Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Winter


I wonder how I will deal with winter this winter. I don’t like it. I looked at the weather map to ascertain Christmas in Wisconsin. Christmas in NE Ohio should be quite nice and thirty-ish. Wisconsin is a longitude higher, and colder. Stuck in there between two giant, cold bodies of water, where the soil is thinner and the growing season shorter.

Ann lives in the midst of a lot of farmland, and I must say, the crops look mighty fine in the summer. You can perhaps see, I’m close to the end of Prairie Fires. It draws together close to a century of research and history of the geography of the Great Plains. The impact on natives of western expansion is treated, though lightly. However, that was not the intent of the book, or those were the sections that caught me dozing. I will be reading it again. I’m taking Seedtime on the Cumberland to Wisconsin to read.

The good news about winter; it is the zenith of fall, the apex of the roll to green leaves and spring flowers; the beginning of getting through January and February. That makes the news from Washington no better, and does not lighten our responsibility to resist and protest. I read a small bit about a resister getting through to his congressional office to lodge his protest, being heard and having his comments written down.

Perhaps we are past the days of Paul Ryan shutting down his devices of communication, resulting in postcards to his driveway. But, no time is a good time to lighten up on DACA, tax overhaul fallout, continuing sexual misconduct allegations.  I thought about America First, the other day, as America leading the way among a bunch of rutting deer, banging heads, tangling anglers and leading a world display of strutting, pardon the diminution of nouns, cocks.

Civility, decency, diplomacy are diminished or discarded. This country once set a better standard for behavior. Now we seem to be leading the charge of oafs. Holding our cell phones, I might add. Let’s all have a nice Christmas and New Year, and then start the roll again.  Let every representative know our collective opinion of this tax bill, and ACA repeal.

That seems to be my holiday wish, lucid or not. We will enjoy Laura’s first plane ride and have a good week in Wisconsin. Along with my new book, perhaps I’ll learn how to use my tablet. And, remember my Blogger password.


I could not invent a metaphor for winter that involved a ground level snowball in Washington, D.C., so enjoy Frazz for the intrinsic meaning you always find.


34 comments:

  1. Newer visitor to your blog & I really enjoy it. Temps are my way are mild. It's around 55F today. I went rollerskating in the park.

    I'm sick of emailing, texting & phoning those in DC who are bent on collecting the most $$$ for themselves while leaving the rest of us in the lurch. But resist, somehow, we must.

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  2. Hari OM
    yes, keep up the ground-swell - from over here, there just the faintest glimmers of a change of tide. SAFE AND HAPPY TRIP YOU TWO - ALL THE BEST FOR CHRISTMAS (just in case we get to the other side of it without further contact!) YAM xx

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  3. Have a marvelous trip. It will be nice to get away from the mundane of every day. There will be time for everything else after the New Year. All the politicians will be on vacation too. At least one will be golfing.

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  4. When you learn how to use the tablet...tell me!
    I think we can give up on our current representatives...here in Costa Rica the old guard of corrupt politicians have ganged up to smear the current President in his attempts to open the cement market, which a happy duopoly maintain with prices at 145 percent of prices elsewhere in Central America.
    An honest man, he fell into every trap.

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  5. In case you are incommunicado for awhile, have a very good Christmas holiday, Joanne - and Laura - and see you on the other side.

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  6. I hope you have a great week. Relax and enjoy!

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  7. There's something to be said about going to a real winter clime in winter. But mine is not a popular opinion. :)

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  8. I feel for you - but would swap our weather in a heart-beat. We are deep in the sweaty season and I am a sad, soggy and grumpy mess.
    Echoing jenny_o. I hope you and Laura have a truly wonderful Christmas.

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  9. Hope you enjoy your time in Wisconsin! No doubt about it, it will be cold, but hopefully you'll be able to stay toasty warm!

    Merry Christmas to you and Laura!

    betty

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  10. Have a great trip to the land of cheese and home of Paul Ryan.
    Merry Christmas

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  11. Merry Christmas, Joanne. I am glad to read that you are going by plane to Wisconsin instead of by bus. You have already had one too many of the latter. Take care and I hope that you and Laura have a wonderful time over the holidays.

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  12. I wish you a very happy Christmas and a satisfying 2018! I refuse to be disheartened, or not for too long......

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  13. Have a wonderful Christmas and trip away with Laura x

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  14. Happy Christmas Joanne and enjoy the holiday.

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  15. Put it all aside as much as you can and have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year before you pick it all up again.

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  16. Merry Christmas to you and Laura. Have a safe flight and we'll hear from you when you return. xx

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  17. A first plane ride is a big occasion. Have fun and enjoy together. Best wishes for Christmas and New Year Joanne.

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  18. Oh well, we all have to take turns to be leaders in the charge of boorish oafs, and now it is your turn. Let's hope it doesn't last too long.

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  19. Hope you enjoy Seedtime on the Cumberland. Have a great Christmas.

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  20. A very thoughtful post. I am dismayed by the apparent death of civility and caring I see these days... of course there are still good people, but it's hard for me to understand why people can't be kinder to one another.

    Have a lovely Christmas! I love winter but I'm more afraid of falling this year after hitting my head last winter... stay safe and warm.

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  21. I totally relate to your comments about the lack of civility and decency in modern like. I hope things will change next year when we will all have an opportunity to vote. Until then, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

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  22. May you both have an easy, snag-free trip and a very cosy and cheerful Christmas.

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  23. Safe journey to you. Personally, I'd love some snow here in desert dry So.CA. Merry Christmas.

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  24. Hope Laura enjoys her plane ride. I love to fly... don't especially like the confusion and crowds at airports, but love to fly! Hope you and your family have a wonderful safe and happy Christmas!

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  25. Don't care much for winter myself though it's been in the 70s all week here. Monday night is supposed to dip down below freezing though. Plants in, plants out, plants in, plants out. I imagine they will stay in for the duration this time.

    I'd say that we won't embrace decency again until Trump is gone but we had a fine caring decent man for president for 8 years and there was no decency shown him. we make out calls, the interns politely take down our comment and I imagine that is the end of it. since they don't care I figure they don't even read what the interns have received.

    I hope Laura gets a good window seat (not over the wing where mine usually is!) for her first plane ride. Enjoy your holiday and your visit with Ann.

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  26. Oh, you don't like Winter. And I've always dreamed of a white Christmas!

    Happy Christmas!

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  27. Have a lovely Christmas and a peaceful 2018. I loathe winter, but as you say, it means spring in coming. Keep on their case in 2018!

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  28. My best wishes for Christmas and a Happy New Year, Joanne! Enjoy your vacation, and stay as upright as you are! Best wishes for your health too, Britta

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  29. Dear Joanne, I, too, feel both anger and discouragement when I read about or hear about or think about what's happening in Washington and in our country. I hope that, like you, I will somehow get involved---I really did that when I was younger but the spirit seems willing while the flesh is weak now that I'm in my 80s. Let's keep one another encouraged in the new year. Peace.

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  30. We're in a cold snap here too Joanne and like you, I don't like it. Old age in my case I guess.

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  31. Joanne, a belated merry Christmas to you!

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  32. I'd love for that big snowball to roll right over the top of Trump!!

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