our family has never had a political disagreement over thanksgiving (even w/a mix of political affiliations), and actually it was a grievance my MIL aired on a holiday that really turned me around.
she said that friends had dropped her in the most hateful way possible during trump (she voted for him). and i heard the pain in her voice. it really broke her heart. so i began to listen to everyone more and decided to follow some of those i disagree with and learn more about why they think what they think.
it hasn’t changed my own principles b/c that’s how principles work. what it’s done is, i think, force me to *sit with things* for longer. let them sink in and realize that my opinion isn’t what’s important.
Started early. 30 people over last nigh for dinner, and wine...lots wine. Mostly family but a couple of friends. Included were gun toting Texan conservatives, woke Jews from Highland Park IL who were directly impacted by the July 4 shooting one Catholic guy (me) and a bunch of other representatives of political thought, including apathy.
A good time was had by all, all of whom genuinely enjoyed each other company. We have far more in common then difference. don't let these bitter miserable "thought leaders" tear us apart.
Got back on Thanksgiving Eve from an AMTRAK trip to Tuscon. 48 hours on the train, looking out the window at this great, free country of ours. All shapes and sizes of humans, all colors and all sorts of dress. Time after time watching people greeting people get off the train to embrace with happiness and love.
Our differences make us interesting; but our embrace of the concept of America makes us unified. It is out there. I will not let it be taken from me.
Brook, so wise of you to grasp that getting our half-baked political opinions out there may not be as important as we sometimes think... One thing holiday gatherings do, kind of subconsciously, is to remind us that we are all one holiday meal closer to death, and that the most important thing is to conduct ourselves with a sense of grace, empathy, and sincere sense of gratitude for all that we do have.
Probably doesn't need saying that I'm wrestling with these issues myself, including on this site.
When I heard Jordan Peterson - aka Red Skull - say stop trying to convince people and just listen, I was like “Whaaaaa? Oh yeah.” Life much more enjoyable now, as are politicsl discussions.
This is one of Peterson's key precepts--indeed one of his twelve rules--but he often violates it, talking and talking even when he's supposed to be interviewing the other person.
Instead of letting it bother me, I'm amused by this foible. An attitude I carry into meals with relatives I disagree with.
I never saw it again. A couple of years later I did find an ounce of Colombian schwag in my father’s shoe--he had confiscated it from my older brother. I never learned why he didn’t flush it, but that didn’t stop me from liberating it, ending a short dry spell for me! The irony is that I am now straight as an arrow and my 84-YO dad is the pothead.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and Walter. I am thankful for you both! My particular gentleman friend and I are both pilots, and we have a ritual of doing a morning flight on each of four holidays: Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Day, and the Fourth of July. Today we give thanks for our wings and all the pioneers, inventors, visionaries, and cranks who conquered the sky for man. If we have an argument it will probably be about my crosswind landing technique.
Funny, I just reread Farewell, My Lovely. A good choice (and the Maltese Falcon an excellent read). As far as Thanksgiving goes, my family knows we don't agree on every issue but we also know we'd rather spend it together than apart. That makes the other stuff pale.
It's just me and my Mom eating dinner today, and she has little to no interest in politics, especially since my late Dad was such a political junkie. Have a good holiday, everyone.
BTW, I spent the afternoon watching "Executive Action" and "The Parallax View" in light of it being the 60 year anniversary since JFK's assassination. This year also marks the 50 year anniversary of the release of the first movie.
100% agree that today should be about how fortunate we are to live in a place of wealth and abundance. If by chance we lived in most of the world our focus would be on getting enough to eat, keeping ourselves and our families safe, hoping to find meaning use of our talents... I am especially thankful to your friend Elon and to you Matt.
Actually, we had C Span on thanksgiving morning, before football (go Packers) and while getting ready for the feast. Maybe some of you know of Alexander Heffner, I’d never heard of him. He’s an author and has podcast and wrote a book on civil discourse. Wow...we were captivated. Such good thoughtful discussion on this segment and the following public forum. They discussed a lot, including quotes from some of the MSM pieces on the politics or not of Thanksgiving discussions.
