"When the well is dry, they know the worth of water."

"When the well is dry, they know the worth of water." -- Benjamin Franklin

So. The whole water thing.

Motor difficulties can also accompany neurological disease, such as dementia. I noted in my April 24 post about dementia that the only motor symptom I had noted in Cheeto McFrogFace was his fear in going down stairs. This is a long time behavior of his. I told you then that I'd be on the lookout for new motor symptoms. That time is now.

We do now have a new impaired functional motor act that has raised eyebrows around the globe, including mine. It's the water thing.

Several times in recent weeks, SCROTUS has been observed to drink water in a very infantile way. He uses both hands, and sometimes he tips his head forward and back in an awkward way instead of tipping the cup or bottle like most folks. 

Here he is in action.

In February, 2017:





On November 15, 2017:

And just a couple weeks ago, December 18, 2017:

Why would someone hold a cup with two (tiny) hands? Tremor, incoordination, or spasms, perhaps. 

Does 45 have a neurological disorder that is contributing to all of his symptoms, from his speech and language problems, to his cognitive problems, to his behavior problems, to his motor difficulties? 

There are several possibilities besides the dementias, which have motor difficulties as a prominent feature. Consider Parkinson's Disease. He may have a tremor, and thus uses both hands to steady his sippy cup. Parkinson's disease often has a concomitant dementia. One common type of dementia that often accompanies Parkinson's disease is Lewy Body dementia. It is particularly nasty. But neither his motor patterns nor his speech patterns scream PD to me. 

Perhaps multiple sclerosis? There can be cognitive difficulties with this disease as well. But motor difficulties are the primary feature, and I suspect it would be more obvious before now.

Myasthenia Gravis? There are studies that suggest that this muscle-weakening disease can also have a cognitive component. I don't see the tell-tale ptosis of the eyes,  do you? No, his beady little rat-eyes look the same as ever.

Drug Use?  Now, this one is worth considering. Have you noticed how he sniff - sniff - sniffs through his speeches? He could be snuffing something. Drug use could account for all of his assorted bizarre behaviors. 

I'll consider ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease) only briefly.  A horrible progressive motor neuron disease, ALS typically does not have a cognitive component. An in fact, over the years I have found, as have many in the medical community I have recently learned, that patients with ALS are the nicest people you ever hope to meet. "Niceness" in these patients is so prevalent that some physicians can practically use the characteristic as part of their differential diagnosis process! No, SCROTUS decidedly does NOT have ALS. 

After doing some reading and thinking, I am liking the diagnosis Frontotemporal Dementia. It accounts for his lack of empathy (hell, being a Republican accounts for that! -- to be explored in a future post); his forgetfulness; his inappropriate actions; his lack of judgment; his speech and language difficulties; his getting lost; his lack of insight into his difficulties; as well as his motor difficulties.

Read up on FTD here at UC San Francisco's site or here at the Mayo Clinic's page. Go read, and tell me that these descriptions don't fit 45 to a T.

I'd love to know if his golf cronies have noticed any anomalies on the links, besides his cheating, that is. 

Sarah Sanders has said that Boss Tweet is going to get a physical exam and results will be released publicly. I'll believe that when I see it. And I'd like to see a full neurological work-up as well. Stay tuned. And keep resisting. 

The President's* Speech

"Oh, folks but lately I have been spotted
With a Big Mac on my breath
Stumbling into a Colonel Sanders
With a face as white as death
I'm aftraid someday they'll find me
Just stretched out on my bed
With a handful of Pringles potato chips
And a Ding Dong by my head"  - Larry Groce





I'm following up on my post about the Rabid Yam's slurring a week ago. When I wrote my post, I only knew he that had had difficulties during his Jerusalem speech and that the Whitewash House's official explanation was "dry throat." I suggested that he may have had a transient ischemic attack and, further, that small, mostly imperceptible brain infarcts have caused the dementia which accounts for his behaviors. Now I visit others' analyses.

Many writers suggested that perhaps the orange scourge has ill-fitting dentures.  I didn't address this in my thoughts, because frankly, I didn't think of it!  I don't believe I've seen ill-fitting dentures cause speech problems quite like that. I tried to find if anyone knows if he wears dentures. I found this article from The Atlanta Center for Cosmetic Dentistry which pegged his smile as porcelain veneers, not dentures.

Others have weighed in, treating the issue rather mildly, to my surprise. CNN's article does quote both a Physician and a Speech-Language Pathologist. It's a good write up of the possibilities, but of course, being more restrained than me, they don't offer a diagnosis. ;-)  See the article here.

