Wednesday, August 03, 2022

Running on Empty

 

Incredulity

Running on Empty

Frailty Syndrome

By Stephen L. Wilmeth

 

             That ol’ mule, no … he don’t look so good.

                                                                    ~ Anonymous Mexican horse trader

            Another month of this drought and there aren’t going to be cattle left in parts of the West and the great state of Texas.

            I saw a picture of a rancher sitting in an auction barn and there wasn’t the least need to attach a caption to the image. He just sat there in grief and despondency. The question he had to be asking himself and so many of us are starting to visit with ourselves about in the dark of night is simple. What if it doesn’t rain?

It is becoming a tragedy that words just don’t describe.

Although there is some country greening in our neck of the woods there is also much that simply hasn’t had rain or has had only enough to start grass, but is now burning. Thirty air miles away from out southern boundary in Tommy and Delia’s Tres Hermanas country, they are reporting their ranch has never been so good at this time of the year. Fifteen miles east from them and Dudley is thinking he is observing clouds running on empty much akin to certain pipelines. At the base of Gomez Peak, Hugh had over 7” of accumulated rain by the first of July. The upper end of Sacaton Mesa is reaching that amount as the month ends, too.

We have country that doesn’t yet total 1.5” for the year. Where it rains it rains and where it doesn’t … it doesn’t.

Incredulity

Years ago, when AM radio was played consistently in ranch pickups, a particular New York based host that claimed to wear a New Mexico custom made Davis felt hat (that matched his ego and confirmed he didn’t have a Nana in his past to tell him to take his d*mned hat off in the house) became a performer of interest. His supporting crew made the entire listening experience more interesting and tuning in to his show became a regular occurrence.

There was always some edgy stuff that came out of his mouth, but there was enough humor and sometimes brilliance that his city stupid derailments were largely overlooked. That changed, though, when former Senator Biden from Delaware was interviewed with the host suggesting the senator should run for the presidency.

Oooooh.

The listening allegiance was on the rocks for a bit before the mood shifted back to the things that made Don Imus famous. The wheels completely fell on the rails, though, when Imus bought the ranch in northern New Mexico touting all the good stuff he was doing with children under the pretext of the western theme of COWBOY. There became a caveat, though. He had a subtle tendency to denigrate the real-life characters of the theme in learned New York City fashion. If that wasn’t enough, he announced and dwelt on the fact he was a vegetarian.

Oooooh, magnified.

That was simply a deal breaker, and Imus was turned out forthwith not to be regathered. His subsequent difficulties were known only through bits and fringes of news, but the die was cast. No allegiance was reframed, and lo and behold, his buddy, the senator from Delaware, eventually found himself in the people’s house.

Frailty Syndrome

If the 45th President of the U.S. displayed the geriatric syndrome that embodies the elevated risk of catastrophic declines of health and function displayed by the conditional 46th office holder, number 45 would have been impeached yet again and or removed from office based on a unified 25th Amendment process confirming the expanding incapacitation of him as the commander in chief of these United States of America. We all know that to be a simple truth.

With the recent announcement by number 46 that he has cancer, no more forgiveness of use of words can be accepted. If the president of the United States says he has cancer in a public disclosure, he must demonstrate the fact or suffer the full consequences of his choice of words.

His history of health issues started long ago. During the campaign, his wife defended him at one point reminding us of the fact he has had two strokes. Those apparently happened in 1988 when it can be discovered he suffered repeated brain bleeds. There is absolutely no public information regarding how this president’s health remains impacted from those events.

A medical professional, a resident of Delaware, who has had personal contact with the president worries that two conditions of past head trauma (might or might not be the noted strokes) have lingering impact on the president’s ability to buffer impulses. Especially if women are present in private settings, he is known to erupt with bizarre and or profane urges to shock or offend. He is obnoxiously crude.

His past suffering of asthma is a condition many people share, but his was bad enough to be exempted from military service. With increasing age, asthma remains a dangerous and debilitating inflammatory disease.

To those who have witnessed serious paths of dementia, the gated walk, the lapses into helplessness, and the loss of continuity of thought are all too worrisome. There are no walk backs from the throes of this horrid decline and the physical demonstrations of same are evident.

Why does this fellow insist on wearing sunglasses? As far as searches go, his supporters suggest he cares for his eye health and wants to protect them from the sun. That might be true, but on a world stage with many other world leaders unprotected for obligatory group photos, there is the American president doing his rendition of some South or Central American jefe. It isn’t becoming.

More objective responses suggest the eye condition of this president is subconjunctival hemorrhage whereby very small blood vessels on the outer surface of the eye rupture, allowing blood to pool beneath the surface. Blood thinning medications can cause such bleeding, but so too, can the overuse of pills associated with the personal, erectile problem suffered by some men.

The secrets remain, the scribes and defender mobs will cover his and the agenda tracks, and the truth will not be forthcoming.

 

Stephen L. Wilmeth is a rancher from southern New Mexico. “Turns out that mule was blind.”

 

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Since Wilmeth's meandering diatribe began with the drought, let's talk weather. The orange liar's thoughts about nuking hurricanes, his accusation that China is pointing some sort of "hurrican gun" at the U.S., and his use of a Sharpie to alter a National Weather Service storm map (I've got lots more examples) to justify his mistake in including Alabama in a hurricane warning do not inspire much confidence in his mental acuity. Maybe his spray tan soaked into whats left of his brain. His successor is a genius in comparison.

Anonymous said...

Agreed. Talk about rambling. Maybe that was Steve’s point with a random Meandering opinion piece.

Anonymous said...

Stephen, God bless you and Frank. Thank you both for making my day when I read your posts and contributions. Jim in AZ