Yes We Can

I've been trying to avoid politics on this blog, but I can't not talk about last night. I feel as though a great weight has been lifted from this country. Instead of casting our eyes downward and backward, we can now look up and forward. Our disastrous experiment in the deconstruction of government is at an end. We now begin the task of putting our country back together.

People, in general, like government when it does things for them; and dislike it when it tells them what to do. We like it when the roads are in good repair, the environment is protected, and markets function efficiently. We don't like it when we're told how to worship, or who we can or cannot marry. The last administration demonstrated what happens when government stops working. Abu Ghraib, Katrina, the failure of the financial industry. Government is not always the problem. Sometimes government is the solution. A good first step would be to stop blowing up infrastructure in countries around the world and start rebuilding it here at home.

It's been eight years since the departure of the man from Hope. Eight years of fear, cynicism, and despair. Now, a young man from Chicago has brought Hope back. The election is over, together we now undertake the hard work of governing. Yes we can, and yes we will.

Slowing down

This time I'm really taking the pledge. I am swearing off "instanews". You know what I'm talking about. All the online news sources, blogs, and social networking sites that perpetuate the idea that the world changes instantaneously, and if we aren't in constant contact with a source of information, we will be forever lost in the dark dungeons of the Internet.

Basta! My world encompasses my family, friends, neighborhood, hobbies, workplace. And to a lesser extent, my community, environment, government. And to an even lesser extent, radical fundamentalists, commodities markets, MMORPGs. Change occurs over months, years, generations, eons. I don't need Twitter to inform me that a leaf has just fallen. I can notice that for myself. If not today, then tomorrow.

Starry, starry night

I enjoy this time of year. Cool evenings. Cold, crisp mornings. Even the sound of the word "crisp". It makes me think of ripe apples, frosty lawns. Orion is high in the sky when I go out to fetch the newspaper. The Pleiades are sinking in the West.

The Pleiades are one of those night-sky objects that I have difficulty seeing if I look directly at them. Showing my age, I guess. Retina burnout from too much time in the sun. If I look just off to the side, however, I can see their ghostly wisps reaching out from deep space.

I need to remind myself to do that more often. Stop staring directly at things, sometimes, if I want to see them more clearly.

Neglect

Footsteps echo down the empty hall.
Through an open doorway, comes the rattle of a can rolling across a deserted street, pushed on by a dry wind.
Who lives here?
And the chorus replies: We do. We all do.

Spam, spam, spam, spam

One of my joys in life are the little surprises that Gmail sends my way. Invariably, everytime I visit my Spam folder, I get a banner ad for the latest SPAM recipe. This one begged to be shared:

SAVORY SPAM CRESCENTS

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 16 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Sandwiches

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
10 sl Bacon, cut in small pieces
1/4 c Finely chopped onion
1 cn SPAM Luncheon Meat, cubed
- 12 oz
1 Egg, beaten
3 tb Grated Parmesan cheese
2 tb Chopped fresh parsley
2 tb Dijon-style mustard
1/8 t Pepper
2 pk Refrigerated crescent roll
-dough (8 oz)

Heat oven to 375'F. In skillet, cook bacon and onion until bacon is
crisp; drain. Stir in remaining ingredients except crescent roll
dough. Separate each package of crescent dough into 8 triangles.
Spread top half of each triangle with SPAM mixture; roll up. Place on
baking sheets. Bake 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.