Needed Distraction
Today, we are granted a welcome distraction from election results in the form of chimney contractors reportedly planning to show up around 9:00 a.m. The crown of our chimney, which is currently more flat than crowned, is cracking to the degree that I have ordered it to be replaced.
This is an image taken by a drone, which, in addition to the cracking concrete, reveals the ceramic extension on the left is disintegrating. If the date on the side of the chimney by the floor inside the house is accurate, this masonry is 34 years old.
I’m almost twice that old, and I’ve only recently started to crack. I guess I find ways to shelter myself from extended exposure to extremes of hot and cold temperatures and prolonged abuse by ultraviolet radiation.
As long as they are climbing around up there, I’m having the entire height of stones and masonry freshly sealed against the elements in hopes of giving it another 34 years free from trouble.
Doing expensive maintenance projects in my mid-60s frequently brings me to the conclusion that I shouldn’t need to worry about it again in my lifetime. Our shingles are reaching the end of their life, so managing a re-roof will be another thing I can do for the last time in my life.
I need this distraction to keep me from perseverating on my chances of ever getting to vote for a woman for President again in my lifetime. Will I live long enough to see the Electoral College abolished? Will perception and reality ever become identical?
Never mind all that. I’m busy making sure contractors have everything they need to make quick work of this chimney job and get out of here without leaving a trace behind except for the smooth and shiny completion of their work.
Then, I’m going to hang out with our dog and the horses because they don’t know anything about an election or what difference the outcome will make. What kind of bliss that must be.
.
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Relative Something 
As a lesbian couple living in Vermont, my wife and I have had our fair share of challenges, but the current state of American society is disheartening on an entirely new level. Watching people rally behind Trump—someone who, in our eyes, is both a joke, and a failure—is disturbing. It’s one thing to feel that someone isn’t fit for leadership, but another to see an entire society willfully ignore facts, blinded by a figure who seems to pursue the presidency, not out of service, but out of ego, retribution, and personal gain. This speaks volumes about the troubling state of critical thinking today.
For us, his tenure has only increased hostility. The relentless attacks on the LGBTQ+ community have escalated into waves of hate directed at my wife and me, despite my two-decade career as a Paramedic and Firefighter. I served in those roles with a spotless record—facing physical and mental challenges that few can imagine—only to find myself later on the receiving end of online vitriol, simply for who I am, and whom I love.
The real kicker is that both my wife and I rank in the 99th percentile for IQ. Yet, intelligence in this era almost feels like a handicap; it’s a strange curse to see so clearly the societal shift toward embracing ignorance, while simultaneously forsaking reasoning and compassion. We’re witnessing a generation robbed of critical thinking skills, where intellectualism is feared, and it’s deeply unsettling. In my life, I’ve survived child abuse, lifelong discrimination for being a lesbian, and periods of food insecurity as well as homelessness, yet nothing has rattled me as much as watching society tilt this way.
I’m old and wise enough to see the signs of impending fascism, yet still young enough to see the potential unraveling of modern society unfold—and the prospect terrifies me more than anything I encountered in my entire life.
Thomas Slatin 🏳️🌈
November 6, 2024 at 1:36 pm
Thanks for sharing this, Thomas. I take great pleasure in reading your sane, intelligent, cogent dialog. Critical thinking as art. I never imagined in our lifetimes, we would experience such a shift away from enlightenment.
johnwhays
November 6, 2024 at 2:42 pm
To strip away critical thinking is to orchestrate the quiet slaughter of the unsuspecting, and the divine craft alike, rendering the adversary invisible, for it advances to a rhythm all its own.
Thomas Slatin 🏳️🌈
November 6, 2024 at 3:15 pm
I really thought our country was smarter than that. It’s so embarrassing to know we are a laughing stock to other countries. And it’s scary for so many to be under his presidency.
HungryHikerHodgePodge
November 6, 2024 at 8:23 am
Indeed. Embarrassing and scary. Cyndie and I are pulling away from all news sources to focus instead on positive thoughts to feed our spirits. Listening to the words of John Trudell this morning.
johnwhays
November 6, 2024 at 9:29 am