Where to begin? Venezuela? Iran? Minneapolis ? I.C.E ? Computers? And the list goes on. I think I’ll begin with computers. They are evil! Finally, a fiber optic company has laid a cable in front of my house. It is remarkable that the modem/router that I received with the cable requires no line from the fiber optic box to reach my house. The modem/router is wireless like my printer. But here I have another problem. The modem/router will not talk to my printer, even though they both claim to be wi-fi capable. Let me begin in the middle to explain.
My fiber-optic device has a password. So far, so good. All I have to do is open my printer, follow the commands to wi-fi setup, and type in the password (a long password) to hook up my printer to my new fiber-optic, modem/router. I did and—whoops! My password is twelve characters long; my printer has only ten spaces for characters. I’ve tried to go around this roadblock, but whatever I do—doesn’t. I’ve even finally resorted to hooking up my printer to my computer with a USB cable. I can’t even describe what the printed page looks like. It could be that my printer is ten or twelve years old and obsolete. I’m sure a couple of hundred of my readers (assuming I have that many) will know immediately how to fix my problem. Thanks, but keep your fixes to yourself. I’ve already ordered a new printer. If it doesn’t work, I ain’t gonna tell you. I’m used to such calamities. As noted above, computers (and printers) are evil. I’ll say no more about them, except for one word — Fie!
Iran! During my college days (1960s), I became friends with an Iranian who was attending Texas A&I to be a Petroleum Engineer. At the time Texas A&I ranked second in the country to Oklahoma State University in the study of Petroleum Engineering and had a large number of students from the Middle East. “George” as we called the Irani (a typical Americanization of foreign names during those days) George, out of curiosity, visited the small church which I attended where he eventually discarded his belief in Islam and became a Christian. George’s name was not that difficult to learn, but we Americans are lazy at times, especially when learning other’s names. Confession: I’ve since forgotten George’s real name.
At any rate, George was involved in Iran with the attempt to depose the dictator—the Shah of Iran. George’s father was the head of the telephone company which encompasses all of Iran—a powerful political position. I suppose that George’s father no longer holds that position, because several coups have taken place since then. Nevertheless, as of this writing, with the country in an uproar against the present regime, telephone service has been discontinued. People have to talk face-to-face if a familiar face can be found to talk to. I hear that Ayatollah Khamenei, today’s ruler, seems to be contemplating escaping into exile. I don’t know whether that’s good or bad, but I’ve often wondered over the years, since George and I disappeared from each other’s lives and the Shah had to go into exile, whether George regretted throwing out one dictator for what seems to me to be a worse dictator. Yes, Forrest Gump! Life is like a box of chocolates: “You never know what you’re going to get.” And, George! Did you survive the original revolution?
As for Venezuela, Donald Trump has that country well in hand despite the Democrats berating him constantly for freeing the people of that country from another brutal dictator. I cannot comprehend the Democrats’ love for criminals, so I no longer try. I heard one news commentator state that if Donld Trump found a cure for cancer (all types), the Democrats would be against the cure. Keep up the good work Mr. Trump. Go ahead! Find a cure for cancer (all types.)
The city of Minneapolis and its citizens are under siege, not by I.C.E., but by illegal aliens. The majority of American citizens did not invite illegal aliens into our country. Therefore, we, through our laws, have demanded they return to where they came from. We have given I.C.E. agents the authority to see that they do return to their homelands. Paid rabble rousers are impeding the agents’ duty and by doing so, are law breakers themselves and should be arrested and incarcerated. To threaten the lives of I.C.E. agents, duly sworn law officers, is not peaceful protesting.
And so you have it.
Carl Fowler is a retired professor of English at Amarillo College and lives in Amarillo.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: How do you see it? | OPINION
Reporting by By Carl Fowler, Special to the Amarillo Globe-News / Amarillo Globe-News
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