New In Wonderland

SatchelPooch recently wrote a post about bullying. She quoted another author who said something to the effect that all adults should look out for all children, sort of in the spirit of “it takes a village to raise a child.” I believe with all my heart that is true. Unfortunately, it often does not work out that way. I wrote the following paragraphs some time ago but never posted it because it seemed too personal. I wasn't writing about playground bullying so much as the sort of meanness on the part of adults that doesn't quite rise to the level of all out bullying but crosses the line from teasing to cruelty. As a “smart fat kid,” I experienced a lot of that cruelty from various quarters, from kids in my school as well as adults in my family. I described it like this:

Being teased and made fun of by other children was hard to take, but children are mean for lots of reasons. They teased me because I was fat. They teased other kids for having big noses or too many freckles and a hundred other reasons. Somehow, as bad as the treatment was from other kids, it never bothered me that much. If they hadn't teased me about being fat, they would have teased me about something else.

The remarks that cut the deepest were the ones from adults. I somehow understood even at a very early age that kids were just kids and they often didn't know any better. Grownups, on the other hand, were supposed to have some sense and should have known that making remarks about people's weight would be hurtful. Adults were often more cruel than other children. As I sit here today, I can feel the hard kernel of resentment I still carry for certain people in my family and neighborhood. I have it buried deeply and I try not to ever let it show. I rarely allow it to come to the surface and I would rather keep it buried. I avoid the people who were the worst offenders, most of whom felt free to continue to make comments about how fat I had once been even after I lost weight.

I believe adults should look after children (all children). I believe adults should be held to a higher standard of kindness and compassion than children. My experience is that too often the cruelty of adults allows children to think it is okay to tease, taunt and bully others. That kind of meanness is never, ever okay, but it is common practice for many children and adults alike.

Our culture fails to provide sanctions to inhibit bullying behavior on the part of children and adults, leading to a proliferation of the behavior. Our culture also fails to teach people to cope with bullying and cruelty, leading to ..... Columbine, Virginia Tech, NIU and other similar acts of retaliation.

I would be hard pressed to say which failure I think is worse.

Since I have nothing else to blame it on, I attribute it totally to the lunar eclipse: this week has been totally bizarre already.

Things at work are almost always strange when there is a full moon. (Anybody who does not believe in the lunar lunacy should sit at my desk once a month.) This week has been positively unbelievable. I was brought almost to tears today, and it's only Tuesday (right?). Most of the time I don't cry until at least Wednesday afternoon, usually Thursday. If it's this bad on Tuesday, I shudder to think .... "oh, well, I won't think about that now... I'll think about it tomorrow"...

On top of that, let's see, there was a widespread blackout in most of the state of Florida today due to a nuclear power plant going off line. There's a comforting thought. Going "off line" as in what happens when my wireless router needs to be reset or going off line as in Chernobyl? Film at eleven.

Unfortunately, the building where I work never lost power, so I didn't benefit from the chaos the way I might have. I suppose it is also a good thing that it happened in February (it is February, right?) and not July. Imagine a blackout in Miami in July! Let's not.

Then there were the storms today. The northern parts of the country have been beleaguered by snow, ice, sleet and all the wonderful stuff that caused me to move to Florida. Not to be outdone in the violent weather department, we had Armageddon-like conditions for a while here today. I didn't leave work soon enough and got stuck there for the first one. It was a gorgeous storm, although I was so freaked out by all the crap I was dealing with at work, I couldn't really enjoy it.

DH called to say there was a break in the storms coming in about fifteen minutes. At the appointed time, I made a run for it. All the way home I watched the sky-to-ground lightning flashing all around me (I absolutely LOVE lightning). I also watched the purple-black thunderheads moving in faster than I liked. I love storms when I am at home in the safety of my own little bunker-house where I feel safe; I do not like getting caught out on the roads in thunderstorms. I literally raced the storm home. I won, but it was very, very close.

After only a few minutes the storm was over.

That was way too much excitement for one day!

