"The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter." —Mark Twain
You Can’t Read That! is a periodic post featuring banned book reviews and news roundups. In 1966, the school board in Hanover County, Virginia, voted unanimously to remove all copies of To Kill a Mockingbird from school libraries. Harper Lee herself responded with an offer to cover the costs of enrolling members of the school board […]
Fresh back from a long morning with the dentist, who ground my four upper front teeth down to hillbilly stubs and glued on a temporary cap. The temp looks like four new teeth, but it’s actually a single piece with no spaces between. My tongue thinks it feels unnatural, and what’s worse, I can’t suck air through my incisors (don’t laugh … […]
I follow a retired Royal Navy aviator on Facebook, not because I know him but because he posts fascinating photos of older military aircraft, many of which he flew during his career. He typically says little about his photos, but his followers post comments, and up to now I thought they were an informed and experienced group. Yesterday he posted […]
I’m conservative when it comes to big things like morality and personal integrity. Lesser things too: grammar, punctuality, neatness. I have no use for those who don’t live up to positive societal values, the important ones that help us work together to make life better for everyone. I reject those who want to bring us […]
Just when you think a presidential candidate would be trying to say something intelligent about the terrorist attacks in Brussels, Donald Trump is sending out nasty, insinuating tweets about a rival candidate’s wife. And this interview with Washington Post editors? Lord almighty: RYAN: You [MUFFLED] mentioned a few minutes earlier here that you would knock ISIS. You’ve mentioned […]
I rode my Goldwing to Ed’s place Friday for some necessary maintenance: rebuilding the forks, which had begun to leak fluid through the oil & dust seals. It’s a messy job—forks are covered in road grime and full of black oil—but the rebuild procedure is straightforward and theoretically one shouldn’t be able to screw it up […]
I quit drinking in 2007, nine years ago. I can’t remember the exact day, but it was in March, so I’ll celebrate another anniversary of sobriety with this post. I’ve made a few bad decisions, but generally I’m a good person who works hard and tries to do the right thing. My one true regret is […]
Our son, who lives in Las Vegas, turned 50 last week. Since he had to be in Phoenix yesterday for a business meeting, we drove up to have dinner with him. I’ve been wanting to visit the Commemorative Air Force Museum at Falcon Field in Mesa, so we left Tucson in the morning and spent part of […]