Victory may not be a possibility.

Honor is always possibility,

even in the face of abject failure.

And then, it is no longer abject failure. 

Dear Senator Ron Johnson,

Earlier today you asked a reporter, "What should he have said?" when the reporter asked about the appropriateness of President Trump's recent comments on the tragedy in Charlottesville, VA. I suspect that you posed the question as a rhetorical question, not wanting an answer, and as an attempt to cut off further discussion, that is, to give the appearance of a response to the question without answering the question.

I will answer your question, rhetorical or not. What the president should have said and what YOU NEED TO SAY, "There is absolutely no moral equivalency between those who advocate for the supremacy of one race, ethnic group, or religion over another and those who advocate for universal civil rights, equal standing before the law, and equal treatment by all agents and agencies within civil society. Any claim to the contrary must be challenged directly and forthrightly."

By the way, you have my permission to use my suggested statement without crediting me in any way.

J. Keye

Anger 

is not my Friend,

nor is

Bitterness.

I've been thinking about cancer a lot lately. I was recently reminded of the alternative conceptualization of the relationship between the human body and cancer. The following link served as one more and the latest reminder.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/21/opinions/cancer-is-not-a-war-jardin-opinion/index.html

Most often the model described is one of an invasion, an assault, a battle, or a series of battles, a war. There is much about that model which doesn't quite fit with everyone's experienced reality of cancer or even the technology employed to reduce or eliminate its growth within and spread throughout the body. Most cancers are not the result of a external cause usually associated with an illness or disease, such as a bacteria, virus, or some other micro-organism. It appears to me that the language of "disease" and "illness" does not apply in this context.

So what does apply? Maybe condition is the best word, as in, the conditional nature of some of the body's cells.

Most cancers are a result of the body's cells going rogue--an aberration in cell division/replication. The cause or correlation may be no more than physical aging out, the impact of a teratogen, or a genetic anomaly. Once in place, that characteristic rogueness is passed on in the process of cell division. The various forms of cancer treatment--cytotoxins, immuno-therapies, and radiation therapy--focus on cells with certain characteristics of cell division/replication and/or the very process of cell division/replication in attempt to arrest, in whole or in part, the continuation of that process.

So what does this all mean? Cancer has much in common with other conditions which may prove to be life threatening or even terminal--not unlike diabetes. Such conditions are more properly managed than treated with "cure" as an intended and stated goal. Cancer is not my enemy. It is part of me, of someone I love, of a friend or acquaintance, or a fellow earthly traveler. It may not be all that different from eye or hair color, the presence or absence of hair when one is my age, height, or the abundance of or the lack of prowess for the game of basketball.

I am not here to fashion the most effective ad campaign for the American Cancer Society or draft the most viable rationale for a cancer research grant. I am here trying to make my own sense of the past seven years and the times that lie ahead.

Note: My apologies, in advance, to the microbiologists out there.

The popularity of the bagel has clearly gone mainstream. It wasn't always so. Here is an account of my history with the bagel.

In the mid-70's, my first job out of graduate school was as medical social worker at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Milwaukee, WI. Those were the days before it transitioned to Mt. Sinai Medical Center only later to evolve through a series of restructurings and retitlings. One benefit of being a hospital employee is access to the employee cafeteria. This meant good hospital food at a reasonable price along with ready availability should some type of code be called during one's scheduled lunch. (I do not intend "good hospital food" to be read as an oxymoron.)

This was my introduction to bagels and bialys; it is the only place where I have experienced that distinction and where the two were served side by side. The two share a similar appearance and origin (Both are of Polish origin. Thanks, Wikipedia.), but are quite different, when one moves beyond appearance. The bagel is boiled before it is baked. The bialy is only baked. I always preferred the latter with butter and jam. It was several years before I eased into my current preference of cream cheese and jam. I am still very much a novice; I have not had a bagel or a bialy with "lox und schmear." I would certainly be willing to give it a go, that would entail a trip to a Jewish deli. And I'm okay with that as well. Road trip?

A brief on-line search reveals there is a third option, that is, the commercially prepared bagel. Commercial production does not involve the two-step process of boil and bake. What is sold commercially as a bagel is baked in an oven equipped with a steam injection system reducing the two-step process to a single step. In texture, consistency, taste, etc. I would place this commercial product somewhere between a traditional bagel and a bialy.  Why was bagel chosen for its nomenclature? Thus far, my search provides no answer.

