Uncategorized – Page 16 – The Creative Chronicles of Dave Stancliff

An Incident On A Chicago Street Corner

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I’ve got a very short story with a twist for you today:

Scene: a street corner in Chicago.

LeVar’s mouth was cotton dry with fear.

He was surrounded by a group of 18th Street Boys showing guns. As a Loco Boy he was fair game and LeVar knew they would toy with him before killing him.

LeVar’s thoughts turned back into his past. He saw his mother and father, alive then, smiling at him and telling him he was a smart boy. He was protective of his little sister Diedre. He was a good son.

A police siren shrieked somewhere nearby. Startled by the sound LeVar looked around him for an opening. There were four of them. Heavily armed, bad ass killers, with no souls. Their dark eyes were pinpoints of hate.

Just yesterday someone warned LeVar that some 18th Street Boys were looking for him. He said quit messing around with one of their women, they’re crazy. He should have listened to his homie.

LeVar rallied his courage. His voice sounded high and almost girlish as he told them he was sorry and that he would give them all a lot of money if they let him live. One of the gang knew who LeVar was. His uncle, who he lived with, was a rich retired athlete.

The possibility that LeVar could come up with a lot of money had them thinking. Silence while LeVar sweated. Waiting for their answer. The leader put his Glock down and walked up to LeVar…breathing in his face he was so close.

We want a million dollars. Tomorrow. Call your uncle. LeVar pulled his cell phone out of his back pocket. In moments his fate would be decided. When his uncle came on the line and he explained the situation his uncle simply said, “Where do they want it delivered?”

A rush of relief that he was going to live made LeVar’s body tremble with joy.

When the police discovered the body of a young black man full of bullet holes on 18th Street, they sighed and went to work on the crime scene. Another death. They knew who did it. What they didn’t know was why.

The End

My apologies to the great American writer Ambrose Bierce who wrote the classic “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” one of the most famous and frequently anthologized stories in American literature.

As It Stands, Bierce’s story showed there was no glory in war. My take on it is there’s no glory in being a gangster.

Silence is not Golden: Stand Up To ‘Unite the Right’ Rally

If we work together Love will trump Hate

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Photo Author

Fibonacci Blue from Minnesota, USA

Update: 11:00 a.m. PST – State of emergency as white nationalist rally in Charlottesville turns violent

Thanks to Trump, the alt-rights national recruitment program in America is thriving.

Today, Neo-Nazis and KKKer’s will take over the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia. The event is being called “Unite the Right.” It’s a siren call to fascists, racists, Neo-Nazis, Klan members, and anarchists.

Organizers are expecting 1000 people to attend. Perhaps more, if their pre-rally recruiting did well. Some are calling it the biggest racist rally in recent memory.

While there have been dozens of far-right rallies since Trump’s election, this will be the first major, national rally run by the alt-right’s openly white nationalist wing.

Charlottesville has seen multiple white nationalist rallies this year. The first, a May 2017 daytime event, was followed by a nighttime torchlight photo-op.

Led by alt-right poster boy Richard Spencer, attendees chanted Nazi slogans like “blood and soil.” The second, in July, was a KKK rally.

The white nationalist rallies have been ostensibly held to oppose the removal of a statue of former Confederate Army General Robert E. Lee. But don’t kid yourself; it’s not that the alt-right gives a tinker’s damn about history, but they do know how to exploit it for their agenda.

Some progressive groups will be there to counter-demonstrate. Hopefully, it won’t turn into a riot. Americans are not particularley happy right now with how things are going; the threat of a nuclear war with Korea, and Trump’s racist immigration policies have set the stage for a high level of tension right now.

The last thing this country needs is idealogical warfare turning into massive street fights across the country.

Counterprotests serve as an immediate denucication of a current event – like this hate rally – but they are not the answer to the problem. The answer lies in sharing the truth about these groups.

Exposing the hate in the alt-right movement is not hard to do. Countering it takes more than a one-off protest against a current event. Silence is not golden when it comes to opposing hate.

We all need to voice our oppostion to this wave of hate through whatever means are available to us. Nearly everyone has access to a computer and social media. We can all write our legislators and voice our opinion.

Finally, most importantly, we can all be examples of tolerance by the way we live, and how we interact with others.

