Ballots Against Bullets

Merriam Webster online defines genocide as:

: the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group.

The definition of destruction:

: ruin.

I might be the only one using the term genocide to describe what’s going on in our country today.

History is shady too.

I was reading at the library information in an online video course on Art in American History.

One of the hosts got away with talking about how Mr. Toupee hung a portrait of Andrew Jackson on his wall at the White House.

The video host said that Jackson was the architect of the worst American genocide. During his term Native Americans were run off their tribal lands. Thousands were killed along the infamous Trail of Tears.

It tells you something that Mr. Toupee venerates Jackson.

At the library new books have been published praising Mr. Toupee and denouncing “Trump’s Enemies.” Other new books trumpet that the Donald is trashing American democracy.

Whose side of the story is the truth?

Stacey Abrams when interviewed said that we can’t expect any president we vote into office to be our savior.

We can though hold them accountable for doing the right thing once elected.

In two months we vote for the president.

People are being denied the right to vote.

If you are registered to vote I say walk into the polling site with your own two feet–or wheel yourself in if you use a wheelchair–and go vote.

Send in an absentee ballot before the deadline if you cannot show up in person.

One year I walked around the corner to the polling site and voted at 6:15 a.m.

If you haven’t been denied the right to vote–Just Do It–go out and vote.

No excuses.

Life Cycles

Right-on–no really.

Alicia Keys in her memoir recounts having a friend ask her at a table in a pizzeria: “Why are you here?”

That sparked her activism.

And you, why are you here?

I used to visit fortune tellers. I sat down in a chair across from one woman. I hadn’t said one word. I hadn’t opened my mouth.

Out of nowhere the psychic’s first words were: “You’re here to make a difference.”

I’ve stopped going to fortune tellers.

The question “Why are you here” is relevant for everyone today.

Studying numerology can help a person figure out why you’re here. Christine DeLorey wrote the book seen above. I have underlined sentences in each section.

I once tried to talk about numerology to another person. She got spooked. Only I recommend the book Life Cycles.

Christine DeLorey can create a Personal Numerology Profile PDF document for you for $95 dollars.

Some of you might think that’s going a little too far.

However I think that whatever can give a person comfort in the time of the pandemic shouldn’t be ruled out.

I also recommend reading Susan Miller’s AstrologyZone on the internet every month.

What I don’t advise is going to fortune tellers as a hobby. Though I had the good fortune to have real psychics give me accurate readings not all of them are reputable. And what they tell you can freak you out.

The New York Times reported on a woman who gave people fake predictions to string them along for thousands of dollars. When asked to predict when she’d be sprung free from jail for her crimes she couldn’t give anyone that date.

You can browse the Creative Numerology website for an introduction to the Christine DeLorey book.

The goal is self-improvement and self-actualization.

The goal isn’t to have someone tell you when you’re going to die. Or that for $40 she can remove a bad curse hanging over your head.

Living through the COVID-19 outbreak with the changed circumstances of our lives–the mask wearing and the social distancing–have you like I have wanted to exert control over the things you have control over?

When life is uncertain and it feels like things are out of control:

I say doing things that give you comfort shouldn’t be ruled out.

Drugs or drink–no not that. Anything else–why not?

Whatever makes a person happy shouldn’t be judged.

And in this time of illness–physical and political–now more than ever having joy is called for.

Who couldn’t use a little more freedom and happiness in their lives?

The Difference

It started the year I turned 35.

35 was the year that I could see things changing in my body and in my life.

Twenty years later I’m 55 and the difference is obvious again too.

This is the year I’m aware that I’m getting older. The fact that my life is getting shorter has impacted what I think.

The point is: “Do I want to continue to harbor the same insecurities hang-ups and guilt trips?”

If you ask me 55 is the year to get real with yourself. You could live another 20 years.

Far better to start now to change the things that you feel are holding you back.

For instance: women viewing ourselves with a self-critical eye that harshly assesses every perceived flaw we think we have.

Should you not be a woman who ever questions herself this way I’d like to talk to you to uncover your secret for always-on confidence.

I have started to talk to a therapist. My goal is still to meet a man and have a boyfriend. I will explore this angle starting in January in the new year.

In here I would like to post the famous Marianne Williamson quote.

Williamson gets it right:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.”

Self-esteem is a high beam. When you feel good you can do good for yourself and others.

Shine on.


More Myself

I checked this book out of the library.

