Recently, a young man was murdered—no, assassinated—because of his opinion. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, John Lennon, Alan Berg, The Moores… all killed for absolutely no reason except someone disagreed with their god given right to a voice. Add Charlie to the list.

And unlike some of those names I just dropped, Charlie didn’t hate anyone. I don’t give a fuck what anyone says. He was a man of his own faith, unafraid to discuss any topic with anyone. Respectful, honest, willing to debate in good faith—and for that, someone decided he didn’t deserve to live?

As this story keeps rolling out, I can’t help but wonder: what the hell goes through a person’s mind that makes them think this is okay? That it’s somehow acceptable? Or worse—coming out on a public platform and cheering it? Saying he deserved it?

Nobody deserves to die because of an opinion.

NOBODY.

The most miserable shit I’ve heard from so-called Americans in the last few days makes me sick. Even here in little ol’ Boise, we had a vigil for Charlie. And some looney fuck decided it was a good idea to mouth off and cheer the man’s death.

And what happened next? Some folks—Idahoans, no less—beat the man. Right there at the vigil. And look, I get it… I understand that rage. But let me be very clear:

You failed.

You stooped to the level of violence the wolves want. You gave in. You lost control. And you suck for it.

Jordan Peterson once said:

“You can’t truly call yourself ‘peaceful’ unless you’re capable of great violence. If you’re not capable of violence, you’re not peaceful, you’re harmless.”

That quote hits deep in my soul. And yeah, it gets misinterpreted all the time, but to me? It rings absolutely true.

What Peterson means is this—peace is formed within. You must be capable of destruction and still choose restraint. You must have the power to hurt… and the wisdom not to.

Now let me tell you about something Lt. Col. Dave Grossman said that shaped how I see the world. He described three kinds of people:

The sheep, who go about their day unaware of evil.

The wolves, who feed on the innocent.

And the sheepdogs—the ones who protect the flock, who are just as capable of violence as the wolf, but only use it when absolutely necessary.

Except, I’ll take it a step further. I say 95% of Americans are sheep. 4% are wolves. And the last 1%? We’re the dogs. The guardians. The ones who stay alert, even when others sleep.

We recognize each other when we cross paths. It’s a quiet nod, a look in the eye, and an unspoken code: “I got your six.”

So here’s my final note to the 4%—to the wolves—those people who cheered Charlie’s death:

You’re on notice.
You crossed a line.
And now?

The sleeping dog just woke up.
And he’s on point.
Ready to protect the sheep from all you motherfuckers.

~Dick

Dreamcatcher. Stephen King. Early 2000’s movie. Jonesy had what he called a “Memory Warehouse.” Basically, a photographic memory — or as Sheldon would call it, eidetic memory. His brain was so good an alien took over his body just to poke around. But Jonesy was so in control, he could lock stuff up and keep the alien out.

I like to think I’ve got maybe half that talent. I can remember back to before kindergarten — about three years old. My mom asked if I was wearing underwear before a trip. I said yes. She didn’t buy it. Gave me the mom wedgie check and told me to go put some on. I can still picture the Chrysler LeBaron we were driving and the creepy old house with the basement. But I couldn’t tell you if I actually went back in to put them on or just got in the car. No clue. That’s my earliest memory.

I remember starting kindergarten too. Not the first day, but moments. I was four — one of the youngest. Most kids were five, except Jamie H., born the same day as me. Didn’t know that then. Mary Beth taught me how to draw a star. That random detail is burned into my brain forever. Why? No idea.

Then there’s the one from when I was maybe seven or eight. Weird one. I was asleep — or thought I was. My eyes cracked open toward the window…

Three sisters in a three-bedroom house. They shared a room. I had my own. Logical call by my parents. I was an asshole. Not nice. Maybe it was the “only boy in a house full of sisters” thing. (More on that another time.) Anyway — eyes cracked open, and I see a man. Big guy. Face pressed to the glass. Dark outside, but I could make out the features.

I froze. Couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t scream. Finally, I broke free — tried to yell — nothing came out. Frog in my throat. I bolted, ran to my parents’ room, and finally croaked out, “man… window… bad!!”

