Gerry M. Andering

By L. Stewart Marsden

 

Gerry M. Andering was lithe and spry
And could squeeze and bend
Into the smallest of space
With little or no waste
To achieve his desired end
Which was to touch only certain-shaped spots
Where he amassed his great wealth
Through his stealth and his agile turns;

Almost boneless, was he,
Fluid-like and free to jiggle and wiggle
Without any constraints
He did paint such odd shapes
In his Rorschach-like ways
That he guaranteed days
To the kings of the hills
While the rest could just fuss, fume and burn.

The Lonely King

 

In 1685, King Louis XIV of France revoked the Edict of Nantes with the Edict of Fontainebleau. The Edict of Nantes provided certain religious and economic freedoms to the Huguenots, French protestants. With the revocation, Louis came down hard on Huguenots, demanding they recant their religion and convert to Catholicism, or else. The or else included loss of property, imprisonment for males, seclusion in convents for the women, torture and a variety of types of execution, including beheading and burning at the stake.

Numbers are debatable, but between 200,000 and 250,000 Huguenots fled France, many crossing the Atlantic to resettle in America. Charles Towne in now South Carolina was one of those destinations. Those who left represented about one percent of the population of France.

Two similarities strike me from that day and age to the present: the “ramrodding” of power by Louis, and the Huguenot diaspora, which included some of the most intelligent and creative French of the day.

A friend, considering (however seriously) leaving the US for places less antagonistic, got me to thinking. The poem below is the result of that cogitation (I apologize in advance for its poor literary quality):

 

The Lonely King

by Yours Truly

 

There was once a king
Who sat on his throne
Surveying his great and vast kingdom.
From the East to the West
To the ends of the earth
His realm could be equaled by none.

“Jester!” said he
To a motley-dressed clown
“Bring my fiddlers — I’m bored and want sound!”
But the clown,
With a frown, said
“Your fiddlers aren’t here,
Sire, they all have left town
And there’s no more sweet sound
To be found all around.”

“Left town? The lot of them?”

“Yes, Sire. The lot of them, sad to say,
Have amscrayed this place
Which is why there’s no music
To call for, Your Grace.”

“Why would they go and leave me alone?”

“I’m sure I don’t know,” said the clown to the king on his throne.

“Then bring me my choir, and bid them to sing!”

“Your Worshipful, that, alas, too, is a shame,
For all of your choristers — sopranos to altos,
Tenors to basses —
Have left your vast kingdom for far away places
So remote that some don’t even have names.”

“And my servants and wise men?”

“Please don’t despise them,
But they’ve all left the kingdom as well.”

“But WHY then? Why have they left me here all alone?
To mourn and to moan all alone on my throne?”

“But I am still here!” said the motley-dressed jester,
“And I’ll entertain you so your sadness won’t fester,
And agree with your wisdom and all your decrees
And serve you while groveling down on my knees!
There’s nobody else you need, if you please,
But motley-dressed, dancing clown, silly old me!”

The king sighed a sigh, and nodded,”You’re right.
Those silly old fiddlers, those out-of-tune singers,
Those supposedly-wise wise men,
Those fat, needy people, all stupid and lazy —
Why together they drove this king crazy all day and all night!

“I’m far better off here alone and without them!
Here on my throne with my kingdom about me.

“Who needs all that so-called music? Who needs the riff-raff?
I’m far better off alone on my throne
with my beautiful hand-carved elephant tusk staff
To decree my decrees with a sneer and a laugh.”

To wit, he said, to the clown kneeling there,

“Get me my quill and my parchment post-haste.
I’ve a decree to declare — why there’s no time to waste!”

And he whiled the days on his throne all alone,
(The exception, of course, was his true, loyal clown)
And made his decrees which the clown did declare
To the large empty kingdom, with pomp and with flair.

Disclaimer:
Any similarities between the King and any person living in the District of Columbia on Pennsylvania Avenue are purely, most sincerely, absolutely coincidental. And that’s the purely, most sincerely absolutely alternative Truth!

***

Finger Pointing

 

Below is a Facebook response to a post one of my relatives uploaded today. I know little about his overall political opinions, but if they are reflective of my family in general, they are at least to the right-side of the middle. He is a newly-stamped physician, and just out of the gate starting a career and making a living for his young family. His desire is, I suppose, like all or most of us: to do the best we can do, and to improve the lot we hand down to our progeny.

He shared a post from netadvisor.org entitled Fact Check: Pres. Obama: ‘We’re Better Off’ and ‘No WH Scandals?’ 

