The Hat…….

The Hat……

My son lives in Alabama, so I only see him about once a month. Yesterday, we met up for lunch at a local sandwich shop. I was wearing my "Trump hat" in a very red state, but a purple county, and we sat at a back table, minding our own business.

This hat is a genuine conversation starter. People take pictures, ask where to buy one, and make comments about how they love it. Rarely do I get any pushback. The experiences I've had with it are funny, and yesterday was no exception.

The restaurant was about half full, with a mix of families, businesspeople, and laborers. As we were leaving, we passed a large group of women, a grandmother, her daughters, and a couple of teenage grandkids, sitting near the exit door. The daughter, who looked to be in her mid-40s, stood up and started speaking. 

"When we first saw your hat from across the room, we were so annoyed," she said. "We couldn't quite read it, but we thought we knew what it said, and it really upset us. But as you got closer, we saw it wasn't what we thought, and it made us smile!"

Then, they all jumped up, shouting, "We love your hat!"

I explained that I had the hat fixed so I could wear it, and we all laughed. The woman gave me a big bear hug and told me she was visiting family from Spain. She went on to say that Trump and the U.S. were widely disliked in Europe because of his tariffs and actions on the world stage.

My son just smiled and asked, "Does this happen often?"

I just laughed and said, "Almost every time it”

Finding Laughter in Tumultuous Times

We can't change what happened last November, at least not yet. But we can still find moments to laugh. It's a way to cope when his actions make life harder for everyone who isn't a billionaire. We can't let our sense of humor die, not with all the hate, antisemitism, and bullying going on. This, too, shall pass—hopefully with the midterms.

At 78, I've been fortunate enough to travel all over the country and the world. I've seen a lot. And if I've learned anything, it's that laughter can be the antidote to what feels like "Kryptonite." I've found it's stronger than chemotherapy, stronger than grief, and, fortunately, stronger than the Trumplicans.

Please don't waste your energy trying to make sense of what they spew. It's a pointless endeavor. Instead, they make for great material for comedians on late-night TV and shows like SNL. While they're trying to dismantle networks and organizations that don't reflect their extreme right-wing views and their distorted version of Christianity, we have to stand firm. 

Since when do Christian values include lies, bigotry, racism, antisemitism, and bullying, all the while taking away lifelines from the less fortunate just so the privileged can get a tax break? That's not what this country stands for.

While the rest of the world might think we're a fascist country, it hasn't happened yet. We have to pray that we regain our strength and stop them from further dividing us. Get involved, prove them wrong, and don't let them succeed.

So keep laughing, and remember: this too shall pass, like a diarrhea fart. We will clean up this mess. In my own small way, I'll continue to point out the hypocrisy of how the former Republican Party has morphed into the fascist Trumplican party.  Have I lost people whom I considered friends?  Yup.  But as a retired 78-year-old, I don't care. At my age, I can say whatever I want, just as they can, thanks to our current constitution.

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