Having just pissed away most of my prime writing time of the week (6 - 10 a.m. Saturday) reading Slacktivist (to which I am newly addicted) and other blogs, I have to add this. I read it in the paper the other day and it left me scratching my head. Since I spent most of my week scratching my head (having already ripped out my hair) over the unbelievable, unspeakable and insufferable IDIOCY of much of what I had to deal with, the article barely caused a blip in my blood pressure. This morning upon further reflection, I'm back to being stupefied by our political "leaders". (Cough. Choke.)

Florida has apparently finally agreed to allow the word "evolution" to be used in public schools. That might sound like incremental and unbelievably late progress to people who do not have personal experience with the Florida public schools. What the article doesn't say, but what will very likely happen in classrooms all over the state is that, while uttering the evil word (no doubt in a whisper), teachers will hold out crossed fingers to ward off hexes. After mentioning "that word" they will add a fifteen minute dissertation offering "alternate theories" like the one from the Scientific Book of Genesis.

I would love it if they would throw in other similarly poetic and interesting alternative versions, such as Alien Space Invaders and, my personal favorite, the aboriginal myths about humans crawling out from holes in sacred places of Mother Earth (dontcha just love THAT erotic poetry), but that ain't gonna happen.

In any case, here's the link to an article on the subject.

2.26.2008 - SatchelPooch points out that Fark.com has a special section just for Florida. Oh, my. Thanks, SP, for the link to yet another new blog that will allow me to waste time I could better spend writing or doing something useful like cleaning the bathroom. I got in trouble over the weekend for disturbing a NASCAR race with my chortling and hooting over the open thread at slacktivist. Anyway, thanks for the tip.

I have a hard time thinking objectively about Senator Clinton. I really want to like her, but I just don't. I agree with most of her positions on the issues. She is obviously smart, witty and interesting; I would love to have coffee with her both in order to learn from her and to dig a little deeper to try to understand what it is about her that grates on me.

Also, I would love to know why in the world she even wants to be president. Lord knows she had a front row seat for eight years and must have a good understanding of how much that job sucks. She has been one of the most reviled women in America for years, having been accused of everything from political corruption and adultery (with men and women) to murder and treason. That kind of thing will only get worse as the campaign progresses. That kind of thing could diminish her effectiveness as president. It is hard to see the president as a strong leader or to give them a lot of credibility when they are the subject of such cruel derision by huge segments of the population. Unfortunately, Senator Clinton had a wife's-eye-view of how that works a few years back.

Moreover, as I said in an earlier post, I think she's doing a great job in the Senate (or at least she was when she wasn't off campaigning all the time). She's a policy wonk, which is a good thing in the Senate. I think she's a very good Senator and our country desperately needs good legislators. That is a very important job, one that merits sticking around for the long haul. I think she should stay put.

Mrs. Clinton can amaze me with her intellect and bedazzle me with her memory of facts and figures. She can rattle off ideas and programs, costs and benefits. What she can't do is the one thing I think is the key quality we need in a president: inspire me to change my behavior. I can't explain exactly why she is so uninspiring (maybe its that “policy wonk” thing she's got going on), but it is the main reason I can't commit to voting for her.

I voted for her husband twice, without much enthusiasm either time. If the election were tomorrow, I would probably vote for her, but I would do it reluctantly.

When President Clinton was running the first time I wrote in my journal that the problem I had with the Clintons (and I have always seen them as a Team) was that they believe there are political solutions to social problems. I disagree. Social problems require behavioral changes at the level of the individual person. Laws can be enacted to help guarantee rights while society catches up, but social change comes from the grassroots. A Leader of the kind we need must be able to inspire people to change their behavior and their personal world views, whether or not the statutes on the subject change at all. Senator Clinton doesn't have that kind of charisma or persuasive power.

That doesn't mean she's a bad person or without skill. It means she has talent in other areas. It also means I have qualms about her suitability for the presidency, at least the way I see the role.

All of which is probably a soon-to-be-moot point. The rats, it appears, are abandoning the Clinton ship. Obama's momentum is building.

I guess I can go back to ignoring the race until after the Conventions.

Mine is only one vote, but it counts.

(I wish I could be more certain that it really matters.)

