Families are Fun.

Today's Tids Issue 3,776

For Reawakening:

In this week where our nation traditionally and in an orderly manner counts down every four years to what America has always done best, transitioning of one government to another, we are experiencing an unusual vibrating angst which is growing to a destructive tremor designed to delegitimize the wishes of half the nation who have sat back for 8 years witnessing a decline of constitutional USA. As the day nears, let’s hope that cooler heads will prevail; that intelligent leaders from both sides will wait to display criticism or exalt praise based on facts from something actually happening. Tick-Tock. Tick-Tock…

But hoping Washington DC will do the right thing is a hope often dashed upon the rocks of immovable ideologies.

One of the greatest things about new technology is that you are more often pleasantly surprised on a regular basis with little emails or texts, notes from kids and grandchildren.

What Obama did for gun sales, Trump is doing for illegal border crossings.

(Sorry, I’m a little late today. I decided to bite the bullet, and get back into the serialized novel, “The Parking Lot.” Unfortunately, for newcomers (and probably oldcomers to), I’m at Chapter 72 and over 55,000 words. So catching up or remembering where we were, may be difficult. But, this is nearing the end and that is always exciting…right! Tomorrow I’ ll give you a little synopsis. You have just experienced the awakening of a confused author from severe writers block. How exciting is that!)

The Question:

Name three child star actresses who once had their own dolls. “Who Are These People” Bonus: Andrea Martin, Mario Van Peebles, Chad Lowe, Regina King and Eddie Cahill.

The Headlines:

--US Abortions Drop To Lowest Level Since 1974.

--GM To Invest $1 Billion In US Factories; Wal-Mart Expected To Add 10,000 Jobs In 2017; Markets Open Lower; Dollar Dips, Sharp Rise In Sterling Surprises.

--Investors Cautious On Stocks Looking Forward To Inauguration And Earnings reports.

--In First Ever World Economics Speech, China’s Xi Defends Globalization And Free Trade; Represents New Globalists Against Trump.

--Trump Promises ACA Reform Upgrade Will Cover Everybody!

--Big Bucks NEA Set To Do Battle Trump Ed Secretary Nominee To The End; Health Secretary Candidate Price May Be In Hot Water Due To Possible Insider Trading..

--CNN/ORC Poll Says Trump Begins Presidency With Low Approval Ratings; Trump Tweets: Their Election Polls Weren’t Right Either.”

--Putin Says Those Who Leaked Unverified Anti-Trump Info Worse Than Prostitutes.

--McCain Now Leaning Towards Approving Tillerson.

--San Diego Moving Companies Refusing To Help Charger Players And Execs Relocate.

I could never be a great athlete today. The new breed spends too much time training. Actually, we didn’t really need a lot of training in ancient days. We just ran around town all of the time just to get where we wanted to go! Running was innate, not programmed.

It seems to me that most award-winning films are mainly applauded because of their message. I don’t care about messages in movies. I just watch them to be entertained. In fact, I go to simple movies to get away from messages.

In the new TV show “Kevin can Wait”, funny guy Kevin James is almost Lucy-esque as his various schemes end in blundering failure and lots of laughter. It’s nice to see again a family comedy dismissing over the top innuendo in favor of uncomplicated basic entertainment. I guess there is a message here too: Families can be fun.

It’s obvious that the Left prefers Ketchup money over oil money.

Remember when girls played with dolls and boys played with trucks? They still do. They just can’t talk about it anymore. And Psychologists won’t publish the results of tests that may make them look bad at cocktail parties. And now there are lots of tests trying to determine why this happens. What they are finding is that the answer today is what it has always been, which is simply -- because of hormones. Because men and women are different. Maybe we’ll get back to simple answers with no underlying messages again.

CNN Execs must be smacking on screen personal on their backs hailing their obviously successful effort in bringing down the Trump approval rating as just reported on their own poll.

When the big education union digs deeply into its vast treasury to fight the Trump Ed pick, then you know she, must be good for much needed reforms.

One of the worse things that could happen to the beginning of the Trump admin is for some of his followers running over to do battle with protesting marchers. Even worse would be Trump interrupting his speech, urging somebody to go over and stop the noise. DT makes people nervous.

