A Fishy Hodgepodge

1. Have you ever been fishing? Did you catch a fish? If so did you keep it or throw it back? If you haven't been fishing is that something you'd like to try?

My family did a lot of fishing when I was growing up and I caught a lot of fish.  Mostly we threw them back.  We weren't big fish eaters back then. The last time I went fishing was nearly 4 years ago on a vacation to Chincoteague Island, VA.  My catch was hardly worth mentioning.  We threw the little guy back to grow up.

Fish out of water, big fish in a small pond, living in a fishbowl, packed in like sardines, this is a fine kettle of fish, plenty of fish in the sea, fish or cut bait...which fishy phrase most recently applies to some area of your life?

Hmm....maybe "this is a fine kettle of fish" since we are living with the bathroom still under construction and the viruses just keep going around and around.

2. What's something you're always fishing for in your purse, wallet, desk, or kitchen junk drawer?

That would be my keys in my purse.  They aren't small, but for some reason I can never find them on the first try.  They always swim to the bottom and get in between other things and hide from me.

3. Your favorite fish tale or movie?

That's an easy one.  I loved The Incredible Mr. Limpet with Don Knots.  

4. Are you sunrise, daylight, twilight or night? Explain why you chose your answer.

Sunrise....because I'm best first thing when I am fresh.  I kind of lose my enthusiasm as the day or project goes on.

5. What's the oldest piece of clothing you own and still wear?

A pair of mittens my grandmother knit.

6. We've got one more month of (officially) winter here in the Northern hemisphere. Are you feeling the need for a getaway? What's been the best and worst part of your winter so far?

I would LOVE to get away.  Pennsylvania winters can be very dreary...gray skies, gray trees, gray ground.  Blah.  The best part of winter so far has been spending time with our new grandson and going to the science center this past weekend with our other two grandkids.  The worst part has been dealing with the constant sickness.  I am sooooo over coughing.  (I coughed so hard this past weekend I gave myself a mild case of whiplash!)

7.  The Wednesday Hodgepodge lands on National Margarita Day...will you be celebrating? Frozen or on the rocks? Are you a Jimmy Buffet fan? If so, what's your favorite JB tune?

No, not a huge fan of margaritas, just once in a while and frozen and Jimmy's okay, but I'm not a fan of his, either.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

I guess the overwhelming question in my mind these days is, "Is all this back and forth, ranting, raving, and bickering over the election ever going to end?  So many articles turn up in my newsfeed on Facebook.  I ignore most of them, they're nothing but click-bait anyway.  There are a few worth reading and it's all over the news, it's on the award shows, it's on blogs, and in magazines.  

Liberals, progressives, and Democrats want to know how on earth Trump supporters could have voted for him.  Conservatives, Christians, and Republicans want to know how anyone could have thought Clinton was a good choice.

The #notmypresident folks are running around in the streets, waving crude/rude/crass signs, wearing pink vagina hats, making sweeping statements about Trump and his supporters.  In too many cases the #makeamericagreatagain crowd is living up to the names it's being called.

I've never seen such unwillingness to hear each other out, to consider that each side may have some valid points.  There is a great wall in America and it's between these two factions and it's growing higher and wider daily.  An article I read recently in my local paper said we are in a civil war, one that has, thankfully, for the most part stayed non-violent, but a civil war nonetheless. 

We have come to a point where we as a society refuse to listen to the thoughts of anyone who disagrees with us.  We've been conditioned by what we see on TV and in the theater to believe being loud and rude is the right way.  Social media, while connecting us to the rest of the world, has robbed us of the skills to interact face to face.  We have no problem Tweeting or posting the most awful comments because we can't see the real human cost, what it does to the target.  Not to mention, even if our motives are pure, comments made on social media are extremely easy to misinterpret. 

Where are we headed?  What's going to become of us?  I don't know.  I just wish we'd remember that we are ALL Americans and that if we are citizens of this country Trump most definitely is our President.  Why would anyone want him to fail?  I don't believe for a moment he can solve all our problems, but I will support him and pray for him in the hope that he can make at least some things better.  I wish everyone would.  The earnest prayers of a humble people can bring about great things.