You were a mixed bag. A review of my posts this year reflects high highs and low lows.
For this post, though, I’m going to focus on the positive.
I got to see both of my sons at Christmas. Joy!
My younger son (Gideon) chose to study environmental science at the university for which I work. That means free tuition, a great education, and I get to see him all the time. He earned two As and a B in his first semester and loves it.
My older son (Dominic) attended Navy A School in Pensacola, Florida, graduated fourth in his class, and is about to go to Norfolk, Virginia. He seems happy, mature and focused.
Ex (Eddie) is dating a lovely woman who was gracious enough to invite me over for Christmas dinner.
My man friend and I got to explore more of Oregon: Bend, hot springs, Seal Rock, Eugene, etc.
Got to see St. Louis family, framily and friends for Thanksgiving. Man, I miss that town and those people. Gideon went with me, begrudgingly according to him. At the end, he had this to say, “I actually had a good time.” Actually. 🙄
Though I miss St. Louis, I love my job and my coworkers. Oregon is growing on me.
Wendy and Wallace visited me this month, and we managed to all spill beer on Wallace. Lucky him!
I’ve been taking care of my granddog (Vince) while Gideon is with his father on winter break. Leo and Vince are getting along. That in itself is a Christmas miracle.
Saw “Wicked” the movie, “DRAG the Musical” and “A Wonderful World” in New York, along with friends Michael, Shane, Jason and Brooke while I was there for my birthday.
Also got to see my birth father. Third year in a row of going out to see him as part of my birthday weekend. Cool, right? Seems fitting. And we are trying to make up for lost time.
36-hour Tina broke her own record. New moniker: 20-hour Tina. She got into New York at 2 p.m. on my birthday, and I dropped her off at La Guardia at 10 the next morning. In between, we ate at trendy Cocodaq, participated in “Life and Trust,” shopped at Bryant Park, and stayed at the notorious Standard High Line.
I won the mask I’m wearing, entrance to the VIP lounge, 20% off items in the gift shop, and bragging rights.Brooke told me I was the only one to make it across the finish line in Red Light, Green Light. All those years of having to freeze in various plays during my MFA years paid off!Brooke and I enjoy the Squid Game VIP lounge.Hour Two of 20-hour Tina’s visit Look at this chicken. In the bucket. (Not Tina, as she’s fairly brave.)Birthday brunch with Michael — a delight!I always have to see the Rockefeller Center tree.And watch the OG Grinch every year.While I was visiting the boys in Savannah, I picked up a few necessities I can’t get in Oregon.Leo and VinceSee? Getting along.
I’m hopeful that 2025 has more ups than downs, but I remain thankful for the abundance of joy in my life.
Taxpayer money (! – from the stupid Americans, of course) spent on stupid topic. (Note: She’s in the UK.)
She’s seeking validation and is therefore stupid.
Her topic is stupid, and therefore I’m smarter (the “I” here being the outraged respondent).
A degree is a waste.
You don’t believe me? Here is a quick sample:
(Note that all these accounts have Leon’s blue check, indicating they pay for the “privilege.” 🙄)
The one that takes the cake is the one she references here:
I mean: WHAT THE ACTUAL F—-?!
One of the main through lines here is that people do not understand that dissertations are always relatively niche. They cap a broader area of study.
It’s not just that they don’t understand. They also are completely unwilling to learn.
The anti-intellectualism, anti-science, anti-knowledge, sheer-contempt-for-education bent that many people seem to have is on full display.
I waded in when I saw this:
Um … WHAT?!
What benefit does anyone intend to bring to the world with our education and, ultimately, our job?
Well, Marilyn, who claims she worked successfully as a technical writer at a Fortune 300 company without needing more than a high-school degree, thinks that Dr. Louks can’t write, isn’t a deep thinker, wasted her time on an advanced degree, and won’t get a job.
Note that Dr. Louks already is teaching at Cambridge, but why let a fact stand in the way of Marilyn’s superior opinion?
