The final installment of the HBO Series The Last of Us aired last night. Recall this series is based on a video game of the same name. There are two primary characters: Joel, the protector, and Ellie, the 14 year old allegedly immune to the fungus turning people into zombies. They’d spent eight previous episodes enduring all manner of misery in order to reach Salt Lake City and the ‘fireflies’ who can use something in Ellie to create a vaccine. At least that was the story they believed.

But alas, that wasn’t the entire story. For humanity to live, Ellie must die – via brain surgery. Oh, and there are no guarantees that this can save humanity. “The Surgeon thinks” this might work. Well, that’s not good enough for Joel the protector. He says ‘no dice’, then proceeds to shoot everyone who stands between him and Ellie, his substitute daughter. Perfectly logical reaction, right?

OK, first the overtones. Salt Lake City – Mormon Central, that sect not known for lionizing women. Ellie, the Christ-like sacrificial lamb. Not a 33 year old Nazarene this time: a 14 year old girl is the savior of humanity. Through flashback, we get a glimpse of why Ellie is immune. Just after her birth, Ellie’s mother is bitten by a zombie. She cuts the umbilical cord and the idea is the fungus is in the newborn’s brain, and somehow that makes her ‘one of them’ without being ‘one of them’. Yeah, whatever.

The NY Times reviewer for this episode included a link to a review of the video game from ten years ago. A guy named Chris Suellentrop wrote about its shortcomings and the industry as a whole back then. Apparently it was difficult for the player to assume the role of Ellie for much of The Last of Us. Another link to a 2014 review suggests that episode 7 of the HBO series was a subsequent, separate game. Finally, the review of The Last of Us Part II makes it clear that the HBO series ends with that game’s beginning. Before Joel dies. At the hands of a vengeful woman called Abby. But undoubtedly that’s the stuff of the second series which HBO has already approved.

There is so much to be said about it all, but the episode that really got me wasn’t this final one, it was its predecessor, Episode 8. That was the first time we saw Ellie as something very different: a killer. She was a kid before meeting a cult-like leader who also happened to rationalize and indulge in cannibalism. Normal kind of behavior right? It was inevitable in this landscape. That changed her virtually overnight; she effectively grew up because of her exposure to this man and his followers. Sounds very similar to my plot in the first five books of Suffer the Children. But oh man was I ever naïve in writing that series. There’s this whole world out there – the video game world, its players, reviewers – a virtual industry previously unknown to me. It pushes the limits of everything that is terrifying and hopeless. I’m not entire sure I want to know more about it. Emily and I discussed what I perceive to be a nihilistic bent for her generation. But when we watched Episode 9 together, even she said it was, in her words, ‘really dark’. These are, indeed, times of transition for all of us. We should all just hold onto our hats..it’s gonna be a bumpy ride.

New topic: the recent failure of several banks, some affiliated with crypto, others primary money suppliers to startups. All ‘iffy’ banks. Silicon Valley (SVB) and Signature Bank both went under in the last few days, the result of bad managerial anticipation of the impact of interest rate hikes and skittish depositors. Over the weekend, the Fed tried to find a buyer for SVB with only partial success. The answer? Make all depositors whole, using an alleged ‘one year’ loan to staunch the outflow of cash. Will that be sufficient? According to Marketwatch, there are nine other ‘iffy’ banks out there. If you were a depositor at any one of those, would you leave your money in? Not likely. There will undoubtedly be more fallout to come. Stay tuned, and I’ll write more as it manifests itself.

It’s a fascinating world we live in, eh? Tomorrow we’ll talk about the Saudis making nice with the Iranians and what MBS wants from the US in exchange for God knows what. Can you say nook you lar? George W. Bush did, once upon a time. Later!

