b.)  a Fifth Ave. “Blue Blood”;

          c.)  a Boston Brahman;

          d.)  a Boston “Southie”;

          e.)  an idiot;*

          f.)  either an “Ivy League” or “Seven Sisters” alumnus or alumna;*

          g.)  a truly brilliant man or woman;*

          h.)  a person who reads broadly;

          i.)  a person who barely reads;

          j.)  a person who believes “E.T.” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” were great documentaries;

          k.)  religious;

          l.)   irreligious;   

          m.) a Democrat;

          n.)  a Republican;

          o.)  a “Yellow Dog” Democrat;

          p.)  a “Blue Dog” Democrat;

          q.)  a “Liberal;”

          r.)   a “Conservative;”

          s.)   a Neo-Conservative Ideologue;

          t.)   a left-leaning socialist;

          u.)  a soldier in the armed forces of the United States;

          v.)  a soldier in the armed forces of any other nation; 

          w.) a sports fan;

          x.)  a person who could not care less about sports;

          y.)  a person who enjoys humor–for I believe that humor is worth its weight in gold!

or,

          z.) at least eighteen years old and a resident of any nation on Earth,

 

YOU WILL TOTALLY ENJOY THIS SITE, OR YOU MIGHT ACTUALLY BECOME EXTREMELY ANGRY–WHICH ACTUALLY MEANS THAT YOU WILL HAVE PROFITED BY READING IT.   AND PERHAPS, AS A RESULT, YOU WILL EVEN CONTRIBUTE TO IT BY WAY OF COMMENT, REBUTTAL OR GUEST ARTICLE.

 

          I have posted a great many of my articles of the past several years to the site, perhaps one half of them published in newspapers and some in well-known magazines.  Many of the pieces I have placed on the Blog were not published; my thinking is that the respective editors believed them too “extreme” or “over the top” in one way or another–or that I did not write them well enough.  Nonetheless, I share them with you.

 

          You, and each of you, are invited to participate by way of comment or a complete article on any subject, subject to rules of civility.  Articles must be “signed” by name and city and state of residence, although city and state will only be published at your request.  Comments may be “signed” by your screen name or your user name–your choice. 

                                                                    -Donald K. Switzer

                                                                     Rogers, Arkansas

 

 

*   Qualification for this blog under either part “e” , “f” or part “g” does not disqualify one from participation if qualified under another of the categories.  I am an Ivy League graduate and can attest that a number of “idiots” were graduated with my class.  I also know many brilliant folks who are alumni or alumnae of Tennessee Tech, Idaho State, Mankato State, Monticello A & M College, Barton County Community College, Arkansas State Teachers College, etc. 

            Two of the most intelligent, even sagacious men I have ever known were my Dad and my Uncle Billy (who “made himself” a lawyer under the old system of reading the law, spending a time of tutelage under the supervision of an already licensed lawyer and then passing the Bar Examination!).  And two of the most intelligent and truly wise women I have known were my Mom and my Aunt Doll–each the valedictorian of their respective class in high school.  None of them finished college, although Dad did spend one year at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, as he said it, “majoring in poker.” 

             The sharpest guys I know in my current little home town are a farmer, who did not darken the door of any institution of higher education, and a University Professor.  I take their separate and often quite different opinions on the events of the day as equally valid.   And I learn from both of them.  I learned this egalitarian wisdom much too late in life to help my Dad re: the extremely high tuition at Dartmouth–although I am certainly glad that I was able to attend a good college, have a great deal of fun, and that I was also able to be graduated from a wonderful law school.  I am well aware, however, that institutions of higher learning do not offer classes in “common sense” or in “hard knocks.” 

            We all learn those lessons as life plays itself out before us.