11/20/4

Well, nothing seems to be missing....

Before Michael Moore lit a firestorm of devision and derision with "Farenheit 9/11", he won himself a well-deserved Oscar statuette for the much broader, open-minded and multi-faceted "Bowling For Columbine" that covered the issue of America's obsession with fire-arms from every possible angle. I highly recommend both documentaries, along with his first, "Roger And Me" which brought him immediate respect and mild fame over a decade ago. I actually saw that film in a theater, my primary motivation at the time being that he was talking in depth about his home state of Michigan, and it came out shortly after my brother and I had transplanted ourselves from Michigan to California.

In one portion of "Bowling For Columbine" he talks with Canadian citizens, who have far more guns than Americans, but far less gun violence. He's surprised to learn that most Canadians don't lock the doors on their homes. To test this claim, he actually goes door to door and walks into peoples homes unannounced, but he seems more shocked than they are. In another portion he talks about the TV news battering us with sensationalist crime, pushing our levels of fear to extremes. He walks down a quiet, calm, sunny street in South-Central Los Angeles. So is it really true that crime in this country is far less rampant than we're led to believe? Are our neighbors actually trustworthy and safe?

With my wife out of town for the weekend, my kids spent Friday night at my brother-in-law's house. I worked this morning (Saturday), leaving the house at 6:15 am, and after work drove directly to my brother-in-law's, where we spent the evening playing a few board games and watching television. I finally put my kids in the car and arrived home at 10:30 pm.

....To find my garage door wide open!

I thought about it for a moment. There was no way I had just hit the opener without realizing it: the automatic light wasn't on. I recalled having not stopped by after work, and was certain it had to have been open all day. I must have absent-mindly not made sure it had closed as I'd left, bleary-eyed, early this morning. The cat sat staring at me, demanding food and an explanation for everyone's full-day abandonment of her.

I looked about the garage, complete with drum-kit, guitar and bass amps, and a PA system for band practice. All there. I walked warily into the house, concerned I'd catch a burgular still in the shadows with an armful of computer or stereo equipment. Nobody. The dishes still sat unwashed in the sink, the normal disarray of magazines, shoes and whatnot still lay strewn about the place. I'd not been robbed, vandalized, or disturbed in any form. Not by the mob, the local gangsters, or even a petty tweeker needing a fix.

I'm not saying I'll start leaving the doors unlocked, but I may bring my personal fear level back down to something a little more rational from now on. The world is a good and happy place. Sometimes....

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