Where's Murrow and Bradley when you need them? Oh yeah, they're dead

I was lamenting the state of the News Industry with a buddy, a former mid-market television guy named Melvin Laurence. Dynamite guy, looks and sounds like his onscreen persona.

In the 'Days of Yore,' meaning before 2010 -- print journalists, which was what I was, and television news people didn't really mingle. Print journalists used to think they were better than television or radio guys. It was arrogant, given the fact there are/were some very talented journalists in other media.

Well, Mel and I started talking about investigative reporting, which isn't done correctly or at all anymore, in either print, television or radio. For any media outlet to do investigative pieces it automatically raises the insurance rates on publications. I was considered a good bet by the insurance company, which helped me keep my publisher job in a contentious small-market weekly coverage area in Monmouth County.

Mel reported in roughly the same type of demographic for television. We laughed about some of the hum-dingers we used to report on. He talked about how Edward R. Murrow was his inspiration, while I countered with former Washington Post Publisher Ben Bradley being mine. While neither Mel or I never rose to the heights of our role models, we are both able to say we did good work. Our careers over, we sounded like two weary war veterans talking about our days 'on the front.'

It is not that newspapers are horrible now because I am not writing in them, nor television terrible because Mel isn't doing his thing on-air. The audiences changed. Our kind of news is part of the archives. And, I lament that sorely.

When the Founders of our great nation planned its visionary ideals, Dr. Benjamin Franklin, an old newspaper man himself, was sure to get freedom of the press prominently included in the ideological make-up of our republic. In fact, most journalists who went to college or can read (that cannot be assumed anymore), knew that the press was an informal check/or safeguard against tyranny in this country. Rather than redneck militia types threatening our nation under the guise of 'saving it,' or Tea Party morons trying to critique leaders who, unlike them, can both read and write, and trying to topple the status quo in favor of turning back the hands of times to the Civil War Era, the press used to inform. And, investigative reporting was an art learned by young reporters from older reporters. It was mentorship and elbow grease.

Then came along moneyed charlatans who thought they could do news as entertainment (talking about you Rupert Murdoch and those like you) and systematically decimated a once-proud American institution -- the news. After his 'gentle touch,' the news became a farce. Later the now 'respectable' Huffington Post grew on a foundation of reporting other peoples' news and spending as little time as possible on issues and budgets -- in favor of the Kim Khardashian's ass size versus Jennifer Lopez's and such nonsense.

But then, people do not read anymore, I do not even know if it is taught in schools anymore. They are online and try to cipher through 20-word briefs, if at all, talking about the finances of government, at all levels, then moving on to the serious business of Brad Pitt breaking up with Jennifer Aniston.

What is a symptom of these poisoned days of news? America was in a war in Iraq that the then-Secretary of State, Condolezza Rice, says was perpetrated by the former Bush Administration for the sole purpose of exacting advantages in the oil production market and not, in any way, due to "weapons of mass destruction." Consequently, more than 3,000 young American perished fighting a war of economic adventurism rather than one demanded by national security. Why? America cannot read and is so seduced by Internet trivialities and entertainment that, while good men and women metaphorically slept, a monster was unleashed and waved the flag and sent young Americans into countless nightmares. All the while, abominations like Fox News figuratively clapped former President Bush on the back for 'job well done' and dared not find a speck of truth. This is the same for all news gathering sources.

It is rare that one of the guilty, Ms. Rice, openly admits the false nature of the entire Iraq War, and her participation in such a previously unheard of practice before even one news outlet, in any form of media, had the rocks to actually do their damned jobs. Such a thing is an indictment of the stupidity, greed and passivity of modern media.

Back to Mel's role model, Murrow, and mine, Bradley: They would have literally changed the world these days if they just did their jobs. Maybe there might not have been an Iraq War, or if there was a war it would not be 10 years of horror and lives. Oh, if only the American Public could read! Why can't Johnny read? Because he is on his iPhone and playing "Call of Duty" there.

Modern journalists online and in print, bloggers, news 'tweeters,' radio guys and television types are a pack of self-centered, untrained, language-challenged shirkers and lay-abouts of tremendously little worth in my book. These days, I wake up and read my novels, where I can find some truth in the human condition via the talent and insight of wonderful writers, albeit not in the news of the day.

The public has become as dumb as a bag of hammers and the Royal One Percent of rich Americans have effectively co-opted all forms of news to serve their ends, which is not to pay taxes or allow others to claim Social Security, among other things. Guess what, Mr. and Mrs. American...they won and we are now living in their world.

My deep 'thanks' to all those wonderful news organizations that contributed to this insanity, 'good work,' guys.

Paradise and Parking Lots

By Rev. Jim Purcell (Ret.)

In my late 40s, I'm looking around these days and I notice the change of time more than I have before, on the whole. Born in an era where computers were novelties and widely known as "games" or bulky commercial facts of life, there is nothing left of such a perception anymore. Computers rule the world and never before has mankind been more technically advanced than at this moment, despite the fact that the last time the United States put a man on the moon was the early 1970s, and those fellows at NASA basically did it with a few slide rulers and a calculator.

Nevertheless, I believe it is safe to say that folks these days could probably pull that off if they really wanted to do it. As much as technology has changed, so too has many of the commonly held truths of mankind have similarly changed, as I understood them.

It seems no one believes in God, our Government, Peace, Equality or working toward better days. Everything has become a slick 'pitch,' someone's grab for money be it in politics, government, business, industry or manufacturing.

Most unsettling, though, is that every day I read and learn about horrible atrocities against the lives of men and women, even children, across our country and the globe, the level of cruelty of which I could have never dreamed so many years ago -- when the world and weather seemed so much more gentle to me as a young boy growing up in New Jersey. And, there are cameras everywhere in this world. There is so much of what I knew about the dreams of the Founders of this nation that has been challenged and, in most cases, usurped, changed as political expedients to large political lobbies representing moneyed interests (e.g. Big Gun and the Tea Party).

In my life, I have been a soldier, a journalist and a member of the clergy. I enjoyed the first two so much, and yet being a member of clergy has done nothing to affirm the best parts of mankind to me at all. Wars are fought by politicians not for freedom or necessity but for personal vendettas and for the sake of making money, like what President George W. Bush did. And, these wars, monstrosities, are even hailed by some Americans still As a journalist in the newspaper tradition, I was so exalted to see the print media still alive with the spirit of the 1st Amendment in the 1990s and 200s, only to see that stripped to nothing by Internet News, which first covers celebrities and cute dog shots before any mention of government, the affairs of business or legitimate controversies of real import (e.g. the Huffington Post, chief among others). And, insofar as life for the clergy, it has been relegated to the business of hucksters, by and large, selling God as cheaply as some might sell a new kind of toaster oven.

I love my God, my daughters and my country, in that order. Any one of these, or all of them, may have whatever remains of my life. But, whether it is now or many years from now, I will leave a world, an America, that seems to me, more and more, like a cheap replica of something that was once almost holy. Long before I end, my faith for a brighter tomorrow for my country and my grandchildren being born in a land brighter than I knew, one day, is already gone, extinguished. And, I lament that sorely.

I ask myself where will the next George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Albert Einstein, Jonas Salk, Grace Hopper, John Kennedy or John Roebling come from? All but only the most low and sleazy of parasites partake in politics these days, and only the most inept and inside-connected of louts serve in government. And, in so many corners, our men and women of our Armed Services have been so disconnected from this nation's sacred traditions of the past these are not remembered at all, except by diligent historians. Meanwhile, from parking lots to stores, to hallways and lobbies, apartments and streets, banks and food stores, schools of all makes and public places of all descriptions there is always the unblinking eye of the camera everywhere. And, anyone who still believes in the Bible, the Talmud or the Holy Koran seem to simply use these amazing scriptures for nothing but excuses for one bloody war after another, so much so I have even stopped reading my Bible for remembrance of these unholy designs. In addition, I fear even the God of my understanding has done the same not wishing to indulge in anymore of man's blaring idiocy in the face of texts that should preach love and acceptance and not hate and war.

Indeed, I fear this world has shunned the Word of God, especially those who have dared to pretend to know the mind of God (e.g. heretical Christians, Muslims and Jews). What is the use of scholarship if no one will listen to its conclusions? I believe none.

I am not afraid of the future: Growing old and dying is not the worst thing that can happen. It is not even in the 100 'worst things' that could happen. It takes someone a lot of years to figure that one out, and explaining it is absolutely useless. What is the worst thing, I believe, is seeing everything and everyone one knew taken from them, changed for the worst and lowered by great measure. It is perhaps not a bad thing to retreat from the world, in my opinion, because it is easier not to stare at what it has become and who lives in it now.

I have withdrawn from anything involved in the world, by and large, and plan to only retreat more so in the coming years. In much the same way as a hopeful fan cannot help but die a bit inside when they see their favorite team torn to shreds in front of them, or see their first school torn down, or the Army they served in become something that is wholly unrecognizable, or their own denomination so corrupted that even its priests, pastors and parliamentarians are visibly shams, as much so as the government they grew up believing in so dearly.

Peace? It is a hollow term today. The world is a place of cheap houses, cheap morals and even cheaper leaders and ideals. No, it is better to sit on a beach, take walks, dance whenever possible, listen to enjoyable music and read good books. Sometimes, a life of reflection is a lot brighter than one of staring into an abyss of insanity.

Things were not all that much better in the past: sexism, racism -- all of the 'isms' -- to include McCarthyism -- all have their place in the pantheon of American history. However, there was always a belief, now abandoned by all but the most nostalgic, that it might change. Things could change. Things might change if we try hard enough together. My eyes see nothing that warrants such optimism today. Sure, I hope it changes. But, people get tired of even hoping at a certain point. Years ago, people used to say, "God bless us" in a way that pleaded with the Almighty to look well upon us. Today, that statement seems to have become an order by politicians to the Almighty to provide such a blessing 'Right Now,' so it is very likely there is no such blessing coming.

To mankind, God gave a Paradise, which we turned into a parking lot in front of a Seven-Eleven as quickly as we collectively could. Well, at least we all know where our next Coke and hot dog is coming from anyway. With that, I will say thanks for stopping by and have a lovely week.

The Family That Plays Together Stays Together'

In my life, I have been a JINO, which means "Joiner in Name Only." This specifically relates to my Church, social organizations and professional organizations. Maybe being a JINO was a bad move.


The exception was with Stelton Baptist Church, a lovely little place on Plainfield Avenue, in Edison Township, New Jersey. I was a deacon for a very long time at the Church, before I was licensed to preach there in 2009. Even afterward, my duties were virtually the same, with some ceremonial changes.


I was going to that Church with my ex, a woman not known for faith but a very reliable person, all in all. And, the Church, its Fellowship and activities helped our relationship so much. We were together for years, she and I, and it was only when I walked away from the Church, after a horrible handling of transitioning an interim pastor by American Baptist Churches, that our relationship (mine and my ex's and mine and the Church's) truly hit the rocks. Then came the drinking and the rest is pretty much standard fare, I suppose.


I tried adopting another Church, without success really. Now, far from being a source of joyous memory, remembering the end of my time at Stelton is predominantly a negative thing. It was the beginning of a bad road.


So, what is the point then?


Well, it was not really Stelton that messed up and, though American Baptist Churches of New Jersey is incompetent in most of its administrative and financial functions, it was not my denomination or the new pastor that changed my life for the worse, though the new pastor was far from qualified to stand in the pulpit, in my expressed opinion. Despite my love for the Church and the benefits of that organization to my life, I walked away because I didn't like what was happening. I took my football and went home. See...I showed 'em.


Who got hurt? Not the brick and mortar of a Church that has stood in constant operation since 1869; no, it went along its way doing the job it has held for hundreds of years. When a Church turns over, generally a lot of what happened in the previous administration is forgotten or thrown away in American Baptist Churches, from what I have seen. It is chaos. But, things were done without me. The world went...without me.


Stelton went on.


My ex went on.


I went on.


And, who was the richer for it? No one, especially me.


Whether it is a Church, a First Aid squad, volunteer Fire Department, a VFW or American Legion, fellowship is important not only for people who are alone but for people who are couples. Participation in a group or two can really give a couple things in common, as I see it from my experience.


Throwing the groups away can also throw away the important commonalities between yourself and your significant other. I didn't think of that at the time. Of course, by the same token, common interests will not always work for couples so divorces and break-ups happen for a very good reason. Either something is meant to be or it is not.


Yet, when that end of my relationship with Stelton happened, I lost track of all my friends at the Church. Without family, I was a ship without a rudder when my ex left and I made some whopper mistakes -- but people are born imperfect and mistakes happen. I had no one to call. There wasn't a voice at the other end of a phone that gave a darn about that break-up other than myself and possibly the houseplants in the condo where we lived.


