A Nauseated Feeling After The Recent Presidential Debate Debacle

Unfinished, unadorned, speechless, wood Bow Tie o’ the Day is here to say absolutely nothing about that two-ring circus that was misnamed a “presidential debate” Tuesday night. Bow Tie isn’t looking to begin a political discussion. It is especially not taking sides. It is simply mute in the face of the debate’s incivility, bluster, and mendacity. It is glad it’s a bow tie and doesn’t have the right or responsibility to vote in the 2020 elections.

As far as my own “speechless” response to the debatable debate, I offer a poem by the incomparable poet, Mary Oliver, which she first published over a decade ago. In every election season since I first read it, I find myself mumbling its lines in my head as I see the various spectacles and hijinks perpetrated by many—but certainly not all—of the candidates for various offices of public service, who say they will represent us, but almost never actually do.

End of literate, peaceful rant.

A Whole New Car

As I’ve mentioned on TIE O’ THE DAY before, Suzanne has been nagging me for a couple of years to get a new vehicle. It’s nice of her to want me to have a new mode of transportation, and I sometimes muse on the idea of driving around in a ding-less, scratch-less, rust-less auto. But my jalopy truck—my Isuzu Hombre— is only 22 years old, and it still has a few sections of metal that haven’t yet rusted. Who cares if the keys no longer open its door locks? Who cares if the driver’s window refuses to roll down/up sometimes? Who cares if I have to sit on a pillow while driving it because the metal seat frame pokes up through a bigly hole in the seat upholstery? My car—Vonnegut Grace Pontiac Vibe —is only 13 years old, and still gets the same 34 MPG she’s gotten since day 1. Who cares if it rides like it’s always driving on a gravel road—despite regular balancing and alignment? I just don’t yet see the need to abandon my old horseless carriages yet.

I decided to compromise with Suzanne on this issue: I got new license plates for Vonnegut Grace Vibe, and they showed up this week. I tossed around a few different ideas before ordering my vanity plates. According to the DMV website, somebody in UT already has BOW TIE, so that was out. I settled on BOWETRY, a combination word in honor of my two passions: bow ties + poetry. It is pronounced to rhyme with the word “poetry.” And the license plate really does make my car look like a brand spankin’ new classic car. A little.