I am a Hottie

 Today's my birthday, and I'm pleased to say it's going to be sunny here in Central PA.  I'm 72.  There was a time, when I was younger, that I thought people in there 70s were old.  I talk about this with my friends because I feel bad because quite often I didn't give them the respect they deserved.  But then those were different times.  Back then people were forced to retire when they hit 65, and they weren't allowed to work a part-time job, so, unless they were financially fine, they just sat around waiting to die.  Things have changed a lot since then.  Today older people do things.  They get part-time jobs.  They travel.  They enjoy life, I know, I do.

Yesterday was busy.  I mowed my leaves, went for a bike ride (6 miles), played with Howie (he goes outside a lot since the weather is still so fine), wrote (I'm up 60,000 words in the new book), and played my new video game Dragon Age:  Veilguard.  It's a role playing game, and as with most, it has extensive character creation.  That mean you design how you look.  As always, I play as a male (you can play as either male or female).  And, as usual I made myself into a hottie.  And yes, I am a ginger with a beard.

And as the reality of the 2024 election sets in, I, like a lot of people wonder how in the Hell so many Democrats could choose not to vote.  There are many explanations, but one that occurred to me last night was how important social media shaped opinions.  Take the way each candidate's rallies were portrayed.  Harris had big ones, filled with dancing, and singing, and great speeches.  Trump's, on the other hand, were poorly attended and people walked out.  I can't tell you how many pictures and videos were posted of his rallies, but they were a constant.  I don't doubt that many out there seeing these pictures and videos assumed that on election day, his performance among voters would match his rallies.  They made a bad assumption that his cultists would stay home.  Well, they were wrong.  As one of my main protagonists says frequently in my books, "assume nothing."  They jumped to the very bad conclusion that he was going to lose badly, based solely on those pictures and videos, and chose to stay home; he was going to lose badly.  The thought never entered their minds that Republicans would vote for Trump simply because they hated Harris, and now we're screwed.