With the best behind us now, there's no way in and no way out.

 So, this "write it in the morning" stroke has kind of hit a snag the last couple days. I've got no good excuse, really. I haven't been feeling right and haven't been sleeping right the last couple of days. Plus, I've had some Actual Paying Work to get done and that always saps me. Matter of fact, I've got this month's last order to get done tonight.

 

 It's funny. Just Friday I talked to the Therapist on a matter completely unrelated to my head issues but, since we were talking, I told her about how basically pretty good the last couple of months have been to me, what with the actual paying gig and the boost that brings. And like clockwork, I've been gloomy, sullen and withdrawn. Which, of course, I am generally anyway, but more so than usual. She said to think of three things to be thankful for, and at least two are usually "I don't have to punch a clock today" and "I got money coming in from writing". That third one is usually a booger, but generally revolves around being well fed.

 Ah, me. It's been about 45 minutes since I wrote the above paragraph. There's a light but steady rain outside keeping me and my buddy Otis, the Jack Russell, from taking our evening constitutional. I think it's starting to sink into his thick little skull that it's not happening tonight. I really should make myself walk in the morning, too. Really should start going back to the gym while I'm at it.

 So, I don't know what else. As I've noted, I've been pretty shut down the last couple of days, just re-reading Hunter Thompson's Hell's Angels, Jeff Sharlet's The Family and Flann O'Brien's The Third Policeman. There's no telling how many books I'd get through if I didn't spend so much time rereading stuff I've already read. Sometimes, like the HST book, I just like the way it flows. Sometimes, like Shallet's book, it's because it's pertinent to today's events. And sometimes, like the O'Brien book, I'm going back through to see what I missed the first time, 'cause I missed a lot. Plus, it's a fun read.

 It's been a good two hours since I last wrote. The rain cleared out, so me and Otis took our constitutional, a good two-mile round trip walk. Then I helped Momma load up her pickup truck. She's got it in her head to clear out the basement of near forty years of school notebooks, broken toys, broken canning jars, Christmas ornaments, worn-out shoes, and the other flotsam and jetsam of life that's accumulated down there. It's quite a bit and it's an odd feeling to go through your childhood to come out the other end with, "Yeah, go ahead and toss it." But that's how life goes.

 I'm just going to spin wheels until I hit 500, sorry. I had a bit in mind about why it's a good thing I never married - has to do with '80s country music and my own disinclination to bend when challenged - but I'm tired and I still have that APW to get done. Luckily, it's not on a really heavy topic that'll require a lot of work. Speaking of country music, I also had something about why since '80s country is my favorite, I don't have much use for the "save country music" hipsters. In any event, listen to Earl Thomas Conley and Keith Whitley. They're awesome.

I feel a storm, all wet and warm, not ten miles away approaching my Mexican home.

 Getting a late start on this tonight. Or a normal one, depending on how you look at it. In any event, it's 9 p.m. and I need to get something in the can for today. Before we get on with the business, links to this week's News.

Monday

Wednesday

Friday

 I'm particularly pleased with Friday's effort. As a part of the general thing the country finds itself, in re: dealing with systematic racism, there's a serious movement in the Mississippi Legislature to remove the Confederate battle emblem from the state flag. I went into a little detail of why this is a big deal and why we're waiting until 2020 to make anything happen. A little history and a little background, that's what I'm here for.

 Wednesday was pretty good, too, as a look at the mess that was the Georgia primary vote and what it bodes for November. In short: nothing good as the GOP will use all at its means to decide the election. Monday was a fairly bog-standard wrap up of the weekend's events concerning the protests across the country in reaction to the murder of George Floyd, the growing discontent among some higher ranking Republicans with Trump's chances come November, and a little bit about Tropical Storm Cristobel, which thankfully turned out to be not much of nothing. A good piece for what it was, though.

 I've been keeping my eye on what's going on in Seattle, the "Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone" or "CHAZ". In all things, I recommend eschewing the national press and paying attention to the folks who actually live in a place that's in the news. I've long been a fan of indie magazines, having written for several, and The Stranger is considered one of the very best. Plus, they're keeping a solid look on what's going on without the bias and ignorance of some of the national publications.

 It seems folks in Nashville are trying to kick up a similar "autonomous zone" type thing, as well, despite dire warnings from Gov. Bill Lee. I don't know what he thinks he's going to do. I do believe that apart from the hard-core authoritarian types, any sort of government heavy handedness, from state or federal forces, doesn't go down as well as they think. It's interesting that a lot of the voices that have been screaming about government tyranny or Second Amendment rights - from the Bundy-types to the NRA - have been pretty quiet when the rubber is hitting the road. Undoubtedly, since this is happening mostly to black folks and left-leaning types, they're all of the sudden down to the ground with an authoritarian government ignoring basic civil rights.

 Anyhow, The Nashville Scene is a pretty good magazine, as well. Full disclosure, they paid me less than $50 for a story about someone, I think either Slobberbone or The Drive-By Truckers, nearly 20 years ago. As I said, I've always preferred those sort of magazines and have worked for a couple in the past. They never pay well or, indeed, enough to live on - this is indie journalism, after all - but it's always much more fun.

 Me and Momma had a fairly heavy conversation about all this and what it implies the other night. My mother is a very intelligent woman, but she is - by her own admittance - happily provincial and a bit naive about how the world outside Itawamba County actually is. She's also old fashioned and conservative. What I'm saying is she will listen but you have to take a hammer to her if you ever want to get anything through.

 Plus, while she understands what I mean when I tell her about being an atheist who leans towards far-left anarchism, she really doesn't like those stances. I think I got it through to her why this autonomous zone business wasn't the popular perception of anarchy but rather the political connotation of anarchism. That is, a rejection of unearned authoritarian groups as someone automatically obeyed. If your "leadership" fails to the extent that it did the folks in Capitol Hill, or so they consider, feel they're justified in telling them to piss off and taking it over on their own.

 If I get Sarah Thompson to understand that anarchism is a viable political ideology, I'll consider this a life well lived. Anyhow, that's plenty. I intend to keep the weekly stuff done in the morning (or as close to morning as I get) but anything goes for the weekend. In the meantime, keep safe, wash your hands, maintain social distancing, and don't let the bastards grind you down.