Before I go on, let me remind you that our Marilyn was a technical writer (so she says). And she is criticizing Dr. Louks’ writing ability. DEAR GOD. My copyediting brain is going to explode.
I tried to share information with her. I can’t help it.
I tried because I would consider myself knowledgeable about the subject at hand:
1. I wrote a dissertation and earned a Ph.D. 2. I work in higher education. 3. I hire newly minted academic doctors all the time.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, I’m sure you can imagine that it did not stop there. There was a fair amount of back and forth where I explained that some jobs do indeed require an advanced degree, that I have one (an advanced degree AND a job) in higher education, and that Dr. Louks will be OK.
Here we are nearing the end where I finally gave up.
<RECORD SCRATCH>
I DON’T? I literally spend half my waking hours working in the education system.
So I said it’s my field, not hers. That she’s doubling down on being ignorant, and I was done trying to help her understand.
You can’t fix stupid.
She’s still on there making these insane claims. She’s learned nothing.
Meanwhile, I’ve learned that I really do need to stay on Bluesky where it’s civil. It’s like the early days of Twitter. No “premium” subscription needed.
Please check it out before the trolls take over. Or Leon buys it and ruins it like everything else he touches.
See you there! Beth
*BTW, let’s put that in perspective:
Donald Trump pardons Steve Bannon, Roger Stone, Michael Flynn, etc. MAGA: THIS IS HIS RIGHT!
Joe Biden pardons Hunter Biden. MAGA: THIS IS SO WRONG!
“BUT JOE LIED! He said he wouldn’t!” Yeah, well, things change. Trump and his cronies said they were going after Hunter and many others as soon as they get in. Also, Trump lied more than 30K times during his term, so maybe take a seat. Or several.
Finally, Hunter’s punishment didn’t fit his crime. Talk about a witch hunt.
So if you support the felon (convicted, I’ll remind you, by a JURY) and his cabinet of rapists/thugs/sycophants/donors (including daughter’s father-in-law — also a felon whom he pardoned), zip it about the pardon.
Auntie Beth knows the holidays can be polarizing, and it’s not just because of voting habits.
It’s the cranberry sauce.
There will never be peace between the warring factions of jarred vs. whole berry.
For the record, Auntie Beth likes them both.
Grandma Kathy’s is a whole-berry house.
Let’s start there and examine the Thanksgiving staples:
Whole-berry cranberry sauce FTW.Also polarizing: green bean casserole. Auntie Beth is a fan.Not a fan of gravy, though.Mashed potatoes with the secret ingredient: cream cheese. Not great for the waistline, but worth it.Mac and cheese with about 27 different kinds of cheese.Dressing (NOT stuffing as it didn’t go in the turkey).Keep the carb fest going with rolls.Roasted carrots with sage and brown butter.A little salad so folks can pretend to be healthy.THE MAIN EVENTPumpkin pies: Libby’s regular on the left, fresh on the right.
For this Thanksgiving, we also had some different choices:
Brie and fig jam puffsDeviled eggsWhatever these are (delicious)
What are some dishes you can’t live without for Thanksgiving? Tell us all in the comments.
Notice that I did not say “experts on the internet.” There is a difference. Just because you have access to all sorts of information, that does not mean you are an expert on various topics.
Case in point: 45 (incoming 47) spends loads of time on his phone, could Google “tariffs” if he wanted, but does not seem to understand how they work. Fact: Other countries do not actually pay the price.
(And those who think tariffs won’t drive up costs ALSO could have done a quick Google search BEFORE the election when it would have been most helpful, not afterward.)
I read a surprising exchange on the platform formerly known as Twitter. A person actually said that having a degree in a subject doesn’t make you an expert.
Um. What?
I’ll allow that maybe it doesn’t make you THE expert, but it does make you AN expert. You certainly would be better versed in the subject than some rando.
In the runup to the election, I had friends of Facebook friends — people who didn’t know me — trying to tell me about the “woke liberal media,” “fake news” and media ownership.
I wanted to scream, “I worked in media for 30+ years. I literally wrote the book** on media ownership. SHUT UP.”
