What was once the sign of a rebel is now the sign of a conformist: Tattoo. You too? ~ In Palm Springs, California, art critics and spoil-sports have protested the presence of a Marilyn Monroe Statue. ~ Television streaming companies are taking their customers to the cleaners with additional fees and inserting advertisements: A Prime Rip-Off. ~ Volkswagen once again shows its disdain for the American consumer: Volkswagen Robbery. ~ The politically correct crowd is at it again: Picnic is no Picnic. ~ McDonald’s has the heat turn on it with Hot McNuggets and Once Burned, Twice Shy? ~ Youngsters attempted to kill their teacher, but Rats! The Poison Didn’t Work! ~ An out-of-control penis erection: It’s all in the Head. ~ A child cannot tell the difference between a real butterfly than one on a phone screen: Being Somewhere Else.  ~ Political correctness is on the prowl again, making for a Blue Christmas. ~ There are words and gestures that we use over and over. Here are some examples: This and That. ~ I have become illiterate in this smart phone world by my  sticking with my treasured dumb flip phone. Losing the ability to communicate, I am forced into Flipping Phones. ~  One of the most controversial subjects of this decade (2020-2030) has been how to deal with COVID and its variants. This article, Moral Manslaughter I, presents a pro-vax view on the subject. ~ Your writer, finally admitting he needs some assistance getting around begins to use a cane. Here’s a description of this change in life: The Cane Mutiny. ~ An accurate and beautifully rendered diorama comes under the assault of the politically correct crowd: Diorama Accuracy.  ~ A visit to southwest America and a celebration of the cowboy and cowgirl: Lea County Rodeo and Fair. ~ Once again, America’s citizens come through.  This time regarding the coronavirus: America Steps Up. ~ Hours upon more hours are spent on the phone waiting for an online service to answer our calls to complain about their service: Call Waiting.  ~ The English language is often spoken differently in America’s southwest and its east coast: Regional Tongues. ~ The rigor and challenge of public school academic requirements today pale in comparison to those of a few decades ago: Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic. ~ Traffic jams are driving drivers’ brains to jelly: Jams and Jellies. ~ This essay discusses several issues:  Views on sexual abuse. ~  The 2018 Palm Spring International Film Festival was a big success. ~ A reflection on how the conventions of marriage ceremonies have changed over the past few years:   Click on A  Wedding for the Times. ~ More thoughts on free speech with this link: First Amendment 101.  ~  The Los Angeles city government is getting rid of Columbus Day for Indigenous Peoples Day (I am not joking).  ~  Clipping: The increasing use of video and sound bytes in movies and television. ~ Political correctness on a college campus: Suppressing Free Speech.  ~ Another article on the suppression of free speech: Gag Disorder. ~ I have great respect for Mr. Rose, but his treatment of Mr. Penn was unfair and elitist. ~ Floral Infanticide: A failed attempt at gardening, one many readers will understand.  ~ Age Discrimination: A case study of a competent woman who is denied employment because of her age. ~  Take a walk down memory lane with Memories Are Made of This. ~  More people are undergoing plastic surgery to win beauty contests and avoid The Ugly Factor.  ~ A trip back to the old-time movies and Drugstore Cowboys. ~  A Class Act: A trip back in time to a High School Class Reunion.  ~ A tribute to Robin Williams:  Mork Meets Earthlings (I).  ~ Many of my readers are from the southwest America. I suspect you will be familiar with at least parts of this story. I hope all of you will go the the referenced website and help the cause of correctly naming this trail the  Great Western Trail.