Archive for 2015
To drive or not to drive
To drive or not to drive by David Benjamin “… Went around a corner and I passed a truck I whispered a prayer just for luck Fenders was clicking the guardrail posts The guys beside me were white as a ghost…” — Charlie Ryan, “Hot Rod Lincoln” MADISON, Wis. — My mother was a debutante…
Read MoreHow Joseph Saved the Nativity Scene
How Joseph Saved the Nativity Scene by David Benjamin BETHLEHEM, 0 A.D. — This usually sleepy village was bustling and noisy with pilgrims who’d been ordered there by Caesar to register for the Roman census. Among them was an aged carpenter named Joseph, who had just arrived after the long trek from a grubby little…
Read MoreDaddy-O meets Quentin Tarantino
Daddy-O meets Quentin Tarantino by David Benjamin MADISON, Wis. — Guns are the thing. As the latest massacre reports trickle in, we’re beginning to grasp the disturbing banality of Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik. Yes, Tashfeen grew up in a hotbed of Muslim fundamentalism in Pakistan and pledged her troth, before pulling the trigger, to…
Read MoreThe Muslim plank
The Muslim plank by David Benjamin “I said the wall, and I was referring to the wall, but database is okay, and watch list is okay, and surveillance is okay… I want surveillance of these people that are coming in — the Trojan Horse — I want to know who the hell they are ……
Read MoreAn act of God
An act of God by David Benjamin “Killing random people in restaurants and at concerts is a strategy that reflects its perpetrators’ fundamental weakness. It isn’t going to establish a caliphate in Paris. What it can do, however, is inspire fear — which is why we call it terrorism, and shouldn’t dignify it with the…
Read MoreWhen cool was still cool
When cool was still cool by David Benjamin “Bond is important: this invincible superman that every man would like to copy, that every woman would like to conquer, this dream we all have of survival. And then one can’t help liking him…” — Sean Connery MADISON, Wis. — With every release of a new James…
Read MoreDo-gooders from Hell
Do-gooders from Hell by David Benjamin MADISON, Wis. — In my childhood hometown of Tomah, Wisconsin, two quietly grand old buildings have survived the march of development. One is the library, underwritten by Andrew Carnegie and designed by one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s more tasteful disciples. The other is the VA Hospital, built of stolid…
Read MoreOh, Susanna, now don’t you lie to me
Oh, Susanna, now don’t you lie to me by David Benjamin MADISON, Wis. — Thanks to my wife, the hotshot high-tech journalist, I get to crash parties where I don’t belong. For me, “the turd in the punchbowl” isn’t just a grace note. It’s my red badge of impertinence. So, there I was — without…
Read MoreLying about history, to our children
Lying about history, to our children by David Benjamin “… Soviet pressure against the free institutions of the Western world is something that can be contained by the adroit and vigilant application of counterforce at a series of constantly shifting geographical and political points, corresponding to the shifts and manoeuvers of Soviet policy, but which…
Read MoreThis country is condemned
This country is condemned by David Benjamin MADISON, Wis. — When I was twelve, the apartment I shared with Mom, my sister and my brother was condemned — officially — by the town’s building inspector. We were in the rear unit above the S&Q Hardware on Superior Avenue, and people weren’t supposed to be living…
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