Current Events v. Politics

Having grown up in a family where one political party was always wrong wrong wrong & the other was always in the right, I developed little interest in partisan politics.  It was the dynamics that intrigued me, what was being said by whom, did it reflect back to values or to votes, did the politico seem to be set on serving his/her constituents & just who did those actual constituents seem to be?

Two situations came up over the past days that touch on experiencing politics as current events rather than a personal engagement.

The horrific flooding in Texas immediately got me wondering if the same people who recently signed a petition calling for the state to secede from the Union would expect the governor to ask for federal aid.  Someone on Facebook was shocked at the hypocrisy of bleeding-heart liberals who wanted Texas to be denied federal aid because of such blatant disloyalty, but I haven't seen any such calls.  

 

I've seen a lot of people - myself included - wondering if the people across the state, from the Panhandle to the Rio Grande would suddenly realize the value of belonging to a greater whole.  We can all go it alone when times are good  - it's when disaster happens that being part of something bigger makes a difference, whether it is one state among many or one person who is part of a family, a circle of friends, a community.  It wasn't a partisan sentiment, but one based on what was to me an obvious question - will Texas take this opportunity to show it can truly stand alone?

The other incident involved Gov. Scott Walker, who's expected to make a run for the GOP presidential nod.  On a radio show, he gave an astonishingly warm & fuzzy reason for the 2013 law that requires women seeking an abortion to first have an ultrasound.  He went beyond disingenuous to sound flat out disconnected.

Background - personally, I believe that SOMETHING happens at the moment of contraception that deserves protecting.  But my religion raised me, child & adult, in the belief that life doesn't begin until the first breath.  My heart tells me abortion is an aborration, but my religious upbringing could leave me wondering.  

Getting back to Gov. Walker...  Appearing on a conservative radio show, he   touted his achievements as governor - “We defunded Planned Parenthood, we signed a law that requires an ultrasound. Which, the thing about that, the media tried to make that sound like that was a crazy idea.”

“Most people I talk to, whether they’re pro-life or not, I find people all the time who’ll get out their iPhone and show me a picture of their grandkids’ ultrasound and how excited they are, so that’s a lovely thing. I think about my sons are 19 and 20, you know we still have their first ultrasound picture. It’s just a cool thing out there.”

“We just knew if we signed that law, if we provided the information, that more people if they saw that unborn child would, would make a decision to protect and keep the life of that unborn child.”

As a woman, it doesn't matter what I believe about abortion.  Forcing someone to have an ultrasound when she has decided to terminate a pregnancy strikes me as cruel & unusual punishment. I don't get how current conservatives get up in arms about government regulating our business practices, yet are all for it regulating what women do with their bodies.  And I don't even agree that abortion is ok - but it currently is legal in the USA.  

While Gov. Walker's comments stopped me in the tracks, a piece on a conservative blog amazed me just as much.  It slammed Planned Parenthood for criticizing his comments.  "Walker gave an interview, during which he talked about how amazing technology is nowadays that people are able to show the very first picture of their baby to friends and family — an ultrasound picture of their baby before birth. But the abortion giant Planned Parenthood trashed Walker and took his words out of context by attempting to make it appear Walker wanted to mandate ultrasounds before an abortion."

Bad, bad Planned Parenthood - making it look like he wants to mandate ultrasounds for women seeking an abortion.  Wait...  He did sign into law that very mandate.  It was signed into law on July 5, 2013, taking effect the very next Monday, so it should have registered with the folks at LifeNews.com.

Gov. Walker decries the "gotcha" media that misrepresents his tenure & values, but what to say about a conservative media that will say whatever suits their point of view, even if light years away from the facts.  They are far worse about this trait than their liberal progressive counterparts.  Which is one of their strengths.  They don't let the facts limit or restrict or apparently even inform their opinions.  Was it Gov. Rick Perry who said he knew something was true because - in spite of the fact there was no evidence backing it up - he felt it in his gut.  It's impossible to have a reasonable discussion with anyone thinking from his or her gut.

The blog bolstered the governor's charming scenario of grandparents showing off an ultrasound to admiring friends.  It noted that when women at a pregnancy center see their ultrasound picture, almost all of them keep the baby.  That makes sense - they are at a pregnancy center, not at an abortion clinic.  Flip the statement to be the latter & I wonder how many women change their minds.

