Come Together

So, today is November 7, 2020, and it appears that Joe Biden has won the election that will make him President of the United States on 1/20/2021. 

Yes, I'm aware that there will be lawsuits and recounts and all of this. I think one thing Americans have to consider is that certain dedicated Intelligence Bureaus (FBI) and Military Forces (think Cybercom) have been monitoring this election and its legality far more closely than they watched 2016. 

Nobody wants there to be cause for questioning who our President is. 

There has been too much of that already, going back to 1960, when Nixon won the popular vote, and then 2000, when it was craziness, and 2016, when there may or may not have been election tampering (voting, no; misinforming Americans, yes). 

So while I might not believe all media in all things...I do believe that the FBI and the military have been working for the American people. 

I will remind those of you reading that I was raised in a staunchly Republican house with ideas about personal liberty...and personal responsibility, the flip side of that coin (at least in the Hiler household). Those ideas came with some virtues attached, and I was raised by my mother. A more virtuous human you may never find. So I'm pretty comfortable saying I understand what they are. 

And I am going to exhort everyone--EVERYONE--to start using those virtues today. 

Civility. Respect. Remaining calm. Choosing decency. 

These were things I've had to do in the past when my candidate didn't win. I didn't particularly like Bill Clinton in one of the elections he was in for personal reasons. And I learned a lot about respect from Mr. Clinton. One of the things about it is that you do not have to agree with everything a person does to respect at least something that person does. I wouldn't have trusted him alone with my mother, for crying out loud, but I would have absolutely trusted him to make good judgments about free trade on the American continent. 

From President Clinton, I learned what it means to respect the Office of the President and the person within it. I truly believe that, as far as the job is concerned, Bill Clinton made a good effort to do the job well for the American people. His personal life? Oh, he managed to mess that up good and proper during his tenure. But I must tell you that as an American, I'd rather he didn't screw the country over. He didn't. 

My father told me back in September the following: "I can't believe I've got to pull the lever for Biden". When I asked what changed (he voted for Trump in 2016), he said, "Trump's gone completely nuts. And I don't think he has a shred of human decency left in him." 

Let me tell you: when my father is talking about basic human decency as being a reason not to vote for a guy? Mr. Shoot-First-and-Ask-Questions-Later? That's a good time to reconsider why you support this dude. 

I know some of the reasons why some people support Republicanism. For instance, the idea that...no, really...we should have a smaller Federal Government and a larger State Government. You know, the actual ideal of Republicanism?!?!?  Back before it was conflated with Conservatism, which is not the same thing. Back when personal liberty meant that Republicans were supporting African-Americans in their rights? Go and look. I'll wait. Yes, freaking really, they voted more for civil rights in the 1950s than Democrats. 

Now, Republican v. Democrat has no ring for me whatsoever. Because one party appears to have the monopoly on promising personal liberty, while the other party appears to be actually helping people achieve personal liberty. 

And these parties are no longer a functional look at who we are as a people. 

Schwarzenegger recently put up a video in which he stated that he believes the government should not guarantee outcomes for all lives of all people. Honestly, that's what communism promised and could never achieve due to human nature. But Arnold also said government can guarantee that we start from the same place--such as the right to a decent education. That's a way to help everyone achieve personal liberty. And that is also something that I think speaks to basic human decency, helping everyone start at the same place. 

My mother would have loved him for that. 

Look. The world is a mixed-up place. I am having a very difficult time navigating it right now because I'm in mourning. There is no other way to describe it other than to say: I'm sad a lot and yes, I'm sure my antidepressants are working. 

Whomever you voted for in 2016 or 2020, whomever you voted to be chief dogcatcher of the Hamlet of Arthur in Oswego County, I am going to call on you now to show your basic human decency to each other. It's not about your guy. Neither candidate should ever have been a cult of personality, and quite frankly neither party should have become one, either. 

