The Great Gatsby

Every summer, I read The Great Gatsby, an exceptional book of fiction by brilliant but tragic author F. Scott Fitzgerald. It's one of those rare books that gets better every time I read it. New, cool tidbits of information are found with each reading, as well as an appreciation for Fitzgerald's character development. And the themes and writing are, of course, outstanding. For example, Fitzgerald begins the novel with the narrator, Nick Carraway, establishing trust with the audience:
"In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since.
'Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,' he told me, 'just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.'"

Besides the fact that that's great advice, by the end of the second page, I trust Nick as a narrator. I feel like I know his moral compass and respect his judgment. He's already earned my trust as a reader. I can put myself in Nick's shoes, and see the story as an unbiased observer, not unlike the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg (for those who've read the book).

The Great Gatsby is a classic, a literary masterpiece, and a quick read all rolled into one. As Fitzgerald's editor Maxwell Perkins wrote him in November 1924, "The amount of meaning you get into a sentence, the dimensions and intensity of the impression you make a paragraph carry, are most extraordinary. It seems in reading a much shorter book than it is, but it carries the mind through a series of experiences that one would think would require a book of three times its length."

I agree Maxwell, and I encourage you all to read it, then post your comments to spark a discussion!

Rough Redskins

And after a 20 day break, I'm back! This time to talk about the upcoming NFL season and my Washington Redskins.

First, the good news. After losing last week to the Baltimore Ravens 23-0, the Skins rallied last night to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 17-13 at a miserable and soggy FedEx Field. Even though they were the last NFL team to do so, the Skins finally scored preseason touchdowns when third-string quarterback Chase Daniels connected with Marko Mitchell and Fred Davis in the second half. That's right folks, the Redskins first and second string offenses have yet to score a touchdown this year! But Daniels played well, passing for two touchdowns and making an excellent case to take over Colt Brennan's job as the third-string signal caller. So long, Colt. Hope you enjoyed your stay.

Other good news came from new defensive additions Albert Haynesworth and Brian Orakpo, the rookie DE/LB from Texas. Orakpo was all over the place, generating pressure on the Steelers offense and enthusiasm from the Redskins faithful. He looks to be a wise first round selection from this year's draft. The defense as a whole forced more pressure on Steelers quarterbacks, a welcome change from last year's almost absent defensive front. If the Skins make the playoffs this year, it will be because of their terrific defense. They are the stronger unit for this year's Redskins. That's because the offense looks awful. Which brings us to...

The bad news. As reported by columnist Thomas Boswell in today's Washington Post, the Redskins aren't very good. Our offensive line and cornerbacks are terrible. And if receivers Malcolm Kelly and Devin Thomas can't soon pull their heads out of their asses, starting quarterback Jason Campbell won't have many options to throw too. Sure, Santana Moss and Chris Cooley and Clinton Portis should have good years, but you need lots of reliable options over a 16 game season for the simple reason that football is violent and players get banged up and hurt. And Campbell had better have a good year, or else he's gone, along with Coach Jim Zorn. I like both Campbell and Zorn, but owner Daniel Synder doesn't give a damn what I think. He's apparently more interested in breaking up team continuity and chemistry while constantly looking for the instant fix at the expense of his team's confidence, respect, and trust.

I'm not rushing to judgments based on two preseason performances (unlike my dad, who thinks the Redskins are terrible), but I do realize the realistic circumstances facing the Redskins: the other three teams in the NFC East are good and the Skins look bad with apparent mediocrity at important postions (quarterback, offensive line, #2 wide receiver, and cornerback). It's a long season and I'm willing to be patient, until the Skins look bad in a game that means something, that is. Those games will be here soon. The Redskins need to improve.

P.S.- Washington Post sports columnist Mike Wise mentions Luray, my hometown, in today's column about last night's Redskins game!

Guns

When Republicans really want to screw up something the Democrats are doing, or really want to "put the screws" to Democrats, one issue is easiest: guns. Guns are the issue that leave Democrats bumfuzzled. And, in my opinion, the Democrats are largely to blame. Rather than fight the issue on its merits (i.e.-pointing out that more guns make us less safe, as seen in the recent death of boxer Vernon Forrest, and you don't need an assault rifle to kill a deer), Democrats cower in the corner and offer little rational resistance. Or even worse, some Democrats put on the act of having hunted their entire lives, as if voters are that stupid and simple to vote for someone merely because they think he or she can blow up a varmit.

I'm not a big fan of guns. I know, shocking. Why? Guns scare the shit out of me. I'm not comfortable handling them (even though I've handled quite a few) and I'm not comfortable with the violence I (often mistakenly) associate with them. Guns make me uncomfortable, so I'd prefer not to be around them. Which brings me to this: I'm happy that Senator John Thune's gun amendment proposal failed in the Senate.

Sen. Thune recently sponsored a bill proposing to make it legal for gun owners to carry a concealed weapon across state lines, provided the gun owner followed state laws concerning weapons. Debate in the Senate over the bill turned into a circus, with both sides using crazed logic and horror scenarios to scare the hell out of everybody. The Senate vote was in favor, 58 to 39, but not enough for a 60 vote majority. I'm thankful. I'm also thankful for this recent piece by Gail Collins in the New York Times, which argues against Thune's amendment and takes a couple shots at Thune, and South Dakota in general (unfairly).

In the piece, Collins writes about our collective failure to talk about guns in a sensible manner. She takes both sides to task for treating those on the other end of the argument as completely wrong. And she's right, because guns are not a black and white issue. There is a lot of gray area, and we should be able to rationally talk about guns in a manner of civility that leads to more personal safety and responsibility for gun owners and advocates.

As Garret Keizer writes in "Loaded," his fantastic essay about guns, "In both cases the debate is frequently conducted by pretending that the opponent's concerns hardly deserve mention and by an inevitable transference of opprobrium from the adversary's position to his or her cultural 'type.'" When talking about guns, we (myself included) make broad generalizations about those who disagree with us, treating gun advocates as stupid hicks or thinking those in support of gun control yearn to go door-to-door to confiscate all guns. Neither of these are true.

Here's what I propose: learn more about what you don't know and try to understand the logic in your opponent's argument. For me, I should get out of my comfort zone a little and maybe go hunting, or at least shooting. Then, if I didn't like it, I wouldn't do it anymore. But maybe, just maybe, I'd enjoy being outdoors in a safe environment where guns where treated with respect and handled responsibly. I might even become a gun owner. But I should at least make an attempt, as opposed to smirking and making a smart ass comment every time someone mentioned guns. Who knows, it might even lead to a rational discussion. We're overdue for one of those.