Ms. Moon posted a video. Country Joe and Fish singing the Feel like I'm Fixin' to Die Rag.
("Don't know, and I don't give a damn, next stop is Vietnam.")
Remember back then, when it felt like the biggest problem we were facing was to get out of the Vietnam war? Well. Of course, if you were not white, there was the issue of civil rights. That was major. Women's rights. We were protesting things that had some clearly defined 'right' and 'wrong'. No middle ground. You either were for it or against it, and the two sides argued it out, and eventually we got our butts out of Vietnam. Schools got intergrated. Laws got made to even things out a bit. Bigotry never went away, I imagine, but it did go underground. Bigotry became unfashionable. Edgy sitcoms mocked it. Women, too, came a long way, baby. (Remember that? We had our own cigarettes?)
And it just seemed like such a simpler time.
I listened to Country Joe and the crowd singing, and I was feeling pretty nostalgic.
Appropos to absolutely nothing, Arlo Guthrie popped into my head.
Alice's Restaurant.
Alice's Restaurant.
Ignore the mistakes in the captions,
but it might make it easier for people that have never heard it before.
I knew that music. It was comfortable. I felt like I knew that place.
And now, 50 years later, those simple rights and wrongs have once again become convoluted and twisted, and all the things that happened then are unhappening now. I look around me and I realize that at this point, I don't feel like I know this place.
And I sit in my dark office and I grieve.
Late Edit. There were high points today. More flooring down:
See that snow outside the sliders? Whoo-ee, it was so windy today. Snow devils swept across the open field. I made my way down to the garage to feed the cats. I had a special treat for them, along with three cans of catfood and fresh water, and when I opened the door, three of them came bounding down, glad to see me. It was warm in front of the heat, and I listened to the wind howling for a little bit.
I locked up and trudged back up to the house, and we worked inside.
The wind howled on.
When we went to leave, we were astonished to see that my brother in law had come across to plow our driveway. We had not heard him over the wind!
I have a beautiful little hydrangea bush on my table. It was a half price sale from Valentine's day, and so I got it for $4.99. It makes me happy to look at it. When spring comes, it will get planted outside. I know exactly where. I've got flower bulbs to plant too. I even have two little pine trees, left over from Christmas. They were selling them for $1, and I picked them up for either side of the porch.
In the depths of winter, I learned that, within me, lies and invincible summer. And that makes me happy, for it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there's something stronger - something better, pushing right back. (Albert Camus)
Push back, good people. Push back.
You too, Tasker!
Excellent description of the wind and the snow. I can hear the wind, swirling around your house. Those kittens are still the winners of the cat lottery. One of the (many) things that's making me crazy is the not knowing. Is he going to kill Social Security and Medicare or not? Is he going to collapse the economy or not? The whole thing in Europe is horrible, the various countries can't decide if they will all put boots on the ground or not. "May you live in interesting times" really is a curse. The floor looks fabulous. You two do very nice work.
ReplyDeleteI know. I know. We have the same worries. One of tenants works as a teacher at head start. A number of them are retirees. If he cuts social security, it is a real double whammy for us. We are planning for the economy to go bust. Actively planning for it.
DeleteThe wind and the cold were so awful today that my face feels burned. My hands were so cold that 2 hours after we got home, I still did not have enough circulation in my hands to do a finger stick. I gave up.
I like your push back slogan. that's exactly what has to be done.
ReplyDeleteWe will take our cue from our neighbors up north. You know how to push back.
DeleteThanks, Debbie. I haven't heard Alice's Restaurant for years and years. My playlist now features him and Pete Seeger.
ReplyDeleteYes, push back we must. Word and deed. But it will get worse and the "good" news is, we'll all be in this together. Well, maybe not the rich folks. The rich get richer and the poor help each other.
McCarthy ran us for some time, then his deeds caught up, he was censured. His popularity evaporated. He died a broken old man a short time later. I think he wasn't even fifty.
It's not good and won't get better soon. Keep doing what you think is best.
Preparing. Watching out for people who need help. And calling. Pretty disappointed in John Fetterman.
DeletePushing back is our current work. Against the evil that has seized power. We're united in pushing back.
ReplyDeleteYes. You know, Boud, I admire your calm nature.
DeleteI know the song, Alice's Restaurant but have never seen that video. That was a lot of fun and gave me a chuckle this day of worrying about the state of our country.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes... pushing back, pushing back.
Well, we will all push together!
DeleteHang in there those who thought that he would be helpful to them will wake up pretty soon. It is helpful to me to know that there are people in Western Pennsylvania, the Florida panhandle, North Carolina, and South Carolina who think like I do in my blue corner of the world.
ReplyDeleteWell, at 70, I'm old enough to remember when Washington's Day and Lincoln's birthday were separate holidays. Looked it up: 1971 was when they were combined to President's Day. tRump is NOT part of that! Yep, Alice's Restaurant was a good time. Heard recently that Alice just went to the restaurant in the sky. Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteGood quote from Albert Camus
ReplyDeleteIt’s grim for sure. I think your democracy is cooked.
ReplyDeleteWhen we look back through American history, we can see that we are still fighting the same old fight, albeit with some different "tools" such as social media. I watched a few episodes of "John Adams," and was reminded that the idea of our government was to prevent a monarchy, knowing full well what happens when a madman is solely in charge. We all know (well, maybe not all of us) that America was founded by rich, white men with an agenda, and not by the "pilgrims" who came here seeking religious freedom. The rich white men showed up, claimed everything as theirs, pushed out and slaughtered the indigenous people, and made their own ridiculous rules. Sounds the same to me now. And as before, there are pockets of resistance, who pay the terrible price for speaking up. If earth is a science project, it's long past time to throw in the towel, as we have learned nothing in the 200,000 years that humans have been on this earth.
ReplyDeleteVery well put. Like you wrote, we are living in the Unhappening. Democracy is dead and I don't feel too good myself. I'm 69 years old and even nostalgia is dead for me. I really think that the only reason I still get up every day is because I must, must, must live to read the Felon 47's obituary. I live in New York and if he gets buried near Ivana on his golf course, I will make the trip to shit on his grave. Heck, I'd travel to Florida to dump on his tombstone.
ReplyDeleteVivian
I kinda like Vivian's idea, but that's just me:) I have a fondness for bathroom humour.
ReplyDeleteIt's a fucking nightmare and I try not to think about the future. I think though, that it will take a generation to undo all the harm trump and musk have done to the US.
I guess trump is paying back for all the millions that muskrat paid to buy the election. It is just awful what the two of them have unleashed on the American public. Good news is that their popularity is dropping fast. Gigi
ReplyDeleteTo misquote Robert Pirsig, The House You Are Building Is Yourself.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your post, Debby. You are good at encouraging me to not give up. Push back!
ReplyDelete