Adam Blatner

Much has happened if I think about it, and also I sort-of forget, thinking that life goes on, la-dee-dah, nothing much happening. Yet both a lot and nothing much are both illusions. I’ll be talking and posting in a while about illusions, mainly psychological illusions—the defense mechanisms of the psychoanalysts, the cognitve distortions of cognitive therapy and related forms, the semantic and rhetorical distortions and tricks of propagandists and so forth—they’re all illusions that have innumerable personal and cultural forms! But that’s next February.

This Winter Solstice and its associated holidays of Christmas, Hanukah, and other celebrations for me has been a time of annual reaching out and saying hello. We also give our Fall-Winter Christmas Concert by the Sun City Singers—that’s a pleasure and honor—; and go to a few Christmas dances and parties, but not many. Our visit with Allee’s mom is a sign of change, as we’re not going on Christmas day for the fancy (and expensive) meal, but the day after when it’s still great but not so fancy.

I have some friends who are teetering on the edge, and I get a little tottery myself. My strategy is my mantra, I get to help, or I got to help, and I think I’ll take that to my deathbed and perhaps beyond. I’ve checked and my guardian angel said that it was none of my business, so I surrender. Haha.

Meanwhile I have the books to finish and tons (literally) of stuff to divest. So that will keep me busy for awhile.