I'm still in shock from the election results. David Remnick of The New Yorker called it a "hallucination." I think it might turn out to be more like a nightmare.

Maybe the recount in Wisconsin can change things. (I wouldn't put it past that vermin/slug/reptile Scott Walker and the Wisconsin GOP trying to steal the election, besides the tens of thousands of voters they threw off the rolls through voter suppression.) And Michigan and Pennsylvania, too. Some of the results there seem strange. We'll see what happens. Probably nothing.

So we must prepare for the next four years. How bad will it be? Pretty bad, I'm afraid.
It's already bad, and it hasn't even started. A Neo-Nazi sympathizer in the corner office of the White House? A proven enemy of public education as the Secretary of Education? Trump's daughter sitting in on a meeting with the Japanese prime minister? A racist Attorney General? Trump passing on intelligence briefings to Tweet gossip? Fox News "analysts" in key national security positions? Rudy Giuliani in any position?

It's not like there is a sensible GOP to keep Trump in line; they're as crazy and irresponsible as he is. ("Hey, let's close down the government!") Maybe worse. If Trump doesn't last four years – and I don't think he will – that leaves us with President Pence. Arguably worse. He's a true believer.

SEND IN THE CLOWNS – Judi Dench – from the BBC Proms 2010
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeA8AlctmSw

SEND IN THE CLOWNS – Judi Dench – from a 1995 revival of "A Little Night Music"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04E8Y8nDfRQ

SEND IN THE CLOWNS – Glynis Johns and Len Cariou recreate the original scene
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAl-EawVobY

So what do we do? Here are a few suggestions:

FIGHT BACK

Join an organization, work in your community, back a cause or a progressive candidate you believe in. It doesn't matter what you do, but do something.

Get ready for the 2018 mid-term elections when we can throw some of these crazies out.

Go light on the Christmas shopping for your family and give some money to –

Natural Resources Defense Council
https://www.nrdc.org 

American Civil Liberties Union
https://www.aclu.org 

Southern Poverty Law Center
https://www.splcenter.org

Planned Parenthood
https://www.plannedparenthood.org 

Anti-Defamation League
http://adl.org

STAY INFORMED

Fight lies with truth. And facts.

Read "The New York Times" ... "The Washington Post" and

Alternet -- http://www.alternet.org 

Daily Kos -- http://www.dailykos.com 

Truthdig -- http://www.truthdig.com 

Talking Points Memo -- http://talkingpointsmemo.com 

Politifact -- http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/ 

And for a general view of the field --

Realclearpolitics -- http://www.realclearpolitics.com

Take care of your feelings. Don't get too down.

MUSIC

Music always helps lift the spirits. As Nietszche said, "Without music, life would be an error." Last week, in the near-depths of my post-election blues, with the TG and the Flower gone on one of their famous "mother-daughter" trips (this time, Iceland), I saw Sturgill Simpson at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles for two hours of thrilling, soul-charging country/R&B. I've been seeing a lot of classical music lately, so it was good to see something that was so today. So now.

Sturgill steals Nirvana's "IN BLOOM"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKmYecytIVA 

Sturgill Simpson covers William Bell's "YOU DON'T MISS YOUR WATER"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUjKs9sf4Lo 

Sturgill sings 'LIFE OF SIN" on David Letterman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFzYp-4_Egg

Listen to great old music. Just this week, I listened to a complete opera on Sirius radio – a broadcast of a Saturday matinee performance at the Metropolitan Opera from 1940 of UN BALLO IN MASCHERA, one of my favorite Verdi operas – with the young Jussi Bjoerling in a rare recording of his Ricardo, one of his most famous roles.

Bjoerling is on the short list of "Greatest Singers Who Ever Lived." In hard times, when you feel bad, go for the best.

Jussi Bjoerling – "Di Tu Se Fidele" – live from the New Orleans Opera
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_OFNhaXR_k 

Jussi Bjoerling -- "Forse la soglia attinse" – live from the New Orleans Opera
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blOfCPI8OWs

READING

Reading is one of the best escapes. I'm deep into a very nice, very long biography of Elizabeth I by Anne Somerset. After our trip to the UK, it's no surprise that I wanted a big, strong dose of English history, and though I know the parts of Elizabeth's story in pieces, it's nice to get the entire narrative, from beginning to end, in one complete package. (Her life is so famous and retold so often, in so many ways, that it's hard to read about her and not picture Bette Davis, Glenda Jackson, Beverly Sills, Cate Blanchett, Flora Robson, Margaret Tyzack, etc. Hell, when I'm reading about Cecil, I picture Donald Crisp. Can't wait to get to Essex/Errol Flynn.)

For my after-dinner/in front of the TV reading, I've been dipping into WILLIAM MORRIS, a comprehensive, lavishly illustrated book on the great English designer/writer/theorist that accompanied a massive exhibition at the V&A in 1996. The range of Morris' accomplishments continues to fascinate me. I want to know more about him, starting with all that beautiful wallpaper.

DO YOGA

I've been doing yoga for about fifteen years, three times a week, and I highly recommend it for stress-relief. Those three hours are less than 2% of the 168 hours in a week, but the sense of peace and harmony I get from those three hours permeates the entire week. There are, of course, many physical benefits to yoga – for strength, flexability, balance, etc. – but it's the inward, spiritual aspect of yoga that makes it unique. I always come out of a yoga class feeling better.

PLAN GOOD THINGS FOR THE FUTURE

I just got tickets for Jason Isbell in March – for my birthday. That's something to look forward to.

STAY POSITIVE AND TAKE CARE OF YOUR FAMILY

One of the things that keeps me going in a positive state of mind is my grandson Calder, my new best friend, my Golden Boy. The TG periodically reminds me that I must be positive for him. I must try, in the years left to me, to make the world a better place for Calder to grow up in.

Before he was born or named, I wrote in the Baby Shower remembrance book, "Baby -- I've got your back." I feel the same way. I have to do everything I can for Calder: from micro-things like reading to him, taking him to the playground, and feeding him apples to macro-things like trying to keep his planet from burning to a crisp.

Calder should live till the year 2100. Things could be pretty crazy by then, as refugees from flooded coastal areas move elsewhere.

Meanwhile, President-elect Trump thinks that climate change is a hoax.

BE PREPARED

Who knows what each of us may be asked to do for our country?

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