We need to come together as Americans. President-Elect Biden is planning a bipartisan cabinet. Scoff all you want, but this guy wants people to work together. He's choosing the person, not the party. 

Maybe we should, too. 

371 Days

The last 371 days managed to take the three beings I loved the most on this planet from me. On September 30, 2019, I lost my beloved Axel Puppy. On December 11, 2019, my favorite person ever, my Mom, passed peacefully from this life. On October 4, 2020, my Dad died, surrounded by family. And with him died a whole lot of me. 

It has been one HELL of a year. 

I'm tired. I'm tired of fighting. I'm tired of partisanship. I'm tired of crying. 

It's a lot. 

I mean, I now have things I didn't have on Saturday. A lot of things. But they...are things. I would give them all back to laugh with my Dad, hug my Mom, pet my boy. But that's not how life works. I understand that now. 

I know the cost of things now. 

And I know that I will be okay. I mean, I'm not right now, and I'm not going to be for a long, long time. I'm not over the first loss I incurred in the last year plus five days, let alone the second. This one just sort of puts it all together into a nasty package for me. 

So if you're reading this, then you are a person whom I love. I'm going to beg your patience. I am going through a rough time right now. I'm an only child, and I feel very "only" in this world right now. Please understand: I am surrounded by the most wonderful people. I have a terrific team, and you all are so awesome. I don't deserve you, but I am very, very grateful for you. But I am the last of this little family that my parents built together. 

And I am not looking forward to a world without either of them in it. 

Why I am crying for George Floyd

My favorite way of self-describing is to say that I am a middle-aged white girl from Upstate New York. I say this, normally prefacing it with the words "I dance like...", because as any one of my kids from Nottingham can tell you, I really do dance like a white girl from Upstate.

I do not mean any of the words in a derogatory manner, quite honestly. I don't use the term "middle-aged" pejoratively; I am 50 years old, and based on genetics from the side of the family my body favors, I'm likely to live another 40-50 years, honestly. That makes me roughly at the midpoint of my life. I could say "middle-aged white fat girl from Upstate New York" and be accurate, also not using the term fat negatively but rather to describe the body I'm in.

I don't use the term white proudly. For me, it's a descriptor of the fact that I resemble the Swiss Miss girl. I could just as easily use really pale and be accurate. But in the common vernacular of the American culture is to call people white and black. (I genuinely would prefer terms that reflect reality: vanilla, chocolate, and cinnamon. Because white people have a culture, but it's pretty...vanilla.) I don't think that being this pale gives me superior genetics because I paid attention in biology class and understand that pretty much this body is the result of recessive everything. There's a reason that some features are dominant--they give some advantages, like not burning to an absolute crisp in sunshine.

As the days go on, however, I am uncomfortably aware of the privilege I have as a white woman. I'm part of the majority, although one that is going to be less of a majority in this country as time wears on. I don't feel like part of any majority, honestly, and I never have. I know what it's like to feel that the deck is stacked against you before you even set foot in a place. I have experienced this plenty in my life. I had years full of it.

I have spoken before about going to Nottingham and learning so much from the African-American teachers and Teaching Assistants we had in our program, not to mention my students. I learned more than I ever thought I could. And lately I've been thinking an awful lot about one student in particular we had in the 12:1 (3:1) program. I'm going to call him M.

M was the sweetest, most wonderful and loving kiddo you could meet. He was about 5'11" and 180 pounds. He was verbal and greeted everyone, every day, really loudly. M was the kid who rivaled me in volume. "GOOD MORNING MISS KATE!" he would say with that ENORMOUS smile on his face. Every morning, without fail. M hopefully has lost none of his enthusiasm for life in the intervening years. He was a joy to behold.

M has autism.

So while he understands a lot of what is said to him, sometimes M can get confused and needs things repeated. And M is black.

If M got separated from the people watching over him and began doing things that might seem odd to a passerby, I can easily see that someone might call the cops. This would scare M mightily. He very much might not understand exactly what is going on.

