Falsifying

Yesterday: The former President of the United States (I thank God every day that he is indeed the FORMER President and pray to God that he will never, ever be returned to that office) was convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records in a court of law in New York State. Falsifying business records is a felony. The former President of the United States is a convicted felon.

Arthur came in from the high tunnel late afternoon with the news that the jury had come to a decision. We sat down on the couch in the living room to await the news, flipping between CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News when PBS was not providing special coverage. We settled on MSNBC and it was stunning to watch as each of the 34 counts was read, to see the expressions on the carefully-curated personalities on the screen. We looked at each other "Thank God. Now what?" 

And now the analysis, the endless speculation about how this will affect the coming presidential election with this man - a felon convicted of falsifying business records to keep his tryst with a porn star (when his third wife Melania was recovering from childbirth) out of the public eye just before the 2016 election - will likely be the nominee of the Republican party.

I wrote the following many months ago and it's been sitting in the drafts folder and every time another story drops about how horrifyingly immoral and depraved this man - Donald Trump - truly is at his core, I pull it up again but then back it goes in the drafts folder.

But today, pondering again, I'm clicking on publish.

Our former president is the man who was recorded as he uttered these words when meeting a young woman for publicity and as we have been forced to observe, he is always first in line for publicity. "I better use some Tic Tacs just in case I start kissing her. You know, I'm automatically attracted to beautiful - I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet. Just kiss. I don't even wait. And when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab 'em by the pussy. You can do anything."

This is the man who was elected as President of the United States in 2016 and continues to hold so many in his grips - perhaps by the pussy. 

A long time ago,  just entering the working world, I went to work for a small company that published weekly magazines distributed free of charge at supermarkets and newsstands. My boss was a woman and she ran the small organization although I knew there was a man behind the scenes who occasionally checked in at the office though he lived a hundred miles away. The first year there was a company picnic at a small amusement park and he was there with his wife and a couple of kids. A nice guy, and so was his wife. But then there was the time I happened to visit the office after hours only to discover this nice guy and my boss tangled up on the sofa. Family man, successful businessman but ...

Flash forward to the time I was sitting in another office in a business setting, waiting for a meeting to begin, having to listen to two men bantering about some other man - a business acquaintance - and whether or not he had ever had sex. It wasn't long after that when I shared that uncomfortable experience with female work colleague and she remarked that those men were not of the caliber we expected in our workplace - or any workplace.

I have often thought about her observation in the years since. What exactly defines the caliber of person fit to be the leader of a business or organization or church or our country? 

Am I idealistic in thinking that the leader of our country, at his or her core – the soul that we all confront in the wakeful moments in the night - is a person who is motivated and driven and guided by the greater good, by compassion, by love?

In his own words, Donald Trump has told us, time and time again, who he is and still folks - even our other elected legislators - put that aside and instead focus on some kind of manufactured personality - almost Christlike if you believe the hype - carefully curated, polished and propped up to divide and conquer - yes, conquer, this big country of ours.

And, if the majority of voters decide to make him President of the United States, then what?

   

A Small Serendipity

"Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, savor you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may, for it will not always be so." -- Mary Jean Irion

That was the writing prompt for my online writing group yesterday. "Go for 12 minutes," said the moderator. I was stopped by the name of the person to whom the quote was attributed. And then I wrote this ...

Mary Jean Irion – Gracious, soft spoken, beautiful, well-coiffed hair, bearing that calm demeanor I so admire and aspire to. Our paths crossed at Alumni Hall at Chautauqua Institution. Institution is a hard, harsh word for this place, this Chautauqua – going by CHQ these days as a nod to the youngsters. A magical place for me, this little arts community I've visited so many times I cannot count, often dreaming of immersing myself full time there instead of just a week or a day in summertime. "That rare and perfect tomorrow."

Perhaps Mary Jean Irion wrote those words from the porch of "Fernwood," her cottage, one of the so-called historic cottages, in other hands these days.

Mary Jean welcomed writers to Chautauqua each year with Writer's Day, launched on a Sunday when admission to the gated grounds is free. My little writing group planned a day there – two carloads of us making our way through the foggy morning along the interstate that borders that long lake.

Somehow we all missed the weather forecast - those days before the Weather Channel or cell phone weather apps and it was cold with a stiff breeze coming off the lake.

We shivered through the morning offerings and at lunch, Mary Jean reappeared, her arms loaded with all matter of sweaters, sweatshirts and afghans to make our way more comfortable.