I yawned and wondered how much of my life had been consumed watching commercials on television. ‘Wasted’ was the first verb that came to mind, but given thought, ‘consumed’ was the more accurate. Television commercials stimulate me.
Viewing this new crop of commercials, I came to one conclusion. Should anyone in my family ever reach a modicum of success, my first advice to them would be, “Get Patrick Mahomes’ agent!” The young man seems to be everywhere, selling everything and anything.
It took me a bit to catch on to a new one he and teammate Travis Kelce made for an insurance company. The teammates and an insurance man are debating the nameplates on a jersey. The discussion is centered on an attempt to get Kelce to change his name. On the Patrick Mahomes jersey the nameplate says MaHOMES. Kelce’s jersey says MaAUTO.
Clever. Almost too clever. Another Mahomes commercial is for a shampoo. It revives an NFLer Troy Polamalu. “Tiny Troy” is a witty wrinkle in an old theme.
By the way, if you can’t get Patrick’s agent, Gronk isn’t doing badly.
Then, I lost focus. I was listening to the BBC on NPR. They were discussing Ukraine and the coming winter. This led into a commentary about the present standoff in our Congress that involves aid to Ukrainians and the immigration issue along our border with Mexico.
If there is a sameness, it eludes me. These seem unrelated issues. Ukraine was invaded by Russia. I realize some folks along our border with Mexico do feel invaded. But not invaded by a despotic neighbor.
Anyway, it troubles me to think about the Ukrainians, women and children, facing freezing and starvation while living in the remnants of a war thrust upon them by the vanity of one man.
It concerns me that the Ukrainians have been led to believe they can rely on us, that we understand the value of life in a democracy. That the principles of democracy are worth dying for, that they are worth asking your children to die for.
Yet here we hang. We cannot reassure the Ukrainians; we cannot supply them. Heck, food, blankets and firewood would help. Tanks, ammunition, modern air defense weapons would come closer to upholding America’s commitment to humankind.
The Ukrainians fight valiantly. The men and women we have elected to represent us in our national government sit around and play some whack-a-doodle game.
I would like to see conditions at the Mexican border change. How is our assisting Ukraine to continue to wage a bitter struggle to sustain its democracy related to the problems on our border with Mexico?
And guys, come on! We all learned about getting along with each other in kindergarten. Mostly. But I still remember the kid who, if we didn’t play by his rules, well, he’d just take his ball and go home.
Maybe we should watch our children and learn.
I can do things you cannot and you can do things I cannot. Together we can do great things. – Mother Teresa
