“The Thanksgiving tradition is, we overeat. ‘Hey, how about at Thanksgiving we just eat a lot?’ ‘But we do that every day!’ ‘Oh. What if we eat a lot with people that annoy the hell out of us.’”
Image: Bill Day
Day of the Imprisoned Writer 2024
“The censorship and book-burning of unpoliced prose, the harassment and detention of painters, journalists, poets, playwrights, novelists, essayists: this is the first step of a despot whose instinctive acts of malevolence are not simply mindless or evil; they are also perceptive. Such despots know very well that their strategy of repression will allow the real tools of oppressive power to flourish.”
To all writers everywhere, don’t let any political entities stop you! Keep writing and keep fighting!
Image: Pham Doan Trang, PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Awardee, by Jin Jin
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Veteran’s Day 2024
“Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.”
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Self-Inflicted
“When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.”
Sinclair Lewis, 1935
I had a certain sensation deep inside of me; the same kind of feeling when I know something dramatic – either good or bad – is about to happen. This time it was bad, and I almost felt sick. Donald Trump has been reelected to the U.S. presidency. He becomes only the second president in U.S. history to win a second term that didn’t immediately follow the first. He also has the dubious distinction of being the first indicted criminal to be elected. Little could be stranger or sadder for the American people. I suppose, though, that too many people drank that proverbial Kool-Aid offered by the Republican despot; a man who openly admires the likes of Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-Un; who has advocated violence against others; who has threatened to imprison anyone who disagrees with him; who incited a riot nearly four years ago; and who has demonstrated no true respect for average, working Americans.
I am embarrassed by and disgusted with many of my fellow Americans who helped put Trump into office. The Democratic Party, however, really has no one but themselves to blame for this chaos. Their leadership stood by as Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders ran for president in 2020. With all due respect to those two gentlemen, their time had come and gone. The window to run for and win the U.S. presidency is small. I felt Biden and Sanders would have better served the country by giving speeches and writing books about the value and importance of democracy and how people like Trump pose the worst threat to our constitutional freedoms.
For the Democrats, the 2020 presidential race began with the most diverse slate of candidates – and ended with the same tired old figures that traditionally represented both parties: old White men. Now understand I’m a mostly White male and have no qualms about it. But this nation boasts too varied a population to rely upon the same types of people to lead us.
And it’s not that the U.S. isn’t ready for a female president. We’re way past ready. It’s just that the Democrats (and the Republicans for that matter) have never chosen the right women to lead them. I’ve always said Hillary Clinton was too divisive a figure. While I loved Bill “Who’s Your Daddy” Clinton, I personally never cared for Hillary. And, although Kamala Harris made history by becoming the first female vice-president in U.S. history, she didn’t do enough to separate herself from Biden.
In 1993 Canada elected its first female prime minister, Kim Campbell, and highly patriarchal and staunchly Roman Catholic México just elected its first female (and Jewish) president, Claudia Scheinbaum. Thus far, eighteen other women either have been elected or ascended to the highest office in their respective countries in the Western Hemisphere:
Jeanine Áñez, Bolivia, 2019-20
Rosalía Arteaga, Ecuador, 1997
Michelle Bachelet, Chile, 2006-10 and 2014-18
Dina Boluarte, Peru, since 2022
Sylvanie Burton, Dominica, since 2023
Xiomara Castro, Honduras, since 2022
Violeta Chamorro, Nicaragua, 1990-97
Eugenia Charles, Dominican Republic, 1980-95
Laura Chinchilla, Costa Rica, 2010-14
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Argentina, 2007-15
Lidia Gueiler Tejadam, Bolivia, 1979-80
Mireya Moscoso, Panama, 1999-2004
Mia Mottley, Barbados, since 2018
Ertha Pascal-Trouillot, Haiti, 1990-91 (acting president)
Michèle Pierre-Louis, Haiti, 2008-09
Dilma Rousseff, Brazil, 2014-16
Portia Simpson-Miller, Jamaica, 2006-07 and 2012-16
Claudette Werleigh, Haiti, 1995-96
Trump does not represent me – never has and never will. He has proclaimed total disrespect for people who aren’t exactly like him. And I’m certainly not like him. I’m not a wealthy, full-blooded Caucasian womanizer who cheated on his taxes and has disdain for the American military. I feel that he’s a genuine threat to free speech and the right to vote, but – like most conservatives – has the full support of gun rights advocates. This latter band of extremists has always placed the value of firearms above free speech and the right to vote – and certainly above the lives of human beings.
One of my concerns with Trump’s return to the White House is that he will implement the so-called Project 2025 – a federal policy agenda created by the Heritage Foundation, a far-right conservative outfit that is a borderline hate group. Many officials in Trump’s first administration took part in the project’s creation, which demands a complete overhaul of the government based on staunchly conservative ideology. That philosophy features opposition to the usual causes: abortion and reproductive freedom and queer rights, but also immigration and racial equity. Moreover, Project 2025 calls for unwarranted surveillance on specific individuals; using force to quell protestors; and targeting journalists who they deem enemies of the state. This might sound familiar to those schooled in global political history. They’re the same kind of tactics the Nazis and the former Soviet Union used on its own civilians. Argentina pursued the same agenda during its “Dirty War”, and North Korea is doing it now.