I say get out there and get involved with something. Not a ton of things -- don't become a JINO -- but a few things. Hey, Square Dancing is fun, so is helping out with any number of service organizations, or Churches... the list goes on.


Old sayings hang around for a reason; they are true things that always inform the human character: "The family that plays together stays together" is a good one. No, it's not sexy or trendy but it seems to be true enough.


I thought this might be a good thing to throw out there and write about. At least it seemed that way to me. Thanks for stopping by, as always, and have a nice week.

To serve against all enemies...

Service members do not enlist to espouse political causes. They enlist to serve.

By Rev. Jim Purcell, MPS (Ret.)

I was 17 years and 6 days old the first time I raised my hand and swore: "...to defend the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and to bear true faith and allegiance to the same" as a U.S. soldier. Neither myself or anyone else who ever took that oath enlisted to espouse, represent or advocate any political sentiment occurring in this country or any other. The Armed Services possess a singular mission they perform in many ways, yet it comes to the same -- They serve the duly elected leaders placed in authority by the majority vote of those governed.

The military has no place, and should never possess a place in the antics of political theatre, nor should any serviceman or servicewoman espouse a political ideology to the point where it inhibits the performance of their duties, creates a conflict for the service member in performing their duties, or compels a service member to advocate for any political group or sentiment.

Why?

Because this nation would become unglued if that ever happened. Because once the U.S. military cannot be trusted, nor its soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines then they immediately cease to have a function in our republic's operation and, instead, become that thing they swore they would protect the nation from -- an enemy.

Why is this guy bringing this up, anyway?

Glad you asked. I have been reading many sentiments and postings, essays and slogans, which state there is a "Second American Revolution" brewing because President Barack H. Obama is in office, and there are a million claims about why he shouldn't be there. However, I can think of only one reason President Obama should be there -- because he was voted in by the American people: Argument solved.

The other thing I am distressed about are these extreme Right Wing groups that threaten hostility again the nation, peaceable groups within this nation and rule by their own "military" (I call it treasonous) means. And, some of these groups, be they Christian or political, have actively recruited people within the military to spread their nonsense and regurgitate their bile. Now, this is where the line is crossed: Right there.

I did not enlist to serve President Reagan, nor continue to serve just for Bush 1 -- I enlisted to protect the Republic and obey the orders of those officers and NCOs placed over me. In my day, this political nonsense would not have been tolerated, I believe. During these times, though, things are entirely different. Some soldiers happily serve some presidents and mutter threats under their breath to others: To be clear, the latter practice speaks not to one's 'resolve as a patriot' as much as it does the service member's patent inability to serve satisfactorily or loyally in the Armed Forces of the United States of America.

There are those political pundits who would attempt to abridge my view on this: 'We should be able to make a comprise!' And, yet I think not. What is the compromise to loyally serving our Republic...huh...disloyally serving our nation?' No, not now...not ever...should that be a compromise for the sake of social media or T-shirts, websites, petitions and/or assemblies of people or groups, or through political correctness that allows would-be traitors to gather strength amongst the citizenry.

Personally, I thought Bush I was only a fair president, and his son, GW Bush, was a catastrophe that destroyed the very fabric of the American economic system and resulted in lives lost unnecessarily by U.S. service members and civilians by the thousands in wars of choice in Southwestern Asia (not the Middle East, as so many cite wrongly). Yet, if I were in service, I would not have uttered one single word against my President -- not because I liked him and not because I was 'buckling under peer pressure.' I would not do this because I am an American fighting man and took an oath to obey the orders of those leaders placed over me, without hesitation or abridgement.

If I didn't like him, it still is not my place to disobey the President, or to mock him, ridicule him or spread dissent against whomever happens to be sitting in that chair. As a civilian, I can say whatever I want, and frequently do. Still, as much as I did not like either of the Bush's -- I never would be so bold or treacherous to voice a sentiment to edit the will of the American people and/or usurp duly elected civilian office holders.

People say a lot of treasonous garbage online and I hate it. I do not have long chats about this online. It is just that each time some Tea Party group threatens and demeans the President or threatens horrible consequences upon the American people by them in the future, I cannot help but get a shiver down my spine and to spit the slimy taste such things create in my mouth.

Either one is an American or they are not. Either one is a citizen through the good and bad living within the Founders' dreams or they are not. And, if they are not then I would gladly pack their bags for them and get transportation for them to the nearest railhead or airport so they can get the hell out of here and go wherever they think their crap will work -- just don't come back. Please.

Well, I think that's all I have to say about that, borrowing the words of that great patriot Forrest Gump.

PTS and Addiction: Like Peas and Carrots

By Rev. Jim Purcell

I am really not all that old, being in my late 40s and with all my hair and still able to look down at my belt while standing up without my gut blocking the view. But, I spent a lot of my 40s really putting myself and others, those I loved, through a lot.

One of those things that really held me down and kept me away from real sanity was Post Traumatic Stress, a result of some truly bad things. And, PTS (also called PTSD), put me in a world that was horrendous. Between alcoholism and PTS, I wandered and lived outside some, not knowing the day (or sometimes the year), nor how old I was, or so many details of my life that made it special. Even when I had temporary lodging, I was always one heartbeat away from being thrown out -- because I was broke and had no income and was only living on cheap vodka before I found help through the Veteran's Administration starting from August 2013. 

Previously, I lived in a hobo camp in Lincoln, Nebraska during 2011, and saw a nice young man freeze to death there; he didn't want to sleep near everybody because he thought his drugs might be stolen. The day labor jobs they had for the poor there were under the minimum wage and sometimes you got paid and sometimes not -- and there was not one homeless shelter in Lincoln, the capitol of that state. Later, in 2013, a good friend of mine, his name was Frank, also froze to death in Glen Gardner, NJ in November 2013 when he left rehab -- mostly from his lack of sleep and isolation. No, he wasn't doing drugs anymore. Still, though, he suffered from PTS. He died. 

Yes, substances and addiction killed them both, but both of them also had PTS, one from his days as a U.S. Marine and the other as a small boy abused to terrible lengths by a father that badly abused him. PTS can be hand-shaking buddies with addiction, and vice versa. There is a connection between Post Traumatic Stress and addictions, from what I have seen in my life firsthand.

