Reflections of Elections, Past and Present

Reflections....

I have been around for many Presidential elections and remember most.  I have usually voted Democratic, but have voted for a few Republicans along the way.

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But the election of 2016 is truly like no other.

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We have a candidate running for the highest office of the world who has never so much as served as a city councilperson.

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Many argue that Donald Trump is appealing because of his lack of political experience. "He speaks his mind!" they say. "He's not part of the politically correct establishment!  We need change. We need to make America great again!"

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Well, okay.

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I just wonder who these same people call when their toilet is overflowing? A plumber or a florist?  If they have a brain tumor, do they seek out an experienced surgeon or an auto mechanic? If they are in legal trouble, do they seek a credited attorney or a TV reality game host?

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Thinking over the past elections, it was always uplifting if my candidate won and disappointing if he didn't. But regardless of who was the winner and who lost, I think it is reasonable to conclude that all the Presidential nominees were qualified and experienced enough to be President. It was usually differences in policies and ideology that spelled either victory or defeat.  Sometimes the country was in a more liberal bent and other times the political direction leaned more conservative.

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But no one can say for sure if Donald Trump is a liberal or a conservative. In fact, he has been a supposed Democrat for much of his life and now claims to be a Republican.

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Some democrats accuse Donald Trump of being a "racist," "misogynist" and "bigot."

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While true that Trump appears to attract many people who hold prejudicial and even racist views, I am not convinced the candidate himself is seeped in bias and hate. 

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That's because I don't believe Trump thinks about anything long or deeply enough to hold actual ideological position, be it liberal or conservative, politically right or wrong.

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For example, when questioned on the issue of abortion, Donald Trump initially voiced the Republican line of being "pro life." But, when pressed on the issue, Trump stated that women who have abortions "should be punished" were abortion ever to be banned in the country again.

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Does Trump actually believe that women who have abortions should be punished?

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I doubt it.

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Rather, I believe that Trump doesn't care about abortions one way or the other. I doubt it's an issue he's given more than five minutes thought to.

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And therein lies the main problem with Donald Trump.

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He hasn't given anything other than the most shallow of thought to any issue. -- Thought that can usually be summed up in 140 characters on Twitter.

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Thinking back on all the losers of past Presidential elections I personally remember, some were Republicans and some Democrats; some conservative and some liberal.

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But one thing we can say about Romney, McCain, Kerry, Gore, Dole, Bush 41, Mondale, Dukakis, Carter, Ford, McGovern, Humprey, Nixon and Stevenson is that they were all qualified to BE President.  They were all learned, thoughtful and experienced individuals. They all had policies and ideological positions. They all loved and wanted to do the best for their country.

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And whether we agreed with them or not, there is not one of these candidates that would have spelled sheer and utter disaster for the country had they become President.

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But now we are faced with a candidate who does not appear to put the country ahead of himself and his own ambitions.

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Said Donald Trump at a recent press conference:

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"I am only interested in winning. Once I win, I'll get along great with foreign leaders."

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Indeed, Donald Trump is only interested in winning. After that, it's a crap shoot for both our country and indeed the entire planet.

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Let it be said that one doesn't call a florist to fix a broken toilet. And one doesn't go to an auto mechanic to remove a brain tumor.

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And most of all, one doesn't elect a TV "reality show" host to deal with and manage a world of actual and potentially catastrophic realities.

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The election of Hillary Clinton this November is not just a choice or preference of ideology and policy, but in this case an act of suicide prevention. -- PCA

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The "Normal Self" of Donald Trump

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Donald Trump reminds me of a drunk. 

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I grew up with a parent who was a binge drinker.

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My mom didn't drink everyday. But when she did, she drank all day and spent hours ranting and raving against everything and everyone she saw wrong in the world -- especially family members.

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But I told myself everything was okay because the next day, my mom would be back to her "normal self." One just had to get through the night with her.

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But, can we tell ourselves the same about Donald Trump?

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Admittedly, some drunks are fun.

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The lack of inhibition, the kind of "free flowing consciousness" and the honesty in just spewing off what one thinks in the moment can be refreshing and entertaining to some -- especially in an otherwise, highly controlled and politically correct world.  

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But is such lack of impulse control something we should seek in a President?

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Sometimes, those with drug problems are fun too.

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Back in my party days of the 70's and 80's, I had friends who were "Coke heads." They were great fun to be with at dance clubs and bars because they could literally party all night. (I personally didn't indulge in Cocaine because I figured two vices of alcohol and cigarettes were already enough. -- I didn't need to add a third.)

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But as much fun and boundless energy my coke friends were on a dance floor, they were extremely hard to follow in a conversation. I recall often sitting at circular tables in clubs and having no idea what the subject of conversation was about. Discussions flitted from one subject to the next with barely a second in between. As one who is not normally at loss for words, I was completely alone in left field during these gatherings. If I did think of something to contribute to a conversation, subject was already on to something else. In short, there was never any focus or depth. Conversations with "Coke Heads" were like July 4th fireworks -- quickly exploding and changing from one second to the next, one's only option was to sit back, smile and pretend to know what was going on.

