As the excitement and anticipation grows for the total eclipse of the sun today, people are getting their “safe to watch” equipment ready.

Throughout life, one discovers that there are many things that cause blindness beside optic diseases. BB guns, sleeping with contacts in, reading Playboy alone, and of course, staring at the Sun.

We’ve been told repeatedly for the past few weeks, that protective eyewear is a MUST if you plan to actually look at the eclipse. For many, the warning “Don’t touch, it’s hot and you’ll burn yourself” will be ignored…they’ll look. What I just learned is, your retina can get burned causing permanent eyesight loss, and you will not even feel it. Nothing like Paul (Saul) experienced.

My baby blues will be safe. I am not planning to look at Heavenly bodies today, but rather I’m keeping my eyes and ears focused on the Earthly reaction to this phenomenon.

My birdfeeder has been mobbed all morning. They know there’s something looming. They want to eat early and get back to their nests to safely experience the early nightfall. I don’t expect to see any owls or bats emerging, but they reportedly do. Orb-weaving spiders in Mexico dismantled their webs during the totality of the eclipse in 1994. And, the MN state bird, the mosquito, will be having an afternoon brunch.

Nature’s reverence for the acts of God will be evident in the silence that blankets the air.

I’ll be watching the movement of shadows caused the by the movement of the moon. Nora and I observe the seasons based on shadows. If you look at it panoramically, you can see the shade seep into nightfall…and the lighting is unique, depending on the time of year.

The shadows and their movements today will be truly interesting to watch…like a movie in fast mode. My memories of this eclipse will be how my neighborhood looked, not the sky.

When the excitement fades from today’s event, we need to turn our attention back to the actions of haters, and stop their attempt at a total eclipse of the Son.

I openly admit that I believe in reincarnation. It goes against some of the beliefs that were taught to me, but I trust my Faith more than I do the words of men. The concept of Reincarnation has given me more answers than questions.

One of the common denominators throughout various reincarnation believers is that just like humans, animals reincarnate in our soul family groups. Simply put, there is a cast of spirits that are on the same “return cycle” as you, and you keep running into each other. The animals in your life now, have very likely been in your life before, as an animal.

This post is a sympathy card to a dear friend, who just lost a family member… a dog named Beij. I never met him, but would share his “human” with him whenever she took him and his brother out to poop. She’d call me while walking and stopping, and we’d share the Rocky Mountain air together.

I couldn’t tell you if Beij was a Great Dane or a Chihuahua, I just knew he was “one of the boys”.

This week it was discovered that Beij had jaw cancer, and the decision was made to take his puppy spirit out of that inflicted body, and set it free to get back into “return cycle”.

Anyone that has gotten close to a pet (or read Watership Down) knows that there is so much more to a pet than just fur and poop. They are an unconditional friend that just wants a life of comfort and love. If you give it to them…you get it right back.

When they are gone, you feel that void created by their absence. Even a corner or hallway can tease your glance, looking for their eyes looking back. This is the price of love.

They would be doing the same thing if you were gone. That is the reward of love.

Remember the hugs, cuddles and energy that was created by him. You did your job…you gave him the life that God created him to have.

Now prepare for his return…only not as a human. There does not seem to be any cross-reincarnating. Since animals have mastered Unconditional love and humans have not, it would be going backwards for an animal to come back as a human!

I agree with the Alt-Right in their argument that the statue of Robert E. Lee should not be torn down and destroyed.

It should be left as a reminder of why we remember him. There are those that embrace his role in History, but there are many more that need to be reminded that he was defeated. His defeat will always be “the rest of the story”.

We demonized ISIS for destroying the Syrian site of Palmyra in 2015. This destruction was the result of a difference in beliefs, and the attempt to eliminate the memory of anyone else’s. Isn’t that pretty much the same reasoning for removing Gen. Lee?

If we start deciding whose ideologies and histories are worthy of keeping, then, (sit down..windchill warning in Hades) I agree with DJT. Since every monument will have its detractors, the following battles may be fought.

