I'm cruising with my old college room mate again this year. The Hatchling and I have been together in one form or another since 1967. Forty-two years. Holy Merde, indeed. We can't believe it.
Patty (the Hatchling) does all the planning and I just follow along. This year we'll go the Grand Turk, St John and Puerto Rico.
This ship you see before you is the one we'll be on. We will have a balcony. Patty likes to try new stuff. Last time we cruised we swam with Manta Rays or some such creatures--(this was right after one of them stabbed Steve Irwin). This time Patty wanted to swim with dolphins but I said NO NO NO I will not be goosed by a dolphin and Patty said "Oh, Linda, It'll be the most fun you've had in years." How dare she just assume that I don't have fun! At all...ever...oh please,god, just ONE dolphin. Well anyway the dolphins are taking the year off so she's booked us a horseback ride/swim in the blue waters of Grand Turk. I think 1967 was the last time I was on a horse. By April 26th I may be severely crippled. Blame Patty. Here's what I will do before the crippling event: drink martinis, sit in the sun for many,many hours, swim and repeat. Hermana, my Will and Advance Directives are filled out (legally and completely, by an attorney, for heavens sake) Cath is my POA and DPOA unless she can't be and then it defaults to you because I know that neither one of you will hesitate to pull the damn plug. The documents are in the cooler in the trunk of my car because I can be reasonably sure that the car won't burn down (the apartment, not so much). I will get a safe deposit box at a future date. My Taxes are done. Regular programming will resume tomorrow.
When did he give that talk?? Yesterday? I'm surprised he's not dead already. But I am solidly behind him...although not in this picture. Go, Hitch! Articulate radicals rock!
When you get this read it over, add and subtract ideas.
When an idea doesn’t appeal to you and you think it should be deleted or revised put it in parenthesis or a different font so we can always refer back to our original stuff.
On 10/7/2008 I mentioned to Jean that we (meaning the USA) needed to do something BIG to emphasize the necessity for governmental change in America.Not just a new President but change in every way, foundational and from the ground up.Jean said ‘Yes!’ and before I knew it we had dreamed up a walk across the USA and even Googled a route to take.
We left it there because neither one of us are smart enough to carry such a thing off but we figured that since I was going back East to a wedding I’d put the idea
to M while we were vacationing on LI.
I did that and in three days we came up with the following:
COPPER BOTTOMED BITCHES INTERNATIONAL
(Henceforth to be CBBI)
By the way, I think the bitches part may be too strong, however I also want to get it across to the general public that while we are not militant in any way—we are also not polite and we won’t be glossing anything over or omitting anything that may be uncomfortable. We will be making a BIG DEAL out of the current state of this USA.
AND we will give it all we’ve got.
Also by the way—this enterprise may turn up anywhere on the success/failure continuum—we have to think about how we’ll handle whatever it comes to…or if we can really handle it at all
Ideas raised with great hilarity 10/14 thru17, 2008:
*CBBI
Born to Blog
Cut the Crap Insurrection of
2009
Reclaiming the USA for
Truth
Respect
Responsibility
Accountability
*CBBI
Sea to Shining Sea
Stroll Across America for
Truth
Respect
Responsibility
Accountability
In representative gov’t
2009
“Remember, you work for US”
NOTE (3/23/2009): Perhaps Stroll is not a good word—bringing to mind children in large, wheeled, mother-propelled carts—too vulnerable.
Think meander or promenade
Not Funny; Serious in the Extreme:
Our Basic Principle:The Constitution of the USA
Ideas raised that same time period without much hilarity at all:
We need a manifesto or declaration of some sort to inform the public and the gov’t what our aims are:
We the people are presenting the essential changes that must take place in the governing of the USA.
These changes will be put forth on a new and separate website for the CBBI.
The manifesto must be simple, foundational & functional.Short sentences (we’re playing to the entire USA).
The CBBI’s are peaceable, strong, intelligent and adamant.
CBBI Strollers are NOT legislators—CBBI Strollers are the general citizenry who vote for their representatives[LOR4]…
Strollers expect the Stroll to impress upon our legislators, current and future, that Truth, Respect, Responsibility and Accountability are non-negotiable as pertains to all Governmental actions.
There are faults and inconsistencies inherent in human nature which, although distasteful, arenatures which, although distasteful, are private matters.