As with any critically-oriented website, this one appears pro-conservative. Even to use that label in the way I did will incur judgment on the reader’s part. So let me put your suspicions either at rest, or at alert, depending on your perspective. Largely, I am a man of conservative nature. I don’t like a lot of government interfering in my private life. However, I’m not a gun owner and do appreciate the idea that using an instrument that is potentially dangerous (e.g., a car) should bear greater scrutiny and restrictions. I believe that while the private sector (churches, nonprofits, etc.) is magnanimous in its outreach both nationally and globally, I also think many of these groups are shams, and should be held to account. I have adopted a standard definition of the sanctity of life, which includes war, capital punishment, and abortion: all life is sacred.

So neither camp (Republican or Democrat) describes me adequately, which is apparently becoming an increasing challenge in predicting the electorate and how voters will react. In other words, I’m not alone in my political sentiments.

That said, below is my response to the post. I’m not out to convince you to think the way I do. I am challenging you to think, and not to act or react willy-nilly over what goes on beyond the confines of your daily travels. Whatever conclusions you come to are yours, and are your right to express.

What I advocate regarding that, however, is that we not shout, but calmly debate. But we always hold fast to our right to our basic freedoms, regardless. As trite as it’s become, I may not agree with you, but I’ll defend your right to legally express your opinions.

 

Dear Relative:

I scrolled through the various charts of the article you posted today.

I tend not to take anything like this as gospel, but I know others will jump like jack rabbits at some of the statistics.

How the government fares under an administration varies from legislation to the economy and other hot topics. I liken the economy of our country to the Exxon Valdez, which was a victim of its own size and inability to adjust very quickly. Remember when the Clinton Administration took credit for the zero debt status? I believe he inherited the boon that Reagan set into motion during his years.

Conversely, I think Obama inherited the bust that Bush, et.al., unfortunately allowed to occur. One statistic that I liked was the growth in government — which actually decreased over the last several years of Obama.

The columns depicting unemployment/underemployment, # of people living in poverty, increase in the % of those unable to afford to buy their own house, were the after-affects of the 2008 housing mortgage crash and more. Companies moving manufacturing overseas. The consequences of banking/real estate greed.

Another element of any administration is how the US Senate and Congress cooperate during that tenure. Cooperation hasn’t existed probably for 12 or more years at any level, federal or state. I don’t anticipate it will change under the Trump administration.

As far as health care goes, the rising price of drugs and health care goes back to Pharma and the insurance industry, I think. The insured have been struggling for decades over the rising costs of premiums, and vast numbers of self-employed as well as unemployed (which includes children at no fault of their own) found those costs prohibitive. We don’t like the term “socialization” in this country, just like other social “conditions” haven’t been tolerated in the past.

Guess what? Those attitudes are changing, and surprisingly rapidly. So rapidly that a sleeping portion of the nation awoke in fear and surprised the country the night and day after November 8.

Why do we still battle over whose fault it is for our current status? NOW people find fault with what hasn’t even occurred! Government is far more than one man or woman living in the White House. It is the composite of 100 senators and however many congressmen there are. And to some extent, what the composition is at the state level as well.

None of those seats — well, precious few, to my mind — is dedicated to the good of the people. Those elected officials’ primary focus is the continuation of their political careers.

THAT’s why I agree with Mark Twain’s observation that politicians are like diapers … They need to be changed often and for the same reason.

THAT’s why I hope a viable alternative to the Republican/Democrat demagoguery will eventually reach a viable status.

THAT’s why I and many other Americans register Unaffiliated, leaving the staid kingdoms of Republicans/Democrats, not in search of panacea, but of pragmaticism.

That’s why the strained and sometimes off-beat voices of Bernie and Donald stirred and riled up so many voters.

So, the best I can offer about this post is that DJT will inherit a slog of stuff from the previous administration — bad AND good — and we will see how little effect a president has on reversing tides and deflecting tsunamis. Had Hillary won, I doubt my response would be much different. Politicians? Their ilk has been revealed for nearly three hundred years in this country.

Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. We, the voters, continue to place far too much power in the hands of our elected officials. So, the responsibility invariable rests with — guess who?

Pogo, in an iconic oft-repeated commentary on the human condition, said, “We have met the enemy, and he is us.”

Metaphors and Analogies

 

By L. Stewart Marsden

 

The air is rife with them.

For us LOTR enthusiasts, who also happen to be third party supporters, I unapologetically offer the following. The music in the background is NOT from the film, but Sting’s I’ll Be Watching You.

