Open Thread 27 Aug 2026 - What's Ordinary?
What's Ordinary?
While listening to 'old' music (Is it really that old, really?) the other day, I had one of those epiphanies when one realizes that the lyrics to a good song can mean something different depending upon where the listener is in their life. The song is 'Ordinary World' by Duran Duran. I was definitely a Duranie when I was young; I still am. This is one of three songs that Simon Le Bon, the lead singer of Duran Duran, wrote about the loss of his best friend. I never realized that, until I suddenly heard it with a different frame of mind. I was sobbing as the song played and I heard the words so clearly in my mind, and my heart.
Ordinary World by Duran Duran
Then Dolly Parton died. And Tim Curry. And, it feels like the world around me, not just in me, is going away. I remembered driving to the movie theatre when I had just turned 18, with a bunch of friends, every month on a Saturday night. And the late (post 11 pm) movie would always be Rocky Horror Picture Show and we'd dance in the theatre, sing, parade, and have the best time with everyone else watching the movie.
Go Tim!!
And everything goes on, right? So, here's the open thread! What's up, whatcha doing? Reading? Thinking? Listening to? Remember, everything is interesting if you dive deep enough, so tell us about where you're diving!
Comments
Time Has Come...
I've realized I've been really missing the boat here at Caucus99%. I am too busy, depressed, distracted, and overwhelmed with family stuff to respond to my Open Thread posts, or to even log on. I've been dealing with all kinds of things about trying to get my 61 year old autistic sister into a care home, and my very, very reluctant and resistant mother into new living arrangements which can provide help for her. Living two miles from the nearest neighbor was great for a long time for my parents and sister, but it's not so good anymore. It's nuts. Just nuts. Mom's going into old age dementia, it's obvious, but getting her to admit that is almost impossible. And maybe it'll never be possible; I'm not sure my father ever admitted it.
So, I wanna say I understand I'm not doing well here right now. I need to step down, or at least take a break for a bit. I am so sorry for this, so sorry. I love this website, this community. You all ROCK!!!!
Please post whatever is happening to you, what you are learning, listening to... whatever. THANK YOU!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Hi Sima
I'm really sorry to hear that circumstances with your sister and mom have become more critical, and that it makes life more difficult for you being their primary support. It sounds like you have a lot of weight and responsibility to carry. I wish you strength and what it takes to find resolutions that will ultimately settle things, and feel right for you all. I hope you'll be back here when you can.
Sorry
didn't mean to skip the queue.
That's okay.
I have to suspect that we are back to the time of "news," in which most of the content of news is that people are twitchy and waiting for something to happen rather than that something has in fact happened. But something will happen! It's a question of when.
Some old people died. My Mom died in 2018 and it didn't make the news. But there are still people alive! We are at a unique moment in history in which we will have to rethink about what we're doing in the world. It's going to be that way for a while.
Important People are still pretending that things are otherwise. As long as the wars continue, for instance, both sides in each war can claim they're winning.
"Progress is not possible without deviation" -- Frank Zappa
Sorry about your struggle...
Aging parents are a challenge, as is autism. I wish you luck moving forward. All the best to you and your family!
Take care.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Good morning Sima, sorry about everything. My folks and
my elder brother all died long ago, so I've been spared having any of that go down in the recent past. That said, co-workers from bygone days, other friends and acquaintances, a well as public figures do keep moving on because the older we get the older they get and nobody gets out of here alive.
We're still scrambling here with simply the routine of daily living and household + yard & garden maintenance complicated by a whole slew of additional stuff thet keeps piling up. A benefit of this is that one is too busy to dwell overmuch on pretty much any kind of gnus and, it provokes learning to streamline processes so that when things return to more or less normal we'll be more efficient and effective. By the end of next week I should be more or less right where I am, but with a ton of minor improvements in my surroundings and processes. Hopefully I can peel off thirty years or so and re-learn a lot of stuff I once knew. That said, it's time to get getting.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Good morning, sima, et al!
Sometimes blogging offers an escape from life's overwhelming burdens, and at other times, it can become yet another burden. Just arguing with your Mother, the woman who raised you and likely left little room for dissent, is a conundrum.
Thank you for the time you gave us, chica! We wish you all the best.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Take care of yourself
and your loved ones. Thank you for all that you do for us.
My long-suffering wife, who
is wise in the ways of the world, has pointed out a very important thing to me many times over the years- and it is this simple statement:
"Grief compounds".
In one sense or another, I suspect that you are experiencing grief. And grief never goes away. We learn to deal with it, each in our own way, but it is always there.
Unfortunately, that means that each new event that leads to new grieving simply stacks on top of what was already there. Grieving the inevitable decline of loved ones (especially our parents), and the inevitable loss that comes with it, is absolutely overwhelming. And there's no preparing for it: such losses cannot be pre-grieved.
It takes time to process, and a great deal of mental energy- and there is no shortening of that process. Give yourself the time, the space, and above all the grace to work through it. And know that we'll be here whenever you feel that you have the bandwidth.
Be safe, and be well, as much as you can. Peace!
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
Thank you...
for all you've done, Sima, and we all hope you join us again in the near future. If not, believe me, I understand.
"ordinary"
...is something I think about a lot, especially getting back to ordinary. Every time I think it's just over the horizon for us, some new unexpected challenge comes along and throws us. My oldest granddaughter called me a week or two ago, she's on the spectrum. I love her dearly, and her two younger siblings. She hadn't heard from me in a year, although I had written to them recently, and I haven't seen them in almost two years, because of one challenging event after another. Fortunately, the youngsters are all doing well.
So when I heard of your difficulties Sima, I was at a loss for words. I'll miss your OTs and wish you the best of luck with your challenging situation with your loved ones.
己所不欲，勿施于人。