Work in progress

Out cleaning up the deck some more today--trimming trees, some weeding, and washing chairs for summer--in my new straw hat for gardening. Does this hat make my bum look big? 😁 #lifeinnz #sunsafe #auckland

A photo posted by arthur_amerinz (@arthur_amerinz) on Dec 19, 2016 at 7:32pm PST

Sometimes, you just gotta do what you gotta do: Everyone has different ways of coping with unpleasant news, though they may seem pointless or silly to others. Mine, it seems, is gardening work.

I posted the above photo to Instagram today. What I didn’t say (deliberately) is that I decided to work outside for the same reason I did the day after the US election: To cope with the “victory” of the Orange Menace. At least today’s Electoral College victory wasn’t a shock like the November election was.

When the news broke today, it felt like my homeland had committed suicide, which led me to post a snarky Tweet:

Note to New Zealand journos: It’s OK to report on the USA’s Electoral College results—only NZ suicides are banned from news coverage.

— Arthur Schenck (@AmeriNZ) December 19, 2016

The “joke” is that until recently is was illegal for New Zealand journalists to report that a Kiwi had died by suicide unless the Chief Coroner gave permission, but that restriction doesn’t apply to people in other countries. That’s eased a bit recently, so there was a bit of poetic license in my Tweet, but it’s still forbidden for the NZ news media to report the method of suicide.

The point behind my “joke” was that, for me, the USA had just committed suicide. However, in reality, it was the second act (the first was the election), and there’s a final act, the inauguration. I won’t watch that travesty, of course.

So, I was in profound mourning for my homeland today. Sure, I knew this would be the result, but since the Electoral College move was the last possible thing that could save the country, I hoped that the Electors would have a moral centre and do the right thing and reject Donnie. They didn’t. Draw your own conclusions about the possible moral failings, torpidity, or whatever, of the Republican Electors; I certainly have.

But, it is what is, and there’s now no remaining hope that Donnie won’t become the Cheeto in Chief (a nickname I heard for the first time today and loved instantly). America is doomed to a very dark time ahead before it gets a chance to start fixing things, starting in two years when they can vote the Republicans out. That’s now the only remaining hope.

Meanwhile, I have more garden work to do.