Tired turkey syndrome?  What's that, like tuckered out turkies running away from being dinner?  I think it's something similar to melatonin the stuff that makes u sleepy after eating turkey.

  And recreationlinks.org reminds to watch out for getting hypothermia!  A partnerships literature tells of colder water in mountain streams which can facilitate a rapid lowering of your body's "core" temp.

  And the U.S. Forest Service gives us a great update in this article.  Of special importance is the emphasis on partnerships.  It's through alliances that most of the funding and shared resourcing occurs.

  Sometimes the Department of the Interior puts subcategories of workers into, like, safe storage as it aligns as a workforce.

  There's a cool article in Light & Seed, Summer/Fall 2024 about "comprehensive ecological restoration of the wildfire-prone landscape".  It's actually a field report called "A Fire Knows No Bounds" by Lisa Jhung.  And in it she encounters the situation of private landowners with holdings near National Forest.  Programs and foundations can forge partnerships and profoundly shape regions.  It can be just the success story needed as people take a break from more heated coalition politics.  Usually the people involved learn each others' languages for the same issues and there's know-how to come up with solution.

  In a story by Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan titled: "A Tale of Two Coal States: What happens to coal-dependent communities when the coal goes away? A lot depends on whether their state government is reality-based" (Sierra, Spring 2024), the author and photgrapher look at places (specifically in Colorado and Montana) that are in transitions.  The article does a good job of breaking apart complex issue and tying the basics of surviving seismic shift in broader industry to personal/group efforts.  In the U.S. we are also experiencing the growth of smaller nuclear power sources.

  Elisabeth brings up the point that, "Morale in the community plummeted." Thirty years ago we'd read similar news of people in layoffs and changes due to shifts in global economy.  So as we were training in our chosen field-directions we kept that understanding front and center.  It was part of being anti-complacent which was also core value in service work--private and national.  And it was our opportunity to shape the future's heritage as professionals and community members.

  The article also talks about how the same place can be different "place" to different people.  A place can be within broader place and still be its own place.

   Happy Thanksgiving

Yeah, visiting brings that up.

   Sometimes when we visit some place we are essentially peering in or glancing.  Travel definitely added this dimension to our lives.  There's a powerful poem by TS Eliot (sp?) where the consciousness is encountering "a scene" in the passing.

  In the passing it's difficult if not impossible to detail, to fully understand scene.  While the imagery may be stark (being filed past a Confederate flag on a highway, for example) the other attributes of such scenery is bereft of information.

  Thirty years ago in the Southeast there were many people working on boundary and how we navigate less isolation or a nearness to each other when we all have individual ideas and beliefs within the broader framework of nation.  Generations of family were explained by representatives when it came to talking about flags.  And academics and communities came up with honoring everyone's space about flags using the word heritage.

To me, the best

part of Thanksgiving is the marching bands.  Those ones in the Macy's parade are mountains!

Whenever

  I get back from camping alone I do have feelings of I hate you all equally.  I just do.

  I have to go through an un-solacing process.  My own.

  And in highly political years I weigh things on my mental scales.  The love and care that us poor people have for people and place has to measure up to the fictitious cold stone statue of "the Republicans".  That was how I found out that there are real people Republicans of every ilk.

Cooking the competition's food,

   No can do, a rule man was explaining to a wounded, crying a little woman who'd come to donate what she could ayudar, to help.

  The gentle giant of a rule man tried to pantomime please, don't cry, stop crying, then barked for a little help here please.  His trousers were still covered in red mud slid into browns we aren't used to describing.  A translator stood between the country eggs moving and all parties and partners and said exactly, please, don't cry, stop crying, in perfect-pace Indian.  

  Why?

  Why not?

  Suddenly the translator was like a traffic cop.  Stopping the conversations long enough to stall what may have been sales-on-the-sly or may have been good will.  Explaining time to feed our own families mommy and any food sales require licensing.

  It reminded me of working in grocery and learning why the CDC and health inspectors (especially with wonky FDA going on) have had to supersleuth which came first, the chicken or the egg.

  Adding to their stress was other peoples' stress about paying the bills and so, example: working 24 hours as couples/units of money gatherers.  It wasn't helping anyone's health to share without sanitizing and sterilizing, some health-minded people were mass-explaining about caretending and psychology.  Transfer, I explained about one company's ingredients--powdered--being in a competitor's overhead.

  Ooooooh.  Each person in the group gathered around possible resources processed the new information.

  Back then we even had to consult with engineers at a true standard sawmill about the sizes and pricing of lumber.

