January 2, 2017 (Tosh's Diary)

January 2, 2017 (Tosh’s Diary)

Today feels like I have already spent this day yesterday.   For reasons that are not totally clear to me, whenever New Year’s Day falls on a Sunday, then the next day, which is Monday is New Year’s Day (observed).  This makes perfect sense when it comes to offices or banks being closed on the following Sunday holiday, but must we have the Pasadena Rose Parade on the second of January?   Millions of Americans wake up on January 1 to watch the rose parade on their TV sets.  Yet, once they turn on the right station or website, they find nothing.  One can’t imagine the severe disappointment of having their parade yanked out due that it’s on a Sunday.   I have to imagine that it is some silly Christian religion thing that this happened.  The thing is, by the time it’s the second of January I have very little interest in watching the parade.  One watches the parade on the first of January!  There are procedures, or rules in one’s life or culture, and they are followed with great passion.  I feel the same way when people open their Christmas presents on Christmas Eve.   There is a thing called Christmas morning, and that is the time when one comes to the Christmas tree to open presents - with the family all there and looking happy.  I should write to President-elect Trump about all this.   I gather that he may agree with me.  

Speaking of the devil (or angel, now that I’m going to support him), the committee to raise funds for building his statue and placing it at the Silver Lake Meadows is starting, but with very slow or none results at this time of writing.   I pretty much spent the entire New Year’s Day (on my own time of course) trying to convince people the importance of such a mission.  And yesterday would have been perfect, because it’s the first day of the new year, and doing something positive would sure bring a long cool shadow over the year.  Yet, oddly enough, people are still bitter over the stupid election.   The Clinton fan - base is pretty much drunk since the election.  So it’s hopeless to raise funds from that side of the fence.  Meanwhile, my one and only friend who is a die-hard Trump supporter refuse to give me any funds to build a statue in Trump’s honor.   I don’t want to generalize a whole movement out there, but I find Trump supporters are basically cheap.   The mean part doesn’t bother me as much as their cheapness.  They (will he, my only friend who is a Trump supporter) told me that since he’s a billionaire there is no need for us to raise funds for him.   That to me is a silly argument.  For instance, the people I know who are rich, does that mean I don’t buy them a present on their birthday or for Christmas - due that they can easily afford their own presents?   Do you see where this is leading?  

Yesterday I wrote to Peter Thiel, who is a billionaire and co-founder of Paypal.  Which by the way is a brilliant name for such a company.  A poet must have thought of that.  Pay + Pal = happiness.   Now that is a relationship I can support!  Anyway, I sent him an email yesterday, asking if he was willing to support our committee (which to be honest is basically me at this point) to have a statue built for the honor of Trump.  For sure, a man who is spending money on a man-made island to be placed in the French Polynesian lagoon would clearly be for this statue.  Sadly, I waited for twelve hours, and at this time, I have not heard a word from him.  Perhaps he’s on a holiday with his various boyfriends, but surely of all people, he must know that time is money.  Or perhaps he supports the second of January as an observed holiday?

Good grief!  Fear not, I will not give up on this dream.  Today is only the second day of the new year, and I will be working on this project, at least until the middle-aged year of say June.    After that, who knows.