I learned so much and actually felt great, hopeful. The discussions and articles quoted didn’t center on who is right and who is wrong. It focused on how to put your emotion reactions aside, LISTEN, and instead respond thoughtfully...usually by asking something along the lines of “what leads to your feeling that?” Or “I’d like to hear more about why you feel that, maybe talk later”? Let your live shine through!! (:
I think criticizing MSM for publishing these articles is off base, as so many Americans, families and friends, struggle with avoiding or escalating conflict and hard feelings. That was very obvious given the call ins to the programs. I come from a very big, close family of 7 siblings, and approaching 50 nieces, nephews, grands etc,. Politically we run the gambit from Trump to Biden to Bernie to agnostic or intentionally ignorant. From engineers to millwrights to teachers to construction workers. I understand how painful the last several years can be. Our extended fam still gathers for a week of vaca and on for holidays, to celebrate the love of family, in honor of our parents. We don’t discuss politics. We have a good time. Still that political wall is there, at times very uncomfortably. And sadly two or three of us don’t speak to each other.
I learned a lot from C Span and some of the articles I had time to peek at. I only wish the whole family had seen it. I am certain it would make an impact and help us discuss politics, after all, politics are unavoidably critical. Check out yesterday’s C-SPan online if you have time. Sincerely hope you all enjoy this holiday season.
Used to watch C-Span frequently. You'd post has made me decide to try it again. I envy your large family, while acknowledging the discomfort and discord. Hope your holidays are filled with blessings.
Happy Thanksgiving Matt to you and your family!! I am grateful for YOU, your insight and efforts in helping me to be a critical thinker - thank you very much 🙏. Eat a lot and be happy 😊.
I have also found this. I disagree pretty intensely with most of my relatives on the side of the family I usually end up at for Thanksgiving, and politics rarely if ever comes up. From the way my friends talk about their Thanksgiving dread it feels like the issue is people stress so much about the potential for an argument because they know they have disagreements that even if the argument never happens they still carry the stress like it did, because it already happened in their head, and I think the media is definitely at least in part to blame for that.
This little piece from Matt is so deceptively thought provoking. Because political difference, discord between friends and family is so pervasive today. I have a sibling and in law who are pretty far out on the woke spectrum. I adore my sister and my brother in law has been a tremendous husband to my sister. Sweet guy to my mom. But sometimes he seems to look to draw me out knowing I’m conservative. A couple years ago I suddenly found myself the appointed spokesperson for the brothers in my family, we all were adamantly opposed to lockdowns, masks and the vaccine mandate. It got very heated quickly. I could be angry or consider other plans for Thanksgiving, but no way. I love my family. And now I’m just not playing. I am not gonna engage if the conversation turns to politics. I’m just gonna say I love you guys and ask for another helping of stuffing.
The media wants us all to hate each other, even our own parents and siblings, so we can all forsake our families and convert to the One True Faith of being sad, addled puppets of the corporate Matrix. Never mind family, you owe your allegiance to cable news!
But Hannity or Maddow won't be there to feed you when you're sick or visit you in the hospital etc...no one should ever end (or even dent) a relationship with a friend or family member over some political opinion (which you could easily change or forget later) aka the manufactured hate pellets of our media cos and their employees.
I'm thankful today that so many people are starting to see through the lies of our Pravda Thought Police.
Well, my wife and I have managed to avoid the 4+ hour trek to NJ by testing positive for Covid. My daughter brought us a prepackaged meal so we'll be eating quietly at home.
Actually, I think the whole country has been issued a “get out of jail free” card. Anytime you really don’t want to attend some event, beg off with “tested positive for Covid,” and no questions are asked.