Frodo and Sam are Gary and Bill. Frodo is a bit bewildered, but Sam is always his stalwart (the metaphor might break down at this point).

The Eye on the mountain is the political establishment.

Gollum is mainly HRC’s camp at this point. I think the ring might be Trump — who tends to drive people insane, but not sure.

We know despite all odds, Frodo and Sam complete their quest. The jury is fairly unanimous that G&B won’t — and that it’s unlikely they will score high enough with votes to establish a bonafide third party. Especially if Gary keeps smoking maryjane (Lembas — the Waybread), it looks like he won’t reach the summit to toss Donald into the fire of the mountain.

Still, we can hope. We know Gollum will do anything for the ring (here the metaphor switches from being Donald — eeeyeww! — to Hillary becoming POTUS), and she is willing to bite off Gary’s finger, which is the one he uses to tamp his bowl of maryjane — I mean, to hold his Lembas.

In our scenario, it is likely that Frodo and Sam succumb to the mountain fire, not Gollum, who morphs into someone whose name we cannot mention. And then Harry …

But, that’s another story for another time, my children. It is the season of spooks and goblins and things that go bump in the night. I suppose we should expect no less — and certainly no more.

Without a doubt, the scariest story to come down the pike in a long, long time.

The End.

I Voted Early

By L. Stewart Marsden

I’ve just returned from voting early today. It’s a relatively short drive from Sugar Mountain to Newland, the county seat of Avery County. I got a sticker to put on my guitar case!

I arrived at the Avery County Courthouse close to 9 AM, and followed the Vote Here signs around the side and through a door to the Board of Elections office. It’s pretty small.

Since it was my first time voting, I was prepared with my voter registration card (one of the first things I did — online — when I moved) and my driver’s license (also changed address online), which weren’t required.

An official took my name and searched his computer voter data files to make sure my name was in the system, then printed out a form for me to sign and handed me a ballot.

Along one wall, crowded slightly closer than urinals in a men’s public bathroom, were voting tables with tall flap sides around each table to enable privacy.

The room was filled with election volunteers, all passing time talking. There was one other voter filling out his ballot, which was comprised of inking in ovals to indicate your choice. No computers here.

I voted early for two reasons.

First, I wanted to avoid the lines. Not sure if long voting lines actually exist in Avery County, but didn’t want to risk it.

Second, I know that the media is going to speculate on how voting is going based on voter exit polls. With the last “debate” concluded between only two POTUS candidates, the media will now turn its harried attention to those who have voted early. Guess who those early voters will likely be?

There were no representatives from the media polling anyone exiting from the Avery County voting station. Go figure. White, rural mountain community?

I figure, being an unaffiliated voter who is sick of the sos from both parties, that maybe — just MAYBE — polls might indicate a bump for Gary Johnson, or some other alternative to the Repubs and Demos. That the possibility of neither Trump nor Clinton acquiring the needed electoral votes could throw the choice to the House, who will have to consider the top THREE vote-getting candidates in their deliberations. Stranger Things.

Wherever and whenever I had a third choice on the ballot, I voted for that person.

You won’t like the way I chose to vote. I voted against current office holders. For Court of Appeals candidates, of which there are many, I figured the courts need to represent each ideology, and hop-scotched through the list, voting R and then D and so on.  There were no third-party choices. Where a candidate was listed as unaffiliated, that’s who got my vote.

For those running unopposed, I was saddened by the fact no one stood up to challenge the status quo, and did not vote for those candidates.  In those cases my vote really did not matter. “This must be how the ballots in China are,” I figured.

I realize most of you will find the way I chose to vote stupid, if not down-right heinous. I don’t care. I CHOSE my voting plan. No party, or government official, or military dictator told me how to vote. Hence, my votes are NOT wasted. If either Donald or Hillary is elected, it won’t be my fault. It will be the responsibility of those who voted for them.

Trump says the system is rigged. In the sense that the powerhouse politicians wield their way in the background unbeknownst to we the common people, it MIGHT have been. But Bernie, Gary, and a growing number of voters who register unaffiliated is — like global warming — changing the political climate ever so slowly but surely. Three major parties? Why not? Those that are out of touch with reality, like the Tea Party, won’t survive. Perhaps the Republicans are for whom the bell tolls. Democrats can’t be far behind. It won’t be this election year, in all probability — but maybe in the next, or the one after that.  Sooner or later the vast majority of voters will wake up.

So, I challenge all my family and friends — who are of legal voting age — to vote. I already know of some who won’t. That’s a pity. When the dust settles in November, you won’t be able to complain.

