I did a couple of these recently. The other day, I pointed out that the song was 50 years old. This one is even older, 57 years, 1963. I need to change tack tomorrow.
for Fandango’s One Word Challenge (FOWC), doleful.
Category: Responses
Who Won the Week (20 September 2020)
I always liked Fandango’s Who Won the Week post, and like to join in with some quirky stories from my own newsfeeds. All from our unique vantage points, the idea is to pick something (a person, organisation, anything) which “won” the week.
But this week, I’m treading on Fandango’s home turf. And going to write about US politics, to boot.
It’s unusual that, in death, somebody could “win” the week, but in all seriousness, I think RBG won the week. It was not a name I had ever heard of until maybe Friday, but on this side of the Atlantic, why would I? But today I looked up a few numbers – in that respect, thank goodness for the internet because all of these numbers were quite easy to obtain just by looking through the records from the U.S. Senate itself.
Let me throw those numbers out there. Don’t worry, there aren’t many.
In 1993, Bill Clinton had just been elected president. The Democrats were on a high. They controlled the Senate, at the start of the session 58:42, and even at the end, by 53:47.
So you would expect that, roughly, votes would go along those lines, wouldn’t you?
1993 was also the year that Ginsberg was appointed. In the confirmation hearing, 3 August, the Senate confirmed her appointment by 96:3, with 1 non-voter.
Think about that for a moment. Despite “party lines”, she was approved almost unanimously. 40-odd senators, despite disagreeing with her politics, voted for her anyway.
Now, ask yourself, could that kind of thing happen in 2020? Now, ask yourself why not. Were ahose Republican senators back then “wet”, for supporting a Democrat appointment? All except for three of them?
Ruth Ginsberg won the week because even in death, she leaves us with these observations.
On the Inexorable Rewilding of my Garden
I admire gardens well-maintained
Every year mine just leaves me drained.
Why is that, you want to know?
All mine does is grow and grow.
Fancy-named flowers, a veggie crop?
All I did was cut and chop.
I never planted any seeds,
I’d never tell them from the weeds.
I have every tool that the market produces,
Hedge trimmer and chainsaw both have their uses.
But could you really say that my fingers were green,
When all I did was use cutting machines?
And since my “bump” I’m such a slob,
Where maintaining the garden’s a full-time job.
But with just one working hand, it’s clear,
That operating chainsaws is a bad idea.
for Fandango’s One Word Challenge (FOWC) of 20 September 2020, inexorable.
Fandango’s One Word Challenge (19 September 2020)
I knew immediately what I wanted to do today, but it took me ages to find this mix on YouTube. It is very long but I liked it – I listened to all 11 minutes, but I can happily listen to Marvin all day. Actually, there’s another really good version by Usher, but you’ll never top the original.
This song is fifty years old. Don’t kid yourselves that we never knew.
for Fandango’s One Word Challenge (FOWC), climate.
The In-Laws
inspired by Fandango’s One Word Challenge (FOWC) of 18 September 2020, reconcile.
Where women were concerned, Paul’s mother, Mary, just wanted her son to be happy. There were various “nice to haves”, but in general, if Paul was happy… Even as a youngster, when he was seeing a woman, it tended to be a big deal – Paul did not go much for “casual”. She had seen him marry Beth, incredibly young, but she seemed to be a stabilising influence on him, although Mary no longer saw as much of him.
When grandson Jake arrived, she was ecstatic. Wasn’t it about time?
But then came the divorce. Divorce was not really a word in Mary’s vocabulary – socially conservative, she believed that life was life, although she had sufficient experience to know that relationships are never as smooth as we would like. In the months following the divorce, she had witnessed Paul retreat into his shell. He argued that it was a good thing, but she saw the negative effects.
Mary learned about Anna, therefore, in dribs and drabs. The biggest indicator was when she happened to see a shirt, which clearly belonged to a woman, on the floor in Paul’s bedroom. Paul would tell her in his own time, but she was pleased he was meeting people again.
Over the next couple of weeks, Mary teased information from Paul, little by little, until it became an established fact. Paul could have guessed what would come next – Mary would like to meet this new woman.
It took a few more weeks, but Paul convinced Anna to meet Mary. Apart from Jake, she would be the first “family” person anybody had met. The date was set for a Sunday lunch, one weekend when Jake was staying with Paul – all three would meet and head to Mary’s. Mary would provide the main course, Paul dessert.
On the day itself, Anna had slight butterflies, but really, she need not have worried. So long as Paul liked her, it did not matter to Mary.
I’ve written a background to these characters, in the posts below.
