I'm surprised that there are no other Keillor readers up and about yet, but I'm willing to be the first. I think a bad massage is a particular cruelty in a class by itself. There is always a bit of trepidation about signing up for a massage but that's mostly overridden by the sweet anticipation of how good it's going to feel. Then, when it not only does not feel good, but hurts and actually implants the hurt to last long after rising from the table, it brings something that should never accompany massage: anger or irritation or some other negative reaction. One wonders if your airport massager was actually one of thump-musk's fired air traffic controllers taking out his/her frustrations on your runway, so to speak.
Your column left me wondering what would have happened if you had told the masseur/masseuse/massager that it was a bad massage. I also wonder what goes on in the mind of a massager when the body on the table is old or flabby or really flabby or wrinkled or has moles or lumps or growths or warts or any kind of anomalies, etc. I'm not speaking of you, Mr. Keillor, but just in general; I know nothing of your "landscape!" It is just an uncertainty that kind of bothers me: do doctors, massagers, dentists, and others of that type have to grit their teeth, grin and bear it, when faced with a body that they would rather not see? If the subject comes up, they'll usually say something like "oh, we've seen it all..." but insecurity raises the question: "have they really? have they ever seen moles like the ones on this shoulder or lumps like these? And will they recoil when they are revealed? Will they suppress the horrified gasp and look away?! Will they try to make things better with a shabby compliment, "that's a mighty fine mole you have there...."
Well, have a good day, Keillor readers. Try to avoid the thump storm troopers roaming the countryside looking for some corpus to habeas.
Hello, Mr. Keillor. I have been a serious fan of your kind and folksy memories and sly humor for decades. You have been a balm and mild stimulant to the masses, both Christian and Marxist.
It was a Minnesotan truck driver who saved my life on a snowy and freezing winter night on a 2-lane access road where the ride i hitched dropped me off beneath the only source of light, a single streetlight on the downhill side of a hill. I was all of 18, meaning I figured out my problem after it was too late to fix. No trucker in his right mind heading from the truckstop back to the interstate was going to throw on their brakes and come to a sudden stop to pick up some dumb hitchhiker after having just crested the hill and shifting into higher gears to pick up a full head of steam for the hills to come.
I had never been so cold, a lament no doubt shared by hundreds of young dummies hitchhiking that night from California to adventure unknown. I started glancing up regularly to an adjacent Hill with the tree right at its peak. Eventually the idea formed in my head that if I just moseyed on over to that tree because there wasn't much traffic, and if I just sat with my back against it, and if I just rested for a bit or maybe even took a little nap, I would warm up and everything would be fine. I suppose looking back from my current vantage point 50+ years later, I was right to think that. I had become so cold over the few hours that I was standing on that road in the only spot where I could be seen, I had passed through being cold and began entering a state of serenity and acceptance. I could've walked over to that tree rested and enjoyed the serenity for the next few months until the spring fall and my eventual discovery.
Well I didn't choose that path yet traveled. Just as I was about to head out to the resting place, a trucker who just crusted the hill that was shifting into higher gears and blue rip pass Me all of a sudden through on his brakes and started to back up which was the small feet since it was a semi with a flatbed and a load of pipes or something. In a few minutes I was sitting in the cab who's heater had been turned up to blast. I began shivering and thawing out and I began wondering who is this life-saving angel was. I rode with this truck driver from Minnesota for the next day or two as he was picking up and dropping off loads in towns bordering the interstate freeway when we got to the junction to the highway to Chicago I got out because I was headed farther east to Vermont so I could freeze my ass off over there. Apparently Wyoming was not big enough to hold me in my derriere. Anyway although I have never visited the state whenever I find out that somebody I have met or know has roots in Minnesota, they get a pass, a free ride, and have to suffer through a shorter version of this long and boring story.
