Upcoming Events:
Wednesday, 8 July, noon - Book Talk, An Apartment in Paris, Mount Horeb Rotary Club, Mount Horeb, Wisconsin
Monday, 13 July, 11:15 am - Book Talk, An Apartment in Paris, Verona Community Center, 108 Paoli Street, Verona, Wisconsin
Tuesday, 14 July, 7 pm - A Dialog on Writing with Dave Wood, Whitehall Public Library, 18560 Scranton Street, Whitehall, Wisconsin.
The Weekly Screed
Peggy Sue Got Sabotaged By David Benjamin “Well, Mr. Snelgrove, I happen to know that in the future I will not have the slightest use for algebra, and I speak from experience.” — Kathleen Turner, in Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) PARIS — Having long ago shut down our link to French broadcast, we use…
The Popinjay principle By David Benjamin “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.” — attributed variously to Mark Twain, Josh Billings, Artemus Ward, etc. PARIS — I was scheduled to address the Paris chapter of the British National; Union of Journalists…
“I know a guy” By David Benjamin “After 2½ years we’ve seen enough. Enough of the chaos, the division, the schoolyard insults, the self-aggrandizement, the corruption, and especially the lies.” — Orlando Sentinel PARIS — The mass psyche of the Trump cult is a matter of undying mystery, not just for me but for the…
What do you see on the insides of your eyelids? By David Benjamin PARIS — Perhaps the most felicitous happenstance in my return here last week was an encounter with Dr. Patrick Keeffe, Ph.D., MBOE, LSMFT, who told me over frog legs at a sprawling brasserie near the Gare du Nord, about his groundbreaking research…
Heartland carnage By David Benjamin “You must never run out on the meadow. There might be danger. Out there, we’re unprotected.” — Bambi’s mother MADISON, Wis. — If you’re a deer or a driver in Wisconsin, sooner or later, your number’s up. Archie, my grandfather was an avid motorist who managed to dodge deer on…
Our bodies, in deed By David Benjamin “Once you shift the focus of the abortion from the unborn fetus to the full-grown woman, and once you shift attention from the realm of safe medical procedures in a sterile environment to a last-ditch effort to save the life of a mangled mother, the anti-abortionists lose interest.…
The poker game: A fable By David Benjamin “Never play cards with a man called Doc. Never eat at a place called Mom’s. Never sleep with a woman whose troubles are worse than your own.” — Nelson Algren DEADWOOD — The game was so big that the man called Doc was sitting in, elbow-to-elbow with…
Mick and Goofy have a backup plan By David Benjamin “If judges were just secret legislatures declaring not what the law is but what they would like it to be, the very idea of a government by the people and for the people would be at risk.” —Justice Neil Gorsuch GOOFY: Jeez, Mick, I’m worried.…
“… in the service…” By David Benjamin “We were just doing our jobs, helping our country win the war.” —Lt. Col. Richard Cole, one of the Doolittle Raiders MADISON, Wis. — Sister Caritas had no idea she was creating a monster. One day in sixth grade, she threw down a gauntlet I could not resist.…
Bob Mueller and me By David Benjamin “I think it is a mistake to believe that Trump’s supporters don’t see his lying or corruption. They do. But, to them, it is all part of the show and the lore.” —Charles M. Blow, New York Times MADISON, Wis. — This week, I was in DeForest, Wisconsin,…