It's a Fine Time to Giddy Up Thing

Dear America,

karma takes way too long.  

i'd rather just smack you right now.

today, as I sit drowning in headlines -- from Trump's tweet war with New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand to "Judgment Day" leading the Drudge Report...awaiting the results of Alabama's Senate campaign between Roy Moore and Doug Jones -- this girl has chosen to retreat to an email from my papa.  It's a string of stories, each one merely a few sentences long; the subject -- empathy.

And to the twelfth story I go:

"Today, I was traveling in Kenya and met a refugee from Zimbabwe.  He said he hadn't eaten anything in over 3 days and looked extremely skinny and unhealthy.  Then my friend offered him the rest of the sandwich he was eating.  The first thing the man said was, 'we can share it'."

and I know, it was probably entirely made up -- all of it -- as in right from the start, from the first vignette to the last -- for the web is full of it.

Does it matter?

Nope; for the message and the messenger are swaddled together in the deep and dreamy state of being in relationship with one another.  For this world, this world was made for humanity to live and breathe and connect and to love one another as ourselves.

Safe to say, though, that that kind of innocence is long gone; we've trashed our basic need to touch and to love and to show our affection for one another, probably about the same time Leave It to Beaver left the air.

Life, itself, is no longer sacred -- beginning with rampant abortion being used as birth control and ending with every homicide, genocide,  and terrorist attack.  Even as I say "no longer," I have to laugh; asking, under my breath, has it ever?

Now look at us.

Showing a little empathy for our fellow man is the least we could do, right?

How many of the world's problems could be resolved overnight, if only we would take a moment to walk in each other's shoes just a little bit more often?

Or, perhaps, if paid more attention into how we treat others -- being more concerned with what we contribute to the whole, than upon what we receive.

I look at the options in the Alabama race and cringe; how can this even be possible?  Is this the best Alabama can be, with respect to filling an open seat at the United States Senate?

And Kirsten -- how does it feel with your political views on sexual harassment so tangled; have you even noticed that you've tied quite the little knot?

I love how a former Clinton Adviser, Philippe Reines, puts it ---- and it's plucked from a fabulous  post by Aidan McLaughlin at Democratic Underground: 

"Ken Starr spent $70 million on a consensual blowjob. Senate voted to keep POTUS WJC. But not enough for you @SenGillibrand? Over 20 yrs you took the Clintons’ endorsements, money, and seat. Hypocrite.Interesting strategy for 2020 primaries. Best of luck."

Kirsten:  Bill Clinton's problem was that he LIED about the affair with that girl in the blue dress and a cigar...as in "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Monica Lewinsky..."

But the act, itself -- oh that was consensual!!!! At least get the facts right.
Being adults -- there is no sexual harassment when two people canoodle with no regard to what happens next.


(now look at me, being pulled right back in........so much for my retreat...teehee)

Kirsten's announcement that Clinton should have resigned, way back when, is no more than foreplay to the main play -- that which has led to a twitter battle with President Trump today, calling upon him to resign.   When running for U.S. Senate in the great state of New York, did you go to Trump for donations, Kirsten?

ah huh, lookie here --   according to NBC15...."The political money website OpenSecrets.org says President Donald Trump and his daughter, Ivanka Trump, have donated nearly $8,000 to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's congressional campaigns since 2007. The group says the figures are based on individual contributions data from the Federal Election Commission...."  Shall we continue?

You accepted money from Trump -- the guy who has been essentially running for office since the late eighties and who finally got there in 2016.  And isn't it funny how it wasn't until the near end of the campaign for president in 2016, when suddenly these accusers popped up out of nowhere.

......ONLY to go back under the rock from which they came following the election of Donald Trump; that is until now. 

So the calculated risk by the Trump tweet insinuating that you, Kirsten, would "do anything" for a campaign donation is essentially just that; and it is precisely this game of politics and politicians and business that happens day in and day out, all the year long.  And you know it is, Kirsten.  And not to get kinky, or anything, but in a word it's called "grease." It can get a wee bit messy; and if I were a betting girl -- which I'm not -- betting this president insinuated what he insinuated just to make it as messy and ugly as he possibly could because that is just how he rolls. (And it just so happens to be not one of his finer points; there is that.)

The irony is -- this grease -- marks the reason Trump slipped into the presidency this time around with such ease; the people were fed up with the D.C. swamp, and finally willing to put an outsider and businessman into office to roto-rooter and drain the be-G-zuss out of it.  end of story.

This morning i feel like everybody is dirty.
Everybody has something to get out of something or someone; everybody is a player in one way or another -- while the moral pendulum swings wide and wild and free.

And the likes of one decent human being --- much like the heart of the refugee from Zimbabwe in the imaginary story at the top of the morning -- is nowhere to be seen or found.   I mean, why would CNN take the time to find that story, right?

Thing is, none of us can retreat, not even for a moment.

We have to watch how the game is played at every turn.  And all the while, taking the time to imagine being above ourselves, looking down upon the world, and watching our own participation...

How do we add or subtract to the whole?  Are we genuinely kind and thoughtful, or are we that way because we want something?  Do we give from the goodness of our own heart, or is it the expectation of what we will get in return?  Are we being honest with ourselves, with our neighbors and co-workers, large and small?  Are we living with integrity and treating others with respect -- sans manipulation, sans bribery, sans hypocrisy, sans regrets.  We could ask these kinds of questions all the day is long, and not ever get to the end.

This girl may be looking down at the perfectly manicured fingertips tapping away at the keys, but rest assured I know my imperfections run deep.  But to wake up in the morning with the intent to be a better human than I was the day before -- what's not to love about that?  And just imagine it -- to multiply these good intentions times however many more; imagine all seven billion people on the planet doing it -- oh my goodness --- that carries the potential to make me just plain giddy.

It's a fine time to giddy up, indeed.

Make it a Good Day, G

It's Society's Sins to Sun Tzu Thing

Dear America,

"Right is right 

even when nobody is doing it; 

wrong is wrong 

even when everybody's doing it."

Quote captured from an old episode of No Reservations.

Bourdain didn't say it, of course; 

it was said during a guest interview of

a rancher, somewhere in Montana

...sorry I can't give you a name.

you know, a number of years ago, while attending a wine fest at Liberty Station in Point Loma, my girlfriend and I met the owners of a few of the Massage Envy's around town -- a husband and wife team...

although he rubbed me the wrong way (badump ba), she, on the other hand, was a stand up kinda gal.  (I know, that was a two-fer-one.)

But this news of 180 sexual assault allegations -- what the buzz?

so one of these women, if maybe all, kinda allowed the rub to wander inappropriately and didn't just get up and run out, right on the spot?  Seriously?

I'm trying to imagine that -- for if it were me, from the very second hands would grope anything....from my little itty bitty buttocks to my little itty bitty tata's, I would be screaming bloody hell and running to the front desk!  I mean, even engaging in reading the entire BuzzFeed piece --as graphic as it is --  is difficult.

And guessing it is no wonder, for duly noted in the post --  the Massage Envy manual claims, "Only 4% of upset customers will tell you when there is a problem."

Um, I don't believe that this is a problem resolved by a free massage or getting your money back, just sayin'.

But for this news to be surfacing at the tail end of such a glorious Thanksgiving weekend....

and when commingled with the news of a couple more high profile guys  (Conyers and Branson), now allegedly guilty of sexual harassment and the like....

and when added to the last few months and a trail of catching tail a mile long -- beginning with Harvey Weinstein --  it feels as if no man stands clear of charges. 

It also feels like a whole lot of women have been way too silent while sitting on a ticking time bomb, and for what?  Why be silent?  As a girl, I do not understand that kind of fear to speak up....after being sexually assaulted!  Suddenly feeling a pang in my upper shoulders and a tightening at the nape of the neck.

I do not understand how one can continue to lay there on a massage table and not high tail it outta of there, while dialing 911, and promptly having the dude arrested on the spot.  In this day and age of social media news going viral -- where's the post?  Where's the alert to the media?  Where's the telling all Facebook friends, all Instagram followers, the latest news?  Thing is, how is it now fall of 2017 while the beginning of Massage Envy's demise -- courtesy of James Deiter, and others  -- began in the fall of 2014?

If the Richard Branson incident, in question, occurred in 2010 -- just how does Antonia Jenae not say a thing until now?

Thing is -- and it's a pretty big thing -- how does an entire hand go up where it doesn't belong received without incident, as in without the return of a swift kick to the groin?  That's just nuts.  Suddenly experiencing a Charley Horse piercing my entire left side, all the way down from my sciatic nerve to the big toe.

