Happy Armistice Day... aka Veteran's Day

Tonight my friends and I excercised what has become an annual tradition for us. For the past eight years we have dined out, usually with our friend Thomas (who is a USAF vet) for Veteran's Day. In my circle, two of us are vets, five are not.

It has been, for us, a way to celebrate AND to honor, not only Tom's and my service, but also to see the countless other veterans who have served for whatever reasons they hold dear... young, old (especially the old), we all gather in fellowship.

It is not for a free meal, but for us a way of reliving the cammaraderie we felt while serving.

This Veteran's Day is the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day, marking the end of the war to end all wars, World War I. None of our veterans of that great war survive today. The numbers of our World War II vets dwindle with each passing day as do our Korean War vets. I honor them each and all.

Today, I am heartened to see the many companies who go out of their way to honor us vets. It was not so long ago that many of our Vietnam War vets, who answered the call, came home to find a nation that dishonored (some of) them with utter hate, disrespect and even violence.

This is the month where many of us express for what we are most thankful. While many offer their thanks for our service to country, I want to counter that with my thanks for friends, family and for the opportunity millions of us have enjoyed: the honor was ours to have served a nation and a people we love.

Happy Veteran's Day!

We're on a road to nowhere

Let's take that ride...

Sauce for the goose?

A Navy acquaintance wrote me this morning bitterly complaining about how unchristian the liberal left are treating the Brett Kavanaugh nomination and how he hopes God punishes them all.

Now mind you, my friend knows I am a card carrying bleeding heart liberal so I am not sure where he thought his diatribe would get him.

He feels they are embarrassing (the Democrats) themselves. I do not agree on his assertion, and I then pointed out to him the Republicans treated Merrick Garland no better, worse even. At least Kavanaugh was afforded the opportunity to be interviewed for consideration.

"Why are liberal/leftists/progressives afraid of a conservative jurist?" he asked. I threw the question back at him asking what are conservatives afraid of when it comes to a moderate or liberal jurist?

--Crickets--

Changing the subject, he then mentioned that the courts have no right to override Mr. Trump's decisions. Sorry, but yes they do, and I am sure he applauded the courts when they overruled some of President Obama's decisions. 

He singled out the 9th Circuit Court overruling Mr. Trump's travel and immigration restrictions. Sorry, bud. I do not agree with Trump's xenophobic policies!

I told him I have disagreed with absolutely everything Mr. Trump has done... and that, it seems, was that. His went silent on me.

Like I said, I am not sure what my friend hoped to gain. He, for a long time, has sent me post after post with, I suppose, the intent and hope that I would repent and see the errors of my "ill-informed" and mistaken ways and embrace conservatism.

Sorry, but that is not going to happen. Not ever.

Happy birthday, sis of mine!

On this day in 1958, Teresa Ann Mappin (Tammy) was born at Logansport Memorial Hospital to Linda and Doug Mappin. I was but a year old so when it comes down to it, there has been no point in my life that I remember not having a sister and she, an older brother!

When we were kids, she was my pal, sometime partner in crime (grin) and as teens, we shared hours of laughter and a few fears and tears.

Teresa was the first of my siblings to whom I came out to, as we have been each other's confidant throughout our lives.

Some favorite memories: Mind you, I don't remember this but Mom has reminded us both of this event many-a-time. It appears in 1969 or '61, while Mom was busy doing laundry (Mom said she was busy washing Bryan's diapers). We pulled over our aluminum Christmas tree, smashed all the bulbs and smeared baby lotion on the tree. Good thing, I don't recall this, I suspect. As I am certain, we all got our bottoms "tanned."

When Teresa was four, Bryan was three, and I was five (I was, I am sure, the ringleader here), we snuck out of the house early one Sunday morning and climbed in Dad's beloved Chevy II Nova and lit up a cigarette (my first and last). When Dad awoke, he looked outside and saw a cloud of smoke in his car. The only thing I recall about this event was a car door opening, a hand appeared and yanked me out of the car... and again, getting our bottoms "tanned (as I said, partner in crime)."

Our many "adventures in space" when we kids built a spaceship in the windmill at our farmhouse and pretended we were on the Enterprise, on a deep mission space patrol. Fun!

Sis, do you remember the time we build a ramp in the stairway and we then took big sheets of cardboard to slide down the stairs? It is a wonder we didn't get killed when hit the ramp and it collapsed. We went tumbling down the stairs, leaving us bruised and battered.

I am still, to this day, amazed that we survived our childhood!

One summer, Mom had to work on a Saturday morning (her working days at Hart, Schaffner, and Marx). Teresa and I were instructed to get the house cleaned up while she was gone. When she returned, she promised, we would go out to a movie. We four (Bryan and Mike) frittered the entire morning away instead of cleaning. When Mom got home, she was not amused the least bit. In a bit of punishment, Mom took Bryan and Mike to see the movie "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" and Teresa and I left behind to clean. I remember Teresa and I bawled as they left us behind. In more recent years after having seen that horrible movie on TV, I have decided Mom did us a favor by NOT taking us!