Anyway Mr. Minnesota, I hope to see you in July live in Monterey. And since you're probably curious I made it to Burlington Vermont ended up working on a congressional campaign out of an abandoned gas station where I became the only overnight tenant. My candidate, the first US Army officer to protest the war in Vietnam in uniform, lost the statewide election, but my duties included walking through graveyards while checking names on headstones against lists of current Republican voters.
As a former dental hygienist, I can tell you that approaching, in my case, a mouth, as a professional becomes simply clinical. One sees the need and applies the skills necessary to help the patient.
Re: "people of the Heartland". Sunday's NYT Opinion section featured a focus groups of Dems discussing Dump. One of the most dispiriting observations came from a 66-year-old Missourian mail carrier, who described herself as "one of ten Democrats" in her county. She'd asked her co-workers why they voted for Dump, and said "They can’t give you a reason why. Voting Republican is just what their family does." As a lifelong member of the opposing party which is sooo hyper-critical of its candidates I was both aghast and unsurprised. Any Dem I know can give you at least a couple of reasons for their support or lack thereof for a politician. None of which would include "I don't know. I just like/dislike them." We've GOT to get civics back into the curriculum, folks. My late father taught it. Citizens have responsibilities!
This one was a little sad, Garrison. But life is not a bed of rosies. I survived a massage with scented olive oil that attracted a swarm of tiny ants to my bed. Won't go into details, but I thought I'd have to move then thought what would my resourceful mother do? We get strength from our genes and our memories. And aphorisms: This, too, will pass. And we will pop out the other side and clean up and breathe again. I hope.
I've read it, and it was made into a movie in 1979 which I am old enough to have seen when it came out. I still remember the story and the film. But I did not remember that particular quote. It's a treasure, no doubt.
I'm sorry the massage guy was such a jerk, but I think you would be helping a lot of other people if you gave the airport a call and reported the incident. Maybe he's a sadist and he treats EVERYONE like that. Maybe he secretly hates his job and takes it out on whomever is lying in front of him. Maybe he's an imposter, and the real masseuse was lying bound and gagged on the floor of the closet. I can understand sucking up and bearing something because you're too polite to complain (I've been guilty of that myself), but this person sounds like a menace, and getting him out of that profession (or back to massage school) could save many others from the agony you had to endure. If you pass along his contact information, we could all go over there and scold him.
I like Grand Opera, and I once read that people who love Opera are willful people. By willful People, I mean people who to some extent see the world and things as they want to see them. The part of opera that I like is the music and singing. There are some amazing tunes and melodies in opera. When I listen to some of the good parts of the Marriage of Figaro, I often don't know what the singer is saying or how he/she is dressed, but it sure does sound good.
I do the same when I think about the past. There were some parts of growing up and going off to college which I hated. But most of it was good. So, I try to remember the good parts and forget the bad parts. I know that the bad parts occurred but don't dwell on them.
The reason that I have always like listening to Garrison and PHC is that he has a similar outlook and view of life. Obviously, I have never been to Minnesota and had never heard of the church that Garrison grew up in until he talked about it on radio. But we do have the shared experience of growing up in a rural church. I liked going to church because of the singing. A large congregation singing those good old Protestant hymns is a great sound.
When Garrison talks about where he came from and going to college, that brings up memories and thoughts about my experience. It does not matter that much of what he says might be made up or that many of his experiences are completely different from mine.
Flannery O'Connor certainly had a different outlook. But then she grew up Catholic in Middle Georgia and suffered from lupus for many years. Those would probably give one a caustic outlook.
Your ability to be unable to see through your real estate scam is tied to your inability to make properly informed political decisions. Your ability to make us laugh however with your wit and writings is vastly superior. I would suggest that you stick to what your good at
Hm. Garrison got out of the scam when it was realized, unlike so many who refuse to accept they’ve been duped. I’m assuming here that you belong to that class of people who are currently closing their eyes, sticking their fingers in their ears, and singing 🎶 lalala🎶. How appropriate considering the attitude about which Garrison has penned this column. It’s “you’re “, an easily fixed mistake, along with the grating preposition with which you end your attempt at insult.
