Thoughts and Interesting Stories---Jeff Clark

I try to be friendly and so my reflex around most holidays is to wish casual acquaintances a happy holiday. (I'm a bit more selective with religious holidays as appropriate.)  Some holidays don't work with happy; Memorial Day is one of them. We celebrate the sacrifice of members of our military who gave their life in uniform on Memorial Day, which certainly isn't something to be happy about. We do seek to acknowledge and encourage virtue. As much as I find war abhorrent I try to limit my criticism to those making decisions and not those who carry them out in an honorable fashion. But I am dearly reminded at times like this how isolated I am from the costs of combat. I do not know anyone currently enlisted in the military, only ROTC students and members of previous generations.  9/11 was the exception as was 12/7/1941 where many folk enrolled after our country was attacked. The rule with the all-volunteer military seems to be having soldiers fight for us who are worse off th...

https://www.covingtoninnovations.com/michael/blog/2305/index.html#x230520  

I am currently reading All the King's Men  by Robert Penn Warren. I've seen praise for this work for most of my adult life and finally got around to getting it out of the library. The writing is incredibly textured and so it is slow going. I have seen the 1949 movie version with Broderick Crawford several times (and enjoyed it) but in 1949 movie adaptations were not known for their fidelity to their source material so I'm keeping my mind open re the plot. Another reason that it is slow going is that I am stopped short every time I see what is euphemistically referred to as the N-word. It is painful to see in print. The dialogue is set in the deep South in the early 20th century so it is truthful but that makes it more painful, not less. I grew up in a Philadelphia suburb that struggled with integration. When the first family of color moved into my neighborhood someone greeted them by spray-painting "Niggers go home" on a stone wall facing their house. I was humili...

One of my mentors is going through some hard times; he has become a caregiver for the immediate future and other family members of his are suffering in other ways. Aside from the immediate stress I think there is a deeper stress; he has spent most of his life supporting other folk and now with age and dwindling stamina and strength he needs support to be a good caregiver from others in ways he is not used to. In my own life it has been incredibly difficult for me to ask for help; I am much more comfortable by inclination and good fortune with helping others. And yet: I have had surgeries that required the care and support of others for weeks.  It has been very difficult for me. Pride is a two-sided coin. It is a strength in terms of holding myself to a high standard that has helped me to succeed in many ways but it is a weakness when as we all must do at some points I need to ask for assistance. My mentor was there for me in two very traumatic life-changing events and I am trying t...

In 2016, before the election, a recording of Donald Trump bragging about being able to grab women by their crotch ("pussy") because he was a celebrity was leaked. I was naive enough to think that it would sink his bid and clearly I was wrong. It came up in the first debate between him and Clinton, where he discounted it as "just locker room talk". That has stuck in my craw over the years. What kind of man brags about sexually assaulting women? In my experience people brag about things that they think will make them look better. Does Trump revere men who assault women? That tape has now been a key part of E. Jean Carroll's civil lawsuit against Trump. The fact that it is a civil and not criminal suit is sad, but Carroll did not report her rape at the time (1996) because she didn't think she would be believed and already at that time Trump had an army of lawyers with a reputation for viciousness. In any event the NY state legislature passed a one-time waiver f...

More than a day actually. My daughter moved into her first apartment this weekend along with roommates from her student days. My wife and I are back to being empty-nesters. In my own life the move into my first-year university dorm was the real break with my family; every other stay with my family was a temporary surrendering of autonomy. I face her departure that way, that moving her into her first university dorm was the real change in our roles. Like many of her peers she stayed with us after graduation while she built up her bank account as is prudent. I love my children but I am blessed with also liking them. That is not a given but they are interesting people who are good company, caring about important things and yet playful at the same time. So far they are still happy to chat with us regularly and I have hope that our bonds will continue to be strong. I'll do my part.