Apr 08 2009
Waiting & Wondering
“I detest a man who hides one thing in the depths of his heart, and speaks for another.” (Homer)
Some of those old boys from way “back in the day” were pretty smart fellows. A lot of their insights are still true today. I’m not going to get up on my soap-box, because no matter what I think of our government and our current administration, there’s little I can do to change anything, so I’m just waiting.
Some say, “Yep, that’s what’s wrong with America ~ we just sit back and do nothing.” Well I’m here to tell ya that if you can suggest something that an old white woman can do to bring drastic changes to Washington, D.C. ~ tell me.
Don’t tell me to write to my congressman or state representative or any of those yokels. I’ve seen state offices ( in Alabama) in action and I know what happens to most of the letters and emails received there.
First of all, some bored little fresh-out-of-college-with-a-business-degree, relative of the politician, will sort thru the mail (in between coffee breaks and fixing their hair). Anything important looking (like from another State office) will get passed on to another desk. The remaining mail will be opened, scanned over to see if it’s anything interesting, then tossed into the trash pile.
Now if it’s nearing election time, or some special event is on the horizon, one or two of those letters might be taken from the pile to be used as an “example” for inclusion in a speech or a television commercial. If you think the politician really gives a flying fart what you think ~ you’re more out of touch with reality than I am.
So, I’m waiting and wondering what’s coming for our dear old USA. Yes, I’m cynical ~ yes, I’m sarcastic ~ and yes, I’m scared. Like many people of my generation, I had big plans for the things I would do after I reached the “golden years”. Thanks to a dwindling 401K, and a shaky Social Security system, I’ll have to go find a greeters job at Walmart, (if I can get ahead of all those pesky 90-year-old’s who are going back to work), or I’ll be waiting tables at a local restaurant. If you’re lucky, you won’t be eating at any place where I’m a waitress. I’m grouchy ~ and I don’t really care what you want to eat. I’m slow ~ so you’ll have to wait until I can toddle over to your table with the food ~ if I don’t spill it first. And don’t plan on me coming back your way for refills ~ I got too tired on the first trip. (Hey, this sounds a lot like the waitresses I usually get, who are in their teens and twenties!)
I could get a job at the Post Office maybe ~ I can cram those letters and magazines into that little box just as good as the younger folks. (I haven’t received a good copy of a magazine for years ~ they’re always rolled up or folded with a few pages all pushed into a wrinkled mess, or corners of a few pages torn completely off.)
Who am I kidding ~ I don’t want to go back to work. I put in my time with the general public; that’s why I’m hiding out here in the country.
