Mind Your Ps and Qs, Son
I’ve been writing Ps & Qs for twenty years, first for the Valley Journal and now for the Sopris Sun. As you may know, Ps & Qs refers to pints & quarts, the measurements of drink used in local pubs back in the day. Aptly named, my column really began in Claddaugh Irish Pub where I would sit with my friends, waxing philosophic on any and every topic to come up…
Ontology is the branch of philosophy that studies existence, being, becoming, and reality. In other words, what it is to be a human living among other humans, gaining life experience. My take is that life is hard, and it should be. Comparable to a video game, each level contains more difficulty and/or obstacles, and sure, you can play it safe and stay at a level that you’ve already mastered, but what’s the point of that?
I am not a fan of conventionality or predictability. I much prefer magic and spontaneity. In life I seek out new people, new places, and I try to generate positive esprit in all my endeavors. And whenever I find myself in the midst of an existential crisis, I recall the words of Dan Aykroyd as Jimmy Carter on SNL, “Just remember you’re a living organism on this planet and you’re very safe… Relax, stay inside, and listen to some music, okay? Do you have any Allman Brothers?”
I believe humor to be the elixir for what ails us in this life.
Please enjoy these ontological observations and mind your Ps & Qs!
Trump steals your candy, baby
Right around the time DOGE pried into all our personal files, cases that had dwindled off or hit a dead end were suddenly re-opened and the judge signed deportation orders in absentia. Often times, the “heinous crime” simply being that the person didn’t file a change of address with the court.
Pro-life for the planet
Women born between 1960 and 1970 are the only Americans to have had legal access to abortion for the entirety of their reproductive years.
Zero-sum thirty
Republicans like the fast and furious pace of anarchy; oligarchs up on stage, dancing to the song Maniac. In both cases the money flows one way: up, up, and away from the American people.
Jeanie Bueller rides again
The weird thing is that we all used to agree on who the bad guy was. Whether it was a quintessential hero’s journey, (Luke and Leia in Star Wars) or a stranger comes to town looking for odd jobs and good trouble, (Sylvester Stallone in First Blood) or a combination of the two, (Patrick Swayze in Roadhouse) there was always a greedy landlord/sheriff/ruler of the Darkside waiting for a fight…