My interest isn't in politics, it's in current events.  For most of my life, I was an untried but very true conservative.  But today's conservative movement would turn off even my Mom, perhaps even Aunt Gay.  They elevate the worst sort of thinking, disregard facts when they don't dovetail with their preferred narrative, ballyhoo thinking from the all-knowing gut while deriding science.
 
Earlier this month, a major news story was about a vast number of Texans signing a petition to secede from the Union.  Their state has a booming economy, is a magnet for people moving from other regions.  Texas, they believe, can make it on its own.  To them, the Lone Star State is capable of becoming its own sovereign nation.  How strongly do they feel that when disaster strikes?  

The state of Wisconsin requires that women seeking an abortion have an ultrasound before proceeding.  I respect the state's right to pass such a law.  Personally, I would ban all abortions, can understand why people believe that keeping a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus is a form of abortion.  But I am appalled at the governor's lack of a principled stand, at his use of Hallmark images rather than doing what's right.  He believes in the law he signed - he should stand by it, unflinching in his resolve to save the lives of the unborn.

In neither case are my feelings & opinions colored by partisan politics.  Values?  Absolutely.  But my interest is spiked by current events, not whether a state should be allowed to exit a union that works against their best interests rather than for, by well-respected voices speaking out in disreputable ways.   

Doing the sensible ~ B-Act

 

Some recommendations for B-Act to implement before next season's opening curtain:

Mailing List

• Assign mailing list responsibility - Cameron has been really great about shouldering the bother, but let's give the guy a round of applause & hand off to someone else.
• Contact everyone on the current mailing list who is not already a member & inform them that the list will be discontinued as of July 1, 2015.
• Everyone who sends us their e-mail address will get automatic membership for the coming season, entitling them to all earliest news about B-Act productions & events, as well as a discount on opening night tickets.
• Include a phone # for them to call if they want to continue receiving snail mail notices about upcoming productions.
• Send out an e-mail blast two months before performance, with date tickets can be ordered.
• A week before tickets go on sale, mail out any snail mail announcements.
• Send out a second blast the day before tickets go on sale.

 

Advertising Promotion

• Two months before the first performance, send a thank you letter (on the back of the poster for the upcoming production) to previous advertisers (go back three seasons).  
• Give a discount off an ad if reserved by a given date.
• Invite everyone who advertises to the cast party.
• Present the ways
• Spotlight the various ways to support a production - taking out advertising space, placing a shout-out in the program, sponsoring a yard sign (theirs to place & keep).  The yard signs are NOT a money-maker, since what we charge & what they cost are roughly the same, but they are HUGE for increased visibility.  And a nice momento for anyone associated with a production.  
• Create a master list for posters - check with BAC & ANC on where they post theirs.
• Include a very prominent thank you in the lobby alphabetically listing all advertisers.

Program

• Include a prominently placed notice that reinforces any sort of recording is not allowed, ushers will enforce.  
• On a full-sized page, post a similar THANK YOU with the names of all advertisers.

 

Promotion

• Send media contacts information as soon as we set the next season.
• Recommend subscribing as a theater to STAGE.
• Make up a list of all local community regional professional theaters within 50 miles & keep a current listing of their upcoming performances.  
• Encourage & even coordinate people to go to local community theater productions.
• Offer senior residences & churches an additional 10% off each ticket for pre-paid groups of over _?_ people.  If there is a bus driver, provide a free ticket.  Limit to specific performance dates?
• Complete the poster design at least two months before the play date. 
• Send "Congratulations!" cards to local community theaters on the opening of their plays.
• E-mail "save the date" notices to media contacts, follow up to make sure it was received & confirm the primary contact.
• Beat the bushes for ideas on how to get more media coverage.  Some people are really good at this - not currently one of my strengths.
• How can we get more people to underwrite yard signs?  
• Research affordable buttons with performance info.
• Send congratulations cards to all Cappy winners.

What would congruent look like?

Feel like?  What sense would I have walking into a house that was harmonious with my clearest self?  What senses would be stirred?

