Stateside, a gas station. I drank a frozen blue beverage too quickly, and was struck down by a punishment this entire nation knows, and accepts, and has named.
The drink is called a slush. Ice, sweetness, and a blue that does not occur in nature. The day was hot. I was thirsty. I drank like a soldier at a river.
The pain arrived in my skull like a war horn.
Behind the eyes. Above everything. Total. I gripped the roof of my car. I may have made a sound.
"Brain freeze," said the cashier through the door, with no urgency whatsoever.
It has a NAME. The affliction is so common it has a household name, like a cousin.
"Tongue on the roof of your mouth," called a man at the pumps. He did not look over. He prescribed the remedy mid-pump, casually, the way one mentions weather.
I pressed my tongue to the roof of my mouth. The war horn faded. The healer nodded at his pump, finished, and was gone in a Chevrolet.
In my land, punishment follows crime by way of courts and seasons. Here, the sentence is instant. Drink with greed, and the ice strikes the mind directly. No trial. No appeal. Perfectly fair.
And here is what moves me. EVERYONE has felt it. The cashier. The healer. Children. Elders. An entire nation united by the same small lightning, all taught the same cure, all passing it on to strangers at gas stations, free of charge.
You cannot fully distrust a country once you know it shares one pain.
The freeze does not punish thirst. It punishes haste.
I finished the slush slowly, like a scholar. Blue tongue. Clear mind.
Then at the door I forgot everything, drank deeply, and was struck down again.
"Tongue, hon," said the cashier, without looking up.
Discipline is a journey.
Rodney is a great, great American who has created one of the best, simplest, most beautiful multiplying acts of charity in the country. Been following him for years. Let’s get some Raising Men & Women Lawn Care kids on the WH lawn!
Dear @WhiteHouse, my name is Rodney Smith Jr., founder of Raising Men & Women Lawn Care Service in Huntsville, Alabama. Through our 50 Yard Challenge, over 6,000 kids across the country have signed up to mow free lawns for the elderly, disabled, veterans, active-duty military, first responders, and single parents. With America celebrating its 250th birthday this year and me also being born on July 4th, I wanted to humbly ask if a few kids from our program and myself could travel to Washington, D.C. to help mow the White House lawn for this historic celebration.
More than anything, I want these kids to see how a simple act of service something as ordinary as mowing a lawn for someone in need can lead to extraordinary places. What better lesson in community service than showing them that helping others can take them all the way to our nation’s capital? I’d also love to bring my American flag-themed mower in hopes that the President might sign it, so I can later auction it off and donate 100% of the proceeds to a nonprofit supporting veterans. It would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to highlight the importance of service, patriotism, and the impact young people can have when they choose to make a difference. 🇺🇸
Jim Valvano taught us to enjoy life and to cherish every moment.
As we continue this journey, we’re reminded that the Stanley Cup Final is about more than hockey. It’s about people, purpose, sacrifice, and appreciating the moments that bring us together.
🚨 NOW: The area around ICE Newark is DEAD SILENT after NJSP FORCED rioters out of the area
Tens of THOUSANDS of dollars worth of supplies are just abandoned outside the facility.
It is genuinely mindblowing how much money is poured into riot supplies.
See for yourselves 👇🏻
WANTED - Michael Timothy Puckett for homicide of a law enforcement officer. ARMED and DANGEROUS. $10,000 reward for information that leads to his arrest.
Bob Woodson was an American hero, a courageous voice for truth, and a faithful friend. His impact on this nation and on countless lives will not be forgotten. He will be deeply missed. ❤️
I cried through this entire thing and fell to my knees in prayer asking God to help us help this man win.
All Los Angeles needