Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Cooking Greens While The World Falls Apart

I made but little progress on the huge pile of chip mulch. I texted my husband saying, "This may be a job for two men and a boy," and then, "I'm just not 58 anymore."

After my walk and then the small amount of work I did pitchforking mulch, I simply had to go lay down.
And sleep.
Which I did.

It was heavenly.

I got up and started on Maggie's little outfit. Little being perhaps the key word.


I'm terrible at visual spatial things, just awful, and I can't look at these and decide whether they'll go around Magnolia's tummy or not. I'll measure her again before I put the elastic in them and I suppose that if they're too small, perhaps that skinny monkey August could wear them for pajama bottoms, at least. I'm listening to Sunshine on Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith and one of his best characters in that series is a little boy named Bertie whose mother is an absolute nightmare, doing everything in her twisted power to make Bertie a perfect example of being a non-gender directed, male feminist genius. She takes the poor child to a psychologist, she reads child psychology endlessly, she won't let Bertie play any games which might be violent, she won't let him have his heart's desire which is a penknife, she won't let him join the Boy Scouts, she makes him take yoga and Italian, won't let him eat pizza and, insists he wears crushed strawberry-colored trousers. 
But I'm pretty sure that wearing pink flannel pants would not destroy August's boy-spirit in the least. 

Here's what we're having for supper.


Aren't those pretty greens? Isn't it wonderful that we call them "greens"? 
Those are collard greens, mustard greens, and kale. We do not say "kale greens" do we? Why not? Is it because kale is a more northernly-known vegetable? I do not know. But it may yet be proof that kale is an inferior green but that's probably just my prejudice. 

I am feeling extremely guilty that I am not going to the Woman's March in Washington. I don't even know that I'll go to the local march here. The last march I went to was for the ERA in about 1975. It was fine. I mean, I didn't suffer from anxiety then and we all walked up Apalachee Parkway to the state capitol where Alan Alda spoke and also some women and how telling is it that I don't remember who the women were. Was Bella Abzug one of them? 
God. I suck. 

Anyway, no. I am certainly not going to Washington to march although I wish I were the sort of woman who would tug my pussy hat on down over my head with determination and get on the damn bus. 

I do know that when I watch the video of the millions of women who are going to be marching not only in Washington but in cities all over this nation on Saturday, it's going to make me cry and hell, maybe I'll join the throngs here in Tallahassee. 
I don't know. 

Meanwhile, here I am, doing what I do and trying to do the best I can and I absolutely understand that in times like this, that is NOT ENOUGH. Being there in spirit is NOT ENOUGH. 
And I know that. 

Are you going? Or are you going to participate in a local march? Or...what? Anything? Everything? 

Just talking about all of this is making me anxious as hell. I am not only not 58 anymore, I am not 19 or 20 either. 

But I will say this- I am in awe of every woman and man who are going to be out on the streets that day, showing their disavowal of this man as their president. 

He's not going to be mine either, whether I march or not. 

At least that I know. 

Yours In Complete Wimpy Solidarity...Ms. Moon

9 comments:

  1. I would dearly love to go to the march and I'm a member of a couple of local activist groups that are going by the busload, but in addition to being broke right now, my husband has to have a colonoscopy on Friday and I will of course be driving him to that. (His birthday was Nov 9th and he woke up to the news Trump had won the election....and now he's having a colonoscopy on inauguration day....he says that's just about right! lol!)

    So I won't be at the march, except in spirit. But I think the important thing at this point is to call and email our representatives, to donate money to worthy places that need it more than ever (like Planned Parenthood, for instance ) and, as much as I hate the thought of it, to follow every move this administration makes carefully over the next 4 years. Oh, and to do what we can NOW to flip the House and Senate in the midterms. They're only 2 years away, and that would seriously limit the damage Trump could do if we can get majorities back. NOW is the time to forget mourning and start FIGHTING. Resist! ✊

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  2. I know of a woman going to the march who is 104!

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  3. Unfortunately I won't be going to the march here in L.A. There are a lot of complications getting downtown. But I will be there in spirit and making my phone calls, which I think are quite important and doing what I can along the way to resist when Trump does things that try to defeat forward movement and hurt us. I think it will be a long battle. I am trying to wait and see tho in truth I am filled with trepidation. Bless those who will be visibly marching on Saturday. May the marches be peaceful and successful.

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  4. I'm going to the Los Angeles march which I imagine will be huge. I'm actually looking forward to it as a sort of release of all this tension. Hopefully, we'll all be galvanized for the long fight ahead.

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  5. I have to run, go get my sister and take her in for cataract surgery. I'm not marching either, not in Washington or Houston which is having one also. been many years since I did that sort of thing. but what I did do was spend $40 to sponsor some other woman to go. you can find the link it you want to do the same on my FB page.

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  6. I just became aware of a local march here in London. Haven't decided whether I'll join in or not. I've been telling people I would march if I were in the states, so I guess I need to suck it up and attend.

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  7. Accepting the limitations of what our bodies will let us do is one of the hardest things to accept for me. That is a job for young, strong backs, and I hope you get some help with that pile. I'd be in a pile if I shoveled and spread that mulch.

    Your greens. Oh. My. I can almost taste them.

    Like you, I haven't marched since the 70's. I think mine was 79, a no nukes protest. It felt good and I was naive enough to think it mattered. I guess it did, and it didn't in a way, but now, I don't have the time, energy or money to travel anywhere, and I'm not sure if there is anything local to participate in. I commend anyone who goes and will try not to feel guilty. I'm doing my part in other ways I suppose, by staying informed at least.
    I'm not watching that shit show of an inauguration, even though the Daily Show said it will be fun to watch his head burst into flame when he puts his hand on the Bible....if only.
    If every woman in the US showed up to march and protest, he'd deny they were there, fudge the numbers, claim they were paid dissenters and blame the media for more fake news. The delusion and lies are epic.

    I'm know we will be there in spirit, at least.

    xo

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  8. I'll be marching in Binghamton, NY, and carrying two signs: "Stop the fascist NOW" and "With Liberty and Justice for ALL". I'll be damned if I'll let that racist, misogynistic, xenophobic sexual assaulter take office without raising my voice in protest. I've never been to a march in my life, but I'm going to this one. F*ck Trump.

    p.s. Yes, I'm a little bit angry.

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  9. I'm marching in MN. Anxiety almost go kept me away but my dear daughter has agreed to be in charge so I think I can do it.

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