January 15--Paranoia?

Paranoia: a tendency on the part of an individual or group toward excessive or irrational suspiciousness and distrustfulness of others. 
--Merriam-Webster Dictionary

    I have been seeing writings online about getting your personal information off the internet and videos explaining how to change the settings on your smart TV so that it does not spy on you. Is this what the hateful savagery of our current administration is reducing us to? 

    I have deleted my Facebook account. I never use it anymore and see no reason for letting it flounder out there. I also don't care to support the billionaire Trump supporter, Zuckerberg who runs Facebook.

    What's that old saying... just because you are paranoid doesn't mean they are not out to get you! At this point, nothing this vile administration does should surprise us. 

        Leta

January 14--Harmony and Balance, Please

The celestials regulate the balance of the terrestrials. The night dusk comes to softly compel all creation to enter into rest and the calm brings about refreshing coolness to the world. The advent of the day provides new life and new opportunities like the embrace of warmth for plants, animals, and humans. The moon regulates all the waters. The sun regulates each season…. Everything created is in harmony and balance with everything else and with the Creator. 
--Rev. Dr. Randy Woodley

    Don't "harmony and balance" sound wonderful, given how far out of balance our country and leadership are right now? 

        Leta

Last night's sunset in Wichita

January 13--Keeping the Post String Going

Bless me to understand that the suffering of one of us is the suffering of all of us. 
--Mary Davis

    I'm still sick, thinking rather than a cold that this is flu. Now the third of our group of four is coming down with something. Being sick on vacation sucks. 

    I would offer up the Substack app (link below the logo). There are subscription options, but I have not investigated those yet. There is an abundance of very well written anti-Trump, save our country pieces along with loads of other good stuff. Don't kid yourself--what happened to Renee Good can happen to any of us. ICE is nothing but a bunch of hyper-macho, fu*ked up vigilantes with no respect for the law or any individual. Oh, that describes the POTUS who deployed them, too!

        Leta

The Substack logo

January 12--The Best Laid Plans

Acceptance is the answer to all my problems today.  --AA Big Book

    Once again I am reminded of how little control I have over anything, especially my body. I acquired the chest cold among us and spent most of yesterday shivering, reading, watching basketball, and sleeping in bed. This is not the "charmed life, especially when traveling" that I expect on adventures. I can sit here and demand instant wellness, but of course, my body is taking its good old time getting there. I do feel better this morning, and I am grateful for any improvement. 

    Hopefully today will be more interesting than yesterday!

        Leta

January 11--Can I Stay Forever?

A vacation is what you take when you can no longer take what you've been taking. 
--Earl Wilson

    Yesterday's post was short because I literally was awake all the night before. Fortunately I had a good book to read. I was serenaded all night by a Westminster chime clock going off every 15 minutes. I did not think this would bother me, as I grew up in a house with this every-quarter-hour chime. I thought I could rely on my childhood ability to ignore it, but that did not work. So I spent the day lazing in the pool and took a nap. I was not cranky, just kinda dopey. It was a relaxed day at the "Hill Resort" and we capped it off with Rummikub. 

    Last night the chime was turned off and I slept great. The weather has turned cooler (high in the low 60s), so I may be the only one brave enough to get into the 94-degree pool. It may be a good day for a walk on the beach. 

    There is an Underwater Museum of Art here, the "first permanent underwater sculpture garden in the U.S." It is at a depth of 58 feet, about a mile off shore. Besides the joy of art and diving, the website offers this:

The sculptures quickly attract a wide variety of marine life and, over time, metamorphize into a living reef. This eco-tourism attraction not only entices art lovers and divers from around the country and around the globe, it provides a much-needed habitat for local marine life and fisheries as well as providing marine scientists, wildlife management professionals, ecologists, and students with an opportunity to study marine life and measure the impact of artificial reef systems on the Gulf ecosystem.

    I won't be doing any diving, but I love the idea! Creativity at its finest!

        Leta

Eco-Bug by Priscilla D'Brito,
one of the underwater sculptures

January 10--Arrived!

I'm just taking up a brief amount of space this morning. We are safely in Panama City Beach. I'll write more tomorrow. 

        Leta

January 9--I'd Like to be an Ostrich

The trouble with lying and deceiving is that their efficiency depends entirely upon a clear notion of the truth that the liar and deceiver wishes to hide.  --Hannah Arendt

    Today I am flying to Florida for a week's vacation with three girlfriends. We shall eat, drink, be merry and play games, all to excess. We shall laugh a lot. We shall burp and fart and giggle about it. We shall laze in the heated pool even though the temps may be chilly. I am seriously hoping to avoid for a few days any further news of our country's steep downhill slide and the lying and deceiving cowards that are supporting it. 

        Leta