Andy Borowitz has an excellent explanation, as explained in his New Yorker column:

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Donald J.Trump slurred his speech during his announcement about Jerusalem on Wednesday because of “low-battery issues” with Vladimir Putin’s remote, the White House said on Friday. 

Speaking to the White House press corps, the press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, said that Trump’s slurred speech was “a case of what happens when President Putin doesn’t change the batteries in his remote frequently enough.” 

“President Trump makes public appearances several times a day,” Sanders said. “In the course of those appearances, President Putin’s remote can drain its battery very quickly.” 

Calling Putin’s remote-control operation of Trump “far from glitch-free,” Sanders said that there have also been problems with the Russian leader’s attempts to control Trump’s thumbs when he tweets in the early-morning hours. 

“Sometimes President Putin has tried to operate President Trump’s thumbs and there has been the same low-battery issue,” she said. “This has resulted in random capital letters, misspellings, and, in some cases, gibberish.” 

Sanders scolded the press for speculating that Trump’s slurred speech was the result of problems with dentures or his brain. “We are working with tech support to resolve the issue,” she said.

And I include these, because truly, we gotta laugh to keep from crying.







The day after his speech, the Whitewash house announced that he will have a "full physical" at Walter Reed next month. Maybe even by a real doctor!  I've referenced it before, but his pre-election medical report is quite an entertaining document. If you have read any one single physician report, you know that this was ghost-written by Donnie himself. The letter, signed by his personal gastroenterologist, is below.  Here is an excellent analysis from The Atlantic about how bizarre and far-fetched this "medical report" is. I encourage you to read it.

In my early, woefully inaccurate prediction as to the End of his Days, I acknowledged that "death" could be the cause of the end of his Presidency.  Yanno, it may be close to reality.  It's common knowledge -- even Faux News reports -- that his diet consists of Big Macs and buckets of KFC. But come on, he balances all that!  He drinks 12 diet Cokes a day. **Diet!**  Give him credit!

As for exercise, Donnie himself has stated to Dr. Oz (full interview here) that his exercise consists of making speeches while "making a lot of motion" in a room that "is like a sauna." Oh, I can hear you now. "Be fair, Little Sister! He also drives those golf carts around the links!" Ok, ok, that's true. He also has a brilliant theory that exercise depletes one's energy, which is finite. So, he's just storing it up! He'll live forever.

Or not. He may have a stroke tomorrow. He gets Doug Jones in his Senate! (Thank you, Alabama! You did the right thing.)


Thanks for reading, and keep up the resistance! We're doing it!

Strong Women are not Red or Blue

"A really strong woman accepts the war she went through and is ennobled by her scars."  -- Carly Simon

I wrote a few weeks ago about the #MeToo movement, and the movement continues to gain momentum. Men across the land have been held accountable for their actions. Men in the entertainment and media businesses have been shown to the door in quick order. Action against politicians has been slower, but last week we had several lawmakers resign after allegations of sexual misconduct, most notably Senator Al Franken (D-MN) and Representative Al Conyers (D-MI).  Their own Democrats, with perhaps a motive made of political high-ground-taking as well as doing the absolute Right Thing, forced them out. The Republican Party seems to be rife with sexual predators, and not only have the pervs been tolerated, they have been lauded -- and elected. But perhaps the momentum is turning.

I was moved with positivity today with more women speaking out, including some Republican women, about sexual misconduct charges.

I have had mixed feelings about Republican Nikky Haley, the US Ambassador to the United Nations. My esteem of her notched up a tad when she said to CBS's Face the Nation, in talking about her boss's accusers, "They should be heard, and they should be dealt with. And I think we heard from them prior to the election. And I think any woman who has felt violated or felt mistreated in any way, they have every right to speak up."






Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of State under George W Bush and strong woman extraordinaire, without directly mentioning Roy Moore, came out against him, stating to AL.com:

This week's special election will be one of the most significant in Alabama's history. As a native daughter, I remain - at heart - an Alabaman who loves our state and its devotion to faith, family, and country. 

I encourage you to take a stand for our core principles and for what is right. These critical times require us to come together to reject bigotry, sexism, and intolerance.
It is imperative for Americans to remain focused on our priorities and not give way to side shows and antics. 

I know that Alabamans need an independent voice in Washington. But we must also insist that our representatives are dignified, decent, and respectful of the values we hold dear.

Tomorrow Alabamians vote on whether to elect a pedophile to represent them in the 115th Senate of the United States of America. Do the right thing, Alabama.

Since my last post, Time Magazine announced their Persons of the Year: The Silence Breakers.  It was a good choice. The #MeToo movement defined 2017.  Thank you for acknowledging them, Time Magazine, and thank you to the brave women who have broken the silence.

