This week I have been thinking about the good guys and the bad guys. Are you one of the good guys? Who are the bad guys? Would they say they’re the good guys? Does that make you one of the bad guys?

This week I have been thinking about drivers and pedestrians. A right-hand-turning, left-hand-looking, cell-phone-talking (or otherwise oblivious) driver-at-a-stop-sign endangers and disrespects any pedestrian walking from the driver’s right. Is this lack of necessary notice because drivers think of a pedestrian as a commonplace, dreary, flat, plodding, uninteresting nuisance? As a frequent walker, I too often feel looked upon as one of the walking dead; I hope not to be, but each day in this country there are approximately 100 traffic fatalities, and of those 12 to 13 are pedestrians. Both numbers are too high, but the pedestrian percentage seems unreasonably inordinate.

This week I have been thinking about umpires and baseball. Can an umpire make a bad call? Or is it a good call because it becomes fact, thus making it as it should be? (I am reminded of the umpire that responded to an arguing player, ‘if you don’t think you’re out, read the morning paper.’) Is the umpire a good guy (for doing a difficult job and maintaining order), or is he a bad guy (for not being perfect)? Is the fact that he will make mistakes a reason to not strive for perfection? Attend a Major League Baseball game and you will see firsthand that the expectation is perfection. Umpires often say that theirs is the only profession where you have to be perfect when you start and then improve from there. If only we could all live by this maxim …

This week I have been thinking about mass media and the general public. Does the media convey information or tell stories? What is the difference between investigative journalism and creative hype? Has a ‘slant’ become unavoidable? Is a ‘slant’ necessary? Is the general public gullible, choosing a perspective and ignoring opposing viewpoints? Are traditional news outlets outdated? With technology, is there an overabundance of available information? Or is an excess of varying perspectives good? In terms of paid professionals, is anyone reporting the facts? Are the terms ‘reporter’ and ‘reporting’ too generous? Is it better than nothing?

This week I have been thinking about winter and summer. Summer is hot. Winter is cold. Summer has heat. Winter has snow and ice. Summer has long-light. Winter has early-dark. Summer has baseball. Winter has football. Summer follows winter. Winter follows summer.

This week I have been thinking about sales and shopping. Do we ever shop anywhere, anymore where everything is at regular price? And why do I feel like I need an attorney to decipher the exclusions and exceptions always found in fine print at the bottom of the sales circular? And why do I feel like I need a mathematics professor to calculate the best combination of mix and match, not good with any other offer dollar / percentage / points / rewards / cashback / past / present / future savings? And how are all the retailers able to have nearly identical sales on the same days? With nearly identical exclusions and exceptions? And based on these daily fluctuations, how can one accurately determine the monetary value of their purchase? Is the value of that steamer I bought 10 days ago at $49.99 worth $49.99, $74.99 (last week), $44.99 (this past weekend), or $39.99 (yesterday)? And who is responsible for these sales shenanigans? Is it the retailer? Or the shopper? And finally, what is the value of an unnecessary, under-appreciated, or seldom used bargain?

This week I have been thinking about ‘Camp Dog’ and “Slap ya Mama”. Both are Cajun seasonings. One is a little smoky. The other is a little sharp. One has subtle layers. The other has distinctive layers. One is better on grilled foods. The other is better in gumbo. I prefer one. My wife prefers the other.

This week I have been thinking about winning and losing. Is it okay to win at any cost? Is it okay to use advantages that others may not have, in order to win? Is it okay even if those advantages were attained unfairly? Is it important to win? How do you know that you’ve won? How do you know that you’ve lost? When we concern ouselves with winning and losing, does that make the matter-at-hand a game? Are the people involved players? What is the difference between friendly or respectful competition and adversarial or cutthroat combat? Does there have to be a winner and/or a loser? Is it possible for everyone to win? Is it possible for no one to win? How important is winning to you?

This week I have been thinking about rules and rule-makers. Do we have enough rules yet? When will we have enough rules? When will we have had enough of rules? Are rules made to be broken? Is anarchy workable? Why must bureaucracies make rules to close loopholes that will only impact one-tenth of one-percent of their bottom-line when the damage incurred by pissing off the other 99.9 percent will be greater? Do rule-makers (or enforcers) always follow their own rules? Are bureaucratic rule-makers trained in soullessness? Or is it an innate attribute? And what about those who find themselves in a position of making, enforcing, and/or interpreting rules? (Becoming a parent is one example.) Can justice be doled out justly? Or will someone always have an advantage?

This week I have been thinking about legs and breasts. Legs are juicy and tender. Breasts can be juicy and tender. Legs are 3 bites and 2 nibbles. Breasts are abundant and generous. Legs take one hand. Breasts take both hands. Legs are better hot. Breasts are (surprisingly) good cold. I prefer legs peppered, breaded, and fried. I prefer breasts marinated, grilled, and smoky.

This week I have been thinking about energetic bustle and quiet calm. When I visit a coffee shop, sometimes I prefer the high-energy clattering, cluttering, chattering busyness of long lines, lots of people, and straight-backed chairs. Sometimes I prefer the peaceful, thought-inducing quiescence of slow jazz, hushed conversation, and a soft, comfy chair. When I visit my inner self, sometimes I prefer the shattering, shuttering, smattering fruition of confusion, disorder, and turmoil. Sometimes I prefer the epiphanous, in-the-moment enlightenment of beauty, truth, and timelessness.

This week I have been thinking …