(Note:  this blog was written by a friend who prefers to remain nameless, as he works in a sensitive job in a sensitive state. I may not agree with all of his points, but they are carefully considered and well written.  MB) I’m a former law enforcement officer – both a National Park Ranger and … Continue reading Some Thoughts on Gun Violence

I’ve never understood “The South.” Born in Philadelphia, raised there and in Massachusetts (except for a tiny stint as a tiny infant in Florida where, legend has it, I was kissed by a campaigning Richard Nixon)  I found myself landing in Virginia and marrying a girl from a little further south – a land where … Continue reading “Be Proud You’re a Nazi” (satire, folks)

I’m a racist. I’m a bigot. I’m prejudiced, against black people probably. Or, at least, I must be.  Everybody tells me so. I’m the little street crimes cop in Staten Island, grabbing the big man around the neck, not in a proscribed choke hold but in an attempt to control and arrest a combative man-mountain … Continue reading “Racist”

Want to know what I did on my summer vacation?   I died. Twice.  Three times if you count when doctors stopped my heart during open heart surgery.  Overall, the first week of vacation with sun, sand, seafood and family was fun, the second week with two heart attacks, three ambulance rides, four hospitals and double … Continue reading What I Did On My Summer Vacation

I watch the television news tonight out of Baltimore until my heart feels crushed, and I have to stop.   Doctor’s orders. Sheesh.   I came out of Alexandria Hospital this afternoon to see flames and cops on the tv screen and it is too much déjà vu for my wounded heart.  Why does a trip to … Continue reading Baltimore

There are gray areas everywhere.  Circumstances when it is hard to know exactly what to do or say.  Places where a thing is allowed or encouraged, or taboo. Or illegal.  Times when an opinion on one activity is approved and supported, and an identical opinion on a nearly identical activity is scorned. Lawyers are good … Continue reading It’s Good to Be a Grownup.

My sister challenged me this week.  I had posted on Facebook that I was oddly grateful to the national news media because their coverage of Trevor Noah, the new host of the Daily Show on Comedy Central, had quoted him as saying he feared American cops more than those in his home of South Africa. … Continue reading The Age of Umbrage… or… I May Be an Internet Crybaby

I’m like a dog.  Every time my wife goes out the door, she is dead to me. Until she comes home and I see her again and I’m happy.  I’m told this is how dogs perceive our absence, and my dog bears this out.   My wife, no more emotional than I but far more intelligent, … Continue reading “I Go to UVa, You F—king Racists!”

The guy in the parking lot asked me for a few bucks because he was out of gas.  Pure scam.  His story became more elaborate the longer I faced him – his car was just down the road, out of sight, and he needed a gas can too so the bite was for fourteen dollars.  … Continue reading Choosing to Believe, and What

Did the furor die down about the police shooting on Skid Row in Los Angeles or did I just stop watching the news?  Or did a more recent death in Madison, Wisconsin steal the spotlight in the current news cycle? Another young black man was killed by police Friday night, and people were interviewed to … Continue reading Prejudice or Racism? And the Difference Between