Some Perspective to Help You Through 2017

Does the thought of what the new year will bring got you down, Bunky? Feeling like the country is heading in the wrong direction? That it could, in fact, be the end of America?  Well buck up, I solved your solstice sorrows and I have the cure for this malady too!

We've seen this movie before - Please read on to see how other years started and then answer the simple question at the end. (All info from various sources, Wikipedia.)

Jan 1918 - the first wave of the great flu pandemic was winding down in the US, finally dying out completely in April. Estimates say that between 50 and 100 million people were killed world-wide, more than the Black Death plague. In the U.S. about 28% of the population became infected; 500,000 to 675,000 killed over 12 months - that would be over 29 MILLION dead today. On top of this WWI was still going strong. We lived through it.

Jan 1932 - the country was mired in the depths of the Great Depression with 13-15 million people unemployed or more than 20 percent of the U.S. population at the time - that would be over 65 million unemployed today. The depression went on for another 9 years until WWII started, leaving many people in the country suffering including my parents and grandparents. We lived through it.

Jan 1945 - the US and allies were finally pushing the Germans back after the Battle of the Bulge and by the end of the month, had them on the run. According to the US Dep’t of Defense, however, American forces suffered 89,500 casualties including 19,000 killed, 47,500 wounded and 23,000 missing. The Battle of the Bulge was the bloodiest battle for the U.S. Forces in WW II. We lived through it. 

Jan 1951 - The US and Allies had just finished the horrific battle at the Chosin Reservoir in Korea that had raged for over two weeks in temperatures down to 35 below zero. We were pushed all the way back south and we suffered casualties of 4,385 from the US Marines, 3,163 from the US Army and 2,812 South Koreans attached to American formations. The 1st Marine Division also reported 7,338 non-battle casualties due to the cold weather. The war ended a little over 2 bloody years later. We lived through it.  

Jan 1973 (a personal favorite of mine) - the US and North Vietnam sign the Paris Peace Accords, essentially ending the Vietnamese war. After 8 years and over 58,000 American deaths, hundreds of thousands of wounded Americans and dead Vietnamese – and a trillion dollars spent - the war was coming to an end. We lived through it.

And that’s just the 20^th century.

Now, what are the chances that we won't live through the next four years with our new Ocher Faced President? Or forty years? Or 100 years? Exactement - nil! So come on people, lighten up and have a great New Year!

U2 New Years Day
(The song has more meaning than just the title . . .)

Signed,

Dr. D Roger Pangloss  

                                11^th Annual Solstice Story - "12 Days of Solstice"

This is truly a difficult time of the year for many people. (Okay, mostly for me.) You have to admit that even with global warming, now through, oh say, early May, there isn’t much to live for. 

                                                                      A TV commercial’s view of winter

                                                               
The calendar has brought us back to the heinous point in time that is the approach of the winter solstice. That time of the year when we teeter on the edge of madness between the never-ending cold and darkness . . . and the glimmer of hope that we will make it to the first warm breezes of spring. 

Oh yeah, and there is also the dismal election we just survived (barely) and, depending on their proclivities, half the people that voted are celebrating and half (well a little more than half) are debating moving out of the country.

Well, I’ve got a cure for the symptoms (nothing we can do about the disease.) 

                                                                    Actual view of winter . . .

         

                                                                      

Most people are familiar with the “Twelve Days of Christmas,” right? What you probably didn’t know is that it was originally created as a drinking song by a bunch of 1^st century BC pagan bartenders. No, really it was. This time of year isn’t much fun and if you think it's kind of grim now - being pushed and shoved at the MOA or freezing your ass off getting in the car - imagine it back then. Ugh. I mean, why do you think they lit candles on evergreens?  Why do you think they pranced around them? Why do you think virgins ran scared? (I'm not sure of that last part.) Is it any wonder the early Christians co-opted solstice for Christmas? No! It's because it sucks this time of the year so you need to do something to make it bearable, that’s why. I think that also answers the question of why they drank so much too. (And another reason that bartending is the world’s second oldest profession.)

Anyway, I’ve had to update the song a bit; the original version, besides being in an unrecognizable Gallic tongue, was a little boring for modern tastes. 

    

Here’s the original first couple verses:

“On the first cold, horrible, smelly day of solstice my woman give to me . . . an axe."

“On day after first cold, horrible, smelly day of solstice my woman give to me, a flagon of wine . . . and an axe.”

And then went on adding another flagon of wine each time. (Bartending was kind of in its infancy then.) Also, it’s pretty easy to see how there ended up being a lot of bloody family reunions during the holidays: “Okay, Vercingetorix* I see you eyeing my wife and my cattle - now stop eyeing my cattle!"  