Last evening, the Chiefs shone in the second half of the Super Bowl. They dominated the Eagles the entire two quarters. Philly players looked stunned by the outcome. C’est la vie. But I found such irony in another fact. The show playing opposite the Super Bowl was set in Kansas City. But there was little celebrating going on in that plot: it was The Last of Us, Episode 5, entitled “Long, Long Time”. Joel and Ellie arrived in Kansas City to find the city overrun, not by killer mutants but by killer humans, bent on revenge on collaborators with the newly-overthrown government. There were no surprises until the very end, when one of the human horde’s SUVs gets swallowed up in a sinkhole, revealing a swarm of mutants that kill the vengeful last vestige of humanity in KC. Kinda looked like the Chiefs’ defense swarming over the Eagles’ attempts to pursue yardage.

There were some issues with the show (no, not Rihanna’s half-time program), but The zombie one. First, there was a big issue with casting. The ‘bad girl’ Kathleen was played by Melanie Lynsky, who will forever be Rose on Two and a Half Men for me. She was most unconvincing as a ruthless killer. Too lispy. Then there’s the soundtrack. Now I know this show is based on a video game, so the music is aimed at a slightly younger demographic. But geez, guys, to call it insipid is to be generous. Moony girl voices, singing songs I know nothing of, add nothing to the proceedings. Often the cleverest shows include songs in the closing credits that appeal to a different age. In this case, they could have gone with the old time pop tune “Kansas City” by Lieber and Stoller, sung by Wilbert Harrison in 1959. But that would be too obvious. A better option would have been to honor Kansas City’s contribution to jazz that began in the 20’s in the Prohibition era. The town was overseen by a political boss named Tom Pendergast. 12th Street and Vine had about 50 jazz clubs, the site referenced in a verse of Wilbert’s song.

KC is where the likes of Count Basie and Charlie Parker got started with their particular form of jazz. So the end of the show could have featured Basie’s “One O’Clock Jump” or maybe “April in Paris”, but it feels like neither of these fit. Instead, I think the Charlie Parker songbook would have been more appropriate. “Bird of Paradise” would likely have been too obscure and too upbeat for the mood. The one I would have picked would have been ‘Don’t Blame Me”, title appropriate to the theme of the show, and just the right tempo.

It’s too bad the show runners aren’t better educated on musical genres apart from current EMO-ish tunes. They missed a real opportunity last night. But speaking of EMO, I had some other thoughts about The Last of Us. Recognizing it’s based on a video game, I started to notice by Episode 5 that everyone dies, some sooner, some later. But everyone except Joel and Ellie die. No one is left behind, waving goodbye. But that is the nature of video games. No! Often that is the goal of a video game: kill everyone. How very sad for young people. No wonder you’re all so jaded and depressed. No wonder these mass shootings occur. No, I’m not suggesting a causative relationship between video games and mass shootings. What I am suggesting is that a hopeless young person often acts out their rage and despair in one last act that will give them notoriety. If you can’t find it in a video arena, why not real life? Whatever that is.

I tested positive for Covid-19 last Sunday, so today is technically day 7 of the illness. My biggest issue now is waking up with a very dry mouth and a dull headache, likely a sign of dehydration. I’ve been drinking plenty of fluids, but the combination of having the heat on and mouth breathing from a clogged nose is causing trouble. Will this ever be over?

I expect to return to work on Tuesday of next week. According to the Department of Health who phoned yesterday, I should be ‘uncontagious’ after seven days. Since I’m off Sunday and Monday, that puts me back to work on Tuesday. I have to go back, no matter what. It’s the principal of the thing that old broads can recover from their illness and carry on. Right?

So is this as good as it’s gonna get? Have I reached a health plateau with nowhere to go but down? If so, that really requires some new thinking about priorities and the future. When do you ever know? If you knew your time on this planet was limited, how would you spend your final, healthy hours? Guess for me that means returning to writing as much as possible. That will certainly require some thought about working. More discussion to follow.

I think I’ll wait until I finish watching all the episodes of Season 3 of Deadwood to discuss it. After all, there’s three or four more to go and the climax of the story has yet to happen. Sounds like a buildup, huh? Sorta. But here’s my point – according to David Milch’s autobiographical book Life’s Work, there was no intention to end the series after Season 3: John from Cincinnati was in the works and he couldn’t write two series at the same time. So Deadwood ended, only to return years later as a movie. Haven’t seen that one yet either. So best to wait to opine about this series that I failed to watch when it was new in the early 2000’s.

Then what’s to talk about? Planning for the New Year and deciding to beat this infernal illness. Is there anything more vital than that at this time? If there is, I can’t think what it might be.

Well, I tested positive for Covid this morning. After Erik got it about ten days ago, I guess my chances of escaping it were about nil. Sadly, I have the flu first, so that made wearing a mask difficult. Now I call home Germ Central, and am plotting GPS coordinates for my ashes to be scattered next to the pond. Just kidding..I hope.

So my perfect attendance record at HD is shattered. Ah well, couldn’t last forever, not at my age, right? I really could use a rest anyway. So much for my career as a paint maven. Tomorrow I have a pre-interview for a construction company. No illusions about how it will turn out, but it’s all copy, right?

If I felt better I’d write a post about Deadwood, the HBO series Aunt Jopie and I have been watching for months. I have lots of thoughts about the series, but right now it’s just not in me to collect those notions. Later.

January 1st of 2023 – seems like it sure took its time getting here. All the reviews of 2022 referenced the war in Ukraine, how badly the mid-terms didn’t go, and the current economic trends. You know – you’ve seen it everywhere in major media. So what will ’23 be like?

Let’s start with the economy: will there be a recession or will we stumble through without it? It’ll be hard to say as there are so many conflicting signs. Not enough workers means the effect on unemployment will likely be negligible. Demographics and lack of immigrants will greatly affect that element. So what’s a recession without a significant increase in unemployment? Wage stagnation? Not likely. Young people will job hop for a nickel an hour raise. I suspect business will finally begin to see that the trend they thought was temporary is here to stay. Wages will stay firm, but inflation will keep us all at about the same place. Do we care? Likely not. What will we care about?

I know what I’ll care about – finally being rid of Covid-19. Erik got it last week. Son-in-law Colter has it this week. Fortunately, granddaughter Kiernan with the dodgy ticker has escaped its wrath so far. So my New Year’s resolution is for the family to remain Covid-free. That’s more a matter of luck than skill now that whichever variant we’re on is so highly transmissible. And there’s no Fauci any more to explain where we’re at. People: we’re on our own. The little dude left for a well-deserved retirement.

Second goal? Reduce my sugar intake and work on improving dental health. Found a new dentist that is terrific, so it’s time to work on making sure good oral health is a top priority. New front teeth for starters. My current ones are 45 years old, so it’s well past time for a change. They were lost in a tank accident about that long ago. No, not a Sherman, a rolling grain feed silo on a rampage. Is there really a correlation between Alzheimer’s and sugar consumption like the pop docs would have you believe? Who knows – just know too much sugar is bad all around. So water instead of soda. Can’t hurt – can only help.

What else? Keep working on my goal of learning to be a better mother. It takes a whole lot of effort and I surely don’t ever succeed at every juncture. But the goal is out there, so I’ll keep working on it. It’s really important.

Anything else people? Oh yeah: pray the war in Ukraine is over soon before any more havoc is wreaked on the innocent families of that country. Vlad the Invader lost the PR war the first day when Zelensky stayed. Putin’s power is slowly coming to an end. Time to get it over with and let Russia find a new way to live, using Ukraine as a model. Otherwise, nobody wins.

I saw a headline the other day for some website asking the question, if you could have dinner with five presidents, who would they be?

I took it to mean five American presidents, so I went with that – simple, I know, but let’s not get too cute, huh? So here’s my list: FDR (of course), Teddy Roosevelt, his cousin, Abe Lincoln (duh!), Barack Obama (huh? Bear with me – you’ll see why), John Adams and Player to be announced (patience, grasshopper)!

