As I mentioned a few posts ago I somehow got myself into an extended FaceBook dialog with a friend about politics. It surprised me that he seems to hate our current president with such a venom that it scared me. I had never seen that side of him before. After an extended comment/counter-comment it shook some of the peacefulness from my current environment. I had trouble sleeping that night and even the next morning his hateful words lingered in my mind. At the end of all those posts it seemed like two one-sided conversation instead of a single thread. There was absolutely nothing that I could have said that would have mattered to him. When I brought up facts to counter his claims there were summarily ignored.
I was upset that I allowed myself to even approach his angry comments. It definitely took the polish off my otherwise delightful trip to date. I knew there was one thing that could shake me from my melancholy and that was “Travels with Charley” by John Steinbeck. I have read that book more times than I can remember but each time I am totally enthralled by his adventures. I am so happy that I bought an e-book version for my Kindle. After an hour with the book the encounter with my friend evaporated. I was back with Steinbeck and his dog Charley on a road trip similar to the one I am now on. When we come upon new places I try to see them with Steinbeck eyes. He had such a marvelous way of looking at the world!
This book was critical to my decision to start blogging. I try to emulate his style of writing and merge it into my own. He is one of my heroes in life. He has taught me so much about the common man that his books are mostly about. He and Will Rogers along with Jesus Christ are the foundations of how I view the world and what I write about.
Thank you once again John for shaking me from my melancholy and helping me to appreciate and love the world around me.
RJ's Corner 
I agree, R.J. It boggles my mind how the president has become the incarnation of all things evil. I guess the right wing propaganda machine is truly well-oiled and pumping. Too many similarities to the kind of hate being spread by the early days of Hitler.
And, yes, one can’t dwell so much on the insanity. Gotta stay with the positivity that the world still holds for us.
Be well.
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Hi Steve, what surprised me the most was the person from which the hateful words was coming from. I have casually known him for eight years or so as a member of the church I used to belong to. He was the president when I was kicked out for not believing in the literal and inerrant bible. Maybe that fact should have told me something 😉
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Hi RJ–Just thought I would share that I’ve also run into seemingly nice folks who don’t appear to have the ability for common sense or insight when it comes to our President. And the sad/scary part is that so many folks blame him for all that is wrong. Do they have the same kind of embittered, non-logical response to all Democratic presidents?
And, I read Travels With Charlie in high school–maybe I should check it out again–fifty years later it might be even more fun to read. Thanks–Barb
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Hi Barb, yes definitely pick up a copy of Travels with Charlie. I read it every five years or so and see something different each time.
I just don’t understand how some people can have such utter disdain for someone especially when they really don’t know the facts. In my Facebook discussion I learned that my friend blamed Obama for not fixing all of the things that Bush created but he would not even acknowledge that the president inherited them from a Republican. In fact he really didn’t even know the president’s name. He kept calling him O’bama. I guess we all have a dark side but most of us keep it under control. This guy’s dark side is unfortunately front and center in his life. What a way to live….
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