I had Covid in September 2020. Same time as Trump I spent 3 weeks in the hospital, 3 days on a vent. Almost bought the Ranch!! Post vent but still in ICU was the worst part. Horrible diarrhea!! When you’re that sick all inhibitions are out the door. The nurses and doctors that brought me back, and others I’m sure, we’re incredible. I had Covid two weeks ago. Woke up with a slight sore throat that lasted 18 hours. That was it. Only reason I tested was my wife and son had just had it. I believe all this quarantine stuff, mask wearing, etc, is unnecessary. Covid is nothing close to what it was when it first hit!!
Thanks for the likes. I’m 72 now and I have been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Will find out tomorrow if it’s the aggressive type. Maybe I should write something in Oldster. Until I was 68 , I never was sick. Never spent a minute in a hospital bed. My mother died on January 6, 2019. A day before her funeral, an umbilical hernia which I had been nursing for over a year, and which I had been advised not to worry about, became strangulated and hurt like hell. Luckily my RN wife pushed it back in and I made it thru. Nevertheless, 45 days later I was in the hospital for my first ever surgery. Everything went well, for a little while.
Sorry, folks, it’s 1:00 am and I can’t sleep. I faced death when I was on the vent with Covid. People asked me if I saw the “white light.” And in the days after I got out of the hospital, I was sure I had. Now, I’m just not sure that I did. What I am sure of is not knowing what was happening to me; wondering if I was dying and telling myself I was NOT going to die. That I have a daughter who is getting married next spring, and I’m gonna be there. That’s what I remember. I wasn’t going to die. The next thing I remember is the Nurse coaching me as they pulled out the various tubes in my body. I’ve read that 97% of patients over the age of 70 that were placed on vents ultimately died. I was 69! It was written!
I was a rookie cop in da Bronx, having graduated from the Academy the previous June. Ohhh boy...
I had a day tour (0700-1535). For the oldsters here, think of Hill Street Blues but not nearly as good looking.
First thing I saw when I walked into roll call was that the vast majority of people in the room were noobs. Sure, I was a rookie too; but I had a steady car and partner since the Academy. And on Thanksgiving, my steady partner Jerry (a 15 year vet) had taken some time off.
Roll Call was pretty much filled with rookies and sprinkled with cops who had 2-3 years on the job. There were many, many rookies who were still in Field Training who were totally pumped b/c today they were going to be in a radio car w/o a Field Training Officer.
For the first time in their lives they were gonna ride in an RMP (cop car) w/ just a partner.
And the ones who weren't rookies were pissed off.
"What's the problem?" I asked one of the more experienced cops.
She just sighed and said, "You'll see."
At PRECISELY 7:00 am the desk sergeant came in. He rattled off our names for attendance and in a world weary voice put his hands on the lectern and said 'Happy Thanksgiving. Let the fun begin. Those of you relieving Late Tour cars, call 'em in forthwith. The fun times started at about 1:00 AM and hasn't let up."
He gave us all a long stare. "Do not. I repeat DO NOT make any small potatoes collars today. Central Booking is already over flowing. It's not as bad as the Blackout Of '77, but it's baaad. No shoplifters, no petty assaults, and God help you if you even THINK of taking a meal break." He glanced down at his paperwork. "Right now we're backed up about 60 jobs that we can't shitcan." (Those are 911 calls from the public.) "Grab your shit and get out there."
At the time we put about 10 out of about 30 cars on the street for a Late Tour. The 4-12 shift rode all 30 cars, but for Thanksgiving Day shift, instead of about 20, every single car was on the street.
I had a rookie from Field Training as my partner for the shift. (Snort. I...ME... was the senior cop in the car. My partner was Tony The Tiger. We went thru the Academy together, but b/c I was a smarty pants and had faboo grades, I was sent direct to command w/o any Field Training. He's a great guy, and had about a zillion years of street smarts.
SO!
