Getting settled

We were devastated at the time, but in retrospect when our landlady phoned us on that Sunday afternoon in late March and gave us 60 days to vacate our apartment, it was the best thing that could have happened to us. It is now late July and we have just celebrated Independence Day. The house is starting to look very lived in, although we are still unpacking boxes, some of which have been sitting unpacked for more than two years. I can say with absolute certainty that we are both extremely happy in this house, and even happier that all of the paperwork is now over and we have the Deeds in our possession.

The country is warming up for the 2020 election, and more than 20 Democratic hopefuls are campaigning hard, with the first of the debates now behind us. It is no secret that I cannot stand that idiot Trump. More than 10,000 lies have been recorded since he took office. In fact, he lies so often that it has become patently obvious by his lead in when a lie is about to be told. I didn't really understand the political system in America before I arrived here five years ago. But having now witnessed it first hand, I do understand it. I know that nothing will ever persuade me to vote for any Republican candidate. At the same time, I will stick by the Royal Navy ruling for mess dinners - no discussions of a political or religious nature in our house.

The road our house is on is named Sunset Drive, and the above picture, taken a couple of weeks ago, is a good example of why. For a change, this year, we are going to be able to host the Thanksgiving Dinner in late November. One of our rooms is easily big enough to seat more than a dozen people - and our stove is massive. Yesterday we picked up a garden table with 6 chairs and a couple of matching loungers for a very reasonable price, and we have a dining room table and six chairs as well as some other furniture on hold for us.

The yard is starting to look good too. We have removed a rather ugly fence, originally erected to keep in small children when the previous owners were running a day-care center here. We have put out bird feeders and so far have seen a pair of red cardinals and of blue jays and a  nesting robin as well as a number of species that I do not know. One songbird wakes me every morning at about 0430 with the most beautiful singing I have ever heard. Other wildlife includes a grey squirrel and, next door, a groundhog or woodchuck. No chipmunks, skunks, bears or deer as yet though!

Trump - a Disaster

Those who either know me or who follow my Facebook posts will almost certainly know that I am not a Trump supporter - I could never support a buffoon, a racist, a misogynist and a liar. I am well into the Winter of my years and have traveled to 30 or more countries. During my travels, I have met all kinds of people of many races. Presidents, princesses, prima ballerinas, and prime ministers lie at the one end of the scale, and at the other are down-to-earth people like Headman, the local preacher close to my Eastern Cape farm and who enjoyed a joint of dagga, and Julia, who ran the local shebeen. Since I was a young man I have always had a second sense about people - and in particular whether they were genuine or not, or whether they were trying a con. Now everyone knows or at least should know, that all politicians, whichever country they are from, are liars. That is something that comes with the job. But some are bigger liars than others. And Trump is one of the biggest.

I heard an apt description of today's White House the other day - Senator Corker last week likened it to an Adult Day-care Center. Trump is a joke. I mean, can you imagine any other president visiting a hurricane-devastated island and throwing paper towels into the crowd? What on Earth was the man thinking? He is extremely ignorant (water purification pills - do you really drink the water afterward - durr!), and clearly spends much of his spare time watching television and tweeting when he could be bettering his mind before it goes off the rails altogether. At our expense, he spends every weekend playing golf - what is his handicap, btw? No - not that handicap! At the time of writing and after nine months in office, there is still no Secretary of Homeland Security. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is said to have recently called Trump a f***ing moron. We appear to be at a stage where no-one wants to work for him for fear of losing their reputation when his name appears on their résumé.

Trump and his original team - courtesy CNN

Trump's time in the White Tower has been something of a debacle. None of the original team in the CNN photograph above are now in the picture - although some are being investigated by Mueller.  The main problem seems to be that Trump is completely impulsive. When something comes to his child-like mind he immediately tweets about it - whether or not his thoughts are those of his staff. Only two days ago when holding a photo session with his top generals and their spouses he stated that "This is the calm before the storm". "What storm?" demanded the press. "You'll see." was his non-presidential reply.

Mostly because of Trump, I have become an avid follower of several late-night comedians - Trevor Noah, Stephan Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel and John Oliver being my favorites (in no particular order). I enjoy the way that they mock him. If you are one of my followers that have not had the opportunity to do so, I urge you to check out some of the Facebook clips of those television personalities listed above.

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