Saturday, January 28, 2017

Local Saturday - Loving, Remembering and Escaping

Fake news has struck again.  Or at least, bent-into-a-pretzel news.  Both left and right, I find that I am thinking once again of abandoning Facebook.  But, instead, I thought about what I did know to be true.  I decided to become serious for a few minutes today.
Virginia Welcome Center, I-81
But first, a picture.  Such a simple word.  Too bad it is in such short supply in our world, as we seem to veer closer and closer to war.

Yesterday was Holocaust Remembrance Day.  Our country remembered it by...oh, I am coming too close to becoming a political blog.  But someone on Twitter did not forget. 

What happens when the last of the Holocaust survivors die, I wonder?  

Today is the 31st anniversary of the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger.

With two astronauts dying in the last month,  wonder if we in America will ever walk on the Moon, Mars, or anywhere else.  

So, I decided, with news overload to turn to other matters.  Perhaps it was a mistake.

Originally, I was going to blog today about the 81st birthday of actor Alan Alda, who, like me, is from the Bronx.  He is a good topic for a "Local Saturday", just one of many famous people from the Bronx.
M*A*S*H , a TV series Alda starred in, is considered one of the greatest shows of all time.

Here is a list of some of its best episodes.

But it is his after-M*A*S*H work he should be more noted for, and be continued to be noted for.


But then, yesterday, two actors died:  Mike Conners of Mannix fame, which was one of my spouse's favorite shows. 

And, Barbara Hale, perhaps most noted for playing the secretary of attorney Perry Mason, dead at 94. Along with Mary Tyler Moore and Noel Neill, Barbara Hale's Della Street character was a role model for me.

And then, this afternoon, I heard of the death, at age 77, of actor John Hurt.

So there is only one place where I can escape to.  My blog, which, in turn, leads me to a decision.

I am so close to becoming more political.  But I've resisted so far (well, mostly resisted - it gets harder and harder) because these times demand that we all speak out.  So, I may do just that, on one scheduled day of the week (perhaps Sunday).  I haven't made up my mind yet.

But, we also need a place to escape to.  And I believe, for many of my readers, my blog has become a few-minutes-of-the-day refuge.  We need that, too, just as much as we need those who speak out and put themselves on the line.

Which is why I've decided, for now, to keep trying to find the beauty in our world, and (mostly) stay away from politics.  I will try to concentrate on love, hoping that it will, in the end, trump hate.   I hope you will continue to join me, as my blog would not exist without you, my readers.

Thank you, every one.

Day 28 of #blogboost the Ultimate Blog Challenge.

9 comments:

  1. I won't go political on my blog. But that's because I have other things to write about. And I have Twitter to go all political crazy on. (And I don't really speak out about anything, anyway. I'm uninformed most of the time, so I'll just retweet those who are actually informed.)

    But if you want to go political, by all means, do so. The more who speak out, the better.

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  2. Sometimes, the real world interferes with the life that you try to share in your blog. Donald Trump was that interference for me. I didn't see any point in writing a political analysis of what he said, however, because, to me, much of it didn't make any sense. Hence, I chose, instead, to write the series of Mighty Mouth interviews. I hoped that, in these sad times, I could still make people laugh, and that would be a good thing.

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  3. Alana, I spent more than 20 years in politics and I have so far refrained from commenting since the election. When I went outside today I saw this sign in my neighbor's front yard: Hate has no home here. Amen. I truly believe in speaking up, but not if it wears me down.

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  4. Thank you, Alana for your visit to my blog. I used to follow our political news but now I mostly glance through the headlines, sometimes not at all. Most times, the news are depressing and gloomy. I am now following you and invite you to follow me too. Thank you.

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  5. I loved the entire cast of Mash but Alan Alda really made that show! Thanks for all the new tidbits.

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  6. Alana, The thing that struck me in your post today: “these times demand that we all speak out.” The reason that hits home with me is that I’ve also tried to blog in a nonpolitical way. Recently I’ve been thinking more and more about including some political commentary. I’ve found that I can’t look at news anywhere on the web without seeing something related to Mr. T. So, I’m finding it more and more difficult to remain quiet as he issues new Executive Orders daily that seem, to me, to send us backward rather than forward. If you wish to add it, I think I will enjoy political commentary from you on Ramblin’ with AM. We are in the same frame of mind when it comes to politics. Congratulations on completing day 28 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge.

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  7. I know what you are saying.. my blog also stays away from the serious, or from the political.. and sometimes I feel I should be speaking out more.. but for now, I am also continuing to stay away..

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  8. At time facebook and other social media sure can get crazy.
    Coffee is on

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  9. It's a hard decision. But these are not normal times.

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