Are Social Security and Medicare at Risk?

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“You don’t have to worry about the government eliminating them.  They are among the most popular programs in the country.  It is unrealistic to believe that Congress would make these programs go away.

At the current rate of withdrawal, though, and under current law, all Social Security beneficiaries will see their benefits cut 23 percent in about 15 years.  It’s time for a bipartisan solution to the problem.  One party would prefer to raise taxes to preserve current benefits.  The other party would prefer to lower or delay benefits in order to not raise taxes.  The two are going to have to compromise.  The sooner that they begin working on the solution, the less painful it will be for all Americans.”

Quote by Ric Edelman, founder of Edelman Financial Engines, as quoted in the May 2020 issue of AARP Bulletin, vol. 61, no.4, pp.22-23: “Expert Advice for Volatile Times: Some of the Sharpest Minds in the Financial World Break Down What’s Going on in the Economy and How You Can Ride It Out”.

Submitted by Rosa L. Griffin

Separation of Church and State

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There was an interesting discussion on Twitter on June 24, 2020 about the separation of church and state.

Some one mentioned that the separation of church and state is not in the U.S. Constitution.   The idea was mentioned by Thomas Jefferson in a letter to the Virginia Danbury Baptist Church.   Many other Twitter contributors brought up what they considered to be negative uses of money in today’s crystal cathedrals, jets, and other signs of wealth that some megachurches have while other churches are poor and actually do what Jesus would do in helping the poor, etc.   

I had to look it up and Time magazine did an article on it which verified what was discussed on Twitter.  The First Amendment only prohibits government from creating a law regarding the establishment of a religion.

 Sources:    

https://time.com/5103677/church-state-separation-religious-freedom/

A popular current text, the King James Version shows 1 Timothy 6:10 to be: For the love of money is the root of all of evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Love_of_money

 12 ¶ And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, 13 And said unto them, It is written, My ahouse shall be called the house of bprayer; but ye have made it a cden of thieves.   


Matthew 21 – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

www.churchofjesuschrist.org › study › scriptures › matt

Also check www.irs.gov on Charities, Churches, and Politics.

Submitted by Rosa L. Griffin

Review of Maya Angelou’s book Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey Now (1993, Bantam books, Random House)

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This is a thin book about Ms. Angelou’s musings about herself, her life, and her interactions with other people throughout her life.

She was not a gentle woman but a courageous woman who did not let anyone treat her badly from what she writes in this book.  Some of the sections are Faith, Taking Time for Yourself, Death and Grieving, Style, etc.

One section that stood out for me is how she lost a white “friend” just by asking him to repeat something he said to her a few times until he understood what he said in the section “Our Boys”:  “You know the black soldiers are having a horrific time over there, and our boys are having a tough time, too”.   The man was president of the National Council of Christians and Jews at that time and had been in Germany trying to “ameliorate the conditions for the American soldiers”.  He never returned her calls after that.

Ms. Angelou: “The incident saddened and burdened me.   The man, his family and friends were lessened by not getting to know me and my family and friends.   And it also meant that I, my family, and friends were lessened by not getting to know him.   Because we never had a chance to talk, to teach each other, and learn from each other.   Racism had diminished all the lives it had touched.  Diversity makes for a rich tapestry.”

Maya Angelou (/ˈændʒəloʊ/ (listen);[1][2] born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years. She received dozens of awards and more than 50 honorary degrees.[3] Angelou is best known for her series of seven autobiographies, which focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), tells of her life up to the age of 17 and brought her international recognition and acclaim. In 1993, Angelou recited her poem “On the Pulse of Morning” (1993) at the first inauguration of Bill Clinton, making her the first poet to make an inaugural recitation since Robert Frost at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy in 1961. (Wikipedia)

It reminds me about some things Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. said:

“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”

“There comes a time when silence is betrayal.”

“I have heard numerous religious leaders of the South call upon their worshippers to comply with a segregation decision because it is the law, but I have longed to hear white ministers say, ‘follow this decree because integration is morally right and the Negro is your brother’”.   Excerpt from “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, April 16, 1963.  BRC-News:  Black Radical Congress-General News/Alerts/Announcements   (Full letter https://stanford.edu/group/docs/Birmingham.html)

I liked Maya Angelou’s book, “Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey Now”.   It gave me some insight into her personality and life.  My favorite poem of hers is “Phenomenal Woman”.

