Spring is inspiring when flowers go into bloom and the sun warms my face. Summer means outdoor concerts, vacations and bbq’s. Winter says “Holidays” and snow. Of all the seasons, fall is my favorite. The hot and dry (more now than ever) gives way to cool and the changing colors can be breathtaking. Days grow longer and activities that paused for summer begin again. Thinking back to childhood, my upbeat mood makes sense. I wasn’t a huge fan of school, but heading back after summer meant I got my once a year change in wardrobe. I generally got socks and/or underwear for Christmas but pants, shirts and shoes came once a year, in time for back to school. The other benchmark that occurred at roughly the same time was the release of the new car (I say “car” because trucks were trucks, not SUV’s) models. Back in the day, during September/October, the “Big 3” car manufacturers rolled out all the new models. They would have watch parties and sometimes even cover the dealership windows so no one could peak until the national “reveal.” Me and my friends would ride our bikes downtown to the closest dealership, normally Chevrolet, so we could see the new Corvette. The nicer salesmen would allow us to grab a brochure of our dream car as a souvenir. Those days are long gone. Today, new vehicles are released whenever and it can be impossible to tell the difference anyway. New models years can be promoted a year or two in advance. Why buy a new ’22 when you can get a ’24 instead?

Confirmation bias is a hard habit to break. Generally I don’t get many political ads or links that lean a particular way because their algorithm can’t pin me down. My definition of myself would be BT (before Trump) Republican with a socially liberal slant. If any cartoon or news snippet pops into my feed that correctly distinguishes this trait, there is a high likelihood I will open it. Our oldest city newspaper has a view that leans liberal, so their political cartoons are often aimed at too-serious republicans. In Sunday’s newspaper (remember those?) was a political cartoon that showed a reporter asking a GOP elephant mascot what he called cutting Social Security, ending Medicare, stopping same sex marriages, banning books, and taking away women’s right to chose etc. etc. His answer was “Freedom.” Months before, I was attending a realtor Town Hall meeting and the speaker wanted to update the group on the status of the lengthy class-action suit targeting the real estate industry. The speaker noted that a number of positive improvements had grown out of it and consequently the republican controlled senate had put the issue to bed. Great. The speaker then stated that it appeared to be finished when out of nowhere, Biden decided to resurrect the issue and start pursuing it again. Not great. Of all the issues facing our country, and there are plenty, for me at least, most are emotional, not financial. I say this because as much as people voice strong support for women’s rights, climate change and many social issues (myself included) they are all emotional issues. Inflation, the price of gas and housing and a pending recession are financial and the ones that will capture votes. In many ways the democratic agenda is a train wreck, but, and it’s a big “but”, they are not publicly going after my Social Security and Medicare, so that will direct much of my vote. It helps too they are far the social issues I think important. My right to bitch is tied directly to my right to vote. Point is, Vote or don’t complain!

Suffering from Restless Leg Syndrome I don’t often forget to take my meds at night, but when I do, I pay the price that night and the next day. Question I get is, when you realize you didn’t take anything, why don’t you take it-immediately. Even when I do, It still takes about 4-hours to kick-in, so what little sleep I get is restless. Last night I also dealt with such severe congestion, it was difficult to breath. Odd confession-I have a deviated septum, so breathing through my nose has always been tough. I have adapted by breathing primarily through my mouth. Over the last several years I have experienced increasing fear of having my mouth being covered for some reason. The more I think about, the worse it gets. Like last night. As I think about it, I believe it actually started in the ER when I had pericarditis and was required oxygen to breath. From that point forward, whenever I am super congested, I get minor palpitations thinking about it not being able to breath. It is completely correctable but I have never seriously considered surgery. The reason is I had a brother-in-law die during surgery to correct the same issue. The fact he was an asshole and beat his wife and young children certainly lessoned the severity of grief, but he still died so my wife says no. Vicks Vaporub and Breathe-Right Extra Strength it is-and some Nyquil for good measure.