Election Day 2020

 "They should be taught to deescalate. Shoot 'em in the leg."

Bikecopblog attempts to be non-partisan. We are not afraid to express an opinion. You are not required to like it, commit to it or even respect it. This is America. You are free to do your own thinking.

A vote for the Biden/Harris ticket is a vote against law enforcement. It is a vote to empower the Marxist Left who have advocated defunding and disbanding police departments all over the country. Both of the candidates have expressed their support for the defunding movement. Extreme radical members of the House have already stated they believe a Biden Presidency will be pliable enough to accomplish their agenda.

You don't have to take my word for it.

There is a reason the NYPD Union endorses Donald Trump. There is a reason the National Fraternal Order of Police endorses Donald Trump.

There is always room for improvement, reform. Hell, I just wrote a book about that. On these pages I've discussed police misconduct and the need for change. And, I know - Orange Man Bad.

What good are the millions of dollars spent on body cameras, if politicians stand by bleating anti-police rhetoric and facilitating unrest when officers clearly are defending themselves against a person with a weapon? What good is the "rule of law" when officers who are clearly responding to a lethal threat are indicted for political purposes? How many good men and women have turned their backs on a police career because they don't want to land in jail for the mere fact they went home at the end of their shift, instead of to a hospital, or a morgue?

We are not endorsing a candidate, or telling you how you should vote. All we're saying is this - the Biden/Harris ticket has expressly stated their support for the defunding/disbanding movement. And that's a fact.

Was This In The Brochure?

 "If I remember my training correctly, one of the lessons was titled 'Don't dig up the big box of plutonium, Mark.'" Mark Watney (Matt Damon), The Martian (2015).

I went to a pre-op conference with one of the surgeons who will be part of implanting the radioactive plaque on my left eye... Oh, did I miss a step?

About two weeks ago, I was diagnosed with a rare form of melanoma in my left eye. Apparently, only about 2000 people in the US hear those words every year. Believe me, I don't feel all that special.

This is a serious illness, but fortunately it was early and the PET scan (have you ever fallen asleep in a tube, woken up with a mask on your face and then had a panic attack?) was clear, so far. So, I have that going for me, which is nice...

I've enjoyed embarrassing good health over the years, to the point that the medical history I've had to share with about a dozen people usually includes a pause, they set down their pen and say "Nothing?" Our joke has been that when I get something, it will be a doozie. When I related this to one of the nurses, she said "You won't tell that joke again."

She doesn't really know us.

The prognosis is good, at least in the near term. I have surgery on October 7th and - amazingly - I will be too radioactive for Pat or the dogs to come near me for more than one or two momentary PDAs a day. There is a slight possibility the radioactive pellets might escape, in which case we - pick them up with tweezers, put them in a jar of water and set it someplace remote. One of the lessons...

After that, maybe double vision for a while, with no real way to know how much more sight I get back.

It's a long story and at some point I'll be available for margaritas, Mexican food and a story to tell. Until then, I can feel the strength and good wishes you are conveying. We'll make sure to keep everyone in the loop.

Until then - keep a happy thought.  

RBG

 Mourning the passing of Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Ruth Bader Ginsberg.

It has become chic to occupy the parapets of partisanship, and become amateur political operatives at every opportunity. It is particularly so upon the death of a Supreme Court Justice. Friends and family members have not had time to digest the sad news before Washington moves on, if one can call it that.

Ruth Bader Ginsberg served her country in an indispensable way. She was a tireless advocate for equal rights, especially where gender is concerned. At a time when women were openly discriminated against - and the law permitted it - she began the long, arduous process of evening the playing field. A gifted and accomplished law student, she was initially deprived of the opportunity to serve as a judicial clerk because of her gender.

It is easy to disagree with Justice Ginsberg on matters of law. Were it not for reasonable differences of jurisprudential opinion, law would be a sterile and boring endeavor. It would not be very difficult to find an array of her opinions where even a cursory reading results in head shaking and tut-tutting.

It is also not hard to find a person fully committed to justice, equality and freedom. Her opinions were well written, precise and forceful. It was common during a Supreme Court term to select one of her missives and admire the pith with which she stated her position. Sometimes, grudgingly, I had to admit she changed my mind.