For the next eight hours and 35 minutes all we did, ALL WE DID was break up family fights. A normal Day tour was about 15 jobs. We did about 50. And got chewed out for malingering by the Patrol Supervisor, b/c a lot of sectors did over 60.
We were basically bouncers.
On one job, we were called at 9:00 AM b/c Grandma threw the Sony Trinitron out the window of a 3rd floor apartment b/c her son turned off the Parade. Nana was about 98 pounds. How the hell she managed to pick up, let alone hurl that freaking TV still astounds me.
On another job, I gave a couple in their 50's-60's a 24 hour divorce b/c they had been fighting for 3 days. I saw that slick move in a movie (The Choirboys?) Believe it or not it worked!
Unlike my skinny, fish belly white pasty Irish physique, Tony The Tiger was a weight-lifting Guido who was a fan of Stallone. When we had to tell some clown it was time for him to leave, and he didn't want to, Tony informed the guy that he was about to be arrested.
"Oh yeah? Fer what?"
"Assaulting a police officer, dummy!"
"I ain't laid a hand on you!"
Tony crossed his arms and said, "You're about to assault my fist with your face, bud."
"Oh."
Like I said, Tony The Tiger had street smarts up the wazoo.
Not for nothing, our clientele were not regular readers of the NY Times in that era...
Since I got off at 3:35 PM, I made Thanksgiving supper at my In-Laws. It was fine, not a sharp word amongst anyone. I spent the evening in a corner of the living room, with hollow eyes, drinking my shell shock away.
Thank you for sharing that story and putting into perspective all the truly idiotic nonsense cops have to put up with. The claim that domestic disturbances are the most dangerous for law enforcement is all too believable.
This also further, graphically and convincingly, illustrates just how abjectly stupid, self-serving and virtue-signaling the "Defund the Police" movement is.
How did that patent idiocy get any traction at all?!?
Happy Thanksgiving! Funny thought, I will be outnumbered 3 to 1 by Persian women (OK one is 6 and pretty much always on my side) and I am quite sure we will not be talking two state solutions or getting into fights over Israel. Then again, we are 4-0 for getting rid of the current regime in Iran and restoring a more secular western Iran the eldest amongst us remembers well. But no matter what our hopes for far off lands, today we are thankful that we are all Americans.
What am I thankful for on this day? I’m thankful for earnest articles written by pinheads who give such great advice on how to deal with our relatives at Thanksgiving. If only they could show up to intervene in a brewing disagreement, saying things like “so how does that make you feel when he says that?” and “do you understand why this might be upsetting to Uncle Mario?” They are the unsung heroes of journalism.
Those were some of the first 'feel' tactics to dribble out of academia on how to silence spoken thoughts you don't like. It has been quite effective getting the cancel culture rolling.
Happy Thanksgiving! I am thankful for the work you are doing and especially the podcast with Walter. I look forward to it every week.
our family has never had a political disagreement over thanksgiving (even w/a mix of political affiliations), and actually it was a grievance my MIL aired on a holiday that really turned me around.
she said that friends had dropped her in the most hateful way possible during trump (she voted for him). and i heard the pain in her voice. it really broke her heart. so i began to listen to everyone more and decided to follow some of those i disagree with and learn more about why they think what they think.
it hasn’t changed my own principles b/c that’s how principles work. what it’s done is, i think, force me to *sit with things* for longer. let them sink in and realize that my opinion isn’t what’s important.
Happy thanksgiving!
Started early. 30 people over last nigh for dinner, and wine...lots wine. Mostly family but a couple of friends. Included were gun toting Texan conservatives, woke Jews from Highland Park IL who were directly impacted by the July 4 shooting one Catholic guy (me) and a bunch of other representatives of political thought, including apathy.
A good time was had by all, all of whom genuinely enjoyed each other company. We have far more in common then difference. don't let these bitter miserable "thought leaders" tear us apart.
Cheers!!
