Vote for Hillary, Donald, Mary Jane?

Today is Election Day.

Finally

Hillary and Donald want YOU... 

so get out and vote.

And

if you happen to live in  

Massachusetts, Maine, Arizona, Nevada and California

Mary Jane 

wants you too.

Those 5 states are voting for the 

recreational use of marijuana...

aka

weed, dope, pot, grass, reefer, ganja, hash, 

whacky tobacky…

different names, same result

With grass on the ballot…

the color of political landscape could change.

You think you are living in a red state or blue state…

but after today you could be living in a green state.  

It may be hard to beat 

Mary Jane's political platform

with it's talking points on....

economic benefits, 

elimination of bias arrests, 

creation of more jobs

and 

a high on life…chillax feeling with an occasional pig-out session and 

giggle fit.  

With so many possible political ad lines 

Stir the Pot - vote YES for Mary Jane

Get Lit - vote YES for Mary Jane

it should be easy for Mary Jane to get the vote out.

Of course, the other side will take their pot shots 

against Mary Jane...

pointing out...

an increased Dorito dependency, 

excess cottonmouth and weight gain, 

zero motivation to leave the couch and 

hard to shake feeling the FBI is following you.

Don't be Dazed and Confused - Vote NO for Mary Jane

Mary Jane will Wreck you - Vote NO for Mary Jane

Anywhooo…..

If Mary Jane wins in Massachusetts…

tourism will increase...

and Massachusetts will quickly go from

Taxachusetts to 

Grassachusetts

and 

then there is also the possibility 

the visitor count to our house in Manomet, MA could go up.

chillaxin man

We shall soon see what happens...

Mary Jane is now in the hands of the voters…

or maybe not.

As timing would have it...

we happen to be in Mexico during the election.

As you know...

the Mexicans would NOT be pleased with a

Donald win.

They are hoping for a Hillary Clinton victory and are

planning street parties through social media.

A Hillary win 

would definitely make our trip here in Mexico

Fiesta time

a LOT more enjoyable than if Donald were to win.

Scary Early Voting

I voted early…

not because I was excited about the choices for President,

 but I will be MIA on voting day.

What better day to vote than today, 

Halloween...  

especially with this year's Presidential election being directly in line with the 
spirit of Halloween, 

very dark and oh so scary. 

The political campaign ads have been nasty and negative…
with both candidates stabbing each other in the back 

wherever and whenever possible.  

Each candidate has a closet full of skeletons

 which keep jumping out at us

making us scream in horror.

It's enough to make your blood run cold 

or is it...make your blood boil?  

It seems as though every day there is another 
witch hunt 
or
a candidate digging their own grave.

And now there is a newly opened FBI investigation

which is disconcerting 

during the witching hour of the election.

Anywhoooo…..

It felt good to exercise my constitutional right to vote.  

As an American it is my duty and my right.  

And I am proud to be an American 

even if this Presidential race is 
hauntingly disturbing.

I did have a devil's advocate moment in the voting booth 
with the thought of 
writing in 
a Presidential candidate.

But who? 

umm...Donnie Darko, of course

Donnie Darko, a psychological Halloween themed film 

set during 1988 elections...
scary with a nightmare-ish tone...
not too eerily distant from the

the 2016 election

just missing "Frank" 

the scary talking rabbit.

Yep, I would say....

Halloween was the perfect day for me to vote.

or else...
Donnie Darko could be your President.

No Clowning Around

DON'T send in the clowns.

I don't know about you but I have a fear of clowns …

aka Coulrophobia.  

Apparently you can have a phobia to just about anything.  

If you can name it…you can be afraid of it.

ie…if something is a noun…you can fear it.

(I wonder if the fear of "nouns" is called nounophobia?)  

So now I'm finding out….

my fear of chopsticks has a fancy name…

Consecotaleophobia.   

Think about it...

you could get a splinter stuck in your throat. 

(Okay, maybe I'm awkward with using chopsticks.

I haven't mastered the chopstick.

I have mastered the fork.)

anywhoooo……

It's not yet Halloween but there is a new 
clown in town.

Move over Chuckles-the-Clown.

The Creepy Clown is 
h-e-r-e.

creep or treat

Wether the recent clown claims are hearsay and hoax 

or authentic and accurate…

social media is fueling the creepy clown hysteria 

giving Average Joe Clown a good reason 
to be a sad sack

behind his plastered smile.

A "Clowns Lives Matter" Parade is scheduled in Tuscon, AZ on Oct. 15.
The Clowns do matter...
but paint me out of that picture.
I've never been a fan of clowns with their freaky features and 
numerous Clowni together
sounds frightening.

 Heck, even children who are supposed to like clowns 

fear them.  

You can't kid a kid…so call me a kid 
and give me  a lollipop.

How about that story of the dad in Auburn MA, who was dressed as a clown 

and following a school bus. 

Turns out his kids were on the bus…

and he was just clowning around.  

Not funny. 

Give that dad the Bozo Award 

and a night in the slammer.

The only time I think a clown isn't scary is when he's riding in his clown car 

and honking the horn

or 

I'm on a long road trip and in need of a greasy burger.

