Day: December 5, 2021

What’s In a Name?

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For this week’s Sunday Poser question, Sadje wants to know…

What’s the reason behind your blog’s name?

I have no particular niche for my blog. It is about “this, that, and the other.” And as my tagline suggests, my posts reflect my personal observations and perspectives on life, society, and politics. I try to infuse my posts, even those that cover deadly serious topics, with humor when I can. I also throw into the mix some flash fiction and even try my hand at bad poetry. And, of course, I host a handful of prompts.

I guess I could have named my post “Word Potpourri” or “Cornucopia of Words.” But in the end, it really is just about “This, That, and the Other.”

MLMM Tale Weaver — Time

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Stephanie Colpron, who hosts this prompt, would like us to tell her a tale about time. Like when we felt it slip through our fingers, or when we first realized how precious it is, or when we reminisced about a time of happiness or sadness. Alternatively, she suggests we may wish to craft a tale about time traveling, or time wrapping, whatever that is.

Yesterday afternoon, after a fairly active morning doing chores around the house, I developed a bit of an ache in my lower back. I decided to take a couple of Advil and to lie down in my bed, feeling sorry for myself because I am old and my body can’t do the things it used to be able to do. I was thinking that time is not on my side and the old Rolling Stones song, “Time Is On My Side” came to mind. I started humming it and thinking back to 1964, when that song was released. I had just started my freshman year in college, and back then, time was, indeed, on my side.

I had my whole adult life in front of me. Nothing but time. Plenty of time. I could waste as much time as I wanted to at that time and it was no big deal. Time was in abundance. There was a seemingly inexhaustible supply.

Back 57 years ago, when that Rolling Stones song was released, I didn’t worry much about time. I was invincible. Fast forward to late 2021. Now I’m quite vincible. Time for me is no longer in abundance as it was 57 years ago. There’s no longer an inexhaustible supply of time. In fact, if I’m lucky, I may get five more years of time before I simply run out of time. If I’m very lucky, maybe ten years. Any more time than that might not be such a good thing, especially if I run out of money before I run out of time.

That said, I’m not obsessed with time — or with dying. I’m not creating a bucket list of wild and crazy things that I feel I need to do while there’s still time. I prefer to spend whatever time I have left chilling. Just relaxing these old bones in the comfort of my home. (And okay, yes, figuring out how to ride my new e-bike without killing myself.)

As to crafting a tale about time traveling, as Stephanie suggested, I think maybe I’ll save that for another time in the future. Or maybe in the past.

Who Won the Week — 12/5/2021

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The idea behind Who Won the Week is to give you the opportunity to select who (or what) you think “won” this past week. Your selection can be anyone or anything — politicians, celebrities, athletes, authors, bloggers, your friends or family members, books, movies, TV shows, businesses, organizations, whatever.

I will be posting this prompt on Sunday mornings (my time). If you want to participate, write your own post designating who you think won the week and why you think they deserve your nod. Then link back to this post and tag you post with FWWTW.

This week I’m going with the Oakland County [Michigan] Prosecutor Karen McDonald. On Tuesday, Ethan Crumbley, a 15-year-old boy, entered a high school bathroom with a backpack, and exited a moment later without it, holding a semiautomatic handgun. He deliberately aimed the gun at students and began firing at them. After students started running, he continued down the hallway pointing the gun and firing into classrooms and at students who were unable to escape.

Crumbley is facing multiple charges as an adult in the attack at Oxford High School: one count of terrorism causing death, four counts of first-degree murder, seven counts of assault with intent to murder, and 12 counts of possession of a firearm.

Just another day at American school, right? Well, what makes this different, and what makes prosecutor Karen McDonald worthy of this week’s Who Won the Week designation, is that Ethan’s parents were ordered held Saturday on $500,000 bond each, hours after they were found hiding in a commercial building in Detroit and taken into custody.

Shortly after the announcement that the pair was being charged, police officials said that the couple had gone missing. They were located overnight after an extensive search involving police dogs, local law enforcement, and the U.S. Marshals Service.

