Have you voted yet?

Have you voted yet?  Have you managed to wade your way through the political muck our society is drowning in? If you've been paying attention, you know that we're surrounded by the most evil people in the history of humankind and, strangely, every single one of them happens to want to become or remain an elected official! It's a scary world out there, and we must practice constant vigilance!  Or so we're told....

I truly believe most every politician originally entered politics because he or she wanted to contribute to the good of our society--whether they are Democrat or Republican, etc. etc.  I also think every politician, deep down in their hearts (if there's anything left in there) knows this as well. So it's just plain depressing when they, along with their like-minded pundits, resort to demonizing anyone who isn't in lock-step with their agenda. Just look at those TV ads if you doubt me.

Is it really noble to spend $60 million of your own fortune, or the money earned by others for that matter, on your bid for office?  Take the blatent example of Meg Whitman of eBay fame.... apparently she wants the power and prestige which comes with being the Governor of California (and the possibilities of future offices that seat holds?)  Sadly, she could have used that $60 million to start an amazing charitable foundation--as to who it would benefit, take your pick. She could have been a much loved and admired woman of influence.  I guess her ego and priorities are elsewhere.

Could it be that there's just too much money at stake?  Could it be that campaign finance reform, and I mean real campaign finance reform, might be an answer?  Oh sure, some of them talk about it, but then they get into office and their convictions seem to melt away.  It must be hard to keep your eye on the ball when all those corporate and PAC contributions keep flowing in.

I've been involved in politics for a long time. I made my campaign debut in 1972 when my friend Jeff and I led the Nixon campaign at our elementary school. And we won! It was those little Nixon buttons we designed out of cardboard (and distributed at recess) that did it--that sort of thing didn't occur to those McGovern losers! Looking back, the whole experience remains one of my most memorable elementary school experiences--though I'm not sure whether to be proud or ashamed, considering my candidate! ( I don't recall my bemused parents saying much to me about it; I have a hunch they didn't vote the way I did!)

I'm still into politics.  Mr. Pocketts and I are the local representatives for our County political party. I've been the Caucus Chairman several times--it's actually kind of fun. We put up yard signs, sometimes write letters to the editor, volunteer at our County Fair booth; I'm not sure whether it always helps, but we've met lots of people in the process--of both sets of stripes and a myriad of opinions ranging from Tea time to twilight zone!! I'm pretty sure every one of us cares about our country, even though I admit to feeling "charitable" saying this.

I watched some of John Stewart's "Restore Sanity and/or Fear" rally on C-span yesterday.  His end speech was stirring--particularly appropriate for me as that's just what I was doing--stirring ingredients together for an apple pie.  It was not lost on me that, as John went on about how the vast majority of us get along with each other every single day in America, respecting the rights of others, I was making that most American of foods--apple pie! (Ok, groan if you like, but really...)

The past year, I've almost totally quit watching television news.  When we spent several weeks in Mexico last winter, I didn't miss it.  We read the newspaper instead. Congress was debating healthcare;  the newspapers were factual, not alarmist, merely giving us a review of events.  When we got home and turned on the TV, it was like we were witnessing a different world--a world of strife and back stabbing, a world that most wanted us to hold on through the next commercial break to hear more of the same.  It's a world we wanted no part of.  We turned it off. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying to give it up and let whatever happens happen.  I'm just saying we need rational thinking--something that is hard to find in cable TV land. It can really only be found within each one of us, if we have the fortitude.

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"If you want to live like a Republican, vote Democrat!"

                                    --Harry Truman

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Bumbling along...

....through Bulgaria!

Ask somebody what they think of when you mention Bulgaria and you'll get varied answers (excluding those who just give you a quizzical, somewhat blank look)--my favorite being "Is that where Bulgur wheat comes from?"  There's more to this country than Olympic weight-lifting cheats or the classic Bulgarian "heavy" in every Cold War spy novel!

When you're trundling across Bulgaria in a bus, you'll get a variety of comments, apparently depending on where you're from:

"This looks like west Texas." (It was hot and dry that day in the southwest.)

"This looks just like Kansas." (Fields and fields of blooming sunflowers.)

"This looks like it could be Indiana." (Cornfields.)

"We could be in Kentucky right now." (More cornfields.)