Dad, muttering under his breath, stumbles into dad mode — cop mode. Checks my room, looks out the window. Nothing. “It was a dream. Go back to sleep.”

Yeah, okay Dad. I didn’t sleep right again until I was 14.

Then puberty hit. Life got harder — in more ways than one. I got a job (thanks, Jake). High school. Too tired not to sleep. We moved, same town, still had my own room. Sleep came easy again — and so did the dreams.

Some of those dreams are keepers, but that door’s locked. Go ahead, try it. I’ve got plenty of memories from 6th grade on, but before I get there… 5th grade is a real keeper of a story. Coming soon.

Anyway, the whole point here — dreams. Real? Did it happen, or is it just a dream memory? No idea. But I know this — not knowing is probably for the best.

Because if I had full control of my memory warehouse… there are a few rooms in there that are better left locked.

— Dick, keeper of the locked doors

This is about a man I love.
He loves me, I love him — and we’re forever bound to each other in that love.

Before you twist it, it’s not gay.
It’s the ultimate friendship.
We tell each other “I love you” and it’s real.
If that makes you uncomfortable, that’s your problem.

We’ve known each other since 6th grade in 1988, when we were both 11.
Back then, we didn’t know who we were yet.
Thrown to the wolves in junior high, figuring out:

Who’s good

Who’s bad

Who are the weird kids

Who’s “normal”


We spent the next seven years mapping it out.
Then life split us up — I went into the Navy, he went to college.
But we never lost touch.
Never gave up on each other.

As we got older, I had kids and he’d visit.
He got married and we’d visit.
There’s this unspoken thing between us — he’s always got a room for me, and I’ve always got one for him.

Our families are one.
His sisters are my sisters.
His mom? I call her Mom.
Nobody replaces my mom, but she’s a damn good second place.

We’re built different.
I’m good with my hands — figuring out how things work, fixing them.
He’s good with people — how they work, how to talk to them.

It’s a perfect setup.
I’m the square peg, society is the round hole… and somehow, he makes me fit.

He’s one of the most genuine people you’ll ever meet.
Guys like me? We’re a dime a dozen.
Him? One of one.
If you ever meet him, you’ll get it.

Most people don’t have friends for 35+ years.
You might think you do… but you don’t.
You’ve got friendly relationships, people you talk to sometimes.
Social media makes it look like you have hundreds of friends — but you don’t.
Well… maybe you do.
I don’t.

I’ve got one.
The one I can call anytime, anywhere.
If he’s got cell service and isn’t in a dentist’s chair, he’ll answer.
If I say, “Buddy, I screwed up,” he’s got answers.

If he calls me and says the same?
My only question is, “Where do I need to be, and should I bring the truck to move the body?”

And yeah — I’d do it.
That’s the kind of friendship this is.

We’ve got decades of memories, and we still make new ones every year.
Every. Single. Year.

If you can’t say that about any of your friends, then you don’t have this kind of love.

There’s no better friend in the world than your true best friend.
Nobody compares.
Nobody replaces them.
They’re your rock when you’re in a hard place.

Everyone should have one.
Most people don’t — and that’s a damn shame.

Jacob — I love you, buddy. Now and forever.

Every Sunday night, I drag bedtime out like a little kid. Not because I’m not tired — I’m always tired — but because Monday morning is right on the other side. And I already know how it’s gonna go: wake up, make lunches, work, eat lunch, drive home, make dinner, do dishes, do chores. Then crash. Then repeat.

Five days of that. Every week. Every damn week.
Life is supposed to be fun, right?

That’s what they told us. Somewhere between watching *The Goonies* and getting our first paycheck, we were sold this idea that if you worked hard and did the right thing, things would get easier. Spoiler: they didn’t. If anything, it just got more expensive.

Lately, Jamie and I have been so bored we’ve been hanging out at the old folks’ home — I mean…my parents’ house. Not because we have to, because… what else is there? My son is still in the Navy, doing real shit that actually matters. My daughter’s out there navigating her own world, unknowingly channeling my sarcasm and stubbornness like a champ. And me? My friends all work at Chapala Mexican Restaurant. I know they are my friends because they always call me Amigo!