No signs, banners or any accoutrement that may be perceived as a weapon will be carried during the Stroll.
If the CBBI Stroll grows into what we hope it will we will need:
Sponsors
Volunteers
Donations
Identifiers for the Strollers (T-shirts, hats, buttons…)
If it’s really big we’ll need:
Support vehicles (How big? and how many vehicles to how many strollers?)
What will the vehicles carry?Water, energy bars, first aid supplies and first aid people…
Oddments:
Anyone (male or female…Copper Bottomed Bastards?) who wants to Stroll with us has to abide by the rules of the road.
The rules of the road are in the manifesto.
Strollers may stroll for as long as they wish, beginning and ending anywhere along the route.
If frail, strollers must have their own support person/s—Strollers will stop to help but Strollers will not BE stopped.
If frail or otherwise unable to stroll, there will be other needs for people to assist in…(TBD)
WARNINGS TO THOSE WHO STROLL WITH THE CBBI’S:
There will be persons, public and private, who will seek to stop us or damage us or dishearten us.
You may be reviled by your family/neighbors.
You may find that your taxes are being audited.
You may find that your Green Card or that of a loved one is in jeopardy.
If you participate you will discover that you’d rather be dead than stroll another step but CARRY ON—we stand on the shoulders of the people who founded this nation[LOR5]…(make this sound good and not sappy)
…Tired now…stopping 10/23/08 6:45PM
Oh, we need a time frame.Starting stopping announcing keeping the momentum prep time clean up etc.
Hi. The Pool Shark is here just because it made me laugh this morning. Anxiety and Thought are what I'm actually doing but keep in mind that I'm much better at anxiety. Here's what you learn when you begin to write a book. 1. That you really can't spell. 2. That you really don't know the correct meaning of a lot of words. 3. That the world has changed since you last took a geography class--(1958, I'm thinking). 4. That if you're going to write mystery/romance these days (or ANY days) you can't skip the sex. 4A. If you're going to write sex you're going to have to: 1. Have a panic attack. 2. Try to remember some. 3. Get the thesaurus back out because there MUST be more than one way to say THAT. 5. That there really is more than one person living inside your head. 1. Some of them are male. 2. Writing biographies for them is the only way to go--it works. But... 3. Some of them just jump into your head fully blown and take over--damn them! a. these are your best characters. b. talk to them. c. they will tell you things. d. some things will be helpful. e. don't believe everything you hear. OK, that's enough bizarre for now. More tomorrow.
I'm writing that book I've been talking about and thinking about for so long. I love books and I always thought I'd like to build one myself but as with quite a few other things---I'm a much better appreciator of books, writers, literature, art, music...yadayadayada...than I am a maker of those things...its kind of sad, especially when you're getting on a bit and visibly drying up and out. Anyway I thought what the hell...if I don't write the damn thing...I'll never have written the damn thing and that would be sadder than all the drying up I'm doing. So, it's mostly writ. 100 pages today. 53,658 words so far. Its cheap trash chick lit--old chick lit. But with a couple of thoughts and a bit of world travel and I'm seriously considering an assassination--but maybe nothing as classy as that. Maybe someone will just get clobbered with an old Bakelite telephone--you could die from that. In Other News: The hospital I work at is going all telemetry so in my declining years I'm having to buy a real stethoscope and EKG calipers. I'm the kind of nurse that ignores the numbers--if you're pink and eating your sandwich I call it good but if you're blue and gasping for breath I clap you in the side of the head and call a code. Now I have to run my own codes...and look for my own P waves. From now on every night when I get to work I'm putting leads on my own chest. The Springtime Birds arrived in Tacoma a few weeks ago--they are a joy to hear. Daffies are blooming and camellias and heather--I planted primroses and then we had a hailstorm. Ah well, that's Spring for you.
The photo of the sunny dirt road and the picket fence is mine. I took it up at Fort Worden on the Olympic Peninsula--on the other side of the picket fence is an old Coast Guard Station and a Lighthouse.
The kid with the thesaurus represents the Thesaurus I've had to consult soooo many times while writing the book. AND I read a book by Ammon Shea who read the entire OED in a year and took notes--read the book its fantastic for a lover of words, books, alphabets, libraries--you'll recognize yourself and be heartened to know that you're not the only one who thinks those crazy thoughts. Tune in tomorrow.
I'm cruising with my old college room mate again this year.