Nothing  puts a smile on my face 

more than Ronald McDonald

smiling back at me.

Let's face it…

the upside of the creepy clown craze of 2016, 

 is that it  …

takes the focus off the other clowns 

who are running for President 2016.

(couldn't resist)

35 Years of "Something So Right"

I have been hitched, tied, and tethered to my ball and chain

for 35 years...

and that's a good thing.

Being the traditionalists that we are...

PaulA and I will be observing our special anniversary traditions...

which include wearing my wedding dress.

(That would be me wearing the dress...not PaulA. PaulA wears a much larger dress size.)

Yes, I've been putting my gown on every year.

During my preggo years, I left it wide open in the back.

(Big C...you are in there somewhere.)

I haven’t exactly taken special care of my wedding gown.

The most I’ve done to preserve it is to store it in a blue Rubbermaid container.

I have to admit, my dress has faded and is not as white as it used to be.

But then again, I’m a little faded and not as bright as I used to be.

So this evening PaulA and I will be dancing to our special song “Something So Right”

sung by Barbra Streisand.

Barbra won’t be in the room with us...but I like to pretend she is.

side note:  I recently discovered Paul Simon wrote "Something So Right"
and Paul Simon has my same birth day.

Cosmic or what?

Back when our kids were little, they would sit on the couch

and watch with wide-eyed amazement...as we waltzed around the family room.

(Dancing with the Stars...here we come.)

When they were teens...they’d sit on the same couch,

and make jeering comments….

“You actually wore that dress on your wedding day? That’s how you guys danced?”

Now they call us asking,

“You wore your wedding dress and danced to your song, right?”

Anywhoooooo.......

The icing on the wedding cake every year, is PaulA’s card.

I look forward to his card …which is always so beautifully written...

and I try to keep my emotions to a nice happy cry....

not the ugly, snot bubble-through-the-nostrils cry.

So if you peek in our windows tonight…(I’m calling the cops)...

you’re sure to get a glimpse of Kat and PaulA still doing

“Something So Right.”

My dress may have faded...but our love

still sparkles.

Goodbye House

TWENTY! years ago we moved into 
the White House 

with our young and growing family.  

It wasn't The White House located on Pennsylvania Ave…

Bill and Hillary Clinton had that one, 

but we felt just as privileged.  

We were excited to be moving back to CT and had found 

just the right house, by just the right builder, in just the right neighborhood.  

Something so right. 

(My favorite B. Streisand song)

We were Sold.

Looking back, these 3 look like orphans we got off ebay. 

At least they were happy orphans.

We still have the "sold" sign today and the kids.

albeit, they aren't kids anymore.

Anywhoooo......

Fast forward to 2016 and almost to the day…
we sold our White House 

Apparently the Clintons dig the digs at the White House so much, 
they're trying to get back in.

Moving out of a home where you have 
lived, loved, and laughed for 20 years 

is not only hard emotionally, 

but it is also

a monumental physical task. 

3 large dumpsters,

1 billion trips to the Good Will, 

numerous online tags sales, 

a face-to-face tag sale (I could only handle one), 

furniture to family, friends and Facebook strangers....

many Charity organization pick-ups
later...

everything was a heave-ho, must-go….

except the few must-haves…and the memories.  

We were taking those AND our friendships with us...
we could never ever leave them behind.

Our last night at the house was an emotional one for this Kat.  

I  get emotional at most anything…just ask my family.

I thought about everything I was doing for the last time…

the last time I would turn off a light, 
the last time I would open a cabinet

the last time I would clean the toilets 
(thank goodness for the last)…

And so

on our last night 
PaulA and I slept on the floor in our empty bedroom, in our empty house

and the reel-to-reel tape 
of real life 
played over and over in my head of

7,300 days...
good days, bad days, 

long days, short days, 
dog days.

Speaking of dog days…

we had 14 years of them with Duncandog 

aka rappa D 

the hairy 4-legged 

sixth member of the Healy family.

Where did all those days go?

I will miss our White House
the safe place we laid our heads at night 
all together, under 1 roof...
but I will also miss the passage of 20 years and the

memories, moments, and milestones
that went with them.

The next morning was "G" day...
Goodbye day.

I slowly walked through the house and said goodbye to each room. 

Goodbye kitchen, Goodbye living room, Goodbye family room, Goodbye dining room......

Goodbye to empty rooms.

Empty, 
like the first day we moved in... 

except, 

each room was filled with special memories that flashed before me.

So for the l-a-s-t time, 
I shut the front door 

blew the White House a kiss, 

and cried my eyes out.

no surprise there.

It was a bittersweet moment.

PaulA and I were closing the door on the White House for the last time,

 but at the same time 

we were opening the door 

to a new adventure.

(As for Hill and Bill moving back into the other White House?...
that door still remains open.)

United We Stand

Today 

we set aside our political differences and 

STAND 

together

to remember 

the 2,977 lives that were lost 15 years ago,

and the men and women who sacrificed their lives 

to save others

and 

to honor 

those who continue to defend our freedom.

United We Stand