Here I am once again, trying to understand the non-comprehensible, and possibly misusing my time in doing so. The most creative fiction writers wouldn’t be able to imagine some of the things we read and hear every day.
Welcome to my latest string of non-sequiturs.
President Biden’s delivery of his State of the Union address made me wonder if I’d wasted my money when I purchased hearing aids. His voice’s volume button turned to “high/yell” disproved the notion that people stop hearing you if your every word is screamed. After enduring five minutes of POTUS’ version of hi-fi, I found myself squinting at the TV screen, as if my eyes could control the volume of his voice. But…that’s okay, Joe. At least, you were voicing truths. Maybe your loud words can spur your re-election.
The rebuttal to Joe’s speech was quite something, was it not? The kitchen setting, the cross resting symbolically against her throat, the amateurish drama-infused words. Cue each soap opera that’s ever existed! As I watched and listened, my jaw dropped open wider than it does when I’m reclined in the dentist’s chair awaiting a root canal. Suddenly, I realized Senator Katie B’s act had transported me back to my childhood, and I began to experience an unnatural longing for my Easy Bake Oven. (I really preferred my sister’s Play-Mobile. Unfortunately, she loved it as well, so I never got the opportunity to put many imaginary miles on it.)
Next…Do you suppose the myriad of post-Covid symptoms includes the propensity for people to make errors while they’re working? Could that explain why the pharmacy’s robot messaged me and said my prescription re-fill was ready for pick-up? An hour later, the pharmacy told me CVS had no record of my ever receiving that prescription! Is there a post-Covid syndrome that’s responsible for tires falling off airplanes, unbolted doors tearing away mid-flight, aircrafts making unscheduled detours from the runway to the unpaved ground, and berserk passengers whose behaviors suggest they’re in search of a seventy-two-hour hold instead of their ticketed destination?
And now, just in time for Easter, trump is selling Bibles. He’s including the Constitution in each one. Wait a second! Didn’t he say perhaps we shouldn’t have a constitution? Thank goodness his penchant for seeking profit instead of perfection probably precludes his hiring editors to revise the Holy Book. That’s a good thing. Imagine his restating the Ten Commandments. Would Jesus throw paper towel rolls to the masses instead of distributing fish and bread?
And speaking of hair…I wasn’t. But trump…
Why are beards so popular? Is a beard a symbol of virility? Does extra facial hair offer protection? If so, protection from what, or from whom? Do beards allow the wearer to spend less time doing daily grooming chores? Does the popularity of beards harken back to the “good old days,” like the 1500’s, 1600’s, 1700’s, 1800’s, 1900’s …when “men were men/and in charge,” and women along with people of color “knew their place?” Just asking for a friend…
Since I’ve mentioned hair, why do so many female on-air newscasters of all races have the same hair style: long flowing dead-straight or slightly curled tendrils draped strategically behind and in front of their shoulders? Is this über-feminine style another reminder of the “good old days,” (see the above dates) when women who knew their place didn’t have access to jobs, an education, home ownership, safe reproductive care, and credit card accounts in their name only? Just asking for me…
Renée Bess writes novels, blog essays, and poetry. Her work has won a Golden Crown Literary Society Award (in collaboration with Lee Lynch,) and a 2019 Alice B. Readers’ Award. Flashpoint Publications has scheduled Renée’s next novel, Her Last Secret, for October, 2024.
© Renée Bess 2024
The Wide Window 