Reason to Smile

Instead of leading with the latest FFOTUS outrage, my newsfeed has been showing me octo-box pictures of peaceful protesters waving flags and signs and exchanging thumbs up's with passersby.  

This wasn't permitted 249 years ago.  It's why now, as we teeter on the edge of Benjamin Franklin's response that we had not a monarchy, but  a Republic, if you can keep it, I am feeling a little bit more hopeful about the future of our democracy.  

It was rainy in a lot of places; New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, DC got their fair of drops.  But the stands were empty for the best-viewed-in-black-and-white, world's slowest and dullest parade while the streets of Philly and the five boroughs were, like the rest of American towns, from Idaho to Arizona, filling up all afternoon to make a joyful noise, with hand made signs and American flags of all sizes, celebrating the fact that we were not given a monarchy by the founders.  

Who are the snowflakes now, I ask?  I was surrounded by people, old and young, none of whom had any business being out in temperatures that griddle eggs on the sidewalks, that give contact burns to those unfortunate enough to use them as temporary homes.  

Where were the MAGA menace?  Were they watching the third round of the US Open?  

On Sunday, in what seemed like another rebuke to the xenophobia of those defending the whiteness of the USA, JJ Spaun won the whole damn thing, and he did it with style. 

pgatour.com

He defeated players from Scotland, Australia, and Norway. He's a family values guy, who ran out to the drug store at 3am before the final round because his little girl needed something.  He's won $4,300,00, which makes him, while not a billionaire certainly a millionaire.  

There are so many many many ways this picks and pokes and prods at the Lyin' Liar; as Big Cuter said, sometimes schadenfreude is well deserved.

My favorite anecdote from the weekend concerns one of our favorite couples.  Ten years ahead of us on life's journey, they've recently moved from a quiet suburban home to an independent living apartment on a busy street.  That street was the scene of my morning No Kings! protest.  I'll let her tell it.

It was our first protest!  We had so much fun! 

We covered the logistics and the signs and the heat and our age and then she said what I've been feeling since November - It had to be done.

It's been a while, denizens.  I think we can take a day or so and feel better about Americans.