Saturday, September 6, 2025
D+ 305/230/-1232
1941 All Jews over age 6 in German territories were ordered to wear a star
1997 Funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, was held at Westminster Abbey in London
2022 A fire in a karaoke bar near Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, killed at least 32
2023, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi called for a major reduction in the country's birth rate to avoid a catastrophe, from more than two million to 400,000 a year
2023 Mexico's Supreme Court decriminalized abortion nationwide, building on an earlier state-by-state ruling
In bed a bit before 9, up at 4:25. 68° in the house, 48° outside, high of 62°, partly cloudy day ahead.
Meds, etc. Morning meds at 8 a.m.
Old age, new trauma. I walked down the hallway a little after 4:30 this morning and saw light pouring out of the TV room and into the kitchen, thinking Geri must have inadvertently left the lights on when she went to bed last night, but no - I found her wide awake sitting on the sofa and working on the knitting project she is doing with other volunteers at Temple Emanuel. She woke up in the middle of the night thinking about the 'stuff' we have stored in the storage area of the basement and worrying that she and Steve Marino hadn't inspected it for mold yesterday. Steve found some bad mold formation in a corner of the basement closet, and lesser mold starting in other areas. Much of the lower drywall is also wet and will need to be replaced. He also suggested that we have the mastic and tiles in the storage area tested for asbestos. I'm not sure 'what all' needs to be done down there, but it's clear we have a very big and expensive project ahead of us. I wish I could say that I am approaching this with fortitude, but I'm daunted. Geri is more focused and more committed to seeing it through. The basement flooding from the Big Rain is doing me in, making me feel overwhelmed, not always, but sometimes, in the middle of the night, or while waking up or trying to fall asleep. This morning, sitting on the edge of my bed while waking up, I had thoughts of taking all the drawings and paintings covering the walls of my bedroom and packing them away in boxes, ready for the dump, the landfill, or the incinerator, and then doing the same with the larger paintings and drawings in the basement. Clearing out. I thought of my Marine uniforms packed away in a plastic container in the basement's storage area. I've held onto them since 1963, when I bought them (twice) from Ted Neumann in Quantico, or since 1967, when I was discharged and no longer needed them, 58 or 62 years. I've resisted giving them to Repairers of the Breach or the House of Peace, or St. Vinny's because, I suppose, I just don't want someone else wearing them, (silly, selfish) at least not 'disrespectfully' (what does that mean?) or at a costume party on Halloween. Maybe it would be OK for kids to wear them on Halloween, but not adults . . . thinking out loud, crazy crap. I had a very hard time climbing up the basement stairs yesterday when Steve Marino was here (ever-weakening leg muscles, knees, hips). How am I going to deal with the huge amount of stuff I have down there? All the painting/art equipment, books, memorabilia, photos, and the paintings themselves, meaningful only to me. I think of renting a storage garage to hold them until I die, when they can be taken directly to the dump and disposed of . . . how stupid is that?
Lying in a Hammock at William Duffy’s Farm in Pine Island, Minnesota
BY JAMES WRIGHT
Over my head, I see the bronze butterfly,
Asleep on the black trunk,
Blowing like a leaf in green shadow.
Down the ravine behind the empty house,
The cowbells follow one another
Into the distances of the afternoon.
To my right,
In a field of sunlight between two pines,
The droppings of last year’s horses
Blaze up into golden stones.
I lean back, as the evening darkens and comes on.
A chicken hawk floats over, looking for home.
I have wasted my life.
"I went out too far." Santiago, Hemingway.
Epstein, Ari Ben-Menashe, Kompromat, Mossad, and the CIA. No evidence other than Ben-Menashe's uncorroborated statements, but certainly plausible, and it would explain the cover-ups from both Democratic and Republican administrations.
Trump's comment about US military engagements after WWII:: “And we were very strong, but we never fought to win. We just didn’t fight to win.” Comments like that make you wonder what he really means. Would he have invaded China during the Korean War? Would he have dropped one or two atom bombs on them, as Truman did on the Japanese in very different circumstances? Would he have used tactical or strategic nuclear weapons in Vietnam? What exactly would he have done in Iraq? And in Afghanistan "to win"? What exactly did "winning" mean in those wars?
Text exchange with CBG:
Caren Goldberg: Your mother was an incredible woman. What tremendous, unspeakable torture she endured and what resilience she possessed.
Charles Clausen: Thank you, Sweetie. She’s been dead for more than 50 years now, and I still think of her regularly, like the other day when I took one of my rides in the beautiful countryside and through Port Washington, wishing she and my sister, and my Dad were with me, enjoying all the sights. I pulled into the Costco parking lot on my way home, thinking of all of them, and came close to crying. I guess that is the sort of thing that happens to you in old age. I’m thankful that you have learned about her and get courage and goodness. It’s meaningful to me, sharing her memory, especially since Kitty died.♥️
I just read my message to you and am horrified that it reads: “ I’m thankful that you have learned about her and get courage and goodness.” I’m sure I typed “her” courage and goodness, not “get” courage and goodness. I know you are loaded with both of those qualities. I apologizeš¢.
Caren Goldberg: I actually read it the way you meant it — her courage and goodness. She was so courageous and good and she seemed to remain hopeful.
Charles Clausen: Whew, thanks!
Afternoon outing: First to Costco for some compari tomatoes, then to St. Vincent de Paul for a donation drop-off, then to Walmart for some Raisin Not Bran (less than $5!), and then to Meijer's for a loaf of Breadsmith Sourdough bread (the last) and some old-fashioned loaf.
Progress in the basement. Geri did a ton of work clearing out the basement for the upcoming work, replacing wet drywall by Steve Marino, and ripping out the flooring by Chris. My contribution was loading a construction waste bag with empty 3-ring, loose-leaf binders and getting it upstairs. My hope is to make some contribution each day. Tomorrow's goal is to bag up and get rid of all the extra, copies of drafts of the memoir and other papers I'm keeping for no reason. Another goal is to get all my photographs into a U-Haul box, appropriately marked. These are easy goals. Others will be harder: getting rid of my USMC uniforms, what to do with all the drawings and paintings, etc.
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