Caring for one's parents is if nothing
else an omen of things yet to come.
Before we know it, we must all rely
on others to make our lives livable.
Hence while dealing with my elders
I've made a mental note of senior 'do's"
and old people "don'ts." It seems that
post relinquishing control of one's life
to others - the majority of us change
for the worse. Ultimately our world
becomes so small that the unimportant
takes on an importance far beyond
what common sense might dictate.
In my Mother's case - everything became
negative. Nothing was ever good enough,
right in this world, nor in her opinion fair
after moving under somebody else's roof.
Thus every morning chat involved Ethel
listing off a litany of all that was wrong in
this world. Said bad news was not only
overwhelming, it was beyond depressing.
Hence Mr. Merry Sunshine learned to do
whatever it took to turn sour grapes into
champagne. While at times a thankless
task, I learned to focus on the bright side.
Rather than allow her to burst my bubble.
There's no doubt that we live in scary
times. Within the political arena most
consider the presidential candidates
unworthy of our vote. Often it seems
as if we're drowning in a sea of rhetoric,
rumor, and innuendo. All of which only
grows nastier and more bizarre as the
weeks go by. Who knows whether this
election is rigged or not? Ultimately it
seems that whoever wins might be the
biggest loser. However the good news
is that after November eighth, it will all
be over. And one or both will shut up.
Beyond the threat of ISIS terrorists, things
are heating up across the globe. July was
the hottest month EVER recorded in the
last one hundred and thirty six years. Yet
it's not just the temperature that is reaching
a boiling point. Everyone - no matter who,
when, or where - seems to be hot under the
collar as they pour proverbial gasoline on
their fires of angst and hate. However this
optimist prefers to assume that any uptick
in the thermometer as a positive sign. After
all, the hotter it gets, the lower our heating
bills will be this winter! Boil baby boil!
One can easily feel like the Pharaoh
in ancient Egypt as he was wrangling
with Moses. Plagues and other natural
disasters seem to be raining fire upon
us. Over eighty thousand people had
to evacuate the San Bernardino area
yesterday to avoid getting burned post
a long hot summer. Meanwhile thirty
one inches of rain deluged Louisiana
last week leaving thousands under
water. Yet on the positive side - at
least we central Montanans can say
BETTER HERE THAN THERE!
With all that is wrong in this world one
can't help but wonder why the French
are banning "burkinis." Some consider
this overtly modest Muslim swim suit
"unsanitary." Hence Cannes and several
other Cote d'Azur burgs have outlawed
blatant modesty. However as fashion
aficionados why can't they lift the veil
of prejudice and cash in on this trend?
Most of us would love to conceal our
sins on the beach. Just imagine a world
where rather than building walls - we
all hit the mall to buy our burkinis?!
The fact is that things are never as bad
as they seem. An attitude adjustment
can quickly shift one into a positive
frame of mine. Rather than sink to new
lows, one can rise to new heights. Thus
whatever is happening in the rest of the
world, invariably the one realm that we
can impact is our individual sphere of
influence. Therefore my preference is
to accentuate the positive - eliminate
the negative. And if I'm ever Debbie
Downer... do us both a favor and bitch
slap me back to a better place!