When did people become so anti-science and anti-knowledge? When did people stop listening to people who have experience and expertise and KNOW WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT?
Can you imagine someone who has never done your job telling you they know more about it than you do? You would be outraged. And rightfully so.
So why, dearest Internet Expert, do you think it is OK to do this on social media?
Look at this exchange about COVID (which, by the way, is still around and killing people, even though we like to ignore it):
So let’s recap: A person with an advanced degree in virology is being told by these “Internet Experts” that she:
is giving terrible advice.
lives in a fantasy.
is a low IQ individual.
doesn’t know anything.
Her actual job for more than 10 years is studying viruses, but yet she doesn’t know as much as these three fools?
GTFO.
For kicks, here are their profiles:
So they seem fun.
Honestly, where do people get off?
I saw this just today:
I’m all for people having opinions, but come on: We are not equal in all areas. There is and should be a hierarchy of knowledge.
For example, I will listen to my doctor about my health over WebMD. (It’s better that way anyhow: WebMD always says I’m dying tomorrow.)
My point? Stay in your lane. I’m sure you have an expertise. We will trust you in that area. In return, please trust others who are experts in their fields.
Google is a great tool, but it is no match for a true education.
Though I’m not a fan of Biden’s Department of Education (see FAFSA failure), Trump’s was terrible too (hi, Betsy DeVos).
Now he just wants to just get rid of the DoE altogether.
Without the Department of Education, what becomes of special needs programs? Head Start? Pell Grants? FAFSA overall?
Oh, money is going back to the states? Riiiiight. Sure it is. I’ll bite: How? What’s the process? How is it not going to be a disaster like FAFSA was/is?
Why do I care? I work in higher education. I am worried about my job in a way I’ve never had to worry about in any other presidential election.
Also, Vance called professors “the enemy.” So that’s great. 🙄
If I lose my job, I can’t sleep on the street. SCOTUS said so.
Plus, I’m middle aged. The sidewalk would hurt my back.
Ordinarily, if the candidate I voted for didn’t win, I’d be disappointed, but I’d go about the business of living my life. Just regular grousing.
It’s different now.
Among many other ‘bright’ ideas, Trump said he wants to bring back prayer in schools (which is a violation of the separation of church and state, and unconstitutional as of 1962), eliminate birthright citizenship (which is against the 14th Amendment of the Constitution**), and plans to go through with mass deportations of millions of people (with “no price tag” — isn’t that the OPPOSITE of smaller government you said you wanted?).
Y’all did say you care about the economy and immigration, so let’s start with the latter.
I don’t think you know who picks your food. Who works on your roads. Who builds your houses. And it will deter people in the tech, engineering and medical fields as well.
There will be a price tag, alright. And we will all pay it.
Deporting illegal immigrants will collapse our economy. Also, we are talking about HUMAN BEINGS with full lives and families in this country. What are they going “back” to? What about the people who have no ties to their country of “origin?” What’s wrong with you?
I did my own reconnaissance on the price of things, just for an “OMGTHINGSARESOEXPENSIVE!!” baseline. (They aren’t.)
Note that I’m in Oregon, where cost of living is higher for many things. Produce tends to be lower, though. Still, I’ll check back in on these prices once Trump really gets going.
It’s worth noting that this is the lowest gas has been since I moved here.
I meant to take a pic of coffee. That’s something we import the shit out of. And bananas and sugar. I’ll document those on my next grocery run.****
If Trump starts with his insane tariff plans, costs for all those will go up.
I don’t think you understand tariffs. Or economics. Or definitions of economic systems.
Let me help.
Capitalism: Private individuals and companies offer goods and services. They control production and distribution.
Socialism: The community owns goods and services through a centralized government. Individuals can own property.
Communism: Everything is owned by an authoritarian government. No private property.
Marxism: A critique of capitalism that focuses on the exploitation of workers. Marx said the next step is socialism after the workers rebel.
And while we are at it, here are three more:
Fascism: A system of government where a dictator has complete power — squashing criticism and opposition while emphasizing extreme nationalism.