The presidents and I are seated around the table, and everyone is relishing their meal. After the soup course, I clink my water glass, saying “OK, let’s get this party started. First topic: state of affairs in America today. Discuss.”

All of them start to talk at the same time, then start arguing with each other and getting red in the face. I shout over the din, “Hey! One at a time. John A – you’re the oldest guy here – you start. John glowers at the assemblage. “Things today are no different than they were back in my day. Why, I was commenting about that just the other day to TJ – oh, gee – where is Mr. Jefferson? Did he not merit an invite? How interesting. I let it be known to him before I left that he’d not been invi..”

“Hey, John,” I say. Please stay on topic.” John smiles, saying, “Yes, very well. The same debate is going on today about whether the federal government or individual states have the overweening power. That debate will likely never be resolved. When I talked with Abigail about that yesterday – by the way, why wasn’t she invited to this soiree? There are no women here, and she would likely be considered America’s first feminist.”

“Certainly that’s true, John,” I reply. “But I’ve talked with her elsewhere, along with Custer and Crazy Horse.”

John says, “Madam, I know you’ve mentioned those people in the outline of that sequel you wrote to Suffer the Children, but she’s still in outline form. She’s been waiting to speak now for over a year. She asked me to tell you to get on with it, please.”

Thank you, John. Now, let’s see, who’d like to offer their opinion on..”

“Are you doing this chronologically? If so, I believe Mr. Lincoln has the floor.”

I sigh. “Yes, thank you, John. President Lincoln, you’re looking well.”

“As well as a man can with a hole in the back of his head. But let’s not dwell on all that. The state of American affairs today is so very much better than the America I inherited in 1860. You and your ilk have no appreciation of how difficult things were back then. Relatively speaking, the country is in pretty good shape today.”

“I concur,” I say. “But now that you have the floor, I’d like to ask you a question. What were you thinking when you listened to Frank Blair and called for a hundred thousand troops to put down the insurrection after the attack on Ft. Sumter? I would argue you started the Civil War.”

Abe sighs. “I was new to the presidency. Everyone hated that I’d won – you know, Doris G and that guy Tagg both got it just right in those books about how everyone in the country hated me. Blair was the father of the Republican party, and since he helped get me elected, I felt obliged to listen to him. Boy, was that ever a mistake. But I hung in there for four years, and what was my reward for saving the union and freeing the slaves?” Abe turned around for the assemblage to see the back of his head. “Thanks a lot for nothing! Molly was so distraught about the turn of events, and I ..”

Teddy interrupts Abe. “With all due respect, Mr. President, if I’d been in charge, the whole thing would have been over with in two weeks. Why, when I charged up San Juan Hill with the Rough Riders, the day was won and ..”

“Thank you, Teddy. But I’d like to hear from President Lincoln about the Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment. They certainly changed the course of American history, wouldn’t you all agree?”

There was mumbling and grudging assent from the group. Abe smiled. “Actually, Congress had already passed something similar to what was in the EP, as I liked to call it. But when they did it, nobody paid any attention. When I did it, everyone howled like scalded cats. It went too far..it didn’t go far enough. I never could catch a break. But credit must be given to my friend, Frederick Douglass. He was the one that got behind the EP, and persuaded a hundred eighty thousand or so of his fellow Negroes to join the Union Army. It made the difference, generals be damned. We just wore Lee and the South out. As for the Thirteenth Amendment, that was just politics. Spielberg got it right in that movie. That Day-Lewis fellow did a pretty good job of playing me..I..”

“Thank you, Mr. Lincoln. Let’s move on as we’re nearly finished with the main course, and there’s lots more to hear from others. OK, Teddy, you’re up. What do you have to say about the state of affairs in this country today?”

