Gosh Darn It!  There are times when getting older really does suck.  And as I get older, my senses are degrading in acuity.  You remember those five senses from grammar school…sight, smell, hearing, taste and touch.  It appears to me that as my senses are degrading, so are the senses of our society.  (My mind is faltering, too.  But, dammit, I did not have to use Google to remember the five senses!)  Let me provide examples of how I think society’s senses are faltering, much as mine.

Hearing

Have you ever watched an episode of ‘The View?’  That is a daytime show with four very left- leaning women, trying to convince other women to be left-leaning.  Well…admittedly, I have never watched more than 5 minutes of that show, mostly because I am not left-leaning or a woman.  Surprise.  The four primary women on this show are Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Abby Huntsman, and Sunny Hostin.  This past week, they were mocking the message that Melania Trump produced about defending her husband from a New York op-ed piece.  Sunny Hostin began reading this message in an improvised, not funny-at-all, Melania accent.  Admittedly, one of the other women had the good graces and common sense to tell her to stop.

I am sure than anyone that hears Melania speak, can also hear her accent.  (Did you catch that segue?)  I wonder if they would have mocked her accent if they would have heard her speak the other five languages that she speaks?  Yes, Melania speaks six languages: Slovenian, French, Serbian, German and Italian, and of course, English.  I am willing to bet that she speaks more languages than the other four ladies on The View combined.

Touch

Have there ever been instances in your life that you ‘would not touch with a 10 foot flagpole?’  I know I have, but whenever I have gotten close to a real ’10 foot flag pole’, I was either saluting it or reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.  During all twelve years of my el-hi education, the day was begun with the Pledge of Allegiance.  If Colin Kaepernick gets close to a ’10 foot flagpole….he takes a knee.

Amazingly, just to show how disrespectful this act is, the Nike corporation has decided to use Colin as the face of their newest ad campaign.  Their reasoning?  They believe that Kaepernick showed ‘bravery and sacrifice’ by taking the knee.  Now I realize that my mind isn’t as sharp as it once was, but I am having one hell of a time equating disrespect for our flag, our national anthem and our country as being ‘brave and sacrificing!’  

I will give Nike the benefit of the doubt about market research in making this decision.  They realized that their target group is younger people, and that virtually anyone over the age of 55 is off their radar.  But you screwed up in your assumptions.  Us ‘over 55’ crowd are parents and grandparents, which means that those grandkids get presents for birthdays and Christmas.  Do you think us older folks, us that recited the Pledge of Allegiance every day,  are going to rush to buy Nike gear for their grandkids?  Not likely.  You may be spot on by targeting the generation that has never had to live through a costly war.  Their perception of ‘sacrifice and bravery’ would be diluted from us who lost friends and relatives in Viet Nam or Korea or World War II or from 9/11.

Nike, you missed the boat.  If you wanted to push the envelope of society, and touch the hearts of a patriotic America, you could have been a trendsetter by choosing someone else.  How about a fire figher who rushed into the World Trade Center, knowing they may die while trying to rescue others?  How about a paraplegic, athletic soldier or Marine that has lost both legs while defending this country rather than denigrating it.  Those military people who have lost their limbs would only take two knees to pray, but never one knee to disrespect this country.   Need a famous athlete, as you have selected in the past?  How about J.J. Watt?  He raised over $47 million for Hurricane Harvey relief.  But I would guess that J.J. Watts, excellent role model like he is, is not ‘edgy’ enough for your campaign.  Peyton Manning would be left out because he has only built a children’s hospital with his own money.

But there is an upside to this whole affair.  In today’s Trump improving economy, even Colin Kaepernick got a job!

Smell

This past week, the New York Times came out with a scathing op-ed piece about the White House and Donald Trump.  The entire article was based upon a ‘high level anonymous source.’  Within the last two weeks, Bob Woodward has published a new book, also very negative about the White House and Donald Trump.  His book is largely based on ‘anonymous sources and hearsay.’  In his book, he has said that, “his anonymous source overheard” a conversation in the White House.

