2011_7_18 The Belle and the Bull of the Ball
Yesterday’s celebration of our 50 years of marriage was a splendid, laugh-filled and touching four hours; it was truly an event we will cherish for all the years we have left. It, among all the parties we have held over many years, was special. First of all, Nasima’s ‘slide show’ of 35 images over the years, starting with our baby pictures, went over well and kept repeating itself on TV screen for 3 hour. We chose Joanie Mitchell’s song “The Circle Song” to accompany the flow of pictures, which was an excellent choice, and Nasima timed the song with the last image, the two things absolutely in sync. The first photo after the baby pictures was the Polaroid of the two of us in 1960, the year of our first intimacies and feelings of deep love, at a party with Sue, a very lovely 20-year-old girl, sitting on my lap while I laid a kiss on her cheek. Many people could not believe that the handsome dark-haired skinny fellow kissing her was me. Alas, that small peak of a man grew into a mountain of a man. The very last slide in this parade of images was the reverse situation: Sue is kissing me on the cheek and it looked like she had to climb the mountain to do it. As a matter of fact Nasima picked 15 pictures where we are either kissing or hugging. That was close to a revelation to our audiences who really don’t know or see as us as a romantic couple. Our daughters planned the whole thing with little consultation with us. They chose Greek food because I love Gyros and Suzie loves dolmas. There was a bucket of meat and Tdzekie sauce, along with peta bread, humus, a big salad, and for dessert we had Baklava with vanilla ice cream or watermelon. The watermelon tasted good and was cooling because most of us ate outside under the covered patio despite the 103 temp and the high humidity. It did rain for about ten minutes. After everyone had their fill two musicians in the group got up, a violinist and a flutist did their thing for a short while, which was a pleasant interlude. Then Nasima and Kaia came out of the house with two trays of small paper cups full of champagne. I like the funky touch of paper cups as opposed to elegant glasses. Many toasts were offered, as were many nice things about Sue and I. The memory book is in process, as Nasima has all the cards and commentaries and she will be the one to tie it altogether in a book. I read just a few of the cards and I must say the love and respect for us doth flow like a river.
The spirit of the party was gleeful and buoyant; the chatter was none-stop and various and amusing. Laughter rocked the patio and the shrieks of the kids in the pool added to the upsurge of good vibes percolating through this assembly of 30 hearty guests. I was in extremely good humor as I had taken some canelo prior to going to the party. One of our old hippy-dippy friends had a laugh that could be heard for blocks—a most hearty guffaw. This guy had gone to Europe and India in the sixties and recently, after writing 15 versions of the story, self-published the book, which he titled WANNA SMOKE? He had come to the party without his dentures; he somehow had forgotten them. No problem he said, I’ll drink my dinner. Ryder ran around naked all during the party, just like his mother used to do when she was 4 years old. Liam is now 10 years old and has long hair for the first time and he looked good.
Four couples did not make the party, two because they were out of town. One individual didn’t make it, although his wife and son did. That would be my ex-pool partner. It was a big disappointment with no explanation.
I managed to get through the party on one canister of oxygen.
The “belle and the bull of the ball “ had a blast.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Obama's Capitulation
2011_8_02 Obama’s Capitulation
Here I go again jumping on Obama for another poor performance in the latest dust up in Washington; this time the wrangle is over the debt ceiling controversy. The first thing I’d say about that is why didn’t the Democrats separate that issue from the deficit problem? And then once the two thing were inerasably linked why didn’t he revert to the 14th Amendment? Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa explained on the floor of the senate that it was used successfully three times by esteemed presidents—by Thomas Jefferson to expedite the Louisiana Purchase, by Lincoln to help pass the Emancipation Proclamation, and by FDR to hurry along the Lend Lease Loan to England under attack by Hitler. For some reason Obama never took it seriously. He could have used it for leverage if nothing else.
He may live to regret it as virtually nobody likes the bill signed into law today by Obama all by himself in the Oval Office, very odd considering the import of the bill and how long it took to get passed. Usually there is a crowd flanking the President as he signs major legislation. Not this time. The left and the right hated it, and the center held their nose when they voted. Two people were smiling and felt victorious when it was over: John Boehner and Mitch McConnell, the Republican leaders. Boehner told Scott Pelly tonight he was very happy because he got 98% of what he wanted. McConnell doffed his hat to the Tea Party folks for their assistance and was already gleefully preparing for the next encounter with the President, for he knows he’s got his number.
