Australian possums (unrelated except that they are also marsupial) are so much prettier, though they can make a bit of noise if they decide to live in your ceiling/
"I’ve told you before that most of the time when I see someone, and they ask, “How are you doing, I often reply, “If you see me, I’m doing great!”
Robert, I recently heard the English translation of a Norwegian expression used when asked how you are doing. I use it all the time now, because it's perfect.
The Norwegian phrase: "oppe og ikke gråter"
English translation: "I am upright, and not crying."
Good read as always Bob, but some info important for people to realize.
The possum (for what it's worth, maybe a lot): though possums eat mice I try to kill them. Rarely do they carry rabies but they can carry fleas, ticks, mites, lice that can be transmitted to dogs and cats. They like garbage where they can pickup infectious diseases. They can transmit Coccidiosis to dogs and cats and even livestock, They can carry Equine (horse) Protozoal Myeloencephalitis, can carry fleas with Bourne Typhus affecting cats and dogs, Can carry Leptospirosis, especially transmitted to dogs (vaccinate for it yearly), and possibly Spotted fever. Cats ignore them. Some people think they are so cute, but maybe not when they realize the possible problems and diseases associated with possums.
Myself, I think cult psychology is more applicable than character assessment. True, you could ask, "what kind of character would join a cult and stay in it no matter what?" but I think the answer is a lost, lonely, scared, needy, angry, frustrated "character" that is looking for immediate relief in a group with a leader who can immediately right all the wrongs that pain them.
Once they are in, challenging the promises and actions of the leader prevent going back to hopelessness. So they drift into denial, distortion, faith, and belief.
In every cult leaver story I've heard, leaving starts with discovering absolutely, undeniable lies. Something like they personally witnessed a neighbor whom they like dragged out of their house, see it posted on the internet, and the leader says ICE heroes apprehended a left wing lunatic who will no longer terrorize the neighborhood and the video is AI.
But that only starts the leaving process. To leave they need to believe that they will personally be worse off if they stay in the cult, for example college age males becoming eligible for the draft. Also, they are willing to face the backlash of being labelled a "traitor" by the cult. For those who are surrounded by violent, abusive, bullying people stay inside the cult for some measure safety from punishment by the cult.
Many MAGA members are in my opinion victims as perpetrators. Perhaps all criminals are, too.
Here's how you know: a cult always has a single popular, recognized, authoritarian leader that all the cult members hear and obey or are shunned and removed. As far as I know Antifa and BLM don't have one.
True, true maybe. I didn't ever think of the draft as a cult. I went through it, did you? Don't know why u said 'college' age males. In reality it was any 'qualified' and eligible age males.
"Trump beat Kamala Harris among men by 13 points last November...The damage is even worse among younger men. Trump carried those under 25 by five points in the election, but he is now at -19 with them."
I call "under 25" "college age." True, other men left the MAGA cult as well, but it was smaller numbers and possibly for other reasons than the draft, like housing costs and income, being married with kids in a worsening economy.
Since you asked, I registered for the draft when I turned 18 as an undergraduate, but my number did not come up. When I was 24 year old graduate student, I volunteered for infantry to go Cambodia when it became news that Pol Pot troops were carrying out mass executions. People of all ages were forced to dig trenches, mowed down, and buried in their trenches. The Army recruiter said if that was my only reason for volunteering, there were no infantry opportunities in Cambodia then or in the near future; I should finish my graduate work. It tore me up for years hearing about Cambodia in the news.
Getting older is not all what it is cracked up to be, and retirement leaves you often as lonely as those wandering possum. Finding something that benefits everybody and go do that, it makes life more worth while and leaves you tired so you sleep better! At least if you feel achy and sore from doing something worth while, it was justified showing some accomplishment! Trump leaves me in the dumper, and doing something as inconsequential as picking up beer cans frees me from his shadow!
Agree 100% Steve! I try to do something kind for a stranger every day, and do it anonymously. Too many so-called “philanthropists” just do it for the “cred”. Any act of kindness is an assault on the current regime.
