I'll Call It Like I See It

by sheila morris

storytelling for truth lovers

  • saying goodbye to good friends


    Five year old Finn and his mother Saskia came for some pool time with Pretty last Sunday before they were to leave for the Netherlands on Tuesday. Dave the Dad was home packing for the trip and skipped the pool fun time. They will be gone for almost a year while Saskia does research there and will be sorely missed by all of us with the possible exception of Spike who tends to shy away from visitors. Nothing personal – it’s just how he rolls.

    Two incidents happened during their final visit that Granny Selma would have called Memory Makers. The first occurred when Finn came inside and ran past me on his way to the kitchen. I was sitting in my Frasier’s father’s lookalike recliner in the den watching TV.

    “Every time I come to your house you’re always sitting in that same chair watching TV,” Finn commented as he raced by.

    “Hey,” I said to his back. “Why do you think I do that?”

    He barely turned and said matter of factly, “I guess it’s because you’re lazy.”

    I laughed out loud (or LOL) but told him he was probably right. Out of the mouths of babes, etc. Pretty thought the remark rocked when I told her, but her turn was coming.

    After everyone dried off, we all sat together in the den for a little chat before Saskia and Finn had to leave to go home to pack. Unfortunately for all of us, Pretty’s cell phone rang.

    She looked at the number and realized it was the same unknown number that had been calling her several times a day for the past week. She even heard her cell phone ring the night before at almost midnight but didn’t answer it. The next morning she saw it was the same unknown number and was furious. She vowed to answer her phone the next time the number rang her, and naturally the phone rang when we had company.

    Well brothers and sisters, Pretty has quite a temper and when she found out the caller was the Democratic National Committee, her dander was up so high heat was rising from the top of her head. She lit into them with her hell hath no fury like a woman whose cell phone had rung too many times harangue, and her voice definitely wasn’t her inside tone. DON”T YOU CALL ME AGAIN!! Pretty exclaimed.

    She allowed as how she had always supported the Democratic Party with her time and resources but with one final verbal blast she threatened the unimaginable of not only stopping her contributions but refusing to vote for any Democrat ever. The conversation ended shortly thereafter.

    Saskia, Finn and I had tried to pretend we weren’t there…we acted like we weren’t listening but maintained an awkward silence while Pretty ranted. Apparently the incident stuck in Finn’s memory even as he flew across the Pond two days later. Don’t you call me again, he repeated to his mother during the flight; and then they both giggled as they pictured Pretty on the phone in our den.

    Finally, once settled in Amsterdam and getting ready for bed his first night there, Finn resisted his mother and dad’s efforts to go to sleep by imitating Pretty’s meltdown on the telephone two days earlier. Thanks to Saskia for this great video.

    Well, well, Pretty, if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, your tirade is the stuff of legends in one little boy’s mind. Finn, you are another Rich Little in the making, and we will miss your optimism and fun in the next year. Please don’t forget your English while you’re learning to speak Dutch in school, but enjoy the extra special days with your grandparents and other family.

    The US Open is my excuse for laziness for the past week because of my addiction to the four major tournaments. I admit to my passionate preoccupation with the people, places and predicaments of the four major tennis tournaments every year. The US Open is the last major for the 2017 season so I have mixed emotions every year as I say goodbye to each player I really like when they lose and exit the tournament.

    The goodbyes come and go to our friends in real life and those we think we know from their television appearances, but I can truthfully say from more than 70 years of experience with goodbyes that hellos are right behind them. Just 4 months until the Australian Open.

    Stay tuned.

     

     

  • why do we need hurricanes to remind us what makes us better people?


    The stories of bravery, compassion – heroism in the face of unimaginable adversity – have been captured by social media and more traditional TV coverage every minute of every day for the past week during Hurricane Harvey and its aftermath on the Gulf Coast of Texas. The images are horrific and the devastation breath-taking, but the spirits of the people have become an inspiration to themselves and the rest of the country.

