To say I am frustrated and perplexed by the current election cycle would be an understatement. Although I know I’m not alone in my feelings, due to the divisiveness I don’t want to get into politics here.  What I want to get into is how to not get caught up in this chaos and lose ourselves.  And yet, I struggle to find the way to do this myself.  I write this as I attempt to step away from my social media sites and stop reading the latest breaking news reports.  For my peace of mind I must.

So, today I balanced my day off time by doing things to care and nurture myself and my family.  I changed my sheets! (I love fresh sheets on the bed) I took an afternoon nap.  And I baked a pie.  It is my annual Green Tomato Apple Pie.  It is my version of “A Stitch in Time Saves” when it comes to food.  Yes, at the end of the growing season I always have a lot of tomatoes on the the vine that just didn’t have time to ripen.  As you know I hate to let anything go to waste, so I get them (before the squirrels do) and make this sweet/tart pie.  So yummy, warm with just a dab of vanilla ice cream melting on the top!  The recipe is from one of my favorite cookbooks, Hollyhocks & Radishes: Mrs. Chard’s Almanac Cookbook by Bonnie Stewart Mickelson.

So if the 2016 election has your head spinning, your heart racing and your stomach churning too, please step back and find a way to soothe yourself and those you love.  Don’t buy into the propaganda.  Don’t get caught up in the latest hype or poll numbers.  Don’t let anybody try to scare you (the only thing to fear is the fear mongers).  I want to believe that we still have more things that unite us than issues that divide us.  I believe AMERICA IS already GREAT (we have pie!)  Now I think I’m almost ready for the Presidential Debate (I can hope they will act just a bit presidential, can’t I?)  starting in a few minutes.  And if it gets rough, at least I can soothe myself with another piece of pie!

Post Debate Edit:  This song came to mind as the second 2016 presidential debate came to an end. (Maybe Don McLean was a time traveler trying to warn us of this election?!)

“American Pie”
Don McLean

A long, long time ago
I can still remember how that music used to make me smile
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could make those people dance
And maybe they’d be happy for a while

But February made me shiver
With every paper I’d deliver
Bad news on the doorstep
I couldn’t take one more step
I can’t remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride
But something touched me deep inside
The day the music died

So bye, bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey ‘n rye
Singin’ this’ll be the day that I die
This’ll be the day that I die

Did you write the book of love
And do you have faith in God above
If the Bible tells you so?
Now do you believe in rock and roll?
Can music save your mortal soul?
And can you teach me how to dance real slow?

Well, I know that you’re in love with him
‘Cause I saw you dancin’ in the gym
You both kicked off your shoes
Man, I dig those rhythm and blues

I was a lonely teenage broncin’ buck
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck
But I knew I was out of luck
The day the music died

I started singing bye, bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey ‘n rye
Singin’ this’ll be the day that I die
This’ll be the day that I die

Now for ten years we’ve been on our own
And moss grows fat on a rollin’ stone
But that’s not how it used to be
When the jester sang for the king and queen
In a coat he borrowed from James Dean
And a voice that came from you and me

Oh, and while the king was looking down
The jester stole his thorny crown
The courtroom was adjourned
No verdict was returned

And while Lenin read a book on Marx
The quartet practiced in the park
And we sang dirges in the dark
The day the music died

We were singing bye, bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey ‘n rye
Singin’ this’ll be the day that I die
This’ll be the day that I die

Helter skelter in a summer swelter
The birds flew off with a fallout shelter
Eight miles high and falling fast
It landed foul on the grass
The players tried for a forward pass
With the jester on the sidelines in a cast

Now the halftime air was sweet perfume
While the sergeants played a marching tune
We all got up to dance
Oh, but we never got the chance

‘Cause the players tried to take the field
The marching band refused to yield
Do you recall what was revealed
The day the music died?

We started singing bye, bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey ‘n rye
And singin’ this’ll be the day that I die
This’ll be the day that I die

Oh, and there we were all in one place
A generation lost in space
With no time left to start again
So come on, Jack be nimble, Jack be quick
Jack Flash sat on a candlestick
‘Cause fire is the devil’s only friend

Oh, and as I watched him on the stage
My hands were clenched in fists of rage
No angel born in Hell
Could break that Satan’s spell

And as the flames climbed high into the night
To light the sacrificial rite
I saw Satan laughing with delight
The day the music died

He was singing bye, bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey ‘n rye
And singin’ this’ll be the day that I die
This’ll be the day that I die

I met a girl who sang the blues
And I asked her for some happy news
But she just smiled and turned away
I went down to the sacred store
Where I’d heard the music years before
But the man there said the music wouldn’t play

And in the streets, the children screamed
The lovers cried and the poets dreamed
But not a word was spoken
The church bells all were broken

And the three men I admire most
The Father, Son and the Holy Ghost
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died

And they were singing bye, bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey ‘n rye
Singin’ this’ll be the day that I die
This’ll be the day that I die

They were singing bye, bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey ‘n rye
And singin’ this’ll be the day that I die.