Day 221

This is Day 221 of the Ohio Shutdown and Day 157 of The Big Ferguson.

It also might fairly be called Day 1 of What’s Next for Deb and Me.

Shortly before noon I walked from my warehouse through the front of the shop to meet my lunch delivery. As I returned with my food, the branch manager, Deb’s successor, followed me back to my desk.

Haltingly, stammering, she told me that today would be my last day of employment there, instructing me to gather my belongings and leave. Her demeanor in that moment exposed that her usual bluster was veneer, a veil, a show.

Under stress, we all reveal who we truly are.

I’d already clocked out for lunch, so I asked for a photocopy of my time card, which I received. I said no goodbyes. Striding out the door into the sunshine, I looked across the parking lot to see I that was being watched.

Hey, I thought, I get bragging rights over Deb. When she was fired from the shop on July 7th, she didn’t get cops.

I got cops.

There sat two of Columbus’s finest. Presumably they were present by request, and they stayed in their cruiser.

It was both uncalled for and satisfyingly amusing. Deb and I are still chuckling about it.

An interesting side note — the guy who fired Deb, as senior corporate staff in the shop, should’ve been the one to do the deed today. Strangely, however, he left for “lunch” almost an hour earlier.

I say again, under stress we reveal who we are.

I won’t be divulging more information about the situation, not now. Whether or not I do so in the future will depend entirely on the terms of my separation, which I expect the corporate types to convey to me next week.

The ball’s in their court. Tick-tock.

I broke the news of my termination to my Facebook friends not long after I got home. The resulting outpouring has been heartening and welcome — Deb and I are part of quite a tribe, and again today they stepped up in support.

I know I’m supposed to be colossally bummed right now. I mean, I lost my job today, and that’s known to be one of life’s biggest stressors.

Thing is, I’m not the least bit down, nor am I in denial of the present reality. Neither is Deb. In fact, as she said this afternoon, “The hardest part of this is going to be not showing how happy we are.”

We’re fine. And we’re going to be fine. For some weeks now we’ve been charting a new course. What happened today, far from being a complication, plays right into our plans.

Professionally I’ll continue to write, probably picking up any freelance gigs that come my way. I’ll have more time to devote to photography, which I’ve missed.

As the saying goes, it’s all good.

Today’s personal developments have, understandably, kept me away from current events. I did hear that Fauci expects that we’ll all be wearing masks through 2021, and that it may be years before America returns to “normal.”

Oh, kiss my ass.

On last night’s edition of Hannity, the incomparable Mark Levin was on fire. He passionately sketched out what’s at stake on Tuesday.

I shared an excerpt earlier on my personal Facebook page, but it bears repeating here:

“Let me tell you what’s on the ballot, America: The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States — or this crap, [the] 110 page Sanders-Biden-AOC manifesto. This 110-page document will replace these documents. Do you know what’s in here? Every aspect of your life. Your lifestyle, your family, your community, your neighborhood is going to be micro-managed by these crackpots on the Left. The courts, Congress, the voting system, legislative system, they’re not going to surrender. We will never get it back.”

Hyperbole? Crackpot rant? Conspiracy theory?

Nope — just look at “Joe’s Vision.” Look at the Democrat Party platform. Look at the anti-American agenda that Democrats and other progressives have enacted already.

If you have eyes to see and ears to hear — and as long as you’re not intellectually or ideologically crippled — you can’t deny that Mark Levin is right. Fundamentally, I agree with Mark Levin because when Democrats tell us what they want, I believe them.

Take care of yourselves. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.

#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath

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