Archive for May, 2022


The last time this blog discussed weapons or guns was in August 2019 and December 2021, though the December 2021 blog was about an idiotic Republican political ad. The idea of purchasing any weapon was to feel safer. Then, in August 2019, I realized how idyllic and self-delusional I had become. I wasn’t warped by NRA, by some fancy salesman, by the notion of the second amendment. Instead, I had been distorted by a belief that a weapon would make me safer. I learned the rhythm of handguns and the addictive thrill of their multi-sensory intensity. And for the first time since my military days, I once again became a threat — to myself.

The Gun Violence Archive defines mass shootings as “four or more people shot and or killed in a single incident, at the same general time/location not including the shooter.” So, I want to congratulate America. According to the Gun Violence Archive, 224 U.S. mass shootings and over 17,000 Gun-related deaths since January 1, 2022. Of course, it takes work to be this bad. But, as it turns out, America is exceptional. 

Continue reading

A New Normal

Eventually, everything in the body becomes unreliable,” my neuro stated. It’s a hidden truth of nature. In our teen’s we laugh at it. In our twenties, any notion of time is philosophized over during bartender’s last call. In our thirties, the term slowing down was bantered watching old geezers struggle playing softball at company games. In our forties, we begin to struggle when a few kick the bucket, usually due to cancer or maybe a car wreck. It hits home in our sixties when were told we’re the one dying.

Your body is becoming unreliable,” I repeated walking to my car. “I cannot change that,”  I repeated to myself. Only then do you see the elders of yesteryear stare you in the face and hear the laughter. I swear I heard them. I swear I did. “Sucks to be you,” they snerted (a word my ex invented) at me as I drove drove home. Pulling into my underground parking space, I turn the car off. Pausing for a moment as my hands rested on the steering wheel, I reflected. I have no problem distinguishing the past from the present as Rod Serling narrates, ‘There’s signpost up ahead. Your next stop, the Twilight Zone!’ in my mind.

Continue reading

%d bloggers like this: