A Simile

Donald J. Trump is like a vain, gruff, foul-mouth chef who runs a fabulous five-star restaurant ... and I am willing to overlook his foibles for his food.


STAND UP FOR AMERICA!

The Basics

Although I was quite young, I think living today is becoming a lot like it was during World War II. And, by that, I mean that life then was just getting through the day without screwing anything up badly ... keeping body and soul together..

During those tough times we struggled to keep our houses warm in the winter without too much concern about all that coal smoke we produced. In the summer, air conditioning was accomplished with lots of ice and a fan. Movies were simpler yet more wistful. Racial tensions and gender politics were not top of mind. Life was just the basics ... food, clothing, shelter, religion.

Oh yes, we now have the internet to replace the morning paper ... and can watch Joe Scarborough froth at the mouth while we sip our coffee. But lots of diversions have now disappeared out of our lives ... at least for a while. No sports ... no going to the movies ... or out to dinner ... more complications in grocery shopping.

I have a feeling that, once this Wuhan virus thing has gone away, our lives will be completely different. We will be far less dependent on China for our manufacturing. Much more of our lives will be on-line. We will have a closer relation with Canada, Mexico, Great Britain ... maybe even Russia. We will have much more effective virus treatments. Unfortunately, many businesses will have disappeared. A lot of people will have new jobs. Carbon dioxide won’t be quite the bugaboo it recently was ... even if our climate actually changes a bit.

We, as a nation, might even start getting behind our president.

Eating

“You are what you eat,” — Anon.

Among work and sleep, eating is right up there in terms of taking up our time. And so, after many years living my life, eating and drinking; I have assembled a few quirky food rules ... not all of which I have always followed religiously ... but at least I know I should have. Here are a few of my simple dietary tenets:

- Listen to your body and eat what it whispers to you.  Eating things that you don’t like ...or what you have been told you should eat is a bad idea.

- Noshing because of your emotions is unhealthy ... particularly between meals.

- Vinegar is an underutilized and healthy condiment ... or even a drink.

- It is good to eat a wide variety of foods. Sticking to just a few favorites is a sure way to problems.

- Ethel alcohol is a poison, an enjoyable poison, but still a poison. Never have more than three drinks at a sitting.

- Butter, eggs, milk and salt are not nearly as bad as they are made out to be.

- I am a little silly superstitious ... I think earring calve’s liver somehow aids your liver. Eating tripe, helps your stomach. And so forth.

- If you are obese, you should eat less. If you are skinny, you should eat more. Simple! If you are in between, relax and enjoy.

- Activity levels can and should be used to adjust your food intake.

- Every once in a while one should go without a meal ... or two ... or even three.

- Never, never, never have a midnight snack.

- Your parents were wrong. You don’t have to eat everything on your plate or drink everything in your glass,. Always leave something there for the gods.

- Surprise recommendation: Cold buttermilk is a very refreshing thirst quencher on a hot summer day

- And as Julia Chili’s used to say, “Everything in moderation.”

Death Trains

One has to ask oneself how is it that thousands of children can hop on top of freight trains out of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador and then travel at least a thousands miles across Mexico to get to the southern border of the United States ... then to be welcomed by the Obama administration ... so that they can be used as pawns in the illegal-immigrant amnesty battle (Dream Act) in Congress ... see: Breitbart Story? And I have many other questions:

- What has been the impetus for this mass immigration ... has the United States government instigated, in any way, this dangerous trek? If so, exactly how?

- How many children have died or been injured on these Death Trains?

- Is this the price in human suffering that Obama is willing to pay to get his legislative way?

- Mexico has long been known as being very tough on people crossing its own southern border ... what has now changed this rigorous enforcement stance?

- Can't Mexico see all these children riding on top of these freight trains ... and now choose to look the other way?

- If so, why? And has the U.S. played a part in this change of this Mexican enforcement attitude?

- How do those children survive this arduous journey? Who gives them food, clothing, shelter, money and health care?

- Why are the media and those from Congress being excluded from interviewing these children ... what is there to hide?

- Exactly what are the statistics associated with this mass immigration? Exactly how many? Where are their parents? What is this all costing U.S taxpayers? Are any of these children being sent back? Exactly where are they being settled?

- Are there any real health epidemic threats arising out of all this mass unscreened immigration?

I fully expect that these questions will be answered sometime in the next few centuries ...