From a few years ago,
my move back to Seattle…
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I’m slowly slogging my way through the living room, packing some of the mess, tossing a lot, and boxing up bundles for charity. It’s taking longer than I’d guessed, because much of the room is my wife’s stuff, so when I pick anything up, chances are it’s a memory. Gotta think about it, cry a little, maybe write about it.
Found a thumb drive of Stephanie’s, and of course plugged it in to my laptop. It had her notes for a podcast we were going to do together but never did, and a few recipes I remember and loved but will never try cooking myself, and a letter to the editor of Madison’s local weekly paper, Isthmus.
I’ll run the letter here, because it’s smart, and it’s kind in a way I never was, and also because I love her. Steph was responding to an Isthmus writer who’d called voters stupid, for electing Scott Walker (an especially stupid and mean Republican) as Governor of Wisconsin…
Bill Lueders and his friend are wrong when they say the electorate is stupid. The electorate is working multiple jobs, staving off foreclosure, and paying outrageous amounts of money to stay marginally healthy (and those are the “lucky” ones with jobs and health insurance). The electorate is making superhuman efforts every day just to keep their lives together. They do not have the time, energy, or morale to take on a new project.
And these days, staying reasonably informed is indeed a project — most local media are obsessed with violent crimes and cute little animals, while national news outlets run a non-stop parade of Republican talking points. Not every city has an Isthmus.
My mom, who is over sixty and works 12-hour days in constant terror of being laid off and losing her health insurance, is supposed to come home and look up online articles about high-speed rail? What she knows about politics is what she sees on television commercials for a few minutes before collapsing into bed. I wish that wasn’t true. Then again, so does she.
Yes, it’s easy to get discouraged by the recent elections, but let’s place the blame where it belongs. We’re not doing our side any favors by insulting people who are our natural allies. It’s true, defunding education boosts Republican vote tallies down the road. But not because it leaves people stupid. Because it leaves people struggling.
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Also found some chocolates my sister had sent me for Christmas! Woo-hoo, chocolate! I’m on a diet, but unexpected, un-purchased candy isn’t my fault or my responsibility, so it has no calories.
I was wearing an ancient, stained but once-white t-shirt, so the chocolate crumbs dripping and melting into it were obvious, but no worries. Nobody judges me by my appearance. Nobody ever sees me.
Unwrapped a few more candies and popped them into my mouth, and then I noticed that two of the crumbs on my shirt were wriggling. They were worms, alive, half a centimeter long, and quite possibly more worms were inside the chocolates I’d just consumed.
A closer look at the box revealed that my sister had sent it for Christmas, in 2017. Ugh. I’ve always thought housekeeping is a waste of time, and since my wife died and no longer needs wheelchair clearance, absolutely nothing has been cleaned in this apartment over the past few years.
There’s been no vomiting yet, so let’s say the worms are just extra protein. Probably good for my health. I tossed the last few chocolates into the trash, though. First time I’ve ever thrown chocolate away.
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Oh, here’s a discovery better than rotted chocolate — found my resumé. Having no records of my life except my memory, creating this resumé took a lot of headscratching and a touch of fiction, nine years ago, when I found the job I just lost.
Glad I won’t have to recreate the resumé from scratch when it’s time to start looking for a job again, in Seattle.
2/23/2022
Republished 4/18/2025
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