Author: Darlene Mitchell

What I am Thankful for this Thanksgiving

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What I am Thankful for This Thanksgiving

What I am Thankful for This Thanksgiving

By Cate Rees-Hessel

 

Our nation is in crisis, but I am still thankful to God for the following this day:

 

  1. My loved ones: spouse, family, friends, colleagues, acquaintances, and furbabies.
  2. I am thankful for all the progressives at every level fighting against the dictator who thinks he is a king.
  3. I am thankful for the fact I never voted for him – I couldn’t live with that on my conscience.
  4. I am thankful for the arts in every form.
  5. I am thankful for children’s laughter – may we protect these innocent ones from harm.
  6. I am thankful that LBGTQ rights are still protected for now, because I love people in that community, including family and close friends.
  7. I am thankful our right to free speech is still present and we can speak our mind for now.
  8. I am thankful for the opportunity to make people laugh.
  9. I am thankful that the government shutdown is over and people can buy food to fill Thanksgiving tables, but my heart breaks that healthcare premiums will pay the price.
  10. I am thankful we can still worship in the faith we desire, and pray that God’s truth may finally break through the racist hate that is not what Christianity should stand for.
  11. I am thankful for freedom – the freedom our military has fought for and protects.
  12. I am thankful for a democracy – may our nation never be robbed of this.
  13. I am thankful for the 25th Amendment – may it be put to good use very soon.
  14. I am thankful for the right to vote – may we use this wisely.
  15. I am thankful for the power of the press, and may I never abuse that privilege.
  16. I am thankful for the power of words that we must use wisely.
  17. I am thankful for all those standing against ICE – just like the first Thanksgiving when native Americans and pilgrims shared a meal together in peace.
  18. I am thankful pumpkin spice season is nearly over.
  19. I am thankful to not have to eat turkey spam from a can.
  20. I am thankful for each of you reading this.

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Chilling ICE Sightings

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More Chilling ICE Sightings

That Leave Us Cold and Frozen in Fear

More Chilling ICE Sightings

That Leave Us Cold and Frozen in Fear

 

ICE Reporting Guidelines:

ICE Sightings: When reporting ICE sightings, REMEMBER S.A.L.U.T.Ε. Provide as much information as possible when reporting threats to our communities:

S as in Size/ Strength How many agents? How many vehicles? WRITE DOWN LICENSE PLATES

A as in Activity What you are seeing. Raid at a workplace, traffic stop? Is violence involved?

L as in Location What is the precise address? Intersections? Nearby landmarks?

U as in Uniform/Clothing What are they wearing? Do they have masks, vests, or badges?

T as in Time and Date Precise time and date of the sighting.

E as in Equipment/Weapons What equipment/weapons? Are they using them?

** Remember keep your whistle close and your cell phone camera ready. We need to draw attention to these masked  thugs and the more pictures and stories the better.

 

By Cate Rees-Hessel with Wes Hessel

 

Below is a list of ICE sightings and stories regarding these occurrences in the Chicago area. This is our second report on ICE activities in the Chicago and surrounding communities for Calamity Politics. Instead of showing any interest in the running of our government, slowing inflation, protecting health care for American citizens, or ensuring that American children have enough food to eat, Trump is busy sending out ICE to arrest fast food workers, gardeners, maids, and wait staff. Most all are hard workers just trying to feed their families, not criminals, in fact, as it turns out, many arrested and hauled off by ICE are US citizens, or legal residents and green card holders. The billions of dollars wasted on this pathetic show of deportation raids and videos of Kristi Noem riding horses and playing Secretary of Homeland Security is disgusting. Remember, one in five children in America goes to bed hungry. It’s sad that Trump is more interested in gold toilets and distracting from the Epstein scandal than doing even the most basic work of a United States president.