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Donald Trump reminds me of that, too.

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Perhaps the problem is me. Perhaps I have no appreciation for "spontaneity," or I have a slow brain. Or maybe watching and listening to Donald Trump simply evokes memories best forgotten.  

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The wild gestures and accusations, the conspiracy theories, the name-calling ,the jumping from one subject to another and the endless repetitions are not the result of too much alcohol consumption or coke snorting from what we are told about Trump. There is no  "normal self" to look forward to.  

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Donald Trump doesn't drink at all and reportedly takes no drugs.

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What we see and hear is his "normal self."

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And perhaps that is even scarier than someone strung out on alcohol or cocaine because there are treatments and cures for those. -- PCA

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"Ugly Ducklings" Soon to Become Beautiful Geese

Two families. John, Mary, Hansel and Greta with their six nearly gown goslings.

The "interlopers" at Reservoir for the molt. John and Hansel have mostly given up trying to chase them. -- The molt soon to come to end.

"Ugly duckling." -- Note the down still poking out through the feathers.

Another "ugly duckling."

John and Mary -- vigilant parents.

My babies are so ugly now.

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Almost two months since they hatched as tiny, adorable balls of yellow fluff, the Central Park Reservoir goslings are now at that "awkward" stage between infancy and adolescence.

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Not quite fully grown, they are long, scrawny necks, tiny heads and big feet. Though quickly growing their adult feathers, there are still tufts of soft down sticking up through the feathers like tiny spikes that refuse to yield. And though starting to acquire the distinct markings of Canada geese and the familiar "face band," the white has yet to take hold and thus the goslings appear a mostly dingy, dirty gray.

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Han's Christian Anderson's famous, "The  Ugly Duckling" was written about swans. But it might have been more accurate as a fairy tale about goslings transitioning to geese.

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At two months of age, the goslings look like little dinosaurs.  

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The six goslings are not from one family.  Three hatched on May 8th and are the offspring of John and Mary -- the goose couple who attempted nesting over the past five years before finally hatching three healthy goslings this spring.

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The younger three goslings hatched a week later, but got off to a slow start as their mother (Greta) remained on the nest an additional three days (with babies tucked under her) in apparent hopes that her other two eggs would hatch.

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But, the extra eggs never hatched and finally Greta and her mate, Hansel had to move on with their surviving babies.

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Shortly thereafter, John and Mary moved their family to the east side of the Reservoir to seemingly join up with Hansel, Greta and their three new fledglings.  

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Though the two families don't necessarily hang out with each other all the time, they do claim and share the same general territories and are frequently observed eating together.

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Being slightly bigger and more developed than their younger counterparts, John and Mary's brood are sometimes a bit bullying of Hansel and Greta's babies. It's not unusual to see them assert their dominance by occasionally pecking and chasing the younger goslings.

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The parenting styles of the adult geese are not exactly the same either.

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Perhaps because they have raised goslings before, Hansel and Greta are much more laid back and permissive with their offspring than are the first-time parents, John and Mary -- the latter never leaving their babies out of their sight.  

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By contrast, Hansel and Greta's kids wander all over and it's not unusual for one to lose sight of his/her parents and start to cry out. But, they always find each other in the end.

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Perhaps this is still another way geese are remarkably human-like. Parenthood, when repeated, seemingly becomes like old hat. Hansel and Greta don't sweat the small stuff. If one of the kids wanders off, they find their way back. On the other hand, John and Mary are never more than a foot or two away from their goslings and always have their eyes fixed on them.

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Both, John and Hansel do however, take turns trying to chase off the visiting geese who arrived at the Reservoir around Memorial Day for the six week molt.

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But at this point, it is mostly a fruitless effort as both ganders are highly outnumbered by the visiting interlopers.  

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Though there is still the occasional territorial spat, the two families have mostly grown to accept the intruders. Perhaps they figure now that the molt is quickly coming to an end soon and the annoying "guests" will be on their way. It's just a matter of waiting it out.

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Probably due to the warm winter of the past year, everything was a little earlier this year.  

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Migrating geese returned earlier to their breeding grounds in the sub-Arctic or Canada this year. Nesting was slightly earlier and so was the molt.

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I see that many, if not in fact, most of the visiting geese already have grown their flight feathers.

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They will wait of course until they all are ready to fly and will then take off.

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The two families however have to wait until their goslings are ready to fly before they can leave.

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July will be a busy month with much of the action occurring over the next few weeks.   

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I somewhat sadly anticipate that by early August, all of the geese will be gone and we will only be seeing the occasional fly overs passing through.

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It's a long stretch then until the migratory geese start passing through New York City beginning in late October.

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As I so often say to people admiring the geese at the Reservoir, "Enjoy the geese now, for in a few weeks, all will be gone."

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Virtually everything in a Canada goose's life is preparation for flight and moving on.

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Only during this in-between stage from babies to juveniles, the goslings are "the ugly ducklings."

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But soon to be (God willing) beautiful and magnificent geese gracing our skies and flying in perfect "V" formation with their eternally devoted parents.

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Peace forever be with them. -- PCA

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