Escape plan

These are the times that try men’s souls.

I don’t trust myself to write coherently about what is going on here in the USA. When people talked about having an escape plan and leaving the country after Trump was elected, I said you can run, but you can’t hide. Dark political forces never rest, no matter where you live. May as well stay and ride it out. Do what you can to resist, help others and try to enjoy life.

Nothing has changed. That’s still the plan, but geez, Trump’s U.N. speech was whackadoodle and now Don and Pete’s excellent adventure at Quantico … I find myself browsing sites that tell you how to leave.

Just window shopping. I’m ever hopeful we’ll pull through this. I don’t need much to keep me going. A key resignation. Mass resistance. Somebody with a backbone. The Epstein files. Every little bit counts.

In spite of it all, I feel pretty good. Thank you, God, for Jameson Black Barrel.

My meeting with the Indivisible contact was postponed, but it’s back on the schedule for this weekend. I’m excited to see how I can help. Dale and I are planning to attend one of the No Kings protests on Oct. 18. It’s just a matter of which location. I vote for easy parking.

I’m so grateful to have hobbies and interests that take me out of the current political moment and give me joy. As I’ve said time and again, it’s all about simple pleasures. Maybe I’m turning soft, or maybe just because it’s fall, but even noticing changes in the weather or the light feels like a gift.

You may recall I’ve been dabbling at art since Covid, and seriously, it has been a lifeline. I burn designs on wood and then paint them for a mural-like effect. I was using pallet scraps but recently decided to do something different. For Number 46, I purchased a piece of bass wood typically used for craft projects.

So, here she is. Number 46.

While the wood was nice to work with, I find it rather one-dimensional. I probably won’t buy it again. And I should be OK, because I bought a big box of some really cool reclaimed wood that I’m eager to try. I sanded a couple of them yesterday, so they’re primed and ready.

That’s my escape plan.

12 thoughts on “Escape plan”

  1. #46 is fantastic! I especially love the woodpecker. Living in a red state, I just dream of moving next door to a blue state. Do any of the people who voted for the guy ever read transcripts of his speeches? He often sounds a lot like my father who had dementia.

    1. Yes, I like the cat on the flying carpet. I’m also partial to Mr. Peanut, although that’s probably a trademark violation.

  3. I’m a fan of Jameson, but haven’t tried the Black Barrel – you have tempted me…

    I cannot conceive of how it must feel to live in the US at the moment if one is not of the MAGA persuasion. Although my sister’s family (and my mother) are there, my mother has always been able to ignore the rest of the world and my sister has her hands full with her own health issues, on top of dealing with both her husband and my mother which would test the patience of an actual saint – so I can’t blame her for being an ostrich.

    We’re seeing a right wing wave rising up again here in the UK which is causing me no little amount of distress. Sigh. So I’m reading, lots & lots of books…

    1. The Black Barrel is so smooth.

      Watching this happen to our country is horrible and embarrassing. I feel like crying all the time, but I know I have to get out of that mode. As for your right-wing rising, that’s one of the reasons I say stay where you are. This is a global thing. You can run, but you can’t hide.

      I’ll post more on books, but a few on my list include the new Murder Club book by Richard Osman, a new Walter Mosley featuring Easy Rawlins and a new Lincoln Lawyer book by Michael Connelly. Happy reading!

  4. I am having such a hard time with this craziness from tRump and Hegseth, both of whom are such assholes. But more than that, they are tearing our country apart. I was glad to read Pope Leo really called out Rump and Hegseth, so that was positive. If I could go to Canada, I would in a heartbeat.

    1. It’s just horrible. But I am always reminded of a quote from LOTR:

      “I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo. “So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

      I was inspired by your post about Zen Buddhism. I think it would do me good to learn more about that.

  5. I noticed the woodpecker first as well! And Mr Peanut. How fun.

    I was thinking about how to move to a Blue State. Because, not only do we have the idiots at the country’s helm, we currently live in a state that’s acting insane as well. Of course, we’re committed here at the moment. Committed feel like the right term… as I typed it, it felt like “committed to the looney bin”.

    1. I’m still in favor of staying where you are if you’re happy otherwise. I have lived in red states — South Carolina, Alabama and Texas — and despite politics, we enjoyed life in those places.

  6. I love everything about art #46…the kitties, cow, goat, woodpecker and pumpkins..so dang cute! Art will save us. So glad you are sharing it with us Donna. This week has been beyond humiliating. General Fatton and his little boy…a disgrace.

    1. Thank you! Cows, goats, kitties — better than General Fatton. Thanks for the laugh!!

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