April 2022, Chink in the Armor

On an otherwise normal afternoon, I have a dentist appointment and leave my office with ample time to make my dental cleaning. It’s a beautiful day and I drove my Lotus Elise, a tiny little sports car. Naturally, there are many ways to get there, but today I elect to go on surface streets. Next, I drive up a residential road on a mild hill that overlooks the freeway as it crests on an all-way stop intersection. I start to coast down that hill; my destination is only about five minutes away. As I pass a cross street, I see a figure jump out into sight; he wore a uniform and wielded a radar gun. He motions for me to pull over. I was busted.

Continue reading “Having given up on ‘value of life’, it’s now about ‘accountability’” →

I grew up straddled among three cultures; each of them separated by their own language. I subsequently arrived in the States in the fifth grade. During my education in Puerto Rico and later in Florida, they introduced me to fairy tales like any other child. In Puerto Rico, we read these Disney storybooks with a mini record in a sleeve in the back. We played the records too; they were the size of 45’s but played back at 33. Initially, I wondered if had indeed first heard these in Spanish. However, I then remembered the name ‘Cenicienta’, which is the Spanish version of Cinderella.

The words ‘happily ever after’ mark the prototypical ending to fairy tales. That said, children naturally understand the implication of those words when referred to Snow White and Prince Charming when the story ends. It means that the young couple gets married and lives a life of horizontal bliss. Not having actual jobs, Snow White’s screams of ecstasy fill the towers of the castle on a nightly basis, sometimes during the day too. They got married; this is completely permissible. The only real question is whether the young couple prefers missionary or doggie style.

Continue reading “Happily Ever After” →