Deep dark auburns of oak leaves

   line some ridges below.  Like colorful contour lines to the seas of pine greens.  This year even in December the trees offer a splendor you just can't find in a city.  But the miles and miles also fill the eyes with trees like wreckage.  Big, old trees, shallow earth too saturated, toppled during and after Hurricane Helene.  Piles of trees carried down hills and waterways.  Tree-crushed vehicles and structures.  The mind can't wander away from the devastation.

  Relief centers take donations and serve locals affected and volunteers and workers with water and pantry food.  The Cajun Navy in a walmart parking lot is a pop up civilization point.  It's there that the heavy, dark and chunky with icy air cold front slams in.  Cardboard from pallets of water and dirt get caught in the gusts.  Mild air is blasted away like the cold front is a leaf blower.  Seasonal nature calling.

  Long marred as a ground filter to atmospheric rivers of air pollution the giant heads of mountains are bereft of trees now.  The few that were standing are laying like blown out birthday candles on a soil surface that really does look more like the moon.  In breaks of cloud the sun blares the truth.  Exhaust-ed sentry trees are charcoal in color on some of the just lower mountains.  Whatever comes from sky up here soaks into this filter of ground.  Some of it looks like creme brulee with crevices carving new ravine eventually.

  Dump trucks en route to gravel pits and dirt stores rumble over mostly two lane country-mountain roads even as soft shoulders calve and asphalt bulges and cracks.  Twisty mountain passes are undermined and in spots lost to lower ground.  Hairpin turns between ledge and many hundreds of feet of below.  Ravines crammed with debris.

  The ups and downs of traveling in East Tennessee and Western North Carolina somehow mirror where we've been politically as a nation.  As do the many hashtagCountystrongs.

  The AM radio in Cocke County is the radio I miss when I am anywhere else.  Especially in disaster, like WRAL in NC, the people stick with it round the clock and keep community not only informed but on the mend.  They announce things people have to swap and sell; report the sports; play good music; give updates on public safety and events to get excited about.

  The food at CANCUN Mexican restaurant can't be beat.  And speaking of food, be supercareful about eating deermeat right now.  A lot of the dead animals you see along the roads have been poisoned.  

  Reading a helpful for our region article from a magazine called Trout.  "Mettawee Reconnection" by Mark Taylor (Spring 2024).  And when I can get to it I'll post some materials from the NC Forest Service.

  From the road the Mt. Mitchell golf course where it is visible is badly damaged.  And up into Madison County the two month later (Asheville just got it's water back) damage to "downtowns", severe.

The force of water

  even in higher elevations rumbled trees, entire trees, along creeks.  Up by Mt. Mitchell State Park and Micaville High School where homes and service buildings are nestled in varying elevation trees up higher than level surfaces came down.  Onto wires and shelters trees came down.  Old Glory's still flying up here!  And in the mix of policy and loophole--wild west--of Newport TN, I did hear about eligible bachelors and meat bingo.  A lot of people stuff is just the same.  And the work on soggy and dry rot and polluted continues!  A lot of area in and around Asheville is considered "toxic" still so be careful.

The moon had risen

  in a wash of cloud that squished it unperfectly round.  Skunk made his rounds undisturbed by the campers.  

  The poorer than poor kamp talk sputtered into that campfire space between resilience and giving up.  Still breathing so I'm guessing work in the a.m.?!  A man drying feet asked and told his woman.  Same as yesterday?  Or today?  Days are already blurring.

  Speaking of AM, did you guys hear on WLIK that I think it's Memphis is having a, like a sanctuary day?  Working with a church or something to help people sort through the whole criminal v just broke paperwork.

  Makes a big difference this time of year.

  Oh, this is normal?  I thought it was just, like, political change.

  That too I'm sure.

  None of it's gonna help me fix my roof.

    The small fire crackled, makeshift hearth.  We'd gotten some notebooks and were looking over budgets and trying to figure how people come up with $9000 just for heating and air.  We'd calmed down some from being chased and people we didn't even know had helped spread the word, they're not even Jewish or Iranistanians.  One guy tried to compliment by asking if we were sex slaves.

  I don't have sex for money.

  I do.  It's called marriage.

  I'm going over to bed.  You come home tonight 'stead a making extra money out there.  The man waved a cruddy boot in the direction of the road.

  We were girls.

  Eyes searched each others' faces sternly before a kiss.  Us girls looked at each other sternly too.  We stay put.  Agreed.

  It's never extra, the lady in the sweater assured.

  Extra?

  Money dear.  No such thing as extra.  Ever.

  It's the same back home.

  And where is that?

  One girl punched another's leg.  Ooowwwah Minnesota.

  Minnesota huh?  So this weather isn't real cold to you?

  No m'am.  I been in snow so deep it was like, like

  Like?

  Like totally deep.

  Good, you're an experienced survivalist.

  Sortah.

  You'll be fine with this one bundle of wood then, for the three days.  It wasn't a question.

  You still a virgin?  A gruff voice called into the tarped area.

  Then another man came crashing up the creek bank.  Who's he?  The gruff voice asked.

  A Native American, tracker.  Gonna help with the lumber stuff.

  That weird beetle thang?  A skinny guy in a leather jacket stuck his head out of the tarped area and asked.  Up from Panther Creek?  He also asked but we couldn't hear the answer.

  Go to sleep girls.  The mountains are, she made quote marks in the air, "under God" again.  Then the lady in the sweater left.  But a biker woman came back from the shower and sat near the fire.  Steam came off her hair.

   America is unique in our ways of capitalism putting people on their own for quality of life, and together on some things like safety.  We didn't start out helpimg each other with money but we did start out helping each other in service to God and to Country.

30 years ago

  People had to stop blaming overall shitty situation on each other, so the States could work independently and together.  Fear breeds fear and that ruins business and keeps abusers able to dominate as we're all overworking and are basically trapped financially.

  It was back then, for example, a woman named Lisa explained that sex trafficking is not fake news.  And we outed abuse of surveillance in hunting people.

  Got through it!  Stay positive.

  We were young but there were children younger, so we got sucked into the make it a good day vibe.  Problem was we needed the help of real journalists!  And when we reached some M-F 9-5, they were like

  Well, journalism is fact-based, they needed evidence or at least "a strong lead" to even go out on a beat which people had stopped doing pretty much.  We finally caught back up with mentors and trusted older-than-us's.  We hadn't meant to run but what happened was, well, it had to do with racism and data thievery.  Some people we had met camping were in various states of service in foreign military stuff.  And the American political stuff kicked up old hatreds plus a fighting of their wars here.  So it was kind of scary.  And we thought we were imagining it, but realized people were hunting people.  Not American law enforcement.  They assured a bunch of us, they don't "hunt" people.  Not even when they are after bad people.  Different communities worked together to help the law enforcement get back to normal.

A diversity of character

 and point of view.  Now get in the cabinet.  All with the same mission to shore up a proper baseline of America.  It's great.

  Especially as the West is already, technically, engaged in real warring, all countries sift through best for the task at hand.

  It's interesting how we have to think right now, before things are formed into what they might be in subsequent phases of working on the country.  An example is the vaccines.  No one would keep good medicine from a fellow countryman, however when the "healthcare" "system" is all over the place, there's too much danger to say yes "this" is good and right.  We went through this as a body politic with "aspirin" and came through the initial fears and arguments with a better handle on what's good for people, how there's generally good, but also specific body types, how enemies had hands in products, services, policy, and "poisons".  Pre-new it's really good to analyze where things went.

  Even homeopaths and curandarismos let people rest first, to see what is really wrong with someone.  Sometimes stress and weather is compounding the challenge of our immune systems to get healthy.

Not weird, yet

   Usually they talk about UFO's as filler...long time 'til January 2025.  And buffer.  The world and its space debris goes on no matter who's where.  Of course, people gave Obama the benefit of the doubt (no weirdness going on) but wars complicated the roles of diplomats.  Kerry not selling but giving permission to the axis country Iran to go ahead and have nukes (if y'all can get them), that was pretty weird.  But it was weird in that cabinets are supposed to maintain loyalty like the military leaves no one behind.  So then there was questioning of Obama and the Democrats' motives.  But, we were in war.  Things can get complicated but aiding the enemy is treason or something, some most serious crime.

  In a ruckus it's difficult to pin blame, so post ruckus there's a lot of finger pointing.

Back up in Knoxville

  I'm sure I look as thrilled, not as Trump getting back to the roost of the White House.

  A homeless lady tells me she's pretty good about pooing in a container that can go in the trash.  But most of the homeless here pee and poo wherever, and throw the needles wherever.  It's that part of the cycle where people with no money are endangering the whole of us, so keep your pets safe!

  I was lucky to find some affordable hand sanitzer at one of the gas stations.  And where I camped was clean and gated.  Did get bit by a tick.  Felt like a bee sting.  And got red rashy the next day.  Changes to environment like the flooding moves lots of stuff around, and "pests" and petu-lence beefs up its own take back a place.  Some places couldn't recover ground gains after Covid.  So that's another reason to promote landscaping.  It'll be a busy spring.

  Cha, u can imagine our tee-shirts, something like 379whatever, we pee and poo everywhere

  Great.

  I did hear that; some of the US sanctuary cities have community action groups with info about options depending on which direction you are taking your life.  Of course as the nation phases total law and order back in, the police on the whole do not want for violence either.  So one foot in front of the other....

