A Lesson Still Being Learned

I made a mistake today. Kind of a big one. And it's not the first time I've made this mistake. And I'm not the only person who has made this mistake before. Sadly, we are all guilty of this mistake. What's so aggravating is that I keep making this mistake. We all do.

The mistake is thinking that my problems are unique to me. Only me. No one else has my problems. I'm the exception. You can't possibly know what my problems are like.

While it's true that we can never know fully what another person is going through in life. "Walk a mile in my shoes," is often the mantra. None of us can know fully what another person's problems are. However, many problems are shared by many. Difficulty in paying bills, job troubles, marriage or relationship troubles, loneliness, health issues. The list goes on.

Previously, I discussed the issue of age discrimination. My question has been and is, "When did we become invisible? When did we become irrelevant?" I let my frustration upset me to the point of tears. For two days. My husband and son were ready to race me to the hospital for depression. Today, I woke up a bit better, but the situation hasn't changed.

At work today, I mentioned age discrimination with a co-worker, an African-American woman close to my age and, certainly, much wiser than me. She simply looked at me and told me that black men face discrimination and much worse on a daily basis. Being a white woman, she gently reminded me, I don't understand that the black community has been dealing with discrimination far longer. As she was speaking to me, I found myself resenting her statement. But this is age discrimination, not racial discrimination, I thought to myself. Why wouldn't she just let me vent? I can't pay my bills. Retirement dreams have long vanished. I'm not talking about skin color. I'm talking about feeling invisible.

Then, it hit me like a ton of bricks. Discrimination, on any basis, is discrimination. Feelings of hopelessness, being useless, tired of pounding your head against a wall - all of that plays into any kind of discrimination. "You can't be here because you're different." It doesn't matter if the difference is age, gender, skin color, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, or disability.

In an era of greater access to information, why is discrimination still so prevalent? Why is "different" still perceived as a threat?

Clearly, I have a lot to learn. But, then, don't we all.

This Election

I won't lie.

I'm completely and totally numb.

Graveyards must be rumbling with deceased presidents spinning in their graves. John Adams must be screaming now. Thank God my parents aren't alive to see this.

I've always considered myself smack in the center of political philosophies. I'm conservative on some issues and liberal on others.

Now what do we do? Our 45th President is an orange-faced orangutan. I hate to believe that my neighbors voted based on fear. Both parties were guilty of playing the End-of-the-World card, but why did we fall for it?

Well, the damage has been done. Stock markets are crashing. My pitiful retirement fund that Macy's started to build for me is gone. Again. The Republican Party has retained control of the Senate and the House and will continue to play games with our lives. Welcome to the new world order, folks.

However, does this have to be our future? I've written here before about working together to solve our own problems. Sadly, some of my audience took that to be a "woe is me" session rather than an opportunity to put ideas together and think of solutions.

WE are the people. Trump and Pence do not represent me. Nor do they want to represent me.

Please, God, Bless our country.

We Just Watched History Last Night

Ordinarily, I only watch the World Series if my beloved Cardinals are playing. So, yes, I was disappointed that the Cardinals didn't make it to the series. At the same time, though, I thought I was hearing things when I found out the Cubs made it to the series. Wait a minute, are you kidding me? The Cubs? Come on. And even if they got that far, they will flounder. They usually do. Nah.

Life around here kept me too busy to really keep up with the series until last night. Then, I remembered that it was the last game. We turned on the game long about the end of the 6th inning. Cubs leading 6 to 3. You're kidding me! We were glued to the TV at this point. Big Jack was rooting for the Indians while my son and I were rooting for the Cubs. A divided house, but that's nothing new.



As I watched, it looked like the Cubs were starting to falter a bit. Of course, they were a case of nerves. Haven't been this far in over 100 years. Can they do it? Eighth inning - Indians batted home three runs and tied the game. Can you say apoplexy? Ninth inning - game still tied and then a rain delay. It felt as if God was torturing all of us. Tenth inning and Cubs score a run. Oh. My. Word. If they can just hold off the Indians. Three outs later and the Cubs are, we can say it now, World Series Champions.

A streak of lightning flashed outside my window right as the third out happened.

Jack flew out of his chair, I started screaming, and Big Jack pulled his Mizzou ball cap over his head and pretended to weep.

What a game.

Let's see just how different the world is from the last Cubs championship. We had just begun the 20th Century. The automobile, bicycles, electricity, indoor plumbing, and telephones were new and gaining popularity. Women would finally get to vote; civil rights would begin the process of leveling the social field for all, Two world wars and The Great Depression weren't even a thought. Vaccines would come to save millions of lives. Radio and television would become the new medium of communication and entertainment.

In the last 108 years, man has walked on the moon, explored deep space, and discovered things that were only thought about in science fiction stories. We have computers in our offices, homes, and even in our watches and cell phones. We voted in our first black President, and next week will determine if we have our first woman President.

My dear Cubbies, you have earned this championship and deserve all the glow that goes with it. The Cleveland Indians put up a good fight, but it just wasn't their time. That's okay. There's always next year.

Congratulations to all of you. Enjoy the cheers from Cardinals fans, because next spring, we'll deny all of it.