Two-oh-Too-oh

Another day in ‘Just Another Life’ and it is sunny.

Psychedelic Porn Crumpets were my earworm for the year. It just has a walk able beat and some strange signature changes. But this is a new year and I’ll have to find a new one.

Smoking with your chicken seem to get some laughs about the countries restricted age to purchase cigarettes until Preach did the research and found the truth. Guess when you have one working arm you can’t conduct the congregation.

Impeachment hearings filled the end of the year. Hours and hours of our leaders telling the same stories over and over again shows us what we pay them for. The best part it will flow into this year as well.

Speaking of which this year will be election time and the airwaves will be filled with smiling faces saying ‘Vote For Me’ but there are no coupons.

Black confederate statue made it to the Avenue of Monuments (well close enough on the favorite son tennis player boulevard). Not sure which unit he fought with?

Violence (for whatever reason) seems to be blossoming all over the world. While we can’t export pigs or soybeans, we have no problem sending bombs and planes to anyone.

Drinking seems to have become the most popular sport in town since the baseball team is going nowhere. Old warehouses are becoming breweries with craft beers of every size, shape and alcohol content. Pubs with rows of taps pop up on every corner. If you run into a light pole you can tell the police, “I wasn’t on the cell phone. I was drunk!”

Evictions seem to also be on the rise. Sort of like reprocessing your car when you can make the payments, but they can’t take your house, so they kick you out. Dump all your stuff on the front yard, but who wants to move into a house with someone else’s stuff on the lawn? How are you going to cut the grass?

Lawnmower came but hasn’t been assembled. The yard is pretty much ‘no maintenance’ but after the weed whacker cuts down the 4’ tall flowers, the rubble needs to be mulched. Easy solution once I get to it.

Tummy Temple had a few changes this year. They handed out these remote control scanners to speed up your time on the floor. They even have a call ahead and someone else will pick up your grocery selection and deliver it to your car. That is if you have a car. The little wire carts supposedly have a brake lock on them so you can’t take them away, but I see them all over the place. As one of the blue aprons said, “You see how that worked out.” As always there is a smiling face from the cute venue girl. Still everyday it is stepping into a weird movie set for an hour and some walking exercise.

Opioids (a compound resembling opium in addictive properties or physiological effects) and Suicides (the act of intentionally causing one’s own death) seem to be popular. At least they make the headlines. Both ease the pain.

Whistleblower became a title other than for a referee or a traffic cop. whoever it is must be a super hero because they have a secret identity.

Security or privacy seems to be all the rage for anxiety and stress. Ordering on your phone (that has your location, contacts, history and probably financial information) in an unknown Wi-Fi network to get the latest deal delivered to your porch only to find it missing when you get home. Maybe get some cameras to film the pirate so you can post it on You Tube? Be sure to note your address.

50^th anniversaries were popular last year. The end of the 60’s of the last century was viral but the Internet had not become popular yet. Hope the disco era’s memories do not follow.

Feisty teen girl from Sweden said what everyone else is too scared to say. It is the generation that will feel the effects of what the Boomers have enjoyed without thought of the future. What will happen when she starts driving and hanging out with boys?

Hinnies are everywhere. Everyone has one. Now all the ladies wear skin clinging yoga tights so it is obvious who is making two trips to the ice cream aisle at the Tummy Temple. Look but don’t touch.

Guns are everywhere too. Seems every day there is a shooting or two in town. Without guns it would just be a fistfight with a handshake and a black eye and missing tooth instead of yellow police tape. Some seem the need to carry guns like the ole West and some need to hide them. Guns have one purpose and the government says we can have them.

40^th anniversary of living in this abode came around last year. The house/home is still capable of holding all of my ‘stuff’ securely and is the place to sleep. The gentrification in this neighborhood means I could not afford to live here, but here I am. Aging in place.

VPM news and VPM music split to add to the constant changes. Still the best offer for unbiased news and classical music, it will remain my only reference to the world.

Death has always been a constant and avoided until your friends show up in the obituaries. As the sands of time run out there are fewer folks on the contact list.

Hot is hot. Global warming? Climate change? Call it what you will but for the folks looking at the thermometer, it was hot. Without the energy sucking air-conditioning, one must adapt.