Authoritarianism: A system of government where the power of the state — either one person or a small group not accountable to the people — is more important than individual freedom.
Oligarchy: A form of government in which a few people or a dominant class holds all the power.
Huh. Those three sound a little too familiar.
Anyway. I did what I could before the election to counter the misinformation you all were lapping up like my naked cat drinks water. I tried. And I voted. Even though my ballot has STILL not been counted, according to the online tracker. (Starlink, again?)
All I can say is this:
I hope you get what you voted for.
Beth
Just putting this here for proof. Ignore the apostrophe (“High’s”). The rest is accurate. (I didn’t make this graphic.)
Soak Oregon will put the fear of God in you: “The last few miles [to the trail head] are on a rough road, so we recommend a high-clearance vehicle.”
Don’t pay any attention to that. (Auntie Beth nearly rented a Jeep. She would have been PISSED OFF if she had wasted that money. She was totally fine in her tiny, low-clearance VW.)
Soak Oregon also warns, “This trail is steep.”
Do pay attention to that.
The part that has a makeshift hand rail does not need it, and the part that absolutely does need one does NOT.
Auntie Beth tripped on a tree root and nearly toppled backward onto her man friend, which would surely have sent him to his death (not that she is being dramatic in any way).
A rare quiet moment at the hot springs.
There should have been warnings about other things.
• Facilities. The U.S. Forest Service notes a vault toilet on site. It does not mention that the smell emanating from it is akin to a fleet of porta potties after Lollapalooza.
•The horde of hippies. It was just after lunch on a Tuesday. Auntie Beth had taken the day off. Had all these young people done the same thing? Or was this their job as “influencers” or something? There were so many of them — probably 40 total in pods of five and six — clogging all the pools.
• Dress code. Auntie Beth had been warned that Oregon hot springs are nakie. She was resigned to her derobed destiny. What she found might have been worse: the entire Columbia Sportswear catalog.
• Pot. The Hot Springs Hippies LOVED them some weed. Auntie Beth is no square, but does not understand the allure of smoking when edibles exist. (Don’t people care about their lungs?) Also, secondhand smoke is AWFUL. So skunky.
Auntie Beth took this pic after the first wave of visitors cleared out.
With rising concern (i.e., panic) about the hike back down, a burgeoning pot-induced headache, and general distaste for crowds, Auntie Beth felt the need to cut her visit short.
See that tight-lipped smile? Auntie Beth is not feeling the restorative effects of the hot springs.
No fewer than two wannabe travel guides insisted that Auntie Beth and Man Friend should explore the lower pools.
“No, thank you.”
If this sounds like your idea of a good time, ENJOY!
One of the locals Auntie Beth met at the nearby convenience store did say that the time to go is first thing in the morning as no one is there.
(Right. That’s because it is SO VERY COLD outside.)
I love a guest post, and it has been a WHILE. Today’s comes from Kerstin, who shares a tale of a house divided.
I’ll be back with an original post on Election Tuesday.
Love, Beth
My daughter, a junior communications major, uses social media for work, but Facebook is for old people like her grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles worldwide and probably some former teachers and coaches. Every now and again she will post pictures of what she’s doing away at college. We ask if we may tag her in pictures when we are together.
Despite being six hours away, we remain close — probably chat daily, about anything and everything. It’s the relationship we are choosing to have with each other.
Last year, she introduced us to her boyfriend. We had seen him in her group of friends since freshman year and have enjoyed welcoming him to our home during holidays and spending time together when we visit her.
We were introduced to his parents during a tailgating party at their university. He plays football. Despite differences, we have common ground: the kids.
As I was scrolling through social media one night, I saw a meme she had reposted. I treated it like every other political meme I see: I scrolled right past it — not because I agree or disagree with it, but because I’m a fan of hurricane memes and not much more.
It was late. I kind of thought “oh boy” to myself — almost certain she would be inviting comments from those opposed to her views. That’s totally fine, but whose opinion has ever been changed by a meme on Facebook? (Even if it should have?)
