Reading yesterday’s comments, I think I need to be a bit more clear. My donations are still catching up with years of not getting them done every year. The pickup yesterday came at about 11:30 but I was still wiped out for the rest of the day. It consisted of about 10-12 cardboard boxes, ranging from some small enough for me to actually carry up to about 3′ x 4′ x 12″, plus an old (and now too large) wheelchair and an old oxygen concentrator. That is not going to fit in a PT Cruiser, nor in anything smaller than a dually. Also, I was warned upon leaving rehab not to drive until I had a doctor’s clearance to do so, which I don’t. Not that the car will start. Trinette managed to keep the battery powered while I was not home, but it only takes one small slip to lose that, and I don’t see the point of getting it jumped when I can’t go anywhere. But the picking up is done by the Vietnam Veterans of America, a group I can support, and they don’t charge for it. And, believe me, there’s more where that came from. I’ll be happy if I can start getting stuff out faster. I did learn after the first pickup last year that there’s no point in using trash bags – the porch is covered but not enclosed, and they are too flimsy. But cardboard boxes work well and can be left out to wait.
But enough about that. Today I caught up on two of the last three days of email, and found two substack articles, wildly different, but both deserving of attention. One was from Margaret Atwood, who, now having received her pacemaker, was finally able to travel to Scotland to receive her honorary Doctorate of Letters, and to give a graduation speech and to preach a sermon – both of which she extensively quotes – and the sermon was about the power, and the dangers of that power, of words.
The second was from Robert Hubbell, and, basically, takes the events from the first half of the week and breaks them down into what they might portend for the future. That, to me, is important, since it’s very tricky to predict what the effects of any political move may be in the long run. It entirely possible – though far from certain – that fifty or a hundred years from now the Republican sham impeachment of Joe Biden may be perceived as a great honor for him, and a horrid black mark against the Republican Party, maybe even one which was highly influential in its dissolution.
This was in Freya’s newletter – and so perfectly expresses how I feel – I have to share it.
Quick update:
I just got a call from Virgil. He is in the hospital himself, having had surgerrry for a broken hip. I had not had a call from him for some time and was worried but had not said anything because – well, I just couldn’t. But now that I know where he is, I can. He sounds good and has nothing but praise for the hospital and the surgeon.