  Guy at the pop up Trump store said something interesting when I was buying an AMERICANS FOR TRUMP bumpersticker.  Said people are afraid.  A lot of people may be.  And it takes really repairing trust to get each other through that.  So here we go again like 30 years ago.

  Plus we're tighter than tight wallet in a transition like this out of necessity.

True colors

  I'm sure you've seen them.  Everybody's got colors besides cammo and red, white, and blue.  Just like every human is more than skin color!  That message has been going around since the 1980's when some punks got pissed off about something.  About somebody calling a mawmaw an old blue hair, I think.  They got pissed off so they dyed their hair some different colors and put their feelings into music.  Some suit said, I'm not voting for you, in an Australian accent, and the punks worked their response to that right into the lyrics.  Music AND performance art, take that.  We don't need no stinkin' patches.

  Yep, political cycles leave a lot of bruises no matter who all is campaigning to manage the money.  And managing the money is really the bottomline even though the whole gamut of lifestyle, American lifestyle, has shown its true colors.

America's already great.

   A couple nights good sleep free from political noise and the sentiment is settle back down.  Slogans come and go.  So do transitions and shifts.  

  At the clean and still drying out from Helene--like all the mountain areas--Triple Creek Campground (open 'til December 1st) the atmosphere is late season mellow.  Spacious parking for what all we're hauling for change of season.  And well kept grounds make tenting a breeze.  Affordable.  And the office is very welcoming.

  Hot cup of coffee at Janice's Diner where a lot of locals eat early.  Too early for me to start asking, for you what would make America great again?

  I imagine the answers would be as varied as us Americans are.  And our journies to achieving great also diverse.

I'm a sucker for

  high gloss paper magazine stock, so of all the brochures, this one caught my eye, Discover Cocke County, Vol 5, 2024.  A downtown turbocharged with coffee and cars; foothills nature; people history even older than the Revolutionary War; real people doing the business of America in the ads; a creamery -- as in ice cream, all the flavors are great smiling faces assure; MEAT!!!! at the Hillbilly's Smoky Mountain Diner (Texas-style fare like BBQ and sauces to go), and axe-throwing!  All in Newport, TN.  Forget about Disney.  Put Dollywood on hold!

  Them there's fightin' words, I'm sure.

  I81 to 77 adds hours to crossing between T'see and Carolina.

  Trump won all seven battleground states (flipping six), won a huge popular vote, Republicans won 53 Senate Seats, and the votes for the House are still being counted, radio tells.  A rest area hosts OVERSIZE LOAD labeled vehicles.  Even before sunrise traffic slowly but surely rolls onto the highway.

  It's Veteran's Day.

  The blue holiday lights line the fence between parking lot and world on the move.  A lifesize statue of a soldier stands ground and always salutes an enormous Old Glory.  Trucks parked in rows start to come to life, parking lights, head lights, tail lights....a quiet nod to another work day.

  A framed write-up on a woman cook for Ihop is amongst the articles and photographs of honored people, professionals, at the travel center.  She's had the job for 33 years!  And also values spending time with family and friends.  Even cold, the next morning, the country fried steak and hashbrowns melt in the mouth.  A school bus's yellow flashing lights blink in stark contrast to the mist and low cloud foggy weather.

  The bond market is closed for Veteran's Day, the radio relays.  Across from a giant Davy Crockett (whose birthplace is not far from here) is the Baileyton Antique Mall.  Antique Mall is printed on the tin roof so even barnstormers can locate themselves in the landscape of homeland.

  TVs at dinner last night served up tough talk, a truck carrying 46,000 pounds (or pieces) of apple crash, and war stuff.  The vague beyond the fringe does and does not have specifics attached just yet.  A man on the radio explains nations taking roles in holding other nations accountable, de-escalating destruction to peace & prosperity, and people living the values of "peace through strength".  An overall feeling "in the streets," as they call popular people, is that we'll all be safer when the wagons are circled.

  As governments transition the stage metaphor loses appeal for people in a real defensive position about transparency and strategy.

  At a pop-up Trump Store a worker is bemoaning the late arrival of potential stocking stuffers.  He takes his time to explain forty five dash forty seven.  Been to dozens of rallies, including July's shots fired and Trump hit rally where nobody ran.  Little cardboard Trumps show the man with an authentic smile.  No doubt about "winner" and currently in the standard process of picking loyal people to stand with him and the Republicans migrating back into managing the country.

  A billboard advertises a selection of 6500 bolts of fabric and mountain farmland makes its own sort of living Americana quilt.  Rolled hay and handpainted sign: Eat More Turkey jogs memories of how we make this work now that the competition-proper is over.  In America's heartland--all over the country, city and nature-preserving places--we buy, sell, and trade!  It's staple to hospitality.

