To Doge: You've asked for yet another list of five things I did last week and while I have serious doubts that any of you Dogers will read this, here's my list:
VISIT: Last week I visited a colleague in the hospital. I've worked with him for almost 20 years and we're friends. He is a kind, gentle soul who is a good worker and very loyal to his job. He got the flu, which quickly turned to pneumonia, and has been in the hospital for 2 weeks, almost all of that time in the ICU. He's starting to make a recovery, but it's slow. The flu has been spreading in our area, resulting in serious illness for many people. Now we're hearing that the US Food and Drug Administration has canceled an upcoming meeting of external experts to discuss next year’s influenza vaccine composition. The move follows the indefinite postponement of a planned meeting of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee and a presidential executive order to cut advisory committees. We're all beginning to worry that there will be no new flu vaccine for next season.
FOOD: We bought groceries last week and I cooked dinner every night except for one. One night we ate in a local restaurant for which we had a gift card. We were celebrating some good news I'd had on a project I've been working on for three months. We were grateful for the gift card, as we've recently had some expensive home maintenance work done, and we don't have a lot of extra money for dining out. Similarly, we've been trying to cut back on our food costs, as grocery prices keep going up. So, I'm cooking more with beans, lentils, rice and pasta, which is fine because we like those things, and they're healthy. However, I do remember that your boss in the White House promised he'd get grocery prices down on his first day in office, but he seems to be spending most of his time going after perceived political enemies. So there's that.
FAMILY: While this is not related to my work situation, I spent time with my daughter last week. Her birthday was Wednesday, and we had dinner together. I'm wondering why we never see photos of Dogers or the president enjoying family time?
WRITING: As I did previously, I spent some time last week working on my second novel. I guess this could be the activity that might get me fired, as it seems the current gang in Washington doesn't really like books or reading. But, oh well. You're probably going to fire me or otherwise try to punish me anyway, so I might as well get this book finished.
THE BEATLES: Speaking of art, my husband and & I began re-watching “Get Back,” a documentary film by Peter Jackson about The Beatles. It's very interesting to me, and instructive, to witness the artistic process – even that of artists I don't know personally. And I'm reminded how much I miss the presence of John Lennon. I wonder what he'd have to say about the current state of world politics?
BONUS – KEY WORDS: I can't imagine that the Doger underlings will be able to read all the thousands of emails you're receiving. I expect you'll use some kind of AI to scan the emails for those incriminating key words. So I'll just include some key words so your minions can easily tell where I'm coming from. Here they are: DEI – diversity, equity, inclusion; LGBTQ+; immigrants; asylum; trans, transgender, transition; intellectual or literate; labor union; art; Black lives matter; protest; climate change; the common good; human rights; women's rights; civil rights; Head Start; Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security; SNAP; and Peace and Security for Ukraine.
Very eloquent as always, and a nice twist of the blade where apropos