It’s as tiring to write
the same old same old as it must be to read it. Virus deaths. Killer
cops, killer bees, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly. Looting,
trump, China, Hong Kong, Putin, fake news, unemployment.
So, to start the new
month, June, we went back into the archives hunting for something nice to say.
Or clever. Or cute. Something.
In June of 2010, this
space was busy with such earth shattering events as defective Sears washing
machines, magnifying glasses as Father’s Day gifts, starting random
conversations with random strangers. There was stuff about paper v.
electronic calendars, a wooden steamship found intact at the bottom of one of
the Great Lakes.
We mused about the
removal of Jimmy Dean from the ads for his frozen meals (he’s since been
revived.) There was a piece about door-to-door vacuum cleaner
salespeople, Leona Helmsley and newly discovered mineral deposits in
Afghanistan.
Were we ever really that
innocent?
Yes and no. Looking
back, at least we found what would pass as an excuse for our presence in the
Middle East. Google, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube were in their
infancies. GM had only recently killed Pontiac (Oldsmobile died earlier.)
But the grains of real
life were… round. Grousing was fun. No one got hurt except maybe Leona, Jimmy
and Eddie Lampert. We had a real president with real and qualified
appointees in proper places.
Oh sure, there were the
usual slime-engorged public officials, the hucksters, the stick up artists,
murderers, shoplifters and even a bunch of isolated cop vs. someone suspected
of being black. And some of them were pretty shocking. But the
shock would wear off. Maybe it shouldn’t have. There was a general lull
between school shootings. Sure there were horrible things. But not every day.
And not every place.
And not always from the
same source: The White House and its clients in congress and its sales support
team on the supreme court.
NOTES FROM ALL OVER:
(WASHINGTON) -- The
“president” is nosing around the Pentagon looking for ways to use real soldiers
to stop the nightly rioting. But then he turned around and expressed sympathy
for murderee George Floyd in Minnesota. An unusual and unexpected turn of
phrase from that source. Someone influential must have crawled into what
passes for his consciousness. Ivanka? Melania?
(MINNEAPOLIS) -- It’s still
burning as protests against the policeman’s murder of an unarmed civilian
continue and spread near and far.
(BROOKLYN) -- How many
thousands gathered cheek by jowl at the Barclay Center to protest the
enthusiastically brutal treatment of some black people by white cops?
Social distancing, be damned.
I’m Wes Richards. My
opinions are my own but you’re welcome to them. ®
Any Questions? wesrichards@gmail.com
© WJR 2020
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