New Shoes in the Rain

Happy Thursday, friends, if there is such a thing….hope you’ve had a good week! I borrowed today’s title from the “last” Beatles song that was completed and released almost two years ago, but I think it’s fitting with what I want to get into today. I don’t know about you, but I am old enough to remember the past, in which elected officials largely operated in the background and didn’t run to a microphone or camera when anything happens.  Social media didn’t exist and neither did the toxicity that accompanies it. These elected officials would routinely face their constituents who elected them, tout or at least explain their achievements and what else they tried to accomplish.  In turn, the voters who attended these “town halls” would ask polite questions about issues old and new and there was healthy dialogue and politicians would sometimes come away with new ideas, or at the least some new understanding of what’s important to work on for his home state or legislative district....

Good Saturday afternoon to you as I write this…. Unless you’re not a resident of the southeastern US or other areas that have been affected by our recent bout of insane weather, you probably know that we’re seeing a LOT of rain throughout most of Kentucky at present.  Like more than a month’s worth since Wednesday night.  Weather then was so severe that we received a tornado warning, although it turned out that the tornadic activity was about sixty miles south of our home area. But before you decide that the worst is behind us, consider this….Kentucky’s governor announced yesterday on social media that as of this morning there were 390 road closures throughout the state.  I know of a couple. Yesterday I headed out to make some marketing calls in a couple of smaller communities south of Lexington.  Along the way I had to attend two conference calls that occur every Friday.  Following the second, I went about my plan and visited two offices and called a friend who...

Good Monday morning, friends. Would you believe that I am in the fourth day of a four day weekend?  This is unusual for me, as I am pretty bad at taking time off from work unless there's a specific occasion or trip involved.  But a couple of weeks ago I sent my boss a time off request for last Thursday and Friday.  He messaged back that he was already scheduled off for the same week, so asked if I would mind changing my request to Friday and Monday. Done. So my time off started by watching the Cincinnati Reds' season opening game last Thursday afternoon.  While the Reds lost 6-4 that afternoon, they won on Saturday afternoon but lost again yesterday, by a score of 6-3.  So it goes. What else have I done with my time off?  Well, for starters, not traveling, which I do most every day.  My job is in outside sales, and while I work occasionally in my home area of Lexington, most of my work is at least an hour's drive from my home base.  So this was ni...

Hello, friends.....hope your week is off to a good start. Eagle-eyed readers will note the title of today's comments, borrowed from a concert film and album featuring the late musical group Talking Heads.  One of the more inventive concert films I've seen, directed by the late, great Jonathan Demme.  I saw a show on the same tour from which these performances were taken, and it was quite something.   But that's not why we're here, is it? I'm in my mid 60's, so in my memory, when a Presidential administration felt the need to be less than truthful with the American people, there was a narrative created that more or less explained away the straight facts that the public already had in their possession (back when we all cared more, certainly) about a situation or a growing scandal or something equally difficult to hide. Now, though, our current President and those loyal to him simply say whatever suits them at the moment.  Take the present White House Press Secreta...

Happy Thursday, everyone…the work week is almost over! When I was a kid, I recall vividly coming to the realization that, in order to survive in this world, I was going to have know how to fight!  And I don’t mean gathering one’s inner strength and persevering, I mean actual physical fights! Suppose that was a byproduct of most of what we watched on TV in our household, lots of Western shows and movies, detective and police shows and movies and generally a lot of action.  Seemed to me that I was going to have to fight it out with people, and frequently, in order to get anywhere in this world!  Not only that, but quicksand seemed to be an imminent threat as well! Of course, none of that was true then or now.  “Fighting” in real life is more about sticking to one’s principles, standing up for one’s self and one’s family, too. Thank goodness! But let’s face it, life is full of contradictions, and it seems now that we are in the second term of President Trump, contradict...

Happy Friday, friends….we’re almost there! As things stand now, massive numbers of federal government employees are being laid off…or not.  Our President is going to force Ukraine to surrender to Russia…or not.  The U.S. gold reserve is still at Fort Knox…or not. Who knows about any of these things?  The chaos and confusion that seems to reign in Washington right now is pretty well beyond our individual control, and the circumstances keep changing to fit the latest stories that are circulating.  And the American people are seldom getting the full story or straight answers to questions asked of President Trump and other high-ranking officials. So we work on the things where we have some control and ownership.   For example, I have migrated from Twitter (now called “X” by its owner) over a year ago.  Over time many of the accounts I followed to keep up on things of interest migrated to Threads, which is connected to Instagram.  I enjoyed Threads for the ...