Always the victim? Odd how that’s such a common complaint among the cult. Poor sentence structure and improper usage of language fall outside the bounds of “typing mistakes”. I suggest that if you want to be taken at all seriously, you express yourself with an above fifth grade writing skills level. Otherwise your snark becomes a troll failure.
Ah yes. Ignore the point of my original post’s rebuttal by whining about being called out for illiteracy. Perhaps correcting your errors and then defending your premise would have been the wiser choice.
Advice courtesy of "reality speaks," the guy who says RFK Jr. is the only politician willing to tell us the truth and who claims to know for certain that Chinese people eat cats because he used to have a side gig selling cats to the Chinese. I wonder if he was living in North Korea at the time, because you wouldn't think exporting cats from the U.S.A. to China for food would be profitable, or even legal. Isn't it interesting that Trump's most ardent supporters seem to have these "little quirks"?
".... now I’m grateful for life itself, its significance yet to be determined."..... MANY AMONG US HAVE CONCLUDED YOUR SIGNIFICANCE FOR MANY YEARS. IT'S SOLID AND TENABLE. KEEP IT COMING AS LONG AS YOU CAN. IT'S CHOCK-FUL OF YOUR MANY GOOD STORIES, THE MUSIC, THE SUNG SONGS BUT, MOST OF ALL, OUR MANY LESSONS LEARNED....FOR THAT GIFT TO US, SIRRAH, YOU ARE A PRINCE!
Damn Garrison. I never tire of reading your pieces and, more often than not, I am amazed. Thank you for your gifts.
You speak of self-denial frequently. And in your humble fashion, you make it sound like you are being a tad masochistic. I think your self-denial borders on the spiritual side. But I also think your self-denial shows tolerance. Which is a trait we need more now than ever.
"And so the good Christian people of the Heartland went ahead and elected the most contemptuous president in our 250-year history." I ask why. The reason I ask why this happened is not to rub people's noses in their loss, but so that we can understand the dynamics and maybe get ahead of radical views. I applaud Elaine Shute's comment below because she takes a whack at answering the why. I think she is in large part correct, but I also think there are other reasons that are more actionable.
Lawrence, in the run-up to the election you seemed to reduce the choice to something like country vs. city, which to me seemed inappropriate, to put it kindly, given everything that Trump had said and done. Was that because your parents and grandparents were Republicans? I ask this because you refer to Elaine Shute's comment. And what "radical views" are you thinking we should "get ahead of" now? Your comment leaves us with only hints of what you might be getting at.
In the last election we had one party (however imperfect in our imperfect world) that was trying to defend our democracy, and another that was all-in for a candidate who told his base to vote for him one last time so that they'd never have to worry about voting again. He accused Haitians of eating our dogs and cats. Etc., etc. The choice could not have been clearer, except that, as many of us expected, it has now become much clearer. It underscores the importance of holding our leaders to a minimum standard of decency and putting country above party.
You and I can probably agree to disagree more than we can agree to agree. But placing country above party is something we agree on. Who can I reward with my vote that does this?
Actually the radical views I speak of is the lack of priority or emphasis on what I consider important basic issues. Issues which I think the Dems are stepping over. If their platform was serious about income disparity, equity for women (including control of their bodies), and affordable and effective health care, I think their domestic platform would be full. I think they are distracted.
I am not a Republican and could never be one primarily because of their lack of empathy and compassion. But I think there are a lot of independants out there not too different than me. The Dems need to figure out how to be a bit more inclusive to get their votes. Given what Trump has chosen to do with his presidency, that should not be too difficult.
