in political

Some years back, WT was working on a Russian project. One day,
he got a call from one of principles of the company, telling him in
broken English that the deal was on hold. "We are in political," he
said. That's all. Just political. I can't think of a better way to sum up
the state of things. Seems we humans are always "in political".

Last week, Leah, of The Weather in the Streets, wrote an impressive
post, listing exactly where she stood politically on most of the current
issues. I admired, and actually felt a bit envious, of her candor and
confidence. Her post made me stop and wonder why, exactly, do I
steer clear of most political discussions. My eyes cross and I
invariably leave the room. I am never in political.

As I recently watched Ken Burns' The Civil War, I found myself
feeling sympathetic for both the North and the South during the
course of the documentary. My Libra scales tilt to one side, then the
other. I can often see both sides of an issue. There are times, when
there's no question, and I see totally black and white. But, for me,
many issues are gray. The scales go nuts. Maybe this is why decision
making for Libras can be so difficult. We can be sympathetic to a fault.

Before the last presidential election, I was accused in the comment
forum of one particular blog of being a "fence straddler". Well,
maybe I am. I see both sides. I like to weigh all the elements, and
when I finally do make a decision, hopefully it's a good one, now that
I'm older, and I like to think, a bit wiser. And you know what?
Sometimes, I still can't decide.

Speaking of things Russian, and civil war, the kooky photo above
is me in my Budenovka, a hat that was an essential part of the
communist uniform of the Russian Civil War. Its official name was
the "broadcloth helmet", named after Semyon Budyonny, and also
known as the "frunzenka" after Mikhail Frunze. Soft and woolly, it
covers the ears and neck, it can be worn alone or under a helmet.
It was created as part of a new uniform for the Russian army by
Viktor Vasnetsov, a famous Russian painter, who was inspired by
the Kiev Rus helmet. It reminds me of a quirky Russian version of
the Tin Man. Don't worry. I don't usually wear this one out and
about.

I happen to love this painting by Vasnetsov called "Samolet",

depicting Ivan, of Russian folklore, riding his magic carpet

to a place where there's no political, no fences.