So, the other morning I’m getting dressed while listening to a podcast, and I hear the journalist reference a woman in labor as, “Extruding a baby. ” Not sure what I’d heard, I dropped the shoe I was about to put on and rewound 30 seconds to listen again. Sure enough instead of talking about how a woman feels while delivering a baby, the journalist used “extruding.”
What a weird way to express that. Yes, extruding does mean to squeeze out, but there is much more to the delivery process than that, and the feelings of joy and contentment referred to in the rest of that segment of the story have little to do with that “squeezing” part of having a baby. The “happy” comes later,
Trust me. There is no joy in the contractions. Period.
As for recent items in the news that boggle this old brain, at top of the list for me today is the effort to thwart the Constitution and end birthright citizenship – that coupled with the fact of Afrikaner refugees being welcomed to the U.S., “Because they are easily assimilated,” according to Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau. He spoke to reporters at a ceremony where he was greeting the group of 59 Afrikaners who arrived in Washington Monday, to explain why this group of people were given an exception to the president’s order banning immigration of refugees.
Couched in some of Landau’s other explanations, outlined in the article, Trump Official Says Quiet Part Out Loud, by Edith Olmstead in The New Republic, is a clear message that it’s just fine for more white people to come to the U.S., just keep all the brown and black people away.
White Supremacy rules!
Of course, Landau didn’t say that about White Supremacy. People who are racist don’t say things like that out loud any more, but that doesn’t mean they don’t believe it to the core of their beings.
But is the attitude gone?
Obviously not. And this old lady is so incredibly tired of another day, another month, another year of the injustices that people of color have had to endure. as well as all the smug expressions that are barely concealed on the faces of all those white folks who play the pretend game.
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Tis the season for graduations and diplomas of all stripes, and this special ceremony for the beloved Windy Wilson from the fictional world created by Slim Randles is sure to bring a smile. After reading this there will be a better understanding of why Windy fractures words so much when he speaks. Luckily, he is quiet here. Enjoy!
“Before we begin our regular commencement tonight,” said combined elementary/high school principal Jim Albertson, “we have a special award to present. Will Windy Wilson please come up here on the stage with us?”
Windy looked up at the stage in the gymnasium and all he saw were black choir robes and smiles. He looked at his fellow spectators and all he saw were grins and people sitting down.
“Windy?” said Jim. Windy walked up to the stage and shook hands with the principal. “Put this on.”
Windy draped a black robe around himself and put the mortarboard on his head.
Albertson pulled a piece of paper from his shirt pocket.
“Alphonse Wilson, it is the judgment of your community and friends that no one has ever worked harder for an honorary doctor’s degree.” He looked up at the stands. “Am I right on that?”
The young graduates clapped and hooted, and so did the audience. Windy looked at the floor and blushed right through his grey beard.
“We can’t give you an honorary doctorate here because we don’t have one. But your neighbors discovered that you only lacked one class to graduate from high school, and we can do something about that.”
“Alphonse Wilson … known to all as Windy … this school … these young graduates … and all your friends and neighbors are proud to bestow upon you an honorary high school diploma.”
Jim placed a ribbon with a medal hanging from it around Windy’s neck and handed him a rolled-up certificate.
Not too many aging cowboy camp cooks and philosophers receive standing ovations, but then, there’s nothing very ordinary about Windy Wilson, and we all know that.
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Brought to you by Saddle Up: A Cowboy’s Guide to Writing, by Slim Randles.
He does have an honorary high school diploma.
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That’s all for today from me folks. Heading into the weekend with hopes to have some fun with quilting. What are your plans? Whatever they are, I hope you enjoy the weekend. Be safe. Be happy.