Lawrence, thanks for responding. In answer to your question, you could have rewarded Kamala Harris with your vote (maybe you did; I don't know), because she was by far the better choice and the only candidate who had a chance of beating Trump. Your comment reminds me of the so-called progressives whose attitude seems to be, "If Bernie isn't on the ballot, I'm not voting." I see no logic in it.
Also, "a bit more inclusive"? Inclusive of whom? It sounds like the Democrats are almost good enough for you, but always too distant from perfection for you to say outright that they're better than the people trying to entrench authoritarianism and oligarchy in our country. Isn't it vitally important to give them that, now more than ever before?
We have a president who has just accepted a jumbo jet from the dictator of Qatar, the financial backer of Hamas! A president who is using tours of the White House to entice people to invest in his meme coin! Is the unacceptability of this and so much else what you mean you and I have to agree to disagree on? If it's not this kind of thing, I'm really curious what I've ever said that's given you the impression that we disagree more than we agree, aside from the country vs. city thing.
This is how it looks to me right now: You and I actually agree more than we disagree. But in your comments on Garrison Keillor and Friends, you have sometimes put party above country. You had often gave me the impression you were a Trump supporter, but since the election some of your comments have vaguely suggested otherwise. Even now, you suggest that the choice is not a clear one. This is essentially putting party above country. In our system, you get two choices, for better or for worse. When the two are so vastly different, we can't withhold our support waiting for perfection. Doing so not only puts party above country but often involves making arguments that work to persuade people in the wrong direction. If we're going to complain about Democrats, we at least need to be clear that they're better than the alternative.
I just want to add that I think most Democrats have done a decent job up to this point. I see them honestly trying to preserve our democratic institutions and the rule of law. This was by no means a foregone conclusion and there is no guarantee that it will continue indefinitely. What if some "Democratic" candidate emerges who is just as ruthless and devoid of character and integrity as Trump is, someone who doesn't give a damn about our institutions, and manages to gain overwhelming support? What if we end up with crazy populists on both sides of our two-party system? I'm worried that the chances of this happening will go up over time if enough people refuse to side with the better of the two available choices.
I too grew up in Minnesota and hesitate to complain, but that airport massage person needs feedback! He sounds like he has a lack of sensitivity to others.
Garrison, this is now the second time in two days that I've read you hint at the real estate deal that you lost a lot of money on and the second time that you've said that you won't share the details. It seems to me that you are just busting at the seams wanting to tell someone and get it off your chest. Please tell me. I won't tell anyone else. I don't have a lot of money and more than likely never will, but if that should ever change, I'd hate to blow it on a bonehead real estate deal. I too have a shower faucet that needs calibration and have suffered with it for as long as I can remember. Maybe, I'll call the plumber, but probably I won't, because plumbers can cost a lot of money, and sometimes it's best to just leave things like that alone. And I've never had a massage because they cost money too, and now I probably won't get one even if I fall into an inheritance or something. Which brings me back to asking if you would please share with me the details of your getting swindled so that I can be sure not to let that happen to me too. And I promise not to tell.
I'm surprised that there are no other Keillor readers up and about yet, but I'm willing to be the first. I think a bad massage is a particular cruelty in a class by itself. There is always a bit of trepidation about signing up for a massage but that's mostly overridden by the sweet anticipation of how good it's going to feel. Then, when it not only does not feel good, but hurts and actually implants the hurt to last long after rising from the table, it brings something that should never accompany massage: anger or irritation or some other negative reaction. One wonders if your airport massager was actually one of thump-musk's fired air traffic controllers taking out his/her frustrations on your runway, so to speak.