I didn't listen to or watch the debate last night. I can't stand to listen to political speeches; I would rather read the text the next day. I can read a political speech that takes 20 minutes to deliver in less than half the time, and I am not influenced by the person's delivery (which is unimportant to me). I also can't tolerate all the posturing and sniping at one another that happens in political debates.

I did watch some of the TV coverage after the debate. That will probably be the last time I do that! The coverage did not focus on the candidates' stands on the issues. It focused on the minutiae of “points scored” and how their “delivery” was perceived by the viewers. One channel even had viewer reaction that must have been measured by something like a polygraph. It went up and down with the inflection of the candidates' voices. The commentators barely mentioned their stands on issues. The coverage focused on their delivery and “points” scored (or not) by displays of one-upmanship. I was gratified to learn that, for once, the viewing audience was not receptive to put-downs.

I came away understanding that the viewers were not happy with the candidates' going negative on one another. I did not come away with any understanding of exactly what either candidate said on the issues or what the viewers thought about those respective positions.

Debates can be healthy, educational exchanges of information and viewpoints. I love debating politics with people whose opinions differ from mine. In the current environment, the debates are more like American Idol where scoring is based totally on appearances and popularity (popularity itself being based on some unknown basis).

I guess it has been that way as long as the debates have been televised. [Think of the Kennedy-Nixon debates where Nixon's sweaty face and 5-o'clock shadow made him look “shifty”. .........Hmmm!] I don't care. I don't like the thought that we elect our presidents based on their looks, their speech patterns, or their ability to toss off one-liners.

My personal preference would be for the person with his or her finger on the nuclear button to be someone even-tempered and rational. Careful. Meticulous. Boring even. Dull as hell! Someone who thinks things through and does not make hasty or emotional decisions.

However, I also want the person to be able to make tough decisions based upon that he/she believes is the right thing to do, regardless of the popularity of the decision.

Perhaps I am wrong in my belief about what matters most. After all, we now have a president who makes decisions based on what he thinks is the “right” thing to do (based on God's own voice telling him what to do) and who doesn't give a rat's ass for the will of the people, at least not any people other than the oily rich people who manipulated him into the Office in the first place.

Surely there has to be a better way to elect our leaders!!

Mine is only one vote, but it counts. (Perhaps... I live in Flor-i-duh.)

Can you believe it?? Cuba without Fidel Castro at the helm. I was alive when he rose to power, but too young to remember it.

I do remember the Cuban Missile Crisis. I was very young, but I remember how afraid the adults were. I remember being very afraid myself. We lived in Southwest Ohio, not terribly far from Wright Patterson Air Force Base which was, at the time, the headquarters of the Strategic Air Command. The conventional wisdom around our area was that we were close enough to probably all die of radiation poisoning but too far away to be killed in the initial blast. Talk about growing up under a Cloud ... a huge imaginary Mushroom Cloud. And Castro was always part of the equation.

It had been years since I had even thought much of Castro. Occasionally he would show up on TV, but after the fall of the Soviet Union, he seemed to be a sort of dinosaur. I was surprised to learn, when I moved to Florida, that is not the prevailing opinion in South Florida. The Cuban-Americans in South Florida still take Cuban leadership seriously.

I imagine there will be massive celebrations in South Florida.

For years I've thought I would like to go to Cuba soon after Castro dies, before Donald Trump can get in there and build highrise hotels and turn it into South Beach South. Maybe I should start planning that vacation.

I have to admit it: I have not paid very much attention to Senator Obama's candidacy. At the outset, I assumed his candidacy was not really viable because of his inexperience. Listening (appalled!) around the water-cooler, I learned that otherwise normal people oppose him not because of his opinions or his inexperience, but because of his race and religious heritage. (Can you believe that shit in 2008!!!??? I know. I know. But, I would love to think we have evolved past that kind of bigotry.) I can't believe some of the things I have heard people say about him. I'm guessing that is only the beginning.

While I make no bones about battling my own racial, religious and ethnic prejudices on many fronts, I have to say, I would be perfectly willing to vote for a qualified person regardless of his (or her) racial or religious background. I have thought a lot about it, and I would love to support a mixed race person for the presidency. Given the current xenophobic religious environment in America, a person with mixed or “alternative” religious roots would be even better.

