Mark Knows It All

Could somebody please tell me what I want for Christmas this year? Both of my friends keep asking me what I want. I’ve got my two front teeth, although one of them has been chipped since I was 15. I also tried that doggie in the window and was allergic. If I were in a beauty pageant, I would want peace on earth. The trouble is…I have just about everything that I need. I have a 3 year old 32” HDTV, which works perfectly fine, thank you. No, it is not a flat screen. Yes, it is heavier than all get out with a big tube in the back. But it will last forever, has no angle problems, fits nicely in the corner, and even though it 720 dpi instead of 1080 dpi, my eyes aren’t good enough to tell the difference, new glasses notwithstanding. I have a surround sound system attached to it. I don’t use it because I have to bend over to turn it on…very difficult at my age. It has a remote, but there are so many buttons I am afraid I would launch a NASA missile if I push the wrong button. I have a car. ...

Here we go, folks. It’s time for my annual Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) rant. Those who suffer from this unfortunate malady really, really hate winter. How we handle it, however, varies from person to person. For those of you who don’t know, SAD is a depressive disorder directly related to the amount of daylight. As summer flows into autumn, and autumn into winter, the decreased amount of daylight has an adverse psychological affect on sufferers such as me. Individuals handle the situation differently. The most severe sufferers should consult a physician and take proper medication. Moderate sufferers, such as me, can use other alternatives. One popular method is to sit under a specially designed light that mimics sunlight. My house is fortunate enough to have ample mercury vapor lighting in our backyard which helps a lot. My SAD operates differently than most. The problem kicks in with the anticipation of less daylight rather than actually experiencing it, usually right around Jun...

I am blessed with many talents, none of which is athletics. I watch with envy many of my friends who have excelled in various sports through the years, and the camaraderie among the participants resulting from those types of endeavors. There is something to be said for that esprit de corps, whether it was from football and basketball when we were younger, or golf and tennis now. Not that I haven’t tried. My father, who was an avid golfer, wanted me to follow in his footsteps. He gave me lessons upon lessons, and hauled me out to the driving range and the golf courses, where I made a complete fool out of myself. He insisted on me hitting the same shot over and over and over again to the point where I dreaded those father/son outings, and really learned to hate golf. When I got to law school, several of the guys wanted to play golf. I thought I would give it another go, and I joined them. That lasted about a month. It was a disaster. They had to apply for federal loans to repair the gol...

I never thought I would live to see the day when a black man could be elected President of the United States. Barack Obama is a symbol for all that is great about America. He has demonstrated that in America, all things are possible. He represents the pinnacle of the civil rights movement. African-Americans have served this nation well at all levels…and have risen to the top of American political life in the Armed Forces through Colin Powell, the Supreme Court through Thurgood Marshall and Clarence Thomas, and in the Cabinet through Condoleezza Rice, just to mention a few. We, as a nation, are the better for it. Abraham, Martin, and John, along with Bobby, are walkin’ up over that hill today….smiling. The entire country wishes President-elect Obama good luck. He is going to need it. The problems facing the nation, although not the worst I have seen in my lifetime, are formidable and fraught with considerable consequences if he gets it wrong. Energy, the economy, foreign policy, infras...