Posted tagged ‘McGovern’

“Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists.”

June 8, 2017

Gracie and I had two visits to the vets yesterday. The first was to check on her legs which had splayed and caused her to go down on the floor. The vet figured it was due to her legs being stiff after she was sleeping on the couch was so long. She got two new medicines. The second was at 10:00. It was to the 24-hour vet where the entrance fee is $177.00. Gracie had spent the evening grazing in the backyard and had been sick twice. One of the new pills caused vomiting, and I wanted to make sure she was okay. We were alone at first then two other dog and their humans joined us. One of the dogs had been attacked by a coyote. He had teeth marks on his haunches and his tail. He was especially nervous, peed three times and lapped the floor. It took a while for the dog to calm down. The other dog had had surgery earlier in the day and was bleeding. The bleeding dog left first. He was okay. Gracie got an x-ray, an anti-nausea shot and an IV to help her rehydrate. She got another new pill. We got home at 1:45.

Here I am sitting inside on a lovely warm day, a sunny day no less, watching television. I am watching the Comey hearing. I think I’m hoping for a revelation similar to finding out about the existence of the recordings during the Watergate hearings. Comey’s facts and written recordings of his meetings with Trump are in contrast to Trumps’s memories. Comey is quite believable.

All of my close friends are around my age, maybe a few years older or a few years younger. That’s one thing we have in common, our ages. We grew up in small towns or in cities, both in this state and a few others. One of my friends went to the same college I did, but the others went all over the place. One of my friends dates back to high school. Two are my neighbors, and I worked with most of the rest except my high school friend’s wife and the two friends I met in Ghana. The biggest thing we share is our politics. None of us voted for Trump. As far as I know, we all voted for McGovern. Somewhere along the line, all of our experiences made us liberals. Maybe it was the 60’s or opposition to the war. Maybe it was fallout after Nixon, but I think it was well before Nixon. We were lucky enough to find each other and to become friends, kindred spirits, kindred souls. Sharing politics is just icing on the cake.

“You have to remember one thing about the will of the people: it wasn’t that long ago that we were swept away by the Macarena.”

March 1, 2016

When I woke up this morning, my first thought was I get to vote. I never miss voting even for local elections. I voted when I was in the Peace Corps, but I got my ballot too late for it to count. It was sent by regular mail which took several weeks to arrive. They could have used air mail but they didn’t. I sent my ballot back with a note explaining where Ghana was and why I was irritated. I never got an answer.

I voted for the very first time in 1968. I voted for Hubert Humphrey, not Richard Nixon. In 1972 I voted for George McGovern, not Richard Nixon. I always add the not Richard Nixon because it is a point of personal pride. As a joke, my sister gave me a Nixon button, a huge one. It says Nixon’s the One on the top and Vote Nixon on the bottom. His face is in the middle with a giant smile that looks a bit sleazy to me, but that may be hindsight. I’ve heard people say have nothing in your house for which you would be ashamed should you die unexpectedly. That would be my Nixon button. It is horrifying to think someone might believe I wore it and even worse that I voted for him.

Today is a sunny day filled with light without heat. I’m getting tired of the cold. I’d be happy with one really warm day, a long sleeve shirt day. That’d hold me until spring.

Birds are all over my feeders. They wait in lines like planes do before they can taxi and take off. I forgot the suet so I’ll fill those feeders later.

I remember watching Chet and David on the black and white TV when they covered the presidential election of 1960, a nail biter, and exciting sit on the edge of your seat election. Everything pertaining to states and numbers was done by hand. People erased tallies and entered new tallies. Calling a state for one candidate or the other didn’t happen with only 16% of the vote counted the way it is now. Back then you had to be patient. I think that’s a good thing. In the Nixon-Kennedy election Nixon didn’t concede until November 9th, the day after the election.