Dwelling Places

This "bwrite" (a.k.a. blog) is a little thick and chewy, like Sicilian pizza. So you might have to read it several times to get through my own hazy writing (long sentences, split infinitives, dangling participles etc. etc.) But maybe there is a little bit of light in it; certainly not brilliance in the sense of gifted thinking that comes from men like Stephen Hawking. Stephen Hawking's reasoning to justify euthanasia is fundamentally the same as his reasoning for atheism and to some degree "anti-theism". Regarding his recent thoughts on euthanasia, he basis his proposition in support of mercy killing on the presupposition that the condition of suffering, especially in the elderly and the terminal, has no purpose or value. He might go so far as to propose that to disallow someone the choice of killing themselves in whatever way is to infringe upon a right to freedom from what he might call the cruelty of prolongation of life during suffering associated with the...

  On September 11th 2001, a Tuesday, I was set to fly to Washington, D.C. for the first gathering of the inductees to the Excellence in Government Fellows. We were to meet on Wednesday, September 12th at the Willard Hotel for the initial ceremonies and series of week long events for those of us from across the nation who were to participate. I originally had my flight on the Monday before, September 10, but decided to switch my flight. If I had departed that Monday, I would have been in the middle of it all. I remember getting up early that day since the American Airlines flight was to depart from Albuquerque for Atlanta at 8 a.m. with a connecting flight to Ronald Reagan International in D.C. later that afternoon. It was still dark outside when my Red 1998 Dodge Ram Quad Cab pulled into the extended parking area. I travel light so I had two bags. Took the shuttle from extended parking and the sun still was not near its rising point. It was about 6 a.m. I got to the airport,...