3-30-2010 Tridextrous

This was a day of busy—three scoops of busy. The reason I imply too busy is that even though I engaged in activities which saw completion, still there was a feeling of loose ends. There were loose ends in the sense that there is more to be done for most of the activities, and there is a feeling that I could have let something slip between the cracks. That could have happened, but I didn’t have time to review mentally and see if it did happen.

I got email from Ellen Brady saying I am a delegate and chairman of precinct 4904 as well as chairman of 4015. Well, it may mean more work but it will just be an extension of the work for 4015. The difference will be the vote as a delegate. I’ll have to decide if I will vote for Matheson or not at the convention. The pros and cons are fairly straightforward. When his democratic district was gerrymandered and Republicans outnumbered Democrats by far, he surprised everyone by winning anyway. But to do so and to keep his seat he had to veer far to the right and become a “Blue Dog” Democrat. He doesn’t vote in accord with my beliefs on abortion, health care, or cap and trade, and he probably votes Republican on other issues as well—like on gun control. But he is a Democrat, so he counts as a Democrat for purposes of determining a party majority in the House. I am also told that he helps many Democrats down the ballot as well. So, on a purely practical basis, he helps Democrats, thus logic tells me to vote for him. However, he does not represent any of my views, so my desire is to vote against him.

But, again, reality impinges. I am told that the person running against Matheson is not impressive and is highly unlikely to win in a contest with the Republican. Thus the practicalities tell me to vote for Matheson, but my heart tells me to vote against him. What it may come down to is that if he is sure to win, or sure to lose the nomination, I will be free to vote the way I would like to vote. The decision is the same in the general election. If he is sure to win—or is sure to lose—and if there is a liberal to vote for, then I would vote for the liberal. But if it looks close then I would probably vote for Matheson. Of course it would help to know how it would all play out in the long run. It appears that Utah will be extremely conservative for a long time to come. The only bright spot at the moment is Caroon running for Governor. I could vote for him with a clear conscience. But I can’t believe that he has a real shot at winning. Utah is a far right state and the vote is strongly influenced by person to person pressure among Mormons. There is not much reasoning or thinking and analyzing as a method of deciding how to vote. Voting is influenced by the interpersonal factor everywhere, but it is more so in Mormon Utah.

Finally we spent time at two meetings about playing the organ. One was a monthly meeting of the LIFE chapter, the group of us who volunteer to play at senior centers and nursing homes. The audience is not demanding (they only hear, I’m told, what you play right, they don’t hear the mistakes). The other meeting was the weekly organ lesson. I continue to improve on hearing and following the beat. It doesn’t come naturally for me, but if I practice I can get it. I am now committed to playing for a senior center. I’ll play Snowbird along with 9 others who will play. I will have to practice. The song I really want to master is Georgia. It is harder, with a host of cords to play. If I can learn it and keep in practice with it then I could play it at a concert. I could also add some variations that would make the music more interesting. It is still amazing that musically disabled me can learn anything about music. It definitely helps me keep my brain in shape, so for that reason alone it is worthwhile to play the organ.