Holidays impose malaise for some of us

I have gone from feeling less of the holiday spirit to actually resenting the holidays. The holidays automatically have challenges for people who live alone and have little or no family. And there are more of us than you might think. 

Simply having your routine disrupted can have health risks. Very similar to the reported risks that come with the change from DST to standard time or vice versa. People can have heart attacks. 

So last week a favored restaurant of mine in Morris was closed three days. Twice for Christmas and once for the Dean Monson funeral. I liked Dean but I didn't think life had to come to a halt totally for his funeral. Of course many of us have to make adjustments to such disruptions. For sure there would be no business closed if I died. 

I liked Dean even though he was quite zealous on political matters in a way contrary to me. 

I awaken this morning on New Year's Eve Day and see another picture of Donald Trump at the top of Yahoo! News. Well of course, what did you expect? We in Stevens County appear to be investing all our hopes and dreams in this person. But look at his totally tasteless and disrespectful way of talking about so many things/people. It comes at us almost daily. We appear blind to it here in Stevens County. 

 

Here we go again 

I wonder if the restaurant of which I speak is open on New Year's Eve Day or New Year's Day. I could understand the latter, not really the former. Don's Cafe was open on Christmas Eve Day, did a rather brisk business it appeared. People need to eat. Casey's opens at 10 a.m. on Christmas Day and it can be a refuge. 

I have a background of dealing with diabetes. However, in my last two visits to the doc I have been told I am "pre-diabetes." I take this as good news. I bring this up because it's justification for having my refrigerator and freezer disconnected in my house. So I eliminate a lot of food temptations. But it also means I cannot store food away in those places to deal with holidays. 

If DeToy's here in town is a barometer, things will be getting worse and worse with hospitality establishments choosing to be closed for, well, for any excuse that might be cited. Will it spread to MLK Day? I have to laugh: in our current political climate with DJT at the top, could you imagine MLK Day having a snowball's chance in hell of getting approved? I don't like it partly because it comes along so soon after the long semester break at our UMN-Morris. UMM ought to be getting more lively at that time, rather than shutting down on Monday.

We must be legally obligated to roll over for that holiday. Apparently a lot of people agree with my skepticism. Because, there has been a move to make the day more than about remembering MLK. It is now "Martin Luther King Day of Service." It can be commended in that regard. 

But I would prefer that it not exist at all. It celebrates the life of a man who made a crusade out of getting basic rights for a class of people who should have had those rights all along. It's a depressing reminder of our past, and getting close to home it's like how our UMM recognizes the past injustices toward Native Americans. 

To study history is to study how the strong have exploited the weak. What matters is how we move forward with appropriate actions and policies. Today's young people had nothing to do with injustices toward black people or Native Americans. 

It seems naive now to even break down the population as "white" and "black." Because, we are a rainbow culture and we should simply judge people as people. And I think the young people do. The Supreme Court has gone all the way to striking down "affirmative action." So I'm not sure how UMM's Native policy can continue. A "treaty" would insulate it. But I don't think it's based on a literal treaty. And the Natives are allowed to go to school here without paying tuition. 

And you have to be one-fourth Native? Can we be sure these calculations are credible/accurate? 

Morris area people would like to know how UMM will do with "retention" of students from one semester into the next. Can we count on getting accurate figures? There are people in authority who have a vested interest in such figures, obviously. 

Is Minnesota really allowing "fraud" to run rampant? Of course fraud is an unacceptable thing. 

 

Seeking relief 

I sure hope the holiday slump or malaise is over after tomorrow (Thursday). Yes for me it is a malaise. I have to work at keeping my spirits up. We don't even know the date on which Christ was born. So what gives? "Christmas" grew out of a pagan holiday. After several years of suffering Trump, paganism is starting to look more appealing to me. The Christian faith in America was responsible for getting Trump elected twice. It would not have happened without all the "evangelicals." 

So maybe I should just damn the Christian faith.  

We will miss Dean

Dean Monson was a huge flag-waver for the Republicans. Our congressperson Michelle Fischbach could not be a more reverential DJT supporter. However, I don't think she has mentioned him by name in her last several email releases. I got on her list because of a question I tried asking her once. It is no use trying to communicate with her. She looks up to the Orange Man as if he is Christ himself. 

 

"Ticking time bomb" 

I fear America has been in decline ever since the "2008 financial crisis." All we did was paper over the crisis. There has been a ticking time bomb since. Remember the days when a senior citizen like me could go into a bank and get a CD that paid decent interest? It was so routine. The bank employees would even say "thank you" as they were agreeing to pay you a substantial amount of $. Bygone times. 

DJT is trying to run roughshod over the Federal Reserve now. The president is not even supposed to comment about the Federal Reserve. 

Thank God the holidays are almost over. If Congress has not impeached Trump by now, it will never happen. We can't fight Mike Johnson who represents a state of the old Confederacy. Those people have not let go. And now we in Minnesota are supposed to shout "retard!" at our governor! 

Forgive them, Lord, for they know not what they do. 

God is more charitable than I am.

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com