madranchwife

“Speaker Boehner comes in and he says, basically, it’s sort of like
this,” Schumer said. “Someone goes into your house, takes your wife and
children hostage and then, says, let’s negotiate over the price of your
house.”  Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaking on Sunday on ABC’s “This Week”

I’ve also read this comparison in several places the last few days:

House Republicans:  “Can I burn down your house?”

The White House, The Senate, the rest of America:  “NO!  Are you nuts?”

House Repubs:  “Well then, how about me burning down just the top two floors?”

Sane Americans:  “NO!  Are you nuts?”

House Repubs:  “The ground floor only?”

Sane Americans:  “NO!  What part of ‘no’ did you not understand?”

House Repubs:  “You don’t play fair.  You won’t even negotiate this with me.”

?????????????????????????????????????????

I feel like I’ve entered an alternate universe, do you?

Also, I would highly recommend you check out the latest post at www.stonekettlestation.com  entitled “Deadlock.”  Well worth the read!

Yessiree bob.  Right here in the backyard.  The Abominable Snowman.  In October.

Now, I know I shouldn’t be surprised by snow in October.  I’ve been living in the Rocky Mountains long enough to know that it snows now.  Sometimes even in September.  I’ve spent many a birthday with the snowflakes softly falling.

That being said, I don’t quite remember a foot of the stuff.  But as there have been many, many birthdays, I would concede that perhaps the memory isn’t quite what it used to be.

Today brought a beautiful, cerulean blue sky, not a cloud in sight with sunlight streaming through the variously yellow shaded leaves of the aspen trees.  The contrast of the gold, yellow, bright green, and orange leaves against the snow-covered branches of the deep green pine trees was really quite stunning.  The white and black bark of the aspen trees was accentuated and it all came together to paint quite a pretty picture.  See below.

There was snow shoveling and ‘snowgirl’ building (note the aspen leaf hair decoration) followed by a snowball fight in which daddy got his clock cleaned by the girls!  Yea girl power!!!

Hot chocolate followed with some more oohing and aahing at the color palette out the backdoor.

We are so blessed.

So, where to begin?

Yesterday morning brought the dude in the big truck with the slogan on the back “Poop Scoopin Buggy.”  I kid you not.

Lovely thing to watch at 7:15 a.m. while enjoying my triple shot 1/2 caffe dark chocolate mocha with whip.

He hooked up these really big, really long green hoses (why green I wondered to myself) and proceeded to suck out the contents of the septic tanks.  Yes, I realize that for all you city folk out there, this is a foreign concept.  What’s a septic tank?  What do you mean they have to be “sucked out?”  What exactly is being sucked out?  (Believe me you, I am NOT going there.  Figure it out for yourselves.)

As I sat there, sipping my morning shot of nirvana, I wondered, again to myself, what would happen if one of those big, long, green hoses detached itself from either end and went whipping around in the air?  Spewing forth the contents from one end of the universe to the next.

Yes, I know, my mind is a very, VERY scary place.  Who thinks about these things????  And why?  I mean really.  Really.

Actually, I find that I have to fill up the space somehow, with various and sundry inanities, because otherwise the perseveration and rumination on the current state of affairs threatens to overtake the teeny, tiny, itty, bitty, teensy, weensy slice of sanity, peace and serenity I have a slim hold of.  Make sense?

Back to the current affairs here at the ranch.  The dude in the Poop Scoopin’ Buggy unhooked those dastardly looking hoses, coiled them up and drove off into the sunrise.  I hadn’t even finished partaking of nirvana.  Amazing.

It took three (3) years for that to happen.  Three years.  And one disastrous attempt at cleaning out a third septic tank on the property (for those of you privy to previous emails of years past, you may remember the account of that ridiculousness–I simply cannot bring myself to relive it at this moment, but perhaps I’ll revisit it in the near future).  Anyhoo.  Three years.  And the dude was done in 45 minutes.  Things that make you go hmmmmmm……………………and most definitely make me crazy, insane, nutso, off-my-rocker, just plain ol’ mad.  tee hee hee

Now on to the white stuff.

Eight inches and counting at this point.  Though that was really a couple of hours earlier, so maybe add an inch or two.  I’m just too lazy to go back and edit the title.

Pictures to follow.

Needless to say, the flowers are buried.  I forgot the ones on the front porch.  And they were oh so pretty.  But such is life.  The stellar jays are going through the birdseed like it’s, well, free birdseed.  (All of my Republican acquaintences might call them…here…wait for it–MOOCHERS.  Hanging around for handouts.  Sorry, just couldn’t stay away from political references.  I’ll try to get a handle on that.)

