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!