I shudder to think of how that could go. Because M might be a relatively big black man, but I'm pretty sure he's incapable of killing flies, let alone doing harm to anyone else. He is a sweet and loving soul and the thought that anyone could threaten him because he's different and he's black makes me cry to type it. My guess is that if this scenario were to ever occur, he would have identification on him that would indicate that he's in a group home and that would hopefully help the officers dispatched to help him. I pray to God that it would.

Granted: this scenario is unlikely because my M was a rule-follower and the odds that he would get separated from his humans is extremely unlikely. But the thought that he would be in more danger because he's black makes me livid.

Then I think of J. I didn't have J very long as a student in our program. J was scary. He killed animals just to see what it was like. Yes, that kind of kid. One who might get a pass because he's white. (He didn't get a pass from us, because one of the most honorable men I'll ever know, Lorenzo J. Jackson, held that kid's feet to the fire.)

Let me tell you: I am personally a lot more scared of J than I am of M. J was a bit skinny when I knew him, but tall. M surely outweighed him, but I am not at all afraid of M. Because my M, my beautiful sweet boy, just wanted to love you--and sing and dance in Drama class.

I'm not sure that J understands love. Which is a shame.

And yet, because one is black and one is white, people might be more afraid of the person who is no real threat and not fear the one who could do you harm.

I don't understand the world we live in. There are a lot of things I don't understand about it. But I do know this much: I hate that we seem to have a sorting system based upon the color of skin (especially if it's not the color of our own skin) that still has traction in this nation. I'll never know what it was like to live as a black woman, because I'm not one. I can only know my own struggles with my brain, and to think of having to be at such a disadvantage beyond that makes me marvel at the people I know who have survived it.

But I can know what it's like to love and to extend that love as much as I can. I'm still afraid of trying to show love, but that's not because of the color of someone's skin but because of my fear of vulnerability, something I am working on. But I can be vulnerable in this moment and say that I weep for George Floyd, for his family, and for those I know who have to struggle against this every day.

The color of a person's skin has no correlation to the beauty in their soul.

The opposite of fear is curiosity, courage, and love.

Let us ALL bravely be more curious and loving than we are afraid.

Dear Jesse McCartney

Dear Jesse McCartney,

I have been watching this season (as every season) of the Masked Singer with interest. I accidentally figured out that it was you behind the mask of the Turtle fairly early. The Masked Singer was made for people like me. I love figuring things out, and I in particular love to match people's voices. I have an unusually good ear. I also have a degree in Music and know quite a bit about singing.

I'm writing to you today because I listened to you all season and heard something I hadn't heard with you years ago on the radio. I heard a singer. Not just a good-looking guy who can sing--we have plenty of those going around--but an actual singer, someone who understands about his breath support and tone and when to hit those As with full voice and when to float them into a bit of falsetto space.

So I went and listened to some of your catalog, and one thought kept cropping up, so I'm going to just tell you: "This guy is singing the wrong genre of music."

Your recent catalog of music is all of a genre I refer to as "overproduced". I'm sure you understand what I mean. I mean, they auto-tuned you on your latest song. They auto-tuned your last entire album. And you don't need it.

If you're about to have an argument with me in your head, sir, about the fact that producers now go in to "spruce up" even good vocals and that EVERYONE is auto-tuned now (yes, even Adele, folks), I'm going to say the following:

1. No, not everyone is auto-tuned now, because if you auto-tune a blues singer, you get crappy music because the note that we refer to in Music Theory as "B-flat-7-flat", aka that "blues third", is not part of the equal temperament that auto-tune is based on.
2. Even if someone did want to go in and "zhuzh" up your vocals, they don't have to make it so blatant.
3. Yes, some live vocals are auto-tuned, but considering that you produced a few blues thirds during your time on Masked Singer, it's safe to say that yours were not.
4. Yes, I really can hear the difference, even if it's subtle. (I recently took auto-tune quizzes listening to people online. Passed with flying colors, and some of them were very subtle.)

