Continued Confessions

because I'm still alive

My first confession today is that I have not looked at the world or national news so far. In fact, I have not even picked up my phone from its nightly slumber. I awoke and took nourishment, my paper was delivered on time but not yet read, and I love a rainy day as the song goes. So I will put down on paper my thoughts before diving into any new horrors. And as you may suspect, I particularly am avoiding what may have spewed into the public airways at 9 p.m. last night. I was fast asleep by then.

Instead, I want to comment on life’s lovely coincidences. My wind down nighttime telly recently has been Call the Midwife which is set in Poplar in London’s East End. Imagine my pleasure this morning when I was continuing the Bill Bryson book At Home (having arrived at the last chapter about the nursery) and the author mentions Poplar. I have also taken to watching a bit of telly at teatime and have been pleased to find new episodes of the show Hoarders, which is of particular interest to me as one who suffers from this proclivity. Having reined in my acquisition, I am still unable to let go of much that I have. So two long episodes of this show were helpful in reminding me that I still have work to do. It’s interesting to listen to the counseling included in the show and attempt to remember it when I am trying to sort and discard.

Speaking of counseling, though, I was horrified by the recent Supreme Court action which overturned the ban that many States have put on therapists trying to convert patients concerning their sexual identity. I was particularly upset that only one Justice dissented. I then spent the morning Wednesday with my radio tuned to listen to the Court’s oral arguments on the birthright citizenship case. I was finding it difficult to know who was speaking, though, and I was pleased that my dear friend Bertha told me a bit later that she was “watching” it on CNN which provided headshots of the Justices as they spoke. That was a big help. And I was pleased with the measured tones used by the Court and by the marvelous attorney from the ACLU, Cecillia Wang. As I have mentioned before, to my ear, the Solicitor General D. John Sauer, has a very grating voice. He also goes faster and faster and gets more strident as he harangues the Court. Someone here on Substack implied that I was rude to call him out for his voice because it could be a type of vocal flaw he was born with. However, personally, I think we should all be in professions which suit our natures. For instance, I would no more attempt to have a career as a singer than fly to the moon unaided. I know my singing voice is atrocious, but I am thrilled that I have great rhythm for dancing. In other words, if Sauer loves the law, perhaps he could spend his time on research and writing and leaving the oral arguments to someone more mellifluous?

Anyway, that’s enough for today. I do hope the Court decides properly to retain settled law in the birthright case. Of course, I have been totally destroyed in my faith since Dobbs, but again, I have to live for today.

RESIST ALWAYS

TTFN