As It Stands, call me old-fashioned…but I believe love trumps hate.

Things I Never Thought I’d See

I’ve seen the elephant, but nothing like this!

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I use to watch The Twilight Zone, a television anthology series created by Rod Serling.

The show pushed the limits of reality with psychological horror, fantasy, science fiction, suspense, and psychological thrillers, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist, and usually with a moral.

But as strange as Serling’s stories were they pale in the light of our 21st century realities.

Who would have thought America would some day be led by a racist man-child who thought it was okay to grab women’s vaginas?

Who would have thought America would become a laughingstock because we have a narcissist Liar-In-Chief leading us?

Who would have thought we’d be so close to a nuclear war with Korea? It’s a modern day Cuban missile crisis, but we have added the factor of two emotional stunted world leaders threatening each other.

Who would have thought that there would be a renaissance of racism in America in the 21st century, as the alt-right stepped into the lime light after Trump was elected?

Who would have thought that the American people would become so dumbed down by fake news that they would elect a greedy con man president?

Who would have thought something called the internet would change the world?

As It Stands, I’m 66-years old and have “seen the elephant“ as the oldtimers use to say, but nothing compares to today!

White House Stops Press Briefings, Refers Reporters To Fox and Friends

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It’s official.

Since his presidency, Trump has watched Fox and Friends every morning before any security briefings, or news.

Republicans who have sworn fealty to his Orangeness in Office, have decided it’s time to fully submerge themselves in the administrations swamp.

House Republicans introduced a bill making it mandatory for all GOP members to watch Fox and Friends every morning before going about their day. The bill is expected to pass with the current GOP majority in the House and to move on to the Senate without any discussion.

Senate confirmation is a given.

White House staff members – especially the propaganda unit – are busy fighting all the fake news (everyone but Fox and Friends). By canceling all White House Press Briefings, Trump has taken another step to Make America Great again.

This is truly an exciting time for Americans. It’s been nothing but winning, winning, and more winning with Trump at the helm.

But wait! There’s more: All liberals will be required to wear a rainbow ID badge if Lying Ted Cruz has his way. He’s attached a rider to the Fox and Friends Bill that looks like it’ll go unchallenged.

As It Stands, you are now leaving the Twilight Zone, or just woke up from a nightmare!

Now What? Everyone’s on Vacation

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One of the reasons that I have a blog is I like to write about politics.

But I’m up against a wall right now. Trump and Congress are on vacation, regardless of what Trump claims. That leaves less options. But there’s still news.

For example.

A federal climate report says the United States is already feeling the effects of climate change, with temperatures rising dramatically over the last four decades.

That’s according to The New York Times, which acquired a draft copy of the report by scientists from 13 federal agencies. But don’t expect to see it.

Trump has made it clear he doesn’t believe in climate change. His administration is going to review the study and then make a recommendation. Do you want to guess what’s going to happen with that report?

It’s going to get filed in the round file, aka trash. That based upon what Trump has said and done, like getting out of the Paris Climate Accord which was signed by nearly every country in the world.

Here’s an perfect example of what science is up against: The Trump administration’s solution to climate change: ban the term

Moving on.

The U.S. is getting sucked into a nasty little war between the Philippine government and an ISIS affiliate who captured the city of Marawi. It’s a siege situation right now. We’ve given limited support thus far.

And on.

I read that USA Today is tracking Trump’s real estate deals, and readers are invited to help.

Since winning the Republican nomination, Trump’s businesses have sold at least 32 luxury condos and home lots for about $20 million to shell companies that shield the identities of buyers.

The identities of people paying Trump’s companies for real estate may come under a microscope as the special counsel investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 election expands his probe to examine Trump’s business transactions.

As It Stands, the best show in the house is always Trump, and our bumbling Congress.

An Old Expression/Response That Will Leave You laughing

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Got a big smile going on today?

If not, allow me to toss out a few crumbs of jocularity for your entertainment.

My wife and I (photo) have been married 43 years as of August 31st. We’ve stayed together this long because we communicate and both have a good sense of humor.

One night, I remembered an old expression my Dad used and spontaneously decided to share it in a moment of frustration.