I’ve seen *Groundhog Day* enough times to quote it, but now it just hits different. I used to think it was funny. Now it feels more like a documentary. Alarm clock goes off, same tasks, same mental noise. Except I don’t get a montage of personal growth or a happy ending with Andie MacDowell. I get laundry and a fridge that stares at me every night like it’s daring me to remember why I opened it.

And let’s talk about the fridge for a second. Why do I open it twelve times a day like something new’s going to appear? Spoiler: it’s still mustard and regret.

I’ve been working since I was 13 — washing dishes and bagging groceries for minimum wage. I’ve paid taxes since 1990. That’s 35 years. And what do I have to show for it? Borderline alcoholism, a sarcastic worldview, and the sound of my knees popping every time I get up too fast.
People talk about retirement like it’s a finish line. That’s cute. I’ll work right up to lunch on the day I die. Then I’m clocking out.

I even read a book called How to Stop Being Negative, Angry, and Mean. It helped a little — but yeah, I’m still a Dick.

I get it now — this life, this loop, this never-ending to-do list — it wears you down. But I also know this: I’m not the only one stuck in it. There’s a whole generation of us who survived the ’80s, adapted to technology, raised kids, and now stare at the wall wondering when the hell we get to take a breath.

But some days, I fight back. I cook something good. I learn something weird. I listen to a podcast and question reality. I sit with Jamie and laugh about how I don’t have an ass — just one long stretch of lower back that never bothered to stop. Just straight spine to thigh. Nature skipped the blueprint on that one. But I know I’ve got one — because it’s always getting kicked. By life, by assholes, by the goddamn alarm clock.

Even if this is Groundhog Life, or the Matrix… I’m still here. Still me. Still punching the clock and living the dream…one nightmare at a time!

—Dick

I have not written in this blog for quite some time now, in fact it has been nearly three years since I last wrote. It is not because I don’t have an opinion anymore, but it seems that my opinion is being cancelled out because it is not in line with the “Main Stream”. This is a sad realization for me and the future generations of opinions to come. Though I have not written in three years, that is not the meaning of the title to this blog today.

Two weeks ago, my poor little pooch of 14 years, Scruffy, passed away in his sleep. Fine one day, gone the next. We loved that crazy little dog, no matter how much he pissed us off (or literally pissed on everything). He was the dog that no matter how angry you were with him, he still loved you, licked your face, tried to lick your ears for some reason, and he just always wanted to be loved.

Not a full week after the passing of my good friend Scruffy, we get a call from my mother in law saying that my wife’s older sister is in the hospital and not doing well. With little to go on we decided to open a bottle of wine and wait for further news. It came quickly and it was bad news. I immediately put my wife on a plane to go see her, but the outlook was not good. After making a bunch of phone calls and devouring another bottle of wine in my worry, the thought entered my mind…they come in 3’s.

My beautiful sister in law Jennifer passed away and my daughter and I made the trip to go be with the family and celebrate her life, we were gone for a week and even when we got home it just felt so empty. No little dog to love on us and irritate us at the same time. The loss of a wonderful person sat heavy on our hearts, and we just felt the loss hit home.

I still could not help but to feel this aching in my heart, a disturbance in the force if you will. Why wont this feeling go away? That is when it happened, number three. I get a message from my best friend of 32 years that his Dad Paul, who had been fighting cancer, had passed away. And that did it folks, that one broke the dam, it opened up a stream of sadness, anger, darkness and distress. It had happened, two people that I loved wholeheartedly and my unconditionally loving dog had all left my life in a matter of a week.

I need to tell anyone who bothers to read my rambling, incoherent nonsense of a blog a little about each of the loved that I lost, so here it goes…

Scruffy, the one who was in my life for the least amount of time, but the one who I know loved me in a way that no humans can ever love each other. There is always the joke about putting your wife and your dog in the trunk of your car, going for a drive and then seeing which one is happy to see you when you let them out. That in a nutshell was my Scruffy. There was no way to anger this dog, he never growled at a single person or ever intentionally tried to bite. He truly loved everyone he met and his sweet soul will be missed. What more can you ask for out of a dog, unconditional love is the greatest thing mans best friend has to offer and anyone who has never experienced that love needs to go get a dog ASAP!

RIP Scruffy 2007-2021

Jennifer was probably one of the sweetest people I have ever met in my entire life. She was the type of woman that would do anything for the ones she loved. Life was hard on Jen, and she was the least deserving of the harshness that life threw at her. No human being deserves to go through what she did in her life, I wouldn’t wish it on a mortal enemy. I have so many fond memories of her that it is hard to pick a favorite one., but this one is near the top of the list.

Nearly 20 years ago, my brother in law and I would often drink by a camp fire on the weekends and just enjoy the outdoors. Our loving sister in law Jen worked late into the night sometimes and saw us out having some beers late one night on her way home from work. To our delight, she stopped in to have a beer and chat with her two favorite brothers. Earlier in our drunken camp fire, before Jen arrived, we decided to see what would happen if you stuck a full can of beer in the campfire…well we forgot it was there. Not minutes after Jen sits by the fire, we found out what happens. That can blew up so loud and sprayed embers and sparks right in her direction, knocking her clean out of the chair. She got mad, brushed herself off, laughed, called us dumb and sat back down to enjoy our drunken company. Now, most people, if you blow them up with explosive beer, would get very angry and probably leave or plot revenge. Not Jen, never Jen. She loved hard, fought harder and will always be a loving memory in my heart and mind.

RIP Jennifer1977-2021

Paul was a man that I looked up to. Being around him was like having a second dad. Not many people in this world are blessed with having two loving fathers in their life, but Paul always treated me as if I were one of his own, including doing chores around the house. Paul was always the life of the party, he could make anyone laugh, just his presence was warming and wonderful to be around. When I turned 16 Paul gave me a job at Safeway where he was the manager. He was always able to help work around my schedule for school or other events, so yeah he was also a great boss. He raised my best friend to be a wonderful, hardworking man. He has three beautiful daughters that love him dearly, and a wife that is without question an amazing woman and mother to her family. I know that at some point in life we all have to say goodbye, but Paul is one man who I wish I never had to say goodbye to. You will be truly missed and were loved by many, make sure you have cold beer ready for me when we meet again.

RIP Paul 1950-2001

First time blogging from my phone, so excuse any errors in typing…I have fat fingers.

I have seen so many posts on Facebook and Twitter lately that prove our country is heading in the wrong direction.

One online conversation I had today was about how voting for the right politician as our president can fix income inequality in our country. Whoa, hold the phone there buddy…take a step back and look at the big picture. Income inequality, along with most social issues can’t be fixed by the government.

The posting was a meme about how 1/10th of America’s population has more money that 90% of American the population. Why is that so wrong?

The super rich in our country have earned that status. Most of them have worked for their money, they have become super rich because we as a society have made them super rich. There was a comment about how a company like Walmart pays their CEO Millions Of Dollars Every year, but the majority of the employee’s make low wages. Who’s fault is this? Do you shop at Walmart?  I do, most everyone I know does. We conine to suport that business model. Thus income inequality is our fault. A bigger or different government is not going to fix this issue. We must fix these issues as a society.

People are constantly complaining about income inequality. Who is to blame…we are!! Well I am voting for so and so because he stands for the middle class…Bullshit! Nobody gets into politics these days to stand up for anyone but themselves and their personal agenda. Being a politician is all about the money, it didn’t used to be that way…but again our society has driven this trend as well.  We have built a monster. Commonly known as the US Federal Government.

The funny thing is, we have the power to change it. We as a society can change the way we think and act. If you don’t like the inequality, stop shopping at big brand stores, shop local mom and pop stores.  Stop buying new cars or use public transportation. Stop using credit cards and keep all your money in a shoe box. It’s simple yet complicated. This is the system we built over the last century…and now it is difficult to change. If we truly wanted to change it we could. Typical Americans, we will just complain about it and carry on with our lives.

Personally I have grown accustomed to this lifestyle. I support businesses like Walmart. I try to but American when I can. But I realize that we built this system. We import and export. You can’t always only buy American anymore, you should be able to, but you cant.

Why are so many people leaning towards becoming a socialist country? Why should the super rich be forced to share with you what they have earned? Let’s say you worked most of your life, built a business that is very successful and become super rich. You pay more money per year in taxes than everyone else in the country and you generously donate a lot of money to charity. You are doing your part, and living a successful life. Mr. Tax man comes knocking on your door one day and says he just doubled your taxes…pay up! You can afford it, but is that fair? 47% of American household pay no federal taxes…why should you pay more?  You have worked for your earnings, you pay more than your fair share, you are already charitable. Jealousy, greed…these are not attributes of the rich any more than they are of the poor. The 99% say the 1% should pay more…well friend…they already do!!

If we dont like what our society has become, we need to chamge it. We cant change it by voting for bigger government. The 99% do hold the political power no matter what Dwight says in this meme.  We have to flex our brains and our muscles to show our government who the real boss is. If you want things to change, go out and change them…don’t vote for them!

Dick

It has become more and more clear since I have had kids in public school that we have gotten so far off base on our teaching priorities. It is a wonder any kids graduating high school or college these days are even able to survive in the real world. Over the last 50 years we have focused education more on Math and Science and less on Life skills and Trades.

I remember the first week of boot camp in the Navy. They taught us how to brush our teeth, use soap, shave your face, how to put on deodorant, we were told that taking a shower was a daily requirement. Why was this needed? You would be surprised to know how many people out there that are high school graduates that cannot perform these simple daily tasks. You might be even more surprised to know how many people still failed to shower daily or brush their teeth. There is a disconnect in our public school system that needs to be fixed.

Starting at the kindergarten age level, some of these basics should be taught in public school, not just their importance, but the actual task should be demonstrated and learned. This should be homework. Did you brush your teeth? Did you bathe lat night? Did you wash your hands after you went to the bathroom? These skill should advance with age all the way up through high school. Now at the high school age level, each year there should be a mandatory life skills class. These classes should involve basic cooking, cleaning, grooming, etc. But we need to go deeper than that. How to file taxes, how to balance a check book, how to build credit, how to build a resume, how to save for retirement, how to VOTE!!

Our public schools are spitting out one of three types of kids. 1. College bound. 2. Military bound. 3. Work force bound. All three routes have their pros and cons. But with the public school system today, the only choices that will get you anywhere in life are one of the first two. If you decide to enter the work force after graduation, you deserve to have the opportunity to succeed. The Public school system is not preparing kids to enter the work force today. It is not preparing them for life. It is not preparing them to be useful members of society.

If you look at the history of our school system you will see a trend over the last 50 years or so. Physical education, wood shop, auto shop, metal shop, home economics were all highly utilized classes 50 years ago, but not anymore. Many high school graduates were able to leave school with enough knowledge in manual labor to get an entry level job in a skilled trade. They were raised with a good work ethic and received on the job training.  Worked for 30+ years and were able to retire in their 60’s. This country was built by these people. Yet these skilled tradesmen are slowly disappearing. It is becoming more and more difficult every year to hire skilled trade workers.

This is my theory on what is happening. Lets look at our first group of kids. These kids that go off to college and get a good education, find a job in a high tech market, doctors, lawyers, IT, health care industry. That is great…we need more of those people. But I think there is a large number of these kids that are going off to college in hopes to perform one of these jobs, but are not cut out for it. Maybe not smart enough, or decide it is not for them. These kids finish college with a Art major degree of some kind that is almost useless. So they end up getting into some type of work where the market is flooded with semi intelligent, unskilled, inexperienced people. They either go on unemployment or work minimum wage jobs constantly bitching about how little they get paid. Or they bounce from job to job because they cant find the right fit for them. They have little benefit in our society and end up working dead end jobs most of their life. Or they go into politics!!