When we were students at Argos High School, sis and I shared a study hall together. One day, Mrs. Heishman (the woman who inspired me to become a teacher) walked up to us both and asked us, "Did I seat you two together here in study hall?" We nodded our heads and said, "Yes. She stood there momentarily a little befuddled before saying, "But you two are brother and sister, and.... you like each other?

Yes, yes we did... and still do.

I loved the time when I was a junior in high school, Teresa a sophomore and we sat in her bedroom playing records. Teresa loved the song 'Gimme Dat Ding" and we played it over and over. I also regaled her with my rendition of Cheech and Chong's 'Sister Mary Elephant.' I did a pretty good " Attention, class! Shaaat up!"

Teresa probably won't remember this as amusingly as I, but the time she brought home a guy to meet Dad and our Stepmom. Teresa was 17 or 18, the guy... much much older.... did I say older? When the guy called Dad "dad," I thought he was going to swallow his tongue (in horror). Thankfully, that guy was history rather quickly (sorry Sis, for telling that one)   

Anyone who knows my sister knows there has never been a time in her house that there was not a rocking chair. A few months after Phyllis and I had split up, I went to Teresa's home with the plan of coming out. So as I hemmed and hawed, trying to find the words. Teresa sat there rocking away. At one point, Sis asked, "What's wrong?" I struggled to find the words, and she suddenly arrived at THE question and her rocker stopped dead. "Did you get a girl pregnant?" Um... "No," I said. "Sis, that will never happen. I'm gay." She started rocking again as if nothing happened and said, "Oh"... and that was that.

We had good times as kids! And some less fun ones too. We had a shared love of music, our years in 4-H, moving from school to school, chores galore, our artwork, making friends here and making friends there, high school choir, and school plays (we both had minor bit parts in our school's production of "Bye Bye Birdie").

Teresa is a fantastic sister, a great Mommy, and an even better 'Nana, and a great friend.

We don't see each other often enough, says me.

Love you, Sis! Happy birthday!

Where have all the flowers gone?

Ten years ago I was stationed in Kabul, Afghanistan for 13 months where I served as the NCOIC (Non-commissioned officer in charge) at CSTC-A's public affairs unit. 

Over the course of the past few months (and in the coming days), I have been posting some favorite photos that I shot during my tour of duty on my Facebook page.

On this particular day (photo above), I was assigned to cover the dedication of a new community water well. 

Freshwater was (and is) at a premium for Kabul's citizens. This water well was located centrally in one of the provinces so that the local population had relatively easy access to fresh clean water.

The lifespan of an Afghan is ridiculously short compared to citizens of other nations. One child in four dies before the age of five years due to poor sanitary conditions and a lack of access to fresh clean drinking water.

This water project was a concerted effort to make a change for the better for the citizens in the immediate locale.

During the dedication ceremony, more than 200 locals, mostly men (village elders), some women and lots of children, gathered. Security that day was provided by members of the Afghan National Army.

In my Navy career (for 21 years) I was blessed with many opportunities. I served two back-to-back tours in Kuwait and one tour in Afghanistan. This dream assignment gave me the opportunity to serve as editor (and so much more) and lead news writer for The Enduring Ledger, our command monthly magazine.

Two old Navy campaign promised to "See the world" and "It's not just a job, it's an adventure." I can excitedly tell my readers it's all true. The Navy exposed unremarkable me to a world I could only dream about.

As always, I wonder where these wonderful, beautiful people are a decade later.

Free press forever!

More than 250 newspapers across the United States today in solidarity protesting Donald Trump's calling the press the "enemy of the people."

I have never believed the press was the "enemy of the people." 

Heck, to some degree, I was a member of the press for 21 years as a Navy journalist, so I do have a connection.

The media, be it print or radio/television broadcast, have a mission: To keep us informed.

The Donald has made it his lot in life to call the press "the enemy." Let's face it, Trump has created and drawn the lines with anyone who disagrees with him. He designates them as dummies, the enemy of the people, or worse.

If the Donald feels he is under siege from the press, you really have to ask yourself why? He goads the press, he taunts them, he insults reporters, he whines he is being treated unfairly, he calls them childish names. And for the most part, the press has turned the other cheek. Trump acts like a petulant, little-spoiled brat. Not the stuff of great presidents, to be sure.

He has insulted our allies and cozied up to our enemies, and when the press does its job by reporting this, this does not make them the enemy, this does not make the reports "fake news," but the conveyance of our current sad state of affairs.

Ask yourselves why Donald barred the press from being present when he met with Vladimir Putin. Ask yourself why he forbade the press from being present during his meetings with the North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.

What Donald wants is for the press to turn a blind eye; to gush all over him like he is the best thing since spring. In other words, he wants the press to kiss his ass, and most legitimate news sources are having none of that.