Your column left me wondering what would have happened if you had told the masseur/masseuse/massager that it was a bad massage. I also wonder what goes on in the mind of a massager when the body on the table is old or flabby or really flabby or wrinkled or has moles or lumps or growths or warts or any kind of anomalies, etc. I'm not speaking of you, Mr. Keillor, but just in general; I know nothing of your "landscape!" It is just an uncertainty that kind of bothers me: do doctors, massagers, dentists, and others of that type have to grit their teeth, grin and bear it, when faced with a body that they would rather not see? If the subject comes up, they'll usually say something like "oh, we've seen it all..." but insecurity raises the question: "have they really? have they ever seen moles like the ones on this shoulder or lumps like these? And will they recoil when they are revealed? Will they suppress the horrified gasp and look away?! Will they try to make things better with a shabby compliment, "that's a mighty fine mole you have there...."
Well, have a good day, Keillor readers. Try to avoid the thump storm troopers roaming the countryside looking for some corpus to habeas.
You should write a column, Annie - very well done!
I've said before that I think she's secretly a syndicated columnist!
Hello, Mr. Keillor. I have been a serious fan of your kind and folksy memories and sly humor for decades. You have been a balm and mild stimulant to the masses, both Christian and Marxist.
It was a Minnesotan truck driver who saved my life on a snowy and freezing winter night on a 2-lane access road where the ride i hitched dropped me off beneath the only source of light, a single streetlight on the downhill side of a hill. I was all of 18, meaning I figured out my problem after it was too late to fix. No trucker in his right mind heading from the truckstop back to the interstate was going to throw on their brakes and come to a sudden stop to pick up some dumb hitchhiker after having just crested the hill and shifting into higher gears to pick up a full head of steam for the hills to come.
I had never been so cold, a lament no doubt shared by hundreds of young dummies hitchhiking that night from California to adventure unknown. I started glancing up regularly to an adjacent Hill with the tree right at its peak. Eventually the idea formed in my head that if I just moseyed on over to that tree because there wasn't much traffic, and if I just sat with my back against it, and if I just rested for a bit or maybe even took a little nap, I would warm up and everything would be fine. I suppose looking back from my current vantage point 50+ years later, I was right to think that. I had become so cold over the few hours that I was standing on that road in the only spot where I could be seen, I had passed through being cold and began entering a state of serenity and acceptance. I could've walked over to that tree rested and enjoyed the serenity for the next few months until the spring fall and my eventual discovery.
Well I didn't choose that path yet traveled. Just as I was about to head out to the resting place, a trucker who just crusted the hill that was shifting into higher gears and blue rip pass Me all of a sudden through on his brakes and started to back up which was the small feet since it was a semi with a flatbed and a load of pipes or something. In a few minutes I was sitting in the cab who's heater had been turned up to blast. I began shivering and thawing out and I began wondering who is this life-saving angel was. I rode with this truck driver from Minnesota for the next day or two as he was picking up and dropping off loads in towns bordering the interstate freeway when we got to the junction to the highway to Chicago I got out because I was headed farther east to Vermont so I could freeze my ass off over there. Apparently Wyoming was not big enough to hold me in my derriere. Anyway although I have never visited the state whenever I find out that somebody I have met or know has roots in Minnesota, they get a pass, a free ride, and have to suffer through a shorter version of this long and boring story.
Anyway Mr. Minnesota, I hope to see you in July live in Monterey. And since you're probably curious I made it to Burlington Vermont ended up working on a congressional campaign out of an abandoned gas station where I became the only overnight tenant. My candidate, the first US Army officer to protest the war in Vietnam in uniform, lost the statewide election, but my duties included walking through graveyards while checking names on headstones against lists of current Republican voters.
Forgive me for posting my comment before my final edit finished. Seems I pushed the wrong ducking button.
As a former dental hygienist, I can tell you that approaching, in my case, a mouth, as a professional becomes simply clinical. One sees the need and applies the skills necessary to help the patient.
Kissing that same mouth, however, not a chance!
Forgive me for posting my comment before my final edit finished. Seems I pushed the wrong ducking button.
Thank you for putting a smile on my early morning face. Your descriptions make me laugh out loud. thanks
Love the quote by Flannery I’Connor.
Your adventure continues!
Your writing is enjoyed now as it was before…. I feel certain.