Anyhoo.  The chestnut-backed chickadees (I think that’s what they are, but honestly I’ve been trying to identify them for three years now.) are back.  I haven’t seen the black-capped chickadees yet and I’m not sure why.  They should have been here already.  And just now, as I write, a new bird just hit the window.  Bad day to be hitting the window dude.  You don’t want to sit out there in that snow for too long, shaking off the concussion.  I’m not sure what he is, some kind of sparrow perhaps.  I’ve never seen one like that here.  Time to get out the bird book.

But, I digress.

The leaves haven’t totally turned yet on the aspens.  In fact, most are still green.  This will definitely put a damper on the fall colors here.  That’s sort of a bummer, but again…such is life.

Enjoy the pictures.  We’re enjoying the beauty.  Not so much the cold, but it sure is pretty to look at.  And the water!!  Oh the water!!  I say “bring it on baby, bring it on!”  Every flake of snow, every drop of water is desperately needed here.  We’ll take it.

Guess it’s time to break out the snow suits and the boots, eh?

(Extra points to anyone who can figure out what’s new at the ranch.)

Hasta la vista amigos!

OH THE IRONY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not that I’m being original here–I’ve read this posted in a dozen places over the web in the last hour.

The Republicans pitched a humdinger of a tantrum and in the end all they’ve done is sabotage the very same country they say they love and want to “take back.”  And we can all still sign up for health insurance!!!!!

Would it be too childish of me to stick my fingers in my ears, waggle them a bit and say “neener, neener, neener???????”  (I couldn’t figure out how to spell that exactly, but I’m hoping you’re catching my drift.)

Though, to be serious, we’re all going to be in a world of hurt soon if this doesn’t get worked out.

I really just can’t help but smile though, when I think about how badly the Republicans have wanted to destroy the Affordable Care Act, and now, at this very minute, I’m perusing the www.healthcare.gov website (yes, I can multi-task) to look at a very decidedly NOT destroyed ACA.

You go President Obama!

And (VITRIOL warning here) take that you infantile, fecking idjits who would hold hostage the safety and security of those less fortunate than yourselves.

*******Review link to video of Replacements “I Will Survive” scene.  And imagine President Obama and staff doing the Electric Slide to Diana Ross!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank the Universe there’s an adult in the room.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HX39oey7sa0

So here’s my humdinger of an idea.

Let’s replace the bloody, fecking idjits in the United States Congress with a ragtag bunch of scab replacements.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let’s pick a stellar bunch of misfits, lock ’em up in one of the Chambers (doesn’t matter…House or Senate…makes no never-mind), pipe in some Diana Ross and get them to all start dancing.

Maybe, just maybe, we might stand a snowball’s chance in hell of surviving this impending debacle.  (Though methinks the word “debacle” has perchance become a bit overused of late.  Perhaps we should find a different thesaurus-enhanced dictionary entry to describe our present circumstance.)

NOW.  Lest you think that I’ve become all libertarian-minded, have drunk the libertarian water, or started smoking whatever it is the libertarians might be smoking, let me assure you that I honestly do not think the esteemed President O, nor the Democrats in the Senate or the House, are responsible for the current state of affairs.  (Another trite and hackneyed phrase, my apologies.)

But…as it was ever so sweetly pointed out to me last week, there is a slight chance that perhaps I may at times tend toward the vitriol.  And so, in all fairness, I thought my idea might be met with more acceptance if I lumped all members of Congress in together, not just the Republicans.

Though, to be completely honest, truthful and above-board, I lay the blame for what may happen in 24 hours solely at the feet of the Republican members of Congress who do not seem to be able to understand two important points.

1.  The Affordable Care Act was voted into law.  It’s a done deal.  It was then upheld as law by the Supreme Court of the United States of America.  It is currently funded.  It’s funding will NOT be affected by a government shutdown.  The citizens of the United States of America overwhelmingly voted last November to re-elect a man who helped to create this law and overwhelmingly rejected the challenger who said his first act as President would be to dismantle said law.  So to me that means that the overwhelming majority of Americans want the ACA.  Period.  Stop screwing around with it and wasting untold millions, maybe billions, of dollars trying to repeal it, remove it, delay it or stomp on it.

2.  The debt ceiling, which is the next teeny, eensy, tiny, itty, bitty, little battle that is looming and which is tied to the imminent shutdown of the government (and possibly the economy) does not have a thing to do with future spending.  The money has already been spent.  By the Congress.  NOT by the President.  By the Congress.  The debt ceiling will pay our bills.  It will not authorize more spending.  Do the members of Congress who don’t want the debt ceiling raised not pay their own bills?  Or do they instead understand the importance of paying the bills for the things you’ve already spent your money on?