The free press is one of the bedrocks of our society. The free press is constitutionally guaranteed and it exists to keep us in the know. I am not so naive as to fail to recognize some members of the press have an agenda (Fox News, anyone?). If you worry about that, then don't rely on one news source. Read multiple news sites, watch multiple news outlets.

Don't be duped. The press is not the enemy of the people.

But ignorance is.

Take the long way home

Today was a great deal of fun. I was a man on a mission today, starting my visit in Akron, my hometown, visiting David and Marilyn Kruger. Words cannot describe the joy of seeing them both. Marilyn was my former art teacher, mentor, and one of the first people who accepted and welcomed me with open arms when I came out in 1982. Marilyn is a devout Methodist and back then, I was fearful of losing anyone upon their learning I was gay. 

When I tearfully told her, she pretty much asked me, "what took you so long?" I replied that I was going to go to hell for who I was (am). She countered with, "God does not hate you for who you are. He made you and loves you as you are."

I really MUST make the time to see them more often.

My friends Randy and Adele Kindig renewed their wedding vows.

Randy had asked me earlier this week if I would be willing to read a poem to "introduce" them to their family in the chapel where they married 40 years ago today.

Would I be willing? More than that, I was honored to be asked! As Randy said, "You were there the first time, we'd love for you to take part this time too."

I read Edmund O'Neill's "Marriage Joins Two People in the Circle of its Love."

Back when we were teens, Randy, Adele, Phyllis (my [then] girlfriend, and later my wife) were tight as can be. We served as each other mates at the other's weddings.

I played a part in Randy and Adele getting together in our junior year in high school. I have known Randy since 1973 when we sat across from one another in study hall and Adele was in my junior high school English class.

Today doing their renewal ceremony, I learned Randy is quite the romantic. His vows were beautiful! When Adele read hers, she at times, struggled (quite successfully) to contain her emotions.

Needless to say, their ceremony was very moving!

Their short ceremony was beautiful. Afterward, they had a sit-down dinner at Adele's mother's (who will be 82 tomorrow) retirement home. Randy and Adele, like myself, have rather large families and for me, it was wonderful catching up with them all, some who I had not seen since the late 1980s.

Seeing their three children, whom I have known since they were born now all have kids. Randy and Adele, like myself, have rather large families and for me, it was wonderful catching up with all the siblings and their families!

Seeing all of the Kindigs (and Cumberlands--Adele's family) today left me rather nostalgic. On the way back, I took (with thanks to Supertramp) "the long way home," and drove by three places where I grew up.

First up, I drove by the site where I lived when I met Randy and Adele. That home no longer exists, with a cornfield standing in its place.

If you have ever driven on US 31 (heading north or south) you might have noticed a sign that reads Geneva Center four miles (or so) north of Rochester, Indiana.

I grew up in Fulton County and have seen those signs ever since I was a young kid BUT I never knew what the place was UNTIL today.

As I drove past, heading north on old US 31, I slammed on my brakes and turned around. Curiosity won out and I drove back and onto the property to see what this "mysterious place" was.

Meandering through the woods was a road leading to one large structure and a number of smaller ones. Off of one of the connecting roads, through the forest, I saw a huge cache of canoes.

At various spots, you can see hiking trails. Needless to say, the center is quite beautiful! It seems the center is a retreat frequented by members of many church congregations and organizations.

After leaving the dinner, I stopped at the home on Indiana 110, on the Fulton-Marshall County line where I lived during my kindergarten to the second-grade years.

When I stopped, the current resident was hosing down the deck. I asked if she minded if I took a picture of the home.

I explained I had lived there 1961-1965. The home looks quite different as the owners have added a second floor. We talked for about ten minutes. It was quite pleasant and I was gratified to see this home again. I've driven past it many-a-time over the years, but this was the first time I actually stopped.

After leaving there, I drove on to Argos and drove by the home where I lived during my sophomore year in high school. After leaving there, I stopped by Argos Community Schools where I attended grades K-2 and 9-10... yes, my family moved around quite a bit when I was a kid (I attended six different schools as a kid).

What a great day today was!

The gauntlet

I'm thinking we, as a people, need to take a long hard look at ourselves... and take a chill pill.

By now everyone knows that Trump press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked to leave a restaurant over the weekend. Glee abounded among some of us (not me). I reported the event pretty much without comment.

She is now receiving death threats. So let me ask, when is enough enough?

Look, I hate Ms. Sanders and especially her boss, but I don't think I would have asked her to leave. What I would have done is this: I think if I were the restaurant owner I would have asked for a moment,m as a taxpayer, to bend her ear for a few minutes.

We pay her salary and I don't think it wrong that we have the right to ask her to listen, not talk (I/we already know her views) tell her respectfully how we feel and then let her eat in peace.

Nothing may come of it, but who knows, maybe a seed is planted.

Let's face it, the gauntlet has now been thrown. Sanders was asked to leave the restaurant. Mark my words, Nancy Pelosi is going to soon (if she has not already) face a similar situation.

You know, tit for tat. You cast a stone and I hurl one back.

