Wednesday, November 10, 2021
My first appointment for the day was with the acupuncturist. She did fantastic, deep work on the whole left side of my back. I was going to do some work on the screen cleaning project before leaving for my hairdresser appointment. I was too wiped. I lay down for the half-hour, trying to recoup. I was so relaxed I felt undone. I believed whatever happened was good, but I needed time to recover.
I was going to stop and do some chores after the haircut. While I was physically comfortable, I wasn’t my usual self. Forget that! I headed home as quickly as possible for a short nap before my 2 pm appointment with Mama K’s crew. Because of some road work on Ali’I, it took me twice as long to get home. I could have avoided that route for a faster one, but I got a view of the ocean on that route. The stopped traffic worked in my favor. I got to watch the waves roll in and out.
After signing in for Mama K’s crew, I got a text telling me she had to cancel. She had a parent-teacher conference. Yes, I would have preferred being told ahead of time, but I am usually home. Today, I was relieved. I almost thought of canceling myself. I needed rest. I went down for a long one.
Today, when I spoke to Jean, my friend in Arizona, she told me her mom was being moved to hospice. She was pulling out tubes and refusing food. She had had it.
I got a call from someone doing a survey. It sounded authentic. I was on the alert for any requests for personal information. It was on the up and up. The closest she got to personal was to ask me what island I lived on. The questions let me know the bias of the survey. She asked my opinion on the impact of tourism on Hawaii. The survey’s bias was clearly opposed to unlimited tourism. Tourism has an effect on local culture and moreover the environment.
While I was on the phone with her, I called Scott and asked him if he could stop by and help me with something. The sprayer I had been using to wash the screens broke. I dropped it; the valve popped out and fell apart. I couldn’t put it back together again. Fortunately, I already had a second. I bought it because the plunger on the first one stopped working. When I opened the new one, I realized all I needed was its working plunger. The new one has been patiently sitting around for at least half a year. I had trouble assembling it, getting the hose connected.
A clear tube goes inside the container, connecting through an opening on the side to the hose dispenser. You have to stick the clear internal hose into the external connection and screw a washer on the outside onto the opening. I couldn’t do it for love or money. Every time I tried, the clear hose came loose. I read the directions and applied Vaseline to the end, expecting it to move freely in the opening of the external connection as I screwed it onto the container. I couldn’t do it. Scott did it easily.
I complained to adolescent D’s mother that I hadn’t spoken to his teachers. I talked to one briefly. We planned to make arrangements to talk again, and she ghosted me. I didn’t say anything critical to her. The only thing I can think of is I was overly enthusiastic about some of his developments.
The young woman who contacted me today left me in despair. No, she wasn’t doing any reading with him; she was reading everything to him. She was doing math and science with him. This young woman stayed late on Wednesdays to help adolescent D to complete his work. I can understand why she doesn’t want to spend time helping him with his reading. It would take too much time. However, she could have him read the words he can with her supplying those he can’t. She could have him point to the words while she reads the material out loud. She said she was teaching him some scientific terms. If she just points to a word and says, “This is - - - -.” She might as well not be doing anything.
She also said he had trouble with basic math. I asked with number sense or operations. No, with the multiplication facts. Adolescent D has problem with all associative recall. I must have repeated, “the final y at the end of a long word is generally pronounced like a long e thirty to forty times before he could recall it. D will need to use a calculator or learn alternative ways of doing multiplication.” She did say she was seeing an improvement in his handwriting. I didn’t work on that. I assumed he had since no one was helping him with any of his other skills. I didn’t behave my best. I am sure I pissed her off. I had a terrible reaction to all she had to say.
At 5:30, I was ready to take a long walk. I had fallen behind in my step count for the day. I thought to call Isaac to join me. We enjoy each other’s company. No, this is not a romantic possibility. He is all of 23. We really just enjoy talking. While our backgrounds are very different, our style of thinking is the same.
He brought up the topic of the Rittenhouse trial. He listened to Rittenhouse’s full testimony. From what he heard, it does seem that he was pursued and cornered by several people who, accordioning to Rittenhouse, were threatening to kill him. Those were their words. Isaac and I went back and forth, making opposing points. Isaac seemed to be favoring Rittenhouse’s position while I argued anyone walking around with a high-powered firearm is asking for it. Afterward, I realized we were talking at cross purposes. I was referring to a moral responsibility; he was focused on the legal outcome. I’m for gun control. I feel anyone walking around bearing a gun is asking for trouble. I have that bias. I assume someone with a gun is itching to use it.
On the other hand, I have friends who are hunters. Of course, they don’t walk around downtown Kona flashing their firearms. However, if Rittenhouse’s version of the story is true, the other guys weren’t innocent; they were threatening to kill this kid.
As I have said on another occasion, I like to view the situation with alternate characters. I’m a Black Lives Matter champion- no, not over anyone else’s. I think it should be All Lives Matter- including Black Ones. That would be a better slogan. I definitely feel blacks are targeted more than whites for similar actions. Here’s a scenario to consider. A young black man goes to a rally bearing arms for his protection. He finds himself isolated, surrounded by a group of young men who proceed to corner him, threaten him and make an attempt to grab his gun. The young black man fires and kills two white men and injures a third. Is it self-defense, or should he be prosecuted for murder? What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. Unfortunately, the black man wouldn’t get the same courtesy in most American courts. In there lies the problem. However, does that mean Rittenhouse should be prosecuted as a black man would be? Isn’t the argument that black people are treated too harshly? Many, myself included, would love to see the lifestyle values Rittenhouse represents on trial. But does that mean this young man should be the sacrificial lamb? Would charging him with murder change that culture? Worse yet, would it be legal?
I don’t know if the judge is biased or not. I know that he objected when the prosecution asked Rittenhouse why he was so heavily armed; what was his intent? That’s like asking a woman what her intent was when she walked down a street scantily dressed and was raped. Was Rittenhouse fired by his testosterone and his adolescent sense of nobility to defend and protect “America?” Possibly, but is that what he was doing at the moment he was attacked? If there is a black youth with a rock in his hand, do we argue we had a right to charge him with murder because he could have used it to kill someone?
I’m scared to death about the outcome of this trial. Thank God the boys who were shot and killed weren’t black. Oh, boy. Dylan Roof is going to get what he wants. He must be so happy.
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