The Heady Lure of Power and Greed

Is Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich related to O.J. Simpson? They appear to share the same delusion of being untouchable and above the law.

Gov Blag was arrested in his Chicago home yesterday while his family slept. He had been under federal investigation for at least three years. On many occasions, he has taunted the investigators during press conferences. The most recent time was the day before his arrest. He is charged with conspiracy to commit fraud for allegedly trying to sell off the senate seat vacated by Obama. He wanted cash and perks, including a better job for his wife.

The headiness of power sends some people off their rocker. I've known some of these people. Greed can often do the same.

If the governor is convicted, his sentence could be up to 20 years in prison. Meanwhile, until he resigns or is impeached, he still holds the power to name a person to the senate. (Highly unlikely.)

What are they eating in Illinois? I heard this little tidbit last night: Illinois has had four different governors in four years. Also, on average, one Illinois governor goes to prison roughly every 10 years.

I'm guessing the only state with more corrupt politicians is Louisiana.

Power

There's an old saying:

Power comes from three things -- love, words and the sea. Great care should be taken because they can cause joy or grief, salvation or destruction.

I'm drawn to this because it covers three of my favorite things. But, I know power comes in other forms too.

There's nothing wrong with power. People run companies, run countries, run families. These are all powerful positions. I am a control freak but it's mainly toward myself. I don't crave power but I seem to be attracted to it.

I have seen and lived the power of love.
I have used the power of words to heal and to harm.
The power of the sea (or water in general) overwhelms me.

Today I'm going to use my power in a positive way.

Pod People

When I was a little girl, Friday night was scary movie night. This was a standing date with my dad. If I had the audacity to fall asleep, my dad would poke me. We saw all of the great ones:

Psycho, The Birds, North by Northwest, Rear Window, etc.

My personal favorite was:

Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

They remade this movie in the 70s but nothing tops the creepiness of the original version. It's a little like The Stepford Wives because the humans are being replaced.

There is a point to this story.

We are pod people. My mother coined this phrase about my country club friends. She thinks we're "peas in a pod." She's only partially correct.

Yes, we all spend an inordinate amount of time together. Some play golf, some play cards, some just lounge in Cocktail Corner during the pool season. Yes, we know way too much about each other's marriages, children, oldies, etc. We can get on each other's nerves. Then we turn around and go out to dinner or on vacation together.

The men handle the skirmishes better than the women. They can almost come to blows and then play golf the next day. Women have long memories. Plus, we're protective of our people. Family may come first but many of these people would throw themselves in front of a bus for me. The feeling is mutual.

Some are wealthy; some are scraping by. Some love to flaunt their power and prestigious positions; others love the bargain hunting. Some love to brag; others love to gossip.

On Monday nights, The husband and I meet various pod people. It's a ritual. During the summer, I meet lots of pod people at the pool. My holidays are intertwined with family traditions and pod people parties. I work out with some of my pod people three times a week.

The oldies made a gigantic leap when they moved here from Mississippi. They didn't have a lot of choices. Now that they've been here two years, I see how much they miss friends and some sort of a social life. We've tried but unless people start knocking on the dungeon door, their social circle is not likely to expand.

We're not peas in a pod but on some days we're close.

All of this reminiscing makes me want to watch a scary movie with my dad.