What if . . .

A group of us were talking about a couple in a bridge group who were getting divorced.  The wife is disabled.  "Whatever happened to in sickness and in health?", someone said.  I've been thinking about that.

My Aunt Mary formed a bond with her future husband Irving in the visitors' lounge at Elgin Mental Hospital.  Mary was keeping her sister company as she visited her son.  Irving's wife was there.  Death eventually allowed them to marry.

I met a man who told me right away that his wife was in a nursing home.  I was certainly willing to be his friend.

I always regretted that Sandra Day O'Conner resigned from the Supreme Court to care for her husband who eventually didn't recognize her and was "in love" with a fellow patient.

And what about the people in Congress who are planning to destroy the Affordable Care Act, plus Medicare and Social Security?  There are many more ways to abandon "in sickness and in health" than divorce.

The Rest of us (Part Two)

My Festivus rant continues.

It's improv time.  There are no bad ideas (except for the ones that may require ammunition).  If you can envision the long game, here's a plan:  Let's convince thousands of liberal-minded voters who are clustered on the coasts (we'll call them Pilgrims) to move to fly-over country.  They can form Colonies. The second "First Thanksgiving" can take place in Nebraska or Oklahoma.  We can call it Spread the Vote!

And if the "natives" resist this infusion of culture, we can remind them of what happened to the Indians.  In this case ammunition may be required.

The Rest of Us

I am working on my rant for the Festivus Party hosted by my friends Gerry and Alita.  This is the celebration made famous on the Seinfeld Show when guests are invited to express their grievances for the year about to end.  Here's what I have so far.

I'm tired of listening to my friends who are still moaning about the election .  Of course we are appalled by Donald Trump.  Does the sun rise in the east?  It's time to stop pouring over his tweets; time to stop rolling our eyes at his "mad dog" cabinet picks.  When Mitt Romney begins to look good, you must get help! The apocalypse is now and so is the time for resistance.

I'm old enough to remember those Paul Muni movies where the resistance fighters are huddled around their radio waiting for assignments from Britain.  We need to keep watching our laptops to see what Bernie is urging and what the Standing Rock protesters are doing.  Light a fire under the fossilized Democrats?  Start a new party?  There's work to be done!