I went to sleep and woke up to a message including a screen shot: a response from her boyfriend’s father regarding the meme. Oh boy!
The meme that was reposted by my daughter:
“we cancel out each others votes!!” “you’re dating a man that doesn’t care if you live or die.”
The response from the father:
“Very extreme, emotional and a false narrative. [My son] would be the first one to put his life on the line to save others. Would you? You now have the right to vote and choose as it should be. It’s a state issue and always has been.”
First things first: the good news.
My daughter’s boyfriend immediately sided with her, and reached out to the dad. I am glad he sides with my daughter, and even more pleased that he didn’t cancel out her vote.
My daughter then responded to the dad rather lengthy and pleasantly unhinged and unfiltered. If he didn’t know where she stood before, he does now. That paired with phone calls from his son should have triggered an apology. Instead he fled into the lie that he thought he was responding to the original poster.
Dude, what a lame lie, how would the original poster know the son? Who knows how old the original poster is? Is that person even a U.S. citizen? Eligible to vote? A simple humble apology would have been a solid choice. But no, the verbal attack was followed up by a lie that he holds onto.
Going forward, I have won the happy couple to host for holidays, vacations and the just because.
But really there are no winners here.
We are going up to the parents’ chili cookoff at the final home game of the season. It’s the weekend after the election.
Note from Beth: That should be fun. I’ll have to check in with Kerstin to see how that went.
Thanks for coming to Family Weekend to surprise Gideon. He loved having you here and being able to talk to you about his classes.
I love that we can still spend time together like regular people/parents even though we are divorced. It’s good for us and for our kids.
Gideon and Mikayla even ditched a Halloween party with their friends to hang out with us and play cards.
(And no, you are not the reigning Uno champ in anyone’s record book. Ask Uncle Pat.)
I was glad you were here this weekend for another reason: I got to see your reaction in person to this:
“Comedy” at its finest, amirite?!
(To all people defending him and the rally in general: Explain the joke. Tell me like I’m five how it’s funny and not offensive. And if it’s that he’s a “shock comic” that took aim at everyone, tell me why there weren’t any jokes about white people. Seriously.)
I could almost see the blood boiling beneath your skin.
One thing Trump didn’t do at the rally, surprisingly, was repeat his stupid claim that children go to school for gender reassignment surgery.
Trump’s team saved the lie for a text blast AFTER the rally. Great. Also, HOW did I get on their list?
Me: Can you imagine? The school wouldn’t even give Gideon a Tylenol for a headache without a note from me! You: But yet they have surgery suites with doctors and nurses in one of the classrooms. Sure. Me: And all within a school day! When teachers are buying supplies out of their own pockets. Right. You: How can anyone believe this?
It was just like old times.
The good news is that Gideon is just like us.
After I texted him what I said to a high-school “friend” who called the MSG rally “patriotic” (the same rally that one of the speakers — radio host Sid Rosenberg — called “a Nazi rally“), he texted the following. (We all curse like sailors so I sanitized it for publication.)
Thought I’m a fan of his POV, I’d love some punctuation.
By the way, did I tell you that he sent in his request for an absentee ballot back in September and Georgia (specifically Chatham County) STILL hasn’t sent it? Same for Mikayla. He’s been calling to no avail. It’s maddening. And Georgia is a swing state too. SIGH.
Anyway, thanks again for coming. It was good to see you. Beth
I really think you need a hobby that does not involve using an “independent browser.” You’ve gone way down the conspiracy-theory rabbit hole.
In addition to hopping on board the HAARP bandwagon, you are, naturally, an antivaxxer.
You posted this recently. Are you really wanting to go back to 1890s knowledge? They were still using cocaine as an all-purpose pain reliever, for crying out loud!
There doesn’t seem to be a conspiracy theory you don’t embrace.
COVID was a well-planned global conspiracy coordinated via the corrupt George Soros-owned media and search engines. The mRNA-DNA altering injections (i.e., vaccines) were sold for massive profits — killing people with the “Pfizer clot shot” while the unvaxxed were hunted.
Let’s put aside simple facts such as mRNA doesn’t alter DNA, the vaccines were/are free, and no one hunted unvaxxed folks. There are a couple of other issues:
All the countries of the world agreed to do this: Russia, Ukraine, North Korea, U.S., China, etc.? And they all worked together well and kept it a secret? Like I told you, I can’t even get three people to keep a secret about a Christmas present.
Who exactly benefited from this plot? COVID crashed economies. What’s the point of killing so many people with COVID or with the vaccine? Were they enemies of the DEEP STATE? Did they KNOW TOO MUCH? Somehow I doubt it.
Why is anyone hunting unvaxxed people? There’s no need. I mean, I believe in survival of the fittest. You don’t want to get vaccinated? OK. Polio, measles, cholera, etc. will take you out soon enough.
Side note: All “experts” are not in academia. Look at all the scientists, economists, etc., all over the world.
You know, I have a good position at a university. Shouldn’t I be part of this club? I’ve been working in higher education for nearly 30 years. Shouldn’t I have gotten an invitation by now? I’m a little put out. How am I supposed to know how to indoctrinate students without the official guidelines?
Um … didn’t this dude go to Yale?
I’m also surprised you didn’t warn me off my Alexa. You’d be right about surveillance, though: I’m sure that old ‘ho IS listening all the time and making notes.
Fine. I don’t care. What’s she tracking? When I need cat food? Good.
If Bill Gates wants to implant a chip in me and track my movements, he can go right ahead.
It’s not like I’m plotting a global conspiracy.
Back to that.
Let’s say, just for kicks, that you are right — that you and the rest of the 5G nutters have stumbled onto the truth of a cabal and exposed their machinations. (You haven’t, but let’s pretend.)
So what?
What are you going to do about it?
What if the earth IS flat? (It’s not.)
So what?
How does it affect you?
What if the moon landing WAS fake? (It wasn’t.)
So what?
How will your life change?
It won’t.
It genuinely does not make a difference to you or to me or to anyone in our daily lives. We are still going to go to work, hang out with friends, take care of our families, clean our houses, plan vacations, pay bills, go to dinner, etc., every day whether George Soros buys another TV station or not.
So my recommendation is to get off the Internet (dark web, light web, private browser, whatever) and go get some fresh air. Have a few analog days. Or weeks. Or maybe even months.
I’m so glad I have you. I know I ignore you sometimes. But Stella always gets her groove back.
I get sand in my shell, and my posts become my pearl. Well, they are pearls to me.
“Any writer worth his salt writes to please himself … It’s a self-exploratory operation that is endless. An exorcism of not necessarily his demon, but of his divine discontent.” –Harper Lee
What’s interesting to me is that what some readers find pearls are the exact posts that others find to be sand still.
For example, in election years, my posts seesaw between some kind of topical outrage and mundane daily life. Those who love the former also seem to like the latter.
But not all who like the latter also like the former.
I’m sure it depends on whether the person agrees with me or not.
However, if I don’t write, I might die.
“Words are a lens to focus one’s mind.” –Ayn Rand
It’s my chief creative outlet. It gives me a reason to get out of the house. (Sometimes it is the only reason.)
And through the magic of technology, I can schedule posts — a fact a former coworker (aka Mean Girl) didn’t understand. I’m convinced she friended me on Facebook just to spy on me. She complained about me to my boss, saying I was using work time to write. My boss told me. I was incredulous.
“Does she not understand how this works?” I asked him. He shrugged.
“A word after a word after a word is power.” –Margaret Atwood
Here I get to vent my spleen about her and others.
“I write to discover what I know.” –Flannery O’Connor
I also get an excuse to do research like I did when I was a full-time journalist.
“When you make music or write or create, it’s really your job to have mind-blowing, irresponsible, condomless sex with whatever idea it is you’re writing about at the time.” –Lady Gaga
Ultimately, this blog is for me. Maybe it’s for others too. It’s not for everyone. I’m OK with that.
Observe and report 