Pumpkin soup by Sue Robin

Sue has the ability to express the good, the bad and the ugly of our times. She figures out ways to balance the hardships of the world and even if just for a moment in time, to focus on the sweetness, love and beauty it contains.

‘I just want to find 11,780 votes’: In extraordinary hour-long call, Trump pressures Georgia secretary of state to recalculate the vote in his favor—WaPo

Gohmert talks of violence in streets after his lawsuit is dismissed—The Hill

‘Go to the Hospitals’: Fauci Challenges Trump’s Claim of Exaggerated COVID Deaths—Newsweek

January 3, 2021

Pumpkin soup
by Sue Robin, Los Angeles, California

It is the 3^rd of January 2021. We had a quiet New Year’s Eve. We dined on an elegant salad with a glass of champagne and were asleep by 10:30 pm. The desire to stay optimistic is strong. There is hope in the air. Friends and family are all healthy. A vaccine is now being administered. Biden has won. It even rained in Los Angeles.

But there is a chill in the air, and it isn’t just a winter nip. Despite the certified results for all 50 states and the territories, despite the rejections by courts, many with judges appointed by Trump himself, Trump continues to spout conspiracy theories and claim victory. Trump spent an hour on the phone yesterday with Election Official Raffensberger of Georgia to convince him to ‘find’ the votes to recalculate in his favor. I guess three re-counts weren’t sufficient for Trump. Congressman Gohmert is calling for violence in the streets as the only recourse since the court threw out his frivolous lawsuit, and Trump plans to join the protesters in Washington against the formal acceptance of the election results on Wednesday.  All of that, and I haven’t even mentioned a COVID-19 death toll of over 350,00 in the USA and over a million world-wide and that the coronavirus continues to rage.

What can one do to combat the oppressive news? Wait and see is part of the approach. I feel a need to do something.

I dreamt about pumpkin soup last night. Have no idea where that came from, but I will honor the ethers and make a pot this morning. It‘s an easy soup. Chop an onion and an apple, sauté them, add a can of pumpkin and a couple cups of broth and some pumpkin pie spices. At the end, I will add a ½ cup of milk and puree it. It will be warm and sweet, and comforting and healthy, too. Something we all desperately need after hearing the news. Making it will keep me focused and busy for the morning. I will write, and that is a salve of sorts, and take a walk in the afternoon to get the endorphins amped, and perhaps draw something to help me get through the evening. I would pick up my Kindle, but it has been harder for me to read when I am so busy worrying.

The $600 from Uncle Sam magically appeared in my bank account the other day. I do not have much income, but I, also, have managed fine with what I do have. I have decided to share it with people I care about who make it possible for me to stay safe at home. Bigger tips for the Postmates Driver and the Instacart Shopper, a surprise for the servers at the restaurants we used to frequent regularly and now get take-out from, and for Tina, who is a manicurist by trade but is in fact an angel in disguise. When my brother was ill and he could not cut his nails, she would go to his home to tend to him; more than once she called my sister to come get my mother because she could see something was wrong. And then there is just the sheer joy of holding the hand of someone who held both my mother’s and my brother’s hands with such love. The thought of doing the above helps me feel less impotent in today’s world.

There is a huge hope that, even with the promised objections of the Trump toadies, all will go smoothly on Wednesday and there is an equally big hope that the Georgia Senate race will go Blue on Tuesday. Until those hopes are realities, I will continue to cook and write and pray for right action and the peaceful transfer of power. Won’t you join me?