Columns

Sometimes life simply gets ahead of you. By a few minutes, a few hours, maybe even a day. Or let’s say your entire fall has been action-packed and life has gotten ahead of you by weeks.

On Lady Jane’s and my fall sojourn — leaving Little Rock behind after delving into the ignominious history of central High School and the Little Rock Nine — we headed for Hot Springs, a little over fifty miles away and a small city of around 38,000, but one as unique for its size you’re likely to find.

For the last several years, a favorite number of many businesses (particularly farmers) has been 179. Number 179 represents Section 179 of the Internal Revenue Code.

It’s hard to believe that six years have gone by so quickly as I finish these last few weeks as a state representative. It’s been an honor to represent so many wonderful Ohioans at the Statehouse over my three terms.

Some Americans dismiss shoplifting as a victimless crime, even a rite of passage for rebellious teens. Some district attorneys have virtually stopped prosecuting retail theft altogether.

Several years ago, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was preparing to meet teachers to discuss the origins of constitutional government in the United States. After reading about the American South and slavery, he noted to two historians that he read only books by well-known established scholars – but nothing by “revisionists.” Such works were not worth his time, he added. History, once written, was largely factual and static; little of significance remained to be said.

Drama and controversy seem to follow Dr. Anthony Fauci wherever he goes, and such was the case at the White House daily press briefing on Nov. 22.

More than presidents have called 1600 Pennsylvania home. The White House has been a kind of landlocked Noah’s Ark over the years. The Lincolns had nanny goats. William Howard Taft kept a beloved dairy cow on the premises. Teddy Roosevelt housed an incredible 23 species indoors and out, including a lion and a badger. And there have been more dogs and cats than you can shake the proverbial stick at.

At the risk of plagiarizing Popeye, who is a cartoon character and can’t sue me, I am what I am. I can’t say what I am in polite company, but I can say who I am: a guy nobody should want to be because, on most days, I don’t want to be myself.

But why?