It’s important for our country. It’s important for our planet, picking a new world leader, so I turn on the news. Someone is either interviewing trump to hear what he wants to say, or they are interviewing someone else to hear what they think about what trump said. Within twenty seconds I have my fill of politics and turn off the news. I tape the debates but can’t stand to watch them. Wouldn’t it be nice if the conversations around presidential politics were carried on at an adult level, and the candidates would only say things that are true? This is not a reference to trump, this is about all the candidates, regardless of party. They could talk about their vision for the future and what they would like to do, rather than trying to outdo each other’s hyperbole about how bad their predecessor is, or knowingly distort how bad all the other candidates are. They wouldn’t claim they are going to do things we all know they can’t do. It’s not like we’re all being misled. We know it’s bullshit, but it’s just part of the process. In a way it’s like every guilty person walking into court and declaring “not guilty” and getting their best possible defense, to see what they can get away with. We know right from the start that guilty people are trying to take advantage of the protection that innocent people need; but knowing that, we still have to sort through it every time. Maybe though, if candidates only told the truth, focused on what they wanted to do, and didn’t promise what they can’t do, then there wouldn’t be so much to talk about anymore. The airways would be empty. It would be a very quiet election season.
A little quality time
…with our devices.
Some milling about on the deck.
And our part of a good trip is over already.
Some milling about on the deck. And our part of a good trip is over already. Morning mist
And morning light.
A nice sunny mid-eighties day on the deck. Perfect weather for hanging out in the shade for a long visit. Fed the kids smoked brisket, burnt ends, and cowboy beans.
The sliced brisket was on its way to a perfect presentation, but it fell into a pile on its way from the cutting board to the serving platter. Matt and Lindsay are here!
We picked them up at the McAllen Airport last night.
We’ve having a good visit. They’re staying in the guest cottage; the chalet; aka the motorhome. It’s fun that they can stay right here in the park with us. Today we took them to one of our favorite places for a walk, the Edinburg Wetlands.
Fired the smoker up this morning for home-cooked ribs tonight. (Well, ribs for us, atlantic salmon for Lindsay.) Another gymnastics meet for Alex in Colorado
Here are links to the videos Matt took: Floor Pommel Parallel Bars High Bar Rings Vault There seem like more bobbles in his performances to me, but he scored the highest he ever has. His average score was a 12.4. He scored a 13.3 on the floor; his first 13 ever! I think the degree of difficulty has gone way up, and as soon as he gets smoother, so will his scores. This was good enough to get him 6th overall at his level; way better than he placed his first meet at Level 8 this year. In February he will be attending an invitational meet in Houston. Judy and I will drive up to meet them and watch.