Continued Confessions

of a political nature

I believe it is obvious for anyone who has read any of my stuff that I’m pretty far to the left on most issues, and I will confirm that I have been a registered Democrat for ages. But none of that could make me stay up past my falling asleep time, so I must say how glad I am for the ability this morning to catch up on some of the dynamite speeches from last night’s DNC. It is interesting to see what headlines appear in the various media I peruse. To me, the electrifying speech of Hakeem Jeffries and the utterly unexpected appearance of none other than Oprah (she usually stays neutral) have solidified for me the fact that the world is not going to end this November.

One of the first things I looked at when I turned to my phone this morning was the talented Liza Donnelly and her drawings from the Convention. I then was able to find the actual speeches and have been rather occupied ever since. I had spent my usual early morning hard copy reading with the Jonathan Blizter book on immigration which is fascinating but a bit heavy. Speaking of which, did you all catch the comedian Kenan Thompson from Saturday Night Live at the Convention with his huge version of Project 2025. I didn’t realize that other speakers earlier in the week had also brought attention to it so perhaps all of us here on Substack have had some effect on bringing it to a wider audience.

And speaking of needing a wider audience, I have been aghast this week with the reporting from Iraq that a proposed amendment to their law could allow girls as young as nine to get married. Going down that rabbit hole, I find that there are horrifying statistics worldwide on this topic. And I also learned that there is a difference between the age of consent for sex and the age at which it is legal to marry. For some strange reason, even here in the US, there is no uniformity and it seems that the early marriage ages are a way to circumvent the usually later age of consent. All of these issues, of course, are also connected to the abortion rights issue, so I strongly recommend that everyone do a bit of research to find out where your particular Country, State, and even Local governments stand. What a complex amalgam of so-called morality, religion, sex, and gender rights. It’s all too much for me right now to process, so I’ll leave that topic to end on a cheerier note.

I’ve been attempting to sort through my clutter and determine whether any of it is really worth saving. Well, very serendipitously, I ran into a friend at the market the other day and mentioned to her that I had attended the International AA Conference in Toronto, Canada, in 2005, because she was getting ready to attend her first recovery conference locally. I mentioned how awe-inspiring it is to be in the presence of thousands who share the message of hope and love (sort of like the DNC I expect).

Well, lo and behold, in sorting out one corner of stuff, what should emerge but a large plastic baggie which contained all the paraphernalia from the Toronto conference. I had no idea that I had so carefully squirreled away not only the very detailed program of the event but both my husband’s and my entry passes. The motto of the conference was I Am Responsible, and the program is printed in many world languages with incredibly detailed information on all the various venues and meetings. I even have the pass granted by the local transportation system for convention attendees to get around. What a joyous occasion that was, especially in the midst of my caring for Mum with Alzheimer’s so that my badge said I was from Kingston, NY, while my husband’s said he was from Brooklyn, NY. And another sweet memory is that because the convention was in Toronto, we were able to meet up for lunch with my darling cousin Joanna, with whom I had the distinction of sharing breast cancer. Her diagnosis had been a few years before mine, and I leaned on her as a source of information and comfort. She managed one of the city’s nicest restaurants so we had a lovely lunch and caught up in person. [Sadly, JoJo’s cancer returned quite a few years later, and she has since died from the metastasis. But we had quite a long time between to enjoy each other’s shenanigans.]

And that brings me once again, to the way to approach all of the so-called chaos we are now experiencing. ONE DAY AT A TIME . . .