Written by Rosa L. Griffin

Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely (A Quote)

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[Reprinted from March 8, 2018]

This was a best-known quote of the 19th century British politician, historian, and moralist Lord John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton 1834-1902, in a letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton in 1887.  But, he was borrowing from other speakers or writers who earlier said it differently. 

A king was the one with the most wealth and power.  This person thinks that all in their “kingdom” are pawns to do with as they please and they’ve done it so long that they believe their own hype.    They rule by threats, coercion, bargaining, murder, and compensating.   “…this option to impose on without any regard whatsoever for due process, becomes, in the hands of most, a license to harm, if not destroy the careers and lives of others.  Leadership incompetence” 1

“Absolute monarchies are those in which all power is given to, or as is more often the case, taken by, the monarch.   Examples were Roman emperors who thought they were gods and Napoleon Bonaparte who declared himself emperor”.2

There’s no room for absolute power in a democracy of checks and balances.  As seen recently, if you act only to build your own wealth, it will eventually come back to bite you in the behind.

As in the movie, The Man Who Would Be King (1975), based on Rudyard Kipling’s 1888 original story, two con men (Carnehan and Dravot, “British adventurers in British India”) sought their fortune in a foreign country, Afghanistan.   They were fellow freemasons to the journalist that they convinced to help them with their research.  They started out by helping people who were warring against each other and came up with satisfactory solutions.   But, then they went a few steps too far by becoming kings themselves over people whose customs they didn’t understand.  

Since the holy men who lorded over all the local tribes declared Dravot (Sean Connery) a descendant of Alexander the Great because of the freemason symbol he wore around his neck, he basically was thought to be a God until he told the holy men that he was going to marry a local girl and father children.  The local girl was instructed to bite Dravot on the face causing him to bleed.  Seeing Dravot bleed, the holy men knew he was not a God, and executed him.  

Two years later Carnehan (Michael Caine) returned to the journalist.   They had paid for their deceit.  Carnehan had been tortured, crippled, and released.   But, he showed the journalist (Christopher Plummer) the skeletal head of Dravot that was still wearing his golden crown.   Both actors did a wonderful job, especially Sean Connery explaining that he felt this Godship was his calling, and he intended to mend his ways.   Had they left with the spoils before they were outed, as Carnehan wanted to do, they would have been wealthy men.   But, Dravot believed his own hype. 3

And, now we have another example of absolute power in the case of the Saudi Arabian American journalist executed in the Saudi consulate in Turkey recently.    He was the same journalist who accompanied President 45’s business dealers to Saudi Arabia on past trips.  And, don’t forget the arms deal President 45 had already made with the Saudis.

Sources:

1.  Dr. Robert Aziz, Huffington Post, https://m.huffpost.com

2.  Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely (A Quote), https://www.phrases.org.uk

3.  Wikipedia, Rudyard Kipling, The Phantom ‘Rickshaw and other Eerie Tales’

Submitted by Rosa L. Griffin

Lovemaking Preferred

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Is love-making the same as sex?   It can be.   Does love-making require sexual intercourse?   Usually it occurs but it is not always required if lovemaking is done right.

Lovemaking means more than just a “wham-bam-thank you-mam or -sir” kind of interaction although that is acceptable on occasion.  WBTYMOS has its place but when you have the time, do it right.  Putting more time in makes it interesting.   Lovemaking could take hours.

I have known men who only performed “wham-bam” consistently without lovemaking or foreplay at all.   But I have also been driven into a frenzy by men who knew how to make love or preferred long sexual foreplay.   I prefer love-making the majority of the time.

It can start with a look, a smell, a touch, a laugh, a giggle, a taste, a voice, a written message, a dance, etc.—things that attract you to another person.  Get to know the person by phone calls, text messages, in person, etc.   Lovemaking should be employed specifically the way you and the person to whom you are attracted like it.  

Lovemaking is multi-faceted:  sucking, licking, touching, breathing in ear, fingering various openings on the body, body to body, toes inserted into interesting places, etc.  Any of these actions can be done separately or in combination.   Spooning (holding each other both in the same direction as spoons laid sideways, cuddling, etc.) “may have the surprising ability to reduce pain…helps in releasing feel-good hormones which in turn can reduce stress levels in both partners.”  (“Spooning—What is Spooning & Its Secret Benefits for Your Health”, https://www.nectarsleep.co.uk/blog, April 15, 2019.)

