The So-Called Debate

 Well, that shit-show couldn't have gone worse.  A weak sounding, scared looking geezer trying to parry the confident, bullshit slinging Trumpster.  I was so disheartened that I shut it off after 20 minutes  of schoolyard name-calling and went to re-organize my sock drawer.

At 11pm, I tuned-in to The Daily Show for the most reliable analysis.  John Stewart did a pretty good job of characterizing the event.  Biden had one thing to do --convince the doubters that he had the mental capacity and stamina for another term.  He failed.

 

I still believe that most reasonable people will vote for an addled, muted Biden over the rambling, incoherent, lying Trump.  But  I fear that Trump did not lose a single supporter where mumbling Joe may have sent a few million votes towards Kennedy. 

I wish they had sent Kamala instead.  She is a good debater.  I can just hear her, walking out there and saying "Joe's got the flu.  As #2 I am here to take-on this orange motherfucker, so let's get started." 

 It's Tuesday, or as I call it "Book Club Day."   Book Club as you may remember is the weekly gathering of a select group at an Irish pub (Dunn's) located in Newton Upper Falls.  Tuesday afternoon around 4pm is a slow time at the pub, so we get there just as it opens and claim our usual stools. We don't actually talk about a specific book (as is the practice in ladies' book clubs), but we all read books, and if someone is reading a particularly interesting book, they might recommend it to the group.  No, the real reason is to engage in sociable quaffing and solving the world's problems. 

For example, we discuss the guilt or innocence of the accused in high profile trials, or offer an opinion about issues of the day, or even remark on the outcomes of sporting events.  There is never a loss for words.  Oh, and I almost forgot the popular topic:  Health challenges.  We are all over 50 and most of us are closer to 80.  Several of us are currently being/or have been treated for Cancer.  One is a Doctor (Cardiologist). One has COPD and Heart issues.  Everyone has some bodily malfunction to share.  Those of us in the geezer section think of health as a game of whack-a-mole.  If you get one problem fixed, two more will pop-up to take its place.  

The bar staff looks at us with apparent affection.  Perhaps we remind them of an elderly family member or friend.  They know our drinks and stories.  The ambience is much like what you might recall from the old TV program "Cheers" -- where everyone knows your name.  

Afterword: Someone has asked why we call it "Book Club,"  when we do not actually discuss an assigned book.  This, my friends, is  a genius  example of  "Reframing."     Before Book Club , on Tuesday afternoons,  you would meekly say to the wife,  "I'm off to the pub to have a few beers with the guys."  She, of course, would scowl at you.   

But now you say "I'm off to Book Club."   She says "Have a good time."  or even "Hey, aren't you late for Book Club?"    Reframing!

 Well, another Monday.  When I was a corporate employee, I never liked Mondays much.  Usually, they would start=out with a dry mouth and headache from too many beers on Sunday.  Rarely did I look on a new week as a chance to excel, or acheive any long-sought accomplishment.  No, it was a return to hum-drum, tedium and some asshole in the corner office wanting to know why my projects were behind schedule.  As I think I have mentioned before, I was born (82 years ago this week) without a sense of urgency.  (I was reportedly 3 weeks behind the expected due-date, weighing almost 11 pounds at birth.  My mother never let me forget that fact,either, especially when I was being a pain in the ass.  She would make me sit in a chair and listen to how painful it was to pass a large object through a small opening. This was my penance for my many crimes of smartassery and excessive boyishness.)

But I digress:  You would think that being born without a sense of urgency would be a handicap in life, but that is not the case.  Many others, who have a well-developed sense of urgency, are perfectly willing to share their senses of urgency with you.   It doesn't matter that you can't understand why a report needs to be submitted on this Friday instead of, say, Wednesday next week.  The boss wants it on Friday. So...when you come in on Monday --  not having finished the Status Report from last week

He (or she) is all over your ass before you even get a chance to pop down to the company cafeteria for a coffee and jelly donut.   But I shall not belabor the bad associations that I have with Mondays.  For more details you will have to wait until my autobiography is published.  Given my low sense of urgency, you should not hold your breath waiting for it to come out.