BRAINSTORMING WITH MY READERS – (warning) It has been a rough week.

I have a lot of things on my mind. I have been trying to decide what topic I want to “brainstorm” with you today. These are several that I have on my mind. 1) Inside the Bubble, looking out”; 2) WOW, Dorothy, we are not in Kansas anymore.”; 3) The Buck Stops Here; 4) Bad Cops are bad cops all over the world. – Bullies in the making; for starters. What strikes my fancy?

I was planning to write about the Bubble, but I think I feel more compelled to write about bully-wannabe’s. Maybe I will include a tad of all of them. But, first, some foundation. I have hated bullies all my life. In my small Southern town, there were bullies everywhere. And throughout my life. I was bullied by men, boys, older women, teachers, school principals, girlfriends, older girls, camp counselors, strangers, husbands, mother-in-laws — a lot of people. The opposite of “bullied” was “nice”. He was nice. She was nice. They were nice.

Growing up in Gainesville, the cops were always nice. Redneck guys were bullies, usually. (They were called “rednecks” because they always seem to have red necks.) They bullied each other and others. “Tough guys.” I hated them. Spouting a bunch of generalizations to show how tough they were. These guys were always white. The black guys were always nice, even though everything was segregated in those days in my hometown. Heaven knows what was happening to them. I did not know. I saw how mother treated them. I saw how other whites treated them. It wasn’t “nice”.

So when I became a college professor and Chairman of the Division of Humanities, I took charge. I don’t think you would call me a bully. But I took charge. So, sorta into my power over students and other teachers. Especially since I was a woman in a man’s position. I did not take any nonsense.

Then, when I became an actress, I was bullied BY EVERYONE. By the A.D. (Assistant Director), on down the line. The casting director was the worst. Well, casting has little to no power, so as low man on the totem pole, casting took it out on actors – unless the actor was a star or a big deal of some sort. But actors take it because actors want to work. The bullying was rampart. Me, too; me, too; me, too!!! Bullying is always passed down the line. Now, the worst of the worst, was to be found in corporations – from the executives to the supervisors to the employees to the women( from the men) to kicking the dogs or punishing the cat to shooting the baby elephant ON DOWN THE LINE. UGH! I hate/hated it.

So, yesterday, in Paris, I went to the Prefecture to see if I could find a “nice” person who would help me. NOOOOO. I found a lot of bullies. The waiter in the café next door was nice. The maître D helped me get a taxi home. They were nice. But I soon realized (once again) that the buck stops here. My world can fall apart, but I must help myself – inside my bubble. And, as my son said to me, “Our summer was good. Just watching the world fall apart from the comfort of our bubble.” But, HEY, Dorothy, we are not in Kansas anymore. This is Paris! Get over it! “Losers” and “sucker’s that we all are. And, You can’t go home again. There is no “home”. And, if you think there is, you just don’t realize that you are existing inside a bubble, looking out. And, to those of you who think Trump is going to “fix” anything, you are losers and suckers INSIDE OF A Huge Bubble. You don’t have to join the military to prove it.

OK, enough. This has been a rough week. So, what to do? I look for roses. Hey, it is what I do. I look for interesting skies. I look for a star, or a moon, or an interesting restaurant.

Yes, I will admit it. I am a sucker for pretty things. I am a sucker for flowers.

I invite the unknown and then am bewildered when people are not “nice”, and they are often not. DUH! So, what do we do with all this inside information? Nothing. Look for the silver linings. See blue birds over the white cliffs of Dover, tomorrow, just you wait and see. Create a happy bubble. You can create any kind of bubble you want to. Believe what you want. It is your universe to create. Note to Self: Don’t forget this is a creative bubble. It can burst when pricked.

Sorry. It has been a rough week. So, a few pretty photos and a couple of memes. And, I make no apologies for any of this. Hey! It is my blog. Nobody said it would be easy. AND, rough seas make good sailors. (Those were for my kids and grandkids.)