People with PTS aren't in a position sometimes to see the forest before the trees, and PTS does kill people; in ugly ways at that. If someone you know or love has PTS and/or substance abuse issues, they are not who they really and truly are when they are in the throes of this demonic illnesses. It is not an excuse for people misbehaving, and it is also absolutely true that PTS and/or addiction will run one's life, do one's talking and isolate and offend one's family and friends. 

Not just service veterans can get PTS. Indeed, there are many situations that can bring one to this illness: Men, women or children can suffer from this. But, here is the awesome part of the story! It's treatable through meds, counseling and therapy.

Please see a doctor or just refer someone you know or even love to a qualified professional near you. There are wonderful people all over this country who are licensed, qualified and medically trained to deal with PTS and addiction -- at least give them a shot. 

Reader not a 'writer'

Someone whom I wasn't all that close to but certainly knew asked me recently to look at some gaps in coverage he was getting from the Star-Ledger. In fact, while I was a professional writer (news and politics) for many years, I am not really a journalist anymore.

Of course, I am not alone in that, as these kids today just can't write. It was a real trade/craft in my day -- now it is just Amateur Night. So it goes. But write anything again? No.

We pray in our time, God answers in his

The Princeton University Art Gallery is a great trip! Photo Jim Purcell

By Rev. Jim Purcell, MPS (Ret.)

It has been the an amazing week. I saw an old buddy, Steve Bailey, whom I haven't seen for 10 years because he up and moved to the Netherlands one day to marry his lovely wife. If anyone deserved luck he did, and I am so happy he has found real peace.

For any Courier people out there, or friends of the old rag, Steve was the fellow that constructed our first-ever, and best-ever, website.

Then, a missionary job I applied for came in -- four years too late. And, I received an offer from a wonderful company in the City I applied for -- three years ago or more. If I had gotten these offers 2011 it would have saved some true tragedies and heartaches. Yet, there is a reason for everything; none of us know it.

I am disabled now so there is nowhere to go with these things. All in one week, though, is simply irony. I am retired not of my will, but because I am simply too broken to work anymore. Still, we pray in our time and God answers in his.  Sometimes, though, it takes God a little while to check his messages, I suppose (lol).

I launched a new website for my apartment building's Council, which I was elected to serve upon, and am starting something of a newsletter on Monday. For anyone interested, and I think there shouldn't be that many, it is at: www.valleybrooknews.blogspot.com. It's really a wonderful place to live, and it is open for veterans of our Armed Forces to rent there.

Years ago, as some of my readers know, I was very active in politics on the municipal and sometimes county levels. Every now and again I mixed it up on the state level, all pretty much at the orders of my old boss. This is not to say I didn't enjoy it, though it wasn't very good for me insofar as my health and family. There was some venom in these doings by both sides, but in the heat of the fight it happens.

Yet, I loved the fight. I regret nothing about my tenure with my late boss, Joe Azzolina Sr. He played politics like it was bloodless war, and it is -- no matter where one is from. A lot of people didn't like him -- so what? A leader cannot decide anything in this world firmly without someone making noise in the peanut gallery. Great things are not done by people who are either indecisive or timid. Sometimes, people have to step up and fight for what they think is right and serve the Lord by trying to get things done -- whether they win or they lose.

I was reading McCullogh's book about the Brooklyn Bridge, which is amazing reading, by the way. And, the book really became the story of the bridge's architect and engineer, John Roebling, from Berlin and the woods out near Pittsburgh, respectively.

Anyway, Roebling did big things in his day. Men and women made enormous landmarks in U.S. history, from art and architecture to creating organizations or enacting programs or designing cities or re-designing cities. And, during times of war, this country really pulled together, I suspect because the U.S. Government less frequently indulged in frivolous wars for no reason back then or borrowed money from foreign powers to continue their stupidity. People were bigger back then, metaphorically speaking. Today, they are bigger around the waistline, by and large, and the "Great Unwashed" American masses read and write more poorly then at any time in our national history: Yay! We're No. 1, We're No. 1!


God does some fine work, I think. Photo Jim Purcell

The missionary job with my old denomination was a surprise. I went to seminary five years and I held a paid position at a health-care facility for one year (well almost a year). The grant ended, that was that. I did an extra year, after my Master's, of CPSP Chaplain Accreditation, wherein all candidates had to possess a Master's to begin, at Capitol Health, in Trenton, NJ to work the job. All for a year...a lot of effort for a cameo. But the Lord sends us on journeys we do not always understand, and anyone who thinks they are smarter than the Lord is, to put it very politely, wrong.

By the by, I was helping another veteran try to register at my alma mater, one of them anyway: Brookdale Community College, in Lincroft. It was horrible and didn't get done. There is a veteran's 'coordinator' or whatever that just doesn't return calls for the better part of a week. When I went to Brookdale, in the 80s, it was just beautiful and was staffed with the most wonderful, academically nurturing people I could ever hope for; it isn't like that anymore at all. It's a cold, inevitable morass of bureaucracy and unnecessary, elongated paper shuffling, for the sake of unnecessary, elongated paper shuffling. If I were assigned to Hell in the afterlife, one possible version of punishment (perhaps around Canto II, most Americans won't get the reference (requires reading)) might be never-endingly trying to get registered for classes there as a new student, without success. This punishment would reflect the reality on earth too, on frequent occasion, I suppose. 

So, the guy is going to University of Phoenix Online -- nice fail, Brookdale (L). Giving anyone access to higher education is the most basic tool anyone needs to feed themselves and their family these days. In view of that, their conduct was ridiculous.

All in all, the days are becoming more lovely and slowly the temperature is climbing. Best of all is that the cherry blossoms are exploding in grand fashion. Life is what you make it, I try to do my best day to day -- mostly a nice disposition and lots of smiling helps. We've all begin an amazing gift -- life itself -- and though hard times come and go nothing will be solved by being miserable, even in the darkest times.

The only journey worthwhile is the one toward peace

By Rev. Jim Purcell (Ret.)

Searching for peace is the only journey that makes sense

I have been wanting to write for a little while. But, I have been genuinely happy for a bit now. And, where writing used to be an outlet I would use when I was feeling good or bad, I find these days I write more when I am bored or just going through the motions. I also write through obligation, which is what this is. However, I am so humbled by the readership to this blog and believe it is a commitment to regularly write in this space.

So, this is good. For those who read me from time to time, I am always talking about being selfish and caring about yourself first and how you feel as you get older. Well, I talk it and I walk it.