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HATE-Maya Angelou

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Hate,

it has caused a lot of problems in this world, but it has not solved one yet.                                        Maya Angelou                     

                                                                            

 

 

Women of a Certain Age-Thanksgiving Edition

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Women of a Certain Age Thanksgiving Edition

Women of a Certain Age-Thanksgiving Edition

 

By Cate Rees-Hessel

 

  1. If you still the baste the turkey with butter, you might just be a woman of a certain age…
  2. If you make dressing stuffed inside the bird without fear of salmonella, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  3. If you call it pumpkin pie seasoning, not pumpkin spice, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  4. If you don’t understand why there is a pumpkin spice latte, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  5. If you wear a ruffled apron to take the turkey out of the oven, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  6. If you make your own green bean casserole, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  7. If you don’t understand why an already deceased cooked turkey needs to rest, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  8. If you have no idea what the hell a tofurky is, nor do you want to, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  9. If you start stocking up on canned pumpkin beginning November 1st, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  10. If you make mashed potatoes from scratch, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  11. If you know a way to slice cranberry sauce to camouflage the can indentations, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  12. If you recall the first Butterball turkey talk line, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  13. If you remember the first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, well, your certainly of a very certain age – happy 100th birthday to that iconic celebration…
  14. If your Thanksgiving table has polished silver, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  15. If your Thanksgiving table has starched and ironed linens, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  16. If your Thanksgiving table has fine bone china and crystal stemware, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  17. If your Thanksgiving table includes refrigerated crescent rolls from a poppable can, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  18. If you join the men watching football only after the dishes are washed, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  19. If you make stuffing by cutting up four loaves of bread a couple days before the holiday and then let them get stale, you might be a woman of a certain age…
  20. If you have no idea what umami is and don’t want it on your Thanksgiving table, you might be a woman of a certain age…

Gratitude and Thanksgiving

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Gratitude and Thanksgiving

Gratitude and Thanksgiving

A Thanksgiving Reminder

By D. S. Mitchell

 

We rush about our daily lives, captives of our cell phones and our computers, isolated from each other by a technology that most of us have no understanding of.  Most of us are angry and aggrieved, often unsure why. We argue with our families over unimportant issues, again not sure why. There is an underlying tension in the country. We have a president that thinks he can “do anything” he wants whether its constitutional or not. People are angry and frightened about what new chaos and cruelty Trump will dream up from day to day. With such social turmoil confronting us it is often easy to overlook everyday ‘miracles’; the beauty of a child’s laugh, the comforting chirp of a robin’s song, or the magnificence of a sunrise.

Don’t let the uncertainty of our social disorder blind you to the everyday miracles around us. Sometimes, being grateful is difficult, I often fail in the endeavor, but as a reminder to my friends and readers if you can’t feel that sense of fulfillment that gratitude provides, you will never find “happiness” no matter how far and wide you search. Take a few minutes each day and celebrate the wonders of existence, the touch of a hand, love, laughter. With the sheer wonder of the universe our gratitude should be overwhelming. Allow yourself be overwhelmed.

 

Mom Said

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MOM SAID

Sometimes You Just Gotta Smile

“Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today-or tomorrow.“

                             Will Rogers and Margaret Williams

 

My Mom, Margaret Helen Brown (Ruffe, Williams 9/22/1909-9/22/1988), said a lot of really wise and often funny things. So, this morning as I’m scanning the internet for a special quote I saw this from Will Rogers, “Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today.” Wow, I think what my Mom said was an improvement on Will Rogers. She would often say, “Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today- or tomorrow.” I like it; I hope you do to.

 

You are the Revolution

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You are the Revolution

You cannot buy the revolution. You cannot make the revolution. You can only be the revolution. It is in your spirit, or it is nowhere.”                                Ursula K. LeGuin

                                         

Let Go of Compulsive Goal Setting

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Let Go of Compulsive Goal Setting

Let Go of Compulsive Goal Setting. . . and be Happy

By D. S. Mitchell

 

Self Help

The other day, I was pawing through a box of books I had stored in the back of my closet and was trying to decide if they were something I should drop off at The Salvation Army or go to the trouble of pricing them to resell on Amazon. As I debated the question I came upon Stephen Shapiro’s 2006 self-help gem, “Goal Free Living: How To Have The Life You Want Now.”  It has been at least a decade since I read the book, but as I flipped through the pages I remembered it distinctly, and thought it would be a great reminder to pass on to my readers to help them enjoy the closure of 2025. If you’re a compulsive goal setter, burdened by could of’s, should of’s, and would of’s now might be the the right time to put all that baggage aside and take a new look at how we prioritize living our lives.