Which all leads me to the new book I'm reading for kicks and giggles:  The Art of War by SunTzu, translated by Lionel Giles.  Thinking it wise to take it slow, perhaps with a heating pad on the lower back; for this guy packs so much with so few words.   word.

But just maybe my inner feminist is telling me that women are in a new age of fighting back or playing the victim....it appears out of nowhere like a fine line; -- and just to be clear, this gal doesn't align with feminism in the way true feminists behave and have their origins, okay.  I simply believe strong women -- the kind resembling female strength and conviction and drive -- have existed since the beginning of time.  True feminists, real women,  just DO; there is no need for political agenda, no need for special treatment, no need for exclusivity that runs lock step with Leftists, no need for lambasting half the women in the country just because they lean conservative...but look how quickly we digress.

So, in the first two pages, Sun Tzu says: 

 "18. All warfare is based on deception."

and adding:

 "19. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near."

and adding just one more:

"20. Hold out baits to entice the enemy.  

Feign disorder, and crush him."

And in this light, may boys and girls begin to recognize that being in relationship with one another -- especially in business -- is sometimes complicated, to say the least; but sad is the day we become enemies -- or worse --  that women begin to use our skill sets of deception and manipulation, using our feminine ways to alter realities in an effort to make our way in a man's world, and turn around to use it as leverage or blackmail; and in equal portion -- for the masculine world to taunt and take whatever they want, whenever they want, unable to keep their hands to themselves or coexist with any semblance of mutual respect and honor with the opposite sex.  Having said that: consent should look and act like clear consent; and the same goes for the other way around.

But we are not enemies, boys and girls; we are on the same side of society as a whole.  The yin and the yang, the forces of masculine and feminine, are dependent upon each other for many things (especially that of reproduction xox).  This relationship between the sexes demands that we respect it, protect it, nurture it, and honor it.... in order to ensure a healthy longevity; and perhaps most important, we must teach it to our children, with each new generation.

To steal a line from a really good movie, He's Just Not That Into You:  "If a guy treats you like he genuinely doesn't give a crap, he genuinely doesn't give a crap."  And likewise, if a girl dresses like a tart, she will be treated like a tart....and so on and so on.  Respect and responsibility go hand in hand.

We all have a responsibility to make it work; and taking the high road in all situations, in all interactions, seems to be the crying, bellowing nature of the day...and without question, calling out to each and every one of us to pay attention.  Nobody is immune, it could happen in a nano-second, so be prepared!  Be completely loaded up and ready to stand on the side of conviction and moral courage.  And then get up the next day prepared to do it all over again.

This is really a war as old as time; good and evil does not get along peacefully, okay?  It never has and it never will.  We must be prepared to fight, but please, fight fair for every inch of mutual respect; we must live with integrity, respective of the golden rules, dating back to the golden child, from one golden sunrise to the next.

Much like the Art of War, some advice is just timeless, priceless, and unmatched -- no matter how old it is, no matter what new age we may be experiencing as a country -- as a boy or a girl in an ever-changing world.

I just love how certain Sun Tzu is..."14. By means of these seven considerations I can forecast victory or defeat.   15.  The general that hearkens to my counsel and acts upon it, will conquer: -- let such a one be retained in command! The general that hearkens not to my counsel nor acts upon it, will suffer defeat:  -- let such a one be dismissed!"

That is powerful stuff. (And to think, it's only chapter one!  yippee skippy)

I'm puzzled and conflicted and upset and all tied up in knots over the scope of our sexual dysfunction in society;  but as sure as Sun Tzu says in certain (say that ten times fast), this problem is not only revealing deep-seated societal woes and liabilities, it is giving us a warning shot across the bow. It points the way towards a certain truth -- that for a society to remain solid and good depends upon the attention and retention of all that is good and mighty and disciplined and morally right, otherwise we fall.  And it can be swift. 

Oh, this girl didn't want to start back up with this little itty bitty diary on such a sordid note.  It kinda breaks my heart.  But here we are anyway, in a day that wraps warm blankets and soft music around a sordid tale and somehow, or other, wanders right into the opening strategies of Sun Tzu.  Go hourglass figure under the sheets :).

Hope you all had a beautiful time with family and friends over the holiday -- so grateful to be surrounded with men who treat women with nothing but respect and honor and love. And just as an afterthought, may the last thing you do today is be online x teehee x   wait it out for just one more day and rest in the spirit of thanksgiving for just a wee bit longer, you will thank me. 

See you real soon.

Make it a Good Day, G