Then you have your Military bound kids. In the past this would have been an excellent route to take. The majority of the time, you join the military, learn a trade. You leave the military with good knowledge of the trade and a few years of job experience. Say you spent 4 years in the Navy and learn an excellent trade, lets use HVAC and Refrigeration as an example. You get out of the Navy and get an entry level job…so far so good. You work your way up to a journeyman level in your trade and have 15-20 years of good hard working trade experience. You are raising a family and are ready for a change. You have done your share of back breaking work and you want to move up in your company into more of a middle management position. Unfortunately, you lack the formal education requirement. That is the direction companies have been moving. Now even though you have many years of life and trade experience, they think it is better for their business to hire someone with minimal or no experience to manage a team of HVAC guys just because he has a college education!! So you work until you are in your early 60’s, riddled with pain and multiple surgeries to keep your overly worked body running until you are eligible for social security…you retire, live miserably for a few more year then you die!

Now lets look at our last group of kids. These poor menaces to society are dead set on getting a good paying job right out of high school. Some of them are not that clueless, they know they will have to start from the bottom, but many of them think they can just hit the ground running. Unfortunately they lack any type of life skills. You see they were not taught in school about saving money or paying bills. They also did not get any type of trade instruction. Most of them can’t operate the simplest of tools, or even recognize them. They have zero work ethic, because Mommy and Daddy paid for everything their whole life and didn’t make them earn anything! Most of them are out of shape slobs, because there was no more required physical education, and sports in high school were too expensive for their parents to afford. They played video games most of their life and barely passed high school with a C average. These kids end up mooching off their parents well into their 20’s and join the art majors in the unemployment line working for minimum wage. Most of them never actually stay working for the same place more than a couple of years…picture the 40 year old waiter at Applebee’s you saw last weekend…that is the type of guy that went straight out into the work force after high school.

We can salvage this, we can fix this. But I fear it will only get worse before it gets better. I expect 20 years from now, when you air conditioner breaks…you will have to pay and arm and a leg, give up your first born and mortgage your house to get a skilled HVAC guy to come over and fix it. Same goes for any pluming or electrical work you need done. Hopefully some college trained engineer designs a robot capable of performing these tasks, because our society is forcing people to steer clear of these skilled trades. The guys I learned the trade from are becoming scarce. Guys like me with a ton of Refrigeration knowledge are becoming few and far between. The longer this keeps up, the less people there will be in the world with this…Tribal knowledge as I like to call it. More and more of it is lost everyday.

It is quite simple really. My solution to the problem starts in the High schools and works its way down to kindergarten. We make a mandatory life skills class in all high schools throughout the United States. This class is mandatory your senior year to graduate. Each year we add a life skills class to the age group below it, 11th, 10th, 9th, and so on.  Each class curriculum is tailored for the types of life skills you should know by that age. We also bring back mandatory Physical education. I am sick and tired of hearing about how obese today’s youth is, and all the assholes blaming it on fast food and soft drinks. Take my son Tyler for example, this kids eats junk all the time…but he is very physically active, plays sports, loves the outdoors. He is healthy and in shape. If he ate McDonalds everyday and kept up his same physical activity level, he would never get fat! It is quite simple really. Limit their time on the video games and make them go outside and play!! Bring back physical education and for Christ sake, let your kids play any and all sports that interest them from a young age!! Don’t force them to play soccer and only soccer, let them try all the sports and choose for themselves what they like. Don’t force them to play only your favorite sport that you sucked at when you were a kid!

We also must bring the trade classes back into the high schools. We need to make at least one 4 year trade class mandatory for graduation from high school. Wood shop, Auto shop, Metal shop. We need to add a Construction and Trades class that includes basic electrical, plumbing and HVAC. This will at least give the kids that have no desire to go to college or the military something to fall back on. They can leave high school with knowledge of a trade, or multiple trades and get a decent paying job. It gives the kids that don’t make it through college or the military something to fall back on as well. Until that engineer designs the robot to do all this work, these jobs will be in high demand.

This all goes back to the dumbing down of our society that I covered in one of my other blogs…Common Sense…If we keep it up, there will be no one left to fix your A/C, toilet, light fixtures or appliances. There will be plenty of people that can design new buildings but no one left to build them. There will be lots of scientists designing new seed crops, but no one left to farm them. Make your kids do chores. Make them go outside and play. Teach them about your trade. Show them how to cook. Give your kids your Tribal Knowledge, because our school system will not.

Dick