If there is one thing I pray to God you take away from this experience, it's this: there are a lot of Gen-Xers and older Millennials who are DYING for good singers who can sing that genre of rock that is in the vein of Daughtry and Goo Goo Dolls and U2. I mean, I was WAITING for you to haul out Beautiful Day, which you would have killed (you seem to like singing in D, which it is).

And absolutely no offense to Chris Daughtry, Johnny Rzeznik, or Bono, but you have a better instrument than all three of them--and I will freely tell anyone that I think Daughtry is a magnificent artist and I will die on that hill if necessary.

I want you to go find a man named Butch Walker, tell him to stop being melancholy long enough to produce your next album, and go work with someone who will put you back on the charts where I know you want to be. And yes, it will be a rock album.

It seems that you genuinely like pop music, Jesse. And there's nothing wrong with that. I like rock music, but NOBODY is EVER going to ask me to sing heavy rock. Ever. I had to make peace with the fact that I sound like Martina McBride and Sara Bareilles. I need a ton of melody and the instrumentation cannot be too heavy-sounding--more Phil Collins than Def Leppard for me.

Please, sir, I am begging you on behalf of good music everywhere: embrace the fact that this amazing voice you have was designed for so much more than you've given it so far. Go make an album without synthesizers and with a whole lot of edge. Please.


With great affection,
Kate

The New Costco...Same as the Old Costco.

As an extravert, let me just tell you right now:

Self-quarantine sucks.

I am quarantined not because I have COVID-19 or have even been exposed, but because I DON'T WANT IT. I venture out of this house with Playtex Living Gloves on my hands, an entire hand/glove-washing kit complete with soap, and Clorox Disinfecting Wipes in a baggie in my purse to wipe down said gloves before I touch anything important like ME.

Seriously. I've never been so happy to own several pairs of those gloves in my life. I have a routine: wash a pair, dry a pair, wear a pair. Although I will admit, I don't want to leave the house again for a while to go anywhere that people are. I will gladly venture out of the house to see my pals Cherie and Larry, in part because Cherie and I, both extraverts, are LANGUISHING without being around other people and being together is good. They're family, and they are both taking this thing seriously, for which I am grateful, because right now we need to take COVID-19 very, very seriously. But in terms of going to a place with a bunch of strangers to acquire things? No, thanks. I did that today.

I went to Costco.

I have been trying to stay on top of what I need and not venture out of the house all that much, and last night I looked at my large bottle of Target-Brand Zyrtec and went...crap. Three pills left. I looked online and, of course, the least expensive place to acquire this stuff is Costco.

So I went. I contacted Cherie, and she said they were getting pretty low on toilet paper, something I'd just happened to buy enough of for me in late January. I figured there was no shot of me acquiring the TP for her, but I thought I'd try.

Let me tell you, it was an experience.

Normally, you just walk up to the cart area, grab a cart, and get in the door. Not today. No, see, they'd gotten in a shipment of the golden TP the previous night. They were allowing 50 people max at a time into the store. So I had to go grab a cart, wait in the line outside with added security--yes, really--until I was allowed in, and make a beeline for the very back corner of the store, diametrically opposed to the entrance--right along with everyone else.

Which I did.

I was told, "You're lucky. There will be some left when you get in."

As I waited, I noticed that there was a sign outside with "YES" and "NO" writ large. There were items listed underneath each: YES to Paper Towels and Toilet Paper, NO to hand sanitizer and baby wipes. As things sold out, they moved things from the YES to the NO column. By the time I left, the coveted TP had moved spaces and they were no longer monitoring number of people in the store. 

