Category: Ruminations and Crackpot Theories

Observations on life in general.

Summer Is Supposed to Be Hot

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I am so tired of freezing in June, July, and August. I grew up in the country. We didn’t have air conditioning. Fans sufficed.  We wore shorts and tank tops. We tried to absorb the heat like solar batteries to get us through the long upstate New York winters.

My husband grew up in a high rise in the Bronx. But he went to sleep-away camp in the Catskills every summer. Yet he must have air conditioning. Why?

I do not understand the obsession with air conditioning. I hate going to work because it’s so blessed cold half my co-workers are running space heaters. It would be more cost efficient to reset the AC from “meat locker” to “summer dawn on the lake” and let those who are  warm use a fan than it is to run at “meat locker” and  have more people turning on their space heaters. But what do I know?  I shouldn’t have to wear a cardigan inside when it’s 90 degrees outside.

Yes, I will run the air conditioning in my car, spoiled American wench that I am, but I prefer opening the windows and the moon roof.

Just because the thermometer reads 75F does not mean the air conditioner needs to go on at home.  It roars. The noise pollution is as bad as the frigidity.

Summer is supposed to be hot. You’re supposed to open windows to catch warm summer breezes and the scent of flowers.

I’m not talking about deadly heat waves.  I’m not talking about deserts. I don’t live near a desert. I’m the first to turn on the AC when the weather hits 90+. I’m not an unreasonable woman.

And it’s not unreasonable to expect warmth in the summer.

 

Mommy Moment: The Bread

When Y-Chromo came home for the summer after his first year at college, there were many adjustments that needed to be made. We had to learn that he’d been on his own for 9-10 months and needed more leeway than he’d been given in high school. He needed to adjust to being in a family situation again.

While he was away at school, I didn’t have to buy as much bread for sandwiches as  I did in previous years. His first weekend home, we were nearly out. He informed me he would eat only Supermarket brand bread, if I couldn’t get Supermarket brand peanut butter, he would eat only a certain national brand. He missed Supermarket brand bread while at college.

I was very busy that weekend and did not have time to go to the Supermarket he specified. There is another grocery chain with a store closer to home. In the interest of time, that’s where I went to pick up a few crucial items. Including bread. When I got home, I transferred the loaf of bread into the Supermarket brand bag and stuck it in the freezer. Y never knew the difference.

I think X-Chromo recently told him the story. (She thought it was hysterical when I confessed it to her years later.) He laughs about it now.

Sometimes a mom’s gotta do what a mom’s gotta do.

 

 

Movie: Frozen River

I never would have seen Frozen River had it not been nominated for an Academy Award in 2008. I’ve seen it only once (TV Stevie sees every nominated film he can, and I happened to catch this one with him), but the images and messages have stayed with me. The film was nominated for Best Actress and Best Original Screenplay. It won several other awards, mostly for Best Actress.

I never realized the underlying story until I overheard a TV program my husband was watching about female directors. Frozen River  was mentioned as being a film about motherhood. When I heard that, all the images came crystal clear.

Mexico isn’t the only point of entry for undocumented immigrants. When the St. Lawrence River freezes, it becomes a smuggler’s route between New York State and Ontario/Quebec–especially since the Akwesasne nation (St. Regis Mohawk tribal land) straddles the river between the two other countries.

Two single mothers–one white, one Native American–both desperately poor, want better lives for their children.  They live on the New York side of the Frozen River. This unlikely pair team up  with disastrous consequences. There is a happy ending, just not in the traditional sense.  The film ends on a note of hope. Yes, their partnership brought dire consequences, but in the end, the same partnership will help them create the better lives they want for their children.

The movie is dark. Grim. Yet as a mother, I identify with their anguish.  We will do anything for our children.

 

 

Bonus Blog: FREE BOOK

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My amazing publisher has made the first book in the Service for Sanctuary trilogy FREE stating today, through April 20.

Service for sanctuary–that was the werewolves’ deal for over 200 years.
Now the government is changing the rules,
leaving Ethan Calhoun fighting for the only way of life he’s ever known—
and Selena Wolfe fighting for her life.

Get your free copy of Betrayed by the Moon now.

 

Musing: Getting Political

I had originally planned a movie review for this week’s blog. I had written about God Bless America, which is a dark comedy. After the events of January 6, I could not review that particular movie at this time with a good conscience.

I work very hard not to be political in my author persona. For today’s blog, I quit trying.

I had taken January 6 off from my Day Job so I could watch the electoral college vote be certified by Congress. Every instinct I had told me something was going to happen. I have not been on social media since July 1st, other than a quick pop on to check on certain friends and family. I couldn’t take the vitriol any longer. I stopped watching the news around that time, too, asking my husband to close the door between our family room and living room when he was watching. I curated my input.

Even without a constant barrage of information/misinformation, I knew something was going to happen on January 6, which begs the question why didn’t law enforcement?

But that’s not what my blog today is about.

As I watched the attempted coup in horror–but not surprise–another very weird thought wouldn’t go away:  School shootings.

Those elected representatives I saw hiding under desks, etc. could have been my son (a teacher) during a school shooting.  Now those elected representatives who won’t do anything about the pandemic of school shootings (which the COVID pandemic has appeared to eliminate) know what those children and teachers go through. The same feelings of terror and helplessness.

Welcome to the reality of America today.

Now maybe they’ll do something about it.

If the country ever finds “normal” again.