As the Thanksgiving Holiday Winds Down…

I can't help but pass on what Dave wrote, as it so succinctly mirrors my own feelings:

I have a great deal to be thankful for.

And yet… it's tough to find a way to appreciate it in the middle of a pandemic where there are still people who are fucking things up and dragging everything out. It seriously feels like COVID is never going to end. The virus continues to mutate, and the anti-vax/anti-mask brigade doesn't seem to give a shit. Despite the fact that they are twenty times more likely to die if they contract COVID when compared to those who are vaccinated.

Oh well. All I can do is attempt to remain careful and try not to die from being one of the few breakthrough cases that happen. What else is there?

One Year

It's been a year since our former landlord—through his own incompetence—burned us out of the home we had lived in since returning from Denver in 2015.

And while today isn't the actual date of the fire, its anniversary will forever be tied to the Sunday after Thanksgiving, regardless of the number on the calendar.

A few weeks ago, acknowledging that the pall of that tragedy was still hanging over my head and robbing me of what little joy this year has afforded, I decided it was time to just let it go.

Let. It. Go. Move on. I was tired of allowing it such power over me.

"Fuck James," still rolls off my lips when confronted with a reminder of what happened (we're still discovering little things missing or that need to be replaced), but not nearly as frequently as it had been.

As I may have mentioned, Ben and I had been talking about moving prior to the fire. There were several things about the house that annoyed both both of us no end, but in the end it was home and perhaps even more than that, the one thing that kept us there was the very reasonable rent ($1300 for a three bedroom house), and the fact that neither one of us could stomach the thought of packing everything up and moving.

As is often the case, the Universe picked up on that and literally lit a fire under our asses.

Our new place has its share of annoyances, and our landlord is a far cry from our previous on the sociability index, but we've finally settled in and think of it as home.

I'd be lying if I said there weren't any scars remaining from a year ago. I still haven't put the aquarium back up, and frankly I may just write off that entire hobby at this point. Last night, thinking back over the number of fish that I—through my incompetence—sent to an early grave over the years still sickens me when I think about it. After 35 years of having an aquarium of one size or another in the bedroom, I miss the quiet gurgling of the air pump at night but I do not miss cleaning the damn things.

 

Fasten Your Seatbelts…

QAnon Believers Still Waiting for JFK Jr. In Dallas sing Michael Jackson's "We Are The World"

Yes, Qanon followers are still hanging around Dealy Plaza in Dallas, Texas, waiting for the reappearance of John F. Kennedy, Jr., who died in a plane crash in 1999, and have recently been filmed huddling together in the dark singing "We Are the World" by Michael Jackson. It's not entirely clear why they chose that particular song other than its general unifying message, but understanding why they're all Jackson fans requires a quick tour down the rabbit hole, so if you're not caught up yet, buckle up.

QAnon believers flocked to Dallas early this month due to proclamations from some internet posted who has become a leader within the"movement" albeit little fringe even for QAnon, claiming that JFK Jr. would appear there after faking his death to announce the end of the Biden administration. He was supposed to return from the dead on a specific night in order to crown Donald Trump king of the world or something like that, but when he didn't, the QAnon leader, Michael Brian Protzman, changed his mind, saying that he would appear at a nearby Rolling Stones concert.

When that didn't happen, the conspiracy theory quickly evolved to encapsulate many more dead celebrities. Not only didthe cultists theorize that Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards was actually JFK Jr. in disguise, having apparently spent the last 22 years learning to shred, but that in fact hundreds of celebrities have faked their deaths over the years in order to escape Illuminati contracts. These celebrities, including the late pop legend Michael Jackson, are now expected to simultaneously come out of hiding in order to make everything in the world right again.

"Robin Williams was here the other day, one woman told Rolling Stone at the beginning of November. "Michael Jackson is high in the movement."

More than three weeks after initially showing up in Dallas in numbers of
around 1,000 people, only about 100 remained to watch the anniversary of the assassination of the senior John F. Kennedy at Dealy Plaza come and go without his son showing up. They believed he would appear on Monday this time, but when he didn't they continued to wait around, holding up "Trump/JFK Jr. 2024" signs and eventually began their singalong, which seems to be turning into the world's weirdest tradition.

Some QAnon believers have even discussed setting up a permanent compound in or near Dallas in order to continue waiting for JFK Jr., because everyone knows how much cults love their compounds.

On Tuesday, a member of the Kennedy family responded to the QAnon antics in Dallas, praising a report by MSNBC anchor Brian Williams who encouraged people to feel bad for the family, which has suffered so many losses, rather than QAnon "cult members."

"Well said, Brian Williams," tweeted NBC anchor and cousin to JFK Jr. Maria Shriver. "He's right, you never get over these losses. I know many others struggle with theirs, as well. Go kindly into the days." Meanwhile, on Reddit, multiplecommenters are wondering if it's possible to get some good out of all this absurdity by having someone dress up as JFK Jr. to address the crowd and steer them toward conspiracy theories that would encourage action against climate change or just more general sanity.

[Source]