The View from Here

Let’s get this out of the way: that Pam Bondi Congressional appearance! Wow! That was something else, right?

I only watched snippets of Bondi’s obnoxious testimony, but that was all I needed to see. Bondi’s performance — which her boss certainly loved — is indicative of a trait that Trump and everyone in his orbit seems to share: they have no conception of joy.

This might seem like a trivial observation, especially in light of the evil that the Trump administration is inflicting on millions of people. I don’t think this lack of joy should be easily dismissed though: to me, it seems like a pathology and maybe the one trait that the president and all of his far-too-many enablers share.

When I say “joy,” I don’t just mean, “an ability to experience pleasure.” Members of the current administration appear to be adept at experiencing a certain kind of pleasure, mostly when they’re inflicting pain on people who aren’t like them. I am no expert on the soul, in any sense of the term, but the people in Trump’s inner circle seem to have hollow, deadened souls. Plenty of money though, of course. Have you ever contemplated the net worth of Trump’s cabinet?

Back to joy though. Joy is deceptively complex. Joy co-exists with pain, sadness, anger and everything else humans are capable of feeling.

I have heard it said that joy is a form of resistance and I believe this. Don’t be afraid to find your joy, despite it all. Let your joy inform your response to the joyless existence proposed by Donald Trump and those who continue to enable him.

Chris and I See Rush! Bobby Rush, That Is…

Speaking of joy, my son Chris and I saw a fantastic show by legendary blues singer and harmonica player Bobby Rush on Tuesday night at the Sellersville Theater. This was not a show that I expected to see but I am happy that we caught it.

I have heard the name “Bobby Rush” for years and knew that he was a blues singer but I wasn’t familiar with him beyond that. A few weeks ago, though, Chris suggested we watch a 2017 documentary called I Am The Blues, which focused on the current lives of several older blues/R&B musicians. Rush is a prominent part of the movie, so when I got an email from the Sellersville Theater, I was surprised and happy to see that Bobby was playing there, and soon! I snapped up tickets immediately.

(Incidentally, I Am The Blues isn’t the only movie Bobby Rush has been involved in: he plays the harmonica parts for the character of Delta Slim in a little movie you may have heard of called Sinners.)

Bobby Rush and his band hit the Sellersville stage just after 8:00 — no opening act — and rocked the place for two hours. While he calls himself a bluesman, Rush gleefully incorporates soul, disco, rap, and whatever else he feels like into his recordings and this genre-defying ethos finds its way into his shows. Rush’s seasoned road band keeps up with every musical curveball Rush throws at them.

Bobby’s songs are filled with double entendres and sexual innuendos but he makes it clear throughout the show that it’s all in good fun. His audience knows what to expect.

Twice, Rush left the stage to sing and play among the audience, briefly standing directly in front of Chris and me as he strolled around. After his first trip among the crowd, Rush climbed on a chair to return to the stage. This caused the audience to collectively catch its breath, as Bobby Rush is 92 years old.

Eventually, Bobby Rush wound his show down, and walked up a side aisle to the lobby, promising to shake everybody’s hand as we left the theater. Chris and I were happy to meet him and let him know that we’d just seen him in I Am The Blues. After a show that would have exhausted performers half his age, Bobby Rush gave every fan an unhurried chance to speak with him. It was truly a delight and privilege to meet him.

My takeaway from this week: in a world of Pam Bondis, be a Bobby Rush.

Laurel Hill Cemetery Notes!

Finally, I wanted to note that I gave a tour at Laurel Hill Cemetery yesterday morning. I wish I had taken a photo to document the tour, but I did not. It was one of LHC’s general-interest “Hot Spots and Storied Plots” tours. Just two people, a married couple, attended but they had fun with the tour and I enjoyed meeting them.

I am giving a tour next Saturday — my Presidential Connections tour — during which I will try to remember to take a photo or two.

That’ll be it for now. Have a great week!