Teddy thoughtfully cleaned his round glasses. “Corporations. They’re back. I thought I’d gotten rid of them with my trust busting. But they’re like cockroaches – you can never kill them all. That British PM Truss got run out of office by the power of corporations. They’ll be the downfall of the world with their greed and ruthlessness. I say gut them all..when I was in charge..”

Adams interrupts. “Abigail says what happened to Liz Truss would never have happened if a man had been in charge. Sexism, pure and simple. I agree with her. Now, as for ..”

“Thank you, John. Thank you, Teddy. Now let’s hear from your cousin Franklin. Mr. President, I see you’re still in your wheelchair. I thought heaven was supposed to fix all ills.”

Franklin thrust out his chin in typical FDR fashion. “I was fine until Eleanor showed up. She was the one that persuaded them to put me back in this chair so she could keep up with me. I think that was payback for Lucy Mercer being with me when I had that stroke at Warm Springs. She was a very jealous woman, my Eleanor.”

“I can only imagine how that must feel. But if you would, please describe what you feel was your greatest accomplishment over your four terms as president.”

“Well, technically, it was really only three. I’d only just got started on the fourth when I left. My greatest accomplishment? Hmm..there were so many, it’s hard to say which was the greatest. I didn’t free any slaves..My economic policies after the Depression were iffy at best – the war saved the economy, not me. I’d say my greatest accomplishment was keeping my proverbial powder dry until Pearl Harbor, so the America Firsters – those traitors in sheep’s clothing – were thoroughly discredited. Without America, things would have turned out very differently in that Second World War, and America today would look very different with much bigger problems.”

“I beg to differ..” A voice came from the shadows..he steps up, looking around the table. “Any dessert left? Ah – Viennese torte. Thanks, I’ll have that with some Irish coffee, if you please. Don’t get that much over there – Jackie says it’s bad for my asceticism.”

John F. Kennedy takes an empty seat next to John Adams. “Move over, Lyndon.” He nudges Adams, who explodes, throws down his napkin and stomps out of the room.” Kennedy laughs. “Just as touchy as Johnson.” He digs into his dessert. “I heard about this dinner party, and knew it wouldn’t be complete unless I showed up. You and I have already talked, so we can mostly dispense with whats already been discussed. When I was forced to escalate the war in Vietnam, I knew it was a big mistake soon after. When I tried to scale it back, those crazy right wingers got me – I known Lyndon knew about it and was in on the plot. He still won’t admit it, but his karma is ruined, so that’s proof. He walks around all day, muttering ‘credibility gap’, and ‘Gulf of Tonkin Resolution’. Ha ha. But nobody is talking about what’s happening in Ukraine. I’m pretty sure that crazy bastard Putin is so desperate, he’s gonna nuke ’em. I knew sooner or later that would happen..but who would have imagined that the Russians would use it on themselves?”

The group is silent, trying to digest their rich dessert and Kennedy’s words of armagedden. Finally, the last guest speaks. It’s Barack. “Am I dead? What the fuck?”

I reply, “No, Mr. President, you’re just dreaming.”

He looks hard to at me. “Who the fuck are you – and why are you in my dream? I don’t know you.”

I reply, “Could you have written a better blogpost? No? Then shut the fuck up and eat your dessert.”

I was watching the Ethan Hawke sorta documentary about Newman and Woodward last evening. Ethan did a pretty good job, though the pacing is a bit slow and it’s a kind of name droppish with all his friends doing voiceovers – watch it, ’cause I don’t wanna ‘splain more.

Because that’s not what I’m here to talk about. I’d have to watch it again to see if it was the director Paul Schraeder or maybe Martin Ritt who said when the movie Hud came out in 1963, they got letters saying Hud was a hero, the old man was a grump and the kid was a wimp. They were surprised, but whoever said this then added until those same people elected Reagan in ’80.

