Elephants on the Loose

Now that I’ve finished boring into your minds over sharing from my trip to Italy and Bosnia, it’s time to return to the real world and deal with the elephant in the room. For those of us that remember newspapers and political cartoons, that’s a less than subtle reference to the presidential election and the overwhelming win by the Republican Party. If you still don’t get it, the republican party was always characterized in cartoons by an elephant (Jeez). You all have to know that I’m not pleased with the results of the election. Still, Trump becomes my president in January. It would be severely hypocritical if I refused to accept the mandate he’s been given after professing my love of this country. The country that I love has spoken, in no uncertain terms. Democracy will always be messy and this is a perfect example of it. I just checked and the sun did come up this morning.

Trump was able to generate widespread support because he was able to focus, part of the time, on the message, “Are you better off now than four years ago”. Obviously, the massive inflation we all endured affected the young and low-income households. Statistically they came out in droves to support Trump. Harris based her campaign on how unlikable Trump is (low hanging fruit there) but offered few policy statements of her own. I can hope that this massive win finally sates Trump’s seemingly endless need for affirmation. As a lame duck president, without having to scheme for another election, Trump can try to paper over the mis-steps of his first administration and become a statesman. I know, a hard pull if anyone insults him, but I can hope. I still believe in this country and having seen the rest of the world I know we’re incredibly lucky, even when it belches out a guy like Trump.

I was finally able to get back to the movie theater after a very long time (I blame European travel mostly). For date night we saw Venom, The Last Dance. This is the final movie in Tom Hardy’s trilogy as Eddie Brock, host for the hilarious and deadly symbiont, Venom. The first movie will always be the best one in this series because it focused almost completely on the Hardy/Venom tandem. This movie is awesome as long as they were on screen. There are a couple sub-plots that bring the momentum and hilarity to a screeching halt. Juno Temple is wasted which should involve criminal charges against somebody. All that being said, it was a very fun ride, maybe the last with Hardy in this role and he dominates whenever he’s on the screen. The action for the final twenty minutes is non-stop and bewilderingly chaotic; but that’s what you get with Venom. A great last ride.

Three movies fell in the A-Z watch, all keepers: Me, Myself, & Irene, crazy Farrelly brothers’ comedy, Rex Allen Jr, sounds just like his dad (of beloved classic Disney movie fame) as the narrator; Men in Black, great sci fi comedy, always love Fiorentino; and Men in Black II, solid follow up with an obviously higher budget.

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RECURRING CHARACTERS:                                

ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete - my daughter in law; BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter #3; BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; CRC - Connecticut Riverboat Captain – another close friend from high school, renowned sailor of the big river; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter; First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd Musquetera (musketeer); Namesake Nephew – son of Great Aunt and Soxfather named after me; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member; PanaGals – female relatives /friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; PCR - Pittsburgh College Roommate – high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; PCR+1 - Pittsburgh College Roommate’s wife; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; Seis Amigos - two couples from our condo complex and my wife and I; Soxfather – my brother-in-law (whom I miss more than I can ever explain); Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course