Inauguration Day 2017

So tomorrow is the 20th of January, 2017, otherwise known as Inauguration Day.  Would that I were in a celebratory mood; alas that is not the case. 

Chicago

I am not a young woman anymore.  I spend little time thinking about career, now that it is almost certainly in my past, and much more time thinking about what the world will look like for my children and theirs. Over the past several years I have grown to have hope that we are figuring out how to take care of our land and our people.  I have witnessed many things of which I can be proud.  

Central Park, NYC

I have found reason to believe that there is a place for everyone in this country; that the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness really DOES belong to all of us, that no one of us is more important than the others, and that regard for the life of all people is important.  To that end, all of us must have access to health care as a basic human right.  

Duluth, MN

I have gained hope that wars will never again be launched without earnest consideration and input of the wisest among us. I reason that since I knew instinctively that war with Iraq would not produce the desired result, surely those among us who are better educated than I foresaw the debacle of the past 16 years.  I have trusted that those people have been consulted regularly over the past eight years to maneuver the intricacy of foreign relationships, and to avoid unnecessary wars

FDR's words on war

I have seen refugees of war-torn and destitute countries find homes within our borders. I have seen evidence that people of diverse religions can support one another and bond together in communities.  

Visitors to NYC

I have seen girls and young women seeking out the education and positions that best suit their interests, talents and drives.  I have seen proof that we are coming to believe that two people who care deeply for one another deserve the sanction of their relationship in our society, regardless of their genders.

Research in the Arctic

I have been relieved to see science resume the position of relevance that it must have, for our future on this planet; that countries around the world have begun to pull together to do what we can to slow the effects of our industrialization and population growth.  I have begun to hope that we would not lose our coastal cities to rising waters.  

Picnic in Maine

We need to figure out how to continue to feed us all without depleting everything around us in the process. I want Americans to continue to preserve natural beauty on this continent for our descendants.

Columbia River Valley, Oregon

But….I’ve also seen many things that as an American, do not make me proud.  As my husband and I travel around the country, I have seen evidence of unbelievable wealth.  

Newport, RI

With all the wealth of our nation, I just can’t help but ask why still so many of us struggle to survive here?  Why do we continue to build single homes that could house multiple families and that use the energy of a dozen smaller homes?  

Graffiti NYC

Why is it that the privileged and wealthy are exempted from many of the struggles that the rest of us share;  exempted from worry about affording health care, affording education, affording housing and safe neighborhoods, “exempted” from criminal prosecution sometimes.  

Wisdom of FDR:  No country however rich can afford the waste of its human resources.

Sadly, I have witnessed a decline in relationships between those that we ought to be able to trust to protect us, and those who most need that protection.  I have witnessed increased fear of those in positions of authority.  And fear of random armed people among us.  Guns in the hands of people who are not hunters—at least not hunters of animals.  

Site of John Lennon's murder

I have seen that those who are perceived as “different” by those in power, too often have little or no voice. Racial slurs and words of hatred spewed toward others have been resurrected from dark places within us that I had thought were withering away from the bright light of justice and common decency.  I had thought that the past decade saw us moving together as a people. I was wrong.

FDR Memorial.  "The test of our progress is.....whether we provide enough for those who have too little."

Tomorrow Americans shall inaugurate a new president; a president who has not shown a genuine interest in the welfare of this country’s people, nor even a serious interest in shouldering the responsibility of the presidency.  

Trump event during election 

We have found a president who may just be the best example that we could have conjured, to exemplify the drive for personal wealth and power above all other considerations—above honesty, respect, certainly above community and country.  A person who even before inauguration has led the charge to keep racism, xenophobia, arrogance, blatant hatred and fear alive and well within our land.  

A Connecticut superfund site

My fear is that within the next four years, this “leader” and his ill-chosen wealthy cronies will have gutted the functions of the very institutions and agencies which have been established for our people’s protections: Health & Human Services, Education, Justice, Environmental Protection, and on and on.  

"We must scrupulously guard the civil rights.....of all citizens.....oppression, any injustice, any hatred, is a wedge designed to attack our civilization."  FDR 

I hope my fear is unwarranted.  I hope that our nation will not have slipped back 50 years in four years’ time. My fear is that a careless comment or intentional insult from the man we will be obligated to refer to as “president” will launch us into an even more dangerous place than where we’ve been.  

FDR warning to be aware of government by a handful of rulers.

I left the country today, not to avoid the inauguration, but I would not have watched it anyway.  I WOULD however, have liked to participate in the March on Washington on the 21st.  If my readers would be so kind, would you do me the honor of posting how you spend your Inauguration Day 2017 and the day after?  I’ll be thinking of all of us tomorrow. 

From the Little Bahama Bank of the Abacos, I am—

a Sad but Determined American.  

Keep Portland Weird

Portland advertising is frank

Portland, Oregon, that is.  

A day or two before sailing back into the Annapolis harbor in May, we bought two airline tickets to Portland.  Two of our four children live there now and we haven’t seen them since last July.  It was high time for a visit, and the long Memorial Day weekend was a perfect opportunity.  We arrived there in time for the annual Portland Rose Festival. 

