My Life As A Hobby

I  saw   To Kill a Mockingbird  on television recently - again. It never fails to remind me how magnificent Harper Lee’s book is.  I think it stands up to anything Twain, Steinbeck, or Hemingway ever wrote. She gave us a gift that will give to generations beyond us.  Amazingly, I didn’t read Mockingbird in high school, which doesn’t speak well of my teachers in the English Department.  Instead,  I was in my mid-thirties when I met Atticus Finch. I was mesmerized. I was moved.  It instantly became my favorite book.  And to think it was written by a fellow Alabamian and graduate of the University of Alabama!  Smitten as I was, I began to search for anything I could find about Harper Lee and her book.  To my delight, I learned of an “open secret” -  that autographed copies of the book were generally available at a couple of stores in her hometown. It goes without saying that this immediately went on my bucket list. ...

With the world in such a mess, I just wish we could get someone to report the news objectively.    In the words of an old TV police show, “Just the facts, ma’am”.     Sadly, I don’t think it’s going to happen.    Bias in news stories exists. And before you get all smug and self righteous, let me remind you that it happens on both sides of the political fence. From Fox to MSNBC,    it’s there.    The networks slant the news    to help it fit their perspective on world events. Here’s a personal example that I believe proves my point.  On September 12, 2016 I watched, along with the rest of the country, as San Francisco 49er quarterback Colin Kaepernick knelt alongside teammate Eric Reid during the Star Spangled Banner.    This was Kaepernick’s way to protest    police brutality towards blacks.    It had become a big national news story.   This event had more than ...

“Shoot the son of a bitch!,” my father yelled at the screen. It was embarrassingly clear to everyone in the theatre that Dad was caught up in the movie. But why did he have to scream that out?   I guess most of the people there cut him some slack. Because of his age and the wheelchair, I’m sure many of them figured he was a vet.    They were right.    Nevertheless my wife, my Mom, and myself were ashamed by the outburst.    But I should’ve known something like this might happen when I talked Dad into going to see Saving Private Ryan.   The scene that had such an effect on him was a particularly intense one.    Many of you will recall it -    during a skirmish with the enemy, a GI medic was shot and killed. The victorious Americans took the lone German survivor, and gave him a knife to dig a grave.    Then they planned to exact revenge by shooting him. But Tom Hanks showed mercy and spared his lif...