I read the whole series of articles in TIME on Kennedy earlier today.

However, first, let me put a preface to my remarks. I am a 58 year old son of dyed in the wool New Deal Democratic parents. I count my political awareness as starting with the 1960 Presidential election. JFK's assassination, occurring in the midst of my 9th grade study hall was the searing historical moment of my then young life, much as Pearl Harbor was to my parents and 9/11 was to my kids.

With that out of the way, let me state that I found most of the Kennedy articles in this issue of TIME had me nodding with agreement, while shaking my head over what might have been.

Except for Talbot's all too easy surrender to the dark side of conspiracy nonsense. Over the years, I have come to believe that there is some insidious American tendency to almost automatically ascribe to complicated and convoluted conspiracy theories that border on Byzantine complexity for any bad thing that happens. It probably dates back to the Lincoln assassination. While Lincoln's death really was the focus of a nasty conspiracy, it does not always follow that every American political killing is.

Too many just cannot grasp that, every now and then, some nutjob gets through all plans and security protocols and scores. So many just cannot wrap their minds around the fact that a "GREAT MAN" can be brought down by a loser, a zero. In short, folks, shit happens. Just because the high and mighty are brought down does not necessarily mean that such requires and equally powerful adverse force. Oft times, it is just plain damn chance, bad luck or happenstance.

Did we lose a lot with the death of JFK? You bet. Should we fixate on it? Hell no.

Jeez, are you that overly sensitive?

Sad, really...

I'm three years older than you, chronologically, but I suspect much more in terms of maturity.

Now that's the rub, the realization and the ability to learn as the years go by. Do I abhor Nixon's Watergate crap, his disastrous Cambodian excursions and the like? Sure I do. However, do I, now thirty plus years allow it to dominate my political thinking, do I let myself fall into the trap of eternal, personal hatred, stuck in some repetitive loop of masturbatory political self-satisfaction? No.

In short, let it go, dude. Save your rage for the present.

when I suppose I can be glad not to be able to confront myself of thirty-some years ago.

As the son of two dyed in the wool New Deal Democrats and a Nixon hater from my college days, I find with amazement that the older I become, the more forgiving I become of the man. The first indication of this was happening upon a photo spread of Tricky Dick with his grandkids. The mutual love between him and the kids was just palpable.

The next was a press photo of him at the funeral of his wife. Spread across papers was a photo of a man in the throes of grief. I was personally offended that his private pain was so displayed.

Finally, earlier this year when President Ford died, I let go of my solid belief that the pardon was a mistake.

I still cannot forgive Watergate, Cambodia and a lot of things, but I've become a bit less judgmental.

OK, fuck "John from Cincinnati", "The Sopranos", "Deadwood" and the like.

Bring back "Rome" for a third season.

OK, asparagus is my secret vegetable vice.

I love it.

As a kid, growing up in rural north central Illinois, we used to go across the two lane blacktop in front of our acreage to the cow pasture opposite and harvest wild asparagus for dinner. That spot is now the driveway of a fire station on a four lane concrete road.

Now I live for the days when the menu at my weekend job features asparagus sautéed in Gallic butter or my own asparagus stir fry at home.

I have had it with the Luddite, no-nothing anti-science nut jobs and their raw milk crap.

In the summer of 1973, when I was with an archaeological dig in Italy, some of the kids (18-20, I was the "old guy" at 24) came bouncing into the pensione in which we were staying with these paper gallon containers (think the little sour cream packets scaled up) of raw milk, going on and on how it was just sooo cool and "natural."

"Yeah," I answered, "just like TB and salmonella are natural." I then asked them if they knew just how clean the dairy farms this came from were, if they, nice East Coast preppies, had built up any immunities to the local bacterial strains and if they got some perverse pleasure in puking their guts out at 2AM from same.

Their purchases quickly went down the nearest drain.

Kids, sometimes, progress really is a good thing

My brother had health insurance through his job, but that didn't stop them from denying his claim because the motorist wasn't properly insured.

Excuse me, but that really makes no sense at all.

I have have had over 20 years in insurance claims and I have never, ever heard of such a thing.

If some H&A carrier pulled this stunt, your brother, you or your family should have made a fast visit to your state's insurance commissioner.