Again, when is enough enough?

Think twice, three times before...

So Roseanne went and got herself fired and her show jettisoned from the ABC network. I find it hard to celebrate this. First off, I didn't watch the show's revival. I could not in good conscience watch her knowing she supports the Donald.

Don't get me wrong. I think ABC's decision to cancel her was imminently correct, no questions asked.

What makes me sad is that a woman (or a man, for the matter) of her talent, her influence, and standing in the entertainment community (or any community) could be so racist, so unfunny, and so wrong!

It is hard to celebrate a racist. It is, however, not hard to celebrate punishing someone for crossing the line as she clearly did.

Canceled she is. Of course, she will apologize (I'm sure she already has... and saying "it was just a joke" does not cut it), but as many have pointed out today, freedom of speech does not, cannot, shield one from freedom of consequences. *

I dislike teaching lessons such as this. A lot of talented people are going to lose her job because of her mouth. I'm reminded that when one is angry and one wants to fire off an email, that it is best to write it, set it aside an hour or two. If, after that time, the message is still appropriate it may be okay to send it.

Maybe people who reside on the twitternet should follow this maxim as well... and that goes for certain politicians too.

* yes, I am fully aware my stance on fines being levied against sports figures who kneel during the national anthem can be construed similarly. There is, of course, a huge difference. That discussion is best left for another day.

A missed opportunity

I am sad tonight. A few weeks back I accidentally found a five year old message from a childhood friend's brother. How I missed it all this time, I do not know! Anyhow I replied and waited for a response that never came. I looked at his photos and picked out a few that I assumed would be his son or nephew.

He replied and told me that he was, in fact, Dewayne's nephew. He told me his uncle died two years ago. He then told me his Dad Darryl had died a year prior to that. We talked for more than an hour and when we concluded, he gave me David's phone number.

During those early years, David, Darryl, Dennis, and Dewayne (and their older sister Judy) was a second family to me. David's Dad was an avid bowler and took us many a-time to the lanes in Logansport.

Last week I called David and was unable to connect with him and I passed along my phone number to his nephew and asked he tell David to call me.

Some history here. David Moss and I were the best of friends from the fourth through the ninth grade at Caston Educational Center just outside of Fulton, Indiana. We met in school and were fast friends. We shared a love for comic books, science fiction, Star Trek, humor, music, and especially The Archies!

During our summer vacations from school we found ways to goof off. We worked for some local farmers bailing hay. And we found ways to share our love for rock music, always our constant! And ohmigawd, the "trouble" we got into in study hall!

I've never forgotten the comic skits we wrote for our 8th grade English class. Sadly, when I was in the 9th grade (in 1971) my family moved away and we lost touch with one another. I reinitiated contact with David in 1975 not too long before I got married... and then again, David fell off the radar and I never saw him again.

Ever since joining Facebook back in late 2008, I would search the names to see if David "was here." I never found him. His nephew told me David was never interested in it.

Tonight, Dan informed me that David had been found dead earlier this evening. No details at this point. 

I'm terribly sad as I was really looking forward to reconnecting with him. David, wherever you are, I salute our friendship and will remember you well.

Ignore today's youth at your peril

       photo courtesy of WNDU News

I took a little bit of satisfaction today (okay, a lot) as I gazed at the audience during today's March for our Lives rally here in South Bend. While it consisted mostly of adults, there was a huge, and I do mean huge, contingent of young people there (definition of teens and young 20-somethings). And there were plenty of even younger kids too.

Unofficially, I would gamble that there were between 400 and 750 people present at the rally, and again, most were under 30 years of age.

A number of friends not entirely friendly to this cause, or at the least suspicious of it, made plenty of remarks last week during the school walkouts on the one-month anniversary that most of the kids were bullied into walking out with their classmates and teachers.

Sure, uh-huh.

If I want to buy into that notion (and I don't), that would easily have evaporated today. The youth I saw today were energetic, passionate, smart, caring, committed, some frightened, AND they were loud.

I would advise people not to discount our youth's determination on this issue.

They handed out flyers, they hung posters commemorating those who had died from gun violence, and they handed out and carried signs.

Now, I don't know how many of you have teenagers but it is pretty near impossible to get them to mobilize like this and to do it on their time when they are away from the watchful eyes of their schoolmates.

There was no bullying today. These were smart, caring kids who want to see change. One thing they mentioned today--repeatedly, was this: "We are going to be of voting age soon."

Any adults not smart enough to recognize this will need to, as one teen said today, "Start brushing up your resume."

Excited, I am. Watching these kids today, I saw a cause that has united them, and I fully expect their movement will grow.

Bravo!

And the children shall lead II

   photo courtesy of the South Bend Tribune

Today, as we listened to some of our local children's tales at our local March for our Lives rally, I was struck by how the things today's teens worry about are things we never ever dreamed of when we were their age.

South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg opened the rally with one of his strongest. most passionate speeches I have heard (from him) to date. He told us he followed, not led, a group of high school students to this rally before turning over the stage to more than a dozen local teens.

One middle school student talked about how their school has had three lockdowns due to shooting threats to their school just this month. One time, the students sat in their classrooms, in the dark, doors locked, sitting beneath their desks for 150 minutes.

A freshman from Washington High School told us about a 17 year old student, her friend, Tysiona Crawford, just 17 years old was killed earlier this year by her ex-boyfriend, and how this student's locker (four down the hallway from hers) was a constant reminder that she is now gone. "How do we process a student being their one day and her desk sitting empty the next?" she asked of us.

Another student told us every day when she goes to school she formulates a plan for the day, "what would I do today if a gunmen came into our school. Where would I hide? Would I hide beneath my desk? Which of my friends would die?"

What is wrong with us that we make it necessary AND possible for our children to feel this way?

Another teen told us of a time when their high school had a lockdown and their substitute teacher did not know how she was to react, but her students did. Is that NOT a sad commentary?

These are but a few of the dozen stories recounted to us by our local children from South Bend and Elkhart. Is this what school is supposed to be about? We expect our school children to learn the 3R's, not the 4Rs (Reading, 'aRithmetic, wRiting, and React to gunmen).

Having been a high school teacher myself, there have been times when I have worried about this country's future based on I saw in our classrooms. I feel more secure after seeing how eloquent and impassioned these young speakers were today.

If we adults cannot, or will not lead on the issue, then we must get out of the way of those who will! I applaud and am gratified by our young people's passion and intelligence. Who knows? Maybe they will ignite the movement where adults have failed?

Oh, and where was Jackie?

Put up or shut up!

So whether you think guns are the problem or not. If you think not, what's your answer? What's your plan? How do you propose stopping all the killing? We're waiting for your answer... AND arming teachers or selling more guns is not an acceptable response!

In any case, this meme sums it all up perfectly!

Teach our children young

I heard some folks saying * "Who the hell do these kids think they are? Who the fuck cares what kids want or what they think? We are their parents and our kids will do the hell what we tell them!" All I could say is, "really?" 

Cynicism at its worst.

People forget that young people played a part in bringing down Lyndon Johnson's presidency. They voiced their outrage and fears as they demanded an end to the Vietnam War, and how our government reacted galvanized public sentiment that cost Johnson any aspirations of re-election in 1968.

Now, whether you view the Vietnam War protests as a good thing or not is pretty irrelevant. It's over, it's history. Personally, I think if a nation can ask of its youth to put their lives on the line for a war that our government could not justify, they certainly have a right to voice their displeasure, the right to be listened to, and the right to be taken seriously. 

And exactly with that thought in mind, youth today have begun to organize again, and their exuberance may be the force our nation needs to finally to take action against our nation's addiction to guns. 

Frankly, I look at some of the protesters as heroes. No one may have thought so at the time but their voices, their anger, helped save lives. Will that be the case today?

* Yes, I was personally told this. These are not just glimpses I gleaned from the internet, although I saw these sentiments there too.

So let me answer those three thoughts.

a) Who do kids think they are?

Let's be blunt, today's youth are nothing short of being our future, they are the young men and women we raised them to be. They are future job holders; they are future taxpayers; they are future parents; they are our future leaders,

b) Who cares what kids think?

I do and so should you. We raise our kids to be independent thinkers. At least that's what we say we want. Or do we want them to perpetual mindless self-absorbed zombies? But then some adults get all defensive when kids do not tow the party line. 

I am reminded of when Richard Nixon announced he was going to resign his office in the wake of Watergate. I remember saying, "Nixon was only doing what everyone else has been doing." My stepdad became visibly angry by my naive statement. In my own defense, I did not really believe that this is how we run a nation.

I mean, some adults already think kids are irresponsible and unconcerned by anything beyond texting on another on their cell phones. For politicians who underestimate our kids do so at their own peril. Kids today, voters tomorrow. Any political party who ignores current trends will soon dinosaur themselves out of existence.

c) Our kids will do what we tell them to.

Sure, and I have some beachfront land for sale on Mars. Now think about that for a minute. How many of us when we were our teens' age did our darned best to rebel against our parents' wishes? How many of us wanted to assert ourselves when we teens?

When it comes down to it, yes, kids should do what their parents tell them... drive carefully, don't text while driving, come home soon after school, don't forget your homework, and please for God's sake, act responsibly in all matters sexual! But let us also be realistic enough to know their thoughts may not always be our own.

But tell them what to think?

The shooting in Parkland, if I may appropriate an old historical phrase, has awakened a sleeping giant. If adults cannot be bothered to do the right thing in regards to the senseless violence plaguing our nation, and if we can allow our kids to be endangered from gunmen, can they not also be permitted an opinion about being used as a target?

It remains to be seen how much effect the Walk for our Lives movement will have on this nation. I suspect in the here and now, it may not be easily quantified. And then again, perhaps I am being cynical. 

The NRA effect is profound but wait for the day when our teens become voters. Surviving a school shooting forever changes how victims think and they will not forget what we do now.

