The news in 2019, in review. Note that these news events are selected arbitrarily, without any consideration for importance to the world around us or interest of the readers - all three of them.
January
A local message board / website that I used to infrequent went belly up. Swampbubbles, hosted by Chris Meyers, went sideways and hasn't been heard from since, thus depriving Dale Pertcheck of a platform. Pertcheck, by the way, has the same attributes as a stopped clock and is every bit as interesting to watch.
February
I am referred to an essay, Class Warfare, by Doug Casey. My own revelation are the human emotions of jealousy and envy, neither one of which I understood until reading Casey. As it turns out, this is my intellectual achievement for the year.
March
A message board local to Toledo, Ohio closes down. You can see it at Toledo Talk, and even find a few of my brilliant comments in it. The place ran for about 16 years with only a few major upsets and flame wars, which the owner settled by deleting a few accounts. This is a good run considering the myriad of users and their diverse political, economic, and religious beliefs. While I was very sorry to see it go, JR did a great job with it - and that takes a lot of work.
April
In a truly stunning moment of civic mindedness and generosity, I ask that cards and letters be sent to an 11 year old girl named Eva, who is a bad way just now. The response is overwhelming, for which I sincerely thank everyone who participated. Thank all of you again.
May
I answer the quora question Whati is the origin of the Polka dance? as posed by some Slavic fathead who should know better. Oddly, my answer did not get deleted, which should tell you something about the reliability of the fiction you'll find on Quora.
June
I go off on a tirade about Wounded Knee, Indians, and whether or not I'm a native American. I was born early in the morning in a hospital in Toledo, Ohio. My father was at work, but my mother was there and she took good care of me. How am I not native to America? How am I not indigenous?
This was the early 1950s, and there was something good to be said for that era. Men, real men, shouldered their responsibility and didn't bring their work home with them. They just did their job, and that was that. The Commies, Japs, Krauts (Boche), and Wops were not to be trusted - they were the enemy. Easy, see?
July
Tipped off by Big Mike, I wrote about James Poulos, who twittered about the real conditions in Los Angeles, Portland, and SF, where the homeless have caused sections of each city to slide back into Fourth World countries. What Trump accurately referred to as real shit-holes.
August
On my previous contribution to the overall knowledge of mankind, a casual reader delurked a left a single, succinct suggestion.
When you use the phrase "gun control" you cede most of the ground to The Enemy, who created that phrase for just that purpose. Use "disarming the law-abiding" because THAT is what is under "discussion" (a term you should also reject).My thanks to Lens Larque for an excellent suggestion.
Beginning today, the phrase gun control will no longer appear in any of my posts. Instead, I'll use disarming the law-abiding public. I'll have to find something else to replace discussion with. Something on the order of "unwarranted attack" comes to mind.
September
I have a problem with a mouse in the house. The solution: Victor mouse traps and peanut butter.
In the immortal words of the illustrious Ed Bonderenka:
Buy the Victor, be the VictorOctober
While walking back to the car from a Tiki bar in Powell, Ohio, Big Mike saves me from being run over by a no-good son-of-a-bitch who blew through a cross walk. Read the whole story if it amuses you to do so; the event I refer to is near the end. You Go When Your Number's Up
November
I start a Go Fund Me! page for an old friend, Jackie Blue, and people generously contributed to the cause. My sincere thanks to everyone.
December
The year will end in six hours. I can hardly wait. I live in an area just off Uzi Alley, an appropriate name since fireworks and gunshots are plentiful. One of my neighbors actually owns an Uzi, and torched off a magazine at midnight last year. I wish I knew who it was, as I'd help him out with the cost of ammo.
I've been invited to a party, but it's a half hour drive into an unfamiliar area North of me, and I'm tired. Driving home after midnight is not something I want to do. Even if I'm dead cold sober, the cops are hot to stop everyone on the street as a fishing expedition, and they'll throw you in the drunk take if you even smell like beer. So I kind of think I'm staying home.
Happy New Year!
2 comments:
Comments on your beginning and end:
Dale P: The only commenter I ever bounced for refusing to stay on topic. Thanks for the fun memory, lol!
Being pulled over: Several years ago, I got about 3 hours sleep and headed to my job about 15 miles up through rural Indiana approximately 0520. Local Sheriff follows me closely for at least two miles, reasoning that only drunks and security guards going to work the NYD shift would be on the road at that ungodly hour, and he was betting on the former. However, I did a perfect rendition of the latter- despite being both- and he peeled off for greener pastures.
Pertcheck (if he's still alive) is a retired school teacher and professional know-it-all. You couldn't reason with him.
Yeah, I hear you. I had cops tailgate me for three miles, then they lost interest.
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