives of women her husband attacked and raped. Including ruining the life of a 12 year old victim of rape by saying she “wanted it” when she defended the rapist in court. She knew he was guilty. Trump may have said bad things, but hillary DID bad things, and enabled bad things.

And how about all the money the clintoon foundation took from countries that treat women and gays horribly? Then lied about it? Oh, I’m sure there weren’t any strings on those juicy donations to the clintoon foundation while she was secretary of state. Nawwww. And there’s nothing to be worried about with her having a private unsecured server. And once again barry was clueless in D.C. He only found out about it on the news….despite having emailed her at the private server email address. Thank you again Wikileaks. Then there was the meeting will bill clintoon and loretta lynch before the hearing, but that didn’t mean anything. The corruption just abounds, absolutely abounds. And to us here in flyover country, not only can we still spell integrity, but it actually matters to us.

We’re tired of being in a culture where our Judeo-Christian ethics are demonized and now Pastors are told to hand over sermons . Where we can’t have Christmas or Hanukkah displays because it’s “offensive”. Enough of that crap! Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah is back!

And, in addition to clinging to our religion, we cling to our guns. Damn skippy! Because we can look back through history and see what happens to disarmed people when their government decides THEY are the extremists and dangerous for whatever reason. Not to mention what can happen anytime just living life. There are bad people out there, there are evil people out there. I want to live and come home to write more columns. They leave me and mine alone, I’ll leave them alone. But it really should make one wonder, what is it hillary wants to do to us, that she can not do unless we are disarmed by more “common sense(less)” gun control? You see, the Second Amendment is the one that ensures the others will be respected.

Liberals like hillary love to put people in pigeon holes. Black, Hispanic, Jewish, Women, Muslim, etc. The liberals and their propaganda arm, the mainstream media do as well. And so they thought President elect Donald Trump would NEVER get votes from any of those people. Well here’s the deal, there are law abiding people in all those groups, and they don’t want to see their towns burned down by thugs, they don’t like their highways blocked and they don’t want unvetted refugees, terrorist attacks, higher taxes or government corruption any more than anyone else. But when you’ve put people in pigeon holes, you can never conceive of that. And we’ve had enough of that crap of being put in pigeon holes. You know, like “deplorables”, as in a “basket of deplorables”.

And the deplorables were vilified in the media, they were physically attacked at rallies, bullied in schools and when asked, never wanted to publicly say “I want to help make America great again”.

Donald Trump will take a pay cut to be President, he seems to love this country, he has business experience, and while he is not a seasoned politician, he is a smart man. He will learn. I think he tries his best to succeed at whatever he puts his hand to. He has been pro-Israel long before he ever ran for President, and all of his children, except the 10 year old are married to Jews or dating Jews. I really don’t think he’s anti-Semitic. He is plain spoken, for sure. But he took on the establishment Repubs, the demoncrats and their sycophants in the media, and he won. Because we are tired of all the crap above, and we believe, yes, we deplorables believe that he really will try to end the governmental over reach, over regulation. That he really will allow businesses to grow and flourish, that he will understand we gambled, worked and we did build that. And so we have hope now, that perhaps our country, will once again feel like our country.

And that my baffled friends, is WHY Trump.

 

*People I have no respect for do not deserve capital letters for their names.  My column, my call.

If you have reasons other than what I’ve listed? Feel free to leave them in the comments section.

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