I'd love it if this man could be the one. I'm just not sure. I have heard he is a good speaker and very charismatic. That is important for a president. All by itself, I don't think it's enough. My problem with Senator Obama in particular is his inexperience. He is a first term Senator. Come on!!! His only previous political experience was running a community political action organization in Chicago. Granted, running any kind of political organization in Chicago is good experience for the rough and tumble of politics, but I think the man needs a lot more time and seasoning before being considered for the presidency.

I may agree with him on a lot of issues, but I don't think he can hack it – yet. I think at some point in the future, he might be “The One”. I don't think this year is his year.

I rather hope I am wrong about that. I don't know if I could vote for him this year. Fortunately, I can't rule it out.

Mine is only one vote, but it counts. (Perhaps... I live in Florida. Voting here is something of a crapshoot.)

It is pretty clear Senator McCain will be the Republican candidate. Two years ago McCain was my preferred candidate. I thought he was the guy who could unify our country. I though his unquestionable credentials as a patriotic American, his moderately conservative views and his willingness to work with people across the aisle were just what this country needed. I still believe that is what our country needs. I am not as convinced as I once was that (a) McCain is the guy who can do it or (b) it is what the majority of people in our country wants.

During the primaries, I think McCain ventured out of the "moderate" range and tried to garner support from the arch-conservatives in his party. On the one hand, that makes me nervous because that is one scary bunch of folks. On the other, it probably hasn't helped him much because the far right of the Republican party, especially the hard-core Evangelical element, still hates him. They (rightly) think he is too independent-minded and too likely to work with "others". They don't want a real political leader. They want a modern-day Savonarola to undertake an American-style Inquisition and rid our nation of the un-Saved.

If McCain moves too much in line with the ultra-conservative Republican “base” he may end up losing the “other base” that could hand him the presidency: the Independents; the Moderates; the people who believe in traditional American (but not necessarily Evangelical Christian) values of “inalienable rights” and “equality under the law” and “One Nation: of the people, by the people, and [BY GOD WE MEAN IT] for the people.” I believe with all my heart that the Center is there for the taking if either party could bring itself to reign in its lunatic fringe. If McCain could manage to get the Republican nomination despite sticking to moderate and centrist positions, calling on America to work together to repair our damaged country regardless of our personal differences, I think he would almost certainly be elected. I'd more than likely vote for him if he were to do that.

If McCain gets the nomination and the Republican party faithful gets out and supports him, I think he could beat either Senator Clinton or Senator Obama because Independents and conservative Democrats (both of whom are basically politically homeless these days) would probably support him too. Unfortunately, the Right-wing wackos in his own party may torpedo his candidacy if he ventures too far to the Center.

Personally, I would prefer not to vote for a Republican. I would very much prefer not to vote for anyone who supports the war in Iraq. I would prefer to vote for a candidate who supports mandatory universal health care, real honest-to-god tax reform (as in a flat tax, not tax cuts), balancing the budget ... Hell, any combination of a couple of these things would probably suffice for me. All of that weighs against me voting for McCain.

However, there's a part of me that would love to have our country elect a VietNam veteran to the presidency. There's a part of me that would like to grit my teeth over all my other differences with Senator McCain and vote for him to show my support for him and for all the other VietNam veterans who have been so poorly treated by our nation for decades.

I would really, really love to do that. But, I think we need to put the past behind us and look toward the future. I am not sure Senator McCain is the one who can lead us there. My heart would love to be able to come up with a way to justify supporting Senator McCain. My head is just not on board.

Mine is only one vote, but it counts. (Perhaps... I live in Florida. We don't do elections well here.)

As much as I hate to do it, I feel that I should start considering the presidential candidates. The field has narrowed. It looks very much like the McCain will be the Republican candidate. There appears to be some rumblings from the Christianists* [*These people are frequently referred to in the blogs as “christofascists”. I like that term, too, but I started referring to them as Christianists a while back to call attention to the fact that they are as out-of-step with reality as the Muslim extremists the press refers to as Islamists.] about mounting an independent campaign with Huckabee as their candidate. That is such a stupid idea I can't believe anybody would give it more than a passing thought, but with those folks anything is possible. They may think they could pull off a miracle or something.

