Dear Dr. Babooner,
I had some big plans to spend the day with an important out-of-town visitor a few weeks from now. It’s not romantic – we are in the same line of work (country-running) and I think of him as someone who understands the unique challenges of the business. I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, so let’s call him “Barack Obama”. I wouldn’t say I have much to learn from him or that we’re equals, exactly. I just want to hang out with someone who “gets it”, if you know what I mean. While we are both powerful in our own way, one of us is going to keep his job a lot longer than the other (hint: it’s not him).
Anyway, we traded messages and I thought the meeting was set. Then out of the blue I get a call saying “Barack Obama” is canceling because we don’t have much to talk about! While I agree we aren’t the closest of friends, I’m shocked and hurt to be treated this way. After all, I’m pretty important. People who cross me have a habit of winding up dead. I’m not admitting anything, I’m just saying that nobody cancels a meeting with me! It’s a new, and not very pleasant, sensation. Now that I’ve been embarrassed by this sudden change, I feel like we really DO have a lot to talk about.
There are several reasons this happened. Mostly, he’s upset because I’m friendly towards two people he’s angry with.
Isn’t that a little childish?
One of the guys “Barack Obama” is ticked at let some secrets slip about some snooping and other clandestine things that aren’t too flattering. That’s unfortunate, but no one is arguing that the charges are lies, so I don’t see where “Barack Obama” has the standing to be angry. I tend to think honesty is the best policy. For other people, anyway.
The second guy is also a presidential-type country-runner who got himself into a bad situation and is dealing with it by being violent and merciless on the upper end of the evil-villian scale of bloodthirsty retribution. Again, I don’t condone this sort of behavior unless I wind up having to do it myself, which I could totally see happening someday.
I’m not saying that these are the best guys in the world. In fact, one of them might be the worst. But is it ever right to punish someone for their friendly and open-minded attitude towards other people?
Uncertainly,
Vlad
I told “Vlad” that Junior High School never really ends. Folks often pressure others to ostracize a person because of the way that person looks or the clothes they wear or the things they believe or the laws they break of the innocents they murder.
I commended Vlad for not caving in, and told him he’d eventually get over missing his meeting with “Barack Obama”. And even though the relationships he’s protecting are not particularly important to him, it’s the principle that matters. You can’t let someone else push you around because they don’t like your not-really-my-friends. If you let that happen, you could someday wind up with no one who is close, kind of like a tyrant or a secret agent, or both.
But that’s just one opinion. What do YOU think, Dr. Babooner?
Trail Baboon 
Good morning. Vlad, I think both you and Barack are from systems of government that need to change. It is probably a good thing that you didn’t have your meeting. I would think the main thing the two of you might visit about is how to cover up your mistakes. You should take your failed meeting as an indication the world is getting tired of putting up with heavy handed leaders. I’m sure you aren’t very open to criticism and I don’t even know why I am trying to give you any advice.
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Rise and Shine Baboons!
I am at an art class this week and am giving no advice. Having too much fun go deal with spats.
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Sounds like fun, Jacque. Enjoy!
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Vlad, sorry if your feelings have been hurt. While I don’t think you’re a paragon of virtue, the truth is that I’m a whole lot more concerned about how Obama has handled this. That’s who I’d like to have a chat with. Not necessarily to offer him any advice, but to let him know that I think he’s letting an awful lot of people down. I’m heartsick about the amount of violence, secrecy, and behind the scenes deal-making that our government is engaged in. Call me a naive old woman, but I had expected better of the Obama administration.
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How is Hans?
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Yes, PJ, I think Obama should respond in a different way to the people who are blowing the whistle on things being done by the government he is heading. How is it that somebody like Putin can be the one to protect a whistle blower and Obama is the one who is threatening the same whistle blower who has revealed extensive improper activities of our government?
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Hell hath no fury like someone whose dirty laundry is flying for all to see?
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I’ve been following this controversy very closely and concluded that this kind of surveillance has been going on since the days of J Edgar Hoover and particularly escalated after 9/11. That we’re only lately learning about the extent of it and mostly because one guy decided to do espionage makes it look worse than it may be. People just didn’t realize that every electronic action they take – most having nothing at all to do with the government – exposes them. A single Google search, an online purchase, getting a new credit card, etc. robs privacy. My understanding of what a “whistle blower” is doesn’t fit Snowden’s actions in that a whistle blower stays in his home country and follows protocols for revealing sensitive data. As to Putin, ever since he’s been elected, he’s been flipping the US the bird, so this incident was the final straw. Americans can no longer adopt Russian orphans, for example. Putin’s support of the Syrian despot and Iran’s nuclear capability are unacceptable as well. After everything I’ve read/heard, I’ve concluded that Snowden is a traitor. That being said, I think it’s great that the people are having the conversation about privacy versus protection.
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As far as I am concerned there is no defense for programs that result in giving very extensive illegal access to personal private information. Snowden did a good thing by bringing these illegal programs out into the open.
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I agree, Jim, and I would include Manning’s actions as well. A government that violates it’s own laws needs to be held accountable. It takes a rare courage to stand up to a government that you know will crush you, one way or the other.
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It is great to hear that our hospital patients are doing well. 🙂
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He had a good night, and the NG tube removed this morning. He’s having a slow breakfast at the moment, and we’re hoping he’ll be released today. Keeping fingers crossed. Thanks for asking, Steve.
OT – An hour ago, I was doing the crosswords puzzle in the Pioneer Press when I heard an unusual noise of some kind. Upon investigating, in bare feet, I discovered that it was one of Hans’ framed photos that had fallen off the wall in the stairway leading to upstairs. I didn’t notice the photo, which had wedged itself between the banister and the wall, until I had traversed 6 or 7 carpeted steps full of broken glass. I descended the stairs a bit more gingerly, and still can’t believe that my feet are not a bloody mess, not even one small cut. My lucky day I guess.
