When energy sags, look for your energizers

Cory Booker and an angry woman with chalk did the trick for me.

“It’s only twice a week,” I tell myself. … It’s Wednesday and I’m failing at finding a theme for Saturday’s post. Usually possibilities are vying for my attention, but I’ve followed three possibilities to dead ends and I’m stymied and tired. I’ve been flipping through standard sources, waiting for a new idea to jell, but everything I think of seems like old news or too far outside my competency set.

I think about trump’s growing mountains of lies … but that’s really old news. Except he was doing it again today when he announced a slew of new tariffs. An article in RawStory reveals the truthful side of his comments about Canada and milk.

“It was not even close to accurate,” CNN’s in-house fact-checker Daniel Dale said of Trump’s comments regarding Canadian dairy tariffs.

“President Trump said Canada treats the first little carton of milk that the U.S. exports as a low tariff product, but then after that, Canada applies massive tariffs in excess of 200%,” Dale reminded viewers.

“It is not just the first little carton of milk that has low tariffs; in fact, under the [United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement] that Trump himself negotiated, tens of thousands of metric tons per year of U.S. milk are treated as tariff-free by Canada." said of Trump’s comments regarding Canadian dairy tariffs.

But, even thinking about tariffs makes my brain groan. And, the lies? The elevation leaves me breathless. Once again I begin the debate with myself about whether or not I really have to meet the Saturday deadline, especially since I’m probably the only one who would notice.

Then, I found this cartoon meme:

Karin Schall - Cory Booker

I thought of Senator Booker … on his feet for 25 hours, not just running the clock out by reading children’s books or comic books, but actually speaking about real issues, conversations with his constituents, and the Constitution, not eating, not going to the bathroom, not sleeping … loving this country enough to do something to protect our democracy.

My energy perked up. This is my something. It may not change anything, but it’s what I can do and it adds to the many things that are being done all across the country. And that made me curious about

Karin Schall

… writing messages in chalk on sidewalks.

Recently political cartoons have helped lighten my outlook, however, they often have unreadable signatures so discovering the people behind the snapshots of our times has become an obsession. Karin Schall’s chalk art made me want to know who she was and I found an article from the West Side Rag which describes her as “Tall, stylish, and, most importantly, flexible enough to fold herself in half, Karin Schall, 61, heads outside when she is upset, and she never fails to bring two things: her free speech and smooth railroad chalk.”

It’s a delightful article about a woman who expresses herself in chalk on sidewalks and walls and calls her superpower “my outrage.” It made me want to meet her … and then I discovered that she is here on Substack, so maybe I will. So far I don’t see any posts from her but I subscribed anyway. Maybe she will find a way to chalk up Substack.

Cory Booker Dream for America

For now, I’m going to be happy that Cory Booker’s 25-hour speech refreshed my energy and introduced me to a kindred spirit who is finding her own way to be a part of saving democracy. (We connected on Bluesky and she sent this photo.)

Here’s a question … I’ve noticed that are a bunch of us are “seniors” here on Substack … as writers and readers.

What keeps you engaged in this strange world we’re experiencing?