Demonstrations were hot last year too. Pay inequity, equal rights, religious freedom, gender recognition, autonomy, Popeye chicken sandwiches, classroom size; there were lots of causes to take to the streets, make a lot of noise, give some speeches, sing some songs and break some windows. It is a tough way to get a bath from a water cannon.

Delivery was the most popular to add to the carbon cycle. Trucks driving up and down the streets, parking with the motor running to place a box on your doorstep, then drive off again. Our immediate gratification isn’t the only delivery. There is our trash delivery, our groceries delivery, our pizza delivery, our moving furniture delivery, our lawn maintenance delivery, our EMS delivery, our road repair delivery and ultimately our hearse delivery.

Single mothers have become a familiar title in our vocabulary. Feminist raising the banner of #MeToo and equal pay are burdened with the term ‘mother’.

Trust seems to be fading. Whether people are become more skeptical or fearful, deep-seated biases are separating us.

Anna Meredith was another musician caught at the Tiny Desk. Full of energy and some interesting musical twist the best part was…. they stopped on a dime.

Wedding dress was a good term for hoarding. With the trend for tiny houses, all your t-shirts will not fit in your closet. What if you’ve been married several times?

Plastic straws were but a symbol of all the trash floating around in our streams, rivers, lakes and oceans. Animals don’t drink through straws.

Taxes come but once a year. Actually they follow us with every purchase without notice. As they increase our politicians tell us to follow the new forms and happy days are here again. Unfortunately the taxes are not paying off our deficit and when the payment is due?

Childhood is but a memory now but others are just starting. Was it the best time or just a time without concerns? Life was wide open and the only reason you didn’t jump off that rock was a restraining order from a knowledgeable adult. You only get it back before you die.

Books seemed to be flourishing on talk-radio but no one was reading. Instead of a published work printed to give an opinion or a point-of-view (like journalism) readers were turning away from flipping pages to scrolling screens where anyone and everyone could publish. This is but an example.

IRA (Not the Irish Republican Army) but that pocket in the bank where you can keep your cash that the government won’t tax. That is until you are old. Place all your coins and bills and place them under the mattress.

10^th Anniversary of not working seems to be a reminder last year that retirement is OK. Still there are dreams of problem solving but that must be what dreams are for. The idea of waking every morning to dress up and spend hours with strangers to produce a product only to make enough to survive has now become a foreign contemplation of history.

Gender bending and redefining was all the rage last year. Everyone wanted to be someone else.

Dancing is becoming a lost art. Maybe it is the music? Maybe it is the movements are not passed down? Maybe we don’t want to get near enough to each other?

Ben Folds seems to like this burg. He comes here regularly and has wonderful performances. Got to get a backstage pass and reminded me why I don’t do this.

Families are the rage on social media. Look at all those cutie selfies and snap shots on vacation. Even the doggies get a chance for screen time. These post may have taken over the drunken bar shots. Maybe that is where families come from?

Batteries power our lives. Without them, nothing works. With them, there is a warning that they are running ou..

Black face was a thing last year. Seems lots of these public officials dressed up as Michael Jackson or some mammy num. Laws have been written but culture has not changed.

In God we trust is on your money and in your congress. Has it worked yet? Check paragraph #26 above.

Friends & trolls has become our appearance to one another. This has been happening for years, but now there is a recorded history.

Hospitality should be appreciated with more than a tip. Going to any establishment that serves is a treat. With some respect, admiration and acknowledgement for people who work hard to present you with food, clothing, cleaning, etc. only takes a moment.

Debates & rallies will be all the rage this year if you didn’t get enough last year. Like picking your fantasy team, the players keep shifting from caucus to primaries to delegates who head count at a convention to choose the prime time face for an opponent.  

Government shut down and the lights never went out. The Tummy Temple was full and the traffic moved fairly normally. People got shot. Other people got incarcerated. People bought goods and services (no matter the price) and life went on. Money was in the bank. Bills arrived as frequently as Amazon deliveries. The sun came up and went down without a pause.

Fast food president was the best remembrance of last year. Forgot what the winning team was that went to the White House and were greeted by a table of fast food. Makes one understand why so many winning teams decline the invitation. 

Another year goes by and another year waits. Take a deep breath and see what happens.