I’m not a huge golf fan. It’s genetic. My father, my grandfather, my great-uncle, and many other forbearers were obsessed with the game. And they were all equally-genetically ill-suited for it. My great uncle Tony was a good example. On one particular day at the 18th hole, he knocked one into the water trap. He was so angry about it, he marched down to the water and threw his entire bag of expensive clubs in the drink, then stormed into the clubhouse for some liquid refreshment. His young caddy took off their shoes, socks, and rolled up their knickers, then waded in and fished out the bag and all the clubs. He then dried them off, and brought them into the clubhouse, no doubt expecting a big tip. What I’m sure he didn’t expect was that Tony grabbed the clubs under one arm, the caddy under the other, and then marched down to the water trap, where he threw them both in. Genetically. Ill-suited. So I stay off the links. [Read more…] about President Mulligan
Archives for June 2015
If I Had a Hammer…
No. I’m NOT making this up.
Not content to have banned private ownership of most guns (and making the ones you can still legally own bloody difficult to do so), the home of the Magna Carta, bangers n’ mash, and the London bobbie have begun the inexorable slide into a state of irrelevancy by promoting a campaign to ban knifes.
I’m not kidding. [Read more…] about If I Had a Hammer…
What’s in a Word?
#!@‽¶≠!!
Words. We writers live by ’em. And sometimes (if you offend the wrong Muslim lunatic) die by them. But they are the essential part of how we do what we do. Words mean things. But not all words mean the same things to all people. And living in the Age of Political Correctness, not all wordsmiths are created equal, at least as far as permission to use certain words goes. Allow me to give you some examples… [Read more…] about What’s in a Word?
Ranking Race.
I grew up in the South, in the 1960s. It was a time of racial unrest. I remember seeing posters around Shreveport, advertising a concert planned by James Brown – the hardest working man in show business. What a lot of people don’t know about Brown is that he also helped to defuse the ticking time bomb of racial unrest, rather than work to exploit racial tensions, as so many self-styled ‘leaders’ do today.
Fast-forward to 2015. Two incidents in the news make me think that racism is still a huge problem in the USA, but not for the reasons – and the people – that you’d think. I’m afraid that this time around, it’s not Conservatives that have a problem with race. It’s Liberals. And there’s a litmus test that determines just how “black” or how “brown” you are, and it’s got nothing to do with a color swatch book. Let me explain… [Read more…] about Ranking Race.
Yes, Virginia…it CAN happen here…
I’ve been getting a lot of questions, messages, and comments about the incident that happened this weekend in McKinney (where I live), about a video posted to the ‘net, showing three McKinney PD officers detaining and arresting some kids at a pool party. If you watched the video, (shot on a cell phone by a bystander) you see very angry cops, one of whom pulls his gun (and then re-holsters it, when the other two officers flank him), and a young girl grabbed by her pigtails and forced to the ground, face in the grass and handcuffed. Pretty shocking stuff. So what really happened? And is this as bad a situation as it looks on the video?
Let’s everybody take a step back, and then take a deep breath. [Read more…] about Yes, Virginia…it CAN happen here…
Transitory State
When I was a kid, life was simple. There were boys. There were girls. Boys played “Army.” Girls played with dolls. Boys wore pants. Girls wore dresses. Life was good. I think I was 12 or so, before I heard the words “queer” and “gay” and learned that they meant “homosexual,” and was told what “homosexual” meant. I soon learned there was a whole panoply of people who had different ideas about sexuality. Boys who liked boys. Girls who liked girls. Boys who liked girls and boys, and vice-versa. Boys who liked to dress up like girls (and vice-versa). And then boys and girls who had their bodies altered to look like girls and boys, respectively. Confusing. I thought it was weird then. I’m not sure I think it’s any less weird now. Especially given that Bruce Jenner has “transitioned.” [Read more…] about Transitory State