The Moral Equivalent of
Paper Clip Wars
by Terry J. Ward

I have writer's block. Yup, that's right. I'd be sitting here right now drumming my fingers on the desk if I weren't typing. (No small feat on my desk - you have to find a space for it first.) So I guess this is sort of a Jerry Seinfeld article - an article about nothing.

People who like my articles - hey, there are some - have asked me how I do it. Well, generally I just ask God to help me out and He does. Pretty much, I just write what comes into my head. Well, everything that's coming to my head at the present is on the "forbidden" list. Mention of my sons and the females in their lives is absolutely taboo (BUT, it IS a pretty interesting topic around our house lately!!!) I could mention how my husband exploded a chicken in the microwave last night (True - I swear it!), but, he did make mention that I could find other topics besides him. (I think he's a little touchy about that article I wrote on his basement door. He said that he's going to work on the steps when he's done with my bathroom. Need I go into it?) There is, of course, my mother. But she's asked for mercy. She's a little worried that people really will think she's crazy.

I could talk about events in the wider world - the pool issue in Owego, for example. But I'd just get mad. (Personally, though, I can't think of anything less appealing on a beautiful summer day - and you have to admit, we don't have an overabundance of them here - than going indoors to swim in an environment that reeks of chlorine. But, I am not the powers that be . . . ) Actually, I've been working so much lately that I barely know what is going on in the wider world. Generally, someone will tell me if there's been another school shooting (Has anyone begun to look at the many, many teachers who regularly degrade kids in their classrooms as part of the problem? Or the administrators who refuse to protect students/teachers from harassment? I'm not anti-teacher. I'm very proud of the profession and a good teacher can change a kid's entire life for the better. But, the same principle holds true for a bad one. A kid with a gun is sad and tragic, and there are no big answers to stopping it. But, there are a lot of smaller answers, and it's time to deal with them.) Bosnia/Serbia/Yugoslavia . . . the list goes on. I'm not a great military mind, but, I do remember a little episode in History called WWII and a man named Hitler. After that happened, there were a lot of people who said a lot of "We should have . . ." Well, I'm hearing stories about mass graves and "ethnic cleansing," and this has been going on for YEARS. I don't think we have a choice but to be there. Simple humanity, the principle of the strong protecting the weak, should come into play somewhere in this saga. I sure wouldn't want any of my boys going to war. Anyone who knows me, knows how I feel about them. There are no easy answers in this. But there are times when you have to do what is right, not comfortable.

Phew! Well, the old cobwebs are blown away now. I think I've emptied everything that's up in the old noggin'. Yup. It's pretty empty. Sometimes I kind of like it that way. Life gets real simple then. There's a saying that a friend of our family, Dave Boland, used to have for being simpleminded but it's probably not for the weak stomached, so I'll refrain. (But it really does have a sort of pure truth to it - ask him!) Time for me to swipe the last piece of cake that my mom made (remember, my head is empty - calories do NOT exist at this point), get a cup of coffee, and snuggle into my wonderful, comfy bed (with MY pillow), and watch Diagnosis Murder. I would, of course, be watching my beloved British comedies, BUT the cable company saw fit to take that channel off . . . OK, OK, that's another issue . . . just go get the coffee, remember, chocolate is waiting for you, keep the mind empty . . . empty . . .