The Gun Rights activists will demand the removal of the Knotted Gun sculpture in NY. Wall Street executives would get the Fearless Girl hauled away while Feminists extract the Charging Bull she was staring at. The Rhinoplasty Surgeons will petition for the blasting of the Great Sphinx and the faces on Easter Island. Weight Watchers will push to have the Budda statues removed from every ethnic food restaurant in America. OCD Perfectionists will riot around the Leaning Tower of Pisa  and the Liberty Bell until they’re corrected. I can only imagine how members of Judaism would “improve” the Statue of David.

We could appease everybody by just moving all offensive monuments to the Mexican border. Once all the statues, pillars, Nativity scenes, big fish, sports figures and college & restaurant mascots are collected, we’ll line them up and build “the wall”. I imagine that there would be second thoughts in the minds of anyone considering  entrance to whatever is behind that wall. And, it would befuddle archaeologists from 2217 trying to figure out “Who were these people?!”   Minnesota will not be sending Paul and Babe. They’ve got no haters here…although, they would add height.

Let’s keep these structures in perspective. The ideology and meaning of these innate objects are “in the eye (and mind) of the beholder”.

As the saying goes, “Those who do not learn from History, are doomed to repeat it”. If it is offensive to you, do not try to remove it, because it is a reminder of what is possible. It should make you more diligent.

It will be interesting to see who is the first to tell Trump, we’ve had enough…you’re fired.

His “news conference” today in Trump Tower, pretty much solidified for everyone that he is the Clown I predicted him to be, in my 7/5/15 post, “Preparing For the Republican Circus“.

He went off-script and showed his arrogant ignorance. When pushed, he began defending the White Supremacists, almost citing their ideology.

Social judgement is in the DNA of every person. We perceive a person visually first. If we get past appearance differences, we move on to see what their convictions are regarding life. From there we either “pass” and move on, or get to know the person better. It really is that simple, for me at least.

The racist haters are not creating the bigotry oozing through the country. It’s always been there. They just don’t know how to say “pass”.

I had hoped that the silt of Racial History had settled at the bottom of the pond. It had shown some major improvements; the water was getting clearer.

But, then the torch-carrying haters went storming through the pond in Virginia, and the racial silt is now swirling around the country, making the waters cloudy…again.

Trump has made it impossible for us to allow him to be King for a Day any longer. The coming weeks will be an education in Civics. It’s amazing how many people, since his election, are taking an interest in how the political machine works…possibly the only positive thing from his legacy.

We must now turn our attention to Mike Pence. I want to hear from him, and soon. He’s about to take the helm, and I’m not sure he even knows how to steer the ship.

And who will be his crew? We’ve already witnessed “mutinies”, and new lines have been drawn. Whoever he brings into the swamp, I am sure they will not be as “colorful” as Trump’s cast of characters. They’ve been entertaining, but also very dangerous. I just hope it’s not milk-toast time.

The truth is that the USS America is in uncharted waters, and we don’t know what the coastline will look like when we land. Hopefully, we’ll see Lady Liberty on the horizon…Ellis Island and all.

Two weeks ago, I predicted to my friend, Joan, that the name David Duke would soon surface again. Well, his name just hit the airways, and he has said that the rioting in VA today, “…fulfills the promises of Donald Trump”.

Duke, if you recall, is the former Grand Wizard of the KKK. In Feb. 2016, Donny admitted that he knew nothing of White Supremacy or David Duke, but “would do research on them”. Two days later, he disavowed them.

My first thought was, how does a man who doesn’t know anything about “white supremacy” become elected to the highest office in the country, in the first place? Maybe because they all voted for him. Ignorance seems to be a required quality for hate groups, and he out-shined all other candidates in that category.

They make up only a portion of his “base”, but they seem to feel comfortable being members.

More interestingly, in November 2016, when asked about Trump’s appointment of Steve Bannon as his chief strategist, Duke replied, “I think that’s excellent. You have an individual, Mr. Bannon, who’s basically creating the ideological aspects of where we’re going,” added Duke. “And ideology ultimately is the most important aspect of any government.”

