THIS & THAT #28

NOTHING MORE THAN
A COMMON TATER

In 1789 “tater” became a colloquial term for a potato, and is now considered Southern slang for that healthy food.

Recently, a group of potatoes from around the world were gathered around a campfire, discussing what they each thought about Donald Trump, the Democrats, the protesters on the left and the right, and free speech in general.

An Austrian Crescent Potato spewed forth his opinion of the entire news scene in a curt manner, still defending his collaborative actions during the Holocaust. A Russian Banana Potato was more negative and terse in his description, not acting cooperative. A Japanese Sweet Potato was more deferring in her pronouncements, avoiding any commitment for a possible battle with the North Koreans. A French Fingerling Potato presented contradictory insight, which caused a Larette Potato to rebuke what the Fingerling had said.

The All Blue, Yukon Gold, Red Gold, Norland Red and Purple Majesty potatoes, had a heated, colorful side discussion on their own.

A plain, albeit solid, American, potato shunned entering the fray, and when asked “Why?” by a Hannah Sweet Potato, he shyly replied. “You are all so very special, and I am just a common tater, and have nothing special to offer.”

Common Taters Are Usually

Void of Meaningful Input

Whether it’s regarding a discussion of any topic be it politics, sports, immigration, the world scene, or the rain in Texas vs. the reign in DC, the common taters on cable television offer little meaningful insight into finding solutions. If it’s a panel discussion, it’s even harder for the listener to learn anything amid the babbling, inane shouting emanating from the inconsequential, biased, uninformed panelists.

These common taters strictly espouse their own opinions disguised as truthful, helpful information. They may even convince some that they are presenting the “news,” when all they are presenting is the “Nu?” “Nu?” being a Yiddish expression meaning “so,” or better yet, “so what?”

You can call these unknowing individuals prognosticators, seers, forecasters, guesstimators, or opinion makers. As a wise, unbiased philosopher named Clint Eastwood said not too long ago, “Opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one.”

THIS & THAT  #21

THE DONALD IS IN THE MIDST

OF ON-THE-JOB TRAINING

Unfortunately, it appears that most of his people are on a

similar learning curve. It seems too steep for some of them to

understand and follow with a degree of professionalism.

Donald is learning what it means, and takes, to be the President. His foray into on-the-job training, has been a confusing array of “What do I do next?” actions.

He shoots from the hip, but unlike gunslingers of the Old 
West, who first loaded their weapons with the right ammo, Donald just sets his sight on his enemy of the moment, and lets loose with a barrage of questionable shots.

His specious savants heavily involved in media relations,
then attempt to explain his actions in a way that might be understood solely by a decreasing number of the 62, 979, 636 Americans who voted for “The Boss.” Sorry, Bruce, but Donald has taken that title away from you both with his actions, and inactions.

On a personal note, a retired man living in the State of Washington, who worked hard to get Donald elected, gave up on him within three weeks of DJ becoming President. There’s a good chance that there may be others who became similarly disillusioned with his actions.

TRUMP APPOINTEES ALSO

GET ON-THE-JOB TRAINING

The blind are leading the blind, as witnessed by his media relations entourage, who are keen to follow their leader on blaming the media, for all of the mess his administration is in.

Today, Benjamin Solomon Carson, Sr., the current U. S. Secretary Of Housing and Urban Development, described slaves as immigrants. The man lacks the intelligence (seykhl or common sense) and diplomacy of Benjamin (Franklin),

and the wisdom of Solomon, but after the media quoted him directly from a video, he had the audacity to say, “It’s really kind of sad what the media has degenerated into.”

When confronted by the enemy — the media — he released a statement defending his earlier words, and expressed pride in the courage and perseverance of African Americans.

What’s truly sad is what this administration and its appointees have degenerated into, and give them credit, they did it in less than the First One Hundred Days in office.

Find Carson’s "slaves as immigrants" video by going here.

THIS & THAT  #19

LEARN TO RELAX,

HAVE NO FEARS.

DURING TRUMP’S

UPCOMING YEARS

We have received numerous phone calls, emails from around the world, and in-person messages of despair regarding the outcome of the election.