Got back on Thanksgiving Eve from an AMTRAK trip to Tuscon. 48 hours on the train, looking out the window at this great, free country of ours. All shapes and sizes of humans, all colors and all sorts of dress. Time after time watching people greeting people get off the train to embrace with happiness and love.
Our differences make us interesting; but our embrace of the concept of America makes us unified. It is out there. I will not let it be taken from me.
Happy Thanksgiving 🦃, and give yourself a pat on the back because you've become an 'adult' in the best sense.
adulting is so much more than paying one’s own rent 😝 happy thanksgiving to you as well!
so thankful for the smart ppl i bump into here 🤗
Brook, so wise of you to grasp that getting our half-baked political opinions out there may not be as important as we sometimes think... One thing holiday gatherings do, kind of subconsciously, is to remind us that we are all one holiday meal closer to death, and that the most important thing is to conduct ourselves with a sense of grace, empathy, and sincere sense of gratitude for all that we do have.
Probably doesn't need saying that I'm wrestling with these issues myself, including on this site.
When I heard Jordan Peterson - aka Red Skull - say stop trying to convince people and just listen, I was like “Whaaaaa? Oh yeah.” Life much more enjoyable now, as are politicsl discussions.
This is one of Peterson's key precepts--indeed one of his twelve rules--but he often violates it, talking and talking even when he's supposed to be interviewing the other person.
Instead of letting it bother me, I'm amused by this foible. An attitude I carry into meals with relatives I disagree with.
I learned, myself, to stop and listen to people on the opposite end of the political spectrum instead of arguing with them. It really works.
I think that’s something I need to take to heart.
So thank you for that.
I also read somewhere that is don’t HAVE to have an opinion on everything.
So much to work on.
My worst Thanksgiving was when I was about fifteen (1980-ish) and my parents found my weed stash in my parka. Everything was great until then!
The real question is: did they take it? Throw it away? Or... give it back so you could partake?
I never saw it again. A couple of years later I did find an ounce of Colombian schwag in my father’s shoe--he had confiscated it from my older brother. I never learned why he didn’t flush it, but that didn’t stop me from liberating it, ending a short dry spell for me! The irony is that I am now straight as an arrow and my 84-YO dad is the pothead.
That is a great coda, Andy.
I don’t want to be out of line, but...
Given the ending, I’m gonna go out on a limb and suggest you and your bro may have been supplying the old man all along.
Yup, ole dad said he doesn’t have a plug… he just takes his sons’ weed.
Wow. I immediately felt of sympathy.
The term "parka" alone speaks to that era. :-)
LOL. pesky parents!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and Walter. I am thankful for you both! My particular gentleman friend and I are both pilots, and we have a ritual of doing a morning flight on each of four holidays: Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Day, and the Fourth of July. Today we give thanks for our wings and all the pioneers, inventors, visionaries, and cranks who conquered the sky for man. If we have an argument it will probably be about my crosswind landing technique.
What a cool way to celebrate!! Happy Holiday!
Funny, I just reread Farewell, My Lovely. A good choice (and the Maltese Falcon an excellent read). As far as Thanksgiving goes, my family knows we don't agree on every issue but we also know we'd rather spend it together than apart. That makes the other stuff pale.
Happy Thanksgiving Matt. You've done good work.
It's just me and my Mom eating dinner today, and she has little to no interest in politics, especially since my late Dad was such a political junkie. Have a good holiday, everyone.
Enjoy your day. Wish my Mom and Dad were around to give me crap. funny how I miss that.
BTW, I spent the afternoon watching "Executive Action" and "The Parallax View" in light of it being the 60 year anniversary since JFK's assassination. This year also marks the 50 year anniversary of the release of the first movie.
100% agree that today should be about how fortunate we are to live in a place of wealth and abundance. If by chance we lived in most of the world our focus would be on getting enough to eat, keeping ourselves and our families safe, hoping to find meaning use of our talents... I am especially thankful to your friend Elon and to you Matt.
This holiday is about graditude. The MSM doesn't get it.