Does anyone ‘smell a rat’ when it comes to ‘anonymous sources and hearsay?’  I don’t know about you, but I am beginning to equate the word ‘anonymous’ with the word, ‘fictitious’  and the word  ‘hearsay‘ with the word, ‘rumor.’  The reason why I ‘smell a rat’  concerning this type of reporting and journalism is that I am wildly skeptical because of the timing.  It has become common in the last few decades, to release negative garbage just prior to an upcoming election, by both parties.  (Okay.  I am biased.  I feel like the liberal media has the edge in the garbage department.)  This year’s midterm election is going to be huge on how the outcome affects the direction of America and the smelly  journalistic garbage campaign is already beginning.  You can certainly be assured that there will be more to follow.

My opinion about ‘anonymous sources’ is that if they feel so strongly about what information they are providing, then they should be courageous enough to identify themselves.  If they are not willing to identify themselves, then they should not disclose their information.  That is the way it would be in the Grandpa T fantasy world.

Sight

One of my fondest memories of growing up was being in, and watching parades.  I would love to see the floats, the bands with their beautiful majorettes, the beauty queens, the classic cars and catching the handfuls of candy that accompanied every parade.

But I have one regret.  I have only seen one circus.  I was probably 5 or 6, and somehow our family got tickets to see the Ringling Brothers circus.  For a young kid, it was magical!

There are advantages to getting old.  For one advantage, I get to watch a whole lot of television.  For one disadvantage, I get to watch a whole lot of television.  With that in mind, I would like to share with you that while watching television this past week, I got to see another circus.  That makes two circuses in my lifetime!   This particular circus was hosted by the Senate Judiciary Committee during its confirmation hearings involving Judge Brett Kavanaugh.  It was obvious from the questioning and from the proceedings that there were more clowns in this circus than Ringling Brothers could ever afford.  Total lack of respect.  Total lack of decorum.  Total dedication to disrupting the proceedings.

I can see that this is what we receive when we load a room with over-inflated egos, posturing to become a presidential candidate.  Eventually, we did get a smattering of what the Supreme Court Justice nominee had to say, but it was secondary to the circus being in town.  After watching this event, I began wishing for two things:  1.  Take the cameras out of the room, because most of these clowns never met a TV camera they didn’t like, and, 2.  Is it too late to change our government to a benevolent dictator so we would not have to watch how crappy our government really operates?  (How did those 70 demonstrators get into that meeting room?  Did they need a pass from one of the senatorial participants?  Just wondering out loud.)

Taste

In late June,  Sarah Sanders and her family were asked to leave before getting a taste of the cuisine at at the Red Hen restaurant in Lexington, Virginia.  Bummer.  She was asked to leave by the owner, stating that she was asked to leave because she works for Donald Trump.  The owner then took this personal display of stupidity and disrespect by following Sarah and her family to the next restaurant.

But just like the TV commercials, ‘but wait…there’s more!’  Maxine Waters, U.S. Representative from the California 43rd congressional district took this one step further by stating that, “Let’s make sure we show up wherever we have to show up.  And if you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd.  And you push back on them.  And you tell them they’re not welcome anymore, anywhere.”  Wow!  Aren’t our elected officials suppose to do what is best for America?  Aren’t they suppose to set an example for Americans?  Heal racial wounds?  Promote a united America?  Well, in this instance, Maxine went out of her way to demonstrate her intolerance and stupidity.

One can only hope that sometime in the near future, Maxine Waters gets a taste of her own medicine and gets thrown out of some facility.  Hopefully that would be the House of Representatives.  Just thinking out loud about the Grandpa T fantasy world.

I still have enough intellectual wits about me to know that my senses are slightly duller as I get older.  My big concern is, ‘Does our society have enough intellectual wits to realize that its senses are dulling, also?’  (And, probably faster than mine!)   America needs to become more cognizant of its ‘senses.’  And in that vein, let’s continue to “Make America Great Again!”