Sometimes massages are
Re: "people of the Heartland". Sunday's NYT Opinion section featured a focus groups of Dems discussing Dump. One of the most dispiriting observations came from a 66-year-old Missourian mail carrier, who described herself as "one of ten Democrats" in her county. She'd asked her co-workers why they voted for Dump, and said "They can’t give you a reason why. Voting Republican is just what their family does." As a lifelong member of the opposing party which is sooo hyper-critical of its candidates I was both aghast and unsurprised. Any Dem I know can give you at least a couple of reasons for their support or lack thereof for a politician. None of which would include "I don't know. I just like/dislike them." We've GOT to get civics back into the curriculum, folks. My late father taught it. Citizens have responsibilities!
Thank you!
Aaaaaaa men !!!!!
Check this out. Harvard (God bless them) is offering free online courses in civics, the constitution and other most necessary subjects.
https://pll.harvard.edu/subject/government
Sent too quick…
…sometimes massages are like a great book other times you move on.
This one was a little sad, Garrison. But life is not a bed of rosies. I survived a massage with scented olive oil that attracted a swarm of tiny ants to my bed. Won't go into details, but I thought I'd have to move then thought what would my resourceful mother do? We get strength from our genes and our memories. And aphorisms: This, too, will pass. And we will pop out the other side and clean up and breathe again. I hope.
Don't worry, I got over it before I got to New York. I'm okay. Promise.
Well…now you have to tell us about the real estate scam! You may save another from the same fate…and, we won’t tell Jenny. Promise. 😁
Did Flannery O'Connor really write that? Quite a statement.
She doesn't get the attention she deserves.
She did. Wise Blood is worth tracking down and reading.
I've read it, and it was made into a movie in 1979 which I am old enough to have seen when it came out. I still remember the story and the film. But I did not remember that particular quote. It's a treasure, no doubt.
And I enjoyed your radio show for all those years. Thank you.
I'm sorry the massage guy was such a jerk, but I think you would be helping a lot of other people if you gave the airport a call and reported the incident. Maybe he's a sadist and he treats EVERYONE like that. Maybe he secretly hates his job and takes it out on whomever is lying in front of him. Maybe he's an imposter, and the real masseuse was lying bound and gagged on the floor of the closet. I can understand sucking up and bearing something because you're too polite to complain (I've been guilty of that myself), but this person sounds like a menace, and getting him out of that profession (or back to massage school) could save many others from the agony you had to endure. If you pass along his contact information, we could all go over there and scold him.
I like Grand Opera, and I once read that people who love Opera are willful people. By willful People, I mean people who to some extent see the world and things as they want to see them. The part of opera that I like is the music and singing. There are some amazing tunes and melodies in opera. When I listen to some of the good parts of the Marriage of Figaro, I often don't know what the singer is saying or how he/she is dressed, but it sure does sound good.
I do the same when I think about the past. There were some parts of growing up and going off to college which I hated. But most of it was good. So, I try to remember the good parts and forget the bad parts. I know that the bad parts occurred but don't dwell on them.
The reason that I have always like listening to Garrison and PHC is that he has a similar outlook and view of life. Obviously, I have never been to Minnesota and had never heard of the church that Garrison grew up in until he talked about it on radio. But we do have the shared experience of growing up in a rural church. I liked going to church because of the singing. A large congregation singing those good old Protestant hymns is a great sound.
When Garrison talks about where he came from and going to college, that brings up memories and thoughts about my experience. It does not matter that much of what he says might be made up or that many of his experiences are completely different from mine.
Flannery O'Connor certainly had a different outlook. But then she grew up Catholic in Middle Georgia and suffered from lupus for many years. Those would probably give one a caustic outlook.
I grew up in Middle Georgia, so I know about Middle Georgia.
