Is it just me, or has this year gone by so fast you’re having a hard time keeping up? I thought last year was bad, what with the enforced hibernation we all seemed to endure, but this year is just zipping by. I have learned several things so far this year. One of which I talked about in my last post, which was definitely too long ago. That is to not get a Shingles and Tetanus shot in the same arm at the same time, because you’ll end up on the bathroom floor. Or perhaps that’s just me.
Another thing I’ve learned is if your blood pressure has spiked and you’re dizzy, NEVER tell a doctor at the urgent care clinic that you also have minor chest pain. Yep, they’ll immediately put you in an ambulance and transfer you to a hospital. I must be losing it because I really didn’t see that one coming. Luckily, they only kept me overnight and ran a bunch of heart tests before paroling me.
My heart is fine. But I also learned something else. If you try to do a treadmill test with a “slipper sock” from the hospital instead of shoes, at least one sock will come off and roll down the treadmill onto the floor behind you. It’s extremely hard to pass a treadmill test when you’re laughing. Just sayin’. I also learned that if you must be inpatient somewhere, opt for SAMMC if you’re eligible. Great hospital. I’m almost sorry I wasn’t there longer. Almost.
Another discovery I’ve made is that no matter how many toys a kitten has, it’s not enough. Charlie has a basket full of toys, most of which end up scattered throughout the house. The other day, he came into the TV room carrying a small stuffed lion. Hmmm It didn’t look familiar until I noticed the tag hanging off it. FYI, if you lecture a kitten about his toys not having tags but mommy’s toys do, he won’t pay much attention. He’ll be spending too much time staring at the toy, trying to figure out how to get it back. Good luck on that one, because I took it off the piano, along with its companion lamb and hid them. Charlie stopped talking to me for two days.
Another thing I’ve discovered is that I’m racist. I actually never knew that. As you know, I try to stay away from anything political in the blog posts, but I can’t let this one pass. In case you haven’t done any extensive studying on the subject, do some research on Critical Race Theory. I’d heard so much about CRT that I did my own research. Come to find out, I’m not only racist, but I married one. Male, heterosexual, Christian, white men are the biggest offenders and are all racists. Who knew?
I’ll freely admit I’m white. White, white. In other words, if I spend 5 minutes in the sun, I’ll be red. I spent most of my childhood with sunburn blisters. What I didn’t know was the color of my skin automatically dictates I’m a racist oppressor. That’ll probably come as a big shock to our adopted Black daughter. We’ve managed to cover up our racist tendencies surprisingly good, I guess.
Okay, I suppose I can live with the fact I’m automatically a racist oppressor simply because I’m white because I know that’s not true, but I draw the line at my grandkids and great-grandkids growing up knowing they’re a “victim” simply because they’re Black. I don’t want those beautiful children thinking they can’t be whatever they want simply because of the color of their skin. If that were true, President Obama would never have been elected.
If you read the Bible, you’ll notice one thing. What color was Adam? Or Eve? Or Jonah? Or Abraham? Or for that fact, Jesus? The Bible doesn’t preface every person’s name with their skin color. Why not? Because it doesn’t matter to God, and it shouldn’t matter to us. We’re not defined by the color of our skin any more than we’re defined by the shape of our nose or the color of our eyes. With all the weirdness going on in the U.S. and throughout the world, this is the most dangerous. If you have children or grandchildren, or even if you don’t, now is the time to speak out against it. Nobody should grow up believing anything other than they can be whatever they want if they work hard toward that goal.
This has been a year (so far) of learning stuff. Ed and I have been watching old Law & Order, Law & Order Criminal Intent, Columbo, Perry Mason, and Criminal Minds reruns. Perhaps it’s because we’re old, but we’ve decided the old shows really are so much better than the new shows. And they’re sometimes unintentionally funny.
I was watching an old Columbo show and there was a car phone. I didn’t realize they had them that long ago, and they were huge. When you’re watching something like Perry Mason you tend to wonder why they just don’t use a cell phone to call someone. Then you remember why. As much as I hate cell phones, they do come in handy if you’re being chased by a bad guy.
So today is the Fourth of July, and I saw a suggestion that we shouldn’t celebrate our country’s founding because we’re a terrible country. Nope. I ain’t buying it. Do we have problems? Yes. Do we have history we’d rather forget? Yes. But instead of looking where we were, let’s start looking at how far we’ve come. Instead of badmouthing America, let’s celebrate America.
One of my favorite sayings is, “Christians aren’t perfect, they’re forgiven.” It’s not what we’ve done in the past that counts, it’s what we’ve learned from our mistakes and what we do with that knowledge in the future and forgive ourselves and our country. And, quite frankly, I firmly believe that “One nation, under God” is really the only viable path forward. So let’s celebrate the Fourth with fireworks, hamburgers, hugging the ones we love, and praying for the souls of America and the world. We could all use a little prayer right now, don’t you think? Prayer and potato salad. Happy Fourth of July! And God Bless America!