Month: July 2019

I have great respect for our political parties.  While their dysfunction is full-on on-display during the election season, I still haven’t heard of a good alternative.   So, I have a suggestion for the current Republican party, of which I am a part.   Allow all the crazies that have taken over the party to … Read moreA Modest Proposal: The New Ku Klux Klan Party

Maria bore an uncanny resemblance to my mom.   The one difference was her clipped style of speaking which gave you the impression that she wasn’t listening to you.  I listened to her explain to the neighboring surgery patient why she couldn’t give him his pain medications until 7:30 PM . . two hours from then.  … Read moreMaria and Oxycontin

The clock read 3:45.   It hung above the bathroom door directly opposite my bed and was enshrouded in the darkness of the hospital room’s overnight light.  It was all I could see from my prone position on the unrelentingly sweltering bed. I was fevered, perspiring.  I tried to shed my gown to get some relief, … Read moreThe Gordion Knot

I sometimes have thought about the last scene in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids . . being  chased by the military in Argentina.  They ran, and were pursued to a cliff.  They could either wait for the army or take a chance that the fall into the lake, far below, would kill them.  What … Read moreMoments Before. What Would I Do?

The sun went down today on the dusky brown mountains west of Redlands.  The flatland adjacent was a patchwork of green Orange groves and yellow grasslands which were baked in the 102 degree heat.  It was smothering.  A train horn broke the silence as it zig-zagged through the plain in front of the mountain.   The … Read moreThe Morey House

I have always been under the impression that bad actors would eventually realize what they had done, be repentant, and change their behavior.  I think this describes how most of us feel.   But, this behavior doesn’t extend to all.  We know, for example, that the recidivism rate of pedophiles is extremely high.  This is … Read moreCarlo Gambino Aint Got Nothin on Him

We were in the cockpit of an Ercoupe at the intersection of the taxiway and runway 30R at San Jose International Airport.  Paul had just asked me for my log book.  I rummaged through my briefcase.  I was nervous.  I knew what this was.  Paul would sign my book, step out of the plane, and … Read morePaul Zahner and Loma Linda

I started to run with my golf bag.  I was trying to put some distance between me and the group in back and had been having some success by walking fast.  But, now I decided to hurry so I could play with no contention from the rear.   My chest started to burn a little, so … Read moreToss The Spinning Dreidel

President Trump’s old slogan should be updated to reflect his reality.  Instead of ‘Make America Great Again’, it should be ‘Make America Hate Again’.  This has been evident to all modern thinking Americans; however, in case someone missed it, the rally in South Carolina put an exclamation point on that idea.   The ‘Send Them … Read moreMake America Hate Again

There is a tendancy in modern public speech to say things that are politically correct. . . that is, before Donald Trump.  Political correctness has been the butt of jokes for years despite being important in the workings of all large organizations trying to find common ground by not being offensive to any particular group. … Read moreSelf-Deception Is Alive and Well