Justice Ginsberg served her country by being a strong advocate for her principles. They didn't change with the prevailing wind. When she wrote an opinion, it was hers - not, as so many mistakenly conclude, constrained by either rigid ideology or political party talking points. If the breadth of her work does not demonstrate that, one need only know that her closest friend on the Court was, until his own death, Antonin Scalia.

The law is more just and fair because you served admirably, Justice Ginsberg. Thank you.

A Sequel to Embrace

How many good movie sequels have you seen? How many were disappointing? And, how many were left unmade?

Part of being a fiction writer is being vigilant, looking for story lines, weaving and interweaving lives that never were into characters that readers enjoy. It isn't something that can be turned off, then on again. It is a presence.

Before this gets too weird, let me go a little Andy Rooney on you. For many, that reference is obscure. I'll be right here after Google or Bing is through with you.

Okay. Did you ever wonder what happened to Zack Mayo? He was the lead in An Officer and a Gentleman, a Naval aviation officer candidate who falls for one of the "townies." The plot gets dark for a while, and there is tension between Zack and their senior instructor, Marine Gunnery Sergeant Foley. Foley thinks Zack is going to defect with an F-14. Zack is doing the things that have always worked for him - when Foley labels him a "slick little hustler" it's not far off the mark.

Zack makes it, graduates with his class and becomes an officer in the US Navy. His career path includes basic flight school and then... What?

An adorable WWII movie, made more so because of the cast, is Operation Petticoat. Cary Grant plays a sub captain whose boat is caught up in the first days of the war. It is damaged and sinks at anchorage. He enlists (after a fashion) the talents of another "slick little hustler" - Lt. (jg) Nick Holden - played by Tony Curtis. Holden joined the USNR because a uniform gets a person into all the right clubs. The film ends with... Well, it's now Commander Holden, whose next command is a nuke boat.

Is it like that? Does Zack Mayo win his wings? Does he fly the F-14 in combat, maybe become CAG on a carrier? Does he lead his pilots into war on 16 January 1991? Was Mayo pulling Pentagon duty on 9/11?

Or, does he fail, wash out? Did he lack the delicate touch and nimble mind necessary to fly a military aircraft? Maybe he said the wrong thing to the wrong person and, to quote Top Gun's Commander "Stinger" Jardian, ended up "flying rubber dog shit out of Hong Kong." 

Maybe there was a night when his Tomcat was acting up, the weather sucked and he was bingo fuel, that he and his RIO never made it back to the ship. Wife Paula was left with a folded flag, and kids to raise.

Zack had that "slick hustler" side that would have come in handy when all of the book answers failed. When the airplane was having a day, when things looked bad, when there was somebody out there who needed a bomb put in exactly the right place... When a Marine who sounded a lot like Gunny Foley was on the radio saying things like "danger close" and only Lt. Commander "Mayonnaise" Mayo had the balls to do what had to be done, because he'd once been the man with no place else to go. A Marine had given him the chance to prove what he had, when no one else believed in him.

We have a start, don't we? This is one of the reasons I love being a writer. 

A Small Fortune

 "To make a small fortune owning a bike shop, first start with a big fortune..." Anonymous.

The Austin Police Department - according to reports in their local paper - is looking for a new bike shop to service their gear. Mellow Johnny's, an outfit that once was (or, maybe still is) owned by Lance Armstrong, terminated the contract early. They left a substantial amount of cash on the table in the interest of expressing some kind of principle. That makes me think Lance does not still own the shop.

I'll pause here, and draw a distinction between me and actual journalists. An actual journalist would probably have investigated Lance's interest in Mellow Johnny's. An actual journalist would have said how much money the shop gave up. An actual journalist would have written that Mellow Johnny's is/was owned by Disgraced former bike racer stripped of his mellow johnnies Lance Armstrong.

But, as has been said by Kings and Queens, I am not an actual journalist.

The article describes that the activities of the Austin Police Department during recent nocturnal festivities there were not in keeping with the sensibilities of Mellow Johnny's wrench-turners and goo-slingers. Something about community policing, or something.

Huh.

