When Eileen and I approached the check in kiosk at the airport yesterday and Eileen put her credit card in it, it told us we were too close to our flight’s departure to use it. We should contact a service representative. We were puzzled because it was only 5 PM and our flight was scheduled at 6:30. Unfortunately when we talked to the rep we discovered that our flight was leaving not at 6:30 for Houston but in minutes for Denver. This had been changed a while back and we missed it in the many emails these services send out, plus we also have a flight scheduled for November and have received updates about it. Oops.

Eileen was discouraged and blamed herself. I, on the other hand, was not so bummed out and actually looked did not find the prospect of returning to the privacy of my own home onerous. (I like my life)

Eileen’s mood lightened a bit after a margarita and Mexican food. Our rescheduled flight leaves today in the early afternoon. Eileen has said we should leave by noon.

 

I got up this morning and finished reading King Lear. This means I don’t have to take this book along. And though it’s small I am looking to trim all nonessential stuff for the trip. I loved Lear by the way. I bought an annotated version of Timon of Athens for my Kindle this morning. This is next on my list of Shakespeare plays to read.

My daughter-in-law, Cynthia, told Eileen she was planning a Thursday beach trip for all of us. This will be fun, but I wonder if I will be able to read my tablet on the beach.

I am taking a hard copy of Shostakovich’s Testimony, his ghost written memoirs. I will be able to read that at least.

This morning I also downloaded what I thought was a copy of Shostakovich’s 24 preludes and fugues. I adore this music and like playing through them as I read his memoirs. I sat down at the piano to play a few from my tablet and discovered that this online bootleg pdf only had the preludes and not the fugues. I found that funny. I found a complete version and downloaded that.

As the Democratic convention is going on this week I am finding myself reminding myself that while there are many things I love about America at the same time I know that in my simple foolish heart of hearts I detest the idea of states and countries as artificial. I believe in community, but not institutions. I will vote for Hillary but refuse to let this hysteria dominate my daily life. Fuck it.

 

I pay attention to events in the world, but am still convicted there is more truth in poetry, music, art, and literature than in the shrill low content scrolling of the 24 hour news cycle. Facebooger has helped teach me this.

Postman was convinced that TV was an entertainment media which was most itself when doing just that, entertaining. There is a similar effect in online social media. I marvel at what seem to be the expectations of others I watch and read on Facebooger. I think it’s an shallow experience of  low content flourishes. I find it interesting to see what my loved ones are posting even the ones I sadly disagree with. But I don’t look to Facebooger for much content. Occasionally I am pleasantly surprised by a link but only if I take the time. If information floating past me on my facebooger feed is not understandable within a couple seconds I move on. This excepts things clearly posted by family.

Anyway, all governments are jerks. All politicians lie. We most of us have to live our quiet lives in a manner we can reconcile with our own consciences. I know that I am privileged in my life. I don’t necessarily deserve it, but want to enjoy it without directly doing harm to others in the society by my inactions. Maybe this is what it was like to live in preWWII Germany or Italy.

5 Reasons Why Trump Will Win | MICHAEL MOORE

Moore is not someone I entirely endorse. I see him as more entertainer than thinker. However, I do think he’s onto a few things in this article. For one thing the inertness of people in the society about voting especially when confronted with any sort of obstacle. Like I say, I plan to vote for Hilary, but my hope in government is fading fast.

Trump: Tribune Of Poor White People | The American Conservative

Pursuing the idea of trying to understand people I disagree with I found this article helpful. I have spent some of life living in the south. I know the terrible poverty that can exist there. While our country is not suffering in the way many countries are the world, there are some dire things going on especially with employment. I see it as due as much to technology as the greed of corporations. But I can also see that Trump has positioned himself as the true outsider and every endorsement of Hilary is a confirmation of her as one of the insiders. Yikes.