I agree that you are making a point, and this point is responding to a position that isn't really being taken. We went to school together, remember, and we had friends that were black,  white, brown, yellow (although I don't recall any Native American kids, now that I think about it). If someone is claiming that one ethnicity is free from civil liberty violations, then yes, they're probably trolling you.

The points that I see being made are: Local law enforcement has become more concerned with being in control than with the rights of American citizens (as has our federal government).

Police officers seem to use lethal force waaaay more on minorities. Which, possibly, have all been completely justified. Maybe minorities are just way more aggressive and dangerous overall and they all had it coming. It's possible, right? But until that's actually proven, why is it considered "controversial" to want an investigation into a police shooting? Might it have something to do with the person being black? If not, then what are some examples of other ethnicities being killed by police that have struggled to get an impartial investigation?

Finally, I think we all have stories of being harassed by the police. The trend you may notice is that, on average, minorities have waaaay more of these stories. I've been driving for 15 years. I've been stopped by police 31 times resulting in 2 tickets. 30 stops in AZ, 1 in CA. I got a ticket in CA, since I was speeding. My other ticket was for expired tags, in AZ, that had expired the day before and I got the ticket on my way to the DMV to pay my registration. That was just funny.

Is that a normal amount of times to be pulled over? Is it normal to have a stop/ticket ratio of 1-15? Might it have something to do with my skin color? I admit I don't know, really. It's only my personal experience.

But I don't think sharing my personal experience is further dividing the country. With our access to vast amounts of conflicting information, we have the luxury of deciding what we want to be true first, and then only accepting the information that supports what we already believe. It's not great for systems of democratic government, but on a philosophical level, I think we are finally going to see who people really are.

You had a name for me. I had a name for you. Always turned my head. Your memory was good, but you still remembered some moments as lasting longer than others. I wonder if I do it too.

Our lives were hands on a doorknob turning. Closing doors and final moments.

Where do they go, the people I don't dream of anymore?

8 percent battery life.

Tomorrow waits in queue, ticket in hand, carpet bag in the other. Fleeing the future.

A woman told me she was the last matriarch of the DeLeons. She said she was every blood type. She said the military took her spinal fluid and it is hidden in a vault. She said her body cured her cancer on its own after she refused treatment. She said she wasn't supposed to get excited because of her heart. She said "Ha ha" as two words and a question mark. She said she was going to turn Minnesota from Democrat to Republican by calling her family members there. She said I was wrong.

She told me that she was a descendant of Ghengis Kahn. I believe that is the second most probable thing she said to me.

The phone disconnected. I called her back. She answered by telling me again that she has blood types O-, U, and N. She asked me to look at the letters and tell her what they spelled. I didn't. The phone disconnected again. I did not call her back.

Difficult tasks.

Calvin and Hobbes books for the twins. Also threw in a Far Side. Gary Larsen is red in tooth and claw and funny bone.

The caterpillar on the toadstool smoking hookah.

Slicing sheets for sleeping better.  When they tangle I have nightmares. Machine for bad sleep-breathers hisses gaps in mask and hose. I pretend it's space travel. 

Writing desk trapped in the corner with a window to look beyond. These nooks are vital for my vitals. Nooks could make up my whole home.

I did not wash the dogs today. I meant to but a storm was coming. Desert storms with orange dust paint rollers over everything. When they come it feels like the world is an old film.

I'll wash the dogs tomorrow.

Last night, in tangled sheets, I dreamt you were dead and I panicked and ran from nook to nook with armfuls of everything I meant to tell you. Where now could I keep them? There was no more room in the memories of you.  Sight and smell and taste of you and your murmers of possession. No room for what could have been. 

The bedsheets are freshly laundered. The dogs will jump and sleep on it while I am away at work.

I'll wash the dogs tomorrow.

This isn't how I remember the future.

Farther from inside of you.

Shale footprints down the mountain.

Our blind spots make Venn diagrams.

In my dream I own and operate a small cafe/bookstore that provides a unique service to people who are afflicted with "celebrity". They can come in and get coffee and baked goods and peruse books and whatnot and the staff and other customers will treat them like regular people. Which they are.

Maybe I'll call it "Regular Joe". Or something like that. The other customers will also be staff, because actual customers probably won't wear the special underwear that applies an electric shock if they start acting like fan boys.  Or fan girls. We don't discriminate at Regular Joe.

Tiny Self Review

I was asked to answer a few questions at work. This is my reply.

My time in the industry has two answers. Working specifically with insurance billing is new to me. I did spend a year working in the mail room of an insurance company about six years ago. I learned to classify the myriad documents that insurance companies handle although I didn't actually apply them; I just made sure they got to the right place. That is the scope of my experience with billing.

I have been with this company for .15 years, or about 8 weeks. I'm thoroughly enjoying it.

Two of my favorite books are "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint Exupery and "Moby Dick" by Herman Melville. When the Little Prince had a question, "he never let go of it" until he found the answer. I have a similar tenacity that I apply to problems. Every question has an answer. It may not be an answer I like, but at least I'll know it and be better prepared when I encounter similar problems in the future.

In "Moby Dick", Ishmael pays attention to everything. As he observes the details of new places, people, and situations, he comes to larger conclusions about the world and his place in it. I share the same obsession with attention to detail; a kind of a "take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves" approach that lends itself very well to a line of work where being off by a single digit or letter can mean the difference between a paid claim and a denial.

With these traits together, I am in danger of losing sight of the most urgent tasks. For that I rely on a highly organized workspace and regular "snapshots" of groups of tasks. I've come to accept that I'll probably never be completely caught up, (which is good because where's the excitement in that?) but I can make sure I'm bailing enough water out of each boat so that none of them sink. So to speak.

As for what I bring to the team, I have to pull out a less literary example: The cartoon show "Eek The Cat". His catchphrase is "It never hurts to help." And then, of course, while doing his good deed, Eek would inevitably get run over or blown up or something. Therein lies the comedy. I'm like that too. I am here to help to the best of my abilities. I am also here to do no harm, which means recognizing when something is beyond my capabilities. In the event I cannot help directly, I will still help by finding someone who can.

And, like Eek the Cat, I am hilarious. Not so much at this time because my all my brain power is devoted to processing and applying all the new things I'm learning every day. But trust me, we'll get there.