    The generosity of Americans everywhere as cash donations pour in for the relief effort is amazing. The mobilization of individuals around the country volunteering to assist the rebuilding of neighborhoods that are drowning in record breaking rainfall which has caused dams to break and rivers to overflow is awesome and is a testament to the resilience of a unity that calls us to rise above the issues that divide us to celebrate our love and support for one another.

    When helicopter rescuers drop a basket to save a family trapped on a roof, there is no discussion of race, transgender, sexual orientation, religious affiliation or economic disparity – there is only the simple act of human kindness that transcends our bitter differences. As my cousin Melissa says, that’s a happy thing.

    According to the governor of Texas today, all 50 states have responded to the tragedy with offers for assistance, and all branches of the military were deployed to step in and do what they are trained to do in emergency situations. They stepped in and stepped up as did all local first responders from the counties and cities of the area in addition to those who arrived from neighboring states.

    I really can’t imagine how long the recovery and rebuilding process will be nor can I imagine standing in long lines with my family waiting for the basics of food, water, clothing and a place to sleep…but I have seen the faces of people who have lost everything except each other in those long lines and while they are beginning to grasp their new reality of losses, they huddle together as a family to confront their uncertain future.

    You see, I am a dreamer and a hopeless romantic about the good in people and when I see that good so evident this week in the midst of Hurricane Harvey, the sharp contrast of the images of the anger and hatred in Charlottesville, Virginia seem a little less permanent.

    I share the optimism of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who said:

    I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality…

    Our house stands today with our brothers and sisters across the country who struggle to unite, to comfort, to believe that goodness and kindness are the common values we cheer – the values that a hurricane named Harvey reminds us to celebrate this Labor Day weekend.

    Be safe and strong.

     

  • it’s not nice to fool Mother Nature


    The mysterious Mother Nature has once again visited the Gulf Coast with a massive Category 4 hurricane benignly named Harvey which will leave the coastal areas in Texas where I grew up with devastating losses of property and lives. The best preparations, precautions, evacuations – no matter what the plans put in action to avoid catastrophes are, we struggle to survive the floods and winds that hurricanes bring. Mother Nature can be relentless.

    She can also be a goddess of good weather in one location while she strikes another one with terror. Fickle? clearly.

    Today on this Sunday, the last one in August of 2017, I woke and went outside with Spike and Charly to inspect the weather. What I saw was the unmistakable beginning of autumn as the leaves from our trees began to fall in the swimming pool. What I felt was a slight, very slight, shift toward a lower temperature in the air around me as a whisper of a south wind blew our Pride flag in a knot on the flag pole.

    Pretty and Charly took advantage of the gorgeous day to spend a few hours outside as the days dwindle down to a precious few for pool time.

    Charly watches Pretty’s preparations

    leaves, leaves and more leaves

    Charly suns along with Pretty

    Hurricane Harvey will ultimately dissipate as all hurricanes do, but Mother Nature’s cruelty will linger for months or possibly years on the Gulf Coast of Texas as the waters recede and the people rebuild, but the sun will shine just as bright as it did on Cardinal Drive today…the stars at night will be big and bright deep in the heart of Texas. May that day come quickly.

     

  • ho hum…just another total eclipse of the sun


    Admit it – not everyone was as psyched about the solar eclipse as the weather people have been for the past week or the astrologers who waxed eloquently about how the eclipse was an opportunity for new beginnings to correct our individual and collective wayward ways…or the more scientific astronomers who were so busy setting up their gazillionth power telescopes and cameras as they frantically tried to preserve a celestial event they believed to be worthy of safeguarding for themselves and their posterity.

    The sale of eclipse glasses, t-shirts, baseball caps, souvenir shot glasses, coffee mugs, dog collars, and yes, even postage stamps, boosted the US consumer confidence index by astronomical amounts during the time of the retail business cycle that usually struggles to survive. The massive movement of millions of Americans to find optimal viewing sites for the eclipse generated an uptick in revenue for transportation, hotels and motels, campgrounds, and the food and beverage industry. The solar eclipse was big money, Vanna.

