On The Edge of a Rant
I’m trying not to go “off”. Really, I am. Hmmmmmm… Sounds a little like John Wayne in McClintock:I’m not gonna hit you…I’m not gonna hit you…like HELL I’m not!” (followed by a well placed punch)
Maybe I’m on edge because I am still (8 days and counting) trying to get the moving company to fulfill their contract and haul the empty boxes and assorted packing trash out of my front yard. It’s been sitting there, getting rained one, generally lending an air of trailer park ambience to my neighborhood. I am looking forward to my neighbors gathering up a lynching party and assembling under the large oak tree in my front yard. My only saving grace there may be that the piles of packing trash blocks easy access to the lower hanging branches that would be suitable for launching a lynching!
Or maybe I’m on edge because my father, lacking any other apparent stimulus in his life right now, has become – once again – deathly ill. Too ill to think. Too ill to call a doctor. Too ill to rest and take care of himself. NOT too ill, however, to call me hysterically raving about how sick he is. Also NOT too ill to rebuff all legitimate avenues towards feeling better.
I don’t know – maybe it’s the moon phases….or MY phases! Just the same, I am perched here firmly on the edge of a rant and trying desperately not to unleash. It’s not my style here in FOD land. And once I get started…well, it’s like trying to stop a runaway semi truck on one of those runaway truck ramps….
So I WON’T go on about the insipid, pandering, boo-hoo, woe is me September 11 tributes that have caused me to turn my television completely off. Lest you think I am heartless, let me assure you that I have felt the whole gamut of emotions associated with such a horrific tragedy – I have been shocked, stunned, disbelieving. I have cried an ocean of tears. I have been angry, furious and downright hawkish. I have looked upon people with suspicion and distrust. I will never (and this bears repeating) NEVER forget what happened on that horrific day.
A year later – and where are we? Have we moved on? Are we DOING something about what happened – preventing a reoccurence – or a worse occurence? Are we focused and pulling together (as Americans are famous for in times of dire need) towards a common goal – the preservation and protection of our homes, our children, our way of life?
I don’t know about you – but this is what I see. Maybe my view is too lopsided. I certainly hope so. But what I see is an office of homeland security that must be doing something – but what is it doing? I see check-ins at MAJOR airports that take NO longer than pre 9/11 check-ins did. I see friends and neighbors and co-workers who have returned to a state of self-satisfied insulated complacency. What happened was a fluke, right? It could never happen again. We’re the almighty US. Everyone loves us and looks up to us. If they don’t love us, they’re just crazy and jealous – a faction of weirdos who are too nuts to actually do us any harm.
I see Dubbya sending us off to war – not to finish off the terrorists that brutally violated us a year ago – but to finish off Daddy’s unfinished war with Iraq of some 11 years ago. Iraq’s a threat so we better get them before they get us? OK. Well then… we better get ready for a long and protracted war because there are a LOT of countries in this world that hate us and have the ability to do something about it….North Korea for starters…..and how does Pakistan stand about now? Who else should we wipe out? Canada’s not being real supportive about this Iraqi war thing…….
And so we wave our flags and read poetry and congress meets in New York in some sort of meaningful (?) gesture. Then we shake our heads and go back inside our homes and fix dinner…… and then what?
Rant over……..Computer closed.
Canadians have a unique view of the US, and I find the whole Iraq thing incomprehensible. Don’t get me started on my own rant. Although, in truth, I think you and I could do quite well together in an eye-opening tirade. Perhaps we should unite and overthrow all current world leaders. What do you say? With a grin and a hug…
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Hi, agree with you about the 9/11 stuff… nothing really seems to be different than pre-9/11, save all the television tributes. I hope the moving stuff, and your father get better!