Men and women who probably have the best sex are those who have mastered lovemaking. Some people appreciate variety using edible things during sex like strawberries, whipped cream, edible lubricants, edible underwear, etc., as a change of pace or variety.  As in the past, people are still having sex in cars, on a bed, on the floor, on a billiard table, etc.   Let your imagination run wild, but safely.   For example, sex while paragliding or on a ski lift might be too dangerous for anyone except the fictional James Bond.

No Strings Attached (NSA) sex is another term for “having sex with nothing bonding the two parties together.  There is a culture of ‘hooking up’ that has become popular among college students and young adults”.  “No Stings Attached Sex (NSA): Can Women Really Do It”,   https://www.psychologytoday.com, November 20, 2011.  The movie that comes to mind is “No Strings Attached”, 2011, with Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher.  The woman had no trouble having no strings attached.

Friends with benefits (FWB) is “commonly defined as a sexual relationship between two people where the primary basis of the relationship is sex with no expectations of a romantic relationship or other commitment” like marriage or living together. “Friends With Benefits (FWB)—What Does It Really Mean”, https://www.justbewild.com, September 6, 2019.   The movie that comes to mind is “Friends with Benefits”, 2011, starring Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake.   Also, the movie “Mistrust” 2018 comes to mind, starring Jane Seymour, Parker Stevenson (great to see him), Patrick Bristow, etc.  However, it could have had a better title or it was given that title just to spark interest.

There are similarities between NSA and FWB, but I find that things can be added to the agreement such as treating each other to trips and vacations, being available to escort and pick each other up from doctor visits or hospital stays and visiting each other’s homes for sex which may or may not become long-term relationships.  One can have all the bells and whistles with or without marriage.  For example, Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell had been together without marriage since 1983.

Long Term Relationship (LTR) is the ultimate goal for some.  LTR implies that two people want only each other, a joint home, and possibly children.  “21 Bits of Relationship Advice from People in Long-Lasting Relationships”, Andy Golder, https://www.buzzfeed.com/,  January 6, 2019.   “What Makes a Relationship Last Long”, Andrew Ferebee, 3X Bestselling Dating Author/Men’s Relationship Coach/Founder of Knowledge for Men, Quora (Report), https://www.quora.com/, August 7, 2017.   

The comedic “Thin Man” detective movies (1934-1947) come to mind starring Myrna Loy and William Powell in a happy marriage that is always in physical and emotional danger.   Also, the animated Pixar film “Up” specifically shows how the elderly husband met his wife beginning in childhood and stayed with her until she died, even trying to get their house to the one spot they had been promising each other to move to for years—from happy marriage to dangerous adventure.

Final thought—If you are strangers to each other, remember communicable and sexually transmitted diseases existed before Coronavirus COVID-19, so social distance, wash hands, and wear a mask.   However, on the news recently, I saw a man in a bubble walking with a new girlfriend and another man who was wooing a woman from separate rooftops. This proves that new relationships can be started even in this stressful time.  “A Guide to Sex and Love in the Time of Covid-19”, https://www.healthline.com, Gabrielle Kassel, March 21, 2020.

Healthline.com is an excellent source for anything to do with health.   That website covers a variety of topics like “Are There Any Side Effects of Sexual Activity?”, Gabrielle Kassel, June 5, 2020; “Everything to Know about Male Genitalia”, Jill Seladi-Schulman, June 5, 2020; and “20 Reasons You Should Be Spooning, Variations to Consider and More”, Lauren Sharkey, November 22, 2019, to name a few.

Written by Rosa L. Griffin

Blog Review of Movie, It Comes at Night (2017)

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Although the movie is basically seen through the eyes of a teenager, it is very relatable to today.   A family of four is isolated in a house in a wooded area.   The family has a radio, a water source, a food source, and weapons.   But there is very little national news to go on. 