I don’t know what’s next for America, but I see nothing good on the horizon. I’m certain my conservative friends and relatives will assume I’m being paranoid, even hysterical. Yet I felt similar sensations of foreboding when George W. Bush became president in 2000. And I was right. The U.S. ended up both in war and a recession.
I’m almost certain it will happen again.
Filed under Essays
Elon Musk Can Kiss My Hairy Ass and Then Go Home
Elon Musk, the South African-born multi-billionaire who has founded several companies, including Tesla and Space X, has jumped into the 2024 presidential race with a curious stunt in support of Donald Trump. He’s offering USD 1 million to anyone who signs his pledge to support free speech and the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Pennsylvania State Attorney General Michelle Henry filed suit against Musk; stating the giveaway is technically a lottery not sanctioned by state officials. But Pennsylvania State Judge Angelo Foglietta stopped the litigation by refusing to block the Musk’s antics. Instead, he deferred the matter to a federal court and noted that Henry’s suit probably won’t be resolved before Election Day, next Tuesday.
I could care less whether this foreign-born tax cheat wants to engage in such capers. One million dollars to any average person is attractive, including myself. But my vote is more important than that. So is everyone else’s.
It seems every major election in the U.S. since 2000 has gotten more and more weird. I remain cynical, as my displeasure with government at all levels in this country grows. Both major political parties have become increasingly dominated by extremists. Regardless of the office they’re seeking, candidates have always played initially to their base; those unmovable die-hards who will vote for one side no matter what. Then, once the candidate has secured the nomination, they expand their outreach to persuade as many others as possible.
Over the past decade, however, Donald Trump has preached to one group and only one group: his faithful (and fanatical) acolytes. He mocks them, in a way, behind their collective backs; the same way false prophets ridicule their blind minions.
From a political standpoint, I consider myself left of center, but I’ve voted consistently Democrat since 1992. Then came 2016 and I went rogue by voting for Jill Stein of the Green Party. I didn’t care for Trump and I never liked Hillary Clinton. Now I absolutely despise Trump and don’t care for Vice-President Kamala Harris. Recently various European chapters of the Green Party have begged Stein to withdraw from the presidential race and support Harris. At this point, though, it may be too late.
I’m not – and never have been – persuaded by editorial or celebrity endorsements of a particular candidate. Musk can keep his money – and settle in comfortably at one of Trump’s estates. I’ll vote my conscious, for whatever that’s worth in these chaotic days. Besides, official Election Day, November 5, will be my 61st birthday. I won’t spend it thinking about politicians.
Image: Gary McCoy
Filed under Essays
November 2024 Literary Calendar
Events in the month of November for writers and readers
National Family Literacy Month
National Memoir Writing Month
Native American Heritage Month
National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)
Picture Book Month
- November 1 – Author’s Day; Day of the Dead; World Vegan Day
- November 2 – All Soul’s Day; International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists; Plan Your Epitaph Day
- November 4 – Book Lovers Day
- November 9 – International Day Against Fascism and Anti-Semitism; World Adoption Day; World Freedom Day
- November 10 – World Science Day for Peace and Development
- November 11 – Veterans Day (U.S.)
- November 12 – World Pneumonia Day
- November 13 – World Kindness Day
- November 14 – Young Readers Day
- November 15 – Day of the Imprisoned Writer; I Love to Write Day
- November 16 – International Day for Tolerance; World Philosophy Day
- November 18 – Margaret Atwood’s Birthday; High-Five a Librarian Day
- November 19 – International Men’s Day
- November 21 – Voltaire’s Birthday
- November 25 – International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women
- November 28 – Thanksgiving (U.S.)
- November 29 – Louisa May Alcott’s Birthday
- November 30 – International Computer Security Day
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Another Friend Gone
Robert in 1997
My father planted pink spider lilies decades ago in our front yard, but at some point years later, he decided to dig them up. Shortly before his oldest sister, Amparo, died in February 1998, he was surprised to see several of those plants had re-surfaced. Over the next several years we both noticed that a number of those pink spider lilies would inexplicably pop up in various spots across the front yard. And then someone we knew – a relative, a friend, a neighbor – would die soon afterwards. That was an omen, he told me – someone we knew was going to die. Those lilies sprung up across the front yard shortly before my father’s death in June of 2016 and again before my mother’s death four years later. They even arose before my dog Wolfgang died in October of 2016. They came up again in early 2022 just weeks before my friend, Paul, died and again the following year, just before another friend, David, died unexpectedly.