When things come up with me, I deal with them head-on these days and get through it without any drama. Then, I concentrate on doing things I like a lot. Strangely enough, good people get attracted to other people who take care of themselves and focus upon God and their centeredness; then I tend to hang out with positive people and we have a good time. No one screaming, calling anyone names or making life a bother.

I will tell you this -- it is downright addictive. Oh, and speaking of: I have had my fair share of people I loved lost, in one way or another, for many years now. It is sad when loss happens. But, focusing on loss does little to resolve it. Loss is only to be gotten over, life teaches. For me, I started really living within what I perceive to be God's plan and it is going swimmingly.

In AA, there is always this thought (purposeful or not) that if alcoholics begin to enjoy their lives too much then they are losing track of their sobriety, forgetting the hard times. In response to that, I would say this, I lost my family when I was active in my addiction (my children, my fiancée); my loved ones turned like rabid dogs on me;  I lost my house (a big one and a condo too) and all my money to false friends and 'loved ones'; I lost my car(s) (which I liked); I lost my drivers license through DWI (got depressed when I didn't get calls on my birthday (nuts!)); I slept outside in the snow in Nebraska during winter -- homeless; I was treated like an animal working at a bar in New Jersey and a gravel factory outside Lincoln, Nebraska and used terribly along with my mates; I suffer seizures still; every friend I had turned their back on me -- well, I don't think I will be forgetting about any of that too soon. I was not so wretched that this should have been my fate -- people took what they wanted from me and left. But, God remained. Only He remained.

AA got me in early sobriety and started convincing me I should apologize to people, it felt like I was supposed to be sorry to everyone. As I became more sober, it occurred to me: Why the hell am I going to chase after a group of people who stabbed me in the back and took my money, used me for position, or for their own agendas? I have nothing to apologize for to them. I wrote one apology letter and, after a bit of sobriety, I wrote the person I sent my apology to and took it back promptly. Sobriety isn't going to make me the same kind of fool addiction did.

AA is many things to many people. How I feel about AA is not how all, or even most, other people feel. It is a wonderful organization and has helped so many. For me, though...thanks and I'll find my strength in God alone.

I do not drink today. Barring Alzheimer's or Dementia I'm not drinking anymore. But, every day is time to celebrate life. And, I have learned not to waste even a moment on people who do not waste any moments on me. I have had old 'friends' apologize for their conduct while I was in addiction (the only one I ever hurt was myself) -- and took it well. They were bad friends. I don't grind it in -- we know what happened (and there was some money involved here and there). No matter, it is over.

No, I do not run around after people who are not convinced they have something to be contrite about in a past relationship with me. I did some things too, but unilateral apologies are not smart and don't make anyone feel better at all -- especially when they are largely unwarranted. Apologies that have no meaning just plain have no meaning.

Someone's guilt is between them and their God. Where it involves me and my God -- we just got back from a Mets game where the boys won a 4-3 overtime bout that went to the 14th against the Braves. We are having fun, not forgetting that hard times happened but committed to making new, good ones. And, I am not nuts in any way when I say 'we'; in all the time I was homeless (about 3 years), it was only God that saw me through the hardest times -- regardless of whether I was drunk or sober, in the midst of a seizure, or dragging a lesioned, bloody foot while serving booze seven days a week behind a skid row bar in North Middletown, New Jersey. What do I have to apologize to my former 'masters' about, who are in league with dark forces in their quest for a dollar? I was no better than a slave but God was there; a presence that is undefinable and powerful. I made it through being Ground Zero at Superstorm Sandy -- He was there. I made it through being at Ground Zero at the World Trade Center -- He was there. I made it through so many losses -- He was there. He was the only damn one who was there -- proving that I only needed Him and me. Everything and everyone else was optional.

People with dark intentions should be avoided

In general, people do not believe others when they talk about God, because we are in the era of Post Modernism (no one believes anything). Regardless, in God's love I could care less if anyone believes me: God doesn't need me doing His job. When and if He wants to let everyone know He is around then He can do it himself. I write my revelations for me because I am grateful for my past, no matter how nuts. I finally understand, for me, why the good times and the hard ones happened -- and it makes perfect sense finally...and it helps. It calms my heart and restores my soul.

I have been called every horrible thing possible by those who were 'there for me' (lol) and it was so very hypocritical and ridiculous that to remember such 'support' must grant a smile. And, no longer a bitter one. The Lord takes pain from the heart. I am so happy I survived my bout with addictions, homelessness and untreated injuries and psychiatric conditions (all brought about through service). At the end of a dark tunnel can be utter joy, where the pain and ignorant people of the past hold no more sway. Of course, the other route is to self-destruction and every man and woman must decide just which road they will take. It is not for anyone to say or instruct.

There is so much evil in my past, by men and women still there if I were to turn around, still enjoying the profits of their ill-gotten gains of mine. They can have it. I want nothing of it. Their way of living life has cost them their soul, and it is not for me to count their sins. I am busy enough with my own and trying to live a life of peace and love -- and gratitude. I have no more space in my head for evil times. I pray for people and hope they find their way. I know I have and am moved to tears for it. I sleep like a child now...and still kind of act like one. It is a gift I readily accept. God has been good to me.

Good comes to those who search for it. And, it is better to be one of those searching for good than one of those on the Road to Hell. We live in a horrible age, in a doomed society ... but just because people live in such a place is no reason why they cannot ignore it and proceed on their own path, which can be so much more joyful than any other.

(Rev. Jim Purcell is a graduate of the NY Theological Seminary. He is also a former award-winning journalist, whose works have been commended by the U.S. Congress and NJ Legislature, as well as the U.S. Army, among others. In addition, he was an active member of the Civil Rights Movement, who served within the NAACP in the cause of equal justice in America. Finally, Rev. Purcell is a former U.S. Army Sergeant and Paratrooper who served with, among other units, the 82nd Airborne Division and the XVIII Airborne Corps.)

Stuff We're Supposed to in this Life

By Rev. Jim Purcell

Young people have their own ideas. The very nature of young people, very many of them, is that they try the waters and take risks, fall in love, work hard and dream. I wouldn't want to go through that again for all the tea in China. I learned a lot in my life, through getting kicked and falling through many of the branches of the more challenging scenarios in life. And, I am as tired as a tired as a one-legged man in a butt kicking contest.

In youth, whether or not we owned up to it, many of us believed in our invincibility. Yes, youth will do that -- it is a condition that has stood the test of time since the innovation of mankind first debuted on the earth. Life can look as long and straight as I-95 between North Carolina and Georgia. But life, that great teacher, has, in the immortal words of the character Jed Clampat from 'The Beverly Hillbillies,' "...got something fur ya." Yes, it does.

