At The Point of Intersection Between Hemingway and Twain

 

Lest you have any doubt, on January 6, 2021, as rioters poured into the Capitol, Police Officer Eugene Goodman was a profile in courage:

An extraordinary minute and one-half, which likely felt both much longer and much shorter than that to Officer Goodman while he did what he did.  

Never underestimate the steel of good people to stand up to those who would do others harm. Never underestimate the steel of a person like Officer Eugene Goodman. Never forget what he did. Never forget for whom he did it.  In case the answer to that last one eludes you, then might I suggest you go look in the mirror. 

And if someone you count among those you love most of all in the world is a law enforcement officer, then you likely processed what you watched Officer Goodman endure for a scarier ninety seconds than I have ever endured in almost fifty-four years through that prism and doing so you came away feeling terrified, infuriated, and relieved.  

Terrified by the thought that the person you count among those you love most of all in the world could have been standing at the top of that stairwell alongside of - or instead of - Officer Goodman.  Infuriated by the thought that (a) selfish, feckless idiots with no real sense of "duty", "country", or "honor" could so callously threaten the life of a man who clearly has a well-defined sense of all three; and (b) all the selfish, feckless, logic-deficient idiots within the geographic boundaries of these United States were not then - and are not now - roaming solely in Washington, DC and Officer Eugene Goodman is not the only one encountering them, either then or now. Relieved by the thought that when his shift ended on January 6, 2021, Officer Goodman went home.  

As the father of a son who serves and protects this country every day and who I count among those I love most of all in this world, I know that which every law enforcement family knows, which is the First Rule of Law Enforcement: 

"Make sure when your shift is over, you go home alive."

The Untouchables - Ness meets Malone

Thus endeth the lesson.

-AK   

AJ is A-OK

In early January 2018, University of Texas Men's Basketball Coach Shaka Smart gathered his players to share some hard news with them.  Their teammate, Andrew Jones, had been diagnosed with leukemia. Thankfully, the course of treatment that young Mr. Jones underwent at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas proved successful.   The redshirt junior (he was granted a medical redshirt for the 2017-18 and the 2018-19 seasons) from Irving, Texas is cancer-free, working towards his degree, and playing basketball for the Longhorns.  

This past Saturday was the third anniversary of Coach Smart's sharing the news of Andrew Jones' leukemia diagnosis with his teammates and this brave young man picked one hell of a way to mark the occasion: 

I'm not crying.  You're crying...and smiling.  

Me too.  

-AK 

The Power of One's Own Example

 Food for thought on a January Tuesday from a man who knew of which he spoke...

Something for all of us to bear in mind, regardless of who we are and what it is we do.  

-AK

The Birthday Girl

My faithful canine running companion is three years old today.  Sam(antha) came into our lives at the end of March, 2018. We adopted her about three weeks after our sweet Rosalita died.  Rosie's death broke my heart. For the uninitiated, I am a man who not only admits - but embraces - the fact that I enjoy my dog's company to that of most humans.  Losing Rosie wrecked me. 

Samantha found her way into our lives quite by accident.  Joe, Margaret, and I drove to Home For Good Dogs Rescue in Berkeley Heights that Saturday afternoon principally interested in one of her litter mates, another female pup whose name the tag team of time and age has erased from my memory. Upon arrival, we saw our intended, wearing her "cone of shame" and screaming because she had only recently been spayed.  Margaret looked at her adorable little face, declared "She cries too much!", and went off in search of other candidates. 

It was Joe who found our girl, Samantha.  She was playing in a little penned-in area with two of her brother. I know not what it was about her that caught his eye but whatever it was, it caused her to be removed from that area to an area where Margaret could hold her and Joe could talk to her for several uninterrupted minutes.  They fell in love.  She was ours. 

Adoption Day - March, 2018

The folks from the Rescue told us when asked that it was their best guess Samantha - a "medium-sized dog" - would grow to be thirty to thirty-five pounds. 

She was ten weeks old the day we brought her home and slightly bigger than a minute...

Sam - March, 2018

Her naturally mischievous side revealed itself not too terribly long after she arrived...

Sam - April, 2018

...and has continued unabated since. 

While her spirit and her energy have neither waxed nor waned, one thing that has changed quite considerably is her size.  Our "medium-sized dog" who we expected to top out between thirty and thirty-five pounds is a muscular sixty-pound fiercely loyal, absurdly affectionate, and unbelievably spoiled hound dog whose humans love her as much as she loves them - and who is one good-looking girl to boot.

Sam - September, 2020

Spoiler alert:  We stopped calling her Samantha almost immediately upon bringing her home.  She was quite a little hellion as a puppy and, frankly, having to yell "Samantha!" every time she did something worthy of interjection was exhausting and laryngitis-inducing.  "Sam!" it became and so has it remained.  

She is my favorite running companion and an integral part of our family.   

Sam - December, 2020

It is indeed a dog's life.  One to which I am happy to bear witness.  

-AK 

 

Silencing the Bagpipes

A sad bit of news came across my desk the other morning.  Due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 Belmar/Lake Como St. Patrick's Day Parade, which steps off on March's first Sunday every year, has been cancelled.  

While Margaret and I have not attended it annually in the five-plus years since we bought our little Paradise by the Sea in 2015, we have done so on several occasions.  It is a terrific event.  Between the vintage fire engines and the almost-dizzying array of pipe and drum corps, it is a feast for the ears and for the eyes. Annually, thousands of people line Main Street as the parade moves north from Lake Como to Belmar's border with its neighbor to the north, Avon-by-the-Sea.

Here is to hoping that by the time 2022 rolls around, the Belmar/Lake Como St. Patrick's Day Parade can once again step off and fill Main Street with its unique blend of joyous noise.  

-AK 

As A Finger Runs Along The Finely-Honed Blade Of Occam's Razor

An important idea beautifully expressed by one of the great minds of the 20th Century...

Be careful out there. 

See you tomorrow.  

-AK 

It's Time For Goodbye...

 Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes

I'm afraid it's time for goodbye again.

"Say Goodbye to Hollywood"

-Billy Joel

Alex Trebek died two months ago, today. The Stage IV pancreatic cancer he was first diagnosed with in 2019 killed him.  

He taped his final episodes of Jeopardy in late October, shortly before his death. This week, Jeopardy has aired his final five shows.  Tonight, at 7:00 pm on WABC Channel 7 for those of us who live in the New York City television market, his final episode shall air.  As it turns out, the episode airing tonight was originally scheduled to air on Christmas.  So tonight as millions tune in to say good-bye to someone many might consider an old friend, he will do what an old friend does. He will wish us all a Merry Christmas. 

I know not whether it makes any sense to have an emotional reaction to the death of someone you never knew - or even met. I do not care whether it does. I know that news of his death saddened me as I know that watching him tonight for the final time shall sadden me too.  

-AK