Tim's Favorite Blogs
Media Matters
Blog Directories
Thursday, December 31. 2009
2009? Not Too Bad!
It’s the last day of 2009. Hard to wrap my head around it, considering all that has transpired. It seems like it was just a few months ago Barack Obama won the presidential election, but even that was nearly 14 months ago. In 20 days we will mark his first year in office. I’m sure the teabaggers will have fun with that!2009 has been a blur. It seems that way in hindsight. On Morning Joe (MSNBC) the usual collection of suspects were discussing the year in review; Joe and Mika of course (Scarborough and Brzezinski), along with Mike Barnicle, Tom Brokaw, Donny Deutch, Norah O’Donnell, Willie Geist of course, Harold Ford, Jr. was on — RUN AGAIN YOUNG MAN! — Jon Meacham, David Gregory, Chris Matthews — but no Pat Buchanan! What? Did the once most far right man in (and out of) the Republican Party make someone mad? They should have had Pat on this morning.
Norah O’Donnell got angry! At Donny Deutch! Deutch is of the impression Tiger Woods will weather his current (and growing) scandal and once again be a 100 million dollar a year endorsement machine and, as Deutch put it, the guys would forget about the philandering and go out and buy Nike brand stuff — including the Tiger Woods driver.Norah O’Donnell shot back: women also play golf and, for your information, the Tiger Woods driver isn’t that good anyway. Here’s the arrogance of men when they are talking to women, as opposed to when they are talking with women — a conceit all its own really — if a man is absolutely certain his opinion is the only correct one he will talk over the woman (or women) with whom he is trying to have a conversation.
The more Deutch tried talking over O’Donnell, the angrier she got. Had she been in the same studio, well, O’Donnell is too civilized to smack anyone upside the head, but I bet she thought about it! And it was obvious Norah O’Donnell is a golfer and Donny Deutch is not. So, the Tiger Woods driver sucks? I don’t even buy Nike shirts anymore, let alone shoes.
Got my first pair of Nikes in the 1970’s when I needed good running shoes in the Marines. Paid less than 20 bucks for them.
So, the collected group of respected journalists and commentators talked about the year that was, concluding, in so many words, President Obama has failed. Afghanistan is a distraction from the “big” problems facing America and the debate should be about jobs, not health care. I forget other topics they covered, but I disagreed with their premise.It got me thinking about my year, which hasn’t been out of the ordinary, nothing spectacular really in the annals of human existence, but we all have our times of drama. In this day and age, we tend to elevate the ordinary to fame in some way, thanks to YouTube and the Internets in general. Everyone gets to be a star.
Reality TV “stars” get their own TV series or they host, mostly for brief periods, some nondescript show on the E! network. If we, as in we men, are lucky, the really hot women from reality TV pose for Playboy. Sadly, Heidi Montag did, but she didn’t bare the goodies.
It’s rumored Hugh Hefner is or has enticed Megan Fox to pose nude — and show the goodies — for his magazine! She might do it, considering Fox has appeared nude in movies! It would be worth any price Hef!
One more reality star: Jon Gosslin — NO TV SHOW FOR HIM! We are sick of Jon and Kate! Too bad for her, but she married and had all those children with him. It’s her problem.
Back to my ordinary life, punctuated by times of drama. Pretty nondescript. Everything that took place in my life has occurred in the lives of others, one true fact in the lives of most people. The older I get, the more apparent it becomes we are not so unique.
My year started with employment and then getting laid off in January. That turned out to be fortuitous because two months later I had open heart bypass surgery. So, while sitting around waiting for that to happen my mind was occupied with the usual distractions and obsessions.
With brief visits to various V.A. cardiologists and heart surgeons, waiting for the operation was like an eternity. Then, on March 26th it took place. For the next five months life was all about cardiac rehab, walking every day, making use of friends to keep me walking every day and spending inordinate amounts of time on the Internets.
It was pretty mundane, but there were moments of victory, like when I walked up Erma Rd. for the first time! A half-mile of steep hill. Then my first one-hour walk when John and I hiked up to Overlook Park, which, on the way there, is all up hill.
Then came the day I was reunited with the Trusty Trek. Didn’t know the body would lose all memory of pedaling a bicycle, but it did. The process of becoming a daily rider again took some time, but eventually it happened. Just in time too because the second weekend in July is Over-the-Line! The Trusty Trek and I spent that Saturday on Fiesta Island. Some people go for the game, most don’t.
Less than two weeks after that, summer was interrupted by an illness that turned into pneumonia. Great. From the end of July until the beginning of September I was homebound once again. But, I followed doctors’ orders, took the medications and stayed at home — mostly. Life was nondescript once again.A friend caught pneumonia about the same time and he never made it out of the hospital. His situation was quite a bit different, but it had an impact on my decisions. I would no longer work after 6 p.m. (although sometimes I’ll work until seven if it doesn’t become a regular occurrence). I would do my best to be healthy, a task most difficult because my eating habits can be anything but healthy. That is the toughest challenge.
In early September employment came once again. Not the best job, certainly nothing to write about, well, it has its moments and characters, but not a job one would consider ideal employment. Since then I’ve worked 5-6 days every week, punctuated by illness (swine flu) and visits to doctors. Other than that, I log into work like most other Americans, looking to make a paycheck and pay the bills as on time as possible.
That’s life for most Americans, We work primarily for the benefit of others. For ourselves, we are just trying to survive. Sometimes it can be downright depressing.On December 2nd my wrist was broken when the Trusty Trek and I swerved and hit a curb to avoid a collision with an Infinity SUV. The man driving was texting on his Blackberry. Thirty days later there is a fiberglass cast on my arm and let me tell you, trying to type with the damn thing is a pain! But, after all this time, it’s gotten easier. In about two weeks it will come off, hopefully, and life can begin to get normal again.
Got a Grateful Dead-Opoly game for Christmas! How cool is that!
The greatest point about 2009 is this: in all the months leading up to this day, the love and caring attention of my family and friends has never wavered. Some have been more helpful and influential than others, but that’s mostly due to geography and where the family is concerned, the distance between us only makes us grow closer.
Eh, Obama and the Democrats turned out to be wimps when it came to health care reform, but I’m still glad I voted for him. John McCain would be digging the financial hole even deeper and judging from his words (from the campaign and recently), we would be at war with Iran and Yemen (an ally no less). McCain’s pal Joe Lieberman was on FOX one day talking about taking pre-emptive military action in Yemen. Sheesh!Not to mention: can you imagine Sarah Palin as Vice President? HOLY SHIT! One of America’s most visible and outspoken kooks just a heart beat away from the presidency! We just had eight years with a kook for a Vice President! On the other hand, there’s a good chance Palin would have quit the job already. Once she got a sniff of how much money she could make outside of public office, she resigned her governorship and skedaddled! So, there might be some comfort in that.
Gotta love Levi Johnston! Git’er done, son!
Anyway, 2009 has been pretty good, all things considered! I even got to meet a young woman I’ve admired for years: Roxanne Dawn! That was the cherry on a calorie-filled caramel sundae! Hot fudge, if that’s what Roxanne prefers …
Calendar
Quicksearch
Categories
AD Links
Referrals
Syndicate This Blog
Blog Administration
Powered by
TheForkesReport