No they don’t. They don’t seem take a day off from muckraking. They are a major source of evil in our society.
Muckraking was a term used for those who challenged the prevailing views of authority.
“Muckrakers were journalists who investigated social issues and exposed information that some in power did not want brought to the surface.”
I don’t know of any mainstream media that is doing much of that.
i think mr taibbi fits the bill.
They do get it. But they want the people miserable and at each other’s throats...
Actually, we had C Span on thanksgiving morning, before football (go Packers) and while getting ready for the feast. Maybe some of you know of Alexander Heffner, I’d never heard of him. He’s an author and has podcast and wrote a book on civil discourse. Wow...we were captivated. Such good thoughtful discussion on this segment and the following public forum. They discussed a lot, including quotes from some of the MSM pieces on the politics or not of Thanksgiving discussions.
I learned so much and actually felt great, hopeful. The discussions and articles quoted didn’t center on who is right and who is wrong. It focused on how to put your emotion reactions aside, LISTEN, and instead respond thoughtfully...usually by asking something along the lines of “what leads to your feeling that?” Or “I’d like to hear more about why you feel that, maybe talk later”? Let your live shine through!! (:
I think criticizing MSM for publishing these articles is off base, as so many Americans, families and friends, struggle with avoiding or escalating conflict and hard feelings. That was very obvious given the call ins to the programs. I come from a very big, close family of 7 siblings, and approaching 50 nieces, nephews, grands etc,. Politically we run the gambit from Trump to Biden to Bernie to agnostic or intentionally ignorant. From engineers to millwrights to teachers to construction workers. I understand how painful the last several years can be. Our extended fam still gathers for a week of vaca and on for holidays, to celebrate the love of family, in honor of our parents. We don’t discuss politics. We have a good time. Still that political wall is there, at times very uncomfortably. And sadly two or three of us don’t speak to each other.
I learned a lot from C Span and some of the articles I had time to peek at. I only wish the whole family had seen it. I am certain it would make an impact and help us discuss politics, after all, politics are unavoidably critical. Check out yesterday’s C-SPan online if you have time. Sincerely hope you all enjoy this holiday season.
Washington Journal is the other program yesterday about this issue. Very good!
Used to watch C-Span frequently. You'd post has made me decide to try it again. I envy your large family, while acknowledging the discomfort and discord. Hope your holidays are filled with blessings.
Happy Thanksgiving Matt to you and your family!! I am grateful for YOU, your insight and efforts in helping me to be a critical thinker - thank you very much 🙏. Eat a lot and be happy 😊.
What a mensch you are, Mr. T....
The best to you today and always.
I have also found this. I disagree pretty intensely with most of my relatives on the side of the family I usually end up at for Thanksgiving, and politics rarely if ever comes up. From the way my friends talk about their Thanksgiving dread it feels like the issue is people stress so much about the potential for an argument because they know they have disagreements that even if the argument never happens they still carry the stress like it did, because it already happened in their head, and I think the media is definitely at least in part to blame for that.
This little piece from Matt is so deceptively thought provoking. Because political difference, discord between friends and family is so pervasive today. I have a sibling and in law who are pretty far out on the woke spectrum. I adore my sister and my brother in law has been a tremendous husband to my sister. Sweet guy to my mom. But sometimes he seems to look to draw me out knowing I’m conservative. A couple years ago I suddenly found myself the appointed spokesperson for the brothers in my family, we all were adamantly opposed to lockdowns, masks and the vaccine mandate. It got very heated quickly. I could be angry or consider other plans for Thanksgiving, but no way. I love my family. And now I’m just not playing. I am not gonna engage if the conversation turns to politics. I’m just gonna say I love you guys and ask for another helping of stuffing.
The media wants us all to hate each other, even our own parents and siblings, so we can all forsake our families and convert to the One True Faith of being sad, addled puppets of the corporate Matrix. Never mind family, you owe your allegiance to cable news!
