So glad I grew up in a
time and place that, in retrospect, made sense. The Monday after
Thanksgiving was the opening day of buck season. The boys got out of
school to hunt with their dads; we girls had art and reading. Yes, I
read “Bambi” at some point in my childhood; but it didn’t melt my
brain.
I guess it’s more a
“place” problem, because little has changed in western Pennsylvania;
in my hometown the schools were closed Monday, and girls go hunting
with their dads now too. When the hunters get their deer, it’s tied
to the hood of the car and taken home to hang on the clothesline
hooks in the yard as it’s dressed, then grilled, roasted or smoked,
and shared with friends who hadn’t been fortunate that year. At this
point it’s called venison, aka “meat,” like what’s bought in the
grocery store.
Here in eastern
Massachusetts some animal-rights activists are protesting a more
controlled and shortened hunting season to address deer
overpopulation in the little patches of woods we have; they want the
deer given birth control instead. That seems unnatural to me; I
think the alternative to hunting is wolves and more coyotes. Or more
human birth control, so fewer people build towns that overlap, which
surprised me when I moved here.
As world leaders hold
high-carbon-footprint meetings on climate control instead of
fighting terrorism, I read somewhere that 75 percent of us are
living on the seacoast, therefore at risk if the sea level rises.
However, many like me are living on top of a hill, so I don’t think
we’re in imminent danger.
Right now I’m happy with
the climate, which has changed since last year; my son and grandson
are skiing this week, there is snow in the High Sierra again! And no
snow here yet, which is fine. I love it when the climate changes in
November and I can see the true shape of my trees again. Chip has a
fire in the woodstove. Autumn is over, fall is here, life is good.
So I can/t resist looking
for trouble, in the form of the Republican primary: Here is my
latest look at the candidates. Since my last columns on the subject,
I have changed my mind several times, from my early support for Rand
Paul, to John Kasich, back to Rand Paul again, now ...
Glad to see Chris Christie
getting the Manchester Union Leader endorsement, which should put
him on the next debate stage. I like his attitude, as I did when he
came here to support Charlie Baker at a rally.
I’m so impressed with
Carly Fiorina’s focused, rational presentations. I would really love
to see her debate Hillary Clinton; as another woman, she wouldn’t
have to pull her punches.
Chip sent a contribution
to the Cruz campaign and got two very substantial, made-in-America,
Cruz 2016 coffee mugs: “Courageous conservatives Reigniting the
Promise of America.” I am open to him; suspect that he is too
intelligent to be as socially conservative as he sometimes sounds.
There may be no other way to get through a Republican primary, in
places where we independents can’t vote to balance some of the
single-issue Republican voters, than to carefully fake it sometimes.
So I distinguish Ted Cruz
from Marco Rubio, who, along with the otherwise impressive Scott
Walker, made a point of answering an inappropriate question about
abortion in the first Republican debate. When asked by a
trouble-making (Democrat-supporting) media type if they’d allow
abortion to save the life of the mother, Walker said no; Rubio chose
to agree with him.
Regardless of how some
voters feel about letting a woman die in childbirth, possibly
leaving her other small children motherless, any candidate who says
this cannot win an election for president in this country. Though
few seemed to discuss this after the debate, we all know the
response was recorded and will be part of anti-Republican ads during
the general election. Wise heads saw to it that Walker disappeared;
but Rubio is getting some new traction against Cruz.
Were it not for the
religious “let mommy die” fundamentalism, Rubio is impressive, with
an intelligent answer to other questions, a nicer way about him than
the otherwise well-qualified Cruz can summon. But when Independent,
not to mention Democratic women, see that ad, Rubio cannot win; and
win we must. We can’t afford four more years of the legacy of Barack
Obama, who thinks climate change is the greatest threat we face.
I do love Ben Carson, but
not for president; some Cabinet post. I keep forgetting to mention
Jeb Bush, which I guess is the problem with his candidacy in
general. Time for Santorum, Huckabee and Graham to leave the race,
in that order. Which brings us to ...
Donald Trump. It surprises
me that I knew so little about him until this campaign; all I noted
over the years was the gossip part about his divorce that
occasionally came up on talk radio shows. I was glad to see him in
the race, fighting political correctness, abject apologies, and
unfair media types, setting the stage for the “real candidates” to
run more authentic outsider campaigns.
Then Monday night Chip and
I watched “The Making of Trump” on the History Channel, at 9 p.m.;
we were riveted for two hours, as we learned why he has such
self-confidence, and that this is not a late-life hobby: He has been
thinking about becoming president since he was in his 20s (like Bill
Clinton). We learned that he contributed to Ronald Reagan’s
campaign. This is not a man we had thought might be just paving the
way for Ted Cruz: He is going to run.
And while some of us might
deplore some of his rhetoric and exaggeration, it is important to
note that these are not normal times: America made a big mistake in
electing Barack Obama and may need something truly bombastic to fix
that error. I’m more open to voting for Donald Trump than I was last
week. But I still like some of the others too, so, I’ll try to get
back to you on this.
