New Ballgame!

Five days out from the histoic announcement that Biden was stepping down and it didn't take long for Trump's pledge of being kinder to fade like last week's cut flowers. He and his GOP followers still insist on mispronouncing Harris's first name, a real sign of disrespect. And he has already said he's going to get mean and has insulted her up one side and down the other. Now he insists he can back out of the agreed upon debate in September because the candidate has changed. And there are reported to be several states who are pondering legal action due to the change. All smoke and mirrors. And Trump's VP pick, JD Vance has made some truly stunning statements - the most being that the Dems are a bunch of single cat ladies who are mad at the world. And that childless people should not have an electoral voice equal to that of people with children because they do not care about the future of the country. Typical of the GOP, who do not believe in anything that could benefit mankind as a whole. That is a totally foreign concept to them. His stance on abortion is just what one would expect, including the opinion that women in states that forbid abortion should not be allowed to travel out of state to obtain one. So feaking cruel and backward. Kamala seems to have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to VP possibilities - Mark Kelly, Pete Buttigieg, Andy Beshear, Josh Shapiro, Roy Cooper to name a few. Yes, all white guys but each has a unique resume and capabilities. I do agree with one interviewee I saw yesterday who opined that there is a certain percentage of men out there who will never vote for a woman. Sad, as it's their loss. Meanwhile, Kamala has received endorsements form just aobut all the top Dems - just today the Obamas came on board. However, disappointed that Maine's Jared Golden will not budge on that point. (He who last month stated that he would not support Biden and that he'd be okay with Trump as president because the guardrails would protect us. Sigh.)

Travel Blog!

It is currently Thursday as I write this - MONDAY: We left home Monday morning, eventual destination Rochester NY. D. drove until we stopped for lunch in Haverhill, MA. (Friendly's - not as friendly as I remember it being but it's been decades...) I took over driving then which included the usual parking-lot-esque trip along 495. An hour of stop and go and 10mph and we finally hit the Mass Pike. Smooth sailing from then on until our night layover in Albany. Dinner from the 7-11 next to the hotel. tuesday: Breakfast at Uncommon Grounds (localcoffee chain - thanks to the guys at the Sartoga Special for the recommnendation years ago!) and we were on our way again, D. driving. We detoured to Broadalbin to visit D's childhood friend, Mary and her husband Gary. Had coffee and a ride around their family "compound" and then were on our way again. We stopped at the Canastota rest area and switched drivers. We could see the dark clouds gathering ahead of us to the West and by the time we hit Syracuse the heavens opened and it poured - deluged - whatever. Then the Apple Maps GPS blared a TORNADO WARNING!!!! Cars were huddling under bridges, pulled off to the side of the road - we kept going, barely able to see but just enough. Ran into an out of rain several times before we hit the clearing behind the front about 10 miles East of Rochester. Whew! Checked in and relaxed then drove to Wegman's for a dinner salad. WEDNESDAY: A down day - time to stay in one place. Lunch out at Panera, then D. went to play golf with friends while I spent some me time, watching Hallmark and sewing. (5 of 7 pieces finished so far - will save the remaining 2 for the trip home.) THURSDAY: After breakfast took off fot Rochester proper to find Abundance Food Coop where Mary and Gary's daughter works. Nice place with lots of amenities. Rode through D's old neighborhood and he contacted an old friend who will will try to see on Friday. Late afternoon we drove out to the Sea Breeze area for dinner with some friends, Anita and Ray, who live right on Lake Ontario with this view:

FRIDAY: Visited with David's ex-sister-in-law Debbie. She has a lovely small home with wonderful plantings. The hydrangeas are spectacular here! Then we drove out to Palmyra to visit parts of the Palmyra Historical Society - the print shop was of interest to both of us.

After the print shop we walked a block away to the Alling Coverlet Museum.

Then we had dinner at Knucklehead Brewing and retired for the day. SATURDAY: We hung around the hotel for the morning and part of the afternoon, then went to visit another of D's high school friends. Then we went to his nice's house and took her and her son out to dinner at Shamrock Jack's out at Sea Breeze. Afterwards, we went back to Kelly's house and swam in her pool and hung out in the hot tub. SUNDAY: Moving day! Out in the morning to visit with Robin and Greg, then to Pat's house where she fed us coffee and goodies, which sustained us on our drive to Albany. More rain but nothing like Tuesday. Lots of tree damage along the Thruway araound Canajoharie. Reached Albany, checked into the hotel and logged on to find that Biden had stepped aside in favor of Harris. Changes the entire presidential race! Looking forward to getting home tomorrow.

Sigh...

Last evening, without warning, someone decided to attempt to eliminate the threat that one of the candidates for President is peceived of posing for the democracy of the United States. Donald Trunp was not seriously wounded - a bullet grazed his outer ear - but the optics of him diving for cover and then rising and raising his fist in a show of defiance while blood trickled down his face will remain etched in the minds of all. Was his gesture of power appropriate? I do not think so and I'm certain the Secret Service people tring to protect him wish he had just quietly let himself be led offstage. But Trump is going to Trump. Now everyone from Biden to Melania are calling for a cool down in the rhetoric but I suspect it will not change anything in Trump's behavior. Biden on the other hand has already pulled his series of ads that forcefully oppose Trumpism. All this amid the whole "Dump Biden" movement that was the fallout from his one-off performance at the debate 2 weeks ago. I am of the mind to stick with what has worked for us the past 3+ years. I have for years had concerns about the change for change's sake mindset - I experienced it so often in my final years in academia. And it has bled over into politics and business and all parts of life. How often do w log on to Facebook and find everything has changed? And these changes are being driven by the younger segment of the population. CNN recently announced a restructuring and will present more of their content in viceo format. Why? I suspect it is partly driven by the fact that is is less expensive and more expedient to string together some viceo bites that to have an editor analyze a story and then write a thoughtful and coherent piece. And it's certainly less expensive (and often no expense involved) to utilize video from citizen journalists than to dispatch a camera crew. Forget adding context that the average viewer will not consider when viewing the story. (Mainstream media ditched their research departments 15+ years ago, letting reporters do their own research online. I know because I have a friend from college who was sidelined in that movement.) Where we go from here is anyone's guess. I do not know.