Well, I must admit I’ve never watched the entirety of Hud, tho’ I will fix that this week since it’s streaming on the Roku channel. But I saw enough of it back in the day to know that Hud was, to be generous, the beginning of the anti-hero. That archetype was picked up and run with by Dustin Hoffman, Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino and the most emblematic of them all, Clint Eastwood. So Paul Newman, who had toyed with bad guy roles before Hud, started the trend.

How were his reviews at the time? A walk back through movie history says Sidney Poitier beat him out for the Oscar by playing a good guy in Lilies of the Field. Guess good guys – at least back then – did finish first. But the genre was just getting started, and his competition started sweeping the Oscars with roles like Jake Gittes, Michael Corleone and Harry Callahan. Paul was just a little ahead the curve.

But that’s not what I’m here to talk about. I’m still thinking about the end of patriarchy motif I started with the Bodily Control post. Is it possible to correlate the beginning of the end of male domination with the early days of the Vietnam War? Hey, let’s talk about that some.

Hud came out in ’63 when the war hadn’t really taken off yet. The Gulf of Tonkin resolution wasn’t ’til August of ’64 and the increase in troops didn’t occur until July of ’65. Nonetheless, there was awareness of the war, and nearly half a million men had been drafted in those three years. Casualties were low in ’63 and ’64, but I think everyone knew, or had a sense of what was coming.

Hendrik Hertzberg was at Harvard in ’63 and wrote a review of the movie. Here’s a quote from that review:

Just how devastating a critique the film is can be seen in the reactions of, say, high school students to the character of Hud. He is a dynamic, attractive human being. But judged by his actions, he is an unmitigated bastard, motivated solely out of self interest: he sleeps with other men’s wives, he drives his Cadillac over flower beds, he tries to have his father declared incompetent so that he can get control of the old man’s property. Yet high school students have adopted him as a hero; they admire his bravado, his coolness, and they either ignore his amorality or admire that, too.

Interesting that back in ’63 it was noted by a guy who went on to write for The New Yorker that high school students thought Hud was cool. Not college students. So that puts the age at, say, guys born in 1947 to 1949. They would be subjected to the draft in ’65 to ’67.

Aha! So these were the guys primed to self-absorption and then shame when they weren’t able to live up to the image set by their fathers. Long hair. Bell bottom pants. Musicians are the heroes now. Remember? Protesting, burning draft cards and fleeing to Canada put these guys in a completely different category than their fathers, who purportedly went willingly to war and did their duty. At least that’s how it went in the movies, right? And isn’t that how our popular perceptions are formed?

So that says to me that the beginning of the end for patriarchy came earlier than we ever thought. I’d argue what we’re seeing now is the last gasp of that death. If women rule, and they likely will soon, how are things likely to change?

First: women will take over the professions. There are now more law and med students than men. Engineering lags behind, of course, and, sadly, I’m not sure that will ever change. But won’t it be enough that woman will run medicine, law, business and politics?

Second: once they take over politics, the laws will change again, with more balance toward work and family, reproductive and sexual rights, and frankly more balance toward results. There’s actually a name for this It’s called productivism, and it’s a new paradigm starting to get noticed. The old ways, run by male bean counters, aka MBAs, forgot that workers are consumers. So when they shipped all that production to China to save money on labor, they impoverished all those parts of the country that are now called red states. That was unsustainable, and it will only begin to change when women take over the country.

I’m really sorry to be the one to tell you guys, but you are toast. Get over it. Stay home and watch the kids. Forget ‘hold my beer’; now it’ll be ‘hold the baby: I’m changing the American workplace’. I just hope it isn’t too late.

The FX show The Bear is getting rave reviews and they are all deserved. Without reservation, I’d say it’s currently the best show on television, now that Season 1 of Sarah Lancashire’s HBO Max reincarnation of Julia Child is over.

I’ve watched six of the eight episodes, savoring what is left. I missed it when it was broadcast on FX, so I’m watching it on Hulu. If you don’t have Hulu, get it, even if it’s just for a month to binge watch this show.