The grandfather becomes sick with a mysterious disease with icky stuff dripping from his mouth. They don’t even realize that there is a contagion or I think they would have worn masks and gloves to take the grandfather outside the home and gotten rid of his belongings as well.  Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

Will, a stranger (Christopher Abbott) breaks into their house for food and water.    Once they are convinced that he is not trying to kill them, Paul the father (Joel Edgerton) and Sarah the mother (Carmen Ejogo) agree that the stranger and his wife Kim (Riley Keough) and toddler Andrew (Griffin Faulkner) can come and stay.   When Paul and Will go to bring Will’s family to Paul’s house, they are attacked along the route by armed men and survive the encounter.

Once Will’s family is brought back, strange things start happening and Paul thinks that one of the invited strangers is doing things like killing his dog or leaving the door unsecured at night.   Paul’s solution to trouble is to put the strangers out again to fend for themselves but kills them instead.   Also, we find out through a flashback that Paul had shot and buried the grandfather thinking this would get rid of the sickness.  However, he kept the bed that the grandfather had been sick in.

But it turns out that Paul and Sarah’s teenage son Travis (Kelvin Harrison, Jr.) would have dreams and do mysterious things at night, unknown even to himself.   And it is discovered that the son also has the contagion, which is the reason why he is doing strange things.

And, in the end, the husband and wife are left not knowing what they should do next.   Have they too been contaminated or are they ok?   Are the water source and the food supply uncontaminated?

This movie was as intense as A Quiet Place (2018) and it had not a dull moment.   It Comes by Night is fast-paced and the flash backs make sense.   This movie is labeled Horror/Mystery but borders on the supernatural in atmosphere.  

I saw Joel Edgerton in the movies Loving and Red Sparrow. 

I saw Carmen Ejogo in the movies Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, etc.

I saw Kelvin Harrison, Jr. in the movie Luce.   I understand that he is in the movie Mudbound.   I read the excellent book Mudbound, but I have not seen that movie yet.

You have got to hear Riley Keough’s scream toward the end of the movie.   It will break your heart.  Also, Riley is singers-songwriters Lisa Marie Pressley and Danny Keough’s daughter. The movie was directed by Trey Edward Shults.

Written by Rosa L. Griffin

Attack of the Virus, Keeping Calm in Turbulent Times, The Why of Design, What You Want to Watch When You Want to, O yeah!

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‘‘’Seismic’ Events and Loss Have Shaped US History: World Wars to 9/11— Catastrophe Has Long Driven Social Change”, by Marco della Cava, USA Today, Weekend, April 17-19, 2020, 1A.

“The virus is a modern-day terrorist attack on us all, so if I lost my father or friend to 9/11 or Oklahoma City or COVID-19, the loss is the same,” Watkins says.  “The sacrifice is the same.”

“Whenever we go through these national tragedies, people have to have a chance to rebuild their lives and move forward,” Watkins says. “So many are dying now, but we have to make the very best of the very worst.”

“We might take baby steps together, and maybe there will be mistakes on both sides of the political aisle.  But we should all be working together now for America.”

Kari Watkins, Executive Director, Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

“Keeping Calm in Turbulent Times” by Margaret Foster, The Beacon in Focus for People over 50, Vol. 17, No. 5, p.1, 7.

“We’re all having anxiety about the future,” said Dr. Sally Winston, co-founder of the Anxiety and Stress Disorders Institute of Maryland, located on the Sheppard Pratt campus.

“Acknowledge your emotions.  What you resist, persists (Carl Jung).  Turning on the radio to drown out your thoughts is distraction which doesn’t work for long.  The other way is to say, while one part of my mind is worrying, I might as well listen to music.  It helps to acknowledge fear, anger, or confusion.”

“Stay in touch with others.  Pick up the phone and call a friend.   Learn some video chat programs that you can use on your smartphone, tablet, or computer.   Skype, Zoom, Google Hangouts, Facebook Messenger and WeChat are free.   Many churches are live-streaming services.”  [Someone did a program on letter writing and journaling is also helpful.   I keep a daily diary as a mental activity.]

“Go on a news diet.   Restrict your news-gathering time” especially if it stresses you out.   [I look at one news cast a day and spend no more than an hour on Twitter every other day.]

“Try for mindfulness (staying in the present moment).   Pause for self-reflection.  When you are worrying, there’s a ‘what if’ mindset in which you are in the future.  Try to do something that is sensory or active.”   [I listen to an opera called the Flower Duet-Lakmè by Lèo Delibes which is two sopranos singing to each other.  It is beautiful and restful.]