  My next stop is the Roadside Station~Garden & Gift.  The lady is closed on Sundays and Mondays, but kindly finds out if there's something she could help me with.  Wishes for a good day to each other and I'm on my way.

  My days off from work are special no matter what I'm doing but to drive through our country makes my days booocoooo special.  Soaking up memories of family and life 'cuz I have thinkin' time.  I remember driving mama around and meeting lots of people in seasonal transition.  Budget-minded people, work and play schedule-ing people, people who think ahead to grandchildren and future people still needing to tend to where we live.  Taking stand now so we can live how we want to live in a future world.

  And then there are the animals.  Me and mama had not had country time in a while and it was almost shocking to learn anew about the crazy steed.  "We need more meat," a stout-lipped farmer type relayed of where he was representing.  The girl steeds were stuck somewhere else and the tensions were building.  "Are those bulls humping that hill?"  Someone drinking spiked ice tea asked.  A glance.  "Guess so." A cell phone call, They'rah ready.

  Hot, dark roast at the Seven Brew Drive Thru Coffee.  We are stacked up on the Tennessee side to savor.  A road sign lets us know these commercial/businesses are in a Main Street zone.  The sun peeks through broken cloud and the mountains show themselves.

Seventy-eight

   The paint was starting to peel off the fire hydrants as our peoples' movement to celebrate 200 years of surviving the experiment of USA became reality v red, white, and blue image of us.  There was some disappointment that the symbolic couldn't do it for us.

  One brother picked finger grips into a Nerf football.  Dad couldn't believe his hand was still that small.  Mom handed the ball back to the older brother and said, Deal with it, you're not getting another one until Christmas.  The boy took in the order to deal with it, then grinned because realized, less than six months.  

  Mom put Dad's hand on her expecting tummy beneath fashion that didn't reveal healthier than over the past few years, so, more prayers for you Sherry, the note had read.  And, we're off to California.  I voted for "touch", hopefully everyone has fun.  The guests were prepared to hold the line on a fun day.  Cool.

  I ran towards a neighbor's Dad so happy to see him but stopped myself short of leaping into his arms like the Victory Day photograph.  "Thought you people went to California," my Dad said.  "Well, the Mrs. did." This war is far from over, others had said talking late into the night.

  Some of the neighborhood girls were borrowing Mama's jewelry to wear.  She wanted to know the why of each pick.  Kept up with all the news and used a proverbial fly swatter on gossip.  She herself that day put a thoughtful selection of pieces in one of her pockets.  And then asked me which piece she should wear first.  I gazed at the collection gathered from thrift store and holiday gifts and thought about the past.  Since you're the hostess of this worldly event, small world afterall, supposed to have a fun day in spite of all the evil, let's see....I dramatically took my time picking and then whispered the why to her.  "Sounds complicatedly simple.  I like it."

  They'd been thwarting us at every turn.  Haters of the Old Glory.  Haters of selves, that's what a lot of druggies are.  Haters of law and order.  Freakish twists and turns in everyday life because of, well because for every plan to be good and do good, horrible people were able to organize.  Done in the dark was a phrase equally applicable to any "fringe" activity since we all had to battle evil in a straighten up and fly right position.

  It wasn't all bad, people had good days.  Groups within being good citizen groups had particular flavor from strict to laid back.  Then the criminals would make moves and we'd have to snap into action.  Sometimes the police and communities had total safety going on and schools could honestly present amazing little people.  Other times, at least near cities, it was really warlike.

  Some blamed it on "the Asian war", brought home all the tumult and couldn't shake it, some.  But the drug availability kept re-starting fires that people'd just barely survive.  And when there wasn't drugs, there was lots of booze.  Smoking and liquor.  And so many people never getting ahead or getting settled and then losing it one way or another.  The politics were fire and ice between neighbors and family because the politics were point blank about upholding beliefs and owning space to live those beliefs.  Middle grounds weren't faring well.

It's not "fake"

  I think we all go through that feeling, sometimes alone and sometimes together.

  Of course it's compounded by our abilities to produce, create, fabricate.

  I think it's also why people find something like the Ten Commandments a worthy thing, standard, for self and country.

  You've probably had that feeling in church or at a family meal-- where something feels fake, like the formal aspect of situation isn't revealing of the whole truth...maybe a messy house until the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, or everybody got drunk on Friday night.  Part of the astounding innovation that Jesus brought to the structure of religion and way of life is forgiveness.

  Believe me, there have been times people called me stupid 'cuz I did something stupid.  If the shoe fits, somebody else tough didn't cave on holding people to the standard.  Okay, okay, that was stupid.

