Elise Sereni Patkotak

As that old saying goes, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. I find myself wondering if there is anywhere in this world a politician who is not ultimately corrupted by power, no matter how honorable they are at the start. That’s really where my disgust with government lay.  Even good people who get into office and stay too long eventually end up corrupted because there are simply too many people sucking on their butt at once telling them how wonderful they are. They feel powerful and eventually feel untouchable, as though the laws they pass are meant for mortal

An article in the paper explained how to go to fast food restaurants and eat more healthily by not getting the cheese or the sauce or the fries or the combo meal. And I have to ask…isn’t that exactly why you’re at the fast food restaurant?

The real question in my mind is whether there are ANY unindicted politicians left in Alaska who aren’t under investigation or an ethical cloud of epic proportion?  Why is this the area in which Alaska has chosen to try to beat my childhood home state of New Jersey. We’re number one….did that ever sound sadder than it does right now?

They called Ronald Reagan the Teflon president. I think we should start calling Sarah Palin the Teflon governor.  Based on people’s reaction to the recent dust up over the dismissal of Walt Monegan, I’d say the lady would pretty much have to pile up more indictments than all our current politicians combined before people would start to seriously question her. 

This is going to make some people absolutely nuts. Unfortunately, for those seeking to find some dirt that will stick and bring down her still astronomically favorable ratings, this current dust up is probably not the ticket they are seeking. 

Is this a sign of brain disintegration or self-preservation asserting itself? Last night I had a choice between a news magazine and a Get Fuzzy comic collection. I read Get Fuzzy from cover to cover and could barely get out of bed on time this morning because I was up so late. So does this mean I am dumbing down by choosing a comic over reality, or wising up to the fact that reality is not all it’s cracked up to be?

I come in the house from the garage. I assume the sound of the garage door opening and shutting will alert my trusty guard dogs to my return. But no. I walk in the door, down the hallway and into my office and start opening mail and still no dogs.  A few minutes later, I hear the clinking of tags on collar as one of the dogs slowly descends the stairs. I sit quietly in the office to see what she’ll do. Another few seconds and the sound of the second dog descending is heard. They sit on the landing

When I was young, my nona lived with us.  I remember feeling so sorry for her because she only had two dresses. Her every day dress and her Sunday dress. Both were in a tasteful black since at her age she was always mourning someone. Now I envy her the ease of her wardrobe. Since I work out of my home, I have little need to actually have a wardrobe…though there are some in my family who claim that even when I worked outside my home I saw little need to have a wardrobe. But the fact of the matter

I was trying to apply a modicum of make up so as not to scare someone I was going to meet for coffee when I noticed my ears. I don’t know when this happened because I honestly don’t look that closely at them more than once a decade or so. But OH! MY! GOD!  They are wrinkled like old lady’s ears. When did this happen? Why did this happen? I’m a nice person. Why is god doing this to me?

The sun came out yesterday. It was really sad. Everyone I met on my dog walk felt compelled to point out that the sun was shining as though they needed external confirmation of the phenomenon in the sky for fear they were just hallucinating its appearance. After what seems likes at least a year of rain, clouds, wind and angry, wet mosquitoes, I guess it’s a natural reaction to want to have someone else confirm that in fact yes, the sun is still in the sky, even over Anchorage.

It must be the weather. I found myself in Lowe’s buying gro lights, regular lights, spot lights…I think it’s the dreary weather causing me to want to buy artificial light that will brighten my day. By the way, am I the only one confused by the plethora of lights now available? Whatever happened to the day when the only choices were wattage and single or three-way? For someone who hates to shop, this has just added another category to the list of things that stress me when I have to go buy some.