Eventually, there is a garage sale for all of us
Stefanik backs impeachment of Biden without evidence of wrong doing
By Ken Tingley
For the third time in the past month, we stacked the goods from floor to ceiling in my sister-in-law’s garage.
There were small kitchen appliances, pieces of art, boxes of office supplies and several of those little “welcome” signs you put up around the house.
It is difficult sifting through someone else’s life.
Going through their stuff.
Things they loved.
Things they cherished.
Then selling it.
At first there is that feeling of uneasiness, that vision of vultures picking over bones.
But it has to be done.
Business was good.
There was a steady stream of people searching for bargains and beauty,
Most of her belongings sold. We repeatedly heard people saying how they shouldn’t buy anything because they have too much at home already.
They’d smile, maybe laugh a little and hand me a couple more dollars.
I smiled back and took the money, but I wanted to warn them too.
All our lives eventually end in a garage sale, your belongings cast to the wind at half price or dumped in trash cans by loved ones who don’t know what else to do.
It’s not all dark and depressing.
Something simple can off bring back a story or memory that brings a smile to your face. But the message here is there is a garage sale in all our futures.
Over the past two months, I have cleaned out parts of our basement, reorganized the garage and made room for family heirlooms coming our way.
What do we keep?
What do we sell?
What do we hold close?
And how do we make those decisions?
I tell myself I need to be brutal is my decisions.
For the second time, in the past month I vowed to sell the 8 track player and tapes that had been with me since college.
The night before the first sale, I vowed I would take the best offer, then reversed course - again. I loaded up the 8 track into the car and took it back home.
I’m still not sure why.
For those left behind, the photos, some personal things will carry a significance until we are gone.
I suspect there will be a time in the future when my son will have to go through the “stuff” I left behind, too.
I hope he does it quickly and without reservation.
I imagine him methodically going through each room of the house and finally finding on some high shelf in the garage a ratty old 8-track player from the 1970s that still works. For an instant, he will wonder why this ratty stereo was still here and how come it was not tossed years ago.
He won’t know I couldn’t do that.
That I couldn’t let it go.
He won’t know how the memory of listening to that music, at that time with an entire life of hopes and dreams still to come was in many ways the best part.
The beginning.
But it eventually all gets thrown out.
When the last of the furniture left the house on Friday, it was a startling reminder of how quickly things change.
It was official, Jo’s life, her world she loved so dearly was gone.
We had dismantled it, but thankfully we are left with the memories.
As I closed the door, I could hear an echo reverberate through the house.
We don’t want to, but it is time to move on.
Stefanik backs impeachment
The Washington Examiner reported this week that Rep. Elise Stefanik has “publicly backed an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.”
While Stefanik has cheered her Republican colleagues for their inquiries into “weaponization of government,” she has been at the forefront of “weaponizing” her power in Congress.
“I’m in conversations with Speaker McCarthy and all of our members, and the important thing to know about impeachment inquiry is that it ensures that the House is at the apex of its power and oversight responsibility,” Stefanik said. “We know that this White House, this Department of Justice, they are trying to cover up for Hunter Biden and ultimately Joe Biden.”
Stefanik cited instances of what she said is the White House backtracking on its own statements regarding Hunter Biden’s financial dealings, arguing an impeachment inquiry is the only way for lawmakers to “get all the facts.”
Considering Stefanik’s allegiance to Donald Trump, it is clear she is doing his bidding.
Keep in mind Trump was impeached for trying to force Ukraine into digging up dirt on Biden, then again for his actions on Jan. 6. The charges were legitimate.
Stefanik insists - without evidence - that Biden has had corrupt business dealings related to his son. Stefanik has become 100 percent a political solider instead of working for the people in her district.
We all should be worried.
I empathize with you doing this sad but necessary thing.
That is so like Stefanik, blindly supporting the MAGA line.
Comedian George Carlin told it best ....about all the stuff in our lives:
“ A house is just a pile of stuff with a cover on it. You can see that when you’re taking off in an airplane. You look down, you see everybody’s got a little pile of stuff. All the little piles of stuff. And when you leave your house, you gotta lock it up. Wouldn’t want somebody to come by and take some of your stuff. They always take the good stuff. They never bother with that crap you’re saving. All they want is the shiny stuff. That’s what your house is, a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get…more stuff!”