Glenn Youngkin inaugurated with a slate of Day 1 promises (most are BS).

Virginia's Wrong Direction Begins with Bogus Promises

New Virginia Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin, who did not have to cheat to win the seat*, has jumped immediately into the fire with a package of executive orders, 9 ridiculous, 2 useful.

Here is a list of those 11 promises or directives, which won't need General Assembly approval:

1. Ending the teaching of "divisive concepts" (including Critical Race Theory, which is only taught in college graduate courses). Republicans have insisted that it is taught K-12 and in college undergrad courses. It is not. Critical Race Theory teaches an honest racial history of the U.S. White supremacists are not happy about that.
2. Allows children to toss their masks when in school, ignoring the massive data gathered by scientists and medical people who recommend otherwise.
3. A promise to "restore the integrity of the parole board."
4. Promises to "investigate wrongdoing in Loudon County."
5. Creates a Chief Transformation Officer for Virginia, which would, in his view, "make government work." A CTO's purpose "is to drive growth and change within an organization."
6. Declares Virginia "open for business," as if it has not been. According to CNBC, in 2021, Virginia won its second straight national title as the best state to do business. The Commonwealth has won the award five times (more than anybody else), all under Democrats, and is the first state to win two in a row.
7. Promises to "combat and prevent human trafficking and provide support for survivors." This is a frequent unfulfilled Republican grandstanding promise. If he keeps this one, he will get a "hooray!" from me. 
8. Establish a commission to fight antisemitism. Again, I'll cheer if this promise is fulfilled.
9. Promises to withdraw from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which could help save the lives of millions of people. Republicans have shown little stomach for saving lives if it means a 2 percent drop in profits for anybody who supports them.
10. Issued a directive to "jumpstart our economy by cutting job-killing regulations by 25 percent. That should ensure a more dangerous workplace, one that pollutes more, one where workers are fired for sneezing at the wrong time and generally undoing 150 years of progress for the worker.
11. Directive 2 is to rescind the vaccine mandate (meaning you have to get your shots) for all state workers, once again, making Virginia a more dangerous place to live for all of us.

(*Youngkin's campaign spent $67.9 million, $20 million of it loaned from his personal private equity fortune. His opponent, Terry McAuliffe, raised $68 million. He had been the fundraiser for Bill and Hillary Clinton, setting records for them. No amount, apparently, could protect him from himself.)

This is for your historical comparison. Note that even George Allen was for Equal Opportunity.

A Big Roanoke Problem That Won't Go Away

I've talked to Roanoke City Council members about this sad situation around the city where tent cities have sprung up (using tents the city gave the homeless) and others searching to find a warm spot on these winter nights. 

A big snow is coming this weekend and I'm just not sure we as a city are prepared to take care of these people, some of whom simply want to be left alone.

The "tent city" pictured here is behind Lowe's and Kroger on Rutgers Road in the Northwest quadrant of the city (about a mile from my house) and it is clearly visible from the road to the airport. 

You will note here that a lot of debris is left, including chairs, lumber, tents, and a lot of other broken pieces. There were no people in the camp that I could see when I shot these pictures, but there was an ambulance taking care of somebody, I would assume a resident.

The sleeping bag was occupied by a person in the men's bathroom at Smith Park at noon Wednesday. There was urine on the floor and the remains of a Vienna sausage dinner swam in it. The resident was snoring and I didn't wake him.

I simply don't know what the solution is. Some of the homeless want help and some simply don't. Others are mentally ill or addicted. I've talked to a few who enjoy the "freedom" of being without a home. There is not a one-size-fits-all solution and I am not sure the city is equipped to solve the problem. After all, it is composed of citizens of Roanoke, people who sympathize but don't have the answer. 

Will money fix the problem? Will volunteers? What do you suggest?

John Ketwig and I had Mexican lunches.

A Mexican Lunch and Talk of Vietnam

I shared lunch today in a little Mexican bistro in Bedford with author John Ketwig and it was the first time in a while that I got to talk fully about my war feelings and have somebody I respect agree with me.

John is the celebrated author of the Vietnam anti-war memoir " ... and a hard rain fell." That was nearly 35 years ago when he was near 40. The process, he said today, was "like vomiting." I can only imagine. John, at the time, was training for Toyota Motors and had no experience as a writer. This book just emerged, raw, tough, full of memorable images and inarguable truths.

His newest is "Vietnam Reconsidered: The War, the Times and Why They Matter." Author Ron Kovic ("Born on the Fourth of July and a friend of John's) says the book is "a thoughtful, timely and beautifully written book that every American should read if they are to ever learn ..." It is a book--despite the title--about "a woman's recovery from trauma after her son is killed in Iraq and then her husband is murdered at the boy's funeral." The gun violence throughout the book triggers an anti-gun message. 

Ron, like so few who have served in the military, understands the nature of war, that it is about making money for a few people and either talking virtual children into fighting "for their country" or drafting the unwilling to fight wars that benefit the 1 percent. Vietnam was about drugs, Iraq about oil, Afghanistan about paying Blackwater $300 for a gallon of gas for the military and having mercenaries fight our war--again for money.

Vietnam was not the first unpopular in American history (all but WWII were unpopular eventually), but it was the one when the kids who were to fight it finally said--emphatically, "Hell, no, we won't go." And many didn't. Some, like me, were fortunate enough to be in school, or to have a football knee, or to have bone spurs or a dad who was in the Senate. The poor kids with no voice went and were killed, until they decided not to go any longer and their moms backed them. When the mothers got involved the war stopped.

Both of John's books are non-fiction, but he has now embarked upon his first novel ... about Vietnam. My guess is it will be as good as its predecessors and will give him a little more room to tell the real truth, as novels tend to do.

John and I talked and re-confirmed each other. I felt better upon leaving and will want to do it again soon. It was cleansing. 

 

40 years ago

50 years ago

These days I look like this

 
How This Man Ages

There is this thing going on over on Facebook where people are running photos of themselves now and 10 years ago. I thought I'd do that one (or two, or three ...) better by plotting this old man's progression (regression?) over a span that's a bit more.

30 years ago

It begins in 1946 with the little red-headed baby with the beret, born six months earlier at St. Joseph's Hospital in Asheville. That's basically 75 years ago, breaking the spell of 10 years at a time, but it's timely, so to speak. 

60 years ago

Herewith are photos marking time in mostly 10-year increments, showing the aging of a guy who fought that process every step of the way.

Here is a progression beyond the baby (shown at the bottom of this post): 

10-At the Taubman Museum with my grandgirl.

20 years ago

20-At a trade show with the Blue Ridge Business Journal, which I edited.

75 years ago

30-Hiking at Alta Mons in Montgomery County.

40-on a boat in the Bahamas asking for another beer (pre-AA days).

50-Column head shot at the Asheville Citizen as a sports writer.

60-High school jock in an oddball pose, wearing his flat-top haircut.

 

Monique is feeling better and soon she and her camera will be snapping again. 

A Brush with Covid Is What I Don't Need

I just dropped off some Christmas and Get Well goodies to my good friend Monique Duncan, who was assured yesterday that, yes, she has Covid-19. Monique has been sick ("As bad as I've ever felt") since Christmas and tested negative for the virus several times before the blockbuster was announced.

My favorite photographer says her symptoms are only nominal now and she and fiance Ben are coming back into the real world after a difficult time.

I stood about 20 feet from her front door when I made my deliveries (veggie beef soup and hot chocolate among them) and we both wore masks. I felt relatively safe but kept edging back as the conversation wore on. Monique told me the details of her Covid and I am not wanting anything to do with it. At my age and with my health questions, I suspect it could be fatal to me if I get it.

I have a civic group talk scheduled next Tuesday and I'm questioning whether I can safely do that. I emailed the person who invited me to speak, asking for details on shots and mask requirements for those attending. If there aren't any, I will have to bow out, even though I have a talk written.

This is a scary time, especially with the Covid variant being so voracious and prevalent in the Roanoke Valley. 

But at least my good friend is getting well. I thank my gods for that.

Snow blowing sideways covered my fence pretty quickly.