From the front path, the yard looks...  interesting.  The beloved weeping cherry still in its place of honor, ALL of its very dead branches artistically lopped.  The big trees that line the road have all their little branches trimmed.  The front bushes are neatly trimmed, letting the rhododendron blossom in all their glory.  The dead limbs of the red bud are gone, the tree snug to the chimney removed.  The dead & dying limbs of the tree at the corner of the fence are gone, letting the remaining tree regain its strength.

The yard looks healthy, well watered.  It might not be showcase-ready, but we let it be itself, keeping it well trimmed in order to not a) alarm the neighbors and b) keep ourselves in the township's good graces.  

 

     

The plants in the flower beds were carefully selected, with help from the Rachel Carson Landmark Alliance, to attract pollinators.  

The property in the back looks similar to the front, although a tad wilder, with plants selected as much for their use as for their looks.  In addition to the wooden fence that's firmly anchored to the wire fence, there is a natural fence of flowering trees that line the end of the property.  A charming wooden shed at the far right end provides safe storage of our yardening tools & the grill.  Bird houses dot the property & hang from quite a few branches.


The back door opens onto the den, which is used mostly as a guest room (having solved the challenge of kitty scents & dander).  It's still a fairly dark room, but cozy.  The same wood paneling has been there since what seems like forever, but it suits the room.  The curtains that cover the floor-to-ceiling windows facing onto the front & the ones at the front are a lovely peach, as is the couch & large upholstered chair, both of which convert into super comfy beds.  Mom Murphy's piano is now in the home of someone whose children love to play but couldn't afford one.  In its place is a low book shelf that divides the social area from the beaten pathway to the garage door, den bathroom & the door to the basement. 

 

The basement is my special area, my place to relax & read, wash & iron, my stress-free zone.  My only difficult question is - Do I hang the wash on the line, spin it through the dryer or hike it up to dry outside?

The garage is where we park our primary car, as well as having wonderful shelves & cabinets for storing tools & light bulbs & other homey items.  And the portable oven, which is still occasionally pressed into service if I have a big baking or one that needs hand-crafted care.

The kitchen has a new fridge & a heart's-desire stove with a terrific convection oven, with a combo convection/microwave oven over it.  It is a wonderful place to cook & bake.

 

The cat's room (formerly the dining room) has a walkway around 3/4 of the room, with a pole for climbing up & a perch for leaping.  Enough space for them to roam but falling short of being a bother in the kitchen.  

The hardwood floors in the living room & dining room were replaced with beautiful floor covering that's more cat-friendly, with charming throw rugs in the living room.  The furniture looks nice, but came from BATS - as long as we have cats with claws, we'll be leery about investing in expensive upholstered couches & chairs.  The mantel is still laden with dolls & stuffies, ditto the tops of the hutch cabinet & tall book shelf.  It is a relaxing room, one that welcomes us to haul out the portable dvd player, sink into the cozy couch & listen to Prairie Home or watch an NCIS video.   

Heading upstairs, the computer studio looks ship shape & Bristol fashion - a funky combination of getting down to business & creativity prompts.  Both the front room & the computer studio are off-limits to the cats.  The front room is as calm & restful as the computer studio is designed to draw out great work.  The front room is for meditation, contemplation, writing.

The 2nd floor bathroom is for feeling pampered.  It's deep bath is perfect for a soothing soak. 

The 3rd floor master bedroom is all soft colors & textures, designed off the wedding quilt Aunt Gay gave us.  It is a place for peaceful slumbers.  The master closet is beautiful, soft buttercup yellow with moss green trim.  

It is a welcoming house, where I feel at home, at rest in every room, connected to every space.

 

 This is how my house makes me feel.

 

     

Congruent living spaces

That’s what I want – a living space that’s congruent with what matters most deeply to me, to John.   

I could have used the word harmonious, but congruent has the edges that call out to me, the delineation.   

It’s not a word that’s going to pass the 6^th grade test – is it simple enough for the average 6^th grader to recognize – considered the staple of public writing, but my blogs are written for me, not a nebulous anonymous public.

I want my living spaces – all of them – to be congruent with what matters in all aspects of my life.  Which is where the first challenge lies – knowing what that is.  Not what I want it to be, what it is, really & truly & deep down in my bones.  

Fleshing out what I mean by congruent – that’s a task I’ve started, one I suspect will continue to the end of my days.  What does a congruent living space look like to me?  Hmmmmmmmm…