TERRY MOSHER
I’m off to the Boneyard today. The mess that is the political season coupled with the madness in the Congo, the savagery of Syria – all of which should make us all ashamed to be human beings – has driven me to have maddening thoughts that swirl about in my head like a bullet ricocheting about trying to find a way out.
It’s a crazy and extremely ugly world we live in and sometimes I think it best to get rid of all the electronic things, including TV, that feed me so much in this our informational age so I can just live simply and be oblivious to all the terrible things that are happening.
Don’t get me wrong, there are good things and good people in our world. But it’s true that bad news sells so we (I) get swamped with all the bad news possible, and it makes me feel not so much sad but guilty that I at least have some semblance of balance and civility to my life while millions of others live in constant fear of being brutally beaten, killed and raped.
Take the Congo. I was reading a story in Time Magazine that called the Congo “The Rape Capital of the World.” I won’t detail here what I read because it’s too terrible to even think human beings would act this way (but they do). Roving gangs of various tribes, for example, go around killing all the males so they don’t grow up to be enemy fighters and the women – very young and old – are then left to the desires of the attackers .
I was reading an on-line story – The Assad Files _the other day and it drove me over the emotional edge. There is no official count of the people that have been killed in this civil war, but estimates put it at 250,000 and often the killing is done slowly in prisons with unmentionable torture tactics that would make anybody with even just a tiny bit of human decency lose it.
These killings are approved from the highest level of the Syrian government, and that means president Bashar Al-Assad. I refuse to believe he is human. No human would oversee what is being done there.
What is even more depression to me is that Assad was rescued by the Russians, led by another guy who is not human, Putin. Without the Russians, Assad would likely be gone by now.
Why is all of this done? Why does the supposedly civilized world allow this to happen?
Then there are the terrorist that pretend to act in the name of a religion that are going around killing innocent people just because they want to. Wow.
I could go on and on because war is not limited, it is almost everywhere you look on a globe. And it’s often an inhuman war that knows no boundaries. When you look at the world like it really is, the political season we are in that may be the ugliest season I have been witness to in my life, seems tame in comparison.
I was amused today to see the Trumpster complain about the unethical means the Republican Party is using in its delegate politics to possibly take away the presidential nomination from him.
Well, Donald, welcome to the dirty world of politics. You are waking up too late. Maybe you are not as smart as you think you are. While you slept in your castles the party was going on without you.
The Donald may have to mobilize his “Brown Shirts” and march on Cleveland come mid-July to overthrow the Republican Convention and the party. And he may do just that.
Isn’t this a wonderful world?
On the other side of the aisle, I hear from lifelong die-hard Democrats that if Clinton wins the nomination they will vote for the Republican nominee, even if that is the Donald.
Wow. This really is a wonderful world.
I’m beginning to think it’s time for me to leave this world. It may no longer hold my interest. I’ve either gotten too old or too wise, or maybe both, and what I see from the Congo to Syria to Russia to China, to North Korea, to Yemen and other festering hot spots in the world, to our 2016 presidential race makes me want to take the first boat out of this world.
I’m afraid, though, I have to wait on word from God before I can leave. It’s a good thing I can always go to the Boneyard to get rid of useless and dangerous thoughts.
Which reminds me, what happened to the dreamy new world of the Seattle Mariners? Weren’t they under new baseball management? Didn’t they overhaul the roster to fit the spacious confines of Safeco Field? Wasn’t this supposed to be the first steps on the march to the World Series?
Ok, ok, I know, it’s only eight games into a 162-game season, but, wow, these 2016 Mariners look an awful lot like the 2015 Mariners. Weren’t they supposed to cut down on strikeouts and put the ball in play more? Well, where is that at?
The Mariners play 81 home games and is it possible they will lose them all? If so, they have a good start on it, having lost their first five games at spacious Safeco with a lineup built for its spacious confines.
Hey, I’m just being sarcastic. That is what I get to do in the Boneyard So calm down. Maybe they won’t lose them all. Just don’t hold your breath until they do.
Tonight is the big night for NBA followers. I don’t want regular season NBA Games. That’s because I’m jealous. I couldn’t dunk in high school (I could hit the back rim) and I don’t like to be reminded of that by watching NBA players repeatedly dunk. Which reminds me, does anybody play defense down deep? It seems to me that when a dunk is coming defenders get out of the way. Why is that?
Anyway, the big night tonight is when Memphis visits Golden State at Oracle Arena. Game time is 7:30 p.m. and you can watch it on ESPN.
Golden State will be attempting to set the regular season record for wins at 73 with a victory over Memphis. The record has been held by Michael Jordan and the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls when they went 72-10.
I guess it’s important, although it pales to what is going on in the Congo. But I’m sure millions will be watching, although not me. I’m pretty sure Stephen Curry and the Warriors will win. Why wouldn’t they. They are not going to choke now.
Their pursuit of the record has dragged up a discussion on who would win in a showdown of the ’95-96 Bulls and the Warriors. A Seattle Times columnist writes that the Warriors would win, hands down.
I don’t think it is a valid discussion. I believe you can’t compare sports teams and boxers from different eras and predict with certainly who would win. The game of basketball has changed too much to make a valid determination.
Years ago I played a video basketball game with my teenage son. He took the San Antonio Spurs and I had a collection of Hall of Famers from bygone years. I even had Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Elgin Baylor, Lenny Wilkens, Jerry West, Oscar Robertson and others and my son easily beat me. It wasn’t even close. I remember Wilkens missing layups one after the other.
Years ago somebody matched by computer heavyweight boxers in a tournament and Jack Dempsey beat Muhammad Ali in the title match. I’ve been a so-called boxing expert for many years and I doubt that the slow-footed Dempsey would come close to beating Ali. And that makes my point. You can’t compare teams and athletes from different eras. Jim Thorpe is considered one of the best all-around athletes of all time, but how would he do in today’s world? Not so good, I’m guessing.
Anyway, that’s enough of that. My wife wants to go to a free cooking show. I better hustle. Later.
Be well pal.
Be careful out there.
Have a great day.
You are loved.