In My Mind's Eye

  "Why do I keep hitting myself with a hammer?  Because it feels so good when I stop." I don't know who said that, but that's what I'm doing today. I keep looking at the news and reading the stories, because when I stop it feels good.  I have a lot to say, and I have a feeling people will disagree.  If you want to call me names, I don't care.  If you want to question my character and morals, I don't care.  And yes, people are doing that.  Here's just a few quotes:  “(Bobby) Orr inflamed one of the most grievous if underappreciated wounds of the Trump era: the sad discovery for so many of us over the past four years that so many of our friends, neighbors, business partners and heroes are not who we thought they were.”  -Andrew Cohen, The New Republic “Sadly, the voters who said in 2016 that they chose Trump because they thought he was ‘just like them’ turned out to be right. Now, by picking him again, those voters are showing that they are just like him

   Every year, at some point, a sports related blog shows up here.  In the past I've tackled Bob Costas and his annoying political rants during half-time, the sports team formerly known as the Washington Redskins and their embattled name, and the ridiculousness of the franchise tag in football.  I watch sports, a lot, and so I have opinions on things that happen that are sport related.  This post is to let you all know that, with the return of all major sports, there will be no sports writing, because I am giving them up, with the exception of the NHL, and that's still up for debate.  Why?    I watch sports to escape reality.  Everywhere I go, every time on turn on the tv, every time I log into a streaming site, every scroll of Facebook and Instagram, I am pummeled by the reality of what is happening right now.  Commercials about how we are all in this together, documentaries on race in America, Black Lives Matters banner on every social media and streaming site, COVID-19

  "The only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history."  ~Georg Hegel    Today in the United States of America, as people dismantle statues and monuments of our history, that quote seems appropriate.  We seemed to have learned very little from history, and I'm wondering if we even bother teaching real history anymore.    You see, history is more nuanced than boiler plate slogans.  It's not all black and white.  People go to war for something, but they don't all do it for the same reason.  There was this show that aired on one of those channels... National Geographic, History, Discovery.. I can't remember which one.  It was called Seconds from Disaster.  It's tagline red "Disasters don't just happen.  They are a chain of critical events. Unravel the clues and countdown those final seconds from disaster."  That's history.  It's not one event, but multiple events, some happening years, even decades, before, th

I'm sitting here, having scrolled through Facebook and Instagram, and I'm shaking my head.  I have a few things to say, and if any of you wishes to respond with words, such as "racist", "white privilege" or anything of the sort, please don't and delete me.  I think I'm done being nice, not that I've ever really been accused of being nice.  I'm known for speaking my mind and letting the chips fall where they may.  Now I'm speaking my mind and actively asking people to walk away rather than use words that do not advance the conversation. Social Media has made us mean, stupid and lazy.  People spew words at other people on social media that they would never say to a person's face.  It's safe to denigrate the character of individuals and whole groups of people when one can do it from the comfort of a chair, in the safety of their house, behind the shield of a computer screen.  If after this is posted you want to call me names or