    The gods in charge of solar eclipses smiled on Columbia, South Carolina to make it one of the premier viewing spots in the nation due to the length of time for the visibility of the total eclipse here. People came from far and near to seek out the best possible spot for watching the solar show.

    On a personal note, I really wasn’t all that excited about the eclipse. I’d seen the hype, the excitement of my friends and family, the media coverage ad nauseam but somehow I couldn’t figure out why anyone would be that thrilled to see something that lasted only 2 1/2 minutes. I mean, seriously people, get a grip. I became the Grinch that stole the Solar Eclipse at Casita de Cardinal.

    Pretty, on the other hand being who she is, was energized by the eclipse via the enthusiasm of her social media friends and their posts for the past weeks. She took it upon herself to have a small eclipse party at our house by inviting friends of ours from North Carolina who were in town to see family plus the highly touted solar eclipse. Come on over said Pretty, and they did.

    So we had a spontaneous eclipse party with an eclectic inter-generational mix of two older women, three middle-aged women, and a 15-year-old girl. Since it was a summer day and hot enough to fry an egg on our cement walkway, our guests moved directly from the front door through the house to our swimming pool in the back yard.

    I tagged along behind them to be sociable but didn’t plan to get in the pool or stay outside very long in the heat. The wiser half of our little party jumped in the pool immediately while I sat in one of our poolside chairs to visit with the other two. Charly loves a party so she went around to everyone for petting  while Spike went back inside to the cooler air. Spike is nobody’s fool.

    Our friend Jennifer handed out the eclipse glasses she’d brought for everyone, and I made the mistake of putting on a pair to look at the sun which was perfectly visible from our back yard. The moon was just beginning its slow crawl across the sun, and I was transfixed at the sight. Hooked on the solar eclipse. I went back inside, put on my bathing suit, joined the others in our pool and spent the next two hours captivated by the movement of the moon across the sun. It was marvelous.

    Elle and Pretty taking it all in

    thank goodness for Pretty’s insatiable curiosity

    Lisa carried her mother Vicki for a cool ride

    Luckily for them, our guests had eaten lunch before they came to our house at 1 o’clock and had brought a cooler full of ice and drinks. Since our party was a bit impromptu, the best snacks we had to offer were two types of potato chips – one ruffle, one plain – with no dip. Since Pretty was monitoring other eclipse parties on Facebook posts, she was able to show us pictures of the elaborate spreads we were missing. Not to be outdone, however, she did have a Milky Way candy bar that she cut into eight pieces for the celebration of the momentous total eclipse.

    The pool water was cool and the solar show was spectacular. The moments of the total eclipse were amazing. The wind stirred quietly through the trees around us. The stillness of an impostor nightfall was interrupted by crickets chirping and the fireworks of our next door neighbors. The temperature dropped six degrees as if the sun were trying to say This is how powerful I am in comparison to your paltry planet of earth.

    Everyone at our little party oohed and aahed during the two and a half minutes of the actual total eclipse. We all agreed we had been witnesses to truly magical moments. Unbelievable, someone said as the sliver of the sun began to reappear and the moon slowly made its way beyond.

    We were all awe struck with the realization we had seen something we might never see again in our lifetimes.

    At this moment Pretty said, You know, I thought it would be darker. I felt like it would be so dark we wouldn’t be able to see anything around us.

    Lisa chimed in with, I thought that, too. I really was expecting it to be really dark out here. Her teenage daughter Elle said, I was hoping for darker, too.

    I laughed and said isn’t that just the way we humans are. We experience a miracle – and then complain that it didn’t meet our expectations. Everyone LOL.