Anyway, I think if we were to return to the roots of this song it might ease the pain of this awful time of the year – or black it out completely.

So sing along with me:

On the first day of Solstice my true love gave to me, a giant vodka martini!

On the second day of Solstice my true love gave to me two scotch and waters  - and a giant vodka martini!

On the third day of Solstice my true love gave to me to me three lovely daquiris, two scotch and waters - and a giant vodka martini!
  

On the fourth day of Solstice my true love gave to me four Long Island Iced Teas, three lovely daquiris, two scotch and waters - and a giant vodka martini!

On the fifth day of Solstice my true love gave to me Five Golden Cadillacs! Four Long Island Iced Teas,  three lovely daquiris, two scotch and waters - and a giant vodka martini!

On the sixth day of Solstice my true love gave to me six mojitos - five Golden Cadillacs! Four Long Island Iced Teas,  three lovely daquiris, two scotch and waters - and a giant vodka martini!

On the seventh day of Solstice my true love gave to me seven margaritas, six mojitos - five Golden Cadillacs! Four Long Island Iced Teas,  three lovely daquiris, two scotch and waters - a giant vodka martini!

On the eighth day of Solstice my true love gave to me eight mimosas, seven margaritas, six mojitos - five Golden Cadillacs! Four Long Island Iced Teas,  three lovely daquiris, two scotch and waters - a giant vodka martini!

On the ninth day of Solstice my true love gave to me nine rusty nails, eight mimosas, seven margaritas, six mojitos - five Golden Cadillacs! Four Long Island Iced Teas,  three lovely daquiris, two scotch and waters - and a giant vodka martini!

On the tenth day of Solstice my true love gave to me ten manhattans, nine rusty nails, eight mimosas, seven margaritas, six mojitos - five Golden Cadillacs! Four Long Island Iced Teas,  three lovely daquiris, two scotch and waters - and a giant vodka martini!

On the eleventh day of Solstice my true love gave to me eleven plum full pitchers, ten manhattans, nine rusty nails, eight mimosas, seven margaritas, six mojitos - five Golden Cadillacs! Four Long Island Iced Teas,  three lovely daquiris, two scotch and waters - a giant vodka martini!

Okay big finish!

On the twelfth day of Solstice my true love gave to me my - own - stomach - pump!

Eleven plumb full pitchers, ten manhattans, nine rusty nails, eight mimosas, seven margaritas, six mojitos - five Golden Cadillacs! Four Long Island Iced Teas,  three lovely daquiris, two scotch and waters - and a giant vodka martini!

On the day after the solstice my true love said to me, "It's off to rehab for you." 

The beauty of this is that after you get out the days should be getting longer. Even better, you will have avoided another holiday of staring at relatives and pretending to enjoy receiving new undies or a screw driver set.

There, don’t you feel better already? You're welcome.

I think next year I will create one of those holiday calendars, you know the ones with the 25 little doors that has a little treat behind them. Maybe behind each door will be a picture of all the Trump appointees who are "outsider" white, billionaire men  (might need more windows.) Or how about pictures of exciting young, up and coming Democrats (probably won't need many windows.) Ah, the possibilities are endless!

               Since Russia is our new best friend let's enjoy winter like them!

Express your point of view on the season with music:

Play 1 for "Can't wait for spring"

Choice 1

Play 2 for "I'll stick with the traditions"

Choice 2

Play 3 for "Okay I like the holidays but need something different"


Choice 3

Happy holidays to all, enjoy them (or at least try to survive them!)


D Roger Pederson,  
Dean, Electoral College                                                                                                                                    

*For history geeks, Google it

New Guests to the site please feel free check out my other posts here, you might like the New View Askew - and always feel free to offer comments, it's what keeps me going!

What I Learned from  Downton Abbey and Poldark

Huh, Looks like a Pederson Family Reunion

Okay, I think I’m starting to get it. Mrs Dear Leader and I have watched the entire “Downton Abbey” series three times and now we're through “Poldark” for the first time and I think I’ve learned something: English people really speak funny. Okay, just kidding. No, seriously here's what I've learned: Change is a bitch - and also inevitable. On a positive note, we always get through it. 

If you haven’t watched Downton you would, of course, be one of the three people in America who haven’t and if so I’ll catch you up. Simply stated, it’s a series that follows the family of an English peer (Earl Grantham to be exact) from the years 1912-1926 and they live in an English manor called - duh - Downton Abbey. It has an “Upstairs/Downstairs” feel since the servants are as important to the story as the family. (That's doing it a disservice, it is a really great series with terrific characters that you get to know and care about - even the rotten ones!)