Just to be clear, I have not hatred of Possums. In fact a few years back at my home in Bussey I have a water feature. One morning I went out and found this little fella shivering on a rock in the water, his mother must have dropped him off her back. Anyway I took him-her in and dried it off and fed it cat food, it acted like any other pet. We read about them and found out they don't make good pets so we took him to a sanctuary in Des Moines. I named him Milton as I was reading about Milton t the time.
There with you, in all of the above. Being angry 24/7 takes a toll on the psyche. My quip to the ubiquitous "how ya doing?" is generally "Not too bad for an old guy." It generally gets a smile, which is a lift for both of us 😄
My Girlfriend and I often comment about how at this time in our life(older) we have to protest and do so much work and worry about the whole Trump, MAGA debacle. We are so sick of it too how or what can we do with demented People? I'm feeling more positive these days because it seems a bit like the tide is turning and we can win the mid terms, but what about those folks? Will they finally give their mistaken ideas up? We had a possum a few years back that showed up at our door we named him Ted Cruz, because he had the same look and personality.
Take to the streets on Saturday. You will be surprised what surrounding yourself with thousands of sane people who oppose cruelty and corruption will do for your mental health.
Australian possums (unrelated except that they are also marsupial) are so much prettier, though they can make a bit of noise if they decide to live in your ceiling/
"I’ve told you before that most of the time when I see someone, and they ask, “How are you doing, I often reply, “If you see me, I’m doing great!”
Robert, I recently heard the English translation of a Norwegian expression used when asked how you are doing. I use it all the time now, because it's perfect.
The Norwegian phrase: "oppe og ikke gråter"
English translation: "I am upright, and not crying."
These days, that's about as goo as it gets!
; -)
That’s really good! I’ll incorporate it. My mom’s family came from Norway, and homesteaded in Ballard in Story County, so it’s even more fitting!
Good read as always Bob, but some info important for people to realize.
The possum (for what it's worth, maybe a lot): though possums eat mice I try to kill them. Rarely do they carry rabies but they can carry fleas, ticks, mites, lice that can be transmitted to dogs and cats. They like garbage where they can pickup infectious diseases. They can transmit Coccidiosis to dogs and cats and even livestock, They can carry Equine (horse) Protozoal Myeloencephalitis, can carry fleas with Bourne Typhus affecting cats and dogs, Can carry Leptospirosis, especially transmitted to dogs (vaccinate for it yearly), and possibly Spotted fever. Cats ignore them. Some people think they are so cute, but maybe not when they realize the possible problems and diseases associated with possums.
Myself, I think cult psychology is more applicable than character assessment. True, you could ask, "what kind of character would join a cult and stay in it no matter what?" but I think the answer is a lost, lonely, scared, needy, angry, frustrated "character" that is looking for immediate relief in a group with a leader who can immediately right all the wrongs that pain them.
Once they are in, challenging the promises and actions of the leader prevent going back to hopelessness. So they drift into denial, distortion, faith, and belief.
In every cult leaver story I've heard, leaving starts with discovering absolutely, undeniable lies. Something like they personally witnessed a neighbor whom they like dragged out of their house, see it posted on the internet, and the leader says ICE heroes apprehended a left wing lunatic who will no longer terrorize the neighborhood and the video is AI.
But that only starts the leaving process. To leave they need to believe that they will personally be worse off if they stay in the cult, for example college age males becoming eligible for the draft. Also, they are willing to face the backlash of being labelled a "traitor" by the cult. For those who are surrounded by violent, abusive, bullying people stay inside the cult for some measure safety from punishment by the cult.
Many MAGA members are in my opinion victims as perpetrators. Perhaps all criminals are, too.
Maybe Antifa and BLM can also fall into this category as well. Never know!
Here's how you know: a cult always has a single popular, recognized, authoritarian leader that all the cult members hear and obey or are shunned and removed. As far as I know Antifa and BLM don't have one.
True, true maybe. I didn't ever think of the draft as a cult. I went through it, did you? Don't know why u said 'college' age males. In reality it was any 'qualified' and eligible age males.
