Jiggle some wires or something...

First things first - if you're reading this, it means you're plowing ahead in this awful year. And that's not nothing. I'm not sure where we fall on the definitive list of worst years, but we're allowed to say this one has sucked. I hope you and yours are well.

I haven't posted in a while. I've started a couple of drafts, but I couldn't see them through. I think my brain shut down on 1 November. I mentioned a plan to unplug in late October and wake up on 4 November to see where we were, but I couldn't do it. (Jason, you were 100% right. I wish I'd been able to do it, though.)

It's too late (too early) to delve meaningfully into post-election thoughts. It'd be a jumbled incoherent mess. Better to throw out a few thoughts and figure out a way to restart the engine. I never knew my way around cars, so I'm just fiddling with wires and belts.

I am relieved that we voted Trump out of office. His inept handling of the coronavirus pandemic revealed his inability to govern, lead, inspire, or empathize. For a lot of us, that was clear before 2016. A lot of Americans don't agree, and they almost got him another 4 years. I hope we can bridge that divide.

I feel guilty about my lack of focus. I have it easy compared to most. Kids, pets, high-risk jobs, taking care of others, struggling businesses. I hope you're hanging in there. Fight through this winter. Fingers crossed things will take a turn for the better in the spring.

I'm at risk of a Dingfelder's problem.

One of the challenges of having a blog site is balancing continuity with explanation for potential new readers. For the benefit of the 5 people who read this site regularly, I'll keep this short. I don't eat a lot of meat. Past 15 years, once every 6 months.

In the past 2 weeks, my meat consumption looks like a COVID chart. I'm planning (minus the planning) on leaving Seattle soon, so my isolation brain has been thinking about places I want to visit and things I want to eat before I leave. Epic fails on the visits, but I have crossed off some items from the food list.

I finally got a Smith burger. It was delicious, but as an occasional meat eater, it would have been better to split it with someone. It was a shock to the system. Next on the list was a corned beef sandwich at Dingfelder's. Amazing. The rye bread is perfect. I saw that Dingfelder's has borscht on Thursdays, so I went back. And got a pastrami sandwich. You can hear all about it here.

I went back again for an egg salad sandwich. I ate it in a park on Pike and watched dogs chasing balls and playing. One dog got a little aggressive and bullied another. The aggressive dog's owner wasn't having any part of that. Timeout, leash on, talked to, and end of play day. I respect that. Too often I see oblivious dog owners say, "Ahh, isn't my (bullying) dog cute." In the aggressive dog's defense, I think it was out of character, and probably just a sign that it was time to go home.

Eating a sandwich on a park bench always sounds like a great idea, right up until the moment of execution. I made a crucial mistake at the Dingfelder's counter. I was offered utensils and napkins and opted for the napkins. As I was walking away I told myself I'd regret not getting a fork. It's impossible to gracefully eat an egg salad sandwich. After two bites, egg salad was spilling everywhere, and my fingers were a mess. Still, I'd argue it's a great idea, especially if you get to watch dogs race around.

The food at Dingfelder's is pricey, but it's a lot of food. If you're eating 3 sensible meals a day, you can get two meals out of a Dingfelder's Seattle style (1/2 meat) sandwich. I can't imagine what the full sandwiches are like. Two people could probably split one into 1/4s.

I have one more carnivorous item on the list. I'm going to Ezell's for fried chicken before I leave Seattle. Until then, it's back to lighter fare. Feeling a bit sluggish!

Time to start wrapping this up. Strange, jumbled post, I know. I'm rusty, cut me some slack. I'll leave you with a short clip from Capitol Hill after the election results solidified and a few fall photos.