jebwizard

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An Experimental Short Story

The Pencil A few months before we moved to Arizona, I was scurrying back to my car in the middle of a cold Fall rain shower—the kind that is a harbinger of coming winter, which we would soon be avoiding—when I spotted a pencil balanced against the curb. As a writer, I rarely use pencils, but because I am a writer, such things always provoke a storm of ideas. How did the pencil end up there? Who…

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But There Are So Many Versions…

Here’s some music to read by or wait until the end, the link is there as well. In my quest to understand the movement toward a Christian Nationalist Government, I have arrived at a quandary. Those who would have us follow this path insist that the Bible is the inerrant word of God and, as such, the template for a perfect and moral society. The implication is that without religion, guided by the…

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With Conspiracies, Size Matters

“If you reveal your secrets to the wind, you should not blame the wind for revealing them to the trees.” Khalil Gibran Two can keep a secret forever if one is dead and the other dies shortly after. (A variation on a Benjamin Franklin quote.) As a people, we have become consumed by the idea of conspiracies or the belief that they exist and are quite impenetrable. For the past four years, we have…

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Who Would I Recognize in Heaven?

We’ve all heard people say it: she’s dancing with the angels, or he’s back with the love of his life, or some such line when someone dies. But is that reality? Is that what heaven would look like? This is something that always troubled me. I’d have to restrain myself from asking, do you believe that? When I was a young boy, my grandfather said the angels were bowling whenever there was…

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Arizona Time Machine

Here in Arizona—the land of diamondback rattlers, scorpions, and a rejection of daylight savings time—we have achieved another milestone: time travel. Unfortunately, we can only go back to 1864, but it is a start. As I am sure you have heard, the Arizona Supreme Court, in a 4-2 decision, ruled a law from 1864, before Arizona was even a state, is the law of the land and imposes an almost total…

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And With Time Comes Acceptance...

Ralphie we hardly knew ye. Who was Ralph you might ask? Those of you who know will understand. As I suspected would happen, I had a moment when I thought, “Hey, I haven’t talked to Ralph in a while; I should give him a call.” And then I realized that I could not; Ralph wouldn’t answer. I wrote about the very phenomenon in a piece shortly after he died…

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Shared Evolution: 3.2 Millions Years in the Making

Courtesy of Someone Named Lucy …Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowlyA girl with kaleidoscope eyes… Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, Lennon & McCartney Copyright Science Magazine 2024 Almost fifty years ago, on November 24, 1974, a remarkable discovery happened in the Afar region of Ethiopia. Dr. Donald Johanson, a paleoanthropologist, and Tom Gray, a doctoral student, found a right…

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A Christian Nationalist Nightmare

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. Colossians 2:8 While I am not, by nature, one who sees conspiracies behind every action—something that seems like a national pastime in this country—one can argue about an agenda-driven element in America with all the…

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Going Nuclear: Stirring the Pot

During a recent exchange on Social Media critical of a piece on my blog (https://joebroadmeadowblog.com/2024/03/28/in-simplest-terms-why-never-mr-trump/), I encountered the usual nonsense and vitriol. But I was also challenged to answer questions about perceived policy actions by President Biden and his supporters. While the “questions” were framed as to be about Mr. Trump, the implications were…

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A Conflict of Loyalty(ies)

Today, Monday, April 1, 2024, I will go to a baseball game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the New York Yankees. This is the second year we’ve had season tickets for the Dbacks, but it’s the first year the Yankees have come to town. Thus, my dilemma. I have been a lifelong Yankees fan, almost always, with a few rare exceptions, enjoying their dominance over the Boston Red Sox. But I’ve…

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Reflections

Throughout my life, there have been moments when I experienced profound satisfaction. Growing up, I remember the thrill of throwing a baseball from shortstop to first base without bouncing it three times, driving alone in a car, or speaking to people who took an interest in what I said. As time marched on, more professional accomplishments took over. Finishing basic training in the Air Force and…

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#Imagination

[jebwizard]

In Simplest Terms: Why Never, Mr. Trump!

I don't know a soul who's not been batteredI don't have a friend who feels at easeI don't know a dream that's not been shatteredOr driven to its kneesOh, but it's all right, it's all rightFor we've lived so well so longStill, when I think of the road we're traveling onI wonder what's gone wrongPaul Simon, American Tune I should know better, but whenever I see idiotic nonsense online, I cannot…

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Nature is Noisy

This is my island in the sun… Harry Belafonte   Having ventured from the East Coast to Arizona, we had to find a new go-to place for our Caribbean adventures. Over the past forty-some years (how did that happen?) Aruba had become our place of refuge. While we enjoy our many trips around the world, Aruba was a place more than just a vacation destination. It had become an old friend where, every…

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Confession is Good for the Soul

“Hi, my name is Joe, and I am a bookaholic.” (Chorus of voices) “Hi. Joe.” It all started when I learned to read. First, it was all fun, See Jane, See Dick. See Jane run. But then it got worse. I read the Encyclopedia Britannica. I read all the Hardy Boy Mysteries. Then I found the library. Today I cannot pass up buying every book that catches my eye. I even started writing my own, but it was…

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How Many is Enough?

Yes, and how many times must a man look up Before he can see the sky?Yes, and how many ears must one man haveBefore he can hear people cry?Yes, and how many deaths will it take till he knowsThat too many people have died?—-Bob Dylan, Blowin’ in the Wind At what point is enough, enough? There is no rational person in the world who can justify what Hamas did on October 7, 2023. There is no…

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Don't Piss on the Bomb Bay Motors...

You are twenty-years old, thousands of miles from your home in Pawtucket, RI, it is nine days after D-Day 1944. You are flying your first mission as a Flight Engineer/Top Turret gunner on a B-17 Flying Fortress Tail Number 43-37727. Your target is a railroad marshalling yard in Angouleme, France supplying troops and ammunition to German forces. It is the 149th mission flown by the 351st…

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#B-17 #WWII

[jebwizard]

Don't Piss on Bomb Bay Motors...

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