Vote.

Jury-Rigged

Grandfather Mountain, NC

Jury-Rigged

By L. Stewart Marsden

I live in a condo in the mountains of North Carolina. The focus of the condo is a great room that has a spectacular view of Grandfather Mountain. The great room is about 24 feet high on the exterior wall, into which two sets of casement windows have been built, one set low, and one set high.

That wall is also southern-facing, and catches quite a bit of sunlight — and heat — during the day. In the wintertime, the heat is a welcomed source of comfort. In the summertime, not so much.

My parents lived in the condo during the summertime. They loved the green mountains and the area. In the wintertime, they migrated south to St. Petersburg and a temperate winter clime.

I’ve never seen the upper set of casement windows in the great room open before. It makes sense to open them, as hot air rises, and openings would definitely make the condo much cooler in the summer (there is no air conditioning).

Two maneuvers are required to open the casement windows: unlatching a lock lever by pushing it up; and cranking the hand crank one way or other to swivel the windows open. No sweat on the lower set of windows.

But the upper windows?

I called Andersen Windows, figuring they made the casement windows, and surely in vacation homes stacked casements are not a rarity, so they must have some device to do the trick.

Wrong.

“We just make the windows,” said the pinch-nosed customer service person who sounded like I was keeping her from her iPhone activity. “You might check with Home Depot.”

I called, but it was 9:00 am, and the people in the Windows and Doors Department don’t come strolling in to work until 10 or so. And they aren’t always there. Said the phone receptionist. Also pinch-nosed. Also irked because I interrupted some online iPhone game.

I went to Lowe’s.

Hardware stores are a man’s Nirvana! It’s so easy to get distracted by all the things you want but don’t need. But I was resolute, and kept focused, and wandered about until I found myself in the Paint Department. There I discovered telescoped handles for painters who need to reach high wall levels, or maybe ceilings. I mean this thing was industrial strength, and had a girth in the first section that took two hands to hang on to. Massive! And it extended — oh, I don’t know — maybe a couple hundred feet! There were four or five sections and I opened that sucker up all the way! I coulda scratched the back of the people waiting to check out with their stuff had I wanted.

Price: Like more than $50 bucks. At Lowe’s! I figured if push came to shove, I could buy it, use it to open my windows (not knowing exactly how) and return it for a refund. Then go back in the fall, buy it, close my windows, and return it again for a refund. I’m of Scotch-Irish descent, by the way.

Oh, like you haven’t done that before!

But I didn’t. I’m not Catholic, but I still have a conscience that can bother the heck out of me.

When I moved into the condo, I found many things out about my parents, who are now deceased. One, they were pack rats. I found copies of my dad’s public school primary through high school report cards! A little brittle from the wear of the years, but legible. They were in one of the drawers in a desk in the master bedroom. Along with paper clips, and little doo-dads and stuff. Lots and lots of stuff.

I also found that my dad must have felt one electrical outlet could feed twenty more extension plugs and wires. Nearly every outlet looked as though it was regurgitating wires and plugs! Like the dad in the classic movie, A Christmas Story.

And, he had just about every tool known to mankind. Several tool kits. Screwdrivers, hammers, wrenches, saws, ratchet sets, screws and nails … You name it.

I knew if I wandered about and fixated on opening that upper level of casement windows, I would be able to do it. If there’s a will, there’s a way.

Hence MacGyver. Or the crew of Apollo 13 and NASA. Or any other do-or-die situation artist.

Like me!

So I wandered. And I fixated. And in the basement floor level owner’s closet (really a pretty nice-sized room) I found it! An extension painting handle, and one of those paint roller frames! So excited to try it out, I bounded back up to the great room, screwed on the paint roller frame to the extension pole, and then extended the pole!

This should not have been such an exciting and self-satisfying event, but it was! And, voila! It worked! My jury-rigged contraption worked wonderfully well, and I was able to unlock and roll open each casement!

Almost tantamount to a toddler making his first doody in the potty! Look what I did!

Jury-rigging. I used to call it jerry-rigging, for some reason. Then I found out otherwise. The term is nautical in nature. Basically means doing with what you have. Like replacing rigging on a ship miles at sea when there’s no marina or Lowe’s nearby. Like MacGyver, or the Apollo 13 crew and NASA.

It could also refer to rigging a jury, I suppose. Fixing a verdict. Or it could be the determination of something — some design or program — by a jury of folk. You know — “well I think it should do this or that” kind of process. Always works out good, right?

Kinda like our politicians in Washington, where everything is rigged to some extent, jury or jerry or whatever.

