I needed to move a sofa.
I mentioned this to an American. He said, "You know anybody with a truck?"
I did not know anybody with a truck.
He looked at me with real concern. Not pity. Concern. The way you look at a man who has told you he does not have a name.
"You gotta know somebody with a truck."
I asked how one acquires such a person.
He said, "You just do."
This is the third time I have received that answer in this country. It is the answer to everything here. You just do. There is no process. There is only the eventual fact of having.
He said, "Ask Kevin."
I do not know a Kevin. He said Kevin like I should. He said it the way you say a shared uncle.
I met Kevin four days later. Kevin owns a truck. Kevin does not own a truck for himself. Nobody owns a truck for themselves. Kevin owns a truck for a fifteen mile radius.
Inside I said: THIS MAN HAS TAKEN A VOW. HE DID NOT ANNOUNCE IT. HE SIMPLY PURCHASED A BED AND ACCEPTED THE CONSEQUENCES.
Kevin arrived on Saturday. He brought the truck. He also brought a second man.
I had not asked for a second man.
The second man's name is Tony. Tony came because Kevin came. Tony did not know me. Tony did not ask what we were moving. Tony brought gloves.
They moved the sofa in eleven minutes.
I offered them money. Both of them laughed at the same time, which felt rehearsed and was not.
I asked what I owed them.
Kevin said, "Buy the pizza."
That is the price. That is the entire economy. The truck costs one pizza and the pizza is not negotiable and the pizza is also not expensive and everyone knows what size.
Inside I said: THE FEE IS FIXED ACROSS THE ENTIRE NATION AND WAS SET BY NO ONE.
We ate on the floor because the sofa was against the wall and none of us wanted to be the first to sit on it.
Tony told me his daughter plays soccer. I asked if she is good. He said, "She's aggressive."
I still think about that.
Three weeks later, Kevin texted me.
"You free Sunday? Helping Tony move a fridge."
He did not ask if I wanted to. He informed me of a fridge.
Inside I said: I HAVE BEEN CALLED UP. I DID NOT ENLIST. THE PAPERS WERE FILED ON MY BEHALF.
I went. I moved the fridge. I have no truck. I contributed only arms.
Afterward, a man I had never met asked me if I knew anybody with a truck.
I said, "Yeah, I got a guy."
I have a guy.
I am somebody's guy now, too. Tony has told two people about me.
He describes me as "the guy who's strong for his size."
I have never been prouder of a sentence in my life.
Don’t fall for the fake Fox/GOP outrage. Two weeks ago the House passed a bill that greenlighted the transfer of Spanish territory to Morocco. Every Republican except me voted for it, but now THEY are acting shocked at the invasion.
https://t.co/a7ROEAtoOD
https://t.co/886sJycfeL
We said no more foreign wars and we meant it and supported Donald Trump because he made that promise.
But he’s betrayed us all.
Our commitment is America First for all Americans, right, left, and center.
The movement has begun.
To those clutching their pearls over The Unvaccinated who've expressed relief after years of being mocked, dismissed, and ridiculed...and, here you are again, lecturing us on how we must respond to being vindicated.
As a reminder...you wished that...
• The unvaccinated would be socially ostracized and shunned by friends and family.
• The unvaccinated would be publicly identified and "named and shamed."
• The unvaccinated would be prevented from gathering for worship.
• The unvaccinated would be barred from restaurants, theaters, sporting events, and other public venues.
• The unvaccinated would be prohibited from traveling by airplane, train, or other public transportation.
• The unvaccinated would be excluded from schools, universities, and campuses.
• The unvaccinated would lose government benefits or access to certain public services.
• The unvaccinated would lose their jobs.
• The unvaccinated would be forced to pay higher health insurance premiums or bear greater medical costs.
• The unvaccinated would face legal penalties or fines for remaining unvaccinated.
• The unvaccinated would be subjected to stricter quarantine or movement restrictions than vaccinated people.
• Hospitals would refuse to treat the unvaccinated.
• The unvaccinated would be sent to concentration camps.
• The unvaccinated would become seriously ill with COVID-19 or die, with people saying, "They got what they deserved."
Forgive me if I don't give a damn how you feel.
400 posts attacking and smearing @RepThomasMassie across just 25 days in May. And they aren’t all of them.
That’s what a $30 million race with spending from AIPAC-linked and other pro-Israel groups came bundled with.
Stephen A. Smith publicly APOLOGIZES to Kyrie Irving after calling him "selfish" for refusing the COVID jab.
"Hindsight-wise, it didn’t make him stubborn or selfish. It made him BRAVE."
"I watched Dr. Fauci on Capitol Hill yesterday, and the person I thought about most was Kyrie Irving."
“Kyrie Irving stood out in my mind because of the heat that he was taking... He refused the vaccine. New York City's mandate made him ineligible for home games, and he linked his stance to people losing jobs over vaccine mandates."
“In my opinion, particularly hindsight-wise, it didn't make him stubborn or selfish. It made him brave. His willingness to stand up and say, ‘Nah, I'm not doing that.’
“It's just a time for reflection — to look at things differently.”
Kyrie gave up $11,400,000 in game checks during the 21-22 NBA season and a $100,000,000 extension with the Nets to be unvaccinated.
That cements his holdout as the largest financial sacrifice any athlete has ever made over an issue in history.
🚨 BREAKING: @RealCandaceO just confirmed the hospital @charliekirk11 was taken to after he was shot, had all patients removed BEFORE the shooting even happened.
At this point, how else do you describe this EXCEPT as a Deep State operation and cover‑up planned in advance? 🧐
For all of human history until very recently, and still in some places today, this would be met with every young man living there standing atop the embankment and raining ranged weaponry they had down on the invaders.
On net this would be the least destructive path.