HeiressofBickworth
HeiressofBickworth's JournalWhat came to mind is a quote attributed to Stalin
It doesn't matter who votes, it matters who counts the votes.
In this case, it doesn't matter what the FBI report has or will say, it matters what TPTB say about the report.
As I've said from the beginning, this is all kabuki theater. A circus to placate the masses before they do what they were planning to do all along. I don't place any hope at all on the three Republican senators who have said they haven't decided. What they really mean is they are waiting to see what Dear Leader says before casting their vote. It is, after all, the Party of Trump.
Now excuse me while I go vomit......
I'm 73. Now that I know more about bullying
I recognize that I was bullied as a child by my brother and a cousin, both younger than I was. I remember crying a lot. My feelings were hurt that two family members treated me so horribly. My mother always told me that it was all my fault because I cried too easily and that made the two of them tease me even more. Bullying wasn't a known "thing" back in those days and it was something one just had to get over. There was no defense or comfort and the two perpetrators were never disciplined. Yes, it affected my family relationships. I left home at 19, had several periods when I didn't speak with my family for years at a time and even currently, it has been about 15 years since I spoke with any of them. Not because of the childhood bullying, but because I never developed relationships with either of them so why start.
Increase in drug prices
I haven't been able to determine if my blood pressure med is made in China, but I noticed a HUGE difference in price when I renewed it this week.
I get a 3-month supply. In the past it was $26. When I refilled the prescription the price was $60 !!!!!
Yup, Sr. Citizen, fixed income, and my property taxes are going up again next year. There is just no way to stop this inflationary cycle.
The country did NOT get what we voted for
Remember, 3 million MORE people voted for Clinton. If not for the antiquated electoral college, she would be our President. There was no failure in her campaign, there was no misunderstanding the working class, there was no failure to connect with voters (and all the other crap laid at her feet). The country DID vote for someone better -- we just didn't get her in the White House.
My fears have been about the babies
I have a 5-month old great grandson. He spent the night at our house last night (Gramma, Grampa, and me, GreatGran) for the first time so his mommy and daddy could go out for the evening and then get a full night's sleep. About 30 minutes after they left, he went into full melt-down (separation anxiety). Cried for an hour or more. Not just cried, but really wailed! We fed him, we bathed him, we each rocked him in the rocking chair. He finally fell asleep in my arms in the rocking chair.
My little guy actually knows all of us; I take care of him three mornings a week and he sees Gramma and Grampa frequently so he wasn't left with strangers. He slept all night and woke up with smiles. He had a big grin when mommy and daddy came to pick him up.
Now think of those babies being held in detention centers -- imagine the separation anxiety experienced by not just one baby, but by all of them. This is torture! Sheer torture!!! And to add to the trauma, the care-takers aren't allowed to pick them up to comfort them. This is inhumane! It will be a long time, if ever, that they see a familiar face and have the comfort of loving arms.
The United Nations needs to condemn this. Charges of cruelty should be brought in the International Court at the Hague. It's damn certain that Republicans are more interested in maintaining political power than they are in protecting babies who come to this country by whatever means. Republicans are sub-human. Don't bother me with stories about how you know a few good ones -- you DON'T! If they vote Republican, they are completely complicit in the torture of babies. Fact -- not hyperbole!
Three mornings a week, I take care of my great grandson.
He just turned five months old. Some mornings he likes to play by himself for a while, but some mornings, he wants to be held and cuddled. I'm there for him. I try to respond to the little signals he gives, like rubbing his face when he's ready for a nap or when he smacks his lips when he's hungry. Some times he sits in my lap and studies my mouth as I talk to him. He wakes up smiling every morning.
I am heartbroken that the children in government custody are being deprived of care, leaving them alone and crying. How can anyone be so fucking heartless. What kind of person resists the urge to comfort a crying baby? A BABY! Helpless little things who have no politics, no opinions, just a basic need for human touch. No matter what one thinks of the actions of the parents, these little ones are perfectly innocent. Why are they being punished? I don't even want to guess the odds of the babies being returned to their right parents.