For now I am at home with this young upset brought on by commercialization. Bagels Forever is part of any trip to Madison, WI. A still warm sesame seed bagel topped with a flavored cream cheese is my favorite. The frozen product from the same point of origin and available in the local market is a tease, at best. For now, I will allow myself to be teased.

On a recent Saturday morning as a friend and I were enjoying a breakfast of oatmeal with brown sugar and raisins in the company of a toasted English muffin, we were briefly joined by a friend of my breakfast companion and a bit of an acquaintance of mine. TG had to update his friend on his recent sailing adventure. The update focused on an episode within the larger adventure; we were privy only to the episode and not the larger adventure. It is not clear what that says about the larger adventure in which this episode was embedded.

Captain TG was shuttling a sailboat back to its home port. The sail took several days. On the first day out and after the boat had been docked for the night, the steward went ashore and proceeded to get very drunk. Details of the captain's evening and that of the remainder of the crew were not shared with us. We can only speculate as to their activities or the lack thereof. The steward returned to the boat and proceeded to spend the next day and a half in her berth. This left the crew without a proper mess for a time. Captain TG was eventually able to adequately motivate the steward so that, once she was sufficiently sober, she was able to set a proper mess. A proper mess was served for the balance of the voyage.

As sailors are want to do, shore leave, alcohol and tattoos often come together in some sort of package deal.This steward was special; reportedly she travels with her own tattoo gun. She is working on a pair of sleeves. Now, it is customary that when one is working on either a single sleeve or a pair, the tattoo recipient and the tattoo artist are not one and the same person. The steward was in the process of doing her own sleeves. This is not quite the same as making your clothes versus buying off the rack. Captain TG described how the artwork on the left arm was quite professionally done, whereas the artwork on the right arm was barely amateurish. It was clear that the steward, despite being a reasonably good cook, was not ambidextrous.

Captain TG, being his usual kinetic self, slipped away into and through the crowd of the other diners in the restaurant, before either of us could ask for clarification or further detail. Therefore, I was not able to ask the question that came to mind. I wanted to ask Captain TG if he got any sleep on this trip. I thought he may have been afraid to close both eyes as long as there was a hung-over and cussed out steward with a tattoo gun on board ship. My question will have to wait. Captain TG kept his shirt on during our brief encounter. It is really any one's guess what he might see the next time he is standing in front of a mirror with his shirt off.

What would be the proper subject matter for a hung-over and cussed out tattoo artist's work on a sleeping captain? A ship in a bottle? A portrait of six of the cutest little kittens ever? Twelve women's names with X's through eleven? Whatever it is, I certainly hoped she held the gun in her right hand.

sometimes

there is 

that thing inside

demanding

its own voice 

rock 'n' roll

be that voice 

heralded with

an opening

power chord

windmilled

Special Thanks,

Link Wray

and

Pete Townshend.

I am pleased that Anthony Scaramucci is no longer White House Communications Director. His termination was allegedly due, in part, to his obscene tirade of last week.

For several days, what commentators referred to as "barnyard talk" was minimized, excused, and discounted by various talking heads. I have been around a few barnyards in my day and haven't heard the likes of the Mooch's rampage. Some of the talking heads rationalized it as common New York City speech. I haven't been to NYC, so I can't vouch for them. This was akin to the "typical locker room banter" description applied to then candidate Donald Trump's recounting his interpersonal style and techniques.

It wasn't until I was in basic training compliments of the Selective Service System, a local draft board, and the US Army that I heard anything akin to Trump-Scaramucci emotive speech. Even then some of the vocabulary was foreign to me. Over the period of my enlistment, simple repetition proved to be helpful on that score.

How is it then that it took a general to blow away all the excuses, rationalization, and ethical bobbing and weaving? And say, "That won't do; you're out of here!"

My thanks and appreciation to General Kelly.

Last week proved to be a difficult week. As it drew to a close, a late breakfast or lunch out seemed to be in order. (I don't have very many resources held in reserve these days.) My wife turned down each and every invitation. Sunday morning it was different, I got an acceptance on church attendance and a late breakfast out.

Now that the week and the weekend are behind me, and I have had time to reflect, I have come to the conclusion that acceptance of my invitations might be dependent upon my ability to wrestle a double date with Jesus.

So, you ask "Who was Jesus' date?" I really don't know so I can't really say, but I can assure you, she was an absolute angel.