Rings on Her Fingers

Because Fiorella wants to look like a woman of consequence, she wear rings on her fingers when she leaves the house. Always four, sometimes six, sometimes nine--her wedding and engagement rings, her mother's wedding and engagement rings, her mother-in-law's wedding and engagement rings, birthday gifts. All on no more than three fingers.

Fio knows what it's like to be considered a woman of no consequence, someone who doesn't matter, and she never wants that to happen again.

Cloning, Anyone?

If anyone asks, yes, Fio would like to be cloned. Born with a good brain, a gift for languages, and talents in art, music, and literary composition, she would like another chance at making good by proxy.

But she bets she wouldn't be the first one. With positive results from Dolly the sheep up through the Cuartetra 1-6 polo ponies, there's bound to be a rogue scientist somewhere in the world who's cloned himself a couple of humans. Wonder what DNA he used? His own? Hitler's? Take your choice. At least if Fiorella is cloned, you know she'll do her best to be worthy of it.

Just a Girl

When Fio was in the eighth grade, she scored highest in her junior high on the  history contest sponsored by the Daughters of the American Revolution, although, unbeknownst to all, she had picked up most of what she knew from reading her mother's historical novels rather than studying her textbook. Whatever, she picked up a nice gold medal that she unfortunately lost five years later when she and her future husband were taking a walk through an Austin local park. But what she didn't lose was the memory of being on the radio with the history winners from Waco's other three junior highs.

Fio expected an interview sort of set-up or maybe a discussion in which she and her fellow history buffs talked about--well, American history--but instead, they were all handed a script.  The other three winners, all male, were to talk about historical figures like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson while Fiorella was supposed to pop up with a pert reminder of Betsy Ross, which, in some way she didn't understand, made her feel less than herself. But then, she was just a girl.

Family Relationships

Have you noticed that Trump is never photographed with his youngest? That there are no father-son outings, no tramps around the links together, no companionable visits to the local fast-food hutch? It's like Melania is the only parent. Hmmmm....
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When Fiorella had children, she expected them all to be little copies of her--with maybe a smidgen  of their father thrown in. But they weren't. Insead they were themselves, and radically different from each other at that.
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Did Fiorella tell you that on International Women's Day, Daughter posted a beautiful tribute to her on line and gave out Fio's address to the world?  Your faithful correspondent cried, of course, and she's still glowing.

Talking Turkey

Let's talk turkey, specifically the big fat gobbler who wants to see a parade of toy soldiers marching down Pennsylvania Avenue, who needs a cheat sheet to remind him to say "I hear you," who's so discombobulated that the world is laughing at his recorded communications, who changes his mind every time he turns around, who wants to have a one-on-one with Kim Jong Un, the ruthless dictator or North Korea.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

KJU may be ruthless, but he's not stupid. He's been plotting his climb up the world's totem pole for years, and a certain unstable clown's ascendancy to the presidency of the United States gave him the perfect opportunity to pull off a very clever maneuver. First he teased about, then threatened, nuclear war. Turkey gobbler responded, of course, by trying to out-bombast him. Then, suddenly, KJU turned into a sweetheart, cuddling up with South Korea and sending athletes and pretty girls to the Olympics.

So now the TG plans to meet up with KJU and pull off one of his "winning deals," which usually involve stripping elderly people of their life savings or refusing to pay contract workers. And if you think he will be listening to people who know something about North Korea, think again. Remember, he's like a three-year-old--whatever more sober minds tell him to do, he'll do the opposite.

We are sunk.

Vitamin K, Income Tax, Fed-ExKinko's, Dogs, Louann

It's a wonder that Fiorella is so healthy that her doctor has relegated her to the "See you again in six months" list, but maybe all the chocolate she eats compensates for her lack of Vitamin K.  After all, cocoa comes from a bean.
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Fio is cleaning out the attic room now, and it's slow going because Husband is burning all the income tax records from ancient days in the barbecue outside, and those thick checkbooks don't want to go.
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News flash: Fio was in Fed-Ex Kinko's yesterday to photocopy some current income tax pages, and she asked if the company was still with NRA. The manager told her he had been sent a script of what to say if anyone inquired, but Fio didn't hang around to find out what lame-brain excuse Fed-Ex had come up with. NEVER AGAIN!
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All the dogs in the neighborhood are in an uproar, and Sonia has rushed outside to join in. A stray canine? A coyote? A prowler? Who knows, but our heroine is determined to keep the intruder at bay.
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Fio's favorite comic strip, "Louann," has been cookin' with gas lately. Bad girl Tiffany is turning into a good girl, with bad boy Les aiding and abetting. As a fiction writer, Fiorella also appreciates the way each strip ends with a cliff-hanger. That's what keeps a reader reading.

Call to Action

When ignorance and stupidity reign
And ethics are flushed down the sewage drain
We must unite
And fight the good fight
To make our country whole again