Fourth.

Finding humor in the outrage

One of my bald eagle friends from the lake.

It’s sort of a Fourth of JOO-lah from hell, if you ask me…having just returned from Crested Butte, which is full of Texans and Okies like Towanda and other people who pronounce “July” that way. It’s definitely a bad one for Dennis, who had a tooth extracted on Thursday and then he had a flare up of sciatic on Friday night. Fortunately by the end of today he was feeling better.

Anyone who wished me a Happy Fourth today got my response, “Fourth.” Yes, it is, and tomorrow is the fifth, and the sixth after that, thankfully. Our neighborhood was extremely quiet today, oddly quiet, the way it is in winter after a snowfall, except for the birds. Other than a few small American flags sticking out of cars, you really didn’t see signs of celebration of anything.

I remember there was a big celebration in 1976, but I was twelve years old and we lived in Philadelphia at the time, so the bicentennial was a big deal. No one is excited this time, with the grifting dorks running the country into the ground and making us the least liked, most distrusted, and biggest laughing stock of the entire planet.

People are not in the mood. Things are expensive, it’s hot, air conditioning costs way too much to run, gas is still high, and people are just plain worn out from the demented orange toddler’s antics and who commands full attention 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We’re sick of it, him, and them. All of them. The entire crowd of liars, cowards, and enablers. Speaking of enablers, somebody on social media posted this:

Q. What happens when Mitch McConnell dies?

A. Rigor Tortoise.

No one except his aides and Elaine Chao knows which side of the grass Mitch McConnell is on. Either that or it’s the most successful leak-free office ever. The word is that he suffered a cardiac arrest, CPR was performed, and he went to a hospital. Anyone in his physical condition at his age who got CPR is not coming back, at least not in any functional form. If he is alive, he is on a ventilator and probably other cardiac support with poor neurological function. They are lying, 100% when they say he is taking care of Senate business. The only business he is taking care of is a nurse turning him every couple of hours and cleaning up any of his “business”.

He’s getting excellent care, they say… yes, ICU care is usually excellent, attentive, and focused. Between the cardiologists, pulmonologists, respiratory therapists, nurses, and other staff his ventilator settings are being managed, he has a tube in every orifice and a few new ones, he has a spaghetti of wires and plastic tubing all over his chest and limbs from the IVs and central lines and arterial lines and EKG leads. That’s if he isn’t on comfort care, which he should have been placed on after this incident. Let him go, FFS.

Okay, I’ve had my rant. This week wasn’t bad though, really. I sold a big painting off my website to someone who saw my work at Highlands Art Festival. I will be shipping it to her in Montana. It’s a 36 x 36, called Between Seasons, and I am very excited about the sale.

Between Seasons, Sold!

I also had a visit from Steve, my artist-geologist-fellow NAU alumni friend. He came by to chat yesterday morning and we talked galleries and immediate future art plans for both of us. Here are the ones I’m currently working on:

A triptych on wood panel, 18 x 18 each. Started out as prickly pears with blossoms, and I keep adding layers of glaze which creates interesting effects. The other one is a 12 x 36 that I am playing with, I might add some white iris or other flowers, but keep,it simple and maybe do several like it. I have a surplus of 12 x 36 canvas in the garage right now.

The other thing that happened this week was I had an appointment to establish care with a new primary care provider. This is my fourth one in four years thanks to insurance plan switches due to office buyouts. The American healthcare system at it’s best… She is a nurse practitioner and she is young, but I liked her. She is on the same page about the things that are important to me. Thyroid is a big one for me. At this point in my life I’d rather have a nurse practitioner than any other type of PA or MD unless I ever need specialized care. Nurses are so much better at listening, aware of their own limitations such as admitting when they don’t know something, and just more attentive to the whole picture in general. If nothing else happens, I won’t see her until it’s time for my annual physical in January of next year. But at least I have that out of the way.

Since the day is nearly over, I hope you had a good Fourth and I wish you an even better fifth, sixth, and so on. Hopefully no fires from fireworks or lightning, both of which will likely happen around here. There are only at least eight actively burning fires in the state right now. I wish you smoke-free skies too.