Some of 45's accusers made another appearance with their stories today and called on Congress to step up and investigate their and others' charges of sexual misconduct and ask the Groper-in-Chief to resign. Because it's the right thing to do. Men across the land have been held accountable, and the Odious Orange One should not be immune. Perhaps the time is coming. I don't think there is anything to stop this train of empowerment.  The resistance is working. Keep it up!

"God Bless the United Shashe"

Yesterday SCROTUS gave a speech announcing that he is recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.  I'll let others discuss the prudence of that move in context of the greater community (i.e., the WORLD).

No, I'm here to discuss his speech. Not the content of the words, but the quality of his articulation. I'm a Speech Pathologist with <mumble> years of experience (it's a lot of years). The "pathologist" part of me awakens. So, let me weigh in.

Here is a portion of the speech.



L

The Whitewash House's official explanation is that he had a dry throat.  I call "Nonsense!"

A "dry throat" may impact the voice, but he did not exhibit a voice disorder. His voice has normal quality.  His speech is disordered.  He is definitely demonstrating dysarthria.  His productions of /s/ and /z/ particularly are quite distorted, as you can hear in the words "assumptions," "hearts" and "minds".  You can hear the /l/  distorted in "political" and "religious.". And OhEmGee my brain hurts listening to him say, "United Shashe."

Dry throat -- or even a dry mouth for that matter -- does not cause the weakness necessary for such distortions. To hear imprecise speech sounds like that makes me think that there is something neurological going on.  In a previous post, I wrote about the patterns of his language leading me to believe there is a neurrological disorder, and I pegged it as dementia.

An acute, transient dysarthria can be caused by a transient ischemic attack (TIA), a "mini-stroke." My new (disclaimer: completely speculative, not official, and by no means definitive) idea for a diagnosis is multi-infarct dementia. He may be having frequent mini-strokes. This may account for his off-and-on difficulties and the seeming slow, insidious progression of his difficulties. The infarcts associated with multi-infarct dementia can be sub-clinical; that is, not every episode will show symptoms. There can be tiny events throughout the brain, which, when added up, start to become expressed as symptoms or behaviors.

But let's entertain the Whitewash House's whitewash explanation. To have a dry mouth sufficient to interfere with articulation to that degree and of that quality, I'd say might happen with the kind that you get with extreme anxiety. You know the feeling. For that, I'm doubtful. This looks like weakness, pure and simple. And who are we kidding? Has the orange cheeto ever experienced that kind of anxiety talking in public?  And think of it this way: if he has had such extreme dry mouth to cause articulation problems to that extent, there must be an underlying medical problem, even if it's not something so dire as a TIA.

He's not fit. There's something wrong with him. And to keep him in the Rectangle Office (remember, lies are truth and ovals are rectangles) is to tread in dangerous waters, with sharks and Man o' War havin' a party.  Let's keep pushing our lawmakers to remove him from office. The world is getting scary.


Side note: I wanted to add: I have not seen others' interpretations of his speech problems, nor the fun that I'm sure must've been had on Twitter. I wanted to keep my thoughts pure. All I knew was the video and the official explanation. I'll revisit this with another post about the scuttlebutt around the interwebs.

"O, that way madness lies; let me shun that; No more of that." -- King Lear

"Laughingstock" and "collusion" were #1 and #3 looked-up words today, according to Merriam-Webster. Yep. Welcome to the USA, 2017 edition.


Here we look at the last week-plus in the Mad, Mad World of the Orange Stain. It's been said before, by me and by many others. Just when you think our situation cannot get more bizarre, it gets more bizarre.

Has anyone else noticed that while we are being smothered by vines in the Upside Down, time seems to warp and meld? Events that occurred five days ago feel like five years ago. Every day, more crazy and concerning incidents pop up. Our brains can only absorb so much at one time. Like in a nightmare, time gets squished.

In just the past week to 10 days, we have witnessed several more "last straws," including:

A President* who retweeted hateful, racist, anti-Muslim videos from Britain First, a racist, fascist British hate group akin to the US's KKK.

Five days ago (or a year ago, take your pick) SCROTUS retweeted anti-Muslim videos posted by a British woman who has been convicted of hate speech. British leaders, most notably Prime Minister Theresa May, became quite upset (welcome to our world) and immediately and soundly rebuked him. Some of them called for the complete ban on Trump setting foot in their country, such as lawmaker David Lammy, who tweeted:

Trump sharing Britain First. Let that sink in. The President of the United States is promoting a fascist, racist, extremist hate group whose leaders have been arrested and convicted. He is no ally or friend of ours. @realDonaldTrump you are not welcome in my country and my city.

— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) November 29, 2017

US lawmakers on both sides of the aisle were also outraged at the tweets. For example, Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who by the way is earning my respect in these dark days, told The Guardian:

“I thought that was particularly unhelpful.” Reporter: In what way? Graham: “I think, one, it legitimizes this group in England. She’s being prosecuted for religious harassment. You don’t want to take a fringe group and elevate its content. I think it also is not the message we need to be sending right now when we need Muslim allies”

Was there anyone in the world who applauded his tweets? Yes! The maker of those extremist, hateful, fascist videos, responded with "GOD BLESS YOU TRUMP" and David Duke, former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard, also applauded, tweeting, "Thank God for Trump! That's why we love him!"

Hate cannot become the new normal. We must resist. 


Last week we also saw a President* doubt Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore's accusers, accept his denials, and go ahead and endorse the pedophile because "we don't need a Liberal in there (the Senate), a Democrat."

Shortly after, it came out that SCROTUS had had the audacity to deny that it was him on the Access Hollywood tape. This, after his acknowledgement nearly 14 months ago that, "I said it, I was wrong, and I apologize" and his continued shrugs that it was "locker room talk," justifying his odious behavior as only a predator can. Yesterday, Billy Bush wrote an editorial in the New York Times, affirming, yes, it was you, you sotted blot.

Misogyny cannot become the new normal. We must resist. 


Last week we also saw.....

A President* who, at a somber ceremony to honor hero Navajo Code Talkers, by means of insulting Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren (MA), used the racial slur "Pocahontas."  By the way, it was a bizarre statement, true to SCROTUS's standards.  He said, "You were here long before any of us were here. Although we have a representative in Congress who they say was here a long time ago. They call her Pocahontas.”

****cringe****




Racism cannot become the new normal. We must resist. 



This weekend SCROTUS angrily took aim at his own agencies, the Department of Justice and the FBI, in a series of blistering tweets. He brought up Hillary's emails again (will you please give it a rest?), criticizing the DOJ's handling of the Clinton investigation, and also said the FBI's reputation is "the worst in history" and the agency is "in tatters."

Bullying cannot become the new normal. We must resist.


Recently we also had a President* who lied with this tweet:

Time Magazine called to say that I was PROBABLY going to be named “Man (Person) of the Year,” like last year, but I would have to agree to an interview and a major photo shoot. I said probably is no good and took a pass. Thanks anyway!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 24, 2017

Gawd, yes, those interviews and photo shoots are incredibly tiresome! And "PROBABLY"?!  Give me a break. That's not good enough. He won bigly last year. It was a great honer! He deserves it again this year, not some lightweight chocker!

Time denied his account, responding with:

The President is incorrect about how we choose Person of the Year. TIME does not comment on our choice until publication, which is December 6.

— TIME (@TIME) November 25, 2017

Inexplicably, this week he also continued to harp on another of his lies, the whole Obama birth certificate doo-doo, in a private conversation with a Senator, according to the New York Times. Give. It. Up.

Deception and Lies cannot become the new normal. We must resist.



But...but...but...  this week was GREAT for Americans working toward resistance and justice. On Friday we were informed that former National Security Adviser General Mike Flynn flipped and plead guilty to lying to the FBI.  Oh, rejoice was heard across the land! This instigated SCROTUS to implicate himself further in an obstruction of justice charge when he tweeted, "I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI. He has pled guilty to those lies. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide!"  Uh-oh...... he knew more than he said he knew then.... his firing of Mr. Comey just got a little more interesting!

Just now, as I'm writing this, it came to light that SCROTUS's attorney admitted to composing that tweet, a day (or a lifetime, in the Upside Down) after it went out and caused a ruckus. One had to surmise it was ghost-written, given it's intelligibility.  So now his lawyer is laying himself on the tracks to try to protect he-who-cannot-be-protected?  <eye roll>  Whoever the source, it is obvious the storm clouds are gathering and panic is settling into the Whitewash House.

Perhaps, just perhaps, we'll ring in the New Year with a Presidential Indictment! Let Freedom ring!






Truth, Love, and Right are winning. Keep up the resistance!

"The most effective way to do it, is to do it." — Amelia Earhart

She's back!

That's the topic of this blog.  No, not me, though, yes, Little Sister Resister is back.^**  The "She" is the Strong American Woman. She's doing it!

2017 is becoming the Year of the Woman (go ahead, Time Magazine, use that next month). It started with the Women's March all across the world in January.  See my account of the Los Angeles Women's March -- my very first blog post -- here.