The string of people that Trump has attempted to take freedoms from, and the groups that he has pitted against each other are results of that ideology…simply put, bigotry.

The members of Congress must stop watching NOW. Somebody needs to take the light-saber from Donald the Menace Trump while he runs impetuously through the Waterford Crystal store.  Not quite the Night of Glass, but this is how it starts. The glass in his case, are countries and peoples…pretty big stuff.

The liberal Republicans and the conservative Democrats should join forces and be the ones to tell the Emperor that he has no clothes.

They should unite and build the Independent Party. I like that name, and that’s how I would define myself, independent. Decisions should be made on each issue based on its merits, not a Party line.

I believe when we have three strong political parties it will reflect the beds of the 3 Bears. The Republicans are too hard, the Democrats are too soft, and the Independents…just right.

Continue to contact your Washington DC “voices” to get the knife. Let’s REALLY drain the swamp, and lance the boil.

Extra tidbit: I also think I know who the White House leaker is…Melania.  Just sayin’…

I’m sure you’ve seen the LifeLock commercial where the bank guard informs people that he’s actually a security monitor that only notifies people when a robbery is in progress. Then he, and everyone else watch the crime occur as he says, “There’s a robbery”.

I’ve always considered the Media as a security monitor, notifying us of any disaster looming, but not authorized to stop it. That responsibility fell to the people that were notified.

Well, folks, we’ve been notified. Every news channel, except Fox, is screaming the warning at us, some of them 24/7. There is major corruption in the White House and we have an impulsive, capitalistic, megalomaniac steering the USS America.

Just consider the new words we’ve all added to our daily vernacular: bigly, fake news, misdirection play, covfefe, complicit, bigot, leaks, witch hunt, immunity, nepotism, unprecedented, alternative facts, vindicate, impeach, supremacy and vetting. Two new additions to the Oxford English Dictionary this past February…conway and spicer. Synonyms for the last two are: conway (v) – distort, subvert, falsify and spicer (v) – project, exude, emit, emanate. Not the marks I think they meant to leave for the History books. They are only two examples of the collateral damage Trump has created…but they went willingly.

We are blessed to be living in the United States of America. I thank God, often, for that fact. But we are watching this man humiliate us globally. He’s like the crazy, “rich”, boisterous uncle that talks big at family reunions, and then corners everyone trying to get them into Amway.

There’s really no harm caused if you just watch the crazy Uncle’s delusional shenanigans. Everyone “gets it” and lets him live in his fantasy world.

But our crazy “Uncle” (not Sam) is causing catastrophic harm, not only in our country, but more importantly…globally.

For months, we’ve all watched and said, “That’s crazy sh-t!” and then go back to watching.

Well, it IS crazy sh-t, and we’ve got to stop just watching.

Before our very eyes (but behind the curtain) social programs and regulations are being eliminated.  Political decisions are being made, determined by financial value only. And, now we’re facing a nuclear attack by North Korea’s crazy Uncle. While those two idiots try to out-bully each other, they are fighting on our playground. Hopefully they don’t destroy it.

The ignorance that we laughed at in the 1970’s All in the Family is the same perspective shared by Trump and his “base”. The big difference is that Carroll O’Conner knew that Archie was a dullard and a blue collar, self-righteous bigot. The people surrounding him humored him, actually “egging” him on. We all watched, knowing how ludicrous it was…which is what a comedy should convey.

This is no sitcom written by Norman Lear. This script is written by Steve Bannon, who seems to have plagiarized Lear. He’s turned a comedy into a tragic reality show.

I have notified my MN Congressional representatives (both parties), that I don’t want them to just watch anymore. As things get more serious, my communications get more frequent. I now have a voice. I encourage everyone to get a voice. If we all speak up, our voices get louder.

This, my friends, is a call to action.

In my obituary, I want the sentence that starts with, “In her later years…” to end with “…she didn’t just watch”.