I haven’t explicitly made this pledge before, so let me make it now:
When I report silly things in this space, I promise that they will only be things that I have actually observed. Sure, there will be lots of marginally informed opinion. I specialize in that. But I promise that when I say I saw or heard something, I really saw or heard it.
This isn’t some noble-but-empty stab at journalistic integrity. It is honest recognition of the fact that I’m nowhere near good enough to make this kind of @%&* up.
Like the time I saw this van in front of a neighbor’s house:
With my pledge in mind, I’d like to report that today has been a red letter day for me – specifically in the “I’m pretty sure this means the government is going too far” category:
This morning, I heard a story on the radio that included the words, “The agency that regulates rubber ducks. . .” This was on NPR, not The Onion.(listen).
This afternoon, on a plane home to Chicago, I heard something new in the preflight announcements: “Federal law requires that all passengers know the location of the cockpit door. It is at the front and center of the aircraft.”
Friends, if your day has been half as good as mine, you’ve had a wonderful day indeed.
Carp Diem 