I didn't mean to say that the draft is a cult. What I was saying, in the context of what I called "the leaving process," that it took the threat of the draft to get some college age men, but not all of them, to leave the MAGA cult; others are still in the cult. My information on the men came from Harry Enten of CNN, quoted here: https://www.thedailybeast.com/cnn-data-guru-stunned-by-donald-trumps-crumbling-support-from-men-yikes-yikes-yikes/
"Trump beat Kamala Harris among men by 13 points last November...The damage is even worse among younger men. Trump carried those under 25 by five points in the election, but he is now at -19 with them."
I call "under 25" "college age." True, other men left the MAGA cult as well, but it was smaller numbers and possibly for other reasons than the draft, like housing costs and income, being married with kids in a worsening economy.
Since you asked, I registered for the draft when I turned 18 as an undergraduate, but my number did not come up. When I was 24 year old graduate student, I volunteered for infantry to go Cambodia when it became news that Pol Pot troops were carrying out mass executions. People of all ages were forced to dig trenches, mowed down, and buried in their trenches. The Army recruiter said if that was my only reason for volunteering, there were no infantry opportunities in Cambodia then or in the near future; I should finish my graduate work. It tore me up for years hearing about Cambodia in the news.
Edited to add:
If anyone doesn't think that MAGA is a cult, I recommend reading some of the testimonials here: https://leavingmaga.org/they-left-maga/
Some have YouTube video interviews like this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqrZ1F0aE2c&t=6s
I've never seen anything like this for a supposed "Antifa cult."
Getting older is not all what it is cracked up to be, and retirement leaves you often as lonely as those wandering possum. Finding something that benefits everybody and go do that, it makes life more worth while and leaves you tired so you sleep better! At least if you feel achy and sore from doing something worth while, it was justified showing some accomplishment! Trump leaves me in the dumper, and doing something as inconsequential as picking up beer cans frees me from his shadow!
Agree 100% Steve! I try to do something kind for a stranger every day, and do it anonymously. Too many so-called “philanthropists” just do it for the “cred”. Any act of kindness is an assault on the current regime.
You are a good man, Steve Hanken.
I have a picture of Milton, but don't know haw to upload it? he was really cute.
Just to be clear, I have not hatred of Possums. In fact a few years back at my home in Bussey I have a water feature. One morning I went out and found this little fella shivering on a rock in the water, his mother must have dropped him off her back. Anyway I took him-her in and dried it off and fed it cat food, it acted like any other pet. We read about them and found out they don't make good pets so we took him to a sanctuary in Des Moines. I named him Milton as I was reading about Milton t the time.
There with you, in all of the above. Being angry 24/7 takes a toll on the psyche. My quip to the ubiquitous "how ya doing?" is generally "Not too bad for an old guy." It generally gets a smile, which is a lift for both of us 😄
I love making other people laugh or smile…
me too, is in my obit.
Love your book Bob! Coming to DM on Saturday?
Yes, I’ll be there! I’ll look for you…
Your poem an paragraph are AWESOME! I am glad you were able to take advantage of the "possum-bilities".
LOL
😎
Amen! It is really disturbing to wish anyone dead....but...here we are! possums and poetry...perfect!
To be clear, I don’t wish anyone dead. Just the movement.
As you’ve said, better to be seen than viewed.
My Girlfriend and I often comment about how at this time in our life(older) we have to protest and do so much work and worry about the whole Trump, MAGA debacle. We are so sick of it too how or what can we do with demented People? I'm feeling more positive these days because it seems a bit like the tide is turning and we can win the mid terms, but what about those folks? Will they finally give their mistaken ideas up? We had a possum a few years back that showed up at our door we named him Ted Cruz, because he had the same look and personality.
I’ll keep a look out for Ted Cruz the possum!
😎
Fabulous poems. Always thankful for your writing!
Take to the streets on Saturday. You will be surprised what surrounding yourself with thousands of sane people who oppose cruelty and corruption will do for your mental health.