This has been one of those weeks when I had a thousand ideas about what I wanted to write.
That is not always a good thing. Too many random ideas probably make me the poster child for why computer screens and cable news are bad for our brains. I have not been able to zero in on one topic. Maybe this will just be a scrambled ramble!
Speaking of scrambled rambles — the Mueller appearance was that. He simply appeared to be quite unwell. It made me profoundly sad for the man and for his family. If I were his wife, his sister, or his daughter, I am not sure whether my grief or my anger would be greater right now. Forget politics altogether for just a minute.
I am guessing that in 2019 just about everybody in the country has had to confront dementia in someone they love. It is hard. It is cruel.
It is at least among the top three things on the “Hope I Never Have to Deal with this” list we all have in our subconscious. I imagine it is right there after “death of a child” and right before “cancer.”
Somebody who had the power or position to protect Robert Mueller from appearing like a doddering, irrelevant old man in front of the entire country should have intervened.
He is clearly not the sharp and brilliant military leader and legal mind he once was. It just makes me sad for him that he appeared to be so lost before the world on July 24.
That is not the way I would choose for my husband, father, son or brother to be remembered by those who had never known him as I had.
I almost feel like the gazillion television viewers who tuned in on Wednesday were intruding where we should not have been allowed. In the never ending effort to remove a president many dislike in the extreme, the ruthless mob seems to have completely abandoned the social graces that used to define respected institutions.
So that is Rant #1.
On to another crazy story I read this morning in the WSJ.
The Inclusive Communications Task Force, a faculty committee at Colorado State University recently developed a speech guide. Students and administration have a handbook making clear the proper use of gender pronouns or cultural designations. For example, one should not use the word “American” because it “erases other cultures.” One should never use gender-specific pronouns without first discovering a person’s “preferred” pronoun. According to these geniuses, we should all strive to promote a gender-neutral environment. “They” is always a safe word even if you are referring to one individual. Forget grammar rules. They are now passé.
The thought occurred to me that everybody who subscribes to “they” being the always correct pronoun can now embrace “ya’ll” and thank us Southerners for it. I can only imagine what Mrs. Shuttleworth might say about this idea.
In full disclosure, I went to the Colorado State University website to find more information. The President of the school did have a letter on there saying participation would be voluntary.
He tried to walk it back a notch. I hope so. Maybe the alumni rose up in arms over something so utterly ridiculous. I am sure that saying “utterly ridiculous” would be considered politically incorrect and may cause the speech police to feel unsafe.
And that concludes Rant #2.
In happier news, MaeMae’s Grandmother Book is due to arrive this week!
In one of the first columns I wrote last fall for The Enterprise-Tocsin, I said that I felt like my worldview was going the way of the dinosaur.
I mentioned wanting to write a book of life lessons for grandchildren.
My hope was that one day my tribe would find a few nuggets that help them make sense of a world that seems to be making less sense all the time!
Several of you encouraged me to go for it, and I did! You can read more at MarilynTinninWrites.com.
I will have my first signing at Lemuria Books in Jackson August 3 from two to four. Come by if you happen to be down this way. But I will get to sign at The Crown in Indianola from eleven to one on August 15. I never pass up an opportunity to visit my hometown — and The Crown is an extra special place to me! There is no finer Indianola ambassador than Ms. Evelyn Roughton!
My sister Anne and I used to roll our eyes every time our mother returned to Jackson after a visit in Indianola. For days she talked about nothing else.
We listened to detailed stories about every conversation, every old friend, every cherished memory of her trip back. She never failed to end her narrative with “Indianola is just the sweetest place on earth.”
I am pretty sure I have become my mother. It happens to most of us eventually. I would love to see you at The Crown on August 15!
