Yesterday, they found a plastic bag of my possessions from when my car was sold 18 months ago. I wasn't there when it happened -- I was in a skilled nursing facility after my stroke, relearning how to walk, not worrying whether I would ever drive a car again.
The bag resembled what they give you after a person has died -- their last possessions.
Now my car didn't exactly die -- it just left me for somebody else -- but it *was* a symbol of the independence I yearned for when I was strapped down in beds with alarms on each side in case I started to take another fall.
As I sorted through the stuff, here's what I found:
A bag of quarters, maybe $4-5 worth, that I kept in the car for parking meters. (Remember those?) That's back when you needed cash to park legally.
Like when I was fetching my kids at school or dropping them off at soccer practice, or when we were picking up take-out Mexican or Chinese. My youngest daughter, who always had my back, saved quarters for this purpose, and gave them to me whenever she noticed I was running low.
Along with the coins, there was a faded press pass that gave me full access to the gaming company Zynga's headquarters down along the borderline between Soma and the Mission when I was a tech blogger for BNET and 7x7.
But most of what spilled out of the bag were the old CDs that I used to play in the car as I was shuttling my kids here and there. Often our trips were short -- fifteen minutes or so, and I'd try to pick songs that would finish before we reached our destination.
Elton John, Bob Dylan, the Beatles but most memorably Johnny Cash. For some reason his version of "Highway Patrolman," written by Bruce Springsteen, was one of our family favorites. It's a long take (5:20) and more than once, I remember us sitting in the car waiting for it to finish before we got out to proceed with our business.
Of course we had heard how the story-song ends a thousand times before, but we had a minute or two left before we'd be late so why not wait it out again?
After all, anything beats being stuck in a national crisis.
***
The headlines. Folks, this is scary stuff, so I'm trying something new. My comments are appended.
* Joint Chiefs of Staff issue military-wide memo condemning Capitol riot, confirming Biden will become next commander in chief (WashPo) They never do this. (DW)
* How White Evangelical Christians Fused With Trump Extremism -- A potent mix of grievance and religious fervor has turbocharged the support among Trump loyalists, many of whom describe themselves as participants in a kind of holy war. (NYT) The scariest religious event I ever saw was an Islamic fundamentalist gathering in Northern Afghanistan. The second scariest was a Christian fundamentalist event in the Southern U.S. (DW)
* As senators and House members trapped inside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday begged for immediate help, they struggled to get through to the president, who — safely ensconced in the West Wing — was too busy watching fiery television images of the crisis to take their calls. (WashPo) What's on TV is more exciting than running a country. (DW)
* Justice Dept. Pursues at Least 150 Suspects in Capitol Riot (NYT) They are just scratching the surface. (DW)
* New leaders of the Capitol Police told House Democrats Monday that they were closely monitoring three separate plans by pro-Trump extremists that could pose serious threats to members of Congress and Washington ahead of Jan. 20. The most concerning plot would involve insurrectionists forming a perimeter around the Capitol, the White House and the Supreme Court, blocking Democrats ― perhaps killing them ― so Republicans could take control of the government. [HuffPost] Holy shit. (DW)
* Several Capitol police officers suspended, more than a dozen under investigation over actions related to rally and riot (WashPo) There are traitors inside the government. (DW)
* Impeach Trump Again (The Editorial Board/NYT) Good luck with that one. (DW)
* Americans across the political spectrum fear what the Capitol attack portends (WashPo) No shit. (DW)
* The Constitution gives Congress clear authority to punish its members and to expel them. The House and Senate have used the expulsion power only rarely, however, partly because disgraced members tend to resign. But Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) introduced a resolution in the House with 47 co-sponsors directing the Ethics Committee to commence a disciplinary review of all 139 Republicans who voted to overturn the election results to see if they should be censured or expelled. [HuffPost] This one's DoA. (DW)
* Trump takes no responsibility for riot as he headed for Texas (AP) You had me at 'responsibility'. (DW)
* Right-wing extremists are using channels on the encrypted communication app Telegram to call for violence against government officials on Jan. 20, the day President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated, with some extremists sharing knowledge of how to make, conceal and use homemade guns and bombs. (NBC) Coup attempt.2. (DW)
* ‘They Got a Officer!’: How a Mob Dragged and Beat Police at the Capitol (NYT) Coup attempt.1. (DW)
* To save American democracy, truth needs to beat fantasy (WashPo) We're in trouble. (DW)
* State Capitols ‘on High Alert,’ Fearing More Violence (NYT) No shit. (DW)
* Twitter purged more than 70,000 accounts affiliated with QAnon following Capitol riot (WashPo) Too little, too late. (DW)
* Parler Faces Obstacles to Getting Back Online (WSJ) Elephant tears. (DW)
* Warp Speed will urge vaccination of adults 65 and older, those with preexisting conditions (WashPo) Breaking news. (DW)
* Environmentalists make a case for leaving fossil fuels in the ground (Reuters) Back to the Future. (DW)
* Georgia Adds Swastika, Middle Finger To State Flag (The Onion) No comment. (DW)
***
"Highway Patrolman"
I'm a sergeant out of Perrineville barracks number 8
I always done an honest job as honest as I could
I got a brother named Franky and Franky ain't no good
Now ever since we was young kids it's been the same come down
I get a call on the short wave Franky's in trouble downtown
Well if it was any other man, I'd put him straight away
But when it's your brother sometimes you look the other way
Yeah, me and Franky laughin' and drinkin' nothin' feels better than blood on blood
Takin' turns dancin' with Maria as the band played "Night of the Johnstown Flood"
I catch him when he's strayin' like any brother would
Man turns his back on his family well he just ain't no good
Well Franky went in the army back in 1965 I got a farm deferment settled down took Maria for my wife
But them wheat prices kept on droppin' 'til it was like we were gettin' robbed
Franky came home in '68 and me I took this job
Yeah we're laughin' and drinkin' nothin' feels better than blood on blood
Takin' turns dancin' with Maria as the band played "Night of the Johnstown Flood"
I catch him when he's strayin', teach him how to walk that line
Man turns his back on his family he ain't no friend of mine
Well, the night was like any other, I got a call 'bout quarter to nine
There was trouble in a roadhouse out on the Michigan line
There was a kid lyin' on the floor lookin' bad, bleedin' hard from his head
There was a girl cryin' at a table, and it was Frank they said
Well I went out and I jumped in my car and I hit the lights
Well, I must've done 110 through Michigan County that night
It was out at the crossroads down round Willow Bank
Seen a Buick with Ohio plates behind the wheel was Frank
Well I chased him through them county roads 'til a sign said Canadian border 5 miles from here
I pulled over the side of the highway and watched his taillights disappear
Me and Franky laughin' and drinkin' nothin' feels better than blood on blood
Takin' turns dancin' with Maria as the band played "Night of the Johnstown Flood"
I catch him when he's strayin' like any brother would
Man turns his back on his family well he just ain't no good
-30-
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