It was the Kirkland/Costco brand of toilet paper, by the way, and only one very large package per customer allowed. A Costco employee handed it to me in a line and  then I kept going. So I did keep going. I went and bought some essentials for my life: eggs, cream cheese, sour cream, cheese, more cheese, even more cheese, and of course the aforementioned Zyrtec. I also stocked up on a couple other items that I was not super low on but enough that I won't have to come back for two months if need be.

My freezer is now full.

But being in a store with a limited number of people, particularly a Costco, was a very different experience. It was interesting because the parts of the store that sometimes have some people in them, such as office supplies or small appliances...nope. Nobody. Wine? Nobody. Meat aisle? Needed a bulldozer to get through, even with a limited number of people in the store. They were selling fast out of some essentials. A lot of people had the Rotisserie Chickens in their carts.

Panic just does things to people.

I wasn't panicked, honestly. I grabbed the TP for Cherie, the all-important Kirkland brand knockoff Zyrtec for me, and cheese because...cheese. But there was this sense of deep foreboding amongst those at the Costco. People are afraid, because the world changed pretty quickly out here--it looks really different than it did a week ago.

People are afraid of the actions of other people.

Which sucks.

I know that we want to believe the best of others and we don't want a "few bad apples to spoil the bunch". But let me tell you: when people are scared, they are not kind. I could see it in the eyes of those around me today. I nearly ran over a man who looked like Armie Hammer is going to look 10 years from now--tall, gorgeous, foreboding--and he looked angry and affronted. He did not acknowledge my apology. He came around a blind corner and cut it. I couldn't possibly have seen him, and I was in the "correct" lane, as it were. 

I did not get angry with Not-Armie. Because even gorgeous 6'5" men can be scared of 5'2" women in a Costco in times like these.

I looked it up online: as of Friday, there were 6, count 'em, 6 cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Yolo County. This is 6 more than were reported on Friday for Oswego County, mind (we're always the last to get everything, to semi-quote Sam Herwood), a factoid for which I am exceedingly grateful, because many of you have asked how my father is doing. The answer? Just fine. This is the man who INVENTED Social Distancing in the 60s, WAY before it was cool. He's grousing because he can't go get his afternoon cup of coffee at the place he likes to go to, but as it was sludge that probably kept him up at night, I'm hoping he'll sleep better. 

I am grateful that he lives in a place where COVID-19 hasn't exactly arrived yet.

As for me, I live with my mother in my head. My mother kept her anxiety hidden from some of you, so you might not know that my mother probably single-handedly kept Wet Ones in business for several decades. She ALWAYS had them somewhere. She had to be this way, because she worked with Kindergarteners. There's a reason that she bought Jergens Lotion by the jug, because she went through it--always put it on after washing her hands, which was upwards of 30 times a day.

So I live with her in my head, and that's the reason that when I venture out, I have all the tools I need to pretty much rid myself of COVID-19 on my person. In fact, I will bet you a very big cookie that you have all the tools in your house necessary to pretty much rid yourselves of COVID-19, right at your disposal.

I give you: SOAP.

Yep.

SOAP.

For real, it is better than disinfecting wipes, especially for your skin. It will, in fact, help you tremendously. You have to USE ENOUGH OF IT because Soap is an emulsion and that emulsion has to be worked mechanically on your hands and surfaces to MAKE VIRUSES GO AWAY.

AKA: RUB THOSE HANDS TOGETHER AND RUB ALL THE SURFACES. DO NOT FORGET YOUR THUMBS. SING THE CHORUS OF STAYING ALIVE (the ah-ah-ah-ah Staying Alive, Staying Alive part) FOUR TIMES OVER AND VOILA, 20 SECONDS.

If you stay 6 feet away from other humans, cover your hands while out because THAT'S where you'll get it into your system, and wash everything--including all of you--regularly with SOAP, you can weather this thing.

I'm not saying go out and have SOAP parties. That's ludicrous.

But understand this: I don't necessarily take all of these precautions just for me. Odds of me beating COVID-19 are no worse than average. I have people in my sphere, however, who are at higher risk. Cherie and Larry are two of them, by virtue of age. And I will not, WILL NOT, have it on my head that I exposed them. Right now, I am their only source of TP and other things.