The momentum carried throughout the year, until the last couple months, when some remarkable things happen.

 #MeToo happened. All across social media, women spoke up with the simple words "Me Too." We stood up to simply be counted among the women who have been sexually assaulted or harassed. We didn't have to tell our stories -- we shouldn't have to tell our stories. We just affirmed, "Me Too."  It was sobering seeing all of our sisters acknowledging their experiences. We were able to step back and take stock of our experiences, which is really a shared experience, because I can't imagine any woman who has not experienced some sort of assault or harassment. We live it every single day.

I read a couple accounts that "small" assaults shouldn't count somehow. And to that I answer,  Higgity Hog Wash. That's the point. Small assaults are bad. Small assaults and harassment keep us down, keep us controlled, keep us humiliated and vulnerable. They count. All of it counts. And I hope it woke up many of our male friends who are the good guys, that perhaps they have been #YouToo. The ones who, with a slap on the rear or a snarky comment, helped perpetuate a eons-long hostile environment that maybe -- just maybe -- is starting to change. #MeToo enabled women in a big way, and women became empowered to not only declare "Me too," but also to speak out about their experiences.

While it started with a little hashtag on social media, women began to stand up and speak up.  Silence just wasn't an option anymore. I'm convinced that knowing that millions of other women were standing strong behind them, women found their voice and their power and started coming out of the shadows to publicly tell their stories of assault and harassment at the hands of powerful men. It started with Harvey Weinstein and cascaded down a very steep mountain, picking up James Toback, Louis CK, Kevin Spacey, Roy Moore, Al Franken, and many others. They are coming out into the sunlight every day.  The New York Times has a running list, which is updated often. If a person is hurt, threatened, humiliated, or simply uncomfortable with your behavior, then it is a problem. And it's a problem that many women haven't felt empowered to speak up before now. Let's hope that this is the beginning of a fundamental change.

Of course, public accusations are not new. We had Bill Clinton, Clarence Thomas, Bill Cosby, Michael Jackson, SCROTUS McFartFace, and on and on. But it seems different now. More women, arm in arm, with strong voices. More people are believing them. And more consequences being meted out.

I believe the environment is changing as a direct backlash to the Groper-In-Chief. We're just not going to put up with it anymore. People are seeing through his incredible hypocrisy. What does he do? He denies, denies, denies accusations against him from at least a dozen women who he assaulted, even though he loudly admitted to Billy Bush his proclivity to assault women. He assails Democrat Al Franken, and he stays silent about Republican Roy Moore. What an asshole.

Disgusting. Ugly. Disturbing. Bizarre. More of the New Normal in BackwardsVille, USA.

But we're here. And we're talking. Women are not going away. Women are doing it!

http://theweek.com/cartoons/737360/political-cartoon-sexual-harassment-women-roy-moore

An election happened. And women rocked it.

In this blog, I tend to write about many concerns, but I try to look for the positives in these troubling days. A couple times, I have noted that the election* of the tumor that currently occupies the Whitewash House has lit a spark under people to really make a change. In a March post about the positives coming from this fiasco, I wrote:

Politics will have a new face. Or, at least some new faces. This age of resistance and activism is inspiring many to get informed and get involved, and some of the best of us are becoming inspired to enter the world of politics. Great minds are coming up! This article from The Atlantic talks about how scientists are starting to eye local and national seats and 314 Action, a group that is aiming to help them. The Right's disdain for science --somehow making it a Liberal Conspiracy-- has confounded and dismayed me. But this very disdain has inspired many to pursue office. This can only benefit our country. I'm hoping that more women and minorities will also be inspired to run for office. We need representation from all corners of our society.

And indeed, a year after the election, women and others from traditionally marginalized groups stepped forward, and their communities embraced them.

In Virginia, the House of Delegates added many women among its ranks, up to 30 from 17, including Virginia's first-ever Asian-American woman, a Vietnam refugee; their first ever Hispanic woman; and the first openly transgender woman (who beat an self-avowed homophobe and 13-term incumbent!) ever elected to public office in VA.

Transgender candidates also won elections in California, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania.

Other states added threads to our wonderfully diverse American Fabric. New Jersey elected a diverse group into their state government, including the Sikh mayor of Hoboken; Charlotte, NC elected its first African-American female mayor; Seattle elected its first openly lesbian mayor; Manchester, NH elected its first ever female mayor; and Helena, Montana elected Montana's first African-American mayor, a refugee from Liberia.

Many strong women with strong voices have stepped into the spotlight in Washington this year. Our own California Junior Senator, Democrat Kamala Harris, has been giving 'em hell up on the Hill. Did you see her dogged questioning of Li'l Elf Sessions last June? He admitted publicly she made him "nervous."  Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski (AK) and Susan Collins (ME) have been vocal opponents of the Republican attempts to repeal and replace the Affordable HealthCare Act. And bulldog Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) continues to be a loud thorn in the side of the Republican majority. I am happy that these reasoned, intelligent women are there. All of these women would be excellent candidates for President in 2020.

Let's keep this momentum going! Support the diversity in our elections. Encourage strong women and people from other traditionally marginalized groups to run for office. Support women when they talk about the abuse that they have suffered. Believe them. Keep reading, talking, and acting for the greater good for our Country. And most of all, keep up the resistance! 


^**Little Sister Resister took a little hiatus to become Little Grandma Resister to a wonderful Little Baby Resister, to take a cruse vacation, to dance and dance and dance, and to work like a lint picker in a flannel factory. But now, she's back!

"THE EMAILS!!" 

The shrieks echoed across the land, only to be dampened by the soft piles of Irony puked up in the corners of the Oval Office. 

"Ovals don't have corners," she replied. 

"They do in Opposite Land. Down is up and Lies are truth. And email servers don't matter anymore."

Politico: At Least 5 TЯUMP Aids Used Personal Emails for Public Business 

We interrupt this political blog....

...with a Little travelogue.

Little Sister Resister and her friend, Littler Sister Resister, went on a Little trip last week to the Great Plains of the United States to experience the Total Eclipse of the Sun.  It was a fun, full weekend.

I'm documenting the whole weekend here, so if you want to skip tourist notes and pix, then scroll down to THE TOTAL ECLIPSE below.


Trish and I met in Denver on Thursday night.

DENVER

We spent a nice day in Denver on Friday. We visited the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Reserve, where we took a nice walk through the fields and forest to some ponds, and we also made the scenic drive around the park. We were able to spot mule deer, prairie dogs, and a herd of American Bison ("Sure, I've heard of bison...")

Doz ears, doe!

See the prairie dog on the lower left corner? They are soooo cute!

Them black spots are American Bison!

After our day of nature, we were hungry women! Trish knows how to conjure the best places to eat. She has this magic little metal box that she stares into, and it tells her good places to stop.

We followed Gigi the Google girl to a sort-of sketchy neighborhood, and we had the most amazing Southern cooking! Fried catfish, collard greens, and yams. Oh my! So yummy! If you're in Denver, find the Blazing Chicken Shack on E. 33rd.

In the evening we met up with some ARC (Aphasia Recovery Connection) friends who live in the area, Sandy and Dylan. It was great to drink beer and catch up with some great people!

After dinner, we walked a block to the Denver Turnverein and I danced for a while. Trish watched and took pictures. The Lindy dancers in Denver are a welcoming group, and I had some fun dances. They had a birthday / newcomers dance, so I was honored to be in that jam. Right after that dance, we had a Shim Sham. Oh, yeah!

WYOMING DAY 1: Saturday

We started our eclipse trek in earnest on Saturday, when we made the drive up to Wyoming. A quick hour and a half to Cheyenne, and we were happy to stop for visiting and lunch with my dear Auntie Nene and my cousin Steve and his wife Carol. Love them people! And we even got to have a little taste of New Mexico when we had green chile for lunch!

Gosh I love these people!

Another hour and a half, and we made it to Haven on the Rock, just south of Ft. Laramie. We were so lucky that Trish stumbled upon this place during her search for a place to stay. When I started planning this adventure, I booked one of the last remaining motels in southern Wyoming for $450/night. I figured I'd just drive up to the eclipse from Laramie.  But, as usual, Trish came to the rescue.

Haven on the Rock is a Christian children's summer camp in the Middle of Nowhere, Wyoming.  It was run by Karisa and Zach, a super nice young couple who managed a big undertaking in welcoming people from around the world to their little corner of the American plains.

Trish, who does magic with the inter-webs, found the place, which was within the 70-mile-wide totality zone. The folks at Haven were renting out camping spots, RV camp sites, and, luckily for us, beds in their half-dozen or so barrack-style cabins. We were assigned to cabin 4, "Coyote." We were the only ones occupying the large room, which contained a bunch o' bunkbed pairs. I call top bunk!  We weren't sure what to expect. Would other people join us to share this space? Turned out, no. It was comfortable. There were communal, camping-style bathrooms and showers. $150 for the both of us, meals included.  What a deal!

Trish got up for the sunrise on Eclipse Day.