In some ways, people are not unique at all because there are commonalities we all share, and in others there is variety. Case in point: If anyone's leg gets broken, then the way to fix it is pretty much the same anywhere you go. It is another case where it involves sociology, psychology and culture. The basic organism of mankind -- men and women -- does not change all that much. But, the dumbass things we can think of is legion; and I mean that from an individual level all the way through entire nations. Oh, there is so much energy applied to being unique and different in this world.

After half of a century in this better than all other worlds, some things have changed with my way of thinking: I no longer want to live to be 120 years old, I do not want to find any job let alone the job of my 'dreams,' family will never be everything I wanted it to be, love may or may not be forever, dogs are proven to be the best emotional investment of all because they are a hundred times more faithful than men or women and there is real joy in quiet contemplation. These are some of the big things that changed my thinking.

Oh, yes, revenge: I had to give that up. It took so much energy being angry at those who did this, stole that, hung me up to dry here and betrayed me outright I was getting too tired to go to lunch most days. Older people have to -- have to -- figure out what is important when it comes to using one's energy. And, since there are things like one's health, love, friends, housing, hobbies, finances and moderate exercise to deal with, there isn't really a lot left over. It doesn't matter if someone wants to hold onto whatever negativity they have. Of course, there are going to be those who are not fully grown-up yet, and there are plenty, who go into their Golden Years nursing these immense, negative issues (I know a few of them from my days putting out a newspaper in Middletown, New Jersey). And, all of those fellows have a lot of money.

It reminds me of the that Biblical quote from Christ saying it is easier for a camel to travel through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to gain the Kingdom of Heaven (of course I am paraphrasing). Even if one does not have faith of any kind, I presume that having peace in one's reclining years is better than not having peace in one's reclining years. It is, after all, our collective Fourth Act, so to speak, after a certain point in our lives. Nevertheless, these years can be wonderful, amazing! Men and women can not only rediscover who they were and are during the years after working, but they can also 'become' in retirement. They can become what they have always wanted, or even dreamt; a pilot, a dancer, get that Master's you have been talking about forever and ever, become a volunteer teaching kids, or helpo out at the hospital. The sky is the limit. It is a new time, shining with the sun. Of course, you could always hang around the disappointments and frustrations of your old life and become a crusty old thing, so miserable no one wants to be around you -- not even pets.

I choose to try and make some use of the time the good Lord has given me before my eventual dirt nap. Oh, the notion of life eventually being over doesn't scare me. Today, I have a closer relationship with the Lord than ever before in my entire life. I started doing some work on that most important relationship between myself and my creator. It's my belief this is as it is supposed to be. Going to Glory one day is not a punishment or something to dread. Not having found peace and serenity, even a little wisdom, in this world would be the terrible thing. Our time is made precious because there is only so much of it in this world.

My suggestion: Be kind, have some fun and be sure to let yourself fall in love if that comes up. As always, thanks for coming here and reading my incessant ranting, as usual. Be sure to stop by in a few days, I am starting to feel a little better and think I will be perfectly recovered by then.

God bless and seeya later!

Will Be Writing Soon

I wish I had something witty to offer where it involves me being rather ill these days. Actually, it is not so much a passing illness and a few that will not pass, but have to be lived with. So, there will be times when this site suffers. And, that is alright.


It is my hope that I will feel well enough to write something in a few days; this is my hope. Yet, I thank everyone for coming and am glad to know that some people, apparently, still like reading my stuff. For those who read me in my old career, thank you for coming here. I am a little frail where it comes to my health so thanks for your understanding.

Journalism: Speaking Truth To Power

Wherever I got the notion of speaking "truth to power" was the dumbest idea I ever had. I can see things pretty clearly now, as a semi-retired writer looking forward to that day (hopefully soon) when I will be a completely retired writer. Consequently, I have a pretty good idea of what journalism is and is not. 

When I worked I was a newsman in New Jersey, and I wrote for local, county and state level papers in the Garden State for about 20 years. I guess I made as much money reporting news as anyone has made in the newspaper industry -- and then spent it all -- but it was a good living. It was a heck of a run. 

I wrote my daughter, Amanda, not so long ago and I said something in one of my paragraphs to her about bringing truth to people and how it doesn't make any friends. In fact, bringing the truth to people, hard truths they do not want to hear, makes enemies for the writer dumb enough to do it. 

In my career, I was offered the post of government information specialist in Trenton for a party caucus (if I shut up about governmental irregularities in the Bayshore of NJ). I didn't do it -- I told the guy who tried to bribe me to go to hell. I was offered a government spokesman job after Katrina out-of-state, if I would just shut up and fly right with some local bad guys. I wouldn't do it. There were other bribes, but these were the biggies -- and I told all of them to go pound salt. 

I was really taken by those ideas thrown around in the words of the Declaration and Constitution. Those words used to strike fire in my heart as a child. There was real power behind them, unassailable by the menace or shortcomings of men and women -- or so I thought. 

I have suffered retribution by office holders and candidates, and their organizations, after I reported on uncomfortable truths or news of outright illegality out into the public, which is mostly as bright as a 10-watt light-bulb. I never, ever gave up about the truth. And, it did my heart good. I really felt like I was doing something there for a few years. 

But, the good guys do not always win. Sometimes, petty crooks and small-time fiends win the day with their lovely suits and dresses, their nice smiles, soft hands and greasy hearts. There is at least one political group that is still hounding me to this day. But, the only refrain I have to comfort them with is the same one I have for so long -- and it involves them going to hell. I suspect that would be the words I would give them if it were my last breath. 

Oh, the stories about getting hounded sought by politicians, elected and appointed officials, assorted political cronies and political parties are many and scary, silly, dumb and unjust over the years -- and there would be entertainment value in it. I would have done so much better for myself, in so many ways, if I had played ball with bad guys -- but I hate what corruption does to this country. Yeah, it is as simple and sappy as that.

When I was a United States Army Paratrooper in my youth, I was attracted to the Airborne because the U.S. is traditionally "the Good Guys" in a world where there are plenty of "Bad Guys," and I deeply want to whip their ass. It was that simple. 