    Regardless of our human nature, this eclipse Grinch was now a believer and was grateful to have been part of the chance for our country to take a collective breath from the national shame of the tragedy of Charlottesville to experience the majesty of a solar eclipse with its promise of peace.

    (images courtesy of Jennifer Redd-lovette)

     

     

     

  • Breaking News: Interview with a Mushy Middler


    The mushy middle – and I’m not talking Hostess Twinkies here. No, the “mushy middle” and the “soft center” are names given by politicians and pollsters to the highly sought after silent majority of the electorate who have never attended a rally other than a pep rally at school, never write letters to the editor, regularly watch more than one news channel on TV, don’t give a tinker’s dam about confederate statues, and pal around with friends whose major topic of conversation isn’t politics. Holy Smoly, life must be much less stressful in the mushy middle, or is it?

    Inquiring minds want to know, so I’ll Call It took to reality blogging and found a card carrying member of the Mushy Middle who agreed to be interviewed as long as she could remain anonymous in order to avoid “outing” any of her middling friends. The interview was conducted two days before the Eclipse.

    I’ll Call It: For the record, is it true you identify as a member of the Mushy Middle?

    MM: Yes, that’s true. I am a proud member of the Mushy Middle and I’ll tell you why – I am always Undecided until the very last moment before I step into the voting booth. I vote for the person – not the party because I don’t like either one of those behemoth political machines that are 100% responsible for the mess we’ve made in our country. Basically, I think all politicians are crooks.

    I’ll Call It: I see. Well, do you mind telling me the name of the person you voted to elect President in 2016?

    MM: I voted for Donald Trump, but I didn’t tell anybody…not even if they asked, and a lot of those pollsters called me to ask. I thought it was nobody’s business if you care to write that down.

    I’ll Call It: Hm. Yes, I’ll definitely put that down; thank you for that bit of information. I really appreciate it. Do you mind telling me what characteristics of Donald Trump appealed to you?

    MM: Certainly. For one thing, he wasn’t Hillary Clinton. Everybody knows she’s a crook and a liar – they’ve already proved that with those emails of hers, haven’t they?

    I’ll Call It: Well, actually no. But surely that wasn’t the only reason you voted for Donald Trump?

    MM: Of course not. Are you calling me one of those women haters who don’t want other women to succeed – is that what you’re trying to say because if it is, I’m calling off this interview right now. I’m beginning to get a sneaking suspicion you’re trying to trap me into saying something I don’t mean, and I don’t like it one little bit. As a matter of fact, I don’t like you. Period.

    You’re one of those elitist reporters running around putting words in people’s mouths and making up phony photos showing KKK members with machine guns, for God’s sake. I have friends in the KKK, and they are super nice people who wouldn’t hurt a fly.

    I’ll Call It: No, that’s simply not true. White supremacists and KKK groups aren’t the good guys really. They go against everything America has stood for since we got started. They don’t believe in equality and justice for all. Their beliefs are the antithesis of our core beliefs in a democracy.

    MM: Oh yeah? Well, who else cares enough about our country’s history to try to preserve these beautiful statues we’ve had everywhere for two hundred years? What are we going to do with all the holes where the beautiful statues were? Has anybody thought about that?

    MM: Furthermore, I get it. I see you are not anything but a fake news reporter, so I am terminating this interview. Don’t ever let it be said that a Mushy Middler can’t smell a skunk a mile away. Adios. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

    I’ll Call It: But I wasn’t done – we never got around to why the Mushy Middle is  apathetic to the political happenings in America today or what you thought about Steve Bannon’s being kicked out of the West Wing.

    MM: I am sick to death of jerks like you who think you’re so smart and know everything. I don’t want to be on your side or their side. I just want to go my own way so leave me alone! Who’s Steve Bannon?

    P.S. Okay, so maybe the interview wasn’t as successful as I’d hoped, but I learned one thing for sure. Clearly the Mushy Middle isn’t as apathetic as advertised. Holy Smoly.