The parents bought the gun for their son, left the gun in an unlocked drawer in their bedroom, and neglected to act on concerns expressed by school officials that he might act violently. Naturally, once apprehended, Ethan’s parents, Jennifer and James Crumbley, each pleaded not guilty to four counts of involuntary manslaughter.

A day before the fatal shooting, a teacher noticed Crumbley using his cellphone to search for information about firearm ammunition. His mother failed to respond when the school contacted her via voice mail, but she exchanged a text message with her son that read, “LOL I’m not mad at you. You have to learn not to get caught.”

So good for the Oakland County prosecutor holding parents accountable for the actions of their minor child. All I can say to Kyle Rittenhouse’s mother is, “Be afraid, be very afraid.”

What about you? Who (or what) do you think won the week?

E.M.’s Sunday Ramble Prompt #2

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E.M. Kingston has started a new weekly prompt called The Sunday Ramble. It is based upon a certain topic. She asks five questions about that topic, that we can ramble on however we wish. Today’s topic is:

1. What is your all time favorite food for any occasion?

I love Chesapeake blue crabs. They’re not indigenous to where I live now, but when I’m in the mood for some blues, I’ve found a Maryland-based company that will ship them overnight to anywhere in the continental U.S.

2. What is your favorite season and why?

When I lived back east in New England, it was autumn, primarily due to the crisp, clear weather and the stunning fall foliage. Now that I’m on the west coast in Northern California, it’s spring, a time of renewal.

3. Pick three of your most favorite colors and tell me why you love them.

Blue, brown, and gray. Why? I don’t know why. They just are.

4. Who is your favorite person on the planet?

Right now it’s my 18-month old grandson.

5. What is your most favorite personality trait in other people?

I don’t know if this is an actual word, but I’m going with genuineness. I like people to be real, down to earth, and authentic.

I noticed that when E.M. posted her own answers, her question #3 answer was for a different question #3 from the one above. So I thought I’d include my answer for alternative question #3 as well.

Alternative 3: Where is your favorite hiding spot when you want to not be bothered by anyone or anything? If you do not have a special place, make one up.

There’s a bedroom in our house that we call “the office.” It has a desk upon which sits my laptop, which I rarely use anymore, and a large monitor. The printer is in the office, as well as a file cabinet containing all of my “important papers.” There’s a sofa that converts to a bed, should we need it, and a coffee table. Whenever I feel the need to escape, I tell my wife, “I’m going to my office.”

Song Lyric Sunday — My Room

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For this week’s Song Lyric Sunday, Jim Adams has yet again handed over the reins to Paula Light of Light Motifs II. Paula has suggested House, Room, Kitchen, Shower, and Attic as our theme words. A lot of songs came to mind, but I’ve decided to go with a classic from The Beach Boys, “In My Room.”

“In My Room” was written by Brian Wilson and Gary Usher for the American band The Beach Boys. It was released on their 1963 album Surfer Girl. It was also released as the B-side of the “Be True to Your School” single. The single peaked at number 23 in the U.S. (“Be True to Your School” peaked at number 6.) “In My Room,” was eventually inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.

The song was written from the perspective of a teenager who feels safe and comfortable in his bedroom. Brian Wilson suffered from severe agoraphobia, and refused to leave his bedroom for a significant amount of time. He wrote this song to give people and idea of how he felt. In the 1998 documentary Endless Harmony, Brian Wilson described this song as about being “somewhere where you could lock out the world, go to a secret little place, think, be, do whatever you have to do.”

Gary Usher, who co-wrote the lyrics with Brian Wilson, said that “Brian was always saying that his room was his whole world.” Brian agreed, saying, “I had a room, and I thought of it as my kingdom. And I wrote that song, very definitely, that you’re not afraid when you’re in your room. It’s absolutely true.”

Here are the lyrics to “In My Room.”

There’s a world where I can go and tell my secrets to
In my room, in my room
In this world I lock out all my worries and my fears
In my room, in my room

Do my dreaming and my scheming
Lie awake and pray
Do my crying and my sighing
Laugh at yesterday

Now it’s dark and I’m alone
I won’t be afraid
In my room, in my room
In my room, in my room
In my room, in my room

Sources: Wikipedia, Songfacts, and YouTube.