  In America we're allowed to do stupid?

  Life is NOT some neatly FORMAL thing¡!

  You can hear our struggle in our Rock and Roll and in the spaces between the curtains of "the stage".  And that's not fake either...the external to self world is like a stage.  Even if there's no other people around when we consider ourselves under God or as people in relation to "a higher power".

  It's always been part of the fight in taking an anti-war stance.  Warring appears to change the standard(s).  And when more and more people get on that bandwagon the standard stands less of a chance to exist.

  America is often the voice that says no.  We're not doing that.

  But there have also been times when we're all over the place in terms of upholding our standards.  Then we have to get to the church of the Constitution and look to each other to get out of the mudhole.

When the Hungarian woman called me stupid

  I had to wait the whole seminar-class time to get affirmation that I am not stupid.

  It was just...

  Well...

  Fallaci explained sore subject, analogies...warped...like wars, political phases get named afterwards or by others.

  I think it's that United States of America that many of us voted for...the one that battled out World War II to establish freedom from a real tyrant or two plus a tidal wave of hate and confusion.  Ironically, we elected a sometimes foul-mouthed cranky type to stand up for us, for all of us.

  

  It was also more than thirty years ago.  At the time we were in a checkmate cold war with Russia so the two number ones -- chief amongst Allies, head of the orbit that was soviet union/Axis -- were like in a wrestling match.  And for most of the world it was a horrifying prospect, to talk about there, wherever it was.

  Besides fighting tooth and nail over how to understand politics and violence, how to talk about stuff/not talk about stuff, there were a lot of unknowns.  Even the scholarship about fascism was kept under wraps, and many scholars walked a razor thin wire between saying and not saying.  Gets into censorship and safety, violence and war, journalism as not fake news and sometimes too hot to print.

Like a vigil

  for our votes to be more real than the bitterness.

  At a rest area a truck bears wound.  The signage along the side reads:

  SUPPORT OUR TROOPS: WE WILL NEVER (ripped out) and shows the American flag.

  We will never forget was also a group response to our nation under attack, to hate displayed in violence.  

  The majority is not into it.

Most of the Middle East

   doesn't give people choice.  The choice to have a job or work, for example.

  In the U.S. we get to the same point with automation.  And we choose everytime.  Stay a human-being centered nation, or

  Leave it to precision warfare

  Leave it to the robots

  It's hard on us workers because we feel robotic, more so sometimes than other times.

Remember how

  the Milwaukee returns were not as quick as some others?  It's correlated to "affordable housing" and other community action movement--which is not necessarily socialism.  Needing affordability on food, clothing, and shelter is not socialism.

  Affordability is something the baby boomers have always demanded, if only by sheer numbers if not by choice--I'm not paying thirty dollars for a piece of plastic (storage bin).

  And, in a weird way affordabilty had to do with January 6th.

  Way back when we had a group discussion around

  Defending democracy in relation to property law

  It also got into the fifty shades of grey surrounding a flag and what the flag represents ideologically and in actuality.

  I'm still refresher course-ing The Case Against Socialism before I can get back into Arendt.

Scrimmaging selves

  We'll have to get to thinking about this war of the egos that's getting called facism.

  A lot of people have no cause to have done any service to nation, USA.  So, no idea about being a part of something that's not necessarily creepy.

  And, when I felt like the whole humanities fellowship at the University of Hartford should also study about facism, especially in relation to our image as all of us in football gear emblazoned with USA, USA...a beautiful, intelligent, hardworking woman from Hungary had to explain why she said that was stupid and even saying the word facism is like saying the word holocaust.

  It's never accidental.  It's not like Trump's gonna fall through a trap door that socialism left behind in DC and become a fascist.  And the antidote to as much socialism, marxism, and war that's got our flag gnarled up in the political spectrum is to be more American.

  Sigh of relief.

  At this point in these long-winded conversations with passports in hand many of us chose to talk lightly with questions like, Is the Pioneer Woman really a pioneer???  And, ever been to Disney?????

  In other words, when the popular conscience gets dragged into heavy issues like war and who should live and who should be killed--as a matter of politics--there's a divide between what to talk about at dinner for everyone and what might be better digested in levels of "schooling".

Buncha wounded political animals

   I blame the socialism creep.  Not Bernie, of course, but socialism/communism more general.

  Back then we were also a mix of ilk.

  Our friend Christian had a proverbial whip to break down the last of the sediment of "political" so we could just feel human again.  And in doing that people participated more freely or at will.  Some chose not to.  This is not China.  That's baseline.

  I guess the whip which never touched anyone was a more effective prop than gavel in judgment-free zone.  And it was Asheville, so there was a lot of "smudging" going on.

