What Next?
How do you deal with Trump administration shenanigans?
My knee-jerk reaction is tending to adopt the same method used when I was faced with childhood abuse—mentally disappear.
I have since learned there are better ways to deal:
1. Face your perpetrator. Since I couldn’t do so in real time as he had passed on by then, I used my imagination to create a scene wherein I told him exactly what I thought of him.
2. Release emotions about the situation. The feelings about that black cloud within must be expressed. One thing I did was throw all my old clay pots against a cement wall. Didn’t hurt anyone, but, wow, the windup and crashing sound they made was SO satisfying!
3. Break (no pun intended) the silence by discussing your feelings with others. Realizing you are not alone is always a tremendous relief.
4. Act. This is an active step on your part. The next step is to get help and, these days, help is available.
The National Child Traumatic Stress Network: https://www.nctsn.org
Prevent Child Abuse America: https://preventchildabuse.org
National Children’s Advocacy Center: https://www.nationalcac.org
These are only a few such organizations.
What has all this to do with today’s autocratic behavior? Make no mistake, we are all suffering varying degrees of abuse by this perpetrator and his cronies.
Google came up with multiple answers to: “surviving Trump and resulting emotions.” Here are two of them:
Surviving Trump: How to Remain Calm and Carry on:
https://medium.com/wise-well/surviving-trump-how-to-remain-calm-and-carry-on-26440745bf1f
Mental Health Tips on how to handle Trump blues and anxiety:
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/nov/09/mental-health-tips-on-how-to-handle-trump-blues-and-anxiety
You are definitely NOT alone.
My sister is so concerned that she organized a group of women who felt the same way, and they called and emailed all their representatives to offer support of challenging the current administration. They are also joining a march for same on April 5.
Circling back to my first question: How are you dealing? I am open to any advice, recommendations, and opinions.
If we work together, we can accomplish a great deal. Don’t allow fear to stop you like it has so many Republicans.
You are an American fighting for democracy, and you are not alone.
Ohh no, not another update
App Updates
On another matter which I expect you are familiar: What do you think of all those app updates? You no sooner learn how to work the app than those nerds throw a new update at you. Have you found any of them to be worthwhile?
Sometimes they solve a problem, but usually they just make the app more difficult to use. I think the app designers keep inventing something—anything—in order to have a reason for their jobs.
I thought I was alone in my disgust until Bill Maher expressed the same thing none of his monologues.
Do they drive you crazy like they do me?
Book Talk
The second book of The Texian Trilogy will be published April 8, and so far it’s received wonderful reviews, including three five-star reviews from Readers’ Favorite.
My experience at Tucson Festival of Books was mixed. The first day at the Indie Pavilion was freezing, windy, and water from the tent dumped on our table, wetting down books, bookmarks, and all. The second day at the Arizona Authors Booth was typical Tucson—sunny and hot.
Still, I met some wonderful people and sold a few books.
I will be reading and selling signed copies of War and Preservation at Bookman’s River store here in Tucson April 5 from 1p.m. to 3 p.m. I would love to see you there.
One of my recent favorite reads is The Winter Soldier by Daniel Mason, author of The Piano Tuner and North Woods. “From the ballrooms of Imperial Vienna to the forests of the Eastern Front, The Winter Soldier is a story of war and medicine, of family, of finding love in the sweeping tides of history, and, finally, of the mistakes we make and the previous opportunities to atone.”
Until next time, onward and upward . . .
Banding together with women here in RI as well - and will be waving to you across the country on April 5 !