Guilty pleasures

We all have them. One of my favorites actually contributes to my living cleanly, though. I like bubble baths. I like to fill the bathroom with lit candles, fill the tub with hot water topped with a great heap of foam, and lower myself into the bath for an hour or so.

It isn't because I like to luxuriate, though (pleasant though that may be). The candles are a mask, in case somebody comes along and sees the residual bubbles by the drain.

I like the bubbles. I sing the old jingle, "Mister Bubble in the tub'll/ Get you squeaky clean...." I splash about for a while. But mostly, I sculpt the foam around me. I'm particularly fond of turning myself into Santa Claus, and/or extend my mammaries an extra few cup sizes (and make them far perkier than they have been, of late). But I've made myself into a unicorn, built a spare cat at the edge of the bath, built handlebars and gone for imaginary bike rides, and made up countless other fantasies in foam.

I'm led to believe that this is immature, and therefore inappropriate for a woman of my advanced years (gad, but once one puts a half-century behind one, people make such assumptions about one's condition!).

What I would like to know is, am I the only one who likes the froth for the fun of it, or are there other supposed adults who, when they build a head of lather, do something other than simply hide beneath it?

Afterlife

A man of none-too-exemplary character passed on, and was met cordially on the other side by a creature with horns, a tail, and a pitchfork. He was surprised by the gentility of his host, and happily allowed himself to be shown around.

"Just as with my counterpart above," the creature told him, "there are many rooms in my home. And, as in His house, you will be allowed to choose for yourself which one of those rooms will be yours for the rest of eternity. The only difference is, here, you have to make your choice without first seeing what's behind the door."

The man nodded and indicated he was ready to consider his future more thoroughly. As they approached each door, though, the screams and lamentations behind it seemed to be more pained and horrified than from the door before. After hearing hundreds of options of this sort, though, they finally came to a place where, beyond the closed portal, only a calm murmur could be heard. The man sighed with relief, and announced that this was the room for him.

"Done!" cried the creature as he opened the door. In the room was nothing but a pit filled with stinking manure, and every person was in the manure up to the edge of his lower lip, whispering, "Don't make waves... don't make waves... don't make waves...."

So, now we have press and politicians who seem to think that this is our current position, especially as it applies to Islamists. If we speak out against the building of a mosque in an inappropriate location, if a jackass preacher in a piss-ant church threatens to burn Qurans, if a cartoonist proposes everybody draw anything and call it Mohammad, that person is making waves, and everybody else is going to get... well, you can see where that will go.

We may be in deep organic waste matter, but it isn't that deep, yet. We still have a Constitutional right not merely to have, but to express our opinions. We still have freedom, at least in the West, to choose our own path of Faith (or not, as the case may be), and to express both privately and publicly that belief. As long as we continue to stand for our principles, we will keep that manure pit from filling. But, every time government and press insist that we self-censor out of fear that somebody might be hurt, and we comply, they empty another septic tank into the pit.

So, you wanna make the connection?

Several high-ranking members of the Democratic party have recently taken to referring to the Republicans as being (and I paraphrase) the home of the Tea Party. This is just silly. The Tea Party, non-partisan group that it is, was born in the house of the insane spendthrifts of both parties.

However, if the Republicans want to give the correct response to such declarations, their leaders ought to stand up and say simply, "We humbly appreciate the comparison and the assumption that there are ties between us and this movement by the good and honest people of this great nation. If we are to benefit from any perceived allegiance, we must then rise to the occasion by following the direction of the people, and strive to meet the implied expectations therein. In other words, we can think of no greater compliment than to be linked to the hearts of free-thining Americans, and we will do all we can to win those hearts and continue to earn that link."

Okay, I'm not a speechwriter, but it seems to me, the best reply to the accusations that the Republicans and the Tea Party to be in bed together is to say, "I wish!" And then go out and try to make it true, the old-fashioned way: earn the public respect and trust. It's short notice before this election, sure, but I don't think this populist movement is terribly short-lived. This has been brewing a long time, and Americans' life expectancy -- unless Obamacare really does take over -- is still pretty high.

New old kid on the block...

Just for the heck of it, I've invited The Bat to contribute her own blogginess to the world, so I've helped set up a page just for our shared hobby... food. It's mostly for our own recipes -- favorites, greatest temptations, most intriguing discoveries, and such. The Bat has a large collection of old family secrets she's willing to share, since we were never big on secrets, anyway. She also has a rather obscene number of cookbooks, of all ages and styles, from Julia Child to Pillsbury's Bake-Off winners, from vanity press to Cordon Bleu. As we stumble across what we think deserves sharing, we'll post (attributions will accompany anything we steal from outside sources. There is honor among these thieves).

If, as you wander over onto our foodies' site, you have a particular recipe you want to share, please feel free to send one of us an e-mail, & we'll be on it as soon as possible. If you know we have a special recipe you have a sudden need for, let us know, & we'll do our best to post that, as well. There may even be opportunities for cross-posting, if occasion calls for it. We're not fussy when it comes to that sort of thing.

"Fiscally conservative Democrat"

I hear tell there are Democratic Party candidates running on a fiscally conservative platform. I am reminded of the Gary Larson Far Side comic of a group of vultures around some bones, one of which vultures has donned hat and vest and is saying, "Hey, everybody, look at me, I'm a cowboy! Howdy, howdy, howdy!"