Which means I can't go out and just do things like I used to. I don't just hop down to Raley's if I need something. Myself, my gloves, soap (yes, really), water, disinfecting wipes--we all go together now. I know I might look like I'm overreacting, but let me tell you something: I am determined.

I do NOT want to get to heaven only to hear my mother say "I would die again of mortification because you didn't listen to me about soap and disinfecting wipes!"

Stay safe at home, folks. I know it sucks. But we're going to get through this together.

I think.


PS:
My source on soap and hand-washing is courtesy of the great ALTON BROWN and his hand-washing video (this is the "no cleaver"/SAFE one--don't ask):   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIwdf3WKe3Y

Yay science!

Death

The last six months have been devastating for me and many of my friends. There's been a lot of death.

A lot. Of death.

This morning I learned that a student I worked with at Greengate who was scheduled to graduate soon has died. It was unexpected. Like my mother, she took a nap and didn't wake up. The campus found out yesterday.

I'm also hearing about more cancer diagnoses. They're scary, because the treatment typically is to play chicken with the disease using your own body as the battleground. There are no guarantees that you and your body will win that game. I know of plenty who didn't.

From the time we are old enough to realize our mortality and the odds on our own longevity, we resignedly recognize that everyone dies, even though we live as though this is not the case. So far I've only heard of one Dude who slipped the noose completely, and even He isn't around physically anymore--reports indicate that He disappeared into some clouds some time after coming back.

So we cognitively know that death is coming for us and those around us.

But we pretend it won't.

When Death comes close, either in the form of a devastating illness that we survive or in the more likely form of the death of a loved one, everything just kind of....stops. I've been aware that things are happening outside my sphere since December 11th, important things like an impeachment trial starting and cool scientific discoveries...but right now, they aren't impacting me. I mean, some of them might directly affect me and everyone I know.

I don't have it in me to care much about it at all. Not when Death is sitting over there in the corner, reminding me daily that I can't rely on anything. I can't count on my father living past next Tuesday, even if all of the information I have at hand indicates that he will likely outlive his brother who is 7 years his junior. Just because it's there on paper is no indication that I can bet on it.

I have known since my early 20s that at some point, I would be an orphan. Reality: most of us become orphaned at some point. Some of us have siblings that can ameliorate that feeling. I have wonderful friends, and I love you all, but in all likelihood I will eventually be the only member of my family of origin.

But I know there aren't any guarantees on my longevity, either. 

One of the main reasons I can keep going is because I allow myself to stay solar-powered. Growing up, I couldn't understand for the life of me why my mother's favorite season wasn't Summer. I failed to comprehend why it wasn't everyone's favorite season, because why would you NOT choose a favorite season where the sun was out so you felt better? It did not really occur to me until I moved into a sunshine-rich state that people exist who need the sun much less than I do. I'll be honest--it still baffles me, and those of you who can live without the sun...mazel tov, man.

I can't.

Today, the sun is out on a partly-cloudy day here in Woodland, and I am getting up from my table periodically to go stand underneath my skylight or go directly outside and feel the sun on my face, opening my eyes as much as I can to have the sunshine hit the eyes as well, because studies have shown it is a significant mood enhancer. And I need all the mood enhancing I can get.

Sometimes, that sun on my face is enough for me to at least blur the visage of Death sitting in my corner. Death is not being particularly vile; it's not sitting in the corner cackling and rubbing its hands together. It does not necessarily rejoice in my suffering.

It just reminds me that it's there, and my world is shattered, and nothing will ever be the same.

I would love to share with you all my grieving process about my Mother. I can't, not fully anyway. I've tried to write it down, because grief shared is grief lessened...but I can't. Some things really are too personal. I loved her more than I have ever loved anyone so far in this life. It's unquantifiable, but it still defines my life--I still love her more than anyone. I now understand Richard Feynman's words about his first wife, Arline, in a letter he wrote to her after her passing: "You, dead, are so much better than anyone else alive."