Let's face it, we all want more than platitudes. Enough of the "thoughts and prayers." Enough.

A few weeks back a Florida legislator, State Representative Linda Porter took to the Florida legislative floor and pompously, insultingly asked, "We've been told we need to listen to the children and do what the children ask. Are there any children on this floor? Are there any children making laws?

"Do we allow the children to tell us that we should pass a law that says, 'No homework'? Or 'You finish high school at the age of 12' just because they want it so? No.

"The adults make the laws because we have the age. We have the wisdom. And we have the experience to make these laws. We have to make laws with our heads and not with our emotions. Because emotions will lead us astray. However, our common sense and our rationale will not."

We have the wisdom? Really? Our legislators, by my way of thinking, have yet to prove that. Mind my words, Porter's arrogance will come back to bite her in the ass. Mocking future voters is a good way to end one's career.

The survivors of Sandy Hook are now young teenagers. The teens of Parkland stand upon the precipice of voting age. They want answers and they want action. 

A tidal wave is coming. 

Politicians would be fools NOT to recognize that.

Gravedigging with a shovel of hate and malice

I hear a theatrical movie is coming out next month that dramatizes the events of Chappaquiddick from way back in 1969--49 effing years ago. 

Ted Kennedy has been dead now for what, eight and a half years. Is there really a public clamoring for this kind of expose? Is there really an audience losing sleep over this scandal after all these years?

I ask why? Who would want to see this?

When discussing this with one of my friends who would call himself conservative, he claimed he didn't see anything wrong with this, reminding me that "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." I retorted that I do not see how that possibly applies to this situation. 

He felt it necessary to remind me that a 37-year old Ted Kennedy left a woman--not his wife--to die when his car slipped off a bridge and the car went into the waters at Chappaquiddick Island. Yes, I remember the events very well.

Yes, 'scandal' is the only way to describe the incident. Yes, Kennedy used incredibly poor judgment that night in July 1969. Yes, a woman lost her life that night. And yes, Kennedy was raked over the coals by the press and he pretty much got a slap on the wrist, legally speaking.

Kennedy's presidential aspirations were torpedoed that night and his wife miscarried a few weeks after the tragedy. And in the ways that matter most, none of that is as important as the fact that a woman died and Kennedy may have been able to have prevented it.

Enough of that. I admired Ted Kennedy, but that does not mean I hold him in reverie or awe. I do not condone his behavior of the events of that evening. That is not my objection to this movie. 

Thing is, is there really a huge audience out there pining over the thought "Gee, I would love to see a movie that crucifies a politician nearly five decades after the fact." This movie has National Enquirer journalism written all over it.

My friend pointed out that movies like "Wag the Dog, Manchurian Candidate [sic, considering these two films were a piece of fiction], All the President's Men, Selma, JFK, Malcolm X, Munich, Schindler's List, Patton," and "The King's Speech" are important teaching tools.

As a former US History teacher, to call 'Chappaquiddick' a teaching moment is an insult to my profession and I call BS on that notion (in this case), None of the aforementioned films set out with an agenda to embarrass or punish any of the people involved.

Ted Kennedy has been dead for nearly nine years and leaves him unable to defend or at the least, explain, his recollections and thoughts on the tragedy. I will agree there is little to defend, which is really not the point of my objection to this film.

A movie like this surely has no agenda other than to embarrass the Kennedy family and to hurt Ted's children and grandchildren. Do they need to be reminded of this? Do they need to be punished "for the sins of the father?"

Does this film have any hopes of punishing any other members of the Kennedy family, such as Joseph Kennedy III? Second newsflash: Joseph is not Ted.

What do the filmmakers hope to gain? Will the film bring justice to Mary Jo Kopechne? Will this lead to a prosecution case? Newsflash here, you cannot prosecute the dead. Ted is dead.

So what is the purpose of this film? If this sort of thing is okay, will it be okay to punish Chelsea Clinton, say, if she has political aspirations, for her father getting a blowjob in the Oval Office? 

Let me be blunt. This film is a nothing short of a hatchet job, short and simple!

Films like this are mean-spirited, vindictive, poisonous AND pretty damned pointless! I cannot imagine why anyone would really want to plop down their hard earned money for a box office ticket.

I hope the movie finds its theater stadiums empty; I hope it dies a quick, painful box office death... and its funding partner losing their ass.

My advice? If you want to see something historical, then spend your money on the likes of 'The Darkest Hour, Dunkirk,' or 'Hidden Figures.'

And the children shall lead

I was very proud of this nation's school children yesterday. Nearly one million of them took part in March for our Lives, school-sanctioned peaceful protests, voicing their First Amendment rights in regards to gun violence.

At 10 .a.m., students nationwide emptied out their classrooms to gather in remembrance of the 17 students killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida a month earlier.

In the days immediately after the shooting, students stood up to voice their dismay and displeasure that Congress has done absolutely nothing to stem the gun violence gripping our nation. Shooting after shooting, and nothing more than "you have our thoughts and prayers." 