IF YOU ARE DOWN 

If you are down and want to dissipate those D.J. blues, these simple Oy Way exercises may be what you need to use. They could help you to get you into a better mood over the next four to eight years — Oy Vey!

IF YOU ARE PLEASED 

For those of you who are pleased with the election results, you might want to (1) share these exercises with your dejected friends, and/or (2) use the exercises yourself, when campaign promises that you welcomed, are not kept.

EASY-TO-DO EXERCISES 

When friends and relatives are confused about the results (and life itself), you might start by asking questions of them (and yourself). Just go to the FARSHTEYSTU? and NU? exercises, by going to this link.

When you are overwhelmed by what’s happening in the world, go to the OY VEY! and the GENUG IZ GENUG helpful duo, which you will find here.

You could next go here to the GEY AVEK! and the KUM AHER! set for a different perspective on the situation.

Finally, take a positive step by trying the HU HA and the AT AZOY easy-to-do exercises found here.

These and other worthwhile exercises and stimulating philosophies are found in The Oy Way book, by going here.

THERE'S MUCH MORE 

You can also find many other essays on this site, such as a look at the devastating Oakland warehouse fire, or who was to blame for the election results. It’s easy to do, just go to the top of this page, and in the right hand corner, click on Blog Archive, and check out #18, and also the year 2016.

THIS & THAT, aka farshidn #1

A PRELUDE

In Yiddish, farshidn means “miscellaneous” or “various.” Instead of creating yet another blog to go with the ones shown in the links below, “THIS & THAT” will appear now and then in The Ho-Ho-Kus Cogitator blog.

The topics covered will be as various and sundry as whatever seems fitting at the moment, and at this moment “elderly” seems like an apropos start, as you will read below.

WHO ARE YOU

CALLING ELDERLY?

According to Merriam Webster’s dictionary, “Elderly” is defined as “being old, or rather old, past middle age.”

The World Health Organization’s definition differs a bit, to read, “Most developed world countries have accepted the chronological age of 65 years as a definition of 'elderly' or older person.”

In Rhode Island public agencies, elderly officially begins at 60. In Hawaii, it arrives at 55. On a national note, the IRS Tax Counseling for the Elderly program offers free tax advice to anyone 60 or older.

A New York Times story called a 69-year-old woman elderly, and a story in the September 23 San Jose Mercury News, described the tragic death of a woman who was killed when a car crashed into the club while she was working out. The story said, “She died at the hands of an elderly driver.”

It turns out that the woman driving her Mercedes Benz ML350 was 80-years-old, and was afflicted with “pedal confusion.” This is a disease of the elderly when they hit the accelerator pedal instead of the brake.

This should not be mistaken for  “pedaling intrusion,” when younger bicyclists deliberately ignore red lights and cross traffic, as they exuberantly rush down main thoroughfares without a care, and without really caring.

The trio of younger, male Mercury News reporters added reference to three other “pedal confusion” stories to make readers aware that anyone over eighty should be considered armed and dangerous, while driving a car.

When I was fifty and teaching journalism classes at a major urban university, I would send my students out to observe and describe people they saw. One teen-aged student read her observations which included, “An elderly man sat on a bus stop bench, reading his newspaper as cars whizzed by.”

I asked her how old the elderly man appeared to be, and she quickly replied “Forty.” I bent my body and answered her response with a raspy reply, “Well, daughter. I must be ready for the old age home, since I am a very elderly fifty years of age.”

Today, I am faced with the realization that I will soon be far beyond middle age when I turn eighty in January. Elderly? 

Who are you calling elderly?

Find my recent and semi-regular writings here on the new Ho-Ho-Kus Cogitator blog, and there are current essays here, on What I Have to Stay.

You can also find earlier writings here on the original Ho-Ho-Kus Cogitator blog,

and other writings here on the Huffington Post.

If you like, add bookmarks for these writings. 

  

When you want to relax, try the calming exercise movements while learning Yiddish, found in his book The Oy Way — Following the Path of Most Resistance, by going here. Then click on YOU TUBE on the left side, and you will begin to find di zakhtkayt — tranquility.