  Not so strange for the word healing to come out of Trump's mouth.  Certainly lots to heal up.

  Well, of course the older people are cranky.  Just chits to the democrats!  And a lot of them with no companionship whatsoever in those places.

  Critical, critical everyone's got opinion especially because we've all got votes!

  We move on.  Non-violently; that is what a peaceful transfer of power really is.  The grievances mount to the moon but the best anyone can do is move forward.

  Gosh, I remember being a young white kid and the election rollercoaster of emotions coming to a plateau.  It may have been Denzel Washington who did a voice like Sipsy in the movie Fried Green Tomatoes.  Point was, buck up.  It takes longer than 48 hours for the stocks to go go and the trickle to sputter to life.  It's not like there aren't 1000 little things to tend to.  It's not like the cozy middle America has to get uncomfortable.

  Boy did we cry though about the horrors that had happened.

  And, what about, what about we carried on.  Our bleeding heart liberal emotions had us emotionally worn out, then angry--at socialism.  And then to find out, more work, more work....

  Felt like dreams crushed.  The just a bit olders in the Holston camps put on their best black ladies and redneck "dads" as characters.  They'd imitate us blubbering, too hard, life's too hard, then character act the toughest, most caring people they'd met.

  Do you think the Republican dictators should just make the hand-to-mouthers slaves?????

  Course it was real black women and men that had somehow survived in the real world who brought the play-acting into the realm of real conversation.  In Knoxville we did all that with an element of art and "pizazz".

  Around here there'd been family members--white, black, and purple who'd gone without to hold onto properties.  And neighbors who picked casseroles up off the ground when helping hands were turned away because of color and flavor of religion.  While the north's election cycle mood thawed pretty quickly, the south made some pretty icy barriers as boundary against "the circus".

  But hos-pit-ality is part of good business, women business owners stayed in place and rather tearfully explained, not really understanding all the loaded in tensions about accusations of stealing, or being told how to look now.  A lot of their men were having to travel farther and farther as sales went into region phases, and budgets were so like leaky dams team leaders had to physically bring stuff from one location to another so as not to waste and to make pennies but profit.  Then be so careful about reinvesting the profit into sustaining the businesses.

  No safety net.

  Not much margin for error.

  Be careful!!!!  Comes out of the manager's pocket and no manager, no store, no restaurant!  My God, be careful!

  Not "just an onion ring".  We were learning a lot of stuff for the first time while also trying to heal up loved ones from such a long bout with socialism running us into the ground.

  Some people didn't want to start partying again.  And some people stayed away from businesses because would rather say nothing at all.  Others scrounged sofa chamge to help people get a house cleaning or carpentry odd job done.  People felt funky.

  Yeah, we did see that onion ring as symbolic of the whole business!  None of us was perfect but together we could make a successful business and so each of us was successful.

  We did that in graduate school.  "You" don't want to stick to the script?????!!!! Jeeeeeeez, it's 7AM and you're coming at my friends like you're a missile.  Okay, you write it!  You write what you will say...load up the powerpoint with your genius phrases!  Turned out to be a great practice which helped people develop their own thoughts and navigate defending thesis.  Some people had never seen their thoughts externalized.  Even some people with great stature.

  Cha.  Some future world leaders cared to take on the practice!  It matters especially when/as real world happens more quickly and by a kind of ongoing conference call.  And practicing lets people ask people...how did you hear that?  Of course, some interdisciplinary students realized they can issue orders to some of the people they speak at, but there are others they want to reach but can't force.

  I was really glad to see an authentic smile on Trump the other night.  It's that authentic happy people want me doing my life's work smile that every American should get as we turn this around.

  

Ice chips!

  Thirty years ago when the hospital in Asheville didn't have clean ice chips for the suffering, loved ones and caring practicioners brought ice cream machines and bottled water!  It was around the time Israel got more into de-salting water.  And recycling, re-purposing was gaining in strength to offset "trickle down".

  It was a big story.  Because it brought up "issues" about divisions between people regarding resources and overcoming types/categories/-isms.  And overcoming bias with caring was ground-moving in the old south.

  It was the start of WNC's exceptional health care network.

Out of subjective and into the frying pan

  In journalism we long ago "got into it" regarding perspective and reality.  In anthropology some of the same debates quietly raged.  Over the years people seem to have used perspective like a tool.  Argument about perspective seems to have taken center stage to issues of omission and other manipulations of "news" and so what all we're doing.  We, on the whole, for example, got better at knowing the difference between PR and reality of situation.

  It's interesting that at the end of an administration on the hill but before a new one has arrived the "news" is full of perspective and opinion.  Both chock full of bias and even some wild imaginings.  Some of that is true about us and some of it is conjecture.