In addition to the interesting relationship issues of the Earl’s family and the staff at Downton Abbey (and there are some beauts!) the show is really about how all the the members of this fine household - upstairs and downstairs - are affected by the changes taking place in English society during these years coming out of the Victorian age. As you're watching the show it is kind of obvious, as an outside viewer anyway, that everyone is dealing with change differently. The Earl is a good man but can't imagine that cars will ever catch on; his mother is still struggling with accepting electric lights. Others are embracing change; the youngest daughter is interested in politics - gasp! One of the servants wants to get a job as a secretary - horrors! 

More importantly, as I reflected on this show - oh, maybe halfway through the second time - it dawned on me that change can occur suddenly and jarringingly or very subtly. For example, WWI hurled the family forward making a lot of their old beliefs immediately untenable; suddenly the genteel women folk learn to actually do something productive in support of the war, forcing them to change their entire perspective on their previous lives. On the other hand, simple little things like adopting electric toasters and hair dryers seem innocuous but eventually it becomes obvious that things like this mean fewer people are needed to accomplish some jobs in the big house - a very big deal. 

By the end of the series you see a family that once dressed for dinner every night in ball gowns and tie and tails with footmen, hand maids and valets become a more or less modern family (even if they still have a LOT of windows to clean!) 

Fourteen years. Not very long when you think about it but a huge amount of change.   

         










                                                            Ross Poldark (a twin of my younger self)

You may not have heard of "Poldark" yet, it's just starting it's third season, but it's becoming very popular. Based on a series of books (which I guess I will now need to read) it starts out in about 1783. It too is about an upper-class Englishman but has a clever twist – he is Revolutionary war vet returning to England after their defeat in the colonies. (His simple response when asked how the greatest army in the world could lose? “We were on the wrong side.”) Poldark is also a story about change and not in a good way; it’s kind of dark. It is about the very difficult times that the beginning of the industrial revolution was inflicting on “certain” people and, in fact, changing everyone.

When Cap’t Poldark comes home his dad is dead and the family estate is kaput; the mines played are out, the land is fallow and whole thing mortgaged to the hilt. Oh yeah, and his fiancée has run off with his cousin. Poldark is a changed man when he returns, as vets usually are. He was essentially a gambler and playboy when he left but is now a serious guy. Anyway, there are essentially just two classes of people is this story: the tiny group of bankers and “elite” that own everything (of which, however shakily, Poldark is one) . . . and toiling masses that work for them. 

At one time, they all worked in the fields but when the industrial revolution came along the the workers moved to the mines and the factories. In the new, "modern" world they are no longer in control of their lives, just working for "the man."  Oh yeah, and there’s no food stamps, healthcare, social security – nuthin, zero, zip, nada. But Poldark is a good man; he treats his workers well, pays top dollar and is interested in their welfare. This, of course, is anathema to his fellow gentry and thus begins the drama to bring him down. An interesting irony here is that the “bad guy” is the grandson of a blacksmith – not a landed gentry - who has pulled himself by his bootstraps (and some really crappy dealings) to become the richest (and rottenest) banker in town. Huh.  

In "Poldark", the change in society for everyone is grinding on without resolution, just doubt and fear and pain for many - and for a loooonnnnngggg time. Even as the industrial revolution eventually brought many great things, it wasn’t without incredible pain and suffering for a lot people caught up in that change. In other words, the change might have been inevitable but it certainly wasn't painless for everyone. 

Oh, and it might also be a lesson about a small group of people having all the money.

Anything here ring a bell? 
              

I don’t want to make too much of these shows - I know they are just stories - but it’s hard to miss the similarities between these fictional characters and real people that are so distressed today. 

As a wise man once said, history may not repeat itself but it does rhyme. We’re way past the end of industrial revolution and apparently about at the end the information age moving to . . . I’m not sure what. There are a lot of moving parts to the change that we see all over the world and we have a lot of folks that are struggling with those changes: social, economic, cultural - you name it. And, of course, everything moves faster today making it that much more difficult to deal with. But there is also such a thing as progress and I'm pretty sure that you can't have progress without change. (Admittedly, one guy's progress could be another guy's step backward.) In any event, just like some change, you may not LIKE it but progress IS going to happen.

Obviously not all change is good - keeling over, divorce, running out of vodka - but we have to be really careful when deciding what part of change we want to fight. I'm no expert (and have certainly done my share of bitching about change) but maybe it would be helpful to be good students of history.  

And be willing to change even if you don't want to?

Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything. George Bernard Shaw

A great and appropriate song - RIP David

David Bowie Ch Ch Changes

Feel free to let me know what you think.

NOTE: I hope you’ll read my previous post about the elites – it’s related.