Now back to journalism: Most news outlets do not print investigative or controversial news for three reasons today: 1. They do not have reporters who could do an investigative piece and avoid libel and defamation because they are half-trained at best these days (experienced reporters cost money, cut into profits); 2. They do not want to alienate any possible advertisers, current or future, with a lot of controversial news; and 3. It would take organizational effort from newsrooms no longer built to investigate or treat stories in an in-depth manner. 

So, instead of being an informal check or safeguard against tyranny these days -- Online and printed news organizations on every level have become the friends of the politicians, reigning political overlords, big-shot developers etc., because it is not the truth that sells papers or gets hits (or whatever those people count)...because these newspapers and Online news deals are paid for not by subscriptions, which are only a small part of any news organization revenue. News organizations are subsidized by advertisers. So long as news organizations are playing ball and not lifting the carpet up for people to see the ugly truths of local, county and state government -- they get subsidized and 'news people' get paid. News has become propaganda on every level of government, by and large. 

I want to give a big shout out here to the folks over at The Star-Ledger who, once again, recently proved to be the exception to the rule with their fine reporting and, as always, to The New Jersey Herald for its continuing good show -- even in the hardest of times. The rest of them could be thrown in a ditch and buried up and it still wouldn't make them gone enough for me. 

The news coverage from the Washington Post that brought down President Nixon in 1973 could not happen today. Reporters don't know how to research anymore and don't have editors with the knowledge to guide them or the rocks to follow through. 

I like what I did with my dumbass career. An old friend of mine, Joe Caliendo, once joked that my reporting and the reporting of the newspaper I published for 11 years earned me enough enemies in this world that I should hire someone to start my car in the morning. It's funny and I don't mind the hard-ass reputations I earned with government and political people. 

But, if there are any would-be journalists out there, don't do what I did -- there is a big career in selling out -- it's done every day. Bringing truth to people will never earn you a dollar, a friend or a kind word. All it will do is let you sleep like a small child each night. So, that's not bad at all. 

Upcoming: Part 5 of Racism in the Suburbs

I will have Part 5 on the "Racism in the Suburbs" series in a few days -- look for it!

Sister Wendy and Art Appreciation 101

An enormous part of my life is really art appreciation -- the old school stuff being a personal favorite. And, the wonderful person who really got me interested in this as a younger man was no one other than Sister Wendy. As a tribute to her I would like to show some of her shows here.

Make No Mistake

Abuse and Addiction to Drugs such as Pain Killers, Alcohol and Food

 

 

By David H. Kerr, March 16, 2014

 

Kathleen O'Brien, writer for The Star-Ledger has summarized the National Safety Council's report on addiction and overdose stating that:

 

"Accidental poisonings — chiefly drug and alcohol overdoses — have supplanted motor vehicle crashes as the biggest cause of unintentional death in New Jersey, according to the latest report by the National Safety Council."  See her report below printed in the Ledger on March 14.^th."

With our growing "pain sensitive" culture, addictive drugs continue to be promoted as a palliative to reduce or to extinguish the pain. One problem solved and another more serious problem created.  Make sense? Not to me. 

"In looking at the history of substance abuse over thousands of years, here’s a quote that seems applicable: "It's been my experience, Langford, that the past always has a way of returning. Those who don't learn, or can't remember it, are doomed to repeat it." ―Steve Berry,The Charlemagne Pursuit

We've been here before.  Morphine was the high potency legal drug until 1898 when heroin was distilled from morphine as a more potent opiate painkiller.  With millions of Americans using these drugs, we soon noticed the harm they caused. As a result, we passed a law regulating and taxing the importation and distribution of opiates and coca products in 1914 called "The Harrison Narcotics Act."

The Harrison Narcotics Tax Act (Ch. 1, 38 Stat. 785) was a United States federal law that regulated and taxed the production, importation, and distribution of opiates and coca products. The act was proposed by Representative Francis Burton Harrison of New York and was approved on December 17, 1914.^[1][2]

"An Act to provide for the registration of, with collectors of internal revenue, and to impose a special tax on all persons who produce, import, manufacture, compound, deal in, dispense, sell, distribute, or give away opium or coca leaves, their salts, derivatives, or preparations, and for other purposes." The courts interpreted this to mean that physicians could prescribe narcotics to patients in the course of normal treatment, but not for the treatment of addiction.

Although technically illegal for purposes of distribution and use, the distribution, sale and use of cocaine was still legal for registered companies and individuals.

While heroin was first controlled in the US in 1914, it continued to be used for medicinal purposes. In 1924 though, Congress made the production and sale of heroin illegal, due to obvious harsh health consequences resulting from its continued and excessive use and abuse causing addiction and death.

Now we are in that same addiction limbo that defined our culture in the early 1900's. We now know that there are millions of people in our country born with the genetic disposition for addiction and if we flaunt legally prescribed addictive medicines in front of them day after day, it's most likely that they will succumb to their disease.  They will continually seek and take what is prescribed for their pain, regardless of the harmful consequences from their overuse prompted by their disease.  Then they will take more and more until they run out of prescription renewals and will continue their habit with illegal heroin – usually injected.  This is the definition of addiction and this is what is going on now.  It is exactly what happened in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Based just on media reports, this is a dangerous pattern with very serious consequences including addiction and death.

In my post to nj.com, September 20, 2010 below, "A Beginning Solution to the Burgeoning Problem of Prescription Drug Abuse and Addiction," I spoke about

"A new online tracking system approved by State Health Regulations on August 2010.  This new system would appear to help pharmacists and physicians fight the growing problems of prescription drug abuse. The new system also should prove helpful for law enforcement agencies fighting drug dealers who obtain prescription pain killers to sell for profits."

New Jersey's Prescription Monitoring Program appears to have been implemented just recently on March 1, 2014.  Here is the summary of the law:

For too many New Jerseyans, addiction begins in the medicine cabinet.  Please be advised that beginning March 1, 2014, pharmacies will be required to report information to the NJPMP on a weekly basis using the ASAP 4.2 format. However, in order to help facilitate any software conversion that may be necessary, the NJPMP will continue to accept submissions using the ASAP 4.0, 4.1/2009 format until September 1, 2014

The New Jersey Prescription Monitoring Program (NJPMP) is an important component of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs' initiative to halt the abuse and diversion of prescription drugs.

Established pursuant to N.J.S.A. 45:1-45 et. seq., the NJPMP is a statewide database that collects prescription data on Controlled Dangerous Substances (CDS) and Human Growth Hormone (HGH) dispensed in outpatient settings in New Jersey, and by out-of-state pharmacies dispensing into New Jersey. Pharmacies are required to submit this data at least twice per month.