Your ability to be unable to see through your real estate scam is tied to your inability to make properly informed political decisions. Your ability to make us laugh however with your wit and writings is vastly superior. I would suggest that you stick to what your good at
Hm. Garrison got out of the scam when it was realized, unlike so many who refuse to accept they’ve been duped. I’m assuming here that you belong to that class of people who are currently closing their eyes, sticking their fingers in their ears, and singing 🎶 lalala🎶. How appropriate considering the attitude about which Garrison has penned this column. It’s “you’re “, an easily fixed mistake, along with the grating preposition with which you end your attempt at insult.
What is with you folks thinking that you need to correct my typing mistakes.
Always the victim? Odd how that’s such a common complaint among the cult. Poor sentence structure and improper usage of language fall outside the bounds of “typing mistakes”. I suggest that if you want to be taken at all seriously, you express yourself with an above fifth grade writing skills level. Otherwise your snark becomes a troll failure.
Not a victim at all. Just do not care to have you pretending to be my 3rd Grade English teacher correcting insignificant typo's
Ah yes. Ignore the point of my original post’s rebuttal by whining about being called out for illiteracy. Perhaps correcting your errors and then defending your premise would have been the wiser choice.
Right on! Tell it! Thank you !
Why don’t you use your real name, instead of a self-aggrandizing boast?
Nothing like a little honesty to stir you up.
How ironic (and dishonest) that you think a fake name makes you an avatar of honesty,
Advice courtesy of "reality speaks," the guy who says RFK Jr. is the only politician willing to tell us the truth and who claims to know for certain that Chinese people eat cats because he used to have a side gig selling cats to the Chinese. I wonder if he was living in North Korea at the time, because you wouldn't think exporting cats from the U.S.A. to China for food would be profitable, or even legal. Isn't it interesting that Trump's most ardent supporters seem to have these "little quirks"?
glad to see that I am still leaving rent free in your mind.
Oh, right. I think of little else. Actually, it's just that you've written some very weird things here. One doesn't forget them.
".... now I’m grateful for life itself, its significance yet to be determined."..... MANY AMONG US HAVE CONCLUDED YOUR SIGNIFICANCE FOR MANY YEARS. IT'S SOLID AND TENABLE. KEEP IT COMING AS LONG AS YOU CAN. IT'S CHOCK-FUL OF YOUR MANY GOOD STORIES, THE MUSIC, THE SUNG SONGS BUT, MOST OF ALL, OUR MANY LESSONS LEARNED....FOR THAT GIFT TO US, SIRRAH, YOU ARE A PRINCE!
I totally agree! And thank you for your comment. Most of us love and enjoy Garrison and his work.
Damn Garrison. I never tire of reading your pieces and, more often than not, I am amazed. Thank you for your gifts.
You speak of self-denial frequently. And in your humble fashion, you make it sound like you are being a tad masochistic. I think your self-denial borders on the spiritual side. But I also think your self-denial shows tolerance. Which is a trait we need more now than ever.
"And so the good Christian people of the Heartland went ahead and elected the most contemptuous president in our 250-year history." I ask why. The reason I ask why this happened is not to rub people's noses in their loss, but so that we can understand the dynamics and maybe get ahead of radical views. I applaud Elaine Shute's comment below because she takes a whack at answering the why. I think she is in large part correct, but I also think there are other reasons that are more actionable.
Lawrence, in the run-up to the election you seemed to reduce the choice to something like country vs. city, which to me seemed inappropriate, to put it kindly, given everything that Trump had said and done. Was that because your parents and grandparents were Republicans? I ask this because you refer to Elaine Shute's comment. And what "radical views" are you thinking we should "get ahead of" now? Your comment leaves us with only hints of what you might be getting at.
In the last election we had one party (however imperfect in our imperfect world) that was trying to defend our democracy, and another that was all-in for a candidate who told his base to vote for him one last time so that they'd never have to worry about voting again. He accused Haitians of eating our dogs and cats. Etc., etc. The choice could not have been clearer, except that, as many of us expected, it has now become much clearer. It underscores the importance of holding our leaders to a minimum standard of decency and putting country above party.
