The world is losing way too many good people right now.

This week/weekend has been rough. Beyond my uncle last week, I learned that I lost a friend (who had officiated over 3600 weddings and loved sharing bizarre musical instruments) to complications of a stroke, and several friends have lost beloved pets, not to mention the 2000 or Americans lost to COVID in the past 48 hours.

Then there’s the big one that could impact us all. RBG.

The Titan of the Supreme Court, feminist trailblazer, influential jurist, role model, and total badass finally took her rest, 45 days before the election, but not before getting in one final parting shot, dictating to her granddaughter that her most fervent wish is that she not be replaced until there is a new president.

If you all remember the far away times of 2016, when Justice Scalia passed ten months before the election, the Republican leadership in the Senate put the brakes on President Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland, because in an election year, “the people should decide” before a new Justice is installed.

If you believed they’d stick to that…well, I’d love to sell you something. It took around an hour before Majority Leader McConnell made it clear he intends to fast-track whoever 45 nominates ASAP. Rules for thee, not for me, I guess.

This is now the story of the election (even if I’ve already voted, which I’ll have done by the end of the day); we’ll be watching very closely, and as much as I’d love to “go high” as Michelle Obama implores us, my inclination here is that we obstruct *everything* for the next month and a half to keep this from happening. Given the two picks 45 has made thus far, can you imagine what sort of candidate he’ll put forward when they just don’t have time for vetting? It’s gonna be ugly.

________________________

So, personally, the weekend, if nothing else, allowed me to accomplish a couple of things. Friday evening I ended up running a couple of things out west to the kid, and had a nice dinner at a cool little Indian/Meditterranean cafe. I got my bike back, and put it through it’s paces, and had the shop/brewery throw in some nice hand grips and a free beer to make up for the delay (yes, in Richmond, EVERYTHING is a brewery). I also got the gutters cleaned on the house, which was long overdue.

Beyond those couple of things, though, it’s been nothing but eyestrain and a persistent cough that I’ve picked up in the last 24 hours, plus, you know, the general crappiness of the world. And for the next few days, I don’t really expect it to change.