The Cowardly Lion

Our Senate and Congress are all elected by We the People. We vote for the candidate we feel will best represent us and our needs in our respective states. We found out this past week that this is a fairy tale and we better start paying attention to what is happening in the District of Columbia.

I have no problem with all the elected officials here in Liberal Land, also known as the State of Connecticut. They know what we want and we need. They have been overwhelmed, along with the residents of our little state, by the horrendous mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. This is not the first mass shooting here in Connecticut. We had the Lottery Headquarters shooting which happened because of an employee that just snapped. The reasoning for this was because the employee had just returned to work after being out on medical leave for mental health issues. A few years ago, at a company named Hartford Distributors, an employee who was about to be fired pulled out a gun and shot everyone he could before turning the gun on himself. The grief and sorrow for the families who lost a loved one in these two shootings was mirrored by the outpouring of grief and horror of the residents of Connecticut. As time moves forward, these shootings get tucked away in our brains and we move on.

Not this time.

The glaring disregard by members of Congress and members of the Senate to pass some form of legislation about gun control is shameful. What is equally shameful is no one seems to have the backbone to stand up to the NRA and their fear mongering pointed at everyone, members and non-members. We do not have to fear our government and the NRA, they need to fear We the People. After Newtown, everyone was on board to "do something," and both Congress and the Senate vowed to do whatever they could to help stop this senseless massacre of children and adults that happens in every state of our country. The NRA asked them to wait until "the Connecticut affect died down."  It might not be on the news anymore, but the Connecticut affect has not died down. It is staring at every member of the Senate who did not vote for an assault weapon ban and a limit of ammunition.

To those members who would not vote in favor of the bill in the Senate, this next part is you:

Do not assume We the People will forget this come election day. You can throw around a few good things you have done in the Senate, but they pale next to your cowardly behavior for not voting "yes" when polls show  93% of Americans support changes in gun laws. How can you hold your head up high? How do you sleep at night? How can you ignore that a fellow member of Congress was gunned down in front of a supermarket? A child died that day. Does she not count? On Friday, a mother taking her daughter out for a walk in Brunswick,Georgia was "robbed at gunpoint", and because she no money on her, her daughter was shot right in front of her eyes. Does that child not count?

Stand up for your constituents, not the NRA. Be brave. Don't be the cowardly lion from the Wizard of Oz, be the Tin Man who finally finds his heart. Be courageous. You don't owe the NRA anything. It doesn't matter if they don't throw money your way because they don't speak for you (or do they?) When you are campaigning  again, you have a unique opportunity to say "I did not take one bloody cent from the NRA."

Just remember this: We the People don't forget, even through, others may think we do. We the People have no problem with citizens who hunt and secure their guns with same regard as the Hope Diamond. They are the people you should be having a conversation with, not the fruit loops in the NRA..

In the meantime, we will be watching you. We will keep a scorecard on you. And, if you fail to vote on behalf of all the people that gave you your job, you just might find yourself in the unemployment line.

Alzheimer's Disease

Losing a parent is hard, but when you lose a parent to Alzheimer's Disease, the ground under your feet moves. Not only do you grieve for that parent, but you also grieve for all the years that Alzheimer's Disease stole from you and your parent. You look at your siblings in a whole new light and though you don't say anything, you wonder if you or one of your siblings will have this heart wrenching disease too. My mother was only 69 years old when she died from Alzheimer's Disease. She had it for eight years before she died. My father was her caregiver up until it just became too much for him to handle alone. He did an outstanding job. It has been twelve years since my mother died and everyday I think about her and wonder what would my life be like if she didn't have it. My granddaughter teases me when I forget something. She is only eight years old so I doubt she could understand how I feel when I forget something. A red light goes off in my head and then it's gone, because I am middle aged and it's normal for me to forget things. Every time I see my doctor I mention my fear of Alzheimer's. He tells me I am fine. My kids watch over me and sometimes I think they have a scorecard  with all my mistakes or how long it takes me to find something. There is another reason I seem forgetful, and that is all on me. I have a way of tuning them out when some drama erupts in their life, mainly because no asks what I think. Instead I sit there and think about what I would do if I won the lottery, while throwing in a few "mms". And then I reassure myself that I am fine, my brain still works right, and the only time I should be alarmed is if I put the car keys in the freezer. Still, it's a tricky disease and like cancer, it does not care what color you are, what your age is, and it certainly does it's best to destroy the person who has it as well as the family who loves the patient. I have told my kids if I am a victim of Alzheimer's they are to stick me in a nursing home and don't come back until I am dead.This is the time for me to write this. If you are dealing with an Alzheimer's patient, you are not alone. It may seem that way, but there are tens of thousand people who understand how difficult this is. It's called The Long Goodbye because that is exactly what it is. In the meantime, give yourself a long talk, a hard cry, and forget about the things you forget about. You never know when you might get struck by lightening.