My Aunt Meercy lived a good life in Miami Beach. She and her husband retired there, and upon his death, my Aunt, who is now 101, and says “Thank you God for this new day,” every time she wakes up, was and is a fighter. But after a few years of living as a widow, my sisters and I noticed a decline in both her memory and her demeanor. When she finally acquiesced to our requests that she please move to Pittsburgh, and move into housing closer to her immediate family, I spent a month, helping her move. My Aunt never had children, and my mother (a true loving sister, asked that we, her children treat Aunt Meercy like a mother!) So as a good son I began the trek of Moving my Aunt Meercy. I am going to tell a short tale of our visit to Wolfies Deli, at the time a very popular Jewish Delicatessen, not as a joke, but as a moment in time which NOW resonates too deeply for me, regarding the dangerous and decaying democracy in which in find myself, and worse, my children, nieces nephews and great nieces and nephews living…and I am afraid. We went to the Early, Early Bird Dinner, which at the time ran from 3:30 pm to 5:00pm. At 5:00pm the Early Bird Dinner began. The Early, Early Bird, had a less expensive menu and a notice of all you could eat. For the senior population all you eat was truly not a whole lot of food, but Wolfies Deli, provide plates of Kosher pickles, pickled green tomatoes and tons of sauerkraut.
My Aunt ordered three Matzoh Balls for her soup. I was shocked, knowing her appetite was not usually that great, she also ordered two corned beef sandwiches and packets of mustard even though there was the usual tiny glass container of mustard on the table. Right before the meal was finished my Aunt removed from her purse a large quart size plastic bag and a few sandwiched sized bags. As she began to place the two uneaten extra Matzoh balls in the bag, quickly stashing the corned beef sandwiches and of course the mustard packets, I had a look of shock on my face. I had never witnessed my Aunt act this way. I gently placed my hand on hers and asked what she was doing. Without looking at me, and hardly noticing my hand on hers she, politely and with respect asked me to help put the sugar packets and the salt and pepper shakers in a bag! To make this long version a bit shorter, and I swear, no intention of making a joke of this…the purpose of my Aunt’s action, as explained by her and her friends sitting at surrounding tables, was…They said all you can eat, and anything on the table is something you could eat, so if it is on the table and you are going to pay for it, TAKE IT ALL! A lady who heard me question my Aunt, stopped by our booth, her handbag bulging, and added, “the rules are all you can eat so we can eat all of this.”
We are now living in a nation where rules are broken, changed, ignored by the Republican/Putin/Evangelical Political Party. There is no adherence to the Constitution, by the Republican/Putin/Evangelical Political Party, and they demonstrate their idea of governing as an all you can destroy Party. They tell us the President can never be guilty of a crime, they tell us subpoenas by the Legislative Branch of Government are meaningless. They ignore Senate procedures by rushing both Cabinet member nominees and Federal Court Nominees with no debate, and they lower the taxes on the wealthy, declare tariffs on the average American, and decide that the environment is their own toy and they can play with it as they please. There are rules to follow and there are rules by which you either ignore or change to suit your own needs.
Over 3 million more citizens voted for Hillary (and is just counting the votes that were not destroyed or hacked by the GOP and the Russians) yet this nation is being governed by a minority Party with an all you can FUCK attitude. They fear Trump, they fear their Base, a so-called 34% of the population. Their base now, consists of Racists, White Nationalists, Good Nazi’s, False Prophets, Bigots, Homophobes, Islamophobia, Misogynists, and now two new groups, RAPISTS, and MEN who think INCEST is a gift from Jesus! For the Republican/Putin/Evangelical/Political Party, it is like the Early, Early Bird Dinner…eat all you want, take all you want, and changes the rules to suit your own needs! I am AFRAID, so fucking AFRAID!
