Today, I have an Impromptus column, beginning with a slew of political items. For instance: A recent poll found that 53 percent of Republicans regard Donald Trump as a “person of faith”; 35 percent regard Mitt Romney as the same. Further on in my column, I have some items about sports, touching on Shohei Ohtani, John Daly, Jim Harbaugh, and Lenny Dykstra (no fan of mine).
Some mail? In a previous column, I noted the murder of a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy, Ryan Clinkunbroomer (age 30). I wrote,
They risk their lives every day, these policemen. We owe them so much. Without them, life would be unlivable.
A reader reports the following:
Saturday night, as I was driving home at 2 a.m. along Interstate 5 through Burbank, I began to see that every overpass had firetrucks on it, with the lights flashing and the entire crew standing on top and facing the southbound lanes. As I was puzzling this out, I encountered what had to be a five-mile-long convoy of sheriff, LAPD, and CHP vehicles traveling south. At the back was a van, which I now assume was the van for the coroner.
It wasn’t until the next day that I learned of the shooting and put two and two together. I must say how incredibly moving it was that every fire station in the county woke up and stationed themselves on every bridge of the 70-mile journey from Palmdale to downtown to honor the fallen. That kind of silent tribute is the most moving kind. The highway was empty at that hour, but they were there regardless.
With all of the protests against police of late, I wish that the people protesting could have seen that procession. We ask a lot of our police, and they are proud to serve. Seeing that somber procession, I wondered, “How can some in society say that the forces do not care about the people they look after?” Greater love, etc.
In a column a couple of weeks ago, I had a note on Haiti. Writes a reader,
We had a family over for dinner this past March, and they had been missionaries and teachers in Haiti until late 2021. They lived in Haiti for over a decade and had much praise for the people. They said, however, that there is little in the way of society or government in Haiti. You trust your neighbors, and maybe their neighbors, but beyond that point all trust breaks down quickly. Armed militias and gangs fight one another for dominance. There is general misery.
In that same column, I had a note on snakes. In Alaska, there are none. I learned that only recently. A reader writes,
I learned when I was living outside Seattle (in Federal Way, which is a city, not a street) that Western Washington has no snakes either. Apparently, snakes were unable to cross the Cascades from the rest of North America.
We have plenty of snakes here in Virginia, several varieties of which are venomous and few of which have the courtesy to announce their presence by rattling. Consequently, if it slithers, it dies.
An addition: A reader writes,
Jay,
Lived in the Puget Sound for 40 years. There are lots of snakes in the area. In my backyard, for example.
She adds that it may help to be a hiker. In any event, snakes or no snakes: I thank all readers and correspondents, muchly.