While my Mother is gone, her love for me remains, locked inside me in a place that is untouchable. No one will ever take it from me. Nobody could. Not even Death.

It still sustains me.

And that's as much as I can share with you all.

Today, Death reminded me that it's still here with the passing of Katie Borchers, who loved without ceasing, who constantly sought interaction with others, who drove us all a bit spare but whose presence often made us smile. Death doesn't always announce its arrival, and it's an equal-opportunist.

Nobody is safe.

None are immune to its effects.

I'm saddened that a new set of people have to sit with Death in their corner now. I extend my most heartfelt sympathies to the Borchers family. I do know a bit of what you're going through. I've buried a child. I've recently lost a family member.  And I am so, so sorry for your loss.

We are now the survivors--those who survive the death of a loved one. It doesn't make us heroes or victims. It makes us human beings. (Credit and thanks for those words to John Pavlovitz.)

If I've learned anything from the people in my world in the past month, it's that I'm surrounded by a wealth of lovely people...and I am not going to be through my grieving process for a long, long time. So I do ask for your patience, and I ask on behalf of those who have lost someone recently. After all, pain is invisible...and we're all in pain in one form or another.

So let's love each other as much as we can while we can, and be kind to others and ourselves in the midst of suffering. We can do nothing less.

Because sooner or later, Death is going to be sitting in your corner.

Why Jeopardy! Matters

This past week, ABC began airing the Jeopardy! "Greatest of All Time" Tournament of Champions. Because I have become an Old Fart (TM), I no longer am able to watch TV as it airs unless it's a weekend night, so I had to wait until yesterday to begin watching.

And promptly fell in love all over again.

I typically don't watch Jeopardy! during the week, and there are good reasons for it. Jeopardy! revs up my brain, and that means I have to work extra hard to calm it down at 7:30 when I take my shower and get into the bed. (See Old Fart, above.) So watching it again, and not just watching it, but watching the most fun version of the game, with three people I love to watch play, is pretty much priceless to me.

Turns out, it's fairly priceless to much of America right now. Granted, 2020 is pretty new, but so far, prime time Jeopardy! is 2020's ratings king.

For those of you who don't know, here are the salient points:

1. Alex Trebek, Jeopardy's intrepid host, has pancreatic cancer and is slowing down; all of us of a certain age are gearing up to lose an icon whose voice really should be called The Voice of Reason.
2. This tournament was devised because a man named James Holzhauer, a professional gambler from Las Vegas, "broke the game" last season. He began playing in a manner that defied how people traditionally play Jeopardy!--he jumped around the board, looked for the daily double, made wise bets, and studied his butt off prior to getting on the show. 
3. The night Holzhauer would have broken Ken Jennings' (see below) record for most money won in regular season play, he lost. (I contend to this day that he never intended to be another Ken Jennings and purposefully threw the game; Holzhauer has said that he achieved what he wanted to by the time he lost and was giving much of his winnings away.) 
4. Jeopardy! producers, seeing a gold mine, devised a new "Greatest of All Time" Tournament of Champions. 
5. Contestants include Holzhauer and the two other most dominant players of the game. One is Brad Rutter, who holds the record for winning the most money by playing Jeopardy!. He won all 5 days he was on in 2000 as a college student (in regular play, not in the college tournament), followed by winning that year's Tournament of Champions, then won two other Ultimate Tournaments before finally losing...to Watson, the IBM AI computer. 
6. The other player is fan favorite and by-all-accounts-genuine-nice-guy Ken Jennings. Ken got on the show in 2004, shortly after the 5-day-limit was repealed, and he won for 74 consecutive games, a feat that won't likely be repeated anytime soon. Ken Jennings has said that one of his claims to fame is being the man most likely to lose to Brad Rutter (he so far has lost twice in tournaments to him, and finished behind him in the tournament with Watson).
7. These guys all appear to like each other. In particular, Holzhauer and Jennings appear to be genuine fans of each other. 
8. The show's format is different than a traditional Jeopardy! tournament: each night, the players play 2 full games, and the scores are tallied from both games. At the end of the night, a winner for that day's play is declared. The first man to win three times is declared the overall winner. 