It's pretty obvious Bulgaria is an agricultural country--field after field of sunflowers, corn, and most surprisingly--roses. While we didn't actually see them blooming (that's in June, I'm told), it's not often you see something you think of as a fancy garden plant grown on an industrial scale! Bulgarians are justly proud of their roses; we were told all about them over the span of, say, hours.  (There's a lot of miles to cover--there's time.) We were highly encouraged to purchase rose scented lotions and perfumes--kind of with the assumption that you'd have to be out of your mind not to want rose scented everything. After a pit-stop, our bus full of sweaty tourists started smelling better and better.... Mr. P, with an expression of growing contentment, commented that it made him think of his Grandma. Apparently he wasn't the only one; everybody seemed rather pleased to be there!  Hmmm... maybe this was the Guide's diabolical plan all along?!  Now if she had brought out a plate of warm cookies....

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Chances are, if you see a monument in Bulgaria,
it's commemorating a battle with the Turks.
Chances are, the Turks won.

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Typical Soviet architecture in Eastern Europe.
Where a Soviet star or hammer & sickle once resided...there is nothing.
Depending on your point of view,
this might be considered an architectural improvement.

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A church in Vidin, Bulgaria.
You'd mind your P's & Q's walking through
that door, wouldn't you?!


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Beautiful Bulgaria

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“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.”

                                  ---Mark Twain

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All the really important things....

Istanbul has a lot of really cool stuff--major understatement!
Beginning with the city walls....it was a fortified city at one time.

And then there's the mosques...the glorious, wonderful, stupendous, awesome, utterly beautiful mosques!

The Blue Mosque
As you can tell, I loved those pink flowers!
 Never did find out what they were,
but they were everywhere.

However, there are the lesser known mosque Cats!

Doesn't everybody take photos of cats while on vacation?!

At the entrance of the Blue Mosque.

One photo is not enough, let's get a better look....

Hello, Puss!

Then again, besides the feline distractions, there is this:

Blue Mosque

I should mention here that it was 98 degrees, no breeze, with high humidity; probably warmer inside the mosque. So there I stood in this grandeur, trying to pretend that a torrential sweat was not running down my backside, remaining calm, even striking a thoughtful pose (ha!). One must maintain a sense of decorum afterall. But on the inside....I was jumping for joy, doing cartwheels, exclaiming (oh so thoughtfully, of course): "This is so cool!!!!" 

You could pretty much say I felt that way on the entire trip! 

Inside the Hagia Sofia (Aya Sofya)
For a little perspective,
those round Arabic discs are 25 feet across.
(Isn't that a couple storeys high?)

The Hagia Sofia deserves an encore because it's just that amazing!  (I'll spare you the other 100 or so photos I took of this place! Not kidding!)

Can you tell I have a thing about pillars & columns?

Later, we went to the Topkapi Palace...where the big-time Sultan lived, with his rather large entourage of servants, family, and of course, the Harem.

Speaking of Harems....

Maybe this was a little more along the lines you'd expect to see at a Palace?:

I guess I have a thing for domed ceilings, too!

At one point Mr. Pocketts and I escaped to go to the National Museum of Antiquities. (Still 98 degrees, etc.) Here's what you do when you have a few extra bits laying around:

Any one of these would have been the centerpiece of a museum back where I come from!

And when you blessedly collapse in a chair to have an icy cold Coke (98 degrees...), somebody might be watching you:

Why, hello there, you!

The Turks, or rather the Romans at the time, also made good use of a few leftover Greek bits. During Justinian's reign, ginormous cisterns were built.  And what if you had a couple pillars that, for whatever reason, didn't quite meet the specs? Well, you improvise:

Finally a good use for those pesky, old Medusa heads.

Sometimes you have to do that more than once:

After all that, it sure did feel good to get back to our hotel room and lie down in the air-conditioned bliss! We were dead tired!

While we were gone, our hotel was thinking about us.  They were kind enough to leave treats for us--every day was a Turkish Delight indeed! (sorry, couldn't resist)

or

Ok, so I took photos of my hotel candy--don't judge me! 

And as for the cat picture-taking thing....in my defense, I wasn't the only one!

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Join me next as, for some quirky reason, I decide that riding across Bulgaria in a bus sounds like a swell idea!