This shutdown business has me quite undone. I can’t believe it’s still unresolved without any end in sight.
What about those of us inside the wall?
I went to my bookcase taking down an atlas on past presidents: Lincoln, FDR, Truman and JFK the ones I turned to.
Harry S. Truman, the only American President who didn’t attend college, was given the tragic task of stepping into Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s shoes after suddenly dying in Warm Springs, Georgia, when they were mighty big shoes to fill.
Yet he managed to comfort the country who loved FDR so much they elected him to a 4th term, one he barely served. When Harry said, the buck stops here, it was about taking responsibility, not what was in his wallet.
Some called Roosevelt with his New Deal, a traitor to his class, due to his devotion to struggling Americans during the depression because he too, like our present President, had great personal wealth. The difference being, his heart stayed open till the day he was no more.
Lincoln of course had four years of the Civil War leaving him hated by some, still respected by many, staying the course best he could holding the country together with his two hands. Yes, he could have negotiated with the south during those bloody years, but chose, Liberty and Union, Now and Forever, to quote the great Daniel Webster.
He did what he felt was best for the country as did Truman, as did Roosevelt while we stood nobly behind them.
As for John F. Kennedy, if it weren’t for the delicacy of his actions during the Cuban Missile Crisis, we might not even be here. If it were to happen now, God forbid, that would pretty much be a given.
How scary is that?
Where am I going with all this long ago lore? I’m not sure, but what I am sure of is this…
the need to feel those amber waves of grain will still flourish when all this insanity is over.
I don’t feel safe with Mr. Trump at the controls, because that’s what it’s become, his way or the highway. He should be locked in meetings with his shirt sleeves rolled up till this silly standoff is settled.
We elected him because he was at the right place at the right time since, anyone would have been preferable to those political pirates, the infamous Clintons.
We were unabashedly hopeful, the way we were raised to be.
We made a mistake.
But after reading about Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman and John Kennedy during their trials, I feel better knowing that…
this too shall pass. 
SB