So flippin’ confusing.  I swear I just cannot fathom how there is such a chasm between two ideologically different groups of people?  To me, the above two facts are plain and simple.  And not rocket science.

But it seems that to others, the above is akin to fascism, socialism, druidism, paganism, you-name-it-ism.  Sorry, got a bit carried away there.

I fear I simply must stop writing.  It is late.  I am like the babbling brook, babbling merrily along.  Knowing not where I may end up, but simply meandering along, spitting out words as I go.

So I leave you with the words of Diana Ross.  Interesting reference in the second verse about being back from outer space.  Because you know…that’s exactly where it seems the Republican party has been hanging out lately…outer flipping space.

Working tomorrow…at the hospital in Cheyenne…will stop at the good ol’ java joint (a.k.a. Starbucks) on my way…

…and I’ve just finished reading the latest on the “guns ‘n cup of joe” shenanigans.

Remember a few posts back?  The “shootout at the Sbucks corral?”  Well…not that there was ever a shootout, per se, but there was that quote unquote confrontation between the “Democrat” and the dude in black.  Said dude in black who’s always all duded up in his Western duds now sporting a matching bulletproof vest and all the accoutrements required thereof.  Remember him?  Did I mention the black wraparound sunglasses?  At 6:45 a.m. on cloudy days no less.

But I digress…sort of…

It seems that the CEO of Starbucks has finally  had it with the ridiculous posturing of the gun-totin’, java addicted (I know, I know…like I have room to talk…)  (about ADDICTIONS people, not guns) well, for lack of a better word “sit-ins” that have been occurring at Starbucks establishments around the country (in 40 states to be exact).  He’s now taking out a full page ad in which he asks for no more guns in the aforementioned java joints…because it is making the patrons uncomfortable (the ones WITHOUT the AR 15’s slung over their shoulders, or the Colt 45s slung low on their hips).  He is asking for no guns either inside the store or in the outside seating areas.

HOWEVER…and here is the big catch…this is not something that can be enforced…and he’s not going to ask his workers to enforce it…he’s just hoping for a peaceful resolution.  Basically…he’s thinking that if he puts this out there, then everyone will just respect his wishes.

Boy…methinks he’s never set foot in Wyoming before.

Don’t worry, don’t worry…I’m certainly not going to be the one to mention this to the dude in black.  I know my dear mother is going to be wondering if her overly-passionate, sometimes hot-headed, liberal, pinko, gay-lovin’, Subaru-drivin’ daughter is going to survive her early morning coffee run.

So when I write “wish me luck folks,” what I really mean is wish me luck in keeping my mouth shut, my eyes straight ahead and my mind on one singular thing…my overpriced, liberal-elitist, snooty version of morning nirvana…

Stay tuned.  I’ll update all y’all.

One hummingbird that is.

One little, single, solitary hummingbird.

And that part of me that anthropomorphizes CONSTANTLY, is wondering if she’s lonely.

Really.

Not kidding.

Like I don’t have enough on my plate to worry about (think homeschool curriculum, the state of the checkbook, the state of the world, the impending onslaught of winter, the impending showdown with Syria)…

Now I throw in there time spent staring out the kitchen window at this lone little avian and my head starts hurting.

Why, I wonder, are you the only one here?  Where, I wonder, are all of your zinging-around-like-crazy, dive-bombing-maniac friends?  Is there something wrong with your miniature brain that you haven’t taken off for distant southern lands like all the rest?  Are you hurt?  Are you lonely?

And then I catch myself (1. talking to a bird and 2. expending way too much energy on things outside my circle of influence) and I try to get a grip.

This falls under “those things I cannot control.”  Like my grams’s illness a few weeks ago, like the fact that I now have at least 30 lbs of sugar in my pantry (and that is one damn big bag, let me tell you), like the impending coming of winter (yes, we are heading there soon I am afraid…not stopping to enjoy fall, not passing go and definitely not collecting $200).  These are all things that are not within the circle that I CONSTANTLY have to draw around my feet.  Everything inside the circle is under my control.  Everything outside the circle is NOT under my control.

Seems elementary to some I am sure.

But I am not elementary.  I am hard-wired to worry.  And to seek to control that which cannot, or should not, be controlled.  My lot in life I guess.  What can I say?

And so, I will attempt to relinquish control of this single, solitary, lone little hummingbird.  And put her in the Universe’s hands.  I will leave the feeders up for her…as long as she stays.  I will wish her Godspeed and a safe journey.  And perhaps we’ll meet again.

