Dubya Dubya Three

It was difficult to sleep last night. And, for a change, it wasn’t because I was concerned for my mom or my kids. The President of the United States in his continued attempt to prove that he has the least guile of any human being on this planet or any other, said the three words that put him totally over the top in stupidity.... World War Three. I guess it’s not enough that he has questioned anyone’s patriotism when they disagree with his sordid positions, nor is it enough to try to frighten us with changing the color of the threat level. No, he has decided that anyone who does not support his position on the War will have to face the consequences and become responsible for World War Three.

What is he thinking? OK he’s not thinking. But what would make him take the leap from Iran possibly having nuclear weapons sometime in the future to WW3. He’s nuts. I think he should be seeing an obsessive compulsive therapist instead of giving press conferences. And in part, the Democrats are responsible for this behavior because they have fed the beast. Some 74% of the American public don’t want to be engaged in Iraq and yet the Congress has voted to support the President in whatever he wants to do. What are any of these people thinking? Oops, there I go again, they are clearly not thinking. Is it any wonder that the President has a 24% approval and the Congress an 11% approval rating. I am just sick about all of this. We need dramatic change in the country and I am no longer convinced it exists.

On a lighter note... I just saw one of those 100 foot limo’s run off the street and hit a little baby tree on the sidewalk of NY -- there are many but this was one tree and sidewalk. People gathered around to see what happened and best as I can figure, he either hated the tree or lost control of the vehicle. I can never understand why cars that large are allowed to roam the city but luckily no one was hurt, unless you count the tree.

On a hungrier note, David and I stopped at Cow Town on our last trip to the City. We have a kind of tradition about what we do in Cow Town. First we find a parking space, which is no easy task. The we go to Danny’s Cheesesteak which is run by Andy. It’s kind of like Don’s sandwich shop being run by Pat but the food is different. This time David couldn’t resist trying the Pennsylvania Dutch hot dog wrapped in dough. So he bought one and consumed it before we had Andy make us steaks and sausage sandwiches. Then we walked to the fresh roasted peanut guy, but we didn’t buy anything because we have so many fresh roasted peanuts in all our homes that we could sell the leftovers on the sidewalk and make a fortune. On Saturdays we walk to the far end of the flea market and visit with the Korean sock lady. But it was Tuesday and she never comes on Tuesday, so we visited with the rib guy (Rocky, who smokes in a 1948 oil tank smoker) who didn’t have any ribs. When we leave Cow Town we pass a farm stand that always has Jersey tomatoes. I asked one of the staff if it wasn’t late for fresh Jersey tomatoes and he said that Ralph—who grows the tomatoes has them until late October. He doesn’t know how Ralph manages that but he assured me that they were great—which they were not. So Ralph is a liar. But they do have other fresh fruits and vegetables and who cares, since it is right next to the Olympic DairyBar where they are weirdh [“ANY CHANGES IN YOUR ORDER WILL COST $1.00] but make fabulous malts. By the time we leave we are so nauseated that it is almost impossible to drive but that’s part of the fun.

On a nicer note. I visited with my Aunt Peppy yesterday. She my mother’s twin. Both Mom and Aunt Pep have had a difficult year. There have been so many ups and downs and insides and outsides, but she is doing well and looking forward to her move to Massachusetts. Mom is also doing well in her new digs in Washington. I was talking to my friend Sidney today, who also has ‘Mother’ issues, and she said that she read an article about the lack of sensitivity toward the elderly, both in the hospital and nursing care. Of course we all know this but the Wall Street Journal is on the case. There is an enormous lack of respect and consideration for their minds and their bodies. Nursing facilities are all about the convenience and schedule of the Staff. So, even though older people (including many of us) need to get uninterrupted sleep, the staff wakes them at all hours for medication or even just getting a weight reading. The things they don’t have time to do during the day, they do in the middle of the night. In addition, when a patient has surgery or some procedure that requires anesthesia, they are over medicated and lose brain cells as well as the capacity for being mobile. It either takes a very long time or sometimes they cannot recover—from part of the cure. I guess this really isn’t on a nicer note but at least the media is becoming more aware of these issues and maybe someone will actually pay attention before there is a WW3 and no one will be around to care. We’re just sayin...Iris