There generally has been bad news about any cabinet appointee since the beginning of time. And the doubts connected to the most negative of adjectives always surface just before the beginning of hearings. I just wait and see until the dust settles.

I think the Trumpism that continues to anger most in opposition, is his talk with Bill Bush about female conquests. Many women young and old see that as the real him.

The Parking Lot: Chapter 72:

Chapter 72:

Jeremiah was the old man of the Hicks clans, the lord of the extensive Sakonnet lands now a robust series of highly productive farms. The relations with the Coastal Howland clans had improved remarkably, first through the efforts of his father Richard and later himself. He reflected, though, on how much more compromising that other large family had been after the death of “Big”. The elimination of that angry tyrant, a genuine bully, by his beautiful wife rid the vast community of the main adversary to general harmony in the region, and of course, the critical access to the docks for the interior farms. 

   Jeremiah felt as though he had aged faster since her death. While he had plenty of family and many friends the void from her passing had become a chasm he was having trouble grasping. The more he saw the success of the cooperative effort, the more he thought of Elizabeth, and her secret.

   He remembered the day she was carried into her tribal circle on the shoulders of six of the strongest warriors. After all, in the eyes of Joseph’s Wampanoag’s, she was still their Princess. He remembered clearly the shape of her body, now wrapped in deerskin and she being sealed within forever. The Indian ritual was watched not only by the families of the tribe, but by hundreds of coastal towns people and inland farmers who had ridden the miles it took to be there. He saw his many friends in the Howland family with whom he had grown. He shivered at the thought of the friction before the death of Big. They all worked together now. His and Elizabeth’s children had played with Howland kids. But somehow it all felt different today as he stared at the bier of his wife.

   Now his eyes shifted from the body to the Howland elders. They would never know the connection between his wife and their heritage.

    Jeremiah was praised by tribal leaders as being a good white man. A good brother to the Wampanoag’s.

   After the long ritual,, Jeremiah just stood hoping that by some miracle the deerskin would part and he would glimpse his love again.

   He rode solemnly away from the camp knowing that this was the official end of his life with Elizabeth. His thoughts were deep, and her face came alive in his mind as he listened to the slow movement of the horses hooves on the grassy trail.

   He heard several sets of hoofbeats approaching. “Jeremiah, Jeremiah.” He turned  and saw Thomas Howland and his three sons on horses, and a daughter driving a small carriage.

    “Thomas!” He felt a small tear.

    He stopped and Thomas rode closer leaned forward in his saddle and hugged his friend. “Jeremiah we have grown our families together out of one death and we will continue to grow upon the memories of your Elizabeth. You were there for us and we are here now.”

    “Thank you, Thomas, you are a good friend.” His eyes grasped Thomas’s. He then looked past his friend at the three boys whose eyes seemed to tell another story.

The Answer:

Probably the most famous and bestselling were Shirley Temple and Margaret O’Brien. A third doll of note would be Jane Withers. Mattel has created a host of starlet Barbie dolls from Audrey Hepburn to Jennifer Lawrence. And then there was “Chuckie”. Oh, wait a minute, he was never a human but a maniacal doll all of the time, a serial killer doll at that! “Who are these People” Bonus: Andrea Martin has won Tony’s for Pippin and My favorite Year but she is probably best known for SCTV. The comedian has been in many movies like Wag the Dog and the My Big Fat Greek Wedding(s); Mario Van Peebles is mainly a director known for TV work like 21 Jump Street and movies like New Jack City and Baadasssss, and as an actor in in the TV show Damages; Yes, Chad Lowe is the younger bro of Rob and won an Emmy for Life Goes On. He had a recurring role on “24”, and was in ER, Melrose Place and has had two wives, -- Hillary Swank and Kim Painter; Regina King is best known for her role as Brenda Jenkins in the NBC sitcom 227. Her Critic’s Choice Award nominations came for work in Southland and her two Emmy’s for American Crime. Currently she is recurring in The Big bang Theory; Eddie Cahill rose to fame playing USA Hockey Goalie Jim Craig in “Miracle on Ice”. You may know him as Tag Jones in “Friends” or Don Flack in CSI NY.

See you all tomorrow…early!