I was tickled for the experience. It was communal dining, so we got to know a few other people during meals. The food was typical middle America meat-centric down-home food.  The grounds were nice, and they offered their full array of activities, from archery,  to shooting practice, to rappelling and horseback riding!

Ice cream! 

We added pins in California and Florida!

The other side says, "JESUS LOVES YOU. AND SO DO WE"

WYOMING DAY 2: Sunday

Sunday found a huge influx of people into Haven on the Rock, and by dinner there were about 150 people there. Still no one joined us in our cabin! It felt festive, and people were buzzing with excitement.

We took the opportunity on Sunday to see a little of the area. We drove dirt roads north to the town of Ft. Laramie, a 2-saloon town. We visited Ft. Laramie National Historic Site. It was a cool history lesson. I am always moved when I visit historic sites. Here, travelers on the Oregon and Mormon trails stopped to rest and trade; peaceful Indian trade was big here, and, tragically, the Indian wars started here. We learned that both the Pony Express and the telegraph had big roles there. It's always emotional for me to walk the same place where history happened.

The historic Ft. Laramie bridge

This buffalo hide tipi is a contemporary creation, made with traditional methods, including 8 buffalo hides and tanning with buffalo brains!

We watched some civil war re-enacters demonstrate musket loading and firing and also the firing of a cannon!  Really cool, but it reminds you that war is not good.

That afternoon, back at Haven, we mounted our trusty steeds Hank and Taxi, and enjoyed a 90-minute trail ride over the prairie.  It was a beautiful afternoon to enjoy the grasslands and the interesting limestone (I'm guessing) formations.

The afternoon got a little cloudy.  We threatened the clouds with violence if they or their friends showed up the next day.

Trish, in blue, on Hank

Thirsty horses get relief after the ride

WYOMING DAY 3: Monday

THE TOTAL ECLIPSE

Wow!

We packed our backpacks with snacks, water, and blankets, and walked about 1/2 mile west from the camp to a hill on the prairie. We had 360º views of the horizon.  And there we sat, staring into the sun for hours and experiencing the celestial event of a lifetime.

I didn't want to take photos because I knew 1000s of others across the US would take much better photos, so it wasn't my priority. I wanted to just experience it. That being said, I wasted too many precious seconds searching in the dark for my camera to take a souvenir snapshot.

HOWEVER, after taking a few written notes during the partiality, I extemporaneously decided to turn on my iPhone's voice recorder. I did not know that Trish had planned (and executed) a video of us watching the totality.  Serendipitously, we have a wonderful video and audio recording of our reactions, which I was able to synch with iMovie. You can see me in the video just looking around, looking dazed. I was trying to memorize every bit of it, from the feel of the wind, to the temperature, to the sounds, to the light. Oh! the light!

There wasn't really much change in the light until it neared totality.  Then it started feeling like dusk. But it was a different quality light, different from everyday dusk.  It was quite eerie, grey or more brown. Impossible to describe. I wish the video captured the changes in the lighting. I don't think any camera could have. The camera auto-corrected the light.  But it is seared into my memory.  At totality, it really was pitch black.  Though the video shows a more subtle change in the light, you can still see the magnificent return to sunlight.

Other notes:

The event was amazing - magnificent - incredible - stunning - extraordinary - insert superlative here.

The crickets got confused. They woke up and started chirping about 20 minutes before totality.

I watched for the moment in the west when the moon's shadow started barreling toward us. You can see the moment when I tell Trish, "Oh yeah, look, look, look! Look over there!"  The moon's shadow was coming at us at more than 1,100 miles per hour. It got very dark very quickly. Indescribable. And very cool.

I was confused as well.... haha. You can see me on the video say again and again, "The sunset's in the west."  Well that's nothing special! But it was also in the north, east, and south! The horizon held  sunset colors all 360 degrees around us.

It was an indescribably emotional moment to witness the entrance into totality. It got pitch black. Instantly. Venus and a couple other dimmer celestial bodies appeared. The sun's aura was simply stunning. It was an experience like none I've ever had.

For the record, the body I saw to the left of the Sun was Mercury. And I was so fixated on Venus that I missed Jupiter in the East and Mars was around, too.

I truly believe that up on that little hill on the prairie, where we had flat 360º views, and not a single cloud in the sky the whole day, we had the best eclipse experience that anyone on the planet could've had.

It breaks my heart to hear people say that they saw 99% totality and "didn't think it would be that big a difference."  The reality is that the difference is... well, between night and day!  Totality is amaze-balls. There really are no words.

I hope the video gives you a little glimpse of what it was to experience a total solar eclipse.

Here it is.



THE JOURNEY BACK

We missed the camp's lunch, so we got an ice cream to go, and after packing up we started the drive back to Denver.

