A Reporter's Life

Family focus

Dear Focus on the Family,

I do not appreciate receiving unsolicited mail that sticks out of my mailbox, proclaiming to the world, "Does homosexuality matter to you?" I also have no intentions of sending you $50 so I can go to Fresno (to add insult to injury) and "get answers to tough questions" and "prevent [my] child from embracing this destructive way of life."

Furthermore, when I call your 1-800 number to ask that you not send such things to me again, I am not interested in being told, "Our system is down right now. Can you call back?" That's what pen and paper are for, and that's why I made you take down my name and address so you can stop sending me propaganda.

And, as I told the lady on the phone, I certainly don't mind receiving pro-family stuff. But I'm not interested in material that discriminates against people.

Sincerely,

Someone who actually knows quite a bit about your organization (and who is choosing not to link to you in her little blog, because you don't need any more hits on your 'we're pro-family but apparently homosexuals aren't included for reasons we fail to justify' Web site)

Farewell, Olympics

As I type this, I'm watching the closing ceremonies of the 2004 Olympics. What on earth am I going to do, now that the Olympics are over and I no longer have a good reason to stay up late? (Answer: Probably get hooked on all nine billion versions of "CSI" that are busily taking over TV.)

The Olympics certainly haven't been without their controversies, especially with the drama surrounding the men's gymnastics judging. But I've watched as much of it as I could, considering my work/life schedule and the fact that I don't have cable.

I couldn't stay up until stupid o'clock to see people throw a javelin, but I did see Michael Phelps take medal after medal. I never saw equestrian stuff, but I did see Toby "Crash" Stephenson celebrate a successful jump by strumming an air guitar while the crowd cheered. There were sad parts, when athletes suffered defeat on an international stage. There were triumphant parts, when athletes overcame all odds and emerged as champions. Names of Americans I barely knew were etched in my memory: Michael Phelps, Paul Hamm, Carly Patterson, Jeremy Warner, Natalie Coughlin. And, through it all, Dave Barry's daily columns added levity to an event that managed not to be overshadowed by the "terrorism" buzzword.

As many are saying, Greece did a spectacular job as host of the Olympics. Now I want to see Athens.

Scary Drew Carrey

If actor Drew Carrey hasn't been avidly reading Dave Barry's daily columns from the Olympics in Greece like I have, he should probably start today. (I posted a link to a picture of Drew Carrey, just in case you live under a rock and don't know what he looks like. You'll really need that for the mental image you'll have after getting partway through Dave's column.)

Arcata

Lodi is fairly conservative. It's got a lot of churches, and the majority votes Republican. In the same state of California, though, is a town called Arcata. In this town, doctors probably write more prescriptions for marijuana than anything else. If you stub your toe, your co-workers instantly remind you that this could be your excuse to get such a prescription. Even a cop has one.

Arcata is also the town featured in the world-renowned Arcata Police Log. I try to inject a bit of humor in the police logs I compile, but it works better in small towns like Arcata. It's worked so well, in fact, that the Arcata log has now been complied into a book.

I'm wondering if people do things on purpose, hoping to get into the police log. In fact, I'll be in Arcata in a few weeks, so does anyone have suggestions?

Unsporstmanlike

The Iranian world judo champion has pulled out of the Olympics because he refuses to fight an Israeli. If he's going to be like that, then I say good riddance to him. (Someone else should have carried the flag, though, if you ask me.)

North and South Korea marched together in the opening ceremonies. Greece and Cyprus put aside their differences and cheered loudly for one another. But a world champion, who spends countless hours training for something in which he was favored to win a gold medal, won't recognize a country that's been in existence for more than half a century.

Sure, every country has incredible pride when it sends athletes to the Olympics. But when it comes down to it, the games are about athletics and competing and being the best athlete possible. If politics and vendettas get in the way to the point that someone will give up years of training and a possible gold medal, then something is wrong.

Stupid hoax

This man may think he's making a point by faking a video and pretending he was beheaded in Iraq, but he's nothing more than an idiot. He says his point is to show people how easy it is to fake such videos. But what point is he really making? What does he expect to change?

It's like a burglar alarm: The alarm company and the police may be pretty sure it's just a false alarm, but they still have to check, because it might just be real. Just imagine what would happen if nobody showed up to a burglar alarm, and it turned out that some intruder had gone in there and murdered the residents.

The only thing this guy has done is to get publicity for himself. He's not making any new points and he's only causing further pain for family members of the hostages who really have been beheaded.