You should buy the book to read and read again. There are gems of sentences that light up the narrative.

“More Myself” could describe my own journey towards Chris.

Keys on page 41 tells it like it is: “And often, the only way forward is through an exit door.”

This sums up leaving behind the person you used to be and the life you thought you should have.

After living indoors for over 5 months because of the pandemic I have come to see that going back to the way my life used to be isn’t an option.

The trademark I’ve claimed is the term “Left of the Dial.”

The bold act of cutting off my hair was the defining rebel yell:

“Here I am. I exist. Get over it.”

The freedom to be myself and the freedom to be yourself should not be watered down or sold to the highest bidder that wants to make us over into an acceptable version.

My Avant-garde haircut is uncommon. I won’t see myself walking down the street everywhere I go.

In her memoir the cover photo is the only photo of Alicia Keys. In her freestyle curly hair.

She calls her type of fashion “‘hood hippie”–a little boho; a little soul.

I take inspiration from reading More Myself. I dare say this is an odyssey that a lot of women go on in our lives.

Keys traveled to Egypt and Italy [she’s part Italian] after having a meltdown–a kind of existential crisis.

In her book she talks about her own #NoMakeup campaign that resonated with women everywhere.

Go on–buy More Myself and get ready to go on your own journey.

I’m glad I did.

Getting a Haircut During COVID-19

This is the best selfie I’ve ever taken. Which is a miracle as whenever I’ve taken selfies before I always look like a deer in headlights.

The genius who thought taking selfies was a good idea–what were they thinking?

The shampoo girl–an older woman–checked my temperature upon arrival.

The mask I wore was too big. The loops had to be criss-crossed to be snug around my ears.

So the hairdresser could cut around the ears I had to unloop the mask and hold it against my face.

Might it not be advisable to get a new haircut during the COVID-19 outbreak?

I showed the stylist a photo of the haircut I wanted to get.

The haircut will grow in longer which will be good.

I have given up on keeping my hair curly. It had gotten frizzy all this summer. Owing to wearing a face covering I wasn’t motivated to do anything to style my hair. Until now.

This is not a long sultry tresses goddess haircut.

It’s a haircut that makes a statement.

The statement is: “I’m a fan of the Cure and it’s 1987.”

Screw it–I decided–get a new style even though it might repel a man.

A woman should have fun with her hair.

Facing Our Faces

Magazine articles talk about how the use of filters on selfies has altered how women view themselves.

Seeking perfection is a myth because it implies there can be no growth. Achieving a perfect state there would be no higher you could go.

I’m doing things differently today to dismantle perfectionism.

The idea of not using a filter to change the appearance of my face and body appeals to me.

It’s a radical risk to go outside with your hair undone or your face without makeup. Mostly because women are held to and buy into a higher standard of what’s right.

The part of me that resists want to disrupt the traditional notion of what’s acceptable beauty.

At 55 years old I no longer cover applying a full face of makeup.
Those Sephora makeovers were gorgeous yet impossible to maintain day in and day out.

As well getting dolled up that way in my OKCupid photos did nothing to entrance men to send me messages.

It is in the imperfect where everyone shines as human beings who are our authentic selves.

Now I’m owed a free Sephora makeover. This time I will get one with a twist: to tell the makeup artist to use only 5 products. To design a look I can recreate on my own.

Today I think it’s time to celebrate differentness.

Glossy and stylized images aren’t real.

After the pandemic is over I intend to experiment with makeup in a subtle way.

Bravery is called for no matter how old a woman is.

The daring to look in the mirror and shout:

“I see you. I celebrate you.”

Real beauty is what’s on the inside. Expressing the inner outwardly is the goal. This is when a person is most beautiful:

Not being afraid to express themselves.

In the coming blog entry I talk about my experience getting a haircut during the pandemic. The photo of my haircut is unretouched. Without using a filter. In it I used only foundation blush mascara and lipstick.

You could call this approach a makeunder instead of a makeover.

There’s a thin line between art and artifice.

It’s time to get real. Some of us are getting depressed seeing photo-perfect images on Instagram.

My hope is to empower blog readers to do your own thing not what society tells you to do.

LL Cool Joe

I’ve come up with a catchy code name for Joe Biden:

LL Cool Joe.

The 1990s gave us LL Cool J–the rapper whose moniker was short for Ladies Love Cool James.

Today the LL stands for Liberals Love Cool Joseph.

