Will You Still Feed Me When It’s 1984?

Photo by Carl Nenzen Loven on Unsplash

“Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.”

George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four is published on this day in 1949.

I haven’t gone back to search the reviews, but I wonder if way back in 1949 people thought “it could never happen” when Orwell published 1984.

Seems like all he really got wrong was the date.

Too political? Perhaps.

But not if you’re paying attention.

I know I promised not to talk politics. But I have to take another road trip today and it’s going to cost me $100 to fill up my tank.

Plus we spent $150 on groceries yesterday and the only meat we bought was a pack of store brand bacon

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and some sliced deli meat.

I’m fortunate. For the moment, I can still afford these things.

For. The. Moment.

I won’t belabor the point. I’ve got to get on the road.

But we have to realize that we’re being lied to by the politicians. We’re being manipulated by the media.

It’s not by accident.

Just remember that the next time you have the chance to vote.


BORN ON THIS DAY

1867 – Frank Lloyd Wright, American architect, designed the Price Tower and Fallingwater (d. 1959)
1918 – Robert Preston, American actor and singer (d. 1987)
1925 – Barbara Bush, American wife of George H. W. Bush, 41st First Lady of the United States (d. 2018)
1927 – Jerry Stiller, American actor, comedian and producer (d. 2020)
1933 – Joan Rivers, American comedian, actress, and television host (d. 2014)
1940 – Nancy Sinatra, American singer and actress
1951 – Bonnie Tyler, Welsh singer-songwriter
1957 – Scott Adams, American author and illustrator

THINGS YOU SHOULD READ

Anger and heartbreak on Bus No. 15
The Washington Post
She walked through the bus to make her final inspection: floor swept, seats cleaned, handrails disinfected, gas tank full for another 10-hour shift on the city’s busiest commercial road. She drove to her first stop, waited until exactly 5:32 a.m., and opened the doors. Read More.

Virginia coal production climbs
Virginia Mercury
Virginia coal production remains high, fueled by ongoing demand for steel as the U.S. embarks on an ambitious program of infrastructure investment and disruptions in energy markets linked to the war in Ukraine. Read More.

BENEDICTION

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 3:15-17

Figuring It Out

Today is National Chocolate Ice Cream Day.

“And I see the danger in either case will arise principally from the conduct and views of two very unprincipled parties in the United States-two fires, between which the honest and substantial people have long found themselves situated.”

Richard Henry Lee, The Essential Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers

On this day in 1776, Virginian Richard Henry Lee presented the “Lee Resolution” to the Continental Congress. John Adams seconded the motion which eventually lead to the Declaration of Independence adopted in early July.

Lee is a distant relative. We’re not in his direct line, but in the line of his sister Anna. Marse Robert is a distant cousin.

I found this out in the early days of our forty-seven years of house arrest. Ancestry.com offered a free 90-day trial and I had nowhere to go but the Internet.

I discovered lots of interesting things, but, at the end of the free trial, I said “I’ll get to that later,” which of course I have not done. It just made no sense to pay the monthly membership for something I knew I would not have time for.

Still, if you want to be a blessing…

I digress.

That leads me to where I am with the blog this morning. I’ve gotten into the pattern of writing these posts in

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the morning and not the night before as I did for years.

It’s become a bit of a stress point because I often don’t know what I’m going to write about until I get to the keyboard.

This morning whilst the dog was reading her newspaper and then while the coffee was brewing I thought…”do I want to continue the blog?”

I do. I just don’t want to stress over having a brilliantly written piece every day.

As much as I’ve tried, and written, recently, I’ve got too many things going on.

No, seriously, since the end of the 100 Day Project, I’ve limited my work to one specific project, and this blog, and my normal writing of at least a thousand words.

But, now I’m back in Santa prep for the season. No, it’s not too early. I’ve got theater things happening. I’ve got family things happening with one son preparing to move back to Atlanta and the other preparing to move on campus for his sophomore year. I’m working weekends at the park.

Seems like there was something else…oh yeah…the day job where retirement keeps getting pushed back thanks to…He-Who-Must-Not-Know-His-Name.

Sorry, that was political-ish. It’s a hard habit for a recovering snarxist to break.

This morning I’m thinking about having too much to do, even though I’ve worked hard not to. Some of it, a lot of it, is out of my control. Some is just the circumstances of life that happen to us all. Some I’ve chosen.

So, as I reach over to my Moleskine and write down yet another idea, I ask myself if I’m choosing wisely.

I just need to schedule some time to figure out the answer.

It can’t just be me. Are you feeling the same type of pressure?

If you’ll keep reading here (and sharing), I’ll keep rambling and maybe together we can figure this out.

Maybe we can even write a book…in our free time.


BORN ON THIS DAY

1778 – Beau Brummell, English cricketer and fashion designer (d. 1840)
1909 – Jessica Tandy, English-American actress (d. 1994)
1917 – Dean Martin, American singer, actor, and producer (d. 1995)
1940 – Tom Jones, Welsh singer and actor
1952 – Liam Neeson, Irish-American actor

BENEDICTION

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 3:15-17