“Move your body.  Exercise has therapeutic and physical benefits.  Follow a free exercise video on YouTube.”  [I have attended a Tai Chi for Better Balance class at a senior center for nearly four years.   It is slow movement and you’ll find great company and make friends when things get back to normal.   I also have an exercise video called Aging Backwards 3 Essentrics by Miranda Esmonde-White which is slow stretching.  It also includes chair exercises (beginner-beginner) for those who have a hard time moving at all.]

“How to get help.    Extreme anxiety or depression?   Reach out to a mental health professional at the Anxiety and Stress Disorders Institute of Maryland 410-938-8449.   Or read Winston’s Psychology Today column, “Living with a Sticky Mind”, at bit.ly/worrytips.   In Baltimore City, call the city’s free Crisis, Information, and Referral Line at 410-433-5175.”

Check out the Beacon for the details of the article from the news stand or online at www.thebeaconnewspapers.com.   “How are you faring?” p.2 “The undeniable loss of experiences.  Enjoyment is seriously lessened.”   [The Beacon newspaper itself can also have a calming effect with the variety of topics it covers each issue.]

“These 25 Photos Show Why Things Were Designed the Way They Were”, by John Poe, Fetch Sport, April 15, 2020, online.

For example—the fifth pocket on jeans; ridges on the edges of corners; lines on outside of Solo Cups; cap holes on pens; loops on the grocery cart; notebook margins; dimples on golf balls; the arrow next to the gas gauge; the secret message in the exit sign; free fabric in new clothes; and so much more.

“Quaran-Stream”, by Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly, May 2020, pp.50-51.

“People—or most of us, at least—need people.”

“…pop culture is often what’s keeping us sane, from one uncertain day to the next.”

“So, will these methods of consumption become the new normal?”

“Robert Thompson, a professor of pop culture at Syracuse University, says ‘There were all these other ways that [content] used to be delivered to us, and now it’s one single means of delivery, and that is online, to whatever device you feel like looking at it with…  And once you’ve learned to stream stuff—what you want to watch, when you want to watch it—it’s hard to go back.’”

[I still have magazines delivered to me.  Streaming to a phone can be hard on the eyes.  A few of Barbara Streisand’s songs come to mind: “The Way We Were”, “People” (Needing People) and “What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?”.]

Written by Rosa L. Griffin

Did you know? Surgeon General of the United States

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Did you know we have a current Surgeon General of the United States?   I have to admit that I did not.  Mainly because he just started talking on television and when I finally saw him behind President 45’s podium in the correspondents’ press room, he was not talking.   The Surgeon Generals of the past seemed to have no problem commenting on medical things without a podium.

Dr. Jerome Michael Adams is our 20th Surgeon General, Vice Admiral, MD, MPH-HHS.gov, since 2017.   He is an Associate Professor of Anesthesia.   He is considered our Nation’s Doctor.   His mission is to advance the health of the American people.  The motto is “better health through better partnerships”.   He is to ensure that we are given the best information available regarding medical circumstances.  Prior to becoming Surgeon General, he served as the Indiana State Health Commissioner, from 2014 to 2017.

Generally, the SGs salary is $379,590 a year or $182 per hour.   A Doctorate Degree is the highest education required to become a licensed physician, 4-year undergraduate degree, and 3 years of medical school and residency.

I would have thought that Dr. Adams would have been spearheading the efforts against the Coronavirus, not Vice President Mike Pence.  Dr. Adams should also be wearing a mask when he is at the podium no matter who else does not.   Sorry to hear that he was hospitalized recently.

Source: 

Wikipedia

Moira McCarthy, “Anesthesiologists Are Vital in the COVID-19 Fight:  The Toll It Takes”, Healthline.com, April 19, 2020.

@JeromeAdamsMD, medicine.iu.edu (Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor of Anesthesia)

Written by Rosa L. Griffin

Something Positive Found on Twitter shared by Lucifansgroup1

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One of the most hopeful things I’ve seen lately on Twitter during the Coronavirus (COVID-19):

“The things that will not be cancelled:

+ Conversations

+ Relationships

+ Love

+ Songs

+ Reading

+ Self-care

+ Hope

May we lean into the good stuff that remains. 

