Be a goldfish

My goodness, you go on the injured reserve list for a few weeks (OK, seven), and all kinds of crazy happens in this upended world of ours. It’s been a minute, as the cool kids say. Good thing I don’t have paid subscribers, or you’d all demand refunds. No, we haven’t “gone on holiday” in the south of France, Tuscany or even northern Michigan. I’ve been busy recuperating from a September 19 knee replacement. (Incidentally, that was the last day the U.S. House of Representatives was in session to do actual work. But I digress.) I had my left knee done this time. Another partial replacement, not full. So now my knees, minus that icky osteo-Arthur-itis, match like bookends. Good thing I don’t have any more legs. Frankly, I’m not in the market for additional parts, unless there’s a two-for-one fire sale. No telling what might happen. Dad always said never pay retail.

So, back to the kinds of cra-cra. What post-op crazy am I referring to, you wonder?

For starters, crazy as in Democratic candidates being victorious across the country on November 4 in an off-year election filled with governor’s contests in New Jersey and Virginia that were won for the first time by women, Mikie Sherrill and Abigail Spanberger, respectively. Both are impressive, pragmatic and devoid of hate-filled rhetoric. I certainly wouldn’t want to run against either in 2028.

Second, crazy as in the passing of California’s Proposition 50 (a.k.a., the aptly named “Election Rigging Response Act”) enacting a new congressional map that could flip as many as five GOP-held U.S. House seats to Democrat’s control. Prop 50 passed with a 64 percent approval.

Third, crazy and much closer to home, Detroit’s historic mayoral race was won by the first woman, former City Council President Mary Sheffield. Sheffield won with 77 percent of the vote and will be the city’s first new mayor since 2014.

As one Detroiter said after voting, “At some point, women need to be leaders, too.”

Yes, they do.

As well as 30-something Muslim men born in Uganda to Indian parents.

In Big Apple-style crazy, fed-up up New Yorkers elected a Democratic Socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani. The biggest city in the United states has its first Muslim/South Asian mayor. Born in Uganda to parents of Indian descent, Mamdani moved to New York when he was 7. Now 34, the former state assemblyman from Queens has grabbed the national spotlight. His wife is Brooklyn-based Syrian artist Rama Duwaji.

Mamdani’s politics are to the left of mine. Still, I wish him luck in making the Big Apple safer for all residents and visitors, and more affordable for those who have less. Let’s hope his authenticity is real. Either way, TV pundits better learn how to spell and pronounce this guy’s name.

Despite last Tuesday’s shellacking, our current Occupant of the White House has tried to reinforce the idea that he is, in fact, in control of America, no matter what voters say. He has doubled down on his demand that the Republican senators end the 39-day (and counting) government shutdown by killing the Senate filibuster. This would enable the GOP to pass legislation without any Democrats.

So much crazy. But mostly “good crazy,” to lift a phrase from the late Georgia congressman and civil rights activist John Lewis, who believed in “getting into good trouble.”

Some “good trouble” stuff is happening in America. Perhaps I should get new body parts more often. As long as it’s covered, of course. Sadly, I’m not so good with drugs.

As most of you know, and what was confirmed once again during my recent overnight hospital stay, I would make a terrible drug addict. My intolerance to opioids is only outweighed by my reputation as a cheap date.

Case in point: According to reports, just a few hours after my knee surgery, I apparently strolled around Troy Beaumont Hospital’s short-stay floor, blew by the nurses’ station and landed back in my room without a wince.

I have no memory of this. None.

I suspect someone spiked my prune juice, and I was “roofied.” I even accused my beloved Rebecca and oldest sister Corky of making it up.

“Why would we lie about that,” they chimed in stereo, “when we could lie about something really important?” Hmmm.

Not comforted, I needed official confirmation. I asked the day nurse, Meg, who said my chart showed I was ambulatory just a few hours after surgery.

“Trust me, honey, you walked,” said this kind, overworked professional. “But I hope you didn’t sign anything important.”

Anyway, in these troubled times when overcoming life’s daily struggles can be consuming, I believe there’s a better approach to take: “Be a goldfish.”

In other words, don’t dwell on mistakes or setbacks. Learn from them. Move on with a fresh perspective. Be a goldfish.

The goldfish metaphor was popularized on AppleTV’s series “Ted Lasso,” starring actor Jason Sudeikis, who plays a soccer coach that treats others with kindness, care and candor. Lasso calls a goldfish the “happiest animal on earth” because it has a 10-second memory and forgets things quickly.

The coach himself has a history of panic attacks due to severe family trauma, which I won’t divulge in case you haven’t watched the show yet. Here’s a video clip below from Season 1, Episode 2 where Lasso tells his player Sam Obisanya to “be a goldfish” after he makes a mistake on the field.

Be resilient, and keep moving forward. Have a short memory.

In other words, be a goldfish like Sam.

(YouTube Video: From her 2022 album “The Light at the End of the Line,” here’s Janis Ian performing “I’m Still Standing” in 2014 live at the Fur Peace Ranch, a Pomeroy, Ohio-based music venue. After a career spanning more than five decades, Ian retired from performing and recording because of vocal chord scarring from a virus she contracted during her farewell tour in late 2022. No longer able to sing, she continues to write music and released a 2024 documentary about her life called “Janis Ian: Breaking Silence” on PBS. The 74-year-old Grammy-winning icon lives with her wife, Patricia Snyder, on Anna Maria Island, Florida, where we actually got to meet her once!)