From the desk
Writing
Essays, op-eds, and mind wanderings on justice, policing, aging, the trail, and whatever else won’t leave me alone.
-
The Latest Reality Show
The newest entry into the “Reality” show market, on the Discovery Channel of all places, is “Naked and Alone”. The premise of the show is two “strangers” are deposited, naked (the bait) and alone (the teaser) in some “remote” location.…
-
It is Upon Death Life Depends
The first of the early morning light filters in. Your world transforms from the quiet calm of dark to the frenetic movement of light. Moving as a group you begin the daily tasks of seeking food. Following the familiar paths,…
-
For (which?) God and (whose?) Country
I just read the New Yorker report on the raid that killed bin Laden. (http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/08/08/110808fa_fact_schmidle) I took a few things away from it. 1st. There is no military organization in the world that can even come close to matching the…
-
Tattoos and Piercings: The Decline and Fall of Western Civilization
I have no personal objection to tattoos and/or piercings. Aversion, repulsion, resistance, but no objection. However, I am troubled by the ones that are so outlandish, so extensive, so numerous, so intentionally designed to be uncover-able that they succeed in…
-
Same Sex Marriage and the Uncivil Arguments by Opponents
From a story in Providence Journal 5/2/2013 PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The Rhode Island chapter of the National Organization for Marriage has denounced the General Assembly’s passage of legislation allowing same-sex couples to marry in Rhode Island. “Redefining marriage into a…
-
Rules to FlyBy
Here are some helpful hints for making air travel during those delays, misconnections, boarding problems, conflicting messages, etc. that plague modern air travel, less stressful. First and foremost, demanding, insulting, condescending language questioning the legitimacy of my, or my fellow…
-
Random thoughts and Oversells
Airline oversells Every airline in the world routinely oversells their flights. For those of you that have never heard of the concept, airlines sell 140 seats for a plane that holds 137. Why you may ask? Because people often don’t…
-
Where does the time go?
Whenever we encounter a reminder triggering a memory of an event in our past, and realize the amount of time that seems to have just evaporated since then, we often ask the question, Where did the time go? I experienced…
-
On the Senseless Death of the Unborn
It is with profound sorrow that I write about another senseless termination of an unborn life. The wanton and needless destruction of this life potential makes me question the very nature of life in this universe. Why does this happen?…
-
Excerpt from my upcoming first novel “A Collision of Faith”
Suddenly, three alert tones on the radio, “201, 202, 2S1” “Report of shots fired, Kent Farm, Gemini Drive, Black male armed with a rifle, multiple victims, respond Code 3″ “2Lincoln1” the voice of Lieutenant Charley Ackerly came over the radio.…
-
More Often than not, there is no Why
Our brains are wired to seek the why in everything. We are engineered by evolution to look for a cause and a reason. Absent one or the other, or both, we create them. It is one of the precursors of…
-
Losing the Dogs (albeit briefly)
I did the unthinkable today. I (almost) lost the dogs. While they were procured by my wife and I, maintained by my wife and I, provided for by my wife and I, they belong to my daughter. I’ve written about…