International Rose Test Garden in Washington Park, Portland 

We had a lot of catching up to do with our children, in addition to meeting a new person of interest in my son’s life.  The timing of this trip also coincided with my son’s birthday.  Celebrating a child’s birthday in person seems a rare event these last few years.   I had to apologize to my daughter for not having the foresight to give birth to her over a holiday weekend, thereby increasing the likelihood of us visiting over a long weekend.  

Historic Fort Vancouver in foreground.  Mount Hood in the distance.

Portlanders love their mountains and their bicycles.  Bicycling is a popular green option.  They reduce traffic congestion and parking problems.  Portland has invested in the infrastructure to make biking a practical alternative to commute to work.  There are bike lanes most everywhere.  

Bicycle sculpture, downtown Portland

Bikes are even raised to a higher status by being the subject of public works of art, and the theme for numerous brew houses.  As for breweries—I don’t know how many there are in Portland, but am told that one could visit a new brewery every weekend for a year and not even be close to seeing them all.  Brew pubs are scattered throughout the city.  They are neighborhood gathering spots for entire families.  

BrewCycle Portland

It is not surprising, perhaps, that Portlanders have figured out a way to marry their love of bicycles with their appreciation of breweries.  On my son’s birthday, my daughter and his girlfriend treated him and 13 of their closest friends to an afternoon brew pub cycling tour.  Sixteen people, pedaling together to propel something that looks to me like a gypsy wagon, but without the walls.  They pedaled from brew pub to brew pub, imbibing only whilst at each brew pub.   Carl and I waved goodbye and spent the afternoon browsing around downtown Portland.  A pleasant way to spend an afternoon.

Will's Leather goods, made from dairy cow hides

As you probably know, Portland has legalized marijuana.  There are cannabis shops everywhere.   Despite being in Portland for an entire week, I did not see it, nor smell it anywhere.  Neither were there people standing in lines waiting to purchase weed.   There were however, people extending down a whole block waiting to buy doughnuts at VooDoo.  Probably tourists.   

VooDoo Doughnuts.   Known for its' unusual doughnuts.   

Portlanders have come up with some great ideas.   Several have to do with eating and drinking.  McMenamins Corp. bought up several old structures and turned them into wonderfully creative places to dine, party, watch movies, play pool, or even stay overnight.  Each is unique and unusual.   Another idea was so brilliant, I cannot figure out why I’ve never seen it before—a combination laundromat and restaurant!  Genius!  I have spent my fair share of time in laundromats up and down the East Coast and in the Bahamas over the past year.  I would have loved the option of having a meal or cup of coffee and using the laundromat’s Wi-Fi while waiting for my clothes to dry.   

The Silver Man at Portland Saturday Market

The weirdest thing I experienced while in Portland however, was at a W**Mart.   We were invited for gourmet burgers at the home of friends of my children.  We wanted to bring some snacks and beverages to share.  In Oregon, beer and wines are sold  along with groceries so we stopped at a W**Mart.  I picked up the snacks—Carl grabbed some wine and beer and and we hurried to Self-Checkout since we were already running late. Our children did the same, meeting at a different Self-Checkout lane.

Cape Horn Trail Head, Columbia River Gorge

Carl ran the items through the Self-Checkout.  A hassled looking clerk hurried over to us.  She asked to see Carl’s ID.  Then she asked to see mine.  That’s a first, I thought. Vision deficit?  Mistake #1:  My purse was in the car.   Puzzled, we expressed our incredulity.  She held firm, “All members of the party need to produce an ID.”

Carl teaches us about wild Salmon and fisheries.

Mistake #2:  We went to where our children were going through their Self-Checkout lane.   They all had their IDs.  They could pay for our stuff for us, we figured.  Wrong.  The red-faced clerk followed us. “Are you all together,” she asked.  Carl, a little testy by this time, said, “I’ve never seen these people before in my life.” and walked out, calling over his shoulder that he would “go somewhere else” to buy snacks and alcohol.  

Carl and I, Columbia River below

Mistake #3:  I might be more honest than is in my best interest.  I smiled at the clerk half-heartedly, “Yes, we’re together.”  Heh heh.  The clerk said she needed to see their IDs as well.  Four of us answered in unison, “What?”  My daughter, having given up on this nonsense, had paid for her snack selections and announced she was going to bring the car around for us.

Pollination in action

Mistake #4:  I finally decided that the fastest thing would be for me to run to the car, get my ID and pay for our selections rather than finding another store.  I ran back into W**Mart with my ID.  Astonished, the clerk would then not allow me to pay for the alcohol because she had not seen the ID of “all members of our group.”  My daughter, the reprobate wannabe, was now waiting for us in an idling "getaway" car along with my testy husband.  Huh!  In the end, we left without any purchases.  Truly WEIRD event! 

One of thousands of rose species at Washington Park, Portland

The Rose Festival was incredible, by the way.  The wildflowers on a walk in the Columbia River Gorge were beautiful too.  If Portland is weird, it oughta stay just as it is.  (With the exception of the W**Mart clerk training protocol, perhaps.)

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