Which shoulder for my sash?



Yesterday. Cleats or Glass Slippers.  If the shoe fits.

It was the Season Opener for the NFL. The National Football League.

This has largely been overshadowed by the protests being held by players (since 2016). These men are showing their concern about “systematic oppression”, “equality and social injustice”, and “racism and injustice in our criminal system.”

As far as I know, they are not protesting against Americans, or the Constitution, or the Flag. In fact, they can do this because they are Americans. Because they, and we, HAVE the Constitution. And because of our Flag and its symbolism of Freedom.

But that is not why I sit here and write in my very comfortable Brooks running shoes. Not because I am against Nike in any way. Just because I like Brooks. If I set anything on fire, it will be a log in the fireplace, as there is a chill in the air.

Again, back to it. The Season Opener. I am a big fan of Football, and things just didn’t go my way yesterday. My Pittsburgh Steelers finished in a tie. A tie. With the winless Browns from last season. Schmucks.

On the upside, my Kansas City Chiefs won. Easily. But next week they play the Steelers. And this makes me a little bit Cybil on that day, if you know what I mean.

Nonetheless. A tough TV Sports Day.

But I am not the only one with the tough day. Apparently, the Miss America Pageant was on. Uhhnnn, I think it might be called “Competition” now. Not Pageant.

The big winner was from the state of New York. Miss Nia Franklin. But from what I have read, there are many who are not so happy about the contest. Twitter blew up about the newly “overhauled” Miss America competition.

I did not watch one minute of the show. However, several articles have reported that they switched to a new format. One without the swimsuit competition.

Back in June, the competition’s Chair, Gretchen Carlson, announced the plans to drop the swimsuit portion of the program. And then she said: “We are no longer a pageant; we are a competition. We will no longer judge our candidates on their outward physical appearance.”

Did you hear that? They are no longer judging the candidates on their outward physical appearance.

Okay. This is sort of like Donald Trump saying there was no collusion.

From the photos I’ve seen this morning, it looks to me, like they might still be considering the physical appearance of those women. They all looked very slim, white-toothed, and Barbie-Dollish to me.

But maybe it is true. Maybe they are throwing away all the books on physical beauty requirements of the pageant. Uhhhnnn. Competition.

All these years I have been searching for my Life’s Purpose. Well. Maybe this is IT! When I was growing up, I had zero interest in the Miss USA Contest. ZERO. And when I would hear them being interviewed, I often wondered how becoming a Miss USA Contestant could possibly be their “Life’s Dream!”? Didn’t they want Hamsters? That was one of my big dreams. Or, to play Professional Baseball for the Cincinnati Reds? That was another.

Well. I like to keep an open mind when it comes to the path of life. So maybe this really has been my Big Dream, my Life’s Calling, after all. To be Miss USA. And now that they no longer judge their candidates on outward physical appearances, I should be a shoe-in.

I can carve a mean ice sculpture with a chainsaw for my talent.
Or juggle. Or spell words backward.

And when they ask the big question at the end, of course, I really will be telling the truth when I say “I want World Peace.”

“Or at the very least, a country to live in, where all people respect the First Amendment, and where Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Yeah. I’d say I got this. I’ll sail that football directly through the uprights. I’m a shoe-in.

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“Consider your own place in the universal oneness of which we are all a part, from which we all arise, and to which we all return.”
― David Fontana

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“The good news is, no one ever found anything truly amazing without searching. It is the lost who wander, and only the wanderers discover new shores.”
― Dr. Salma Farook

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“Even though there are no ways of knowing for sure, there are ways of knowing for pretty sure.”
― Lemony Snicket

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