So what about it is so great? First: it’s about food. The camera work on the chopping, braising and mashed potato-making is thrilling – yes, I said it: thrilling. Brilliant. Fabulous. Second: the storyline is fresh and incredibly well cast, with one exception. I’ll get to that in a minute. Third: It has Oliver Platt. Who? Oh good grief. Oliver the fluffy guy who was incredibly verbose in Lake Placid to Bill Pullman’s straight man routine. Oliver who was the useless husband to Laura Linney in HBO’s The Big C, another great show from years ago. Oliver, who now plays Uncle Jimmy, a character of questionable background who is anything but stereotypical. He alone would make this worthwhile. But wait! There’s so much more.

The main character called Carmy is a guy who uses a family tragedy to escape the mental pressure of foody work at a fancy New York restaurant. We know that from snippets of flashback where he’s being tortured by a sadist of a chef boss. Carmy tries to bring his knowledge and the ways of New York French cuisine to the family sandwich shop in Chicago, and the culture shock is hard on everyone, but especially on Carmy who is struggling with the loss of his brother Michael. That character isn’t even shown until Episode 6, and is played by the incredible Jon Bernthal, lately of the newest series from The Wire guys on HBO about Baltimore’s police corruption. Hope to see more of this character in Season 2.

But the guy who steals the show in this series is Ebon Moss-Bachrach as the wild and crazy cousin Richie who thinks the place really is his. But Richie is a fossil, stuck in the old ways when Michael was running the place into the ground, physically and financially. Michael’s drug problem is mentioned but you the viewer have to make the connections to resulting money and relationship issues. This makes the plot rich without patronizing us. How fresh and unusual!

The one fly in the oatmeal is the dynamics in the relationship between Carmy and Sugar, his sister. Their dialogue doesn’t work, as it fails to help us understand why Carmy avoids Sugar and Sugar is so angry. Abby Elliott, formerly of SNL, plays Sugar and she just doesn’t work in that role. Oh well, everybody has a blind spot.

The Bear has been renewed for Season 2. There is no reason why a second season shouldn’t be as successful as the first, as there is so much more plot to explore. As previously mentioned, I hope Bernthal will be back as he is a force of nature that fits perfectly into the cast. So I, for one, am looking forward to another round of this show. So watch it, people! You’ll like it.

I’ve decided to start putting my book together on August 12th. Which book is that? Why, My Year at the Depot is the tentative title. It will reflect my one year stint with the world’s largest home improvement retailer in the world. I have already gleaned a lot of material for it.

Why August 12th? Because that will be my six month anniversary of employment there as a mixer of paint. Will there be a party to celebrate? Not likely. I am getting a fifty cent an hour raise next month, but not just me: everyone in the store is getting a raise. Why is that?

I think HD is worried about the turnover in the ranks. We are apparently woefully short-handed, and it appears to be a bit of a revolving door, per some employees with whom I’ve spoken. They describe a situation where there’s too much real estate to cover and too few associates assigned to cover it. That is true for flooring in particular. Every time someone catches me over there and asks for help, it’s nearly impossible to find anyone that knows anything to assist – even if they work in that department! Revolving door.

There’s a new person in the department I’ll call “J Prime”. That’s because there’s another “J” that works there, so I don’t want there to be confusion between the two. This is a delightful young lady who wants to learn and work hard. Imagine that! Gal after my own heart.

So gradually we’ll become an all female department. M with the sparkly eyes is back after a short stint in another department. Not sure she’s happy to be back but well, there it is. She had to take a leave for personal reasons, so the change was inevitable. Not fair, but hey – that’s business, right?

Well, maybe. At the meeting where the store manager announced the raises, I commented that I need data to do a better job. He referred me to something called “Pulse” which is available on the phone. At first glance it was hard to decipher, but at least I know it’s there and so I’ll start to dig into it. Already surprised to know that plastic sheeting and buckets are the second biggest sellers in the department. The biggest sellers vary depending on time frame, but sheeting and buckets is always second. Which is really pretty amazing, considering nobody can ever locate the stuff. Goes to show, huh? What? Oh, I haven’t any idea. But I’ll be looking into it, that’s for sure.