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hopefully we don’t listen to the greedy adult people who say, i lost a mother give me one million dollars airplane company. Oh for pete’s sake, the kids need to be taken care of, but the grown ups who just want a load of cash to buy crap like jewlery because their mother was a worker who got killed make me frustrated. That’s my rant for the radio reports. I don’t watch much tv. No truck to bring
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one round the garden. Hopefully tho, we few who realize that there isn’t the pulling together can do something. (does your town not have a recycling pickup that will take the boxes?) One of the good things about here is that we have curbside weekly recycling pickup. We have a “trash” can that usually is fuller with cereal boxes(toad eats boxes of that stuff) and glass pickle jars.
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Peek a boo! I see you wandering loose in FOD. With a smile…T the U and online
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I’m ba-a-a-ack. And I’ll likely be online for a great deal of the afternoon. Keep an eye out for me. With a smile…T, still U
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Just wondering if HumanClick got weird on me. I’m not sure it sent you the last few things I said. Stupid free software. Delightful to chat again. With a grin…
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Agree, agree, agree, agree!!!!!!!! Would add one thing: The office of Homeland Security is suspicious of YOU! Sort of like the Uncle Sam poster, only in Hell. I’m glad I’m not of Arabian descent right about now…..
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hmmm. i agree with you on the most part. Except, I’m one of the many that has been pulled aside during screening during an air trip. . .tis not fun. . .nor short. and there is more to security than one sees, at least here. Hell, when i go into short term parking to pick someone up, i have to have my trunk searched.
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I’m back on a writing roll, as it were. With a smile…
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A-FREAKING-MEN, HONEY!! ~>:P ArtImp, all riled up and nsi
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I have seen several signs referring to Sept. 11th as Patriot Day. WTF?? Patriot Day??? What is patriotic about being attacked by religious zealot wackos? (Not that I have a judgment about it.) I turned my television off in the summer so I could do my homework and I have found little occasion to click it back on, again. I am NOT surprised by the moving company. 🙁 I wouldda ranted.
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You got right to the heart of the matter I think. Everyone’s going around, saying how sorry they are and shaking their heads but no one’s really doing anything more than that.
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ry-many-n: You leave THE BEST notes!!! Thanks! 🙂
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I could bring over a few Barry Manilow albums, You have a record player? 😀
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Wow, you just expressed my feelings exactly. I haven’t written anything here about it because i don’t want to offend any US friends. Blair is worse the dubbya though, he dubbya’s lapdog, his little pleading eyes desperate to do whatever his master trains him and tells him to do. When has dubbya ever showed all this proof he supposedly has of Iraq, of Afghanistan, of anything? He always states
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“We have prrof that blah is responsible, blah is doing this,” but to my knowledge has never shown it to anyone. I am so scared right now and part of me is glad my mum isn’t here because war is one of her biggest fears. Oh God, I could rant for note upon note here, but I would be repeating what I’ve been saying to everyone who had half an ear for months. *hug*
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Nice rant …. RYN: You and Torin are both just using me as an excuse to get together. I can see it at The Watcher’s now … News report from Chav … Torin, captain of the Queen’s (may the gods, etc) guard, and a young lady, known to some as Sunshine Wolf, were found this morning DND’ing next to the body of a severely bludgeoned old gnome.– Uncle Gnome
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the daddy’s war thing is bothersome, i have felt that war is a total bush agenda. what a family. ugh. i enjoy other people’s rants, they often say what i am incapable of writing even though i feel that way.
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ryn: i would love to, other people’s homes are much more fun than my own…:)
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Bless you, Uncle Gnome. I have an idea now for another story! Heh.
