Iron Filings -75
January 1, 2023
Iron Filings - 75
Two disturbing incidents popped up on the news this past month. In one, a five-year old girl was at her front door when she was attacked by a raccoon. Her fighting and screaming brought her mother out, who grabbed the raccoon and, after struggling with it, threw it into the yard where it ran off. In the other incident, a young girl was standing by the family car when a coyote grabbed her and began dragging her away. Fortunately, her father was on the other side of the car and he was able to rush to the child, free her, and scare the coyote away. Rabies shots followed both incidents. It seems the animal kingdom is not in agreement with who holds dominion over the earth. I think they want it back.
* * *
So now we have Brett Kavanaugh at a Christmas party with Matt Gaetz, former Trump aide Stephen Miller, and former Trump press secretary Sean Spicer, the latter apparently feeling no need to hide following his recent speech where he confused the Pearl Harbor anniversary with D-Day. I suppose Supreme Court Justices have the right to hang out with whomever they want, just as we have the right to judge a shameful conflict of interest when we see it. Next thing you know, we'll have Clarence Thomas saying he never talks politics with his wife.
* * *
For those of you who have been waiting breathlessly for this, here are the predictions for the most popular baby names in 2023: Billie, Wren, Felicity, Linus, Atlas, Wednesday, Evander, Ezra, Zion, Mirabel, Bodhi, Flora, Romy, Dutton, Tallulah, Wilder, Renly, Ocean, Della, Winnie, Koa, Marigold, Ozzie, Evangeline, Leni, Graham.
* * *
There are those who will think the following old hat, while others will wonder what in the world I'm talking about: The Cinnamon Bear, Ma Perkins, Gangbusters, The Shadow, Amos 'n Andy, Fibber McGee and Molly, The Great Gildersleeve, and Baby Snooks.
* * *
The Former Occupant recently sold four million dollars' worth of NFT's – think digital baseball cards – to his followers. What is laughable is that I'm sure his buyers were thinking they were contributing to his future campaign or his attempts to overthrow the world when, in reality, those monies went straight into his pocket to use for whatever he wants. Nothing wrong with that; perfectly legal but, as the saying goes, there's one born every minute.
* * *
If you have any tweens or even teens in your life, ask them what a "knapsack" is. You might be surprised by the answer.
* * *
With this edition Cold Iron now begins its twenty-first year of wit, sass, information, and occasional boredom (sorry about that). It began haltingly as a fiction writer's attempt to write true truths and factual facts without turning them into wildly imaginative fictional adventures. I just wanted to be able to express some of the things I observed about life and the world and myself and others while silencing the shaggy muse that always wants to turn some quiet observation into some grandly goofy romp. It has been, really, a rather remarkable run, appearing without fail on the first of the month as either a bit of an essay or the much more popular Iron Filings. It has been fun, too, but also a lot of work. Sometimes the pieces fall slowly into place over the course of a month, but there's been more than one occasion where I've been just a few days away from deadline and still facing a blank page. Writers, though, we're pretty good when it's fourth down and ten to go at being able to punch through the blockers and score big time and I've done that. Perhaps it's just knowing that my readers get a kick out of seeing "Cold Iron" in their inbox each month and wondering "what in the hell is he doing this month?" that makes it all come together. At any rate, as any writer will tell you, it's all about the reader and it's all about trying to entertain and inform and amuse and even vex the reader that keeps us going. No, this is not some sort of valedictory followed by a poignant goodbye. Cold Iron will continue for as long as these aging fingers can continue to pump something meaningful out of the keyboard, but implicit in every piece you read is a truth that comes from deep within this writer's heart: Thank you for being here.
G.K Wuori © 2023
Photoillustration by the author