It was one of the funniest expressions for exasperation I ever heard. More on that in a moment. To this day, it still ranks in my top three retorts.

History. The whole family was in the car driving to the beach (1960) and my mother was thoroughly breaking Dad’s chops over trivial things:

“Why can’t you speed up and go around that idiot?”

“Why are you slowing down… the lights still yellow?”

The four of us kids were in the back seat, forced to hear the constant pick, pick, pick of my mother’s complaints. This went on for nearly an hour before Dad could no longer hold it in anymore.

It was a quick retaliatory response. Stunning in its directness;

“Margaret… would you shut up? Your ass sucks canal-water!”

There was a stunned silence, then we kids burst out laughing. My mother didn’t seem to have a response. She made funny little gurgling sounds (they may have been growls). I had trouble getting my breath, I was laughing so hard.

A moment in time.

Which brings us up to the time when my wife, Shirley, and I were working on putting together Christmas toys for our three boys. Bikes and benches. Hundreds of screws and nuts and bolts. No sleep until the job was done.

It was a recipe for disaster. For whatever reason I blurted out, “Your ass sucks canal-water!” At first I thought she was going to throw a wrench at me. But, to my surprise, she burst out laughing and wanted to know where I heard that expression?

With pride, I said my dad and told her the story. When it was over she said “That’s cute. Now don’t you ever say that in front of our boys!”

So much for tradition.

As It Stands, life is full of laughs, you just have to recognize when.

‘Can You Hear Me Now,’ and Other Silly Questions

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If a tree falls in the middle of a forest, does anyone hear it?

The answer is, of course, the wildlife hear it really well, especially the ones that were living in that fallen tree.

If a blog hardly gets any traffic what is the answer?

More than likely, it wasn’t set-up properly and no one sees it on the web. This is especially true if you’re an amateur, like me. Blogging content is also obviously important.

I made a few adjustments yesterday, but I’m not sure they’re making any difference yet. Question:

By the way, how did you find my blog? Moving on…

What were the first words ever spoken on the telephone?

“Mr. Watson–come here–I want to see you.” – Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone

What would you have said?

I thought about a reply, or two. How about, “Hello! Can you hear me?” Or perhaps, “Hello! Do you deliver pizza?”

Communication is so important.

The best communication takes place when two, or more people, are in the room and everyone is contributing.

When you see someone walking down the street and talking out loud in what appears to be a one-way conversation, what comes to your mind?

The person is crazy. Or, the person has an earbud in, and is talking with someone else on a cell phone. To determine which it is casually look at their ears – you should get your answer pretty quickly.

As It Stands, when I was younger (I won’t say how young) I thought animals could talk, but they only did it when humans weren’t around.

Blasts from the Past: Columns Shared

Controversial columns by Dave Stancliff

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Hello everyone!

I thought I’d share some of my columns that ran in The Times-Standard in Eureka, California. My column, As It Stands, kicked off in 2008 and ran through 2014.

A Look Back

As It Stands: This column’s genesis, anniversary and gnarly toes Good for a few laughs.

As It Stands: Getting Your Pet A Rabies Shot? Think Twice, And Get Advice

Note:This originally ran in the Times-Standard and this publication picked it up. Seen as controversial.

As It Stands: Meet ALEC: a wolf in sheep’s clothing

This column is still relevant. These guys are in charge of Congress.

As It Stands: ‘People Power’ is more than a slogan today

I discussed the killing of Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old black male, by a neighborhood watch captain. It highlights the deep racial divide that existed (probably still does) in Sanford, Fla.

As It Stands: Speed Kills — so why is meth still scourging our society?

Sadly, this issue has only gotten worse since I wrote this column in 2012.

As It Stands, by now I’m sure you figured out that I’m keeping that column alive by morphing it into this blog. Hence, The Return of As It Stands.

Old Gold Rush Town To Become a Pot Paradise

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Back in 1973, a buddy and I went to Las Vegas with what could fairly be described as a “plethora” of illegal drugs aboard for personal use.

Think “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” by the late great Hunter Thompson. In our remake there were two Hunter Thompson’s on a mission to gamble and to visit all the strip joints on the Vegas strip.

We had a worse time than the master himself did on our way to Las Vegas. As we hurtled towards what we hoped was Sin City in a little sports car with the top down, we somehow (surprise) made a wrong turn.