On the Democratic side, my guess is that, if the party leadership and Super-delegates end up having ultimate say in the matter, the candidate will be Senator Clinton. That's a big IF because the grass-roots people “out there in America” appear to like Senator Obama. I have to give both of them credit for a lot of courage to even contemplate running. I shudder to think about the tone of the campaign against either of them. I think the only woman in America the Right Wing Wackos hate more than Senator Clinton is Jane Fonda! I don't know how the woman gets out of bed in the mornings! She's got guts; I'll give her that.

Thus far, I think those same Wackos who hate Senator Clinton so much have largely ignored Senator Obama because they don't take his candidacy seriously. They can't imagine America giving serious consideration to the candidacy of a mixed race person with African roots and the middle name “Hussein”. If the Democrats nominate Senator Obama, the surprise and shock among the Lunatic Fringe will very likely turn into the nastiest campaign we have seen in years. An Obama candidacy would unite all of the right-wing(nut) groups: the racists, the religionists, the fascists. I could weep for the treatment he and his family will be facing in coming months.

It would make political sense for the Dems to end up with a Clinton-Obama or Obama-Clinton ticket. That ticket could potentially beat McCain, but it also would stir the Crazies up into a total frenzy. The coming campaign, and the Presidency that might follow it, will resemble nothing more than some kind of combination of mud-wrestling and hard core roller-derby.

My heart aches for our country.

DH did not surprise me with a Valentine's present of wine-in-a-box, which is what I rather expected ... and really would have preferred.

He bought me candy. Hershey's kisses.

That sounds lovely doesn't it? And, it was. Sort of. It would have been more lovely if DH had remembered to get the Dark Chocolate kind because after all these years of me raving about how much I love dark chocolate (the 60 - 70% cacao is my favorite), you would think he would have thought of that.

The fact is, DH loves milk chocolate, which probably was the motivating factor behind the gift.

Last night as we got ready to leave for the truck races at the Speedway (such a romantic night on the town dontcha know), he noticed I had not opened the candy. He suggested I might want to have a piece of candy to go. I opened the box and ate a couple of pieces. DH must have filled his pockets because every time I looked at him during the entire time we were at the Speedway, he was eating candy.

The really puzzling part was what he said to me when he handed me the box of candy (which was I think the first time in nearly 25 years he has given me candy). He said, "I don't usually give you candy but since you have lost so much weight, I felt I could do it this year."

I know in my heart that what he was trying to say was, "Honey, you look great and I am proud of how much weight you have lost. I know that you have the kind of will-power to accept this gift without getting tripped up in any way."

I know in my head that is what he was trying to say and I didn't yell at him because I know his heart was in the right place.

However, what my heart heard was, "You used to have such a fat ass I never could have imagined giving you candy, but now I can give you this stuff which I'll help you to eat so you don't gorge on it." Or words to that effect.

He didn't understand why I seemed to be in a bad mood last night. I did not tell him why I was upset. His feelings are a lot more fragile than mine. He would be very upset if he knew how hurt I was.

They say that the Inuit have many words for the concept of snow. I would love to know how many words the indiginous people of Central Florida had for the concept of "green". I'll bet it was a lot.

Perhaps because it was about this time of the year when we moved here and I found it so amazingly beautiful, I am always struck by the glory of late winter in Florida. The multiplicity of shades of green amazes me. Today was a model Saturday in February: cloudless azur sky with just a slight breeze from the north to keep it from being too hot. The aerial TV pictures from the Speedway were beautiful. The reality on the ground was 1000 times better.

This morning I went for a two hour walk at the beach, which resembled the beaches in the Carribbean, with that clear blue-green water that allows you to see not only the bottom but amazing marine life also. Walking the beach is my most favorite pass-time of all. Days like today are this beachwalker's ultimate fantasy.

Later, because I just could not stand the idea of staying inside on such a beautiful afternoon, I went for a second walk around my neighborhood. That was when I noticed the multiple shades of green, most of which I have no words to describe. Every plant seems to have its own particular shade of leaf or needle. The incredible light filtering through the branches of the trees added layers of shadow and light that gave the shades of green additional nuances. It was the kind of experience that makes me wish I could paint because only some Medieval Master could have come close to doing justice to today.

