Music that’s just a little too loud is playing in the background.

I’m thinking “turn it down” but I don’t say it because I don’t want to be the one who’s always complaining about such things. The food is good and so is the mood in the room as my family sits together for a meal. I love observing the contrast between my girls who are seventeen and nine.

They are so very different.

The younger one is so animated; the older is much more reserved.

My wife mentions that the police came to our neighbor’s house earlier in the day. This was not the first time. There always seems to be trouble coming from that house.

I don’t know the neighbors.

Our interactions have been confined to neighbor waves from a distance and my peeking through closed blinds when I hear a commotion over there.

Headline news rarely comes from our rural Pennsylvania community, so the locals tend to notice a visit by the police.

I reach across the table for some bread and my daughter playfully pulls the basket away. Our laughter is cut short by the explosion.

The pile of rubble that used to be our home is barely mentioned in the AP summary of the drone mission that leveled three houses and killed ten people. The target of the attack was one of the dead. The Canadian Defense Minister took no questions as he briefed the press on that evening’s successful mission.

“We’ve eliminated the third highest ranking terrorist on our watch list.”

When the press briefing ended, reporters called out, but their questions were ignored, except for one.

“What about the other homes that were damaged by the bomb?”

The Minister paused as he stepped away from the podium. Returning to the microphone, he said, “Of course, we regret the loss of life.”

He went on to emphasize the importance of these missions to Canada’s national security, and promised that they would continue, until the war on terrorism had been won.

“Because of our efforts, the world is a safer place.”

Many of the reporters were seen nodding in agreement.

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This fictional account of a Canadian drone attack on a target in the United States is intended to illustrate the absurdity of one nation allowing another country to bomb “terrorist targets” within their borders.

Statistics on the effectiveness of the Predator drone program in Pakistan vary greatly, but there is no doubt that innocent people are being killed by American drones in our pursuit of terrorists.

IF… Osama Bin Laden himself was thought to be hiding out in a house in Detroit, would the CIA dispatch a drone to blow up that house?

Of course not!

Would the United States ever allow another country to drop bombs on our soil for any reason?

Of course not!

So why is it okay for America to do what we are doing in Pakistan?

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On Monday, my nine-year old, Maritza, mentioned that she wanted to make a video entry for Disney’s uRock contest. The submission deadline was Sunday. I promised that we would do it on Friday night or Saturday.

Now, there’s a long time between Monday and Friday, so while I try to keep my promises, I can’t say that I always do. On Friday night, while joking around with Maritza and Simone, we talked about the goings on of the week. Maritza had a strange look on her face, as if she wanted to say something.

She said that she didn’t.

I brought it up a few more times, and each time she insisted that there was nothing she was holding back.

I wasn’t convinced.

Later, I remembered and rushed into her bedroom.

“I’ve got it! I know what it is. You wanted to ask about the video, right?”

She confirmed my guess.

It seems that she was worried that I was too tired from work to help her with the video.

“We’ll do it tomorrow, for sure.”

I went into Simone’s room and announced my breakthrough:

“I told you. I knew that she wanted to ask me something.”

“Congratulations,” she deadpanned.

Highly tuned perceptive qualities are rarely appreciated by the masses.

On Saturday, we worked on the 40-second video – filming, editing, rendering, previewing, and reediting. It took us several hours to complete. Maritza had full creative control of the process.

You just can’t rush show people.

Enjoy the video!

Life was so much easier when I was a straphanger.

The danger of riding on the subways alone late at night, sidestepping panhandlers, the noise, and the ever-present urine odor are all things that I would gladly accept again, if only I could avoid getting behind the wheel of my car every day.

Growing up in New York, everything was accessible for the price of a token. (Yes, I know that they use Metro Cards now, but I’m talking about the 70’s and 80’s). New York City’s much maligned transportation system provided me with the mobility to go to work in Manhattan, date a girl from Queens, and enjoy an amusement park in Brooklyn, while living in the Bronx.

I didn’t know how good I had it.

Since moving with my family to Pennsylvania, about a dozen years ago, we’ve had to rely on cars to get everywhere.

We started with one car, but soon realized that that just wouldn’t do, so we bought a second one. Last year, one of my daughters started driving, so now, we have three cars in the driveway.

None of them are new and all of them need work.

I used to think that springing for a set of tires was expensive, until I had to buy twelve. Tack on the costs of insurance, gas, routine maintenance, and the inevitable major work that needs to be done to keep these clunkers on the road and we’re talking about a small fortune.

Four tokens please.

A steady migration away from cities has been going on for years, but the amount of investment in public transportation has not kept pace. When I moved here in 1998, there had been talk going on for years about a rail system between the Poconos and New York.

They’re still talking.

The talk isn’t believed though, as illustrated by the results of an online poll conducted by our local newspaper, The Pocono Record, where 49% of respondents did not expect to see rail service in our area within their lifetimes.

Many locals drive or ride a bus to commute to and from their jobs in New York, but each of those alternatives is a time-consuming and expensive proposition.

A rail system wouldn’t help me with my current commute, but it would provide a more cost-effective alternative for many.

We have been slow to recognize the importance of improved infrastructure. Hopefully, we can change that.

I was delighted to read about the recent developments in high-speed rail planning with the requests that have been made for stimulus money for these efforts. Like the building of New York City’s marvelous subway system, these high-speed rail initiatives will take time to construct and implement, but it’s encouraging to see that we are headed in the right direction.

I never thought that I’d miss asking for, “Four tokens, please.”

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How’s the public transportation where you live?

Is investment in high-speed rail a worthwhile use of our tax dollars?
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