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I love language. And nothing impresses me more than succinct concisness. Words can be weapons. Neither can it be denied that talk is cheap nor that "brevity is the soul of wit". Is it any wonder that as I meander toward yet another birthday, this whimsical meme brought pause in my ongoing search for the meaning of "LIFE" . Having a sense of humor helps... Did I mention that outliving Pope Francis embarrasses me? RIP, ol fella.

Hours after making an appearance and speaking a few words at the Vatican, Pope Francis passed away. Pope Francis was 88 years old. He served in that role for 12 years. I remember when he was selected. Time flies. By most accounts, Pope Francis was one of the most personable and open-minded leaders of the Catholic church. He didn't live in the typical Vatican residence. Preferred to stay in an apartment on the premises. He will go down in history as a great one. Obviously, Pope Francis has to be laid to rest. The College of Cardinals will go into a conclave to select the next Pope. It will be interesting to see who ascends to the papacy this time around. No shortage of candidates.😎

Gotcha. Unruly kids causing chaos and mayhem and violence costing lives and revenue is a different kettle from the regular gang and street culture. Because I'm an old man, my recollection of kids was young people who ran around playing games and occasionally getting into a scuffle or a beef. No gun or knives though. We had a certain level of fear when it came to our parents too. Apparently, these school-aged terrorists weren't scared straight early on in their lives. i see the overly emotional young folks with no problem-solving skills. As a result, if/when conflicts arise, they are playing for keeps or less from severe bodily injuries to death. It is ridiculous. The truth is that a curfew won't fix it. They need better parents. The crash dummies giving birth to them deserve all the blame and smoke. 😎

The lunch counters in the FW Woolworth dime stores are right up there with Rosa Parks and the bus boycotts when it comes to the history of the Civil Rights movement during the 1950s. In the South, of course, blacks were not served at these eateries, and that's when the famous sit-in demonstrations began. College students from all over the south organized and started showing up at these Dime stores, taking up spaces on the stools at the counters, requesting to be served. In the process of being refused, they were attacked, spat upon and dragged out by police but new teams would show up everyday. This went on for a whole summer as the movement gained national attention. It took a few more years before these Jim Crow laws were finally abolished.