That Was One Wacky Week
Trying to stay sane when Up is Down and Down is the norm
What the hell WAS that?
Did you watch the presidential debate on Tuesday? Never mind, I did it for you. It was a match between an obnoxious kid intent on bullying his stage mate and a presidential candidate trying his best to remain calm while talking up the need to save the country from that kid. That’s it. That’s all there was.
On Wednesday Trump held an outdoor/indoor fundraiser/celebration for a totally inadequate and unqualified, maybe even dangerous, replacement for The Notorious RBG. The audience, made up of dozens and dozens of GOP elites (who paid upwards of $250,000 a head for the privilege), was packed together on the Rose Garden lawn, cheering on the man at the podium, all without masks. And one by one, COVID is toppling them—proof that karma is indeed a thing. Melania, Kellyanne, Hope Hicks, Chris Christie, three GOP senators, and last but deliciously not least—Donald J. Trump.
We learned the president* had COVID when he tweeted the news himself at 1 AM on Thursday. Or was it Friday? Never mind. The next day he was either fine or he was really sick. By Friday evening we were watching a helicopter land on the White House lawn, ready to take an ailing but hale and hearty president* to Walter Reed Hospital.
On Saturday a team of doctors, including Trump’s WH doctor, held a press conference/pep rally, announcing that the ailing president* was in fact, doing great! Trump himself sat for two tapings (minutes apart, it turns out, but made to look like they were days apart) so we could see how mightily he’s vanquishing that ol’ debbil COVID. See? It’s not so bad. He learned a few things about COVID, he said, but whatever it was he learned, apparently strict quarantining wasn’t one of them.
On Sunday, Trump, hopped up on steroids and who knows what else, looked out his window, saw the crowds of his insanely insatiable supporters, and decided he needed to get out there and rally his troops. And he did.
We don’t know what went on inside those walls; we don’t know who tried desperately to talk him down, or who said, “What the hell, let the old guy do it”, but Trump, in another video, gleefully told the country that he was going to have a nice surprise for everyone, and the next thing we knew he was outside the hospital and inside a big black SUV—not alone but with Secret Service men and a driver, all masked, but still prisoners in that hermetically sealed germ factory.
They circled the hospital grounds, Trump waving like a madman, happier than we’ve ever seen him, and the crowd went wild! Horns honking! Whistles blowing! Woops and cheers! Take that, COVID!
And this morning we’re hearing Trump will be released and will head back to the White House. Pretty sure I heard that right, but who knows? I’m Alice and this is a darker, more insane version of Wonderland and I wish to hell I’d wake up and find myself back where I was before this nightmare.
So you’re wondering—how did my writing go last week? (You’re not? Oh.) After the debate on Tuesday, I wrote a piece called, “As Shit Shows Go, Trump’s Presidency Tops Them All”.
Then I wrote a non-political piece called, “You Want Me To Be Happy About Dying”. Something I read triggered it but I don’t remember what it was now. Too much going on. All I know is it seemed important at the time to get it down. Many of you won’t agree with it, but that’s the point. We all have our own ideas about an afterlife, and most if not all of them, including mine, are probably wrong.
After my call for political stories on my publication, Indelible Ink, I was kind of swamped with submissions, only a handful of which were good enough to publish. My own fault. In my zeal to get those stories out, I forgot to mention that the writing had to be, well, good. (I’ve since added a note about quality writing to my Submission Guidelines.)
This is my latest Indy Ink Newsletter, “Indelible Voices on the Political Front”, where some of those stories are highlighted. The ones I did choose are diverse and, I think, well worth the time to read them. As always, anyone wanting to write for Indelible Ink is welcome to submit their stories. Read the Submission Guidelines carefully, and be sure to ask questions if you don’t understand it all. I’m quick to respond and encourage all writers to do that thing—write.
I leave you with a view of Lake Superior fall colors. Because life goes on and life can be beautiful.