And then I’ll turn to the next thing on my plate.  Will we or won’t we go to war?

I know without a doubt that we do not need to be the ones to constantly police the world.  But I also know without a shadow of a doubt that sometimes we must lead from the front, sometimes we must lead from behind.  That is the price we pay for being, as President Obama said earlier this week, “the world’s oldest, most successful democracy.”

And so, I leave you with this quote, yet again:

“The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.”  (Edmund Burke, it is thought)

Despite the pain and turmoil it will cost this country to become involved, yet again, the alternative is to let evil have its way.

And that, my friends, does not sound like an acceptable alternative at all.

No…just kidding.

But I had you going there for a minute didn’t I?  You were a tad bit worried about me weren’t you?

I was worried about me, to be perfectly honest.

It’s not in my nature to keep quiet for too long about the ridiculous things I encounter in this journey.  And I see it as inevitable that I’m going to rattle a saber here pretty soon.  Or use a stick to provoke the sleeping dog.  (Such a horrid euphemism.)  Or just, in general, stick my nose where it most definitely belongs.  Because…in this case…I think every single one of us should be concerned with the fact that there are idiots among us running around like chickens with their heads cut off, screaming that the sky is falling.  The big difference is that here, the chickens are armed and dangerous.

I can see a blockbuster forming here.   Stay with me a moment.  Hold on….

….yep… here it is:

“Attack of the Killer Headless Chickens…AKA the Mentally Unstable Dudes in Black who Drink Expensive, Overpriced Chick Drinks”   (Get it?  “Chick Drinks”…chickens drinking chick drinks…???   I have really got to get some sleep, get a new day job, or get some help.  Right?)

I digress….in a most serious fashion…

So…I just spent four (4) glorious days in Cheyenne, Wyoming shuttling  between the Holiday Inn (the ONLY hotel in town that still allows, gasp, SMOKING rooms) and the hospital.  Where I treated VERY sick people all day, in which the common denominator in all of them was, yep… you guessed it…SMOKING.  Cigarettes kill you.  Period.  They just do.  In a horrific, disgusting, nasty, cruel, sometimes slow and drawn out way.

Oh, the irony.

But, again, I digress.

Yes, I went to Starbucks.

Yes, the gunslinger in black was there.  Every morning.  I avoided his eyes.  Sort of like how you don’t look at Medusa if you don’t want to be all stony for a long while.

But now…we have a new character to add to the insanity.

Sunday night.  Cute, young, female barista.

Enter stage left:  one youngish (late 20’s to early 30’s maybe?), crew-cutted male in tennis shoes, ankle socks (so clearly not a dork here wearing black crew or knee socks), khaki shorts (long, but not too long…just normal looking), a short sleeve t-shirt (plain, no obscenities emblazoned across the chest, no ads for GUNS, GUNS, GUNS, just plain)…AND…drum roll please…

…a GUN (pistol, handgun, Colt 45????) slung low over his right hip, over the shorts, like a belt, but down on the hips, not at the waist.

And this dude was standing at the counter, drinking his fou-fou iced drink with whip, CLEARLY, clearly flirting with above-mentioned barista asking her what pricey, expensive hotel he should stay at in Denver.   As in…trying really hard to impress upon  her how upscale he was.  (I mean, he wasn’t asking about a Howard Johnsons versus a Motel 6…OK?  I’m not profiling here.  Promise.)

Clearly one cannot make this stuff up.

All I ask is for the ability to have my overpriced, snobby espresso drink in peace.  Is that too much?????

Cause I’m beginning to wonder what happened to the stars and the moon and the planets?  Somewhere, somehow we got out of alignment.  Reality took a hike and has not been seen since.

Speaking of reality taking a hike………………

There was a link to a story on my news page about some outrage being generated about a picture taken of President Obama in the Oval Office, on the phone (I think speaking with either Congress members or foreign heads of state)…now, are you sitting down for this outrage?  WITH HIS LEFT FOOT UP ON THE DESK AS HE WAS STANDING THERE TALKING ON THE PHONE.

I kid you not.  Someone is all up in arms because the President had his foot on the desk while he was talking.  And he was standing there, not sitting in a chair (like when you’re mother tells you not to put your feet up on the table…).  He was standing up, resting one foot on the desk (as if you would be stretching your groin muscles, or easing the pressure on your low back if you suffer from low back pain, etc, etc, etc).

LORD LOVE A DUCK.

Someone quick call the Impeachment Squad.

Surely this is grounds for Impeachment.  I mean, they’ve not had any luck making anything else stick to the President.  Surely this might.

