Tippling, Neonates, Living in a Time of Deceit

“In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”
— George Orwell

Monday morning, 7:01 a.m., the 25th of October, when kids are working on their Halloween costumes, and Mom and Dad fill their houses with poison-labeled candy. Of course, the big day falls on a Saturday this year; as a child, this was a big deal; as an adult, I don’t know if it matters.

We’ve not been good Halloween people for many years; I don’t think my wife and I have ever left out candy; I know last year we were on top of a mountain, this year we will be in the valley, but do we turn our light on and give our tasty treats?  Maybe we are the old people that provide fruit? Rember those assholes, you are ready for snickers, and you get an apple!

We got up yesterday and milled around; we worked a little in the morning; I jumped in the shower and headed up to Muncie to see my son and granddaughter.   I had some gifts to deliver, nothing fun, just some cool clothes from the mountain towns of Colorado. So we caught up; the kid was a little cranky; she wanted to play outside, but alas, it was raining; her father and I got to get up to speed on each other’s lives, a good chat.

I left there and headed to meet my daughter and her husband; we met my mother and father for sushi and a Hibachi grill.   It was a rainy day; I don’t think it ever stopped when driving; I thought about pulling over. It was so thick, but it made it home and relaxed.  My wife went to a shower for her daughter and arrived home shortly after me.  The dog was excited; her people were home; she played outside in the rain and then came in and joined us relaxing, winding down the day.

We watched a couple of movies, were in bed early as usual during October; I think this month we get the most and best sleep of the year, four more days until our sober journey is over.  It’s been a good month, a personal reset for both of us; weight is down, the mind is clear, we are ready to rejoin the ranks of the tipplers.

A busy week here, settling back into our Midwest rhythm, much more driving, face-to-face meetings; we will work on doing our 2022 plans; 2021 was a great year, I think 2022 will be better.  I don’t know why I say that 21 has been good; we essentially turned the corner on the pandemic; the key economic indicators are not looking good, but we are the kind of people that say “give us the monopoly board,” and once we learn the rules, we can follow them to maximize our life experience.

A quick check of the news shows “yelling Yellin” wants to tax unrealized capital gains to build back a better plan.  So we are now taxing the invisible; you can’t make this up. So first, they try and convince you it will cost nothing to inject 3.5 trillion dollars into the economy, and then they talk about taxing mythical figures.  I don’t think this will resonate with the people who vote, but those folks living in Mom and Dad’s basement are sure to find this new tax strategy “banging!”

Instead of living in a society of having and have not’s, we live in a community of those that do and those that don’t. If you do, you have means; if you don’t, you want to steal the treasure of those that do. So here is a radical idea: find a job that pays more if you don’t like the wage you earn.  There are currently 10 million unfilled jobs; maybe one of those can meet your higher salary demands.  Oh, but don’t forget the more you make, the more expectations there are of you, so toughen up neonate; there is no free ride.

I think for Halloween, I might dress as a contributing member of society; I think many might struggle to guess my customer since there are so few of us these days. But, on the other hand, I could go as a government teet sucker, oh the choices of the day!  Either you contribute, or you suck your choice.

Well, there you have it, the mumblings and grumblings of an old white guy that looks at society and thinks, what the hell is going on?  Maybe you are enjoying this time, this Robin Hood character dressed as an old grandpa-looking dude and his minions telling you that what you see is not actually what is going on.  Well, Jen Sassy, some of us have minds, brains that function, and we see you; the question is, do you see us?

“In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”
— George Orwell