Poverty

No, not the economic condition of lacking enough money for housing, food and other essentials.

Poverty is a cat. My nephew Ben is staying with me for awhile and he brought his three-year old black-as-the-depths-of-outer-space cat. Ben named him "Poverty" as a nod to his (Ben's) economic state. Ben (not Poverty) is working hard at his new part-time job and hopes to get a car soon.

Poverty is curious and gets into everything. He also likes to scratch the furniture. Ben got him a scratching post, to which Poverty says, "Nah."  I bought some spray that is supposed to stop the scratching, but hahaha. I've been using a spray bottle to condition him, still to no avail. Otherwise, he is a well-behaved cat, content to, like most cats, laze away most of the day, When I'm watching TV he will hop up on my lap and put his face about three millimeters away from mine, then settle in and snuggle with me. 

The three of us are still adjusting to each other, but I think things are gonna work out fine.

Song of the Day: The original--by Eddie and the Hot Rods--is supremely swell. This Flashcubes version destroys it. 

Just a song this time

I mean, what else do you need? 

Thanks to all of you who took the time to say you liked the book so far. I appreciate it.

Song of the Day: A deep, deep cut, this one from Bruce's box set, The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story. One day, I repeated it six or seven times in the car, the mark of a great song--or a madman. Maybe both. 

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(Title)??

9:00 PM: Ready to write a scintillating blog post. Ready to go!

9:02: Will put some music on for inspiration.

9:02-9:09: Hit “shuffle” after unable to decide what to play.

9:10: Don’t like that song. Skip.

9:10:10: Skip.

9:10:21: Skip.

9:11: Good song. Ok, here we go.

9:11-9:12: (Taps fingers).Stares at blank screen.

9:14: Skip.

9:15: Hey, where’s my phone? Uses “Find My Phone”.

9:16: Found phone but battery is at 8%.

9:17: Locate a charger, plug in phone. Says “Software Update” available. Might as well do it now.

9:18: Stares at blank screen.

9:18:20: Skip.

9:19: Ooh, that index finger fingernail is bugging me. Get nail clippers.

9:20-9:22: Might as well trim all of them.

9:23: Maybe I’ll make some coffee.

9:24: Stares at blank screen.

9:26: Skip.

9:27: Pours a cup of coffee, then throws it in the sink. What was I thinking? It's too late for coffee.

9:29: Puts fingers on keyboard, ready to type. Ok, I just need a title!

9:30: Hear a beep. Was that the smoke alarm? Tests both alarms, all okay.

9:31: Skip.

9:32: Stares at blank screen.

9:34: Hears the beep again. Pauses the music and listens for a minute. Nothing.

9:35: Skip.

9:36: Stares at blank screen. Oh, hell, I’ll tackle this tomorrow.

9:37: Skip.

9:38: Shuts computer off.

Song of the Day: Ian Hunter will be eighty-four in June. Four years older than Joe Biden. This song features the soon to be eighty-three Ringo on drums and the relatively youthful former Heartbreaker Mike Campbell on guitar.

Taking it to the Streets

A thousand Nashville, Tennessee high school students walked out of class last Monday, April 3rd. They marched to the State Capitol to protest the Covenant School massacre. As everyone knows by now, three nine-year old kids and three sixty-something adults were brutally murdered by a heavily armed person who was, in turn, killed by two incredibly brave officers. 

The mind-numbing details of all these mass murders run together. There is no reason to discuss them any further here, except to say that guns are the number one killer of children in the United States (5.6 per 100000, versus an average of .3 in peer countries.)

45,222 kids under eighteen died by firearms in 2020. Think about that. 45,222 little caskets. 45,222 funerals. 45,222 broken-beyond-repair families.

What can be done? Background checks. Red flag laws. Banning civilian purchase of assault rifles and bump stocks. Our representatives in Congress, and our Senators, the ones we all voted in to act, to do something, either don't have the numbers to enact meaningful legislation, or, even worse, just refuse to.

It's time for a National Day of Protest. Every high school in all fifty states, not just the blue ones, follow the example of your brothers and sisters in Nashville. Organize on social media. Pick a day (or two, or three) and walk out. Refuse to go back until you are heard. 

And we will walk with you.

Song of the Day:

 

Quiz

Which of these quotes most describes America in 2023?

A) "These are the times that try men's souls"--Thomas Paine, 18th century author.

B) "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."--attributed to Edmund Burke, but apparently he never said it, so author unknown.

C) "Those who can not remember the past are condemned to repeat it."--George Santayana, writer and philosopher.

D) "Happiness is a warm gun"--John Lennon and Paul McCartney

E) All of the above.

Answer: Like I have to tell you the answer.

Song of the Day: See: Today's quiz.