Had a rather unusual confrontation on the train
I was traveling Amtrak from Seattle to Sacramento. My annual trip. This time, I needed to save some money so I decided to go coach instead of a sleeper. I boarded, sat down, pulled out my book, started to read. Somewhere south of Olympia, a family (two adults, two teen girls, speaking Spanish) boarded and sat behind me. I barely noticed them. There was a woman sitting across the aisle from me. When the train stops in Portland, there is about a half-hour layover. The family left the train. Now here's where it got weird: the woman across from me said (out loud!) You know they're illegals. I was shocked and said, what did you say? She repeated it. I asked her why she made that assumption. She said, "well, you saw them." Loudly and in my most condemning tone of voice, I said "You're just RUDE!" She never spoke to me again, and fortunately, when the family re-boarded the train, she said nothing to them, either.
I remain puzzled. I had exchanged a couple of pleasantries with her when I first sat down (hello, nice day), but nothing else, making no indication that I was interested in chatting. I can't imagine what made her believe a racist remark would be ok with me. Does she talk like that with everyone, everywhere? What the hell?
Patronyms are confusing
I have ancestors from 1800's in Sweden. You are right, sons surnames are the father's first name and the suffix "son". Likewise, daughters names are her father's first name and "dotter" suffix. Generally, while in Sweden, women didn't change their names with marriage. That helps when there have been multiple marriages.
In the records I examined, it was helpful to look at a family as a group rather than just singling out one of them. The parish records I looked at had a column indicating when the family came to the parish, what parish they came from, and dates they left and where they went to. Deaths were also indicated with a cross and the death date. You can cross-identify by matching names, birth dates and birth places. That should help determining if you are on the trail of only one person of a similar name.
When the families came to the US, they "Americanized" their names in many cases. That meant that a single surname was selected for all family members and sometimes, even that was "Americanized". Case in point: Gustav Bengtsson had a son who changed his name to Henry Benson. Also, spelling became a fluid thing, depending on who heard it and who wrote it down. My Bengtsson was also Bentzine. Women began to assume husbands' names upon marriage, which was customary in the US.
Here's a website that may be useful for you, if you haven't already used it. https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Sweden_Genealogy
I think it requires a sign-in, but there is no cost.
My turning point came when I asked my 96-year old grandmother if she knew the name of the town in Sweden where her parents came from. She Did!!! The genealogy library in Salt Lake City had the parish records from that town on microfilm. In one day, I traced by line back to 1730 in the same town.
Good Luck!
The problem from a Senior's point of view
Real Estate taxes are based on assessed value (relating to market value somewhat). The higher the prices go, the higher the RE taxes go. Now for those of us who are on Social Security, our checks don't increase but a few dollars every couple of years while the RE taxes go up by hundreds every year. There gets to be a point where food and taxes are mutually exclusive. Can't do both. The taxes force seniors out of their homes and into whatever they can buy with the proceeds of the sale -- and the excessive taxes on the new property. Or they become renters and their capital is eaten away by rent payments until the capital runs out.
If I were a conspiracy theorist, I would say it is part of the war on the elderly -- deprive them of social security payments, medicare, medicaid, and load them up with excessive payments, pushing them into bankruptcy, homelessness, poor health and ultimately, death, which is what I truly believe they wish upon us seniors. There was a statement attributed to a prior governor of Colorado in the 70's that said the old and disabled have a duty to die and get out of the way. I guess we haven't done it fast enough so they are going to help us out.
Bypass surgery two years ago
The worst pain I have ever suffered -- drugless childbirth was easier. In hospital and in cardiac rehab, pain meds were regularly given. I had a prescription for more at home. The only problem I had was that a four-hour drug wore off in three and I needed it more often but other help was offered (lidocain patches). At home, I took it less and less often as I continued to recover.
Maybe it was the nature of the surgery, maybe they figured a 70-year old grandmother was an unlikely drug addict or it could be true that my county drs reputedly prescribe more liberally, but I didn't have a problem getting what I needed.
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Gender: Do not displayCurrent location: Snohomish County, WA
Member since: Wed May 18, 2011, 02:12 AM
Number of posts: 2,682
