SAID THE CAT: Replacement Theory

I sank deep into my seat on the screened porch at the farm. Toby lay in my lap purring, the end of his tail lazily flipping up and down. I took in the calm of the moment while the warm summer breeze wafted over us.

Deep inside me healing progressed while sitting there thinking about not much. The threats clamoring for attention in airwaves, on screens, in articles, and cyberspace departed on the gentle zephyrs.

Toby squirmed onto his side, "Are you going to ask me what I heard this week from the video wire in the barn?"

The zephyrs suddenly zagged into a few angular bars of a Shostakovich symphony. I answered, "If that video camera wire went live again over there in the barn stall, you probably heard about the January 6th congressional hearings--how our democracy was nearly destroyed, how close we still are to lose our democracy. And pandemic, and war, refugees, food crises, climate crises, gun-crazy culture, floods, droughts, fires, killings, hate crimes...Oh, stop my brain! Is it because I'm old and my brain is just full of more history?" I lamented. "Please, Toby, help me get back to where we were. I need a time-out."

"First of all you're not the only one who is old. In human years, I'm in my mid-60s. Sort of young-old."

"It's good remembering I'm not the only old one. Thanks. But I have trouble getting my head around your age. I guess I haven't been paying attention. When I think about it, I realize you haven't gotten stuck up in any trees lately."

I petted the favorite spot on his head. His purring became louder. "Yeah," he said,"I heard the latest. Will it help you to talk about it?"

"Ummm. Well, I don't know. What do you make of all this going on?" I asked.

"Since my vote is blocked, I pretty much stick to my business: napping, eating, napping, hunting, napping, grooming...napping...napping...his voice trailed off and he dozed for a few minutes in my lap. The warm zephyrs curled around us again and I felt the zigs and the zags inside me smooth out and flow."

Toby woke, stretched a bit, and said, I just remembered a quote I heard from Albert Einstein. 'We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.'"

The zephyrs must have whispered in Toby's ear.

I asked him, "Do you think we humans are going to solve our problems before we destroy ourselves and everything else with it? "

I don't know. Maybe humans could shape-shift into dogs. I think I'll do that now. He clambered down to his buddy Big Bert asleep on his porch dog bed in front of us. Toby curled up comfortably against Bert's belly and went back to sleep.

My psychiatric session was over.

Then, the zephyrs whispered to me, too. Their several echoey chord notes formed words "... remember the hippies...'Make Love, Not War.'"

Hmmm. Back in the '60s, the hippies knew about Replacement Theory?!!!

Einstein said "...new thinking."

I'm going with...

Replace War. Wage Peace. Love.

!!!

***

We still have a democracy...

"If you can keep it." --Ben Franklin.

VOTE!!!

ELECTION INFORMATION from League of Women Voters Education Fund
*Your ballot's candidates and issues anywhere in the USA--any political affiliations!

*The office function.

*The candidates.

*Each candidate's answers to their background, why they're running, their answers to questions on current issues--local to national.

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--Bullet points are taken from The League of Women Voters website.

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"Writing letters to voters is one of the most effective ways to increase election turnout. And you can do it right from home," says Vote Forward's website. It's about getting out the vote. It rejects political partisanship. There is a comprehensive how-to. You can choose current campaigns and issues that are near or far.

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Please, feel free to forward this voting information to others. One-by-one, vote-by-vote, we'll make democracy work for all Americans!

***

Let's open THE ARTS DESK today with an accordion story book by Paula...

"The Little Book of Self-Care"

She says, "...an accordion book with my favorite Liz & Mollie comics and other inspirational, positive comics...I made the book from 10 sheets of 8.5x11 blue paper, cut each sheet down to about 5x11 in size (to make pages that were approx. 5" square once folded in half), glued these together, then glued in my favorite comics on both sides of the pages (plus left some pages blank for future additions)....this was fun!"

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Also, having fun while Valerie visited Sonja, Jeff, Elijah, and Kingston in Utah...

They painted rocks!
These are Valerie's...

and Sonja's...

...Sonja's...

...Slimer and the pirate ship are Elijah's...Rasta colors are Jeff's.

Sonja sent me rocks! and this one is mine. (So far.)

An update arrived from Sonja today. Jeff put a couple of their rocks out in the yard...

Sonja liked my ladybug and made a friend for her.

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Quilts have been a large part of Valerie's crafts and arts over the years. Here are a couple that are in progress right now...

These are two of twelve squares she's making with Ukraine on her mind.

And one with gradations.

In Missouri, Jeanenne shared pix of the quilt she started making for David and Sarah while she was here helping me out after my January 2017 lung surgery. She was doing the embroidery panels in the evenings...

She has another one in progress for Jackie and Chad. It may be a first for quilting in our present times that the symbols at the top are from a tattoo on Chad's arm,
"God is greater than hills and valleys," which somehow reflects early times as well as our present.

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From Sandy who sent this from FB...

Keoni playing chamber music in the state where his name came from. The shirt says where--Hawaii.

Hiking near Honolulu...

***

And now to The Sports Desk...

Kingston is enjoying his summer basketball camp. Also of note, Elijah is his chauffeur and courtside brother.

All set to go!

From Elijah. Shooting practice.

After summer camp BB shooting win.

And, Elijah is continuing summer basketball games, too. Jeff shared another write-up he got...

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Today, sportsmen Jeff and Elijah are fishing at Hyrum Reservoir...

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A shoutout to the hikers and walkers out there. It's tick season! Here's one that rode home with me on my teeshirt. Not knowing, I hung the shirt on a hook, then a couple days later I put the shirt back on. A half-hour later I found the tick crawling up the back of my neck into my hairline.

***

There were recent Random Acts of Kindness to note...

In Utah, Sonja and Jeff said they took this little bird they found by their trash can to a bird rescue place. As tough as it looks for this little guy, he survived and got well.

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In New Mexico, Valerie and Tim have been taking note of the nesting bird under a lattice over their patio. The temperatures have been 100+ degrees for days.

That evening when the parents were away for a little bit, Valerie and Tim rigged a white cloth cover above the nest site to reduce the temperature for them. They fastened it some way so the high winds they were experiencing didn't tear it off.