On June 13, 2012, a major hailstorm hit Dallas and sat on top of our house for about 30 minutes. Living with hailstorms is what you do if you live in Texas, but I’d always dismissed talk of baseball size hail. Not after that day.
When it started, the hail started by shredding the large canvas awning over the patio. (It needed to be replaced, so I was okay with that.) Then, it ripped through the awnings on the front of the house. (Dadgummit!) Then it came through all three skylights in rapid succession, crashing through the stained glass windows under them. Now, I’m upset. Really upset. Karl, mercifully, was home, so he calmly moved the plant under the skylight in the kitchen and watched while it hailed into the house. Meanwhile, I rushed from room to room, front door to back door, shouting news reports to Karl in the kitchen. “The hail is coming through the skylights in the den and our bathroom! The ceiling is leaking in the living room! It’s leaking in our bedroom…wait—in all the bedrooms!” Karl calmly pulled out pots and mixing bowls and paint buckets, distributing them as needed throughout the house, while I am in total Sturm und Drang mode.
Truth be told, I’m pretty good in an emergency. But I failed the hailstorm test miserably. Karl passed with flying colors, knowing all that could be done in the moment was to minimize the damage. Once the storm was over, we would assess what needed to be done and then do it. It would take well over a year of negotiating (fighting) with claims adjusters and contractors before everything was set right.
These days, some of those who oppose Trump are acting as I did, running from one Facebook post to another, giving out news bulletins about their despair over every appointment, every tweet, and virtually every single thing that Trump does or does not do. (Note to the Trump supporters—they didn’t all vote for Clinton either; otherwise, I wouldn’t be writing this particular column.) And that’s all well and good as long as long as they have voice and strength to do something meaningful when the time calls for it. As long as they haven’t been worn smooth and worn out before the real contests begin.
But, if you’re not ready to be a stoic and really need to be distracted in the moment from all the Sturm und Drang, may I suggest something? Breitbart has called for a boycott of Kellogg’s products due to the food company’s pulling of advertising from the website. In this hissy fit, Breitbart called Kellogg’s a “leftist” company involved in a “war. . . against conservative customers whose values propelled Donald Trump into the White House.” So, if you’d like to feel just a little bit better by doing just a little something to oppose Breitbart (and Steve Bannon and, ultimately, Donald Trump), stock up on Sugar Frosted Flakes and Pop-Tarts. Oh, and Froot Loops. That makes a real statement.