  Hearing from a random sampling of Mexicans, for example, to media-tab Trump's personality as "unpredictable" really speaks more to some other things than it does Trump's personality.  There's political strategy for instance, rarely discussed like a futbol team's game plan.  There's also all of America in a state of jostling, maybe repositioning, around "issue".  Before a democracy comes to resolution about anything there's a lot of bluster and analysis and landing technique. There's difference and discussion.  In America this really does checkmate dictatorship.  And there's always revelations regarding who pay dat?!

  The sources of funding are just as important in equasion with "policy" and law...though "credit" and willy-nilly printing of dollars has affected that reality.  

  During times like this a lot of issues--stuff in the pile of working on--gets called "crisis" but very often the crisis part comes from like getting people elected and walking away; a sort of disengagement instead of working through the reality of situation.

We've got cardboard Dolly!

  Like in that movie Twister...we've got cow in the debris.

  Gosh, movies remember those?!  I have barely thought of anything but politics for so long now, it is over the top cool to see cardboard Dolly.

  Had to go way north from mid North Carolina to get back to Tennessee.  Through beautiful farm country.  Fall colors like pheasants and geese refresh the mind which has blue and red map of us all emblazoned on it.  Woke up to hear Trump's acceptance of our voting for him, mostly because where I fell asleep on the sofa, the TV is wall-size.  It was like Trump walked right into the home and said, "Okay!"

  Now we get to it, all of us more spirited for all that red all over the map.  These transitions in the past seem to bring a last phase of survival mode still more necessary as we gain traction...get more pro-business, and, apply all that compassion and caring that is part of patriotism.

  We've got some serious challenges!  But we've demonstrated--we're up for it.

But of course,

  My mom would be beaming proud and would def point out that her generation did it!  Got Reagan in too.  And I would agree that this election it was so important to join forces and put the good America first.  And it's important to live our values.  And hugely important to be an example for young people.

  To set the course and achieve the goals of re-Americanizing ourselves and honing that legacy that makes us different than most places on earth.

Pee and go

   Once I81 dumps you out of TN there's no mappage showing how to get to NC.  And if you're coming from fast food job, you get reprimanded for going into the women's bathroom not looking something enough, I guess.

  Everything is nice and quiet.  But the field of broke down tractors and lawnmowers kind of tells where we're at.  A gas station couple is quietly closing down a Sunday workday.  Kindly give directions.  More bananas from a grocery and the reassurance that there are still mountains to go before the flatland.  It's a thirty year de ja vous with the good people of America just doing the same USA we've been doing since I was a kid.

   It's like when "everybody" started wearing jeans.  We never really got back to "fashion" after that.  Big divides.

  The campaigning brings ideological politics front and center but for the majority of people most things are just routine.  Most people can't ride a ticket to get out of poverty.  A lot of people don't get to wear a suit and tie.  In everyday situation we don't yell RIGHTS, I WANT MY RIGHTS.  Or, Garbage, y'all are garbage and I'm gonna....

  We have a couple people as presidential candidates and we see them everywhere.  And the idea is to pick a side and go in that direction.  There's no "magic pill" that is going to turn the world into all one thing at this point.  Not even war.

  We do have big divide(s) and a lot of it is really about how we approach the same issues.  Finances do dictate most decision-making.  And each political party does offer particular forms of support for ideas and activities.  Some of it is moral support -- you can do it!  And here's why....

  The more self-reliant, street and trickle down, are actually greatly influenced by overall political tone because of that tone's coloring of environment, but environment--not in disaster mode--isn't a dictator in America.

  The current stagnation seems more like a paltry footbridge over chaos and non-participation or apathy about being a citizen.  But not about being American since we, in many ways, let that be even more lax than just wear jeans.  It became an illusory anything goes.  Of course, that sort of lack of commitment, absence of discipline, waffling about ideologically has put a strain on leftover system (much of which stemmed from programs and have long been past their "shelf dates"), and with an optimistic naw we didn't give up, really, at least not totally, we put the rug of politics over the gigantic imperfection of big divide.

  It's kind of important to have some kind of structure to nation.  The rug is not gonna do it.

  Headlines this past week give us rockets, intercontinental ballistic missiles, and drones stalking and killing people in the streets.  And American elections.

  The question that everyone is asking of leader and people really seems to be

  Is America mightily different?

I choose to care anyway

  It's not about gender for me.  I care about men and women and children doing America as America.

  I think to be too specific-cause defeats the purpose of our nation.

  My vote (if I can get to NC) goes to Trump because the stuff that we are up against needs someone that committed, that stubborn, and that willing and able to fight against the gigantic drone of ah, just leave it like it is.  It's been a wretched four years.