Orange Turd

Donald Trump has always been, as Stormy Daniels said, an orange turd. He's used enormous inherited wealth to block out orange reality by surrounding himself with paid yes-men and Euro-trash. 

Wealth enabled Trump to make those allowed  near him agree that he is handsome, witty, intelligent, successful, etc. The rich can, like Gatsby, make their own reality at times. 

Trump eventually forced a corrupt and vulnerable political party to accept his terms. But these last few weeks he has been hunched in a drab New York courtroom, unable to leave. Not allowed to talk. He has been told to his face that he is an orange turd. 

Trump's reaction could hardly be more primitive. He sits for hours with his eyes closed, pretending to sleep in a room where no one sleeps. 

What if, facing more serious charges in the years ahead, he is sent to prison? Will he do time with his eyes shut? 

Butt Can

When people ask about my army service, I tell them I spent years in the 4216th Mess Kit Repair Unit. We were part of the old brown boot or black boot army--I no longer remember which, although it used to matter. 

We lived in wooden barracks back then,  so we set a fire watch at night. That was no fun. To pass the long nights, we told one another yarns. You had to stay awake and look for fires. But you could smoke cigarettes and talk.

The unit had big old tomato cans hanging from interior posts. These cans were half filled with water. You were supposed to drop your cigarette butts in the cans or spit in them if you wanted. Then, if you were man enough, you could pick up a can and drink it in front of your friends. Hence, "A butt can a day keeps the doctor away." 

Worm

Jack de Selby noted that a worm had bitten into RFK Jr.'s brain and died, of  course. 

Justice for Others

Local people have been holding a 20-minute silent peace vigil since the first week of the Hamas-Israel war. They oppose killing strangers. Simple. 

The group meets on Wednesdays at 6 p.m. next to the Living Peace Wall in Sebastopol. Everyone is welcome, but the group does not allow flags, signs or speeches. 

In contrast, some but not all campus protesters seek justice. They wave Israeli or Palestinian flags. This is not a criticism. I, too, demand justice for others. 

  

Bodkin

A new show in town is "Bodkin" on Netflix. It's a black comedy-mystery  with a strong cast that includes Will Forte. Set in Ireland. A wolf keeps appearing. I will watch anything with a wolf in it.   

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Dead South

You probably know this, but a bluegrass group called The Dead South put out an astonishing video of "You Are My Sunshine," the ancient standard by Jimmy Davis. 

You can see it on YouTube. Look up The Dead South. 

They do the song right. It has always been an angry, bitter song. 

Stormy

"She spoke quickly, unspooling so many salacious details that the judge overseeing the case balked at some of the testimony, implying that it was gratuitously vulgar, and the defense unsuccessfully sought a mistrial." 

 --from The NY Times 

For the first time under oath, Stormy Daniels described spanking President Trump with a magazine. Now 8 billion people know.

I understand that spanking used to be widespread among widespread English schoolboys. Spanking came to America in a movie called "The Quiet Man" in which John Wayne spanked Maureen O'Hara in Ireland, making it wholesome. 

In Trump's favor, I see nothing wrong with erotic spanking if both parties consent and the magazine is no weightier than The New Republic.  

Gaza

I'm having a hard time making sense of the war in Gaza. It should end immediately. Today there is talk of a truce.