69 Ways To Lose Friends & Make Enemies

“Every time you bad mouth Trump you insult the millions of people who voted for him.”

I shook my head and sighed, “No one likes to be shown they were conned or just stupid. I am sure there were some people who said they never expected Hitler to be so damn mean.”

His eyes bugged out and fire shot from his nose.

“You destroy your credibility by comparing Hitler to Trump.”

“You’re right, Trump hasn’t earned the right to be called Hitler but he has done enough stupid and damaging things for me to question the sanity of those who refuse to hold him accountable.

People who give him a blanket pass are as dangerous as the Germans who pretended not to notice the smell of burning bodies.

Every leader should be held accountable. You keep yelling about the insult and disconnect by those who criticize a whiny man who attacks the First Amendment, shows a lack of compassion for millions of Americans in Puerto Rico and who tries to bully his way through life.”

We didn’t agree to disagree. We just went our separate ways and I wondered how many friendships will the mad king destroy.

69 Ways To Lose Friends & Make Enemies

If emails were liquid I’d be in the middle of a nasty flash flood courtesy of the responses I keep receiving to things I wrote yesterday.

It is not the first time I have been the focal point of the firing squad. A decade and change ago I shared my thoughts on a message board and received the sort of welcome that those experiencing a pogrom might get.

Back then someone waded into the crowd and we stood back to back and took on all comers.

It was unexpected and unnecessary on their part. I am a Taurus and I know when to lower my horns and charge and when to bull my way through a crowd to a more comfortable place to stand.

But it was also greatly appreciated and a good reminder of the importance of feeling like someone has your back.

Back in the present I thought about all that has happened since then and thought about whether to share with you why I say I have been to Hell and back several times.

I decided not to give details because there are boundaries in blogging but I figured it was fair to say I feel a bit like I have been given the gift of a timeshare out in the back forty of Lucifer’s Lodge.

It it is not the sort of gift you want nor is it is the kind you can regift or just take back to the store.

Anyhoo, as I took my stroll through the old neighborhood and thought about the beauty of feeling that weight against your back it I reminded myself I don’t need it.

When you have danced in the fire long enough you reach a point where you know you will find your way through regardless of what happens, but you also know that you wouldn’t mind knowing your back was covered.

Piglet might be more than capable of handling things, but the knowledge that he could reach for that paw is powerful and it provides more strength than people realize.

****

I haven’t responded to all of the responses to my last set of comments and I am not sure if I will.

It is not because I have nothing to say or because I fear confrontation because neither is true but because I am tired.

There are other things going on and the energy that is being sucked out of me to handle those is significant.

I don’t need to prove I am smarter than the horde of ignorant and angry monkeys that is rioting elsewhere.

Nor do I need to get the last word to make myself feel better. Truth is that my lack of response is starting to irritate some of them and that works for me.

It wouldn’t be the first time I went silent and probably won’t be the last. There comes a point when you don’t get to hear from me anymore.

The 5 Mile Walk

Summer is over and the days are getting shorter.

Soon it will be cold enough that I won’t want to wear shorts and a t-shirt for my walk and I’ll have to be more conscious of what is going on outdoors.

But that time hasn’t arrived yet so today marked another night in which I finished my walk after the sun had set.

Another evening in which I marvel at how much darker it is here in Texas than back in LA.

As I wandered through the neighborhood surrounding my own I saw the reflections of televisions all around.

Some had football, some had baseball and some had the news.

But the one that caught my eye was playing Walk The Line, maybe because I recognized the scene.

I always liked Johnny’s line:

“You’ve got me all revved up. Now I’ve asked you forty different ways and it’s time you come up with a fresh answer.”

Forty Different Ways

I’d like to say I am preoccupied with having asked someone forty different ways about a romantic adventure/connection but that is not it.

Nah, I am trying to figure out a solution to a different issue and the forty different ways it has failed.

My calm and relaxed nature sent me hurtling into the wall over and over again to see if brute force could tear it down.

I could see it shake and tremble and for a moment I was certain I had found a way to tear that motherfucker down to the foundation but I was wrong.

It was more resilient than I thought so I tried a different angle.

Methinks there was progress but it left me with tears in my eyes and I don’t cry.

Of course it is possible that I might have accidentally rubbed some hot sauce from the wings in my eye too.

*****

There have been some moments where I almost conceded defeat.

Moments where I was ready to shrug my shoulders and say I lost. It felt reasonable to say it because you can’t win every time and in this case the battle was of the size that a leviathan would feel tiny.

But just as I was ready to throw in the towel and hide in a cave I heard a little voice call out to me.

And I remembered all I had overcome, all I had promised and heard the echo of a future calling.

Dad doesn’t quit.