While the rest of the country catches on, a morning in Columbus tells another story

I was getting my car repaired this morning. ESPN was on in the waiting area. Some guy whose tire was being fixed said that he did not understand why ESPN was showing so much soccer. I told him the World Cup was going on. He said, "Who cares?" I said, "The World." He then half jokingly said soccer was a communist sport before holding forth on the American sports of baseball and the NBA along with the John Cooper era of Ohio State football. MLS still has this to contend with in Columbus.

Tires rotated and balanced, tested it out by blowing by a truck on I70. I was well over the speed limit and the steering wheel was not shaking like a poor Swiss guy was after his country got their asses beat by France yesterday.

Tools and Taps

Oh that Writers' Block, bringing out the ignorant in everyone. I can't sit next to Vernell for awhile - the things that were said, I have to donate to the United Negro College Fund to atone. Scott Woods gave me a poetry assignment for next week. The word I was given is in the urban dictionary.

While driving home, by the Schottenstein Center there was a familiar ker-flunk ker-flunk noise by the right front tire. Yes, it had gone flat. Tried to make it home and could not without causing untold damage to the rim and who knows what else. Ended up in a lot by the gas tanks at Trabue and Dublin Road. It was well lit for 11PM and the surface was flat.

My mechanical skills are quite limited. This was the third time I've ever had to change a tire, first on the Volvo, and the first late at night.

So I pulled out what I needed from the compartment in back of the wagon. The spare is full size, not a doughnut, and set to work. The jack is about the size of a breadbox. Somehow I managed to get the wheel off the ground. Four of the five bolts came off the tire rather easily. The one bolt left though, serious pain in the ass. Yet, after some thought and a few cuss words it was finally extracted.

The tire came off rather easily but it took a few tries to get the new tire on. It was not quite light enough to completely see the bolts through the holes in the rim, but there was success. Got the bolts back on tight enough to make it home. Only took about half an hour. Aside from the damaged and torn apart tire, no one was hurt.

This morning I get to head over to the tire store and have them put a tire on the rim. I think I'll keep the spare on as it is a full size tire in decent shape. A plus is having the day off. The kid is here to wait for the school bus then we face the rest of the day.

Bottom line: You do not mess with poets

These days I try very, very hard not to blog about and archive outrage here. It's better for my state of mind to keep the online world a lighter place.

You know what's coming, right?

I became aware of this ignorant posting by an Ann Coulter wannabe this morning and have added one comment to the fray.

Notice that, for the most part, those who disagree with the ignorant statement are more articulate and reasonable that the initial wave of sycophants who tried to cleverly say, me too.

I give the blogger credit for not telling any of the educators to die in a fire, although one of the replies suggested hanging. Ouch!

Also, the blogger has not banned or screened comments, including comments from those who are directly involved in the event, nor suggested any of the people who disagreed with her are too chicken shit to attack her physically. Not that I'm completely comparing this to anything that recently happened in my life.

Sitting around your house, pointing fingers at things you do not like and saying hate hate hate, not cool, especially if you have no idea what you are talking about. Or if one is so ingrained in their own fear to see clearly. Asking a few simple questions about what this event, or another event, like a womens poetry slam, is about could do wonders for a personal education. Instead we see the malice, the snark that masks not having a clue, and the fires of bigotry are stoked even higher.