ok People, having a moment and need to rant/rave/talk

Today was an important day, as was yesterday, to me. And it dovetails into something more.

Yesterday mom came off the ventilator and could talk again, but she was drugged up and not making too much sense. Today she was but I did not see her today - dad was there, as always, and we all agreed to stay home and let her rest as they decreased her meds. She got too excited and would not sleep with people coming in and out of ICU.

My dad is an amazing man when it comes to many things, especially this. He sleeps in the waiting room. Every two hours like clock work he wakes up and walks in to check on her, without fail. One lady there was telling us how she timed him and could not believe his devotion to caring for her.

This goes into more about what I am trying to discuss. Yesteryear.

I was born in 1965. I recently got dvd's of all the old family 8mm movies my folks had taken from that era and well before. Dad was in korea and helped teach people english and other things, he helped out at orphanges and other places. He did a lot for people there but does not really talk about it too much. There were a lot of things on the home movies though that I found astounding.

Then there was mom and grandma in NY back in the 50's. Both dressed nice, everyone seemed to be then. Men wore hates, women wore skirts (mom dresses like a biker now, jeans, leather jacket, a hat - she hated dressing up but did so for her mom). Grandma was a school teacher, granpa was police chief and later the mayor.

I remember Billy Jack movies (and I own them all now and have autogrpahed books from him). There was a shift in the air back then, change on many levels. From technology to politics it all seemed so fluid and new, so magical in a way.

the left was a movement for the people, for peace. They were energized around a few basic things (at least it seemed to me back then). Equal rights for all people, ending discrimination against blacks, fighting the power. They had sit ins, peace buses, and more. And even with it all there seemed to be scary things all around - I remember Busing. I ended up being bused for 1 year to a predominantly black area - but what bothered my parents was not that, but that I was going to a school far away when I lived down the street from one. I did fine. And in the end the kids bused into my school locally ended up being good friends of mine (my best friend in fact came from the south side, a gay conservative chess player and a big influence in my life).

things were turbulent back then because the people made them that way - they would not sit around anymore and take the bullshit. It all caught on too I think because the 'middle america' I knew at the time did not see it as all bad (ie, my parents didn't care about skin color at all, they loved people as people and god made them all).

The left was out to make things equal for all, not out to attack the morals of the middle and kick out nativity scenes from the town and ridicule the people who shared their country. They stood for something many ended up relating to - equality and justice. You're a smoker? Cool. You're a christian, cool. And so on it seemed to me in those days.

But there were those in the middle too that fought it. Our neighbor moved out when a black family moved in, I ended up being friends with their son (Arthur). At school we celebrated hannukah and christmas (we had one jewish kid in the whole school, Mike Beagle, whom my mom on the pta made sure I spent time with and played with so he would have friends and not feel left out. I still remember him after all these years gone by). There was the only black kid in elementary, Charles Butler. He and I did a commercial for class (a project). He came up with the idea to do one on soap. He came in, talked about the great soap, walked off to take a shower and I walked in. We got a kick out of it. Sad thing, his dad used to beat the hell out of him with a belt and sticks, and no one did anything about it back then :(

In the middle we find people on both sides, waffling. I remember the KKK coming to town. I was at my grandma's house in Byesville Ohio and we were getting ready to head home. I heard about them on the news being there, and I was scared to go home. Mom and dad said not to worry about them, they were nutcases and not christians. And that stuck with me. There are those in the middle that will come to our side, but personally I think it will take less polarization and more working on something we all hold common.

The left had a magic back then, hated yes by some, but still there was a magic about the whole 60-70's thing. We never gave up. We had leaders willing to die for their cause. We had hippies. We had love and peace. We had a time where we tried to pull together people, where we had billy jack movies, electric kool aid acid stuff, and some wild people who just went out and made it all happen.

Sure, scholars will look at in a different light, will see things more deeply, but to me as a young kid and to those I knew who were adults they saw things in a different, non-scholar, type light. We reached people then, we made a change, and the world as we knew it changed for the better.

Fire up the cool clothes. Get some hippie talk going. Paint some busses and lets get rolling to keep the powers that be from making the federal government one big powerful beast. It's time for the hippies to come out of retirement en masse, time for the peace symbols to make a come back, it is time to stand.

Rant over (incoherent and typed up as I felt it, sorry for the dijointed post). I may be wrong on things - but wrong does not mean they were not my impressions at the time. And as I remember them, I felt a sense of freedom in the air.

if all the hippies "came out of retirement."

And I'd join them (despite my user name here, which is very tongue in cheek, I actually look quite conservative).

But the carry over to my later years left an impression on me. Though I still remember things from when I was 2, and I still remember man walking on the moon though I was just shy of 4. Back then all of it was the talk of the day. We all watched the nightly news as a family.

An interesting thing happend though sometime later. The Iran hostages. Nightline came online. Now how I saw this myself was a shift (looking back at myself). The enemy was no longer our government, it was other governments. Iran. The soviets. China. Reagan was the answer to people back then on those issues.