We could call it…SHOEGATE.  (Sometimes I am truly funny I think.)

And on that note…I’m leaving this alternate universe and heading over to reality land.

For those of you who grew up on John Denver, as I did, you may find this one comforting tonight, as I did.

For our children.  For the children of Syria.

For it is our children, ultimately, who will help us to find the better way.

“Rhymes and Reasons”  by John Denver

……though I have not read all there is to read, both sides of every story, all the details that are known, the things that aren’t yet known but are thought to be known…

So, in all honesty, this is an off-the-cuff, quick reaction to snippets heard today, while racing around the various floors of the hospital trying to help people piece their lives back together.   God what a day.  I’ve been on the verge of a migraine since 8:30 a.m.  Not a good way to try to take care of those in need.

I heard a bit of news on the way to work (at 5 am no less), then again at lunch, and briefly at 6 pm as I was trying to coherently type up the evaluations of the day.

Here’s what I’m having a REALLY difficult time with:

…there are those condemning President Obama because he is considering military action against Syria.

…many of these same condemner-types ridiculed him for not doing enough in Libya…for “leading from behind”…for not being on the ball.

…many of these…well, I better be nice here, because I was just about to let loose with a string of invectives that would not be considered suitable for those with delicate constitutions…ahem…as I was saying…

…many of these “naysayers” were pretty darn quick to laud good ol’ George W. for jumping headfirst (which one should NEVER do) into the quagmire of Iraq in search of the ever-elusive pile of Weapons of Mass Destruction, better known as WMD’s.

So, I guess, in this case that what’s good for the goose (that would be ol’ G. W.) isn’t what’s good for the gander (being Pres. O.).

It really defies logic doesn’t it.

How can you be attacking the President for not doing something big enough, soon enough, and in front enough…as in Libya, just a wee bit of time ago?  And then decide that NOW, what he is considering is something too big, too soon and too much in front?

Do you see how I’m a tad bit confused here?

Ahhhhh……………………………….lightbulb moment.

It’s because the President is President Barack Obama.  Even though now he is only thinking of doing what they criticized him for NOT doing last time, somehow it’s wrong this time and they are criticizing him for even thinking the way they wanted him to think last time.

GOOD GRIEF.  Did you read that last run-on sentence?  None of that makes any sense!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And that, my dear friends, is PRECISELY my point.  These people DO NOT MAKE ANY SENSE.  Period.

What is happening to this country?

And how can these people (the very ones who have the cheekiness to criticize the President for doing what they wanted him to do just a short while ago) sleep at night after looking at an image of rows of children…DEAD…

….DEAD….over 400 children…

…children…..

How can they sleep at night, knowing that even though NOONE in their right mind in America truly wants and desires to enter into another war in another country in which there is no earthly and humanly way possible to effect a good outcome…even though NOONE wants that…the deaths of children–innocent children who were some parent’s pride and joy, some parent’s little angel, some parent’s raison d’etre–require society to stand up, step in and say ENOUGH.  Enough Bashir Al Assad…You have simply gone too far this time.  If not us, then who?  Who will speak for the children?

But playing political football is a repulsive, childish, immature, response that should mark these people (the hypocritical criticizers of the President) as what they are…..cowards hiding behind false indignation.

There is an excellent post at www.stonekettlestation.com entitled “Red Lines.”  He, as usual, makes excellent points.  In this case, there are no easy answers.  There are no good outcomes.  People will die.  People are dying.  People have been dying.  And many of those have been and will continue to be children.  And we cannot stop all the death in the world.  We cannot police the entire world.  And what exactly becomes the reason to step in?  And who decides that reason?

And would you want to be President Obama right now?

And be faced with choices that will ultimately end badly, no matter the choice made?

I cannot imagine a worse job to have than his.  I simply cannot.  He has the weight of the nation, maybe even the world, on his shoulders.

Now is not the time to criticize.  Now is the time to come together, to resolve to try to make the world a better place, a little bit at a time, to speak for the children.  Now is the time to show what a democracy can do……..that when civilized, caring, compassionate, intelligent people come together to present a united front, then perhaps good can come out of it.

I know…I’m an idealist.  I see the world through rose-colored glasses.  That whole Eternal Optimist vs. Insane One thingy from a few posts back.

I envision a United States government, which when faced with tough decisions, when faced with horrific actions of dictators/bad dudes…actually sits down, all at the same table and comes together to formulate a plan, an option that would attempt to do good in the world, to be of service to those in need, to take care of all the Universe’s children….

….for free and for fun.

What a wonderful world that would be.

Louis Armstrong had it right, didn’t he?