So, yesterday as promised, the students (teachers too) mobilized to assemble voicing their anger and their fears.

Naysayers will say students just wanted to skip class, and I'm sure some did, but not most. Some will say they felt bullied into doing joining the protests... again, some may have, but not most. Some will say the political "left" are taking advantage of this situation. Maybe, maybe not, but I give our youth more credit than the cynics.

Some will simply say kids just do not understand how things work. I offer just the opposite. I think, for too long, we adults have failed our kids, and now out of utter frustration--and anger--are pointing it out to us.

What amazed me most is that these young people involved themselves in a great teaching moment, a lesson in  American civics. Many of these young men and women are (or will be) old enough to exercise their right to vote this year--and many more will be in the next few years. 

Yesterday at their March for our Lives rallies, our youth made their message quite clear by saying "enough is enough."

Think. Nearly one million voices. I wonder if our elected leaders are listening.

If they're not, they had better start. And soon.

A spirit soars

Rest in peace, Stephen Hawking! 

1942-2018

"Remember to look up at the stars, 
not down at your feet." --Stephen Hawking

Australia hates freedom! The Japanese and the Brits too!

A Facebook friend of mine told me tonight our friends in Australia are not as freedom loving as are we Americans. 

All I can say is... *facepalm*

  

He said the same of Britain and Japan as well. None of them understand freedom like we do.

One of the reasons he offered? Because Australia was once a penal colony. LoL! Of all the silly-ass notions!

I absolutely despise the "we're number one!" mentality! Hate it! Nationalistic jingoism, at its worst, is nearly as ugly as fascism. Some would argue they are one in the same, and I would be hard-pressed to debate that suggestion.

Right-wingers love to say "facts are facts," so here are some inconvenient little nuggets right-wing conservatives conveniently leave out when they beat their chests as they wail "we're number one!"

Sure, we're number one in a lot of things of which we should hang our heads in shame... like the largest prison population in the world, for example; the most gun deaths; the most mass murders stemming from assault-style weapons; one of the most expensive health care systems; a military budget larger than the rest of the world combined.

So, yeah, we're number one... just not in categories which we can pridefully claim as a leader of the free world. I love our country as much as anyone, but calling out deficiencies is not blasphemy.  

The old "America: Love it or leave it" crowd blather on and on (harsh, I know), but anyone willing to sit down and rationally discuss "the issues and the facts" and who are willing to listen to both sides of the argument are the ones who will affect a change of the gun legislation conversation of which our leaders lack the courage to do themselves.

Freedom loving? Yes, the Australians are a freedom loving people, the Japanese and British people too, They all live relatively free from the fear of the gun violence plaguing this nation; they are a freedom loving people free of the fear of a madman entering their schools or malls or churches. And the Aussies, the Brits, and the Japanese are a freedom loving people who have rejected the madness we seem unable--or unwilling--to break.

If only our nation's leaders cared about our people as much as many other governments do theirs.

Our sick gun addiction

So, in 2012 when 20 first grade children and six teachers were cut down, we as a nation but did nothing to stem gun violence and schools. We cried.

One child, a young girl from one of the two classrooms survived. When reunited with her parents, she told her mother, "Mommy, I'm okay, but all my friends are dead."

No parent should ever have to hear those words and sure as hell, no young child should ever have to say it. I want, but not really, to visit that little girl today. Survivor's guilt, I read, is a horrible thing.

Politicians have offered prayers and condolences. After we buried the children and teachers, did we change any gun laws? Even after the parents of the children of Sandy Hook went to Congress to beg, plead, implore that they pass laws to make certain another tragedy such as theirs never occur again, and Congress did nothing. Absolutely nothing at all.

All those poor parents got was "I'm sorry for your loss" as they were handed their hats as they were walked out the door with the hopes that everyone would forget. But really, how could we forget. There have been 239 school shootings since Sandy Hook. 239 "you have our prayers and thoughts."

Sandy Hook Elementary School has since been razed to the ground. And why not, who could blame them? The pain was just too much for that community to bear.

Fast forward to now, five and a half years later to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. On the afternoon of February 14, a day that should have been remembered as Valentine's Day, a shooter walked calmly into the high school, pulled a fire alarm lever and waited for everyone to evacuate. He then killed 17 teens and three adults as they left their classrooms. 

Immediately, our leaders went into their NRA-funded tape recorded, script by rote. Again.

Again, the tears. Again the "our thoughts and prayers" ad nauseam vomited from our politicians' mouths. Again, platitude after platitude. And again, the sound from NRA headquarters? *Crickets*

But... this time something different has occurred.

Today, a groundswell is sweeping our nation. What is different about today vs. the Sandy Hook shooting of 2012? My friends and I were talking about this very thing last night and we agreed on this: the victims.

This time the victims are young adults. Young adults with a voice. Strong voices, well-spoken, forceful angry voices. The voices of six-year olds, it seems was not enough to capture this nation's conscience, but young adults have changed the playing field.

The powerful thing, in this time of tragedy, these voices are echoing from school to school, state to state.The wonderful thing is these are young people who are taking a stand and doing so with candor, intelligence and are articulate beyond belief. Plans are afoot for a national walkout day to protest our government being held hostage by the NRA. 

AND the wonderful thing is these teens are promising to vote, many of whom will be able to vote for the first time this year during the midterm elections. If I were a Republican, I would be worried.

We have oft times questioned our teens, calling many of them precious and acting out of entitlement, but this time our teens have taken the stage with candor, aplomb, and purpose. They have been articulate and fearless. Their teachers and friends should be proud.

Has it escaped anyone's notice that almost none of this shit was occurring when the Brady Bill was the law of the land? When the GOP let this piece of legislation lapse in 2004 (When Dubya was President), statistics clearly show a huge run to the gun stores to purchase any of 19 high powered guns that had been banned for the nine years the bill was in effect.

Mr. Trump this week, when facing the parents and teens of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School listened (however, I have doubt he really listened) and he immediately offered that "we should arm our teachers." Just when most of us are asking for fewer guns and more controls, he wants, instead, to sell more guns. 

What could possibly go wrong here?

Gee, I wonder if the $30 million dollars the NRA donated to his quest for the White House has anything to do with that?

I do not care what you say. There is absolutely no reason a private citizen needs to own a weapon such as an AR-15. I do not care what you say when you say an AR-15 is just like every other available hunters' rifle. AND I do not care what you say when you say "it is my God-given--and second amendment right to own whatever weapon I want." Never mind, that the Constitution also grants us the God-given right to " the pursuit to life, liberty, and happiness." Yeah, I know, God loves guns.

In effect, we are saying the right to a gun trumps (ugh! I hate that word) the right to our children's lives (and everyone else).

Great Britain, Japan, Australia and many other civilized nations have removed and denied their citizens the access to such madness. In this nation, there are more guns than there are citizens. I do not care what you say, but this is a sick, sick addiction. A perversion, says me of the Second Amendment.

Prior to Anton Scalia's Supreme Court, gun laws were a just a tad bit saner and now we find ourselves exactly where we are today.

It saddens me that it all boils down to this: It seems we love our guns more than we love our children.

A door is opening

I find myself in an unusual situation, one I have not faced for 30 years.

Monday when I went to work at noon and before I could even take off my coat I was called into the office. My manager said, "Can we talk for a minute?"

In the space of a few seconds I learned I was being dismissed from my job--or the more correct terminology, my position was eliminated. I had no idea this was coming. Just a --thud--

As it turns out, I was not the only one. Six other fellow employees lost their jobs as well. When asked when this started, I was told it is effective today.

My store manager told me she did not want to have this conversation with me and that this development has absolutely nothing to do with any possible dissatisfaction with my job performance. I actually thought my manager was going to cry when she told me.

It appears this is a corporation-wide move. What happened to the seven of us happened in every single Barnes and Noble across the country.

Thankfully, Barnes and Noble is giving us a severance package based on the duration of our employment at the store. This does buy me some time to be a little choosey for which job I search.

What does this mean for our corporation? Not good, I suspect. Basically, this move eliminated nearly 90 years of job experience between the seven of us--and that was in our store alone. Multiply that corporate-wide and the losses are staggering.

Am I upset? I did not leave the store Monday afternoon with animosity toward the store management. I am not angry. I think it safe to say I was in shock. None of us, not even store management saw this coming.

I would, however, be a liar if I did not say I am sad. And I worry about the future of Barnes and Noble.

I think it no secret among my closest friends that I have been dissatisfied with the work at the store for quite some time now--and this had nothing to do with the store itself, but more to the fact that I have never entirely enjoyed working retail. 

I had been looking elsewhere, but not aggressively. If I saw a position that interested me, I applied for it, and I had been very selective in what positions I was looking at, I mean, why take a job if I would not be happy? Now that my situation has changed I am sure this will work out for the best, but... 

I would have preferred my departure be on my terms. So now it appears I am going to have to step up my game.

Earlier today after running some errands I went to the store, the first time since being let go. I look at this way. I was a loyal custom before I started working at Barnes and Noble in 2009, and I cannot imagine not being one now.

While there I got to see my friends and the managers whom I have come to call my family these past eight years. There were hugs, there were tears and there were some laughs too. 

One of my managers cried after we hugged and she said they are all feeling a bit of survivor's guilt. I already knew that. I had had a couple of conversations with my in-store friends who all said the mood in the store was pretty somber. I understand. I sure don't want them to be too sad. After all, life does go on. 

Anyone who knows me has heard me say this: "this too, shall pass, and I do firmly believe that.

I have always said it is hard to find a job when you have a job and I also believe everything happens for a reason... So I wonder if a door is not opening for me. Let's find out. Here we go!

But I do flippantly have to say (although I am serious), "Thanks, Donald."