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Great rant SW. We are in a new era…where ‘victory’ is being defined via the absence of terrorist attacks. By that definition, we are winning. We are getting the job done. If our government had not taken appropriate measures (known and unknown to the public) the tragedy we saw on 9/11 would have just been the beginning. It’s been a year relatively free of further loss of innocent life (con’t)
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You can say that again two times. (congressional meetings and a shaking of the head)
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and I pray that continues. I believe it will because we are doing what needs to be done. Re: Iraq… I believe the lack of world support for George Jr.’s attack is based on several factors; one of those is a lack of confidence in our president by many countries who fully realize Iraq is being led by a madman who will most certainly use weapons of mass destruction once he has the capability (con’t)
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the very complex problem (and one we have seen many times in recent history) is that it is not enough to just extract Iraq’s leadership through various means. The concern is what happens after? There could easily be another madman ready to take over and use that 10% of the worlds oil production to continue developing weapons of mass destruction destined for western ‘infidels’. (con’t)
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the nearly impossible task is to avoid that scenerio by promoting some other group headed by more sane leadership into power following the extraction of the current leaders. That is very hard to do….it may work in Afganistan because of the enormous effort we and the rest of the world provided following 9/11. But it ain’t easy. And it’s no task for a cowboy. (con’t)
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Re: your note. Thanks much for the encouragement, it’s appreciated. I have tried to start a new diary, but I can’t even do that. Keep getting weird error messages. But I’ll keep trying. I guess I should head on over to the OD award department and pick up my trophy for ‘Longest Rant Note’. -Jeff
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YIKES, YIKES, AND YIKES AGAIN ! Sounds like a typical moving company thing to me…Good Luck with them… Smiles,
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The Eagles and I have a peaceful easy feeling and so glad you share with us all! Alex
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Wow. Great rant. Great notes. Wish I had something intelligent to contribute. Alas, I’m someone mired in indecisiveness. While I believe in the power of an individual to contribute and generate change, I personally am at a loss as to what to do or how to go about it. Any suggestions would be appreciated. 🙂
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Trailer park ambience? LOL. I wouldn’t mind finding a nice quiet corner (even if in a trailer park) that I could call my own and that wouldn’t cost an arm and a leg during financially rough times. I’m feeling decidedly hermit-like these days and a trailer park might just be the perfect place for a crazy middle-aged fat lady to hide. 🙂
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Hugs and prayers for your father and you and whole world LOTS OF LOVE
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Over here in UK people still get on board planes with weapons and can still get into restricted areas without proper security checks. We have learnt nothing. we have not completed the one trask before starting on another. We all hit Iraq and left it half done, we have done the same with Afghanistan and now are going to try again at Iraq.Maybe Torin and SW would not make such a bad job of it! Hu
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Wonderful,just wonderful.I agree with those who made comments before me.Take care.
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You dad may be reacting to you leving his home…subconsciously of course….and i so agree with you about your president…I do not need to say anymore but it is what the rest of the world thinks…he wants to go down in history and so does Blair… huggles you
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WONDERFUL rant!! You are oen of the few people who makes sense with their 9-11 rant. Totally disregard my last entry. It was NOT referring to you. Only those who are ranting because everyone else is “doing it”…Grr! *hugs*
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In reply to your missive I do think it would be nice if when we are 127 we may still be tapping away and writing! Tis something I seem never to lose interest in…Thank you for your notes which keep me ongoing…I am not sure to where! But ongoing… Alex
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Yaaaaaaaaa! The kitchen…the kitchen….cleaning it…packing it…I am heading for the asylum fast. A nightmare and not on Elm st! Alex in frenzy…
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I’ll say this- believe it or not, most of the world hates us. Whether it’s envy or because America has done a lot of quasi-illegal stuff in many countries that we don’t hear about (like spending millions to put Saddam Hussein and Panama’s Noriega in power), we are not the favorite country in the world. But what other nations don’t realize is that if America falls, so will they.
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Yooohoooooooo! With a raised eyebrow…
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here’s hoping things get better for you {{hugs }}
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With a tapping toe…
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Eternal vigilance is the price of peace, but the desire for peace seems to lead to paying a very high price for it. Appeasing Hitler by allowing him to overrun much of Europe before doing sanything about it but talk cost far more than stopping him when it started would have. Sometimes I think our activist peacenicks, for peace at any price, are more dangerous than the Hitlers
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