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Glad to hear Hans is doing better!
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How’s your dad doing, Ben? Hope his recovery is still on track.
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Dad is doing well. Has been walking a bit and up sitting in the chair. He’s wants to go home. Yes, we know Dad. Patience…
He doesn’t like the inflating leg thingys… (they inflate briefly about 1X/minute to prevent blood clots); he says they surprise him every time they inflate and it disturbs him sleeping. He called them “shtoopid”. And he put his dentures in upside down yesterday. Took him a while to figure out why they didn’t feel right… and I kinda chuckled at that.
He’s had really good, friendly, caring nurses who tease him as much as he teases them.
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I’ve had those inflating leg thingies too. I kept feeling as if I had a cat moving around at the foot of the bed, and then I’d wake up and remember where I was. Next time I had an overnight I knew enough to ask to have those things taken off.
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I’ve had those inflatable thingies on too, and they do startle you. Had to chuckle at the thought of the dentures being in upside down. I’m guessing that would feel akin to having the right shoe on the left food and vice versa.
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Glad to hear both patients are doing well – yay! (and also glad, PJ, that you did not slice up your feet – yikes!)
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He’s back home! All’s well.
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Good to hear. Carry on.
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Yay! Glad he’s home PJ.
I was worried the picture falling off the way might be an omen of some sort. Glad your feet are unscathed!
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Don’t know if my unscathed feet are due to dumb luck or a tough hide. Either way, I’m very glad we didn’t have another emergency on our hands.
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dear vlad
i think you are a funny man
you want to be the hero and not be the goat. you have to be prepared t be both. the new friends you covet are there for shock value and the shock value you get a reaction to is then a surprise to you. if you are going to make a point of harboring misfits and degenerates and then be surprised that you are called out on it you need to find a stronger group of yes men to tell you that you are right and the rest of the world is wrong. its ok to hold beliefs that are yours and your alone but to be upset when the rest of the world goes on functioning like a place of normality (relatively speaking) is your problem.
it must be hard to go form the country everyone thought of a s powerful to a big wasteland where nothing is produced and nothing is cared about. the only way to get on the news is to be the bad boy and then its not as much fun as you had hoped.
try doing a spin on the positive things at your beckon call. vodka and art are the two things that come to mind. maybe you could sponser a russian vodka campaign and show us how it is the best in the world, the russian art form icons to those little guys who fit inside the smaller guys who fit inside the smaller guys are something of note. nobody care sbut its soemthing isnt it?
cmon vlad get to work. nobody said it was going to be easy to rule the unfree world. we took away all you little serf countries and the missles and army that used to be the symbol of your pople an now you need to think up a new thing. hammer and cycle to vodka bottle and paint brush. its a new world. wake up and smell the bloody mary
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Morning all. Yes, it is more true than we want to admit but junior high is the gift that just keeps on giving! If we have important things to talk about with them, then we should talk about them. If we didn’t really have anything important to talk about, then why was there a meeting scheduled? Did B.O. just want to take Air Force One out for a spin? Everybody, and this includes you, Vlad, should just grow up!
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Indeed, Dr. Babooner has it just right. Junior High is a stage most of us never manage to get past. On the other hand, time and the internet heal all, it seems.
So, a relationship that was always pretty shakey has gone pear-shaped? Let it go, take care of your own people and in 20 years or so, you guys can “friend” each other on Facebook like nothing ever happened. At that point, if everybody has grown up, you can become virtual friends, and if not, there doesn’t have to be a lot of awkwardness or even worse, yelling and screaming.
FWIW, if you two boys would just stick to the business of making sure your businesses both ran well and justly, you might just find that you either truly had nothing to talk about, or that your conversations might be a good deal more pleasant.
Oh, and Vlad, don’t be friends with somebody just to poke at somebody else. That never ends well.
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Vlad, perhaps you should do what might daughter wisely did when she was four and (already) facing kids who told her, “we won’t play with you if you want to play with ____.” Okay, says Daughter, I won’t play with you. You can’t tell me who to play with and I don’t like it when you do. I shall play with whom I choose or play by myself. (Maybe not so eloquently, she was four after all.) Her teacher shared the story with me later that day – thought it was a great way to stand up to bullies: just take away their power over you and walking away.
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OT. Update for Sunday’s “Celebrate BethAnn’s Ice Cream Social”. 1 p.m.. Mini-Sota Donut Ice Cream. Can somebody bring ginger ale for floats? Or sprinkles? Or fudge sauce? If you need my address, email me. shelikins at Hotmail.com.
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Ginger ale for floats?? I thought floats always had to be root beer?
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While I don’t have a clue what you need for a float, I do know you need bananas for banana splits!
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It’s just how we roll in South Mpls Ben…
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I’m just shaking my head…..
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I know we have some sprinkles that I can bring – can cover fudge sauce, too…
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…and by “we” I mean Darling Daughter and I (figuring it would be fine for me to bring Darling Daughter along…true? Husband probably won’t come as he is lactose intolerant…)
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DD is always welcome here. We found a stray duct tape flower after she was here last!
And, in honor of Ben, and anyone else who prefers root beer in their floats… can somebody bring root beer???
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I’ll bring root beer.
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I appreciate someone honoring the tradition of ‘root beer floats’. Sorry to miss the party! We’re taking a road trip to Fairmont Sunday.
I have a friend who has been shipping me bottles of grape pop. But I wouldn’t recommend Grape Pop Floats.
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Grape pop floats does sound iffy – but orange pop floats, that tastes like a dreamsicle. Yum.
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I would advise Vlad to just wait a little while. School will be starting soon, new issues will arise, and pretty soon things will be back to normal and everyone will forget about this.
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