Under the Canopy

 Too many cookies and sweet treats Too many presents to buy Too many presents received Too much to do Too much sadness and grief met by unfathomable Grace, Love, and Light. -Jo Ann Woodcock

 My older sister Janet started dating Alan in the mid 70's.  I was 12 years old. They married in 1776.  I don't have distinct memories of Alan's first holiday with us.  I do remember the pattern of their holiday visits for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  They came every year for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Mom loved preparing the holiday meals. She was an excellent and adventurous cook.  Food was her love language. The holiday meal would be scheduled for mid-afternoon. Mom was in the kitchen early, filling the house with lovely aromas. I enjoyed helping - until she poured her first martini.  As dishes were completed, they were placed on the beautifully set table or on the sideboard.  As meal time approached without a sign of Janet and Alan, Mom, probably on her 2nd or 3rd martini started to complain.  She hovered over me when I tried to help.  Her drunken intrusion was unbearable. Meal time came and went, still no Janet and Alan. ...

 A friend of mine posted his experience at the No Kings rally.  He quoted a line from "I Believe" by R.E.M. I looked up the lyrics, here are some great lines from the song: Explain the change, the difference between What you want and what you need, there's the key Explain the change, the difference between What you want and what you need, there's the key Silly rule, golden words make practice, practice makes perfect My humor's wearing thin and change is what I believe in I believe I believe in example, I believe my throat hurts Example is the checker to the key I believe

I no longer recognize the country I live in.  The President is threatening to revoke broadcast licenses of networks that he deems unfavorable to him. The Vice President is suggesting that people tattle to employers on people who post unfavorable comments about Charlie Kirk.  The President won't release the Epstein files that probably include incontrovertible evidence that he (yes, the President of the US) was involved in child sex trafficking.  My tax dollars are being spent - with tacit approval from Congress - to torture US citizens and legal residents.  A man who called those who disagree with him liars, who says very hateful things about large groups of people is being called a 'man of God'.  Charlie Kirk did not converse or talk - he yelled and bullied. And now anyone who criticizes his rhetoric or states the truth, is fired from their jobs.  Soy bean farmers have no place to sell their crops. China, formerly the largest buyer, has cancelled all contra...

Copied unedited from the Deer Park, OH Monthly Police Report I am proud of and thankful for the talent, compassion, and dedication of the Deer Park Police Department. They serve us well.  I am especially thankful for the person who writes up the monthly report. Here are some of their best entries.  January 2026 Officers checked on the well being of a subject sleeping in his vehicle. The operator arrived home later than expected and was sleeping in his vehicle to avoid an argument with his wife. He was wished all the luck in the world. Officers dispatched the service department out for Snowmageddon. Shout out to the service department for a long couple of days and a job well done!! October 2025 The complainant stated a bag was taped up to look like a body in the storm drain. Officers located someone’s blow-up companion that had been placed in a garbage bag and discarded. Officers responded to the residence for a domestic dispute. Complainant wanted to speak to an officer about...

12:30 pm - I get up from my home office desk and walk to the kitchen.  I open the refrigerator door and realize I don't need food or drink.  I survey all the flat surfaces in the kitchen and cannot remember what I was supposed to take back to my desk.   1:00 pm - I am having trouble focusing on work, so I get up from my desk and head towards the kitchen where I keep my medications.  When I get to the kitchen, I survey the counters and table.  I open the fridge.  I open the cabinet where the snacks are kept.  I am not hungry or thirsty and cannot remember why I came into the kitchen. 1:15 - I can't focus on my work.  I realize I need to take my Adderall (helps those of us with ADHD focus). Remembering my last two trips to the kitchen, I burst out laughing (I may have scared the cats). I get up from my chair, repeating "Adderall, Adderall, Adderall. . ." all the way to kitchen.  I take my Adderall and return to work.  

Growing up, it fell to me to manage family members' alternate realities.  Individually, their alternate realities were in conflict not only with each other, but also with my own.  Jim and Mom insisted that their alternate realities were true.  Janet and Dad would occasionally impose their realities on me and never challenged Jim's and Mom's realities in healthy ways.  There was screaming and yelling and leaving the house for brief instances.  I didn't see any behaviors that I wanted to adopt.  Mom and Dad never talked about divorce, but it was on our minds.  I remember thinking about and talking over with Jim who we would like to stay with in the case of divorce.  There many considerations for and against both parents.    I won exactly one argument with Mom. And until I was able to open his eyes to very difficult truths in the last months of his life, I hadn't won any arguments with Jim.  Mom Mom was someone who will argue with you ...

Dark Humor Alert! What may happen to me and countless others during 47's administration I will die from a preventable disease because a vaccine that is scientifically proven to be safe and effective is no longer accessible.  I will die from a preventable disease because there is no funding to develop and/or distribute safe and effective treatments. I will die from a preventable disease because infectious diseases are no longer being tracked and I won't know to take even the simplest preventative measures.  I will die in a severe weather event because warning systems are compromised and I didn't know to prepare.  I will be a Russian citizen living in the former United States.   I will be shot without warning because someone enforcing marshal law doesn't appreciate my purple hair.  I will be incarcerated for not using the 'whites only' waiting room, drinking fountain, or other resource. Or for allowing non-whites to use resources marked 'whites only'. ...