Planetary Alignment (or lack thereof)

Hello readers,

Are you having a good week? I sure hope so, because it seems like in every newsletter I read and every conversation I have these days, people are anxious and/or dealing with more than they can bear. Maybe it's politics. Maybe it's personal. Maybe it's (motions to all of this). Whatever it is, there seems to be a pervasive feeling of wondering when the other shoe is either going to drop or kick us all in the rear.

For example, the other day I was having a rather serious (for us) conversation with my sister while she was driving to radiation. As you know by now, she lives in Utah, which is a. far from Georgia, b. mountainous, and c. Mormonous. In the middle of our conversation, she began making this nervous "uhhhh..." sound which is something I might make if a car was weaving down Georgia 400 at 110 mph, or exiting onto Interstate 20 at the last possible second. Given recent trends, my anxious monkey brain started churning. I started thinking my sister was about to be in a 15-car smashup, and what would I do without her...

Me: "What's going on? What's going on? What's going onnnn?????"

Her (after a moment of silence): "Low-flying eagle."

Me: (handful of swear words...sigh of relief...then laughter)

That evening, I somehow cracked the temporary crown I've been whining about, because of course I did. The following day, I got it fixed, and then my husband had to pick up the dog early from play care because he was running so fast and furious, he hurt his toe. None of this is the end of the world, but in some respects it does feel like icing on the cake.

Nevertheless, I persist and try to look for little joys and absurdities and sources of gratitude. I make gumbo and pet my dog and relish the "I'm having a good week" text threads from my college sophomore. I read about other folks who are sorting through their own ups and downs, and see where their sources of gratitude are too. I tell myself that things are temporary and this too shall pass (some folks think things might get better once Pluto, that little wanna-be planet shit, moves out of Capricorn on November 19) and pet my dog some more, this time more like an evil Bond villain, because I want to feel like I could either fix it all or burn it down with the press of a red button. And then I remember I'm little old me, which is still okay.

So how are you doing and what's going on in your world? What is filling you with hope, joy, gratitude and wonder? Hit reply and let me know because I'm thinking about you.

Writing prompt: Write about the hardest decision you've ever had to make. What was it and why was it so hard? Once you made the decision, did things feel easier? If so, why? If not why did things continue to feel so damn challenging? Or, did that feeling of difficulty subside over time? Why do you think that was?

Jimmy Carter Casts His Vote

Weeks after he turned 100 years old, former president Jimmy Carter voted Kamala Harris for President. Carter has been in hospice care since February 2023, but his family said he has been thinking less about his age and more about making his voice heard at the ballot box. After making his choice via absentee ballot, a relative took it to a drop box in Americus, Ga.

According to The New York Times:

State records show that Mr. Carter has been an especially reliable voter as a former president. He has routinely cast ballots in general elections, of course, but has also been a fixture of primary runoffs and special elections. For more than a decade, he has exclusively voted by mail in the elections tracked by the state.

Mr. Carter still lives in Plains — the tidy city in southwest Georgia that he turned into an outpost of presidential politics nearly a half-century ago — and votes in Sumter County, where plenty of people still know him as “Mr. Jimmy.” A Republican presidential nominee last carried Sumter in 2004, when George W. Bush won it by 126 votes.

Carter's son Chip told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, his father has "never voted for a Republican in his life."

Fishing for a Better World

Speaking of Jimmy Carter, The Bitter Southerner is publishing Jimmy Carter: Rivers & Dreams. The book, which includes a foreword by Carter, captures twelve moments when the former president and his friends changed the course of world history while fly-fishing. I would never tell you what kind of Christmas presents to buy your father, or the angler, or the history geek in your life, but this sure seems to a good idea.

To order, please visit The Bitter Southerner's General Store.

If you're in the Atlanta area, the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library will be hosting a talk about this book on Wednesday Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. For tickets (and a book), please visit this link.

Quote of the Moment

Reader, author, and fellow book-binder Kristen Russell shared this quote, which she heard this summer at the Sewanee Writers' Conference. It feels very timely, don't you think?

“Power demands sad bodies. Power needs sadness because it can dominate it. Joy, in consequence, is resistance because joy doesn’t give up. Joy as a life force leads us places where sadness can never go.”

Gilles Deleuze (1925-1975)

Endnotes

What I'm reading: Research notes. Interview notes. Medical notes. The latest issue of Vanity Fair. A book proposal I keep re-writing. The writing on the wall.

What I'm watching: Old episodes of "Ted Lasso." Season two of "Shrinking" on Apple TV. Basically, anything that will make me laugh. Any recommendations for funny stuff to watch? If so, please send them my way.

What I'm looking forward to: Early voting with my kiddo, who is eligible to vote for the first time. Being done with the dentist, who will put a permanent crown on the tooth I've been whining about.

Most entertaining text I got this week: "what was the exact time i was born. i must know. please unearth my birth certificate. anna's friend wants to look at my major arcana."

Another one: "I just found out there isn't a bell to ring at radiation. THERE'S A GONG!" (Of course, this was followed by a series of inter-sisterly texts about the 1971 T. Rex hit "Bang a Gong (Get It On)")

Where I hope you'll donate this week: The Lymphatic Education & Research Network, which funds research and advocacy (among other things) that benefits people living with lymphatic diseases. Also, the National Lymphedema Network for the same reason. Basically, if you can give somewhere that will ultimately help a person with lymphedema, please consider a gift.