When we pulled into the tiny town of Nipton, we suspected something was wrong. It was all but dead.

Just a few people lived out there in the middle of nowhere. Turned out that we were 60 miles south of Las Vegas and 10 miles off the major highway that connects Nipton to Los Angeles.

When I recently read that Nipton, an old gold town, was getting an infusion of legal cannabis that was going to turn that town into a new boom town, I was excited. One of the nation’s largest cannabis companies bought the entire California desert town of 80 acres.

They have big plans. American Green, the new owner, is on a mission to build a pot paradise. A solar farm that provides much of the tiny town’s electricity is going to get a boost.

The plan is to expand that farm and also bottle and sell cannabis-infused water from Nipton’s plentiful aquifer, joint moves that would make the town green in more ways than one.

American Green is also reaching out to edibles manufacturers and other pot-industry businesses, hoping they’ll be interested in relocating to Nipton and bringing jobs with them.

Not in my wildest drug-induced dreams did I ever suspect that little town we were lost in would become a pot town with a promising future.

Oh, just for the record, we finally made it to Las Vegas where we lost most of our money that night.

As It Stands, I wonder if the new owners are going to change the town’s name to something like “Potsville or Green City?”

I Played Basketball On LSD…and There’s More

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It was the summer of 1971. Or, was it ’72? It might have been ’73.

Anyway…my buddy and I often played 2-on-2 pickup basketball games in gyms in Southern California. One day we dropped some really colorful Orange Wedge acid (could have been Orange Sunshine) and went to a gym to play basketball.

Acid heads know what I mean when I say we were starting to ‘Come on” when we challenged two guys to a game. Perhaps if we weren’t in a hazy state we would have noticed some odd things about them.

But we didn’t and the game was on. About the time one of them pulled up to take a shot I was getting “follow-ups.” The ball seemed to hang in the sky, coming down like a rainbow as it rattled around the rim and went in.

My friend looked at me, and shrugged. Then he started to get “follow-ups” while we tried to guard the basket. It was useless. We were moving like automatons. The game was over before we knew it. 10 – 0. A point a basket.

We took a break. Got some water at the fountain in the gym. We both were enjoying all the colors around us when I happened to look over at the other side of the gym and spotted one of the guys warm-up jackets…they were cops!

At that moment we we a white version of Cheech and Chong. Can’t remember all the dialogue (I’d be lying if I did), but I know we panicked hard for a couple of minutes.

It was a real bad thing to be caught doing drugs in the ’70s. People were getting life sentences for a joint.

Then something strange happened.

Perhaps it was pride. Perhaps we were a good team of two. We looked at each other and smiled. The two cops were taking shots at the basket on the far end of the court. We brought our Red-White-and Blue ball over and challenged them to a rematch.

They smiled so wide I could see their tonsils. We knew what they were thinking. Another easy game.

We got the ball first. I drove to the basket and when they both picked me up I tossed the ball to my friend. Swish! 1-0 us. They blinked for a moment then took the ball out. We played tough man-to-man defense, unlike the first game.

I wish I could remember the final score…but, I can tell you we won! Both men seemed shocked. They had to suspect we were flying higher than the balls we were tossing up from every angle.

What a victory. As soon as we got outside I threw my guts up – some orange flavored cereal from that morning – and then we went tripping on to our next adventure. It must not have been that good, because I can’t remember it.

As It Stands, this is a story I couldn’t have shared during my newspaper days. I’m glad I can now. Hope you enjoyed it.

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Fibonacci Blue from Minnesota, USA

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As It Stands: Getting Your Pet A Rabies Shot? Think Twice, And Get Advice

Note:This originally ran in the Times-Standard and this publication picked it up. Seen as controversial.

As It Stands: Meet ALEC: a wolf in sheep’s clothing

This column is still relevant. These guys are in charge of Congress.

As It Stands: ‘People Power’ is more than a slogan today

I discussed the killing of Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old black male, by a neighborhood watch captain. It highlights the deep racial divide that existed (probably still does) in Sanford, Fla.

As It Stands: Speed Kills — so why is meth still scourging our society?

Sadly, this issue has only gotten worse since I wrote this column in 2012.

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