In a recent report in the Ledger – see below:

"Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, says it has completed testing of an abuse-resistant version of the painkiller hydrocodone, a surprise development that could derail sales of the recently introduced Zohydro, a powerful pain medication that has been heavily criticized for lacking such safeguards."  Zohydro is an addictive medicine.

Time will tell if Purdue's new "abuse-resistant" and non-addictive painkiller will work but it would be a real achievement if we could develop a non-addictive painkiller.  However, as long as there are addictive painkiller's available that will "get the patient high," most people will likely stick with the product that makes them happy, gets them feeling "high" as well as reducing their pain.

Here's what will happen if history is a predictor: People in pain or not in pain will pursue the legal "painkiller" that gets them high and that continues to make them feel good. Heroin use and abuse will accelerate since it fills the bill, and it will become a major problem for our society. It has the best track record for getting people mellow or stoned and out of pain as well as seriously addicted.

Our culture seems to be in a pleasure seeking mode and people tend to get uppity when you try to tell them what they shouldn't put into their bodies.  "I'll take what I want and no law can stop me.  It's my right as a citizen of this free US of A."  That sounds fine until someone shows that he or she doesn't have the judgment to know "when to say when."  This is not so uncommon considering the millions of Americans who have ignored their disease and become out of control alcoholics and addicts.  Now someone's innocent child is killed in an auto accident as a result of an over drugged driver.  My mom would use this phrase: "Your liberty ends where my nose begins."  A person over medicated and driving erratically down the highway has no right to hurt or kill others.  If the excessive medication, or drugs or alcohol puts others at risk, the law must step in to clarify the boundaries.  Unfortunately the disease of addiction knows no such boundaries and the disease can and has hurt self and others.

We all must be alert to the signs of the disease of alcohol, drug and food addiction and we can keep it simple: increasing use and overuse and abuse of these substances plus the genetic disposition for addiction will define your potential as an addict – food, drink or drugs.  Awareness, control and moderation are three watchwords for preventing this slow creeping disease that often won't show its destructive face for years and even decades but when it does, it may be too late.

Never mind what's your “right.”  This is the rationalization I've heard from many an addict.  Take a look at your own substance use over time.  Is it increasing, little by little?  Awareness, moderation or total abstinence may set a safe path for you to remain functional and reasonably happy and safe living with your disease.

 

The New Politics of Racism in Suburban New Jersey, Pt. 4

By Rev. Jim Purcell, MPS, CPSP1 (Ret.)

Strictly in theory, the Middletown Township Committee has to vote as a body on things like who will be named to what position, if a body will be created or disbanded as an advisory group or any other kind of group affiliated with the municipal government, among other things.

In reality, though, GOP committee people do not express individual leadership skills and vote as a small herd. It is less the Round Table, so to speak, than it is the Borg, of Star Trek: The Next Generation fame.

I have already been asked why I do not include discussion of the democracy and 'one-member-one-vote' nature of the committee more heavily when discussing the governing body and its decisions relative to the controversy about the abolishment of the Middletown Human Rights Commission. This is because such 'democracy' by the committee is in theory and ceremony only. The real power behind such votes are not even the mayor, past or present, associated with the town through the course of time, but the Republican Machine that has controlled the community for the past 40 years.

In fairness, members of the Republican Party in Middletown Township who serve on the governing body do have opportunities in office to express their ideas, from what I can tell after years of covering the town. However, these expressions are more private at first, certainly not 'off the cuff' ever or without prior consultation with the town GOP's Political Machine. GOP office holders in Middletown row their oars in the same direction and no one plays as an individual in the political game -- and benefits from that organization.

Yet, this is not how a government organized under the Government of the United States is supposed to operate -- doing things the way they are done in Middletown laughs in the face of the American system of rule within its own borders, in my opinion.

Well, the core with this, of course, is that no political party is supposed to run any town or community in the United States of America -- yes, their candidates/officer-holders do but the darn political party is supposed to have nothing to say. This is where Middletown takes a 'hard right turn into crazy.' The idea that the electorate votes and sends cardboard cut-outs instead of bona fide representatives of the people's will to a governing body, which then gives license to any measure brought by the town's GOP Political Machine, which is led by several attorneys that are paid by the township for various services, is ridiculous and goes on every single day in Middletown.

Hailing a cab in Middletown?

This is not the first place I have stated that the leadership of the Middletown Republicans have historically been involved with overseeing governmental borrowing from a Newark law firm for several decades now. This must be legal, or else law enforcement would have been involved in this years ago, but it nonetheless smells as bad as Johnny On The Spot after a day at the circus.

The Middletown Committee is not, historically, a group of independent-minded people looking to do local government as much as they are a collection of the hopeful and ambitious seeking to be helped in careers and futures by the Middletown GOP, which is the most influential community politically in the county -- and one of the most influential in the state. In addition, so many state legislators and officials hail from Middletown it seems being closely aligned to the Middletown GOP can often lead to advancement in the ranks of politics or professions (particularly law or engineering).

Where does all this arrive where it involves bias? Not just of race but certainly that too. Its collected excesses have made Middletown one of the last all-White gated communities in New Jersey, if not the Industrial North East, intent on not allowing diversity or thoughts other than those in the 'group speak' of a small ring of influential, anonymous attorneys who are the real force behind the community's governance; not the committee people -- not the elected representatives of the people.

However, Middletown stoics, intent on never giving sway to the laws that govern the rest of the land, or the diversity that is so present nearly everywhere else in the Garden State, cannot win forever and, one fine day, this government will have to join the rest of the world.

Does all this make the elected and non-elected politicians of Middletown racist? Well, after much consideration, the community is 93 percent White -- and that is the proof in the pudding, isn't it? If race were not one of the single-most important issues to the powers that be there, how would the town have otherwise acquired a Native American population that is many times over the number of traditional minority residents in town? No, working-class Blacks and Hispanics are definitely be kept away from the town as per plan.

There is an old saying in the Black Community that, in many places, someone could get in trouble for a "DWB" as easy as a "DWI." And, I asked what DWB was and was told: It's 'driving while Black.' It happens in places where there usually aren't a lot of Black residents and it is a means of keeping Blacks intimidated.

I found it so hard to believe such things happened in my late teens. A lot has changed since then, and then again a lot of things about this world have remained the same since then -- just ask anyone you meet on the streets in Middletown.