…would you rather be
a letter?
well then, which one would you be?
Would you rather be a curly one
like j or s or g
or would your rather
be a sharpie
like k or z or v?
from Would you rather be a Bullfrog?
by Dr. Seuss writing as Theo. LeSieg
illustrated by Roy McKie
Random House Children's Books, 1975
I’d like to say I’m a round, curly letter. I flow along, but I only do that sometimes. Some other times I can be pretty stubborn, prickly, a sharpie. After all, who doesn’t like to be right?
When we were kids and needed to choose teams, or which hair ribbon to wear, or who got to sit in the front seat of the car, we chanted “eeny meeny miney mo, catch a tiger by the toe, if he hollers, let him go, eeny meeny miney mo.” Maybe you did, too. It seemed fair. The choice was random.
Some people are good decision makers. Some let life choose for them, kinda like riding a wave at the beach. Maybe that’s what the phrase “go with the flow” really means.
But making a good decision involves much more than choosing a pet or picking out a dress, or insisting on being right, life-changing as those can be. Important to the process is seeing the big picture. While no one can know for sure what the implications of a particular decision will be, most of us understand how the world works, how one thing usually follows another.
Some decisions are deliberate. I asked to keep a cat when I was growing up. Of course, it was my parents' decision to say “yes,” but I started the ball rolling with the question. Even now, I’d rather share my life with a cat (or several) than a dog. I like to visit my kids and grandkids. Cats can take care of themselves if I’m only gone a day or two. And I know someone who is kind, dependable, and full of common sense that will fill in if I’m gone longer than that. (You know who you are…Thanks!)
To me dogs are like children who never grow up. As cute and fun to be with as most of the ones I know are, I’m a little too selfish to share that much of my life. It’s a good thing to know before making a doggie-decision.
Many years ago I took my older daughter to look for a dress to wear to her high school Homecoming Dance. It was very hard for her to make up her mind. Part of the problem … too many choices. She looked good in everything she tried on, and I only let her try on the ones in my price range. Her field was large. Her options were many, and the qualities she looked for were present in many of her choices. It was hard to make a good decision. But she finally narrowed it down to two, then one. Her decision was deliberate, but not life-changing, really.
She came home energized, I came home exhausted.
The deliberate decision we will make in November will be life-changing, without a doubt. Our choices are many. Most of the candidates have qualities we are looking for. Many questions are still unanswered.
And right now is the time to be informed, or to stay informed. YouTube can catch you up on the previous debates. Is there anything NOT on Youtube?
Tune in live to the debate tomorrow from 9-11 pm on NBC, if you can. One more will take place the following week, February 25 (CBS), and another on March 15 (CNN). The date for the last one has not been announced yet.
And the Primaries are in full-force. When we vote in our Primary, we are choosing delegates. Voting in the Primary is important for many reasons. One is a perception thing. Someone who gets a lot of attention (and votes) is perceived to be a winner. Another is the math. Presidents are chosen by delegates to the Electoral College. More on that next week.
Super Tuesday is March 3, 2020. About 33 percent of total pledged delegates will be chosen in contests held that day (and during early voting held in some of those states). Ohio’s Primary, is March 17, where I’ll be voting. Florida, Illinois, and Arizona also have primaries that day. By March 17, at midnight then, about 61 percent of pledged delegates will have been chosen.
If you live somewhere other than Ohio, check the National Council of State Legislatures for the full Primary schedule: https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/2020-state-primary-election-dates.aspx# Scroll down past the introduction for an alphabetical state by state list of dates.
I think the Electoral College is complicated, out of date, and probably unfair. But I’ll do some research this week and report back next Tuesday.
In November, we will be exhausted, I’m sure. I hope, exhilarated, too.
Until then,
-—stay curious! (and choose wisely)
a letter?
well then, which one would you be?
Would you rather be a curly one
like j or s or g
or would your rather
be a sharpie
like k or z or v?
from Would you rather be a Bullfrog?
by Dr. Seuss writing as Theo. LeSieg
illustrated by Roy McKie
Random House Children's Books, 1975
I’d like to say I’m a round, curly letter. I flow along, but I only do that sometimes. Some other times I can be pretty stubborn, prickly, a sharpie. After all, who doesn’t like to be right?
When we were kids and needed to choose teams, or which hair ribbon to wear, or who got to sit in the front seat of the car, we chanted “eeny meeny miney mo, catch a tiger by the toe, if he hollers, let him go, eeny meeny miney mo.” Maybe you did, too. It seemed fair. The choice was random.
Some people are good decision makers. Some let life choose for them, kinda like riding a wave at the beach. Maybe that’s what the phrase “go with the flow” really means.
But making a good decision involves much more than choosing a pet or picking out a dress, or insisting on being right, life-changing as those can be. Important to the process is seeing the big picture. While no one can know for sure what the implications of a particular decision will be, most of us understand how the world works, how one thing usually follows another.
Some decisions are deliberate. I asked to keep a cat when I was growing up. Of course, it was my parents' decision to say “yes,” but I started the ball rolling with the question. Even now, I’d rather share my life with a cat (or several) than a dog. I like to visit my kids and grandkids. Cats can take care of themselves if I’m only gone a day or two. And I know someone who is kind, dependable, and full of common sense that will fill in if I’m gone longer than that. (You know who you are…Thanks!)
To me dogs are like children who never grow up. As cute and fun to be with as most of the ones I know are, I’m a little too selfish to share that much of my life. It’s a good thing to know before making a doggie-decision.
Many years ago I took my older daughter to look for a dress to wear to her high school Homecoming Dance. It was very hard for her to make up her mind. Part of the problem … too many choices. She looked good in everything she tried on, and I only let her try on the ones in my price range. Her field was large. Her options were many, and the qualities she looked for were present in many of her choices. It was hard to make a good decision. But she finally narrowed it down to two, then one. Her decision was deliberate, but not life-changing, really.
She came home energized, I came home exhausted.
The deliberate decision we will make in November will be life-changing, without a doubt. Our choices are many. Most of the candidates have qualities we are looking for. Many questions are still unanswered.
And right now is the time to be informed, or to stay informed. YouTube can catch you up on the previous debates. Is there anything NOT on Youtube?
Tune in live to the debate tomorrow from 9-11 pm on NBC, if you can. One more will take place the following week, February 25 (CBS), and another on March 15 (CNN). The date for the last one has not been announced yet.
And the Primaries are in full-force. When we vote in our Primary, we are choosing delegates. Voting in the Primary is important for many reasons. One is a perception thing. Someone who gets a lot of attention (and votes) is perceived to be a winner. Another is the math. Presidents are chosen by delegates to the Electoral College. More on that next week.
Super Tuesday is March 3, 2020. About 33 percent of total pledged delegates will be chosen in contests held that day (and during early voting held in some of those states). Ohio’s Primary, is March 17, where I’ll be voting. Florida, Illinois, and Arizona also have primaries that day. By March 17, at midnight then, about 61 percent of pledged delegates will have been chosen.
If you live somewhere other than Ohio, check the National Council of State Legislatures for the full Primary schedule: https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/2020-state-primary-election-dates.aspx# Scroll down past the introduction for an alphabetical state by state list of dates.
I think the Electoral College is complicated, out of date, and probably unfair. But I’ll do some research this week and report back next Tuesday.
In November, we will be exhausted, I’m sure. I hope, exhilarated, too.
Until then,
-—stay curious! (and choose wisely)
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