Reality versus delusion

 Dear you,

Today, I hear bell hooks - "The most basic activism we can have in our lives is to live consciously in a nation living in fantasies . . . you will face reality, you will not delude yourself."

This, as Trump/Vance lie about immigrants, this as those in charge of my condo world refuse to alert us to what is coming (millions of dollars needed to repair structural decay due to previous management/board avoidance), this as 30A pretends to be the Hamptons of the South. One big cluster of delusional nonsense.

And also this: the death of a lovely orange bougainvillea that once grew by our pool to the east.  Weeks ago, during another mindless "landscaping" frenzy at the Villas, a worker was ordered to take a chainsaw to that gorgeous plant.  Why?  Because the new plan did not include the reality of existing beauty.  Delusion driven, the committee or whoever ordered this stupid action, imagined something they deemed better:  pine straw and a couple of sad little yellow flowering plants that will not survive this hot September. 

Yet another sad, pointless reality to face, a seemingly small thing, a very micro-local thing, but large in terms of meaning. There will always be differences of opinion regarding aesthetics, but come on.  Pine straw v. a colorful, flowering beauty?  I cannot assign malevolent intent to those who ordered the take-down, but I can confidently conclude they are deluded.

So, do something, right? This weekend I am heading to the garden center at Walmart and buying a baby bougainvillea.  I will convince one of the landscaping assassins to plant it in the space where its predecessor thrived. As for the bigger picture "this" list above, I will also continue to donate to the Harris/Walz campaign and hope, hope, hope, realism defeats delusion in November.  I will keep speaking truth about the real financial jeopardy owners will face at this condo. And I will do my best to not get aggravated by the false comparisons penned by silly tourism boards.  (Anyone who has ever been to The Hamptons knows our 30A scene is in no way comparable.  Reality:  We are still best described as the Redneck Riviera.  Own it.)

Keeping it as real as I can day by day,

Joyce

Childless?

Dear you,

Childless.  When did this become a thing to bemoan/criticize?  Gee, all my reproductive hot years, according to the breeding-is-best-advocates, were wasted. And here I was thinking I had happily chosen to go solo and not be a breeder.  As a feminist, and a human being, who is/was audacious enough to consider her singularity valuable, I never imagined the popularity of this newly twisted adjective. Being less without child.  Other derogatory "less" modifiers come to mind:

Hopeless

Meaningless

Joyless

Helpless

Expressionless

Ambitionless

Less as in lacking the noun base thing or quality.  On the other hand, there are positive "less" descriptive words:

Ageless

Boundless

Fearless

Breathless

Hurrah!  If described these ways, I am immune to the effects of age, I live without boundaries or limits, I am not afraid of anything, and I am capable of awe that takes my breath away.

How can I spin an adjective that denotes the NOT joyless experience of avoiding parenthood?  Instead of less, consider "free".  I am a child-free woman of a certain age; there is not less-than or lack here. There is only good old autonomous me. 

Let's see how long this "childless" criticism lasts. If we do elect Harris/Walz, eventually (with time and persistence), the cultural value of choosing to go solo will regain its former luster.

Resist twisted adjectives!

Love,

Child-free Joyce