Sunday, January 27, 2019

A Song for Nancy Pelosi



By Fred Owens

A Song for Nancy Pelosi

Some little baby girl was born today and they named her Nancy.
I feel like a spell has been broken and the bully is diminished. I'm seeing daylight.
Trump will never shut the government down again. If he even tries to do that every airline in the country will stop flying. It's over.
Nancy Pelosi is not God's gift to humanity. She has made plenty of errors in her long life, but today and all this week she is the heroine who saved her country.
What A Week It Was
While Trump was sewing confusion and chaos, Nancy Pelosi stood firm and steady. She is not known for eloquence or charismatic performance. She just shows up every day and gets the job done. Being a woman gave her a good advantage -- old Donald simply did not know how to handle her. There is no way to handle her. She does not get handled.
I was glued to the Internet and the TV watching this drama unfold. It was a battle for the ages. Trump versus Pelosi, going fifteen rounds, until she decked him clean out and Trump hit the floor with a mighty thud. Old Butter Butt was caught flat-footed as she danced around him in  four-inch heels.
Trump will make noises but he will never shut down the government again. Federal workers are enraged at the experience of going without pay for thirty-five days and will respond instantly to another shut down. When you hire a man to do a job, you have an almost sacred obligation to pay him the money due and on time as promised. Trump will never get away with this stunt again.
Trump's Christian base might look up this verse in the New Testament, the Epistle to Timothy, 5:18, "The worker is worthy of his hire." Is that clear enough?
Pelosi said open the government, pay the workers and then we can talk about your wall. Pelosi is opposed to building a wall, but she is prepared to discuss it once those terms are met. And Trump can give his State of the Union address in the House. She will be sitting right behind him while he talks. That will be interesting.
Pruning Roses
In Santa Barbara we do the rose pruning in late January. You cut out the gnarly old branches and the spindly young shoots. You keep the strong and straight mid-size green branches. You cut out the crowding branches. You strive for good air circulation when spring brings leaves and blossoms. You need to have a sharp pruning tool, and you need to have the nerve. The very best rose pruners are fearless Zen Masters in their approach. First they look at the bush from a distance and walk around it, then they come in closer looking for flaws. Some of the masters will then make a plan, but others will rely on pure instinct. You do this work over decades, pruning hundreds of roses -- and then you can just see it, you can see what this rose will become in a summer breeze.
I am not on the top level for rose pruning. I sometimes lose my nerve, thinking we can save this one gnarly old branch even though it is drawing energy from healthier branches with a future. Sentimental I am.
I pruned six hybrid roses for the Swiss People on Thursday. I have worked for this sweet family for several years. She came out of the house and we had a discussion. I will cut here and here and here, I said, pointing to particular spots. She said you know what to do. It took me one hour to prune six roses. I have to give myself props for this. I did a really good job. And she paid me.
Isn't life good?

Twenty Years. Frog Hospital is celebrating 20 years of publication in 2019. Over 700 issues and some of them were pretty good. Our Credo has always been tell the truth and don't waste people's time -- meaning keep it interesting. We have done that. And we plan to keep going. Our motto is Onward!

Frog Hospital Blog There are more than 900 posts on the Frog Hospital blog going back through the years. Somebody of these old posts are still vital.  Take a look.




--
Fred Owens
cell: 360-739-0214

My gardening blog is  Fred Owens
My writing blog is Frog Hospital


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