All is well
on
#Wisteria Lane,
or is it?

neighbors no
longer speak,
as their yard signs
speak volumes;

children do drills
at school,
in case a shooter
comes to hunt them;

communities hide,
othered,
made “illegal” or
non-existent-

all is
not well
on
Wisteria Lane

#vss365 #poetry

If they think Superman is woke, wait until they learn about Jesus.

WaPo article talking about a summer covid surge. Photo of a masked person going up an escalator (wearing what looks like a KN95); caption is "experts recommend taking precautions, such as wearing a mask, against the coronavirus."

From the WaPo yesterday: mask up.

Well-meaning people can do it before there's a full surge (thereby preventing the worst of it) or after that horse is already out of the barn, when the need is more obvious, but (& because) more people have already been harmed.

Before is better.

I work as an elder and hospice caregiver, which I am oddly passionate about. I can love on them shamelessly and no one complains about my codependence. It's a win-win situation. Many of my caregiving colleagues complain about the repetitive questions and, sometimes reactions, of the elderly, especially when those patients happen to read the newspaper, especially with the current downward spiral of our country — as if these people haven't lived through enough horror... I love my dementia peeps, but sometimes wonder if there's a Guinness Book World Record for how many times an hour a dementia patient can repeat the same question — it's got to be in the hundreds. At least with small children, they ask different questions. Dementia patients will get stuck on one short question and ask it until you can interrupt their train(carousel) of thought and successfully redirect their attention. That carousel is pretty manic sometimes. A couple days ago, I picked up my mail from the post office and drove over to the nursing home to take (let's call her "Miss Daisy") Miss Daisy out for a drive. Before we took off on our road trip, to the end of The Road and back, in our landlocked little town (Juneau, Alaska), I set my copy of The Onion down in front of her. Over our two-hour excursion, tiny Miss Daisy read that front page at least a dozen times and each time she would snicker, giggle, and guffaw, then put it down on the dash board and, a minute later, discover it anew. I think it was the best afternoon of my life. We don't often hear them laugh and when they do, it's the sweetest thing you've ever heard. ... Thank you, thank you, thank you, for the really important work all of you do. You make the world a better place.

I got permission to share this, and I'm extremely grateful for that.

The Onion got this letter from one of our subscribers in Alaska. She works with dementia patients and decided to leave a copy in the car for each one.

This email made my year. Read it and you'll see what I mean. People are good.

YouTube video by Tracy Chapman Tracy Chapman - Talkin' About A Revolution (Official Music Video)

youtu.be/Xv8FBjo1Y8I?...

Love Tracy Chapman since the 90's! 🎶🎸 "Revolution" is especially poignant in this volatile frightening age of Trumpism ☮️ ❤️

Anyone not masking should scroll through TikTok posts by those with long Covid. Most comments are from others who have long Covid, many telling their story of when they got long Covid. It's not rare. It is a mass disabling event that's still ongoing. And every person is at risk regardless of health

Andry José Hernández Romero with a makeup client.

Andry José Hernández Romero, I remember you, even if I do not know how to articulate my horror, rage, & sorrow at your treatment by my government.

No one has heard from you in 97 days.

As vigil, I’m posting a photo (or video) of you every day until you are returned from El Salvador.

YouTube video by Associated Press LIVE: Alex Padilla speaks after being removed from Kristi Noem’s press conference

STARTING NOW:

if dems want messaging help, stop telling people you're "fighting back." it sounds like you're being mugged. call off the podcaster search, take your ridiculous money pile and try opening some food banks and free clinics. hurricanes are coming and the feds have no plan. looks like an opening to me.

Your child did not choose to be gay, but did choose to be honest with you about it. 🏳️‍🌈

Showing unconditional love and acceptance will have a huge positive impact on their life.

Our allies for a century all hate us, but at least the rulers of Saudi Arabia and Qatar appreciate how easy it is to get what they want from our govt, and appear to enjoy our president’s willingness to trade US govt policy for personal enrichment. So we have some friends.

As if.

When a government starts by stripping rights from a vulnerable group, it’s not the end goal—it’s the opening move. What’s tested on the marginalized today is used on everyone else tomorrow.