And so did everybody from Colorado, along with their kids, their cousin, their aunt, their cousin's mother-in-law, their grandma, and the neighbors in the back.

Imagine a straight road through the treeless prairie. Now imagine thousands of cars nose-to-bumper. For 202 miles.

Everything worthwhile has its challenges. The journey home was ours. There was no choice to accept it. I went at it with an attitude of "We'll get there when we get there."  And I knew that whatever we faced, it had been worth it to have the experience we did.

It took us 7 hours to drive to Cheyenne and 11 hours (normally 3 hours) total to Denver, including one brief stop at the cousins' house to return the borrowed blankets and one brief stop at McDonald's. Get us food! Any food-like substance will do!

One demoralizing moment came when the the plodding bicycle that we had passed a couple miles back overcame us -- and we didn't catch up to him again for probably 15 minutes or more.

One magic Karma moment came early on in Torrington, WY. I had tried to turn off the engine whenever I could, especially during the miles through town where it was literally a parking lot. I would let a car length or two stretch before I turned on my engine again to drive those few feet and sit again. At one point, the truck behind me didn't take kindly to that, and he pointedly honked and zoomed around me while the passenger flipped the bird as the truck nosed into the car-length in front to sit with that view for the next however-the-freak-long.

After another block and 20 minutes, a nice lady and her dog passed us, and she stopped to talk to us through the window. "Where you from? Where you heading? Wow, you came a long way to see us!

And then.... "If you cut through this alleyway here it it'll take you to 14th. It may cut a little time off." This alley, here? The one where our nose is, and the a$$hole's back bumper just passed? "Yep, that one!"

Zooooooom!  Buh-bye, sucka!  Instant Karma. She's a bitch.

Despite the frustrations, the journey home was totally worth it. Every moment was a moment well spent in the pursuit of this experience. There are so many experiences this world has to offer. Make the effort to find them.

"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." -- John Muir

Now, plans for April 8, 2024......  Join me?

I was there!!

"Indifference, to me, is the epitome of evil"

"Indifference, to me, is the epitome of evil." -- Elie Wiesel

I'm still reeling and trying to wrap my head around the recent events in our Nation's History and where they will lead us. I woke up this morning wondering what outrage we will face next. It seems like we at the nadir, but I've thought that many times before throughout the last six months, and we always seem to manage to sink a little deeper.  We're stuck in quicksand, a deep chasm to hell, and we are being led by a Faustus of our own making, deeper and deeper through the hole.

A story.

Currently on my caseload, I am working with a Holocaust survivor. He has survived -- and thrived -- through many challenges. This gentleman is now at the twilight of his life. He has dementia, and on top of that, he survived a stroke. He's tough as nails. He is often confused, sometimes combative with his caregivers, but he always has been pleasant with me. After the war, he fled to the United States. He became a successful businessman and lived the American Dream. He contributed to our country in immeasurable ways.

Sometimes he lives in the past. Last week -- before Charlottesville -- he was confabulating about the war.  "What are you doing in the war?" he asked me, with a tear in his eye and a break in his voice.

I gently tried to bring him back to reality. "I wasn't born yet when the war happened. It was a long time ago. But my father fought in the war. He was a ball-turret gunner in a B-17 flying missions out of England."

He could barely hold in his emotion as he tearily said, "I hope he killed the Germans."

"Yes, he bombed Germany a lot."

"Good.....good," he said. "I'm glad he killed the Germans."

We were able to get along with our session.

Yesterday, I visited with him again and he brought up the war again. I quickly re-directed him, because if I hadn't been able to do that, I would've broken down myself.

"The war was a long time ago. Now we have some new challenges. Let's get to work."

It absolutely breaks my heart that this man, whose friends and family suffered the unspeakable and paid the ultimate price at the hands of Hate, who fled to the United States and made a good life helping others and conttirbuted to our Democracy and was a successful businessman, lives in a country where rampant hate still lives. And this hate is being given life by the toad (I cannot call him a man) who occupies the White House.

I think about my own father -- what would he think? -- and others in the Greatest Generation, who fought against fascism. We fought that war. The right side won!  Didn't it?

It makes me sick to my stomach.

It makes me question reality.

It makes me question the collective sanity of our country.

It makes me question my sanity. When I wake up, is it actually a nightmare that I am entering?

I at once become paralyzed and ready to act. And then paralyzed again.

And here I sit, paralyzed.  I have no more words.  Except to say, we can not remain indfferent.

*

Because I use this blog to record the events of these days, here is what we are waking up to in today's nightmare:




New York Times full transcript