From where I sit the tipping point in this latest disaster, the debt ceiling imbroglio and the final deal was Mitch McConnell who refusal to negotiate with Harry Reid, but only with the “man who could sign the bill into law.” That is code for the man he has consistently outsmarted, outmaneuvered, and over-matched. He has done it time and time again. He is as agile with rhetoric as Obama is, and he combines that with a subtle aggressive style that Obama doesn’t know how to handle. He’s good at constructing pithy narratives and his sound bites are terse, simple, and cogent. He’s a son of a bitch but I have to admit he is a tough gladiator. The Demos have no one to match his skills. He may look like Elmer Fudd and mumble through his teeth but those things disguise a WASP that stings. It’s uncanny how effective he can be, Like Bill Maher said the other night, McConnell knows how to get Obama to bend over and pull his pants down. Amen, brother!
The Super Committee to be formed in a few months is ready made for a stalemate, with six Republicans members who’ll be uniformly against tax increases and six Democrats who will be there to protect entitlements, which means the fierce in-fighting will be fierce and unforgiving, on both sides, but especially with the Republicans with their rigid backbone. If they can’t come to a resolution the deal is they will revert to automatic cuts which will threated the discretionary spending in domestic programs the Demos hold dear and the Republicans will sweat cuts in the defense Budget. And then there is the election, not to mention Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New years while all this bickering will be going on. Should be fun.
Welcome to bedlam!
Here I go again jumping on Obama for another poor performance in the latest dust up in Washington; this time the wrangle is over the debt ceiling controversy. The first thing I’d say about that is why didn’t the Democrats separate that issue from the deficit problem? And then once the two thing were inerasably linked why didn’t he revert to the 14th Amendment? Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa explained on the floor of the senate that it was used successfully three times by esteemed presidents—by Thomas Jefferson to expedite the Louisiana Purchase, by Lincoln to help pass the Emancipation Proclamation, and by FDR to hurry along the Lend Lease Loan to England under attack by Hitler. For some reason Obama never took it seriously. He could have used it for leverage if nothing else.
He may live to regret it as virtually nobody likes the bill signed into law today by Obama all by himself in the Oval Office, very odd considering the import of the bill and how long it took to get passed. Usually there is a crowd flanking the President as he signs major legislation. Not this time. The left and the right hated it, and the center held their nose when they voted. Two people were smiling and felt victorious when it was over: John Boehner and Mitch McConnell, the Republican leaders. Boehner told Scott Pelly tonight he was very happy because he got 98% of what he wanted. McConnell doffed his hat to the Tea Party folks for their assistance and was already gleefully preparing for the next encounter with the President, for he knows he’s got his number.
From where I sit the tipping point in this latest disaster, the debt ceiling imbroglio and the final deal was Mitch McConnell who refusal to negotiate with Harry Reid, but only with the “man who could sign the bill into law.” That is code for the man he has consistently outsmarted, outmaneuvered, and over-matched. He has done it time and time again. He is as agile with rhetoric as Obama is, and he combines that with a subtle aggressive style that Obama doesn’t know how to handle. He’s good at constructing pithy narratives and his sound bites are terse, simple, and cogent. He’s a son of a bitch but I have to admit he is a tough gladiator. The Demos have no one to match his skills. He may look like Elmer Fudd and mumble through his teeth but those things disguise a WASP that stings. It’s uncanny how effective he can be, Like Bill Maher said the other night, McConnell knows how to get Obama to bend over and pull his pants down. Amen, brother!
The Super Committee to be formed in a few months is ready made for a stalemate, with six Republicans members who’ll be uniformly against tax increases and six Democrats who will be there to protect entitlements, which means the fierce in-fighting will be fierce and unforgiving, on both sides, but especially with the Republicans with their rigid backbone. If they can’t come to a resolution the deal is they will revert to automatic cuts which will threated the discretionary spending in domestic programs the Demos hold dear and the Republicans will sweat cuts in the defense Budget. And then there is the election, not to mention Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New years while all this bickering will be going on. Should be fun.
Welcome to bedlam!
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