The State of My State

      Hello. My name is Betsy. The country, my friends, my family and parts of my life are a bit volatile, and I have decided to blog.

     Last  week my country voted for one of the most controversial presidents ever presented. I am sad, I am scared for my friends who are minorities, LGBTQIA, non-christian and women, and I am angry. I am also resolved to stop being a bystander, and to get out there to start being the change I want to see in the world. I don't have a clear plan yet, but it is coming. I can feel it bubbling up.

     The Friday after the momentous vote, I was privileged to be involved in my company's Veteran's Day flag raising. I was part of a team that assisted a local Junior ROTC group handle the ginormous flag that our company flies daily. I also got to speak to two lovely Honor Flight veterans and their wives while we were waiting for the gentlemen who would be sitting with them through the ceremony. I got a couple of photos before the ceremony began. One is of the Junior ROTC and the other is of the Master Sergeant who leads them.

     On Veteran's Day we wandered to Coshocton to a shop called Unusual Junction to find a dress for my sister, as she will be attending a military ball with her boyfriend in December. She found a gorgeous dress in Navy Blue that cost a whopping $25 and looked amazing on her. 

     Attached to this little shop was a diner. We sat down to eat, and marveled at the record album covers that lined the walls and ceiling. The diner had a television that was playing nothing but classic Price is Right showcase showdown clips, really. We ordered, and I was served the best hamburger I had eaten in a very long time. I forget the name from the menu, but it had bacon, blue cheese, buffalo sauce, tomato and lettuce on a brioche bun. Seriously delicious. My mom went in search of a bathroom and came back telling us we had to come look at the rest of the diner.

     In the rear of this diner there was a huge light up Price is Right sign. On it was a plaque explaining that it was the original studio sign. And it was signed by Bob Barker. In the middle of nowhere Ohio. Who would have thought? 

       

     This week we will be attending a memorial for the mother of my high school best friend. I feel blessed that I made it out to see her in the nursing home before she passed, and also that she was having a "good" day and she knew who I was immediately. It was hard to see her so sick, and so small; she could not have weighed more than 70 pounds. I am so sorry that this was the first time I had seen her since high school, and that it would be the last. I am also sorry that I had lost touch with my friend for so long, as I had not seen her since my wedding in 2012. Too long. 

     This has been a year of losses, wins, deaths, lives, and so many extremes, but it has also been a time of changes within me. I don't think I am the same person who began this year, and I think I am glad to be this new me. Now to keep evolving and changing, and hopefully to make newer bigger changes. I would like to take you with me if you are interested. 

Betsy