Not being a painter, I was reduced to simply marvelling.

Talk about what a difference perspective makes! Today is Valentine's Day. 18-year-old Daughter Dear (DD) and Boyfriend (BF) exchanged very elaborate and very expensive presents. BF took her out to a very expensive restaurant for dinner. [Humorous aside: I have received several text messages from her this evening telling me about all the celebrities at the restaurant.]

I usually make a nice Valentine's dinner for Dear Husband (DH), but it turns out this week Valentine's Day fell on his night out with the boys. That means that I am spending Valentine's Day home alone with the Dogs. I did go so far as to buy DH a card at Target the other day. I left it on the kitchen table this morning when I left for work.

DH called me at work this afternoon and told me that he bought me something (probably wine in a box). He said he'd give it to me when he gets home. I told him not to wake me if I'm already in bed.

Talk about your romantic Valentine's Day conversations!

Sigh.

What a difference between young love and love that's rapidly closing in on a quarter of a century!

But, do you want to know a secret??

I'll take our boring old-farts comfortable kind of love any day of the week ... and twice on Sunday!! There is something wonderful about knowing that a person who knows me at my best, at my worst -- and at every place in between -- is still willing to tolerate me. .... And vice versa, I might add.

Celebrating Valentine's Day as some kind of special holiday and excuse for excessive displays of affection is for newbies and amateurs. Loving one another day in and day out, year in and year out, decade in and decade out -- whether you happen to like it or not at any given moment -- is where the rubber of a relationship really hits the road. I think that is a much better gift than wine or fancy dinners or chocolates*.

*Well, maybe not better than dark chocolate!

I read in the paper today that the leading cohort of Baby Boomers received their first Social Security checks this month. That is amazing all by itself. I honestly never thought we would live this long.

What I found even more amazing was that the first Florida Boomer to collect Social Security signed up for the benefits online and elected direct deposit. Think about that!!

When we were born computers, if they existed at all, were gigantic machines hidden away in frigid rooms in the bowels of large corporate headquarters. It was certainly inconceivable that ordinary individuals would ever use computers, much less hold them in your pocket or purse.

The internet was not even dreamed of.

We Boomers have traveled through life sort of like a pig through a python. We sort of clog up the works a little, but things move aside simply because of our size.

We have done everything differently. Our parents were born during the Depression and grew up too quickly in WWII. They spent their entire lives trying to do the right thing.

We have spent most of our lives trying to "be different." That has been difficult because it was inevitable that, with so many of us trying to be different all at the same time, there was a lot of duplication. I swear that every time in my life I have ever thought I had a great idea, it was the lead story in Time magazine the next week, touted as "the next big thing."

We have "done" school, work, marriage and parenting differently. It is no surprise that we will "do" aging differently, too. They say that 60 is the new 40. We Boomers are at least behaving as though that were true.

It will be interesting to see how we "do" old age. I don't think that we have had much of a positive impact on our world up until now. I hope we use the last decades of our lives to give something back to the world that has made our lives so easy (at least those of us in America).

I think the reason I felt called to start this new blog was because for approximately the third time in my life I seem to be changing my sort of "default perspective."

I grew up in a family where history was important. Very, very important. From the time I first became aware of the world beyond my immediate family (junior high, maybe?) until my early thirties, my main perspective was historical. When faced with new situations, my basic questions were: "Where did this come from?" "How did we get here?" "What were the people, events and circumstances that gave rise to this situation?"

In my thirties, I discovered theology. I had always gone to church, but had never learned to "do" theology. From my thirties until approximately age 50 my primary questions were: "Where is God in this situation?" "What is God doing here?" "Where is the Grace in this event/person/place?" The God in question was the Christian God. For all those years my lens was almost exclusively the lens of Christian theology.

In recent years, that lens proved itself unsatisfactory. My God turned out to be way too small. My lens was too narrow. I felt as though I was trying to look at the Grand Canyon through a pinhole. My world view was not working for me any more. I started reading history again for the first time in years, along with psychology and some philosophy. I found myself caring less and less about what the Christian church or even the Christian God was up to in any given situation. I found myself pulling back and looking at a bigger picture. I started asking: "What is Good/Beautiful/True about this situation or person or circumstance?"