From TWLOHA, To Write Love on Her Arms”

Update:

“Founder Opens Up About His Own Mental Health Journey”, founder Jamie Tworkowski of the organization To Write Love on Her Arms said that “it’s ok to ask for help” and discussed “the value of self care” among many other topics. https://www.healthline.com, written by Healthline Editorial Team, December 20, 2019.

[As any of us who have been on Twitter know, it contains good sources of information as well as hateful rhetoric.   Although I have only been on Twitter for a month, I commiserated with one of our front-line doctors who talked about the lack of protective supplies, etc. Then, some “nasty” person condemned the doctor and myself and others as whiners and we ended up being called slaves along with the doctor.   It was the first and last time I will comment to a negative person on Twitter.]

(I inserted the + sign above)

Submitted by Rosa L. Griffin

Review of X-Files tv show

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1993-2018, 11 seasons, 208 episodes, longest running science fiction series in American network tv history, 23 various writers including David Duchovny. Network:  Fox Broadcasting Company.

Conspiracy theorist Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and medical doctor Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) are FBI Special Agents assigned to the X-Files unit, which handles cases that no one else wants because they do not fit into any usual category of crime.

You got your supernatural, science fiction including space aliens, mysterious snitches, Illuminati-type secret organizations like the Syndicate, government schemes, humor like Mulder country line-dancing under the influence (“Babylon”, seas. 10, ep. 5), Native American folklore and their terrible treatment (“Shapes”, seas. 1, ep. 19; “Anasazi”, seas. 2, ep. 25), and mostly human monsters like the Smoking Man.

My five favorite episodes have to do with eating gross things:

“Squeeze”, Season 1, episode 3, air date 9/24/93

This is our introduction to Eugene Victor Tooms (Doug Hutchison), a serial killer who has been alive for 90 years in which he hibernates every few years only to come back out to eat a few live peoples’ livers before hunkering down again. He is caught by Mulder and Scully and imprisoned in a mental facility, but it wasn’t long until he escaped because he could squeeze through vents and chimneys to get his prey.   His hole in the wall for sleeping was nasty and oozing.

Written by Glen Morgan and James Wong; directed by Harry Longstreet and Michael Katleman.

“Tooms”, Season 1, episode 21, air date 4/22/94 

Eugene Victor Tooms is back with a vengeance against Scully, squeezing through her bathroom vent.  He should have left well enough alone and moved to another state. Suffice it to say, he will not be bothering anyone else for their liver.

Written by Glen Morgan and James Wong; directed by David Nutter.

“Humbug”, Season 2, episode 20, air date 3/31/95

A drunken circus performer (Vincent Schiavelli) has a symbiotic brother inside of him as part of a circus act. I think you might drink too if you had to carry your brother inside you everywhere and always.    However, his drunken circus brother is dying so his symbiotic host brother is constantly escaping from his drunken brother trying to find a replacement host before it is too late. He ends up murdering other people with whom he is not compatible.   And, of course, Scully and Mulder are called in on the case. But, before they can solve the case, the symbiot finds the perfect host to get into but is eaten by Conundrum (the Enigma), the potential host, his fellow circus performer who is a flesh eater.  Not for the squeamish, especially the circus performer pulling needles through his body parts.

Written by Darin Morgan and directed by Kim Manners.

“Leonard Betts”, Season 4, Episode 12, air date 1/26/97.

Leonard Betts/Albert Tanner (Paul McCrane) was a paramedic who was decapitated in an accident. His head was put into a vat of waste and his body grew a new head at home.  This is when he became Albert Tanner working at a hospital and started killing people to eat their cancerous organs. I felt sorry for him because it seemed to me that he could have subsisted on the cancerous organs that hospitals were throwing away anyway, but no, I guess he liked his organs fresh.

Written by Vince Gilligan, John Shiban, and Frank Spotnitz; directed by Kim Manners.

“The Gift”, Season 8, Episode 11, air date 2/4/01

Skinner and FBI Special Agent John Doggett (Robert Patrick) get to investigate the disappearance of Mulder. Another sickness eater (soul eater played by Jordan Marder) was required by his town to eat their diseases. And this guy was forced at gunpoint to perform this free labor which affected his body adversely for decades.    Not for the squeamish either because his body displayed the sickness he absorbed. He was the victim in this episode who saved Mulder’s life.

