Couldn't Make This Stuff Up

The troops gathered this morning for the usual riviting dialogue. It seemed a lot or a little different. There appeared to be several interesting people. Possibly, they were from the "Hands Across the Golden Gate Bridge for Justice and Equality." One sitting close to us with a guy, young--she screamed several times. The guy with her says she has "tourrets." We don't buy it but fine, can go with it. Ray and his younger brother Austin come in. Great! We need another table. Alese seats them with a woman who gets upset that nobody ask her if they could sit at her table. We offer to pay for her breakfast. "If money can sound the problem, it's no problem." She is now happy.  Woman is quite a "talker." Ray says he has seen her before. Honestly, she could talk the "ears off a billy goat."' We dialogue. Nobody is following the "talker." Michael comes in. We turn our attention to working on commo skills. Woman is still talking. Another woman in the back booth, behind Henry, can't decide if possibly she is a "Trannie." She's tall. 

We talk to Austin, one of our heroes, Vietvet, helicopter pilot. Lucky to be alive. Once he provided close air support for Ray, a platoon commander, facing sizeable numbers of the NVA (North Vietnam Army). 

The woman asks if we are all Vets. I say yes. Gary says he's not, messing over a good story. Woman still talking. Ray tells us that Ciliope slept all night. Ciliape was expelled from silent meditation for not being silent. Almost walking. Sam tells us about his treatment. Has one more, then test. May be enough. HooAhhhhh. 

Ray and Austin finally give up and depart. Henry and Walt and Michael depart. We have some group hugs. Henry, always interested in our spiritual lives, gives Gary and me, a book, "End of Faith." I asked him if he ever wants to see this book again. He says no. 

Gary and I shoot the breeze a bit. We walk outside.  The possible Trannie comes up to us. She says something like, "great seeing what fun we have." She is tall, runs poetry workshops, is having big shindig; names over several bigwigs we should know. Gary asks her about the head of garbage, etc. She can't remember but he is definitely coming to her show. Wants to know if we would come and sit on the stage and talk about our experiences. I am in the process of escaping. She has on a fading tee with peace signs on it; workout pants. Her husband is a Navy Seal. Before I can escape, Gary "outs" me. "Oh this guy is retired. He's a chaplain." She clomes on as I have to play nice. I say to her something like,  "no chance that these guys will cooperate on anything." She says, "I want to meet and talk. When do you meet?" I am fumbling. Gary says, "Friday is our best day." OMG.  You couldn't make this stuff up.

To me there is always  an "elephant in the room" when I watch interviews, read news magazines, blog, even after watching the debates. When asked, why are you voting for Hillary/Trump? Supporting their candidate is a very personal one and on the surface, one of mainly self interest. How good is this? Democracy in action. I think so which often doesn't make me proud. 

Recently, my wife and I watched an old Richard Gere movie. Terribly unrealistic but it is the movies. He was a lawyer who gets in trouble in China. His Chinese lawyer is arguing with him. He is trying to talk about the American justice system. She is talking about statistically the problems of America. At one point he says something like, "America has its problems. Democracy is messy and we are sometimes violent but in modern times, we are always trying to be better." Whether he said it or not, good statement, especially in light of the fact that the  movie is 20 years old. 

We are in that very messy period now and frankly many of us have s hard time defending our democracy. 

Forgiveness and Reconciliation.

After 9-11, some crazed ignoramous finds a Sikh at his auto service station--he thinks he's a Muslim (wears a turban). Shoots the guy. Goes to jail for like 15 years. The Sikh's brother dedicated himself to peace and reconciliation. At some point he meets up with a female lawyer also dedicated to reconciliation. They call the killer of his brother and present the idea of forgiveness and reconciliation. The guy in jail I am thinking is not the brightest Bub in the room. He stumbled  around for words. Then he said something like. God has forgiven me and I am sorry for what I did. I think that based on the perpetrator's comments and seemingly lack of insight (judgement on my part) This is it and then he says, "here's something I am going to do: when I get to heaven, I am going to find your brother and hug him and asked his forgiveness. I was blown away. 

It fits in that realm of I don't care what people say: atheist, agnostic. Whatever. Heaven is comforting to people. There is something about being able to see their love ones again, to think that something outside of ourselves is a reality; something mysterious and beyond us. For me personally, the power and insight of the unexpected spoken word that might show up from the most unlikely source moved me to tears. 

Shoot and Ask Questions Later

Charlotte. Crazy-these police shootings I think what happens is the cops simple "don't think." They show up at minor stuff with something akin to the "Magnificent Seven." Their authority gets challenged and the next thing you know, somebody is shot. In the Charlotte case, the cop is black. In Tulsa, it is a female. Damn crazy. 

DIVORCE THE F..Ker

Bill Clinton took home 17.6 million as a consultant and honorary Prez of some profiteering ed School, Laureate International. A sham. 

The Washington Post reported. (He has no shame and is an abbatross around Hillary's neck.) 

Don't try to teach a pig to sing. It waste your time and worries the pig. 

Don't try to change the mind of a Trump supporter. They have their minds made up and don't want to be confused with facts.  

EXPLAINING HILLARY

Nobody has appointed me to explain Hillary but am fascinated with the "DEPLORABLES comment.  I get it. By way of example, when I was starting out, I got involved with the "National Speakers Association." I went to classes and listened to hundreds of speeches to hone my skills. The very first thing taught is that when you are speaking, "play to your audience." In her "deplorable" speech, she was doing just that. It is what she thinks but would have been better to use another word. What she did not want to do is give Trump anything which she did. She was, "playing to her audience" and got blinded by the applause. Her audience was warm and accepting. A gay and lesbian crowd--she was playing to them. 

It would have been better to have merely used simple words, i.e., some of Trump's supporters are toxic, David Duke of the Klu Klux Klan, for instance. 

Trump lumps his supporters as the common man. Give me a break! Trump's audience; those who feel victimised, minimum wage jobs, uneducated, no factory path to a better life. These Trump disciples aren't going to admit bad choices. They want to blame their state in life on minority's, women, immigrants,  as these have gone to the head of the line. This is his audience.The difference: he appears to be able to say anything and get away with it. Hillary can't. All of this being said, if it were me, I way say to Trump: F..K YOU VERY MUCH