It is amazing how things look completely different from a different perspective.

I can't wait to find out what new things I can see next.

Where to begin?

Super Tuesday was last week. People in Florida showed up at the polls. We are such good citizens down here! But, wait! The primary in Florida was the week before last. We are a little confused. We don't do elections well in Florida. It is hard for us. I don't know why. It just is.

This week we have a lot more important things to think about in Daytona Beach than boring old elections and whatnot. It is the week of the BIG RACE. Never mind that the future leadership of the Free World [does that expression have any meaning anymore??] hangs in the balnce. Never mind that the American economy is going down the tubes. Never mind that the War in Iraq is devolving into god-knows-what.....

Folks, it is February in Daytona Beach ... which means that what really matters is that Junior won the Shootout, Kurt and Tony are feuding, and The Big Race is Sunday ... and anything can happen in The Twins. Therefore, please forgive us if we get a bit side-tracked from the other stuff going on in the world. We have "more important" stuff on our minds.

I decided some time ago that I was not going to pay attention to the presidential campaign until the Conventions this summer. As an Independent, I was ineligible to vote in the closed primary in Florida, so I felt that I had no dog in the fight until the candidates are selected over the summer. That doesn't mean I didn't have an opinion.

My opinion is that I don't like the choices, period.

A year ago, I was for McCain.... a surprising and baffling experience for me, a liberal wacko. Nevertheless, for me a year ago, McCain seemed like "The Guy". Maybe he still is in many ways, but I just can't get past my puzzlement over a VietNam Veteran (and one who spent time as a prisoner of war!!!!!) supporting the war in Iraq. I don't get it. VietNam veterans should be the first people yelling the loudest about how WE SHOULD NOT BE DOING THIS. Senator McCain's persistent support of the war in Iraq troubles me.

Then there is Senator Clinton. I remember when her husband was running for president the first time. I thought then that she would make the better candidate. I voted for him, because I liked her and Senator Gore. I hoped they would have some influence over him. Today, however, I think we need her in the Senate more than in the White House. Senator Kennedy can't hang on forever. The Senate already lost Gore. Senator Clinton could be the leader of the liberal wing of the Senate for decades to come. I think she should stay where she is. A 25- to 30-year Senator trumps a President.

What about Senator Obama? My personal opinion is that he needs to spend another few terms in the Senate before he is ready for the White House. Listening to other people I know discussing his candidacy, I can only conclude that this country is not ready for a black president with Muslim roots. That makes me sad because, while I think Senator Obama needs more seasoning, I would not disqualify him completely.

My preferred candidate, Senator Edwards, already dropped out. I knew he didn't have a prayer and I hated the idea of voting for a plaintiff's lawyer, but I liked the guy in 2004. I liked him even more in 2008. I hope he comes back for another run at it in 2012, but he probably won't.

As far as I am concerned the other candidates don't bear wasting time on. At this point, the race is between McCain and Senator Clinton or Senator Obama. What I don't understand is why the two Democrats don't just join hands now and agree to work together. Senator Clinton for President. Senator Obama for Vice. I'm okay with that.

For some reason, "Tradition" prevents them from offering that option. I don't know why.

And so I begin again: A new blog and new identity for a new time in my life.

My last blog took me to places I never imagined and unlocked an unbelievable flood of creativity. I loved creating In The Wilderness, and I am not totally sure that I am giving up on that site completely, but it feels like time to move in a different direction and try something new.

I have no idea how much time I will have to devote to this blog. I am working on a novel and working at work and trying to spend a little time with my family. I must be nuts to even contemplate starting a new blog (knowing full well how a blog can take over my life)! But, things are changing in my life, it is an election year and my world is just too interesting, too amazing and too marvelous NOT to comment on it from time to time.

As proud as I was to create the Wilderness Website, it was a laborious process. As an avid blog-reader, I am sure that reading an old-fashioned home page like that was a chore.

So, I'm turning over a new leaf.

I am moving out of the Wilderness and into Wonderland.

I can't wait to find out what that may involve!