Later on today I'm going to think that I want my...

18 minutes of sleep.  I woke up at 5:42 a.m., when the plan was to wake up at 6:00 on the nose.  I even had made arrangements for one of the Residential Aides (they're PCAs rather than RAs now, but I can't remember what PCA stands for) to come by and wake me right at 6.  So I'm sitting here banging away on the keyboard when he unlocked the door to wake me.  My leg feels better, but no time for a walk this morning.  However if it feels this good tomorrow, I may be able to walk.

Speaking of can't remember, I saw more evidence of what a train wreck old age can be yesterday.  I was going out to brunch, but I went down to the dining room anyway because I get the Sunday edition of the L.A. Times and read it at the breakfast table every Sunday.  So I grabbed my paper and went down there to read it.  One of my neighbors, at the adjacent table, wants the leftovers that I'm done reading, so it's nicer on my part to read it there rather than taking it back to my room, even though I wasn't eating.

Now we have one resident who has to be told at every meal which table she sits at.  I think in her case it isn't just dementia, it's a case of her wanting to sit with certain other people if she can and since she's assigned to a table where none of them sit, she tries to join them anyway.  But it's an every meal thing.

There is a man here who was doing fine in remembering where he sits, but now that has changed, and he has to be led to the right table at every meal.  In fact, he got upset at what he thought was someone sitting in his seat when he wasn't led to his table and after a discussion yesterday, I think I understand more about how people suffering from Alzheimer's and/or dementia get so angry.

In those rare, lucid moments, when they come to grips with how they are living their lives, losing their grasp on reality and their faculties, that has to be extremely annoying and upsetting.  I shudder to think about what life would be like when my best feature, my brain starts to fail me.  I have made a mental note to be far more understanding and compassionate about those who suffer from dementia, because I may be among their ranks someday and hope others will treat me that way.

Last night I finally got to watch a movie I'd wanted to see, but hadn't been able to.  It was the remake of "The Karate Kid".  Now I'm a big fan of the original, think it was a brilliant film and that the casting of the last Noriyuki "Pat" Morita as Mr. Miyagi was outstanding.  The amazing Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune was the first choice for the role and he would have brought a different take, and what I feel would have been a less successful one to the part.  Morita brought Miyagi to life in all four of the Karate Kid films.

So this turned out to be a remake that's entertaining, although it clearly doesn't surpass the original.  It was fun and I plan to watch it again.

I have an idea for a new business opportunity.  Any of you who want to run with this feel free.  Someone should get a pass to be on the red carpet at the Emmys, the Oscars, whatever, and offer to sell adjectives and superlatives to the vast pool of commentators and reporters who opine on the attire of the guests entering the event.  We hear the same adjectives and superlatives over and over, and if someone were out there selling different ones to be used, the commentators would sound so much better.

Okay, time for a political rant.  I won't deny for a moment that there are Republicans out there who want to suppress voting and voters among certain groups through the issue of voter ID.  But the issue of the integrity of our system of voting deserves attention.  Voter fraud, where people vote under other names, cast votes for the dead and so on is a very miniscule issue and while elections that can turn on one vote need such issues to be eliminated, not at the expense of disenfranchising eligible voters.

But, there are larger issues.  Let's suppose for a moment that a state makes it free, and simplistic to get a driver's license or state ID card for people to vote.  They address the issue of such IDs not being issued at night and on weekends for the working poor to have time to get them, and they deal with the issue of elderly who have no access to a birth certificate, by accepting alternative proof of citizenship.

That's the issue, citizenship.  In CA, you don't have to prove you're a citizen to get a DL.  So is a DL actually viable as proof of identity in determining right to vote?  Remember, it's a right but it's only a right of citizens.  Resident aliens who are here legally don't have the right to vote.  Illegal aliens definitely don't have the right to vote.  But shoddy voter registration processes make it very easy for members of either of those groups of ineligible residents to register and vote.

So let's return integrity to the system.  When you vote at the polls, you do like they do in many other countries and dip your finger into ink, to prevent you from voting again.  It's like wearing the sticker that says I voted, but it serves a secondary purpose.  Let's require that all states maintain records for all new voter registrations involved the registrant providing proof of citizenship.  Once done, as long as they live in that state, moving and re-registering is just a change of registration and doesn't require providing proof of citizenship again.  But if you move to another state, you prove your right to vote again.

I have to prove who I am to board a plane.  I have to prove who I am to enter a Federal building.  I have to prove who I am to get a certified letter at the Post Office.  But I shouldn't have to prove who I am to cast a vote?  There's a disconnect with that logically.  Yes, there are people who have issues proving who they are.  Resolve those issues and restore integrity to the ballot process.

Who here hasn't heard of the Chicago ballot box stuffing and voting of the dead in prior elections?  The possibility that it could have happened is enough to cause us to question the integrity of the process by which we elect our national representatives.  Unlike the other "civilized" nations our process is compared to, we don't have a centralized, federal ballot and election process.  Each state has their own rules.  So the comparisons are useless.

Find a balance between not suppressing voting and restoring integrity to the process.  That's all I ask.

Pity poor IHeart radio.  They organized this awesome concert in Las Vegas to highlight and promote their free app that lets you listen to so much radio programming and all anyone is going to talk about the week after that concert is how Green Day lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong melted down on stage with a profanity-laden, guitar smashing tirade after he was told he had only one minute left to play.  Now he's in rehab and the video of his tirade is going viral.

One last little factoid today.  If you ever find yourself confronting an alligator who wants to make you into a handbag and shoes, rather than vice versa, remember this little tip.  The strength an alligator has in holding his giant jaws shut is enormous.  Once he (or she) clamps down on a body part, you aren't going to pry them off.  However, the amount of strength they possess in being able to force their own jaws open while closed is almost non-existant.  A reasonably strong adult can hold an alligator's jaws closed easily for an extended period, assuming they could handle the thrashing and shaking.  So before the gator opens its mouth, hold it shut.  I know, I know, not going to happen, and not practical.  But the fact that us weak humans could actually do that is interesting, to me anyway.