A few weeks ago I spotted a few of those blooms near the front door. And now, for the third time in as many years, I’ve lost a close friend. Robert Souza died early Wednesday morning, the 16th. He turned 62 last month. A Massachusetts native, he’d moved to Texas in 1983 to attend some kind of religious school. That didn’t seem to work out, but he always retained some degree of spiritual faith. Oddly, despite living in Texas for so long, he still had that uniquely Bostonian accent. We met through mutual friends in February 1994 and found we had a few things in common: muscle cars, rock music and animals.
Robert had been through a lot personally, including some serious health problems, and even an attempted carjacking/robbery in 1997 where he took six bullets. I wrote about that in 2013. Despite everything, he always managed to get through it. This latest bout with severe pneumonia, however, proved insurmountable.
I’m afraid Robert’s death will mark the end for his mother – a retired nurse in her 80s who still lives in Massachusetts. She lost her young son, George, to ALS five years ago. Robert returned to Massachusetts for the funeral and stayed longer with his mother. Knowing all about his health concerns, she just wanted him to be with her for a little while. Now this.
After my friend David died in 2023, Robert and I discussed how we had reached the point in our lives where we lose people we know and love. I often joked that he was too mean to die; that he needed to soften up a little before God accepts him into the Kingdom. I guess he softened up without me realizing it!
My friend Paul who died of liver cancer in 2022 had told me years earlier of strange things surrounding him and his family. He lost his father, two nephews and his older brother over a six-year period. And in the weeks preceding each death he noticed a slew of black birds nearby. One even flew alongside him as he drove down a highway. Alarmed, he told me, he’d honked several times, but the bird continued flying beside his car. Even when he slowed or sped up, the bird remained a constant presence. Only when he exited did it fly away. The experience left him shaken, he recounted. Shortly afterwards his brother died.
A few days before my mother passed away I had a close family friend stay with her, while I went to the store. When I exited the building and approached my truck I was startled to see a small group of black birds gathered atop my truck. They remained, even when I got into the vehicle – literally close enough for me to touch them – and departed only when I started the engine. Earlier this week I went to the same store and – as I approached the entrance – noticed a single black bird on the ground ahead of me, just outside the automatic doors. It turned in my direction, and I slowed my pace. A few steps closer and the bird flew away.
Now I can only say I love you, my friend Robert, and I hope to see you on the other side.
Filed under Essays
Indigenous Peoples’ Day 2024
Mayan Prayer of the Seven Directions
From the East, House of Light
May wisdom Dawn in us
So we may see all things in clarity
From the North, House of the Night
May Wisdom Ripen in Us
So we may know all from within
From the West, House of Transformation
May Wisdom be transformed into right action
So we may do what must be done
From the South, House of the Eternal Sun
May right action reap the harvest
So we may enjoy the fruits of Planetary being
From the Centre, Galactic Source
Which is everywhere at once
May everything be known
As the light of mutual love
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October 2024 Literary Calendar
Events in the month of October for writers and readers
National Book Month
National Reading Group Month
- October 1 – International Coffee Day; International Day of Older Persons; International Music Day
- October 2 – Mahatma Gandhi’s Birthday; International Day of Non-Violence
- October 3 – National Poetry Day (U.K.)
- October 4 – World Animal Day; World Smile Day
- October 4-10 – World Space Week
- October 5 – Robert Hutchings Goddard’s Birthday; World Teachers Day
- October 6 – Thor Heyerdahl’s Birthday; Mad Hatter Day
- October 7 – Desmond Tutu’s Birthday
- October 10 – World Against the Death Penalty; World Homeless Day; World Mental Health Day
- October 11 – Myth and Legends Day
- October 12 – World Hospice and Palliative Care Day
- October 13 – International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction
- October 14 – E.E. Cummings’ Birthday; Indigenous Peoples’ Day
- October 15 – Mario Puzo’s Birthday
- October 15 – International Day of Rural Women
- October 16 – Noah Webster’s Birthday; Dictionary Day; World Food Day
- October 17 – International Day for the Eradication of Poverty Day; World Trauma Day
- October 20 – National Day on Writing
- October 20-26 – National Friends of Libraries Week
- October 21 – Alfred Nobel’s Birthday
- October 23 – Michael Crichton’s Birthday
- October 25 – Anne Tyler’s Birthday; International Artist Day; World Opera Day
- October 27 – Dylan Thomas’ Birthday
- October 28 – International Animation Day
- October 29 – First Internet Message (1969); World Stroke Day
- October 30 – Ezra Pound’s Birthday
- October 31 – John Keats’ Birthday
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Banned Books Week 2024 – September 22-28
“They’re banning books in their schools. We are banishing hunger in ours!”
Today is the start of “Banned Books Week 2024” – the annual fight against literary censorship. Writers, media types and all who support us know full well we’ll never win this war. But we can win battles across the national spectrum. The fight has become more intense in recent years, as social conservatives march into libraries and demand certain items be removed because they’re offended. Remember, there will always be people who think they know what’s best for everyone else. As writers and readers, we simply can’t let that happen.
Keep writing and keep fighting!
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Chief Writing Wolf 