September 21, 2023

 

So I have been spending the last few weeks working on my new book, Leaving Candyland, and have avoided, for the most part, both the news and social media. I made the decision to leave the site formerly known as Twitter and I vowed to never visit Donald’s Truth Social page again because frankly, reading that poison makes me feel…murderous. To put it mildly.

Luckily the two of us will never be in a room alone together. It wouldn’t be pretty. I may be small but I’m mighty.

Wait.

EWWWWWWWWWW.

Okay, I feel better.

But now, unfortunately, I have the answer to a question I’ve been asking myself since November 7, 2016. How can good people vote for Trump? I understand the bigots, but I’m talking normal people. How can they not be thoroughly repulsed and terrified by what he says and does on a daily basis?

Welp, now I have the answer. 

It’s because they have no idea.

Unless you are always online on a Twitter type site and/or watching MSNBC 24/7, the average person doesn’t know about the Republican rapid and obvious march toward fascism. They have no idea that electing Donald means the end of our democracy.

They have no clue he sounds both dementia ridden and INSANE.

I know this for sure because for the last three weeks, I have been living my life as a pre-internet person and realized the other night I’ve stopped obsessing over him and his evil Republican cohorts. I put on local news every night for a few minutes and there’s no mention of government shutdowns or Jack Smith or anything Donald. Just sports talk and weather and news of inflation and more shootings and crime for which Biden and the democrats are getting  blamed.

Unfuckingbelievable.

Because there’s never any follow up commentary about how the Republicans are running Congress and they will not do anything about guns or billionaires’ money and the purchase of power.

Honestly, I want to leave America but my kids don’t have the same urgency so I’m not going anywhere. I have no other choice but if I want to stay happy and healthy, I need to stay offline.

I don’t want to know what’s going on anymore. From politics to pop culture, I’m done.  I’m old and I am tired of being horrified.

But my family, music, books, and great food? Bring it on!

So that’s what’s been happening lately at Casa Slick.  Lots and lots of the above, including a wonderful unexpected visit from Eric on Rosh Hashanah. Gary made an incredible vegetarian matzo ball soup and then the two of them went to the Peter Gabriel show where they had a campers’ reunion backstage and not only got to chat and take a pic with Tony Levin but chatted with Mike Portnoy and Omar Hakim, also there to see the show.

Jasper and I stayed home and and watched MasterChef and the Halloween Baking Championship. Jasper had a frozen bacon cheese pup cup and I had a big bowl of vegan chocolate peanut butter ice cream.

It was glorious.

You know what? It’s possible to live in the real world after all.

And now, back to editing Candyland.