You wondered when I was going to get around to that, right?

Good place to stop.

Worthy Adversary

Are you one of those who enjoys disagreeing?

If so, when you disagree, why do you do it? Because you believe or feel yourself to be right? Because you want to change the mind of the person regarding a  tenet or statement with which you disagree? Because you want to change the minds of others within listening or reading distance and create a coalition of like-minded supporters? Because you want to divide and conquer?

Or do you disagree for the principle of the thing?

Disagreement is woven into the fabric of the United States. To some extent, you might call it freedom of speech.

It seems to me we have lost the art of disagreement. By that, I mean we have come to the point that disagreement now means the proverbial drawing of a line in the sand. It has come the “I dare you” threatening stance physically and intellectually. It has degraded into the “get your dukes up” mentality.

Disagreement v. debate

We’ve lost the art of debate. Debate is controlled disagreement [my definition]. Did you ever take a class on debating? Have you ever participated in an organized debate?

Two sides square off over a controversial issue. Each side researches the issue and puts together supportive facts. Then, in turn, two presenters deliver their argument. Much like in a court of law, where the Prosecution and the Defense argue the merits of a case before a jury. Once initial arguments have been introduced, each side has the opportunity for rebuttal.

It’s a controlled fight, albeit with words and not fists. There is a decorum about it — rules of order. The disagreeing sides don’t call the other side bad, or stupid, or degrade or debase them. Each side regards each other as adversaries — not to-the-death enemies. At one time, debaters have referred to the opposition as “worthy adversary.”

Imagine that!

At the end of the day, the participants shake hands, complement each other, and move on to the next debate.

Now we live in a day when debate seems a thing of the past. Our legislative bodies, at state and federal levels, have taken on tactics that should embarrass us as a nation. Who can shout the loudest? Who can insult and give snide retorts and comments? I think it would actually kill some politicians to refer to the opposition as “worthy adversary.” Perhaps because worthiness has taken a beating along the way. Perhaps because that politician is beholding to a particular point of view come hell or high water, and fears losing his/her seat in office.

Debate? Worthy adversary?

I’m not surprised little is accomplished in Washington. No one knows how to intelligently argue, debate, listen, or — dare I say it? Compromise.

And that attitude has filtered now down to you and me. Just look at Facebook posts. Look at the memes. I’d like that to change. I’d like more civil debate and less name calling. I’d like issues dissected intelligently. I’d like arguments to be thought out well, and not backed by irrational emotionalism.

Dammit!

Copyright © by Lawrence S. Marsden, 13 January, 2016

Opinion: my rant for the quarter

My rant for the last quarter of the 2015 year.

 

Religion and politics: the two subjects you don’t bring up at the dinner table. So here we are, at the precipice of the 2016 Presidential campaign without — in my estimation — a person that is a leader, a fence-mender, a visionary, and someone I will respect as my president. Not any of the political factions encompasses my values to the point I want to give them my vote. Once again, it becomes a “hold your nose and vote” situation, with extremists on any of the multiple political sides screaming loud warnings in my wax-protected ears. No reason to clean the wax out, I say.

Did you know that Dwight D. Eisenhower was recruited by the Republicans and Democrats to run for his first term in office? Did you know some of the things he is quoted as saying sound very liberal to me? And I’m okay with those quotes, by the way. And did you know the Republican Party basically snubbed his political leadership party-wise?

Is he to be the last vestige of someone who can rally the nation?

But, it was a simpler time, you say. Right. For some. But not black Americans. Not women. Complications (the USSR, for example) were visible to the wary. Nothing is ever as simple as we remember it to be.

I wonder if the geneticists are probing human DNA in hopes of discovering the perfect leader?

Remember chaos theory? The proposition espoused by the character Jeff Goldblum portrayed in the first “Jurassic Park” movie? You might also know it as entropy, which Mirriam-Webster defines (though not the first definition) as “a process of degradation or running down or a trend to disorder.”

Is that our destination? Are the zombies just around the corner? Are we about to hear the loud shout in the air? I’m not positive either way. Or about any of the candidates.

I just want the Panthers to beat the Giants today.

Go thou and do . . .

Talk is cheap.

Now let’s see what they [the politicrats] do.

The real winners/losers are not the candidates, but the people. Always have been.

If you voted, you can comment.

If you didn’t, don’t bother to say anything one way or another until the next elections and you decide to vote.

— L. Stewart Marsden, 5 November, 2014

Shaken, not stirred

Shaken by the morning news,
I was not stirred to any action
For I am a politician.