Post #14 - December 10, 2016
After the crazy election of Drump in November, I had gone to my neighbor's house the day after the election to try to understand how and why anyone could possibly have voted for Drump. I mentioned this in an earlier post. Talking to this neighbor and his wife did make me feel a bit better and the husband invited me to the monthly Foothills Republican lunch. So, I said yes. It was this past Thursday at Pinehurst Country Club off of Wadsworth and Quincy. My neighbor RSVPd me. It started at 11:30 and went until 1:00. I walked in and I was by far one of the youngest people there. My neighbor had told me the crowd was older and mentioned something about how they all drove BMWs & Mercedes. An older man gave me my name tag and a lady marked me off of the list and I paid my $20 (members pay $17). I told the gentleman that gave me my name tag that I was infiltrating the group and we both laughed. I went into the banquet/conference room which had probably 6 or so round tables that each sat about 10 people. Nothing really happened until around noon. People were just filing in and catching up with other people. I felt like I did the few times I went to a Mormon church when I was dating Bruno...somewhat like a spy, knowingly attending a cult. I felt uncomfortable and almost afraid of what I may hear / see. My neighbor showed up and sat next to me. No one else introduced themselves or talked to me. Not the most welcoming group. Even the President, Rick Enstrom, (of Enstrom Candies) said not a word to me. As I sat there waiting for things to get started and observing the people in attendance, it dawned on me that my high school classmate, Dave, who is an overweight VP at a bank in Greeley, would fit right in. One lady sitting at my table had little Republican elephant earrings. After a few announcements, Mr. Enstrom asked a guy to come up and say the invocation, which was a prayer. I wondered if the Democrats pray before their meetings and I wondered if there were any other non-'Christians' that attend this group? I bowed my head out of respect, but if felt just like the crap I was raised with and still is heard before meals at my relatives'. Most, maybe all?, people said 'Amen' at the end. I didn't. Lunch was served, which was paltry. For an athletic person like myself and for $20, I expected much more. A couple of spoonfuls of sweet potato mush, even less microwaved steamed vegetables (carrots, squash, etc) and a few pieces of ham, which was very fatty (can you tell I wasn't impressed so far?) (they also had dinner rolls, but I don't eat hardly any bread, so didn't have that). The guest speaker was Kevin Grantham, State Senator. This guy is the epitome what eastern CO, where I grew-up, is. Cowboy hat, ridiculous mustache, tried to be funny. Am I cynical from the get-go...probably. He spoke about bringing common sense back into the state government. The group clapped for him when he spoke about how with Trump as President and being in the majority, things would be easier to get done. He mentioned that in 2 years, hopefully, a Republican governor would be elected to CO and then even more could be accomplished. As I looked around, it seemed like everyone there was buying what he was saying. I wondered if anyone else was a skeptic, like me? There was a Q&A after and one guy did ask a question that seemed to have some thought behind it....something to do with Medicare and the Federal government rules handed down to the states. It felt more like a rah-rah session, rather than educational. Afterward, I talked to the guy sitting to my left. He was very frail, thin and Asian. I mentioned to him and to my neighbor that I wanted to go talk to Mr. Grantham, as I was also raised in eastern CO. The guy, Ron, to my left said he used to be a bank examiner and used to go to eastern CO often back in the day. He said the people in eastern CO were good people. I told him I disagreed. I didn't tell him about the emotional, physical and sexual abuse, but later I wondered what characteristics of people make them 'good?' How can you call someone good if you don't really know them? I've had quite a few people who have met my parents say they were the 'salt of the earth' and 'good' people, but they didn't really know them. Then again, my relatives all know what my parents & brother have said and done to me and they still talk to them and would probably say they are 'good' people. Where the hell does that come from? I realize no one is completely bad or completely good (some people are probably considered evil to the core), but really? I just do not see the enthrallment some people have about farmers & ranchers. Why is it that they are described as having good, old fashioned values? And what the hell is a good, old fashioned value? Are people who are raised in the city not honest, kind, generous? This kind of thinking needs to be discarded. Are blue collar people's values so much better than white collar? Not in my mind. I didn't feel all that comfortable at this luncheon, then again, I am a skeptical person and don't usually just 'buy in' to what is being dished out. Even if everyone else attending is being 'sucked in,' I am more pragmatic. Not an idealist at all. In my younger years, I was 'sucked in' to the Christian way of thinking and more or less bought the story that the way I was raised and my parents were good. Now with all I've been through, I think for myself and look and see if things 'make sense' and are 'true' for me. If not, I don't buy it.