There is no better way to get cops out of their cars and interacting with the community than on a bike. Readers of these pages don't have to be told that. Hell, if you've gotten this far, you're probably aware of that.

Mellow Johnny's can do what they want - they are a private business free to make these decisions for themselves. Austin PD will just have to muddle along and give someone else hundreds of thousands of dollars.

But, if Mellow Johnny's thinks a meaningless, transparent, futile gesture like that is a way to improve law enforcement, they are wrong.

Oh, Mellow Johnny is a play on maillot jaune, the yellow jersey, awarded after each stage to the race leader (and then, to the ultimate race winner) in the Tour de France. That Lance, what a clever guy.

A Moment of Weakness

 "Build up your weaknesses until they become your strengths." Knute Rockne.

I love to write. No kidding, huh? I often write just for the pure joy of creating scenes, characters, situations. I like nothing better than to take a long bike ride, think about a writing project (often with the help of my cycling friends) and then sit in front of a laptop for several hours.

I suck at marketing. 

It isn't that my writing sucks - it doesn't (I say that in all humility). It's just that when it comes to telling other people that they should buy one of my books, read it, and enjoy the ride, finding the words is a chore.

I took a class. It helped - a little.

I've had other people write things. It helped - a little.

I've "boosted" things on line. It helped - a little.

I thought maybe I'd look around, see who I could copy. I discovered a guy who plays guitar. Maybe...him?

His name is Joe Bonamassa. He's a blues guitarist of some repute, a guys who's won awards, played with some people I've actually heard of (as though that's the gold standard?) and appears at Red Rocks during years the 'Rona hasn't kept us all inside. He does brief videos, has voiceovers from that drag race guy ("Sunnnnddaaaayyy...") and generally makes a big deal out of his own music. Fine.

Torn from today's headlines, police procedural titan James A Greer's pithy new novel "A Guardian's Promise" combines grit, determination and sacrifice into a stunning web of fast-paced action and mystery. Enter the searing world of a policewoman whose femininity is often masked by the hardened, street-smart beat cop she has had to become. 

I dunno... Too much?

I actually think you'd like it, especially if you've ever wondered what really goes on inside a police department. I guess I'm something of an authority on that.

A little.

Letting Go

“If we can just let go and trust that things will work out they way they're supposed to, without trying to control the outcome, then we can begin to enjoy the moment more fully. The joy of the freedom it brings becomes more pleasurable than the experience itself.”
― Goldie Hawn

Release Day for "A Guardian's Promise."

My first release day was in the fall of 2007. A small-imprint publisher had agreed to market a short story called "A Parasol in a Hurricane." Pat and I were in Mexico, at a resort near Playa del Carmen. We excitedly got onto the computer in their clubhouse - it being pre-readily available Wi-Fi - and awaited the announcement. And... There it was, my first published fiction work.

Release day means a lot of things. It means income. It means seeing a book cover with my name on it. And, it means - gasp - that it no longer truly belongs to me. I've let it go, given it to those who open the cover and begin to read. The book is now about wherever the reader's mind takes them.

Since then, I've seen the release of five full-length novels featuring three distinct characters - Sergeant Amy Painter, Detective Karen Sorenson and Deputy Cecilia (Cici) Onofrio. Each release day has been filled with feelings of accomplishment, anticipation and joy.

I don't write because I think it will make us rich - good thing. I don't write because I think I'm making a contribution to great literature - police novels are stories.

I write because I had an interesting job, and I think others would love to see what some of it entailed. "Guardian" is more of a classic police procedural - cops doing law enforcement like cops. But, it is also a cautionary tale, something being born out in headlines, in nightly news and via online video links from streets across the country.

Policing is a noble profession, and anyone who works as an officer has made a solemn pledge - that they will deal with the needs of their community, come what may. They have pledged to uphold the law, to risk their own lives to save others, and to do it day in-day out, for years. In spite of the stress, the ambiguities and the drama - day in-day out.

No human endeavor is perfect. What "Guardian" also represents is how imperfect people can sometimes forget who they serve, and why they are invested with the awesome power to deprive another citizen of their rights to life, liberty and property.

In that case, who stands up and says "No more?"