My grandmother Lillian was full of little life-lesson witticisms. One of her favorites was, “If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.” It takes a second to get it but the message is simple; wishes are just that. Reality is usually something else.
We have all seen images of the ancient cavemen, with the group standing around a roaring fire while some brave soul holds a skewered piece of mastodon meat and tries to get the perfect grill lines. Heat is important when living in a cold environment such as Chicago. While my SoCal, Caribbean and desert friends don’t usually have this problem, I can assure you that when the heat fails in Chicago during January, not only does the family get upset, but serious consequences can occur, including broken water pipes and marital tension.
As a handgun enthusiast I have handled and fired all sorts of semi-automatic pistols and revolvers (and I still have all my fingers). Thanks to my late friend George Maddox I became acquainted with the 1911-style .45-caliber pistol, which was the U.S. military’s sidearm of choice from its introduction in the early 1900s until 1985, when it was replaced by the Beretta M9 9 mm. Many handgun experts have waxed poetic on the qualities of the 1911-style pistol, often declaring it the best handgun ever designed.
“Look out honey, ‘cause I’m using technology.” — “Search and Destroy,” Iggy and the Stooges, 1973
Dispatch from Buffalo, N.Y.
I travel extensively around the lower 48 and Canada performing training classes for our industry. As a result, I have taken hundreds of cab rides in the past seven years.