Dana,
You and I can probably agree to disagree more than we can agree to agree. But placing country above party is something we agree on. Who can I reward with my vote that does this?
Actually the radical views I speak of is the lack of priority or emphasis on what I consider important basic issues. Issues which I think the Dems are stepping over. If their platform was serious about income disparity, equity for women (including control of their bodies), and affordable and effective health care, I think their domestic platform would be full. I think they are distracted.
I am not a Republican and could never be one primarily because of their lack of empathy and compassion. But I think there are a lot of independants out there not too different than me. The Dems need to figure out how to be a bit more inclusive to get their votes. Given what Trump has chosen to do with his presidency, that should not be too difficult.
Lawrence, thanks for responding. In answer to your question, you could have rewarded Kamala Harris with your vote (maybe you did; I don't know), because she was by far the better choice and the only candidate who had a chance of beating Trump. Your comment reminds me of the so-called progressives whose attitude seems to be, "If Bernie isn't on the ballot, I'm not voting." I see no logic in it.
Also, "a bit more inclusive"? Inclusive of whom? It sounds like the Democrats are almost good enough for you, but always too distant from perfection for you to say outright that they're better than the people trying to entrench authoritarianism and oligarchy in our country. Isn't it vitally important to give them that, now more than ever before?
We have a president who has just accepted a jumbo jet from the dictator of Qatar, the financial backer of Hamas! A president who is using tours of the White House to entice people to invest in his meme coin! Is the unacceptability of this and so much else what you mean you and I have to agree to disagree on? If it's not this kind of thing, I'm really curious what I've ever said that's given you the impression that we disagree more than we agree, aside from the country vs. city thing.
This is how it looks to me right now: You and I actually agree more than we disagree. But in your comments on Garrison Keillor and Friends, you have sometimes put party above country. You had often gave me the impression you were a Trump supporter, but since the election some of your comments have vaguely suggested otherwise. Even now, you suggest that the choice is not a clear one. This is essentially putting party above country. In our system, you get two choices, for better or for worse. When the two are so vastly different, we can't withhold our support waiting for perfection. Doing so not only puts party above country but often involves making arguments that work to persuade people in the wrong direction. If we're going to complain about Democrats, we at least need to be clear that they're better than the alternative.
I just want to add that I think most Democrats have done a decent job up to this point. I see them honestly trying to preserve our democratic institutions and the rule of law. This was by no means a foregone conclusion and there is no guarantee that it will continue indefinitely. What if some "Democratic" candidate emerges who is just as ruthless and devoid of character and integrity as Trump is, someone who doesn't give a damn about our institutions, and manages to gain overwhelming support? What if we end up with crazy populists on both sides of our two-party system? I'm worried that the chances of this happening will go up over time if enough people refuse to side with the better of the two available choices.
I too grew up in Minnesota and hesitate to complain, but that airport massage person needs feedback! He sounds like he has a lack of sensitivity to others.
Garrison, this is now the second time in two days that I've read you hint at the real estate deal that you lost a lot of money on and the second time that you've said that you won't share the details. It seems to me that you are just busting at the seams wanting to tell someone and get it off your chest. Please tell me. I won't tell anyone else. I don't have a lot of money and more than likely never will, but if that should ever change, I'd hate to blow it on a bonehead real estate deal. I too have a shower faucet that needs calibration and have suffered with it for as long as I can remember. Maybe, I'll call the plumber, but probably I won't, because plumbers can cost a lot of money, and sometimes it's best to just leave things like that alone. And I've never had a massage because they cost money too, and now I probably won't get one even if I fall into an inheritance or something. Which brings me back to asking if you would please share with me the details of your getting swindled so that I can be sure not to let that happen to me too. And I promise not to tell.