The First Snow of 2022

The first snow of 2022, coming on my brother Paul's birthday today, is still going on at 9:30 a.m. and it is a soft powder, blowing, perfect for skiing. It was predicted as a heavy, wet snow, but it hasn't been that so far.

Standing in it a few minutes ago, I was quickly covered and my camera started taking on droplets on its lens. Beautiful snow. As always.

A closer look at the fence.

Look closely at this shot. There is a little birdhouse in the middle ... in color.

I'm ready for 2022. Are you?

A Few Goals for 2022

I have never given much significance to the turning of the calendar page from one year to the next, and I've had 75 of those opportunities if practice means anything. The new year, however, provides an opportunity to check human progress and I've availed myself of that for the past number of years. 

Two that shall remain without number are: laugh more, cuss less. I need a trainload more of both.

Here's what I've come up with for 2022, a Top 10+, as it were, in no particular order of significance.

1. Remaining sober for the 28th straight year is the short-term goal here, but I want to improve that sobriety by being the best person I can be. Being sober for an alcoholic is not the end-all. It is simply the beginning of an opportunity, one that comes on a daily basis. A sober mind is an open mind--or at least a more open mind.

2. Spirituality is one of the elements in remaining sober and I want to intensify that effort. This is not a religious effort, but one where the god of my understanding leads me, and all I ask for is directions and good sense to follow them. 

3. Maintain my weight. I started 2021at 205, ended at 202. Still, I want to get to about 190 in order to be truly healthy (and ride my bike again). Staying where I am has not been difficult, so I think I need to shoot for a weight that takes some effort.

4. Eat better and exercise harder. I've fallen into some bad habits that I need to break, including eating sweets. We know we are what we eat, which has made me something of a carb warrior in the past few months. My exercise regimine has become much less intense in the past couple of years and I can feel it, especially when I am on a hiking trail with an incline or more miles than I am accustomed to.

5. Be a good friend, a good dad (when possible), and a good grandfather. I do the friend and grandpa thing pretty well, in my estimation. Being a dad is where I have always been weakest and try as I might, I always seem to come up short in my own estimation. I need to take some time to evaluate why that is and what being a good father means. Maybe I should ask my son, the best dad I know.

6. Stop my thoughtless and rude conversation habit of talking over people and not fully listening. Give others the opprotunity to finish their thoughts before jumping in and stop thinking about my response before it is time to give one. 

7. I have been told for years that my enthusiasm can be intimmidating, but I have never before done anything about it because it is a character trait that identifies me. I'm having second thoughts and have begun to tone down the noise and level of the energy.

8. Stop making guesses for answers that I don't know. Simply say, "I don't know, but I can help you find the answer if you'd like." When I give a wrong answer, it destroys my credibility.

9. I am frugal because I have always had to be. I know how to find a deal and how to prioritize my spending. But I need to stop talking so much about the cost of things. It is not a good look, or sound.

10. Complete my effort to put writers and artists in the region together on a monthly basis for conversation, networking and companionship. People with an artistic bent often tend to isolate, but we have the need to be around others with like minds on a regular basis. What I am calling Persiflage* ("light banter") should kick off in the spring at lunch time on a Wednesday or Thursday in Roanoke. I have sent out invitations to some of the brightest, most creative people I know and 30 have come back with enthusiastic positive responses. Now, it's time to nail down the details. I may send out more invitations as creatives' names come up and if you qualify and want to be one of us, please let me know.

10a. Give those with political views that I find repugnant (generally Republicans and Trumpers) a chance to show their humanity before permanently putting them on a list of undesirables. I understand that there are legitimate political differences, but I can't abide the violent dismantling of our government, taking people's voting rights away, eliminating the right to choose what to do with our bodies, and a wide array of other atrocities. But I can listen and try to understand. Maybe we can find common ground.

10b. Be a better partner to the Princess. I have much work to do here and am willing to do it. What I need is direction and I will find it.

Happy 2022. I hope it challenges you and that you respond. And I wish that for myself, as well.

(*This would actually be Persiflage II, since we did this with the same name some years ago. It was wildly successful, I will add.)