First Person

Stephen Shapiro is the first person that I can remember that gave me permission to release the religion of goal making that permeates our culture, and try to live without the restrictions  of a set of goals or rules for success. I have been told since I was a kid, that goals of all kinds, big, small, wildly ambitious were all within my reach. I just had to want that dream bad enough. The rule seemed to be,  if you can visualize it, you can have it; if you don’t know what you want  (can’t visualize it), you might as well be lost at sea without a life preserver.

Not So

Shapiro disputes this time worn American myth.  In fact, Shapiro argues that if you want to be happy in its most broad interpretation, you need to throw that “five-year plan,” and the “life-time to do list,” into the garbage can. Originally Shapiro was a motivational researcher.  While doing interviews with business leaders for a book he discovered that after interviewing 150 of the country’s most successful people and traveling over 12,ooo miles the most fulfilled people were also the most spontaneous,  and believe it or not, the least goal oriented. What?  How could that be true?  It goes against everything I’ve ever been taught.

Taking a Detour

After interviewing those 150 successful people in all fields of enterprise, from all parts of the country, Shapiro discovered that most of the successful people had taken a circuitous route to their eventual success, and it seems that the circuitous trip was what made the result, all the more satisfying. Shapiro became convinced that the key to happiness comes from checking out the back roads and detours, both literally and figuratively, without fear of changing course. Shapiro is convinced that following goals may lead a person to financial wealth, but there is a good chance that if you follow the plan unquestioningly you will lose yourself and potential happiness.

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Change Course

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 Change Course, You’ll Feel Better

Change Course, You’ll Feel Better

 

By D.S. Mitchell

 

Lyin’ Eyes and Mouth

I could feel my blood boiling as I watched Donald Trump’s ugly orange face come into focus as Chris Hayes switches to Trump and a meeting of his billionaire cabinet. Holy Christmas! What a disgusting display of the ultra wealthy making disastrous decisions that effect the remaining 98% of us. Before he could even open his ‘lyin mouth, I sensed my blood pressure going stratospheric. Our tariff king say he’s tired of hearing about affordability and he doesn’t want to hear any more about such nonsense. “All fake news. Best economy in history.”  I could only tolerate about 2 minutes of his crap and con before I switched the channel to Cold Case Files where at least in the end the family always  gets an answer.

Ranting and Raging

After about 10 minutes of ranting and raging instead of calming down I was actually ramping myself up about something that I had little power to change. I remembered my psychology classes and implemented long proven ways to relax; deep breathing, meditation, or stepping away from the drama. I guess in the case of Trump I need a better distraction than a 2 decade old TV show. The only message here is don’t let the current political situation cause you physical or emotional distress. Deep breathe.

Outraged and Angry

Between the wars in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, Nigeria, the rollbacks of human rights, mass shootings, cuts to Medicaid and Medicare, ACA subsidies, the extreme weather events, it is easy to feel outraged, overwhelmed, and in many ways helpless and hopeless. As I’ve grown older I have learned that even in the darkest places, the human spirt can find light and hope when we come together.  Do what you can in your neighborhood. Feed a hungry person, volunteer at a shelter or the local hospital, speak up for human rights, voting rights, start  a pod cast or a website, and be sure to protest.  You might not be able to effect events in Gaza or Ukraine but you can help someone in your community, and that local action makes a big difference to you as the giver, and to those who benefit from your contribution of time, energy, or money.

Powerful Positive Emotions

Giving and volunteering triggers powerful positive emotions known as “helpers high.”  When we help others dopamine and oxytocin flood our brain, reducing stress, boosting happiness, and creating feelings of purpose, self worth, and connection while also enhancing empathy and energy. As we become more connected to our community, we shift focus from our personal struggles and worries to helping others.  Like Hillary said, “We’re Stronger Together.”

Erotic Thriller Series

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  Embracing the Spider

Fire Mountain Books is proud to announce the publication of EMBRACING THE SPIDER. EMBRACING THE SPIDER is the dramatic conclusion of the Spider Series.

If you loved 365 Days and couldn’t put down the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy, we promise that you will also love Chasing the Spider, Stalking the Spider, and Embracing the Spider. Erotic Romance, Erotic Thriller, Billionaire Romance, Unbridled Passion, Provocative Thriller.  Seduction guaranteed.