HANNUKKAH

The Jewish celebration Hanukkah begins at sunset today. It lasts till monday December 14. It is a Festival of Lights.

My blog today is not about Hanukkah. Though I wish all a Happy Hanukkah! Especially, my Jewish friends.

I spent many hours yesterday researching this week’s KONK Life column. It was about Teddy Roosevelt and an executive order of his that exasperated many world wide.

I woke this morning to learn that Helen Sperling had died. Unknown to most. A Buchenwald survivor. A woman who dedicated her adult life to telling her story and reminding us not to forget what happened.

Helen’s story is hard to hear. Dark. Overrides the Roosevelt story. I am shelving Roosevelt for another day. This week’s column will be Helen’s story. Titled Thou Shall Not Stand By.

Changing columns means a long day ahead for me. I am late with today’s blog because I have already spent four hours researching the new column. There are several more. Then the actual writing.

Helen’s story would be appropriate any time. However with the Jewish holidays upon us, it has a special meaning.

Georgetown beat Syracuse yesterday 79-72. The game was not as close as the score might indicate. At one point in the second half, Syracuse was behind 20 plus points.

Syracuse played lousy. Simply stated. Could not make threes nor control the boards. Georgetown pierced the zone defense at will. Their big man hurt us badly. I keep saying, we need a big man! Some one screwed up in the recruiting process.

The team was not with it. A major problem was hesitation. The team failed to take threes when they had the shot. The threes they took did not drop. They moved slowly around the court. Always seemed a step behind. There were moments when a Syracuse player would stand still holding the ball, not certain what to do with it.

The Syracuse team yesterday was not the same one I watched beat two ranked teams in the Bahamas two weeks ago.

Boeheim not being there not a factor.

I who love small town parades decided to skip Key West’s Christmas Parade last night. I was not in the mood. Instead, I had dinner at Tavern ‘n Town.

Met Larry and Linda. Enjoyed their company tremendously.

Most importantly, Larry and Linda were celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary. Congrats to them! They live in Fort Myers. Came to Key West for the weekend to celebrate their anniversary.

Linda is originally from the Buffalo area. She and I are New York neighbors of a sort. About 175 miles separating Buffalo and Utica. Larry is from Youngstown.

The two did cocktail hour at Alonzo’s before Tavern ‘n Town. They stopped at Tavern ‘n Town for dessert. Key Lime pie. They were interested in experiencing every aspect of Key West.

The San Bernardino shootings have raised many thoughts, questions, solutions, etc. One is that people would be safer if permitted to carry concealed weapons. Such would discourage the bad guys.

Someone wrote a comment today. His thought was precisely what I have set forth. Carry concealed weapons.

Jerry Falwell’s son Jerry Falwell Jr. is now President of Liberty University. He claims carrying would prevent  San Bernardinos. His justification was not directly to save lives. It was that “…..we could end those Muslims.”

I do not agree with gun carrying, concealed or otherwise. Ultimately, society would be as in the Old West. The Muslim situation on the other hand I find troublesome. Islamic radicals are a danger to us, to our way of life.

President Obama is speaking tonight to the issue. I hope he hits a home run. People are discouraged about his handling of ISIS. Empty words will not help.

Enjoy your Sunday!

 

 

4 comments on “HANNUKKAH

  1. “Ultimately, society would be as in the Old West.”

    Yep, I agree. For some reason we have a fantasy with the ‘Wild West.” I was always a quick draw as a police officer and it saved my life though luckily never had to shoot a human facing my barrel to their head. Most people with a weapon will be killed when TSHTF, they have no idea what a real person out to kill you is all about unless an actual combat vet or police officer with long years of experience. Movies and TV have made people idiots.

    Watch the movie “The Outlaw Josey Wales”, then ask yourself is that the America we want again?

    Sad days I thought I’d never see.

  2. There is a lot romance surrounding the ‘wild west’. Actually the wildest of the old cow towns averaged 1.5 killings per year. Plus the guns were to be surrendered upon entering the town.

  3. By most historical accounts, the “old wild west” was very tame. Hollywood has made it otherwise. And, SOME cow towns made folks hang up their guns at the sheriff’s office if they were drinking. (Most gun clubs have very strict rules about booze and guns; like airline pilots.)

    fjohn68

  4. I do not agree with gun carrying, concealed or otherwise. Ultimately, society would be as in the Old West.
    end quote

    That reminds me of one of the definitions of a conservative, a liberal that has been mugged.

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