Had another return of Dynasty paint, with the DIYer saying it didn’t go as far as advertised. That is a recurring theme with that brand, the most expensive in the fleet. I looked at a YouTube video with a professional evaluating the brand. He affirmed the problem. I’ve had to give discounts twice on Marquee, which I and Consumer Reports thinks is the best brand. But these days it’s hard to say about feedback – especially on Facebook. I think there are fake testimonials on there about paint – all positive about Sherwin Williams, all negative about Behr. Then when you click on the testifier, it looks like they are fake personalities. They have a few pictures, but that’s about it. No details. No life history. Very odd, not to mention suspicious. Who can you believe any more?

I know, I know. I’m starting to sound like a crabby old broad. Well, get used to it. But this is not a rant. Way back in the beginning, I vowed to avoid rants, and with one exception, I have stuck to my vow. So just call it observations. OK?

That’s it for now – August 12th. Be ready.

As is often the case, the day after I wrote a blog piece, someone else contributed something to a media outlet that complemented what I’d written. Such was the case with yesterday’s “Bodily Control”. An opinion piece came out in The New York Times comparing banning abortion with the enactment of Prohibition in the 1920’s. It was written by a history professor from Georgetown University. His conclusion was slightly different from mine, in that he focused on the part I wrote about how unenforceable the newly-enacted state laws will be. He didn’t talk about the fact that the Supreme Court as an institution took a major hit to its credibility. John Marshall is rolling in his grave at the moment. If you find that confusing, just google John Marshall or Marbury v Madison. You’ll figure out what I mean when you read what’s written.

The last time a major Supreme Court decision was ignored was in 1832 by President Andrew Jackson. John Marshall was still there, and the case involved Native American sovereignty in Georgia. As there was no social media in 1832, the impact was reserved exclusively for Native Americans. Relatively speaking, that was a small part of the population, in this case about forty six thousand versus nearly thirteen million whites. This time, the Supremes have upset fifty one percent of the entire population of the country – and there is social media that isn’t going to let this go. So we have another unenforceable decision, upsetting half the entire population of the country. And I’d argue the Supremes aren’t done with us yet.

When they overturn cases that uphold the right to contraception, gay marriage, affirmative action, control over gerrymandering and … uh oh .. interracial marriage? Might that last one hit close to home for one of them? Let’s talk about that.

The case of Loving v. Virginia was decided in 1967, overturning state law that declared intermarriage to be illegal. The basis of that decision was a violation of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. You remember the 14th – the one enacted after the Civil War to grant citizenship to former slaves? Well, kiddies, one could argue that equal protection for women and their bodies might be found in the 14th amendment. Since the Supremes didn’t find that protection there, wouldn’t it follow that this case was wrongly decided as well? After all, white and black couples getting married have nothing to do with slaves being granted citizenship, right? Uh oh. Clarence Thomas, darling – you could be hoisted on your own petard. Wouldn’t that just be too ironic?

I think we’re going to be in for some very interesting times in the next few years. the chaos that results from roiling established law will further the national estrangement. My prediction has always been – and will continue to be – the geographic breaking up of these United States. We shall be united no longer. We will be enclaves, likely in four to six different parts with mass migration of like-minded people. Social and culture issues have undone many a civilization in the past. The “People’s Court” was set up in 1934 by Hitler after he was dissatisfied with the acquittal of defendants charged with the Reichstag fire. There was no presumption of innocence in front of that group of judges. Might the reverse happen here? If the Supremes keep overturning settled law, the result could be adding more judges to the bench – or creating a whole new court like Hitler did. Or each region having its own “People’s Court”. But this time, it would be designed to act as a buffer between the rogue Supremes and the region. Now wouldn’t that be a real kick in the head? God help us.