Politicians should be mocked equally regardless of which party they belong to.

Mark my words:

Mr. Toupee will win re-election.

Like it or not our president is going to serve another 4 years.

Should LL Cool Joe win I’ll be surprised.

Tales from My Not-so-Green Life

It might be that No One is Too Small to Make a Difference.

I say that corporations are too big not to make a difference. They must be held accountable for their role in global warming.

My life on the other hand is Not-so-Green.

I order food to be delivered that comes in plastic containers. This isn’t good. Not for the planet and not for me either. Since hot plastic leaches chemicals into food.

What is the solution?

I plan instead of ordering dinner to be delivered to have soup when I have no energy to cook.

I think it comes down to making trade-offs. You can excel in one Green area and come up short in another Green area.

My aim is to find a suitable plastic container I can take with me to the deli counter to have the staff use and reuse the same container.

Instead of buying food that comes in a new container each time.

This tactic was talked about in a book a woman wrote about achieving zero waste. If I remember right the book was titled The Zero Waste Home.

The goal as I see it is to consume less–less electricity less gas and oil less of anything that is wasteful.

My electric bill statement has skyrocketed in the time of the pandemic. Plus New York City has had a record number of heatwaves this summer.

The air conditioner has been going at all hours in my apartment. That’s not-so-green. Only I can’t be in direct heat for longer than 10 minutes. I’m at greater risk for heat stroke.

I will search on the Container Store website for a reusable plastic container.

I expect the deli counter staff to look at me screw-eyed when I ask them to use my plastic container not theirs.

The Trash is for Tossers woman allegedly reduced her yearly waste to only one mason jar of trash.

That’s phenomenal–is it realistic for most of us?

Greta Thunberg

Greta Thunberg was only 16 when she published the book shown above. She is the face of climate change protesters. 6 Million individuals have joined her in school-striking for zero carbon emissions by 2030.

I don’t like to single people out this way. However I think what should be written about Thunberg is that she was diagnosed with Asperger’s.

In her own words in the book she writes that her disability isn’t a medical condition–it’s a gift.

She credits the Asperger’s as giving her the black-and-white thinking required to tackle the global warming issue.

In 1997 three years before I moved to my beloved Brooklyn I sold my last car to a mechanic for $400.

I didn’t want to incur the higher cost of auto insurance in Brooklyn. Nor did I want to spend an hour every day driving around looking for a parking spot. And I didn’t want to need to pay for costly car repairs.

In fact the prime reason I sold my car was that I didn’t want to be dependent on foreign oil.

In 1997 when I sold my car no one talked about global warming. I was in the vanguard in moving to a neighborhood where there were retail shops and food markets within walking distance.

I was a Visionary in giving up my car and deciding to walk everywhere.

Greta Thunberg nowhere in her book talks about the root cause of global warming:

How city planners prioritized building roads and highways so that people could travel by car when they had to get somewhere.

Not only that often the highways built in effect separated well-off neighborhoods from poor communities. Reinforcing inequality.

In New York City taking the bus and subway is a way to reduce your carbon footprint.

In the coming blog entry I want to talk with a twist about going Green.

I’m impressed with the Generation Z leaders who are out there striving to make a difference.

Finding Joy

The magazine above was hanging out on the rack untouched.

Curious I flipped through the pages. The recipes enticed me to buy the book. It also has positive feature articles.

I’ll take what can give me joy in this time when the COVID-19 outbreak hasn’t ended.

Anxiety and depression have been on the rise.

Covering my face and walking outdoors in sunny weather is going to be my M.O. when my mood tanks.

To hell with the science non-believers.

Yes–I’ll be going outside.

I won’t allow others to steal my sunshine.

It doesn’t cost a dime to take a walk.

Sunlight is free for everyone.

While we still have this glorious green earth I say: enjoy it.

Take a magazine like Sweet July out for a trip to park or avenue.

Sit on a bench and read to get empowered.

I’ll end here by saying that Women’s Health magazine features diverse voices and writers now.

Skip over its advertisements for food products and focus on the workouts.

I’ve been buying and reading magazines ever since the 1980s.

In New York City Hotaling’s and other stores sold hundreds of U.S. and international magazines.

Those magazine shops have been long gone. Shuttered like all the other mom-and-pop stores that were casualties of rising rents.

Today I submit that by parking yourself on a bench and reading a magazine you can go far.

You can go anywhere.