In my teens I played chess in professional tournaments, and was in a chess club. I played with and practiced with people from USSR. They liked us, we liked them. But we feared what the intentions were of their government, and we feared a nuclear war.

Times changed, even though many in the media did not seem to like reagan people seemed to in general - he offered them something. A more united nation now after the hippie times we turned our focus to external enemies and not as much on internal ones. And all that brings back memories to me as well.

I liked carter, first president I paid attention to. I remember seeing reagan on a talk show saying he would run, and I told my mom that. She seemed surprised, "He's an actor" she said.

People, I think personally, needed a leader after all that had went on. Carter was in a bad spot. And since then, since 1980, we have had a Bush somewhere in the white house with the exception of 8 years. 8 years out of the last 24.

Something is wrong. I hope we can fix it.

got to me. Love them because they won't be here for very long. I lost my mom already, dad is old. Enjoy who/what you can. You are younger than me and passionate. Me, too. Save this rant for the future. I just might also.

My first house. I missed them when I lived in northern ohio and then when I was in California for a few years.

Mom was rushed into OR almost two weeks ago, not expected to make it. She fought hard like she did last time (triple bypass last time). She knew going in to surgery she may not come out and said her goodbyes.

Been hell last two weeks. My 3 yr old daughter wants to see her nanny, and she caught a glimpse of her in ICU and just stared and said 'oh'. She loves hospitals and doctors, we play that everyday. Last time mom was in for something she went up and played on the hospital bed. This time is different. She misses her.

a reply to this for the past 15 minutes... First of all, my best wishes for your mother and your whole family, whatever the best outcome may be.

Damn, I still don't know how to say what I'm trying to... I think the game has changed too greatly for the 60s ways to work well. No, it's not working. Let me try it this way:

America is like Santa Claus. She isn't really real, and people don't believe in her much anymore. However, if nobody believed in her, she'd cease to exist entirely. They type of person America is depends on who's telling the story; she is simultaneously a warmonger, a peacemaker, a champion of human rights, a trampler of freedom, a principled actor on the global stage, and a global liar. The current problem is that there are too many storytellers, and too many stories. Not enough agreement on where the plot should next go.

Well, that wandered a bit, but I've got to hit the "post" button, or I'll be writing this all night.

And it was intelligent. We have views all over the place on all sides. America the evil, america the good, the religious right helps many people in need with food banks and more, they are bad and want the worst for us, the terrorists existed because we made them and we had it coming and bush is playing it all up, kerry will stop them better than bush can and while bush plays up fear of them he is fearmongering, but we do have something to fear and kerry can do better at it, the most important issue is gay marriage, no abortion, no terrorism, no corporate snakes, no the budget, et al.

Things are all over the place - even if some of us see something clearly there are many who see it all as a big mess of a message.

We need something like they needed something. They had 9/11 and used it. We have what - what is the most pressing thing(s) we can hammer home and get people on fire about across the board. Iraq? Gay Marriage? Abortions? BBV? That giant jesus statue in Ohio? What right now can we use to ignite the people into thinking again and changing the world we live in?

Hell if I know the answer, but I would like to hear from others.

The commonality I see in all that you've posted is divisiveness.

Fanatical fundamentalist against Christian; Christian against Pagan/Heathen; Democrat against Republican; Worker against Management; Pro-Choice against Pro-Life; you know the routine. It's like someone has dropped something in the middle of an ant hill and all the ants are scurrying in circles, running for cover, trying to fix the thing in the hill, etc. Even within our own progressive movement I see instances of "us" against "them."

Who benefits from this? Who is it that isn't running around like the ants? This could be a conspiracy theory or just recognition that something isn't adding up. Too many coincidences; or maybe it's just taking advantage of opportunities that present themselves. Someone is benefiting from the confusion and chaos present in our current state of divisiveness, hatred, fear.

My current vote is the multi-national corps.

Okay, maybe this makes sense. Maybe not. Thanks for letting me add my rant to the mix.

little bit of your 'rant'. My mother passed away 7 years ago, yesterday the 26th would have been her birthday. My father, was absolutely wonderful to her during her illness. There was nothing he wouldn't do for her. You brought memories flooding back. Thank you. The rest of your post spoke of things I only read about or heard on the news. I do agree with you though

"It's time for the hippies to come out of retirement en masse, time for the peace symbols to make a come back, it is time to stand."

I'm married to an 'old hippie'


Best wishes for your parents!!

On Tuesday, nov 16th, I called dad. Mom was in the hospital, had been for a day. She was expected to get surgery the following weeked on her colon. I called at 7:30pm to check on her, I was tired and heading to bed. I heard her in the background moaning in pain. My dad, the calmest person I know, simply said 'there is a problem they are taking her to OR, have to go' and hung up.

He called me back. Her infection had burst. They were taking her to surgery and did not give her much chance to make it. I sat down, cried, and stared into space. 4 hours later she was out and had made it, but still ran the risk of passing. It was hell. Each day was up and down.