Written by Frank Spotnitz and directed by Kim Manners.

Sure, there were a few flaws in the plots, but I was never disappointed. Fox believed that his sister was abducted by aliens, and Scully depended on her medical skill and her faith. I would holler at the screen especially when they would split up inside a dark dangerous building or go somewhere by themselves without a partner. Both were thrown together by their FBI Assistant Director Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) who was skeptical at first, but eventually had their backs.

“Fresh Bones”, Season 2, episode 4, 1995 was an episode that I could relate to today.

Haitian people were being held longer than necessary to be sent back to their native country because the commander secretly wanted to learn the secret of voodoo at any cost. He had begun studying voodoo when he was stationed in Haiti many years before. These are adults in cages, and the only child is a ghost. There is no press and no third-party monitoring. This story really relates to today’s situation of immigrant children in cages in the U.S. today where even the guards say, “they were never made to handle this type of prisoner”.

Written by Chris Carter (Creator) and Howard Gordon; directed by Rob Bowman. Chris Carter also had a horror series, “Millenium”, (one of the executive producers) which I intend to look up.

Main characters

Special Agent Fox Mulder (David Duchovny also in Return to Me, Zoolander, Chaplin, Red Shoe Diaries, The Craft, etc.)

Special Agent Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson also in American Gods, Bleak House, Great Expectations, etc.)

FBI Assistant Director Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi also in Supernatural, Shocker, Sons of Anarchy, Basic Instinct, Flash of Genius, Knight Rider, Transformers: the last knight, Vampire in Brooklyn, etc.)

Special Agent John Doggett (Robert Patrick also in Terminator 2, Walk the Line, Trueblood, Bridge to Terabithia, Spy Kids, Die Hard 2, Endless Love, The Faculty, Last Action Hero, etc.)

Special Agent Monica Reyes (Annabeth Gish also in Wyatt Earp, Bag of Bones, etc.)

Victims

The drunken brother in Humbug (Vincent Schiavelli also in Ghost, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Batman Returns, Amadeus, The People vs. Larry Flynt, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai, Night Shift, Escape to Witch Mountain, The Beautician and the Beast, etc.)

Leonard Betts/Albert Tanner (Paul McCrane, also in Rocky II, Fame, Robo Cop, The Shawshank Redemption, ER, 24, Ugly Betty, CSI, etc.)

Soul eater in The Gift (Jordan Marder also in American History X, Virtuosity, L.A. Confidential, etc.)

Snitches/Villains

Eugene Victor Tooms (Doug Hutchison, also in the Green Mile, The Lawnmower Man, A Time to Kill, Con Air, Batman and Robin, Shaft, etc.)

The Smoking Man (William B. Davis, also in The Messengers, The Dead Zone, etc.).

Deep Throat (Jerry Hardin, also in Cujo, The Firm, Big Trouble in Little China, Roots: The Gift, Are We There Yet? etc.)

X (Steven Williams, also in Cooley High, Route 666, 21 Jump Street, The Equalizer, Blues Brothers, Supernatural, etc.),

Well-Manicured Man (John Neville, also in Fifth Element, Billy Budd, etc.)

Alex Krycek (Nicholas Lea)

[TV shows and movies mentioned are ones that I have seen the actors in.]

Thank you to all the stunt people, the special effects makeup people, and the CGI computer people who helped make this series successful. I thoroughly enjoyed the series so much over the years that I recently borrowed the whole series from the public library—one season at a time.

Other sources:

Wikipedia

Devon Maloney, “The 10 Most Embarrassing X-File Episodes”, Vulture, Vulture Lists, January 18, 2016.

Ira Madison III, “Every Episode of the X-Files, Ranked from Worst to Best”, Vulture, January 22, 2016. (For some of these he did not explain what the episode was about but just gave it a pass or fail.)

Kimberly Roots, “The X-Files: A Deep Dive into Mulder and Scully’s Love Story (Which Began Waaaay Before You Thought It Did)”, TVLine.com, April 24, 2020

Meg Downey, “49 Actors You Forgot Were on X-Files”, Gamespot.com/amp-ga…, April 30, 2020.

Written by Rosa L. Griffin