Insanity in the world of guns: Another Entry
Explain how its super-bright editorial staff came up with this idea for an article in the “New York Times” Sunday Magazine of September 27, 2026. In my own words, it went something like this: “let’s chat with some parents about what steps they are taking to protect their kids from school shootings. It must be […]
When can I leave my House?
Thank goodness for my friend, whose name I won’t reveal, as she is the one doing my grocery shopping and delivering the bags to the house which I share with one other family. My regular visit to WalMart? No way – large numbers of people in one place are too attractive to poorly trained guys […]
How Am I Better Off?
It is a standard question, often dominating political discourse, only taking a rear seat when international escapades and domestic corruption are the front-page stories. In any case, the question occurred to me when I saw ICE forcibly apprehend the guy who had recently done my roof. Carlos had fixed the roofs for many in the […]
School Drones: Another Chapter in the Book of Insanity
I can picture it now: you beseech your local Congressman, “please lift the age for buying an AR-15.” After reminding the pleading parent about the Second Amendment, he casually notes that “your child should be okay. Your school has a drone system. “ Before getting to the drone specifics, let me wander a bit, helps […]
The Circle of Life
The Circle of Life, 2026 In the country I still on occasion refer to as “home,” even though my entire life is now thousands of miles away and I have no immediate desire to return, we have something that could be called a “Toxic Stew.” It is the unhealthy combination of power, money, drugs, and […]
1938
This essay was inspired by a brilliant book with a quirky, but accurate title: “One Day, Everyone will have always been against this.” Published in 2025, the author is Omar El Akkad. ** Lacking the requisite skills, I have made no attempt to differentiate speech patterns among the various participants in this essay. The setting […]
Vodka Anyone?
*According to the “Uvalde Leader-News,” 37 of the 64 local law enforcement officers who responded to the May 24, 2022 Robb Elementary massacre are still working locally; at least nine have been promoted. *On January 5, former Uvalde school district officer Adrian Gonzales goes on trial in Corpus Christi, Texas, accused of child endangerment and […]
Beth Macy
To Beth Macy: This is a fan letter, inclusive of a number of touchpoints, some trivial but fun, others close to being substantive — all prompted by reading “Paper Girl.” I grew up in West Henrietta, New York, a one traffic light town a few miles from where your photographer is a professor, RIT. […]
A Bit of Fiction: Fade to Black
Midafternoon on a chilly November Saturday, it was this close to being strike three, finito to the low probability fantasy of a somewhat addled brain, when a young guy rode his undersized bike into the playground at Locust and York streets in Towanda, tossed his backpack to the ground, and proceeded to swing like a […]
Meet an Illegal Alien Day
Let’s say that Bill, Richard, Joe and Tom –average white Americans — had dinner at Bill’s house. They are polishing off a slice of chocolate cake with their coffee and for some inexplicable reason (or perhaps there was a television talking head in the background) the conversation moved past football and the cost of living […]