I am glad she made it, and I feel for you. Mom is the best person many people know. She has people calling from all over to see if she is ok, many call 3 times a day. A simple woman who led a hard life she is funny and wild all the time. No one who meets her forgets her. And as I sat thinking I would never hang out with her again down here in my basement shooting the breeze I froze. I thought about those old home movies, about many things.

I know she will not be here forever. She cannot survive another surgery, so the colostomy bag will probably stay. She only has one kidney, and may be on dialysis for sometime. The doctor simply said 'she is one strong woman'. She lost her dad when she was young, had a christmas where all she got was a doll from her uncle, which she cherished, lived poor many years when she was little child until her mom remarried. She had nothing for so long but family, and that made her strong. She blames no one, does not ask for sympathy, and cannot fathom why so many who have it so good today sit around and bitch (like my niece who hates to work and complains she has no money, even when she has been offered full time jobs she turns em down because she does not like the hours - and she leeches off mom then bitches at her if the can goods are not stacked right. This same niece is the one trying to convince kerry is better than * and that if he was in she would be working and having all her dreams come true, without having to do anything).

So away I go again ranting :) Sorry about that. Sorry you have had a loss like you have, moms are something special.

I'll bet you make her proud.

thank you for sharing your intimate thoughts. I would think that you are a source of great strength for your father also. I miss my mum terribly, I'd not wish her back here to suffer the way she did. I have to believe she's in a better place.

auntAgonist.

:hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug:

ps. please check your inbox.

This hippie never retired. You are right about the unique feelings of kinship when you saw someone letting his "freak flag fly" We were on the same side of peace love & justice for ALL. We were doing the right thing and that made it powerful. Those ideals have not changed, they are still at the core of my being and they are still worth fighting and marching and protesting for.

We were younger then and everything was possible. We're all older now, the music is different, but everything is still possible. This is our country too. Your "rant" hit a tender spot in me, I want those feelings back. I know we can get them back. To you I say "Right On, sister!"

I dunno, hokey movies, but some serious stuff in them. Did you know they made 'Billy Jack Goes to Washington'? Not the best of movies, but the whole series had something about it.

Free love in the air, mass protests, people just seemed more free in some ways, less caring about some things more about others.

Maybe I am just old :)

I'm spending Thanksgiving weekend with my parents, who are elderly and in declining health. I've taken time off of church to be here, because we need to spend time with one another.

Today, I helped Mom by sorting through her office and rearranging her filing system of boxes filled with old pictures, slides, and various family mementos. They sold their house last year, and she has been unable to unpack and sort, due to her health issues.

So today I bought a shelf, and began organizing things for her. I went through photos and scrapbooks of grandparents and long-gone friends, and saw a piece of my parents' history. At one point, I just sat on the floor and cried. Not sadness, not quite joy - but tears of enormous appreciation for those who have gone before me.

When Mom came in the room and saw what I had done, she was so relieved, but a bit frustrated that she couldn't have gotten to it by herself. I just hugged her, and said, "Mom, I'm so glad I can do this for you NOW, while you're still here with me."

I am so blessed - I got two of the very best parents anyone could ever hope for.

My heart is reaching out to you and your family. God bless you during this time.

:hug:
Ruth

Since when has the left stood for kicking Nativities out? I'm pretty sure towns can have nativities on public property if other religions can be represented too.

Besides, any suits of that sort that might have been filed of that sort would have been ACLU, not "the left". The ACLU is a non-ideological organization that simply seeks to preserve civil liberties as laid out in the constitution.

Most towns I know of still have Nativity scenes, so I don't know what you're talking about.

And anti-smoking fanatics are equally bipartisan.

And when did we "attack the morals of the middle"?

I see their "morals" attacking us lately, not vice versa.

And forgive me, but you (and I) are barely old enough to remember the tail end of the hippie era. Seems you have a rather rose-colored view of the period, but despite the fact that there were many people committed to the cause of social change, many others were just along for the ride, and the drugs and free love. So many of them ended up being the self-absorbed, greedy baby boomer yupsters who all clamor today for their tax cut, and look upon those hippie days as a youthful lark and nothing more.

Yeah, I remember the 70s being a more idyllic time. I was a kid then, so I can't say if they really were. I remember the 80's being very bright and fun and optomistic, but people like Reagan, Bush and Ralph Reed were already chipping away at our country.

Anyway, not totally ragging on you here - your recollections are what they are, and even if they're not entirely real, they do have value. But please lay off with the stuff about the left trashing Nativities and attacking morals, because it's BOGUS.

Anyway, I do agree that people do need to get out and shake things up.

But it doesn't need to be an imitation of a long-gone past.

Thing is, the hippies were largely the children of the little class. They had the freedom to tune in, turn on, drop out. Now, it's so much harder just to keep food on the table and a roof over head. Tough thing that.


Glad to hear your mom is doing a bit better.

And yes I long to have those days back. To be as nearly to innocents( as a child) as possible. Everything was made easy because the Adults dealt with the big stuff. Sometimes when I put the music on, I'm 12 again:hippie: