Today is Thursday, November 21, 2024. Today I learned a new word that brilliantly sums up the ramifications of this new president-elect’s choices for his cabinet of grifters loyalists, and even alleged sexual predators. The word is “kakistocracy” and refers to a government that is run by the least suitable or competent citizens of a state. So you can say it means rule by the worst or most corrupt individuals and if Donald Dump has his way, this country will become just that: a kakistocracy. This word was coined as early as the seventeenth century. The word is derived from two Greek words kakistos and kratos, with a literal meaning of government by the worst people. It has been variously used in the past to describe the Russian government under Boris Yeltsin and, later, Vladimir Putin, the government of Egypt under Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, governments in sub-Saharan Africa, the government of the Philippines under Rodrigo Duterte and several United States presidential administrations, including now the most current under the Orange Turd. As you would expect, the term saw increased usage during the first presidency of Donald Dump, going viral when MSNBC host Joy Reid and former CIA Director John Brennan used it to insult Dump in 2017 and 2018, respectively. The word was used by commentators in numerous newspapers, political publications, and books to describe the Drumpf administration. It has now become popular as the term to describe the current parade of clowns being tapped by the president-elect to staff his cabinet. Instead of the”Ship of Fools,” let’s rebrand Dump’s team as the “Cabinet of fools.”

Enough of this horrible man and what’s in store for us in the next four years! As I have mentioned here, we have these remaining days to reflect, enjoy, and go on with our regular routines before the shit truly hits the fan. We are still staying away from watching mainstream news as regularly as we once did. As one TikToker insightfully put it, she’s experiencing all of the seven stages of grief over this last shocking election: shock, denial, anger, bargaining, depression, testing, and acceptance. I certainly would agree that I am experiencing those same symptoms after November 5. I’m certainly not at the acceptance stage yet, that’s for sure. I have suffered from the initial three or four stages without question.

To better news: yesterday Elliot and I got to see our adopted “niece’s” new apartment in Sunnyside and to sample her cooking. We were invited there at 7, so we drove, not knowing if she’s accessible by subway. She is! It wasn’t easy finding a parking spot, but we did. About two blocks away.

Her apartment building is in the middle of the block. The outside door isn’t locked; you just walk in. I didn’t see apartment buzzers, so we just walked through the inner door. We walked up three flights of stairs to her apartment. We saw only two apartments – one in the rear of the floor and one on the other side. She’s in 3R, so we knocked on the door in the rear, and she cheerfully opened the door, greeting us both. “Esther” commented that we were a little early, which we were. We left around 6:15, not knowing the parking situation. I’d rather arrive early to an appointment, not fashionably late, as some people. But not too early!

Anyway, we exchanged all of the pleasantries and were told to sit down while we waited for dinner to be ready. Esther rolled out a very fine hors d’oeuvre plate consisting of cheese with crackers and various types of grapes. We sat in the living room until dinner was ready.

When it was time to eat, we all walked into the kitchen and sat down. For dinner, Esther prepared chicken piccata and salad. I must say the meal was delicious: the chicken was very moist, not dry, and very tasty. The salad with its own orange balsamic dressing was very hearty. We briefly talked about where Esther got her cooking chops and she quickly remarked that they came from her mother, “Sandy,” who is an excellent cook and baker. We both agreed that she inherited her mother’s flair for cooking. For dessert, we ate my apple banana cake. Esther took out whipped cream to daub on top of the cake. Everyone agreed the cake tasted fine.

Soon Esther’s roommate joined us, as we were finishing dinner in the kitchen. We then proceeded to the living room where I asked Esther to help me book two tickets with a Fandango card that Elliot’s daughters gave him a long time ago for his birthday or for Father’s Day. I tried to do this for a Wednesday afternoon showing of Heretic, a new horror film starring Hugh Grant, but I couldn’t succeed in getting two senior ticket rates for that show. Esther had no trouble in registering on the website and purchasing two tickets for us for next Monday.

We then engaged in a lively discussion about living in New York, the high cost of renting, dating, and whatever else you can think of that intrigues two young women in their 20s. Elliot rhapsodized over how he met Esther’s father, “Jeff,” so many years ago when Elliot taught biology at Jeff’s school. He later went on to Princeton and now lives with his wife in Easton, Pennsylvania.

Close to 10, Esther politely mentioned that she had to go to sleep, so we knew it was time to take our leave. We said goodbye to “Sally,” Esther’s dark-haired roommate and we kissed Esther goodbye, saying we should get together for dinner sometime soon.

Today the only highlight of this wet, rainy day was our getting our flu shots at CVS at 2:30. I missed my lady friends at the Austin House Diner because of the soppy weather, so I ate my old-fashioned French toast in utter silence.

Tomorrow promises more of the same as today: rain and more rain. Naturally, we needed this rain since it’s been dry here for so long. And here is an interesting footnote: tomorrow marks the 61st-year anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. And today more Americans believe in conspiracy theories swirling around the assassination, mainly, that there were more than one gunman and that maybe agencies of the federal government might have been involved. There were rumors that either the Mafia or Cuba was involved in the slaying as well. It seems that this country has always harbored conspiracy fantasists since its inception.

And so it went!