And so these giants of trivia have taken to the airwaves during prime time and are beating the competition in terms of ratings. In so doing, the point that is being made is not just about watching the staggering combined intellect of these three gentlemen. It's also about what Americans are interested in viewing.

Jeopardy! is not about politics (although a good knowledge of politics is very, very helpful), nor is it about pop culture (same deal). It's not about finding who agrees with your wild opinion online in an echo chamber regarding the division of this nation. It's not about informing the world about said wild opinion.

Jeopardy! is about who we can be at our best. The genuine sportsmanship and support the players are showing each other in this tournament hasn't been seen previously, and much of that can honestly be attributed to Holzhauer, who appears to be the world's biggest Ken Jennings fan. Jennings, in turn, is being wildly supportive of both colleagues, which is making Holzhauer also be very supportive of Brad Rutter. Rutter is struggling, and I have some specific ideas about why: he's blaming how he's not being as fast on the buzzer, but he's missed all but one of the Daily Doubles he's nabbed, and so far he's found the first Daily Double in Double Jeopardy nearly every time. An offhand comment was made about Rutter losing weight, and I wonder if he went on a low-fat diet. Low-fat diets are bad for your brain--your brain is made up of fat. (Word to the wise, children: eat more fatty fish). Despite this, you can't count him out...yet.

This really does harken back to 20 years ago, when Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (also from ABC) dominated the airwaves. After a while, we Americans do get bored and move onto other forms of entertainment, but do you remember the frenzy? It went on for months.

This tournament differs in that you know you're watching three of the smartest trivia whizzes in the nation, if not the world. And while the stakes are high for Jeopardy! ($1 million, enormous bragging rights), this tournament is not about the money for these men--all three have careers, and two of them have careers that came directly from Jeopardy! (Hearing Ken Jennings talk about how grateful he is that he could give up being an engineer and become a full-time writer, which also meant that he has been able to be there for the growing up of his children and being fully involved in their lives...really, I'm pretty sure all of us got misty-eyed at how unbelievably grateful the man sounded.) I think this tournament is about the competition for them, but it's also about having some fun, and bringing the rest of us right along with them.

They're succeeding.

You remember fun, don't you? That thing that we used to have before we had to worry about money, our nation, and at least for me personally, bereavement? I know I'm not the only person grieving right now, and there are many forms of grief that I see around us every day. Some of us, myself included, are grieving who we could have been, as we are at that age where the die is cast in so many ways. I'm having a blast watching these shows and not worrying about what crisis I'm going to have to handle next.

I am now massively conflicted. The tournament will continue until one man wins three days' worth of games. The man Holzhauer thinks is the Greatest of All Time now has two wins. And I want him to win, too. But Ken Jennings winning it all means stopping this truly lovely experiment in how to have G-rated fun in America.

And honestly, I'm not ready to stop this. I'm pretty sure a lot of us aren't ready to stop this. Hey, ABC, pony up: after this part is over, have each of these men play for a different charity, keep the format, and run this until June. I suspect that's when we lose Trebek as host, and having him go out surrounded by three men who value him as much as the whole of Generation X does would go a very, very long way to putting a balm on the soul of those of us struggling to see eye-to-eye with our neighbors about this country right now. In fact, ABC, I think it's your patriotic duty to unite us, even if it's only for one wonderful, crazy season.

I predict Holzhauer will throw game 5 by losing in the last Final Jeopardy!, and Ken Jennings will win it all.

(Go Ken!)