But Hannity or Maddow won't be there to feed you when you're sick or visit you in the hospital etc...no one should ever end (or even dent) a relationship with a friend or family member over some political opinion (which you could easily change or forget later) aka the manufactured hate pellets of our media cos and their employees.
I'm thankful today that so many people are starting to see through the lies of our Pravda Thought Police.
Happy Holiday!
This.
Well, my wife and I have managed to avoid the 4+ hour trek to NJ by testing positive for Covid. My daughter brought us a prepackaged meal so we'll be eating quietly at home.
Best to all!
Actually, I think the whole country has been issued a “get out of jail free” card. Anytime you really don’t want to attend some event, beg off with “tested positive for Covid,” and no questions are asked.
I had Covid in September 2020. Same time as Trump I spent 3 weeks in the hospital, 3 days on a vent. Almost bought the Ranch!! Post vent but still in ICU was the worst part. Horrible diarrhea!! When you’re that sick all inhibitions are out the door. The nurses and doctors that brought me back, and others I’m sure, we’re incredible. I had Covid two weeks ago. Woke up with a slight sore throat that lasted 18 hours. That was it. Only reason I tested was my wife and son had just had it. I believe all this quarantine stuff, mask wearing, etc, is unnecessary. Covid is nothing close to what it was when it first hit!!
Thanks for the likes. I’m 72 now and I have been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Will find out tomorrow if it’s the aggressive type. Maybe I should write something in Oldster. Until I was 68 , I never was sick. Never spent a minute in a hospital bed. My mother died on January 6, 2019. A day before her funeral, an umbilical hernia which I had been nursing for over a year, and which I had been advised not to worry about, became strangulated and hurt like hell. Luckily my RN wife pushed it back in and I made it thru. Nevertheless, 45 days later I was in the hospital for my first ever surgery. Everything went well, for a little while.
Sorry, folks, it’s 1:00 am and I can’t sleep. I faced death when I was on the vent with Covid. People asked me if I saw the “white light.” And in the days after I got out of the hospital, I was sure I had. Now, I’m just not sure that I did. What I am sure of is not knowing what was happening to me; wondering if I was dying and telling myself I was NOT going to die. That I have a daughter who is getting married next spring, and I’m gonna be there. That’s what I remember. I wasn’t going to die. The next thing I remember is the Nurse coaching me as they pulled out the various tubes in my body. I’ve read that 97% of patients over the age of 70 that were placed on vents ultimately died. I was 69! It was written!
𝕋𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕜𝕤𝕘𝕚𝕧𝕚𝕟𝕘 ℕ𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣 𝟙𝟡𝟠𝟚... 𝕆𝕙𝕙𝕙 𝔹𝕠𝕪...
I was a rookie cop in da Bronx, having graduated from the Academy the previous June. Ohhh boy...
I had a day tour (0700-1535). For the oldsters here, think of Hill Street Blues but not nearly as good looking.
First thing I saw when I walked into roll call was that the vast majority of people in the room were noobs. Sure, I was a rookie too; but I had a steady car and partner since the Academy. And on Thanksgiving, my steady partner Jerry (a 15 year vet) had taken some time off.
Roll Call was pretty much filled with rookies and sprinkled with cops who had 2-3 years on the job. There were many, many rookies who were still in Field Training who were totally pumped b/c today they were going to be in a radio car w/o a Field Training Officer.
For the first time in their lives they were gonna ride in an RMP (cop car) w/ just a partner.
And the ones who weren't rookies were pissed off.
"What's the problem?" I asked one of the more experienced cops.
She just sighed and said, "You'll see."
At PRECISELY 7:00 am the desk sergeant came in. He rattled off our names for attendance and in a world weary voice put his hands on the lectern and said 'Happy Thanksgiving. Let the fun begin. Those of you relieving Late Tour cars, call 'em in forthwith. The fun times started at about 1:00 AM and hasn't let up."
He gave us all a long stare. "Do not. I repeat DO NOT make any small potatoes collars today. Central Booking is already over flowing. It's not as bad as the Blackout Of '77, but it's baaad. No shoplifters, no petty assaults, and God help you if you even THINK of taking a meal break." He glanced down at his paperwork. "Right now we're backed up about 60 jobs that we can't shitcan." (Those are 911 calls from the public.) "Grab your shit and get out there."
At the time we put about 10 out of about 30 cars on the street for a Late Tour. The 4-12 shift rode all 30 cars, but for Thanksgiving Day shift, instead of about 20, every single car was on the street.
I had a rookie from Field Training as my partner for the shift. (Snort. I...ME... was the senior cop in the car. My partner was Tony The Tiger. We went thru the Academy together, but b/c I was a smarty pants and had faboo grades, I was sent direct to command w/o any Field Training. He's a great guy, and had about a zillion years of street smarts.
SO!
For the next eight hours and 35 minutes all we did, ALL WE DID was break up family fights. A normal Day tour was about 15 jobs. We did about 50. And got chewed out for malingering by the Patrol Supervisor, b/c a lot of sectors did over 60.
We were basically bouncers.
On one job, we were called at 9:00 AM b/c Grandma threw the Sony Trinitron out the window of a 3rd floor apartment b/c her son turned off the Parade. Nana was about 98 pounds. How the hell she managed to pick up, let alone hurl that freaking TV still astounds me.
On another job, I gave a couple in their 50's-60's a 24 hour divorce b/c they had been fighting for 3 days. I saw that slick move in a movie (The Choirboys?) Believe it or not it worked!
Unlike my skinny, fish belly white pasty Irish physique, Tony The Tiger was a weight-lifting Guido who was a fan of Stallone. When we had to tell some clown it was time for him to leave, and he didn't want to, Tony informed the guy that he was about to be arrested.
"Oh yeah? Fer what?"
"Assaulting a police officer, dummy!"
"I ain't laid a hand on you!"
Tony crossed his arms and said, "You're about to assault my fist with your face, bud."
"Oh."
Like I said, Tony The Tiger had street smarts up the wazoo.
Not for nothing, our clientele were not regular readers of the NY Times in that era...
Since I got off at 3:35 PM, I made Thanksgiving supper at my In-Laws. It was fine, not a sharp word amongst anyone. I spent the evening in a corner of the living room, with hollow eyes, drinking my shell shock away.
Ah, the "glamour" of police work.
Thank you for sharing that story and putting into perspective all the truly idiotic nonsense cops have to put up with. The claim that domestic disturbances are the most dangerous for law enforcement is all too believable.
This also further, graphically and convincingly, illustrates just how abjectly stupid, self-serving and virtue-signaling the "Defund the Police" movement is.
How did that patent idiocy get any traction at all?!?
Fukkk
Human, all too human.
Q: What’s the difference between an Arkansas trailer park and the British Royal Family?
A: Money
Happy Thanksgiving! Funny thought, I will be outnumbered 3 to 1 by Persian women (OK one is 6 and pretty much always on my side) and I am quite sure we will not be talking two state solutions or getting into fights over Israel. Then again, we are 4-0 for getting rid of the current regime in Iran and restoring a more secular western Iran the eldest amongst us remembers well. But no matter what our hopes for far off lands, today we are thankful that we are all Americans.
What am I thankful for on this day? I’m thankful for earnest articles written by pinheads who give such great advice on how to deal with our relatives at Thanksgiving. If only they could show up to intervene in a brewing disagreement, saying things like “so how does that make you feel when he says that?” and “do you understand why this might be upsetting to Uncle Mario?” They are the unsung heroes of journalism.
Those were some of the first 'feel' tactics to dribble out of academia on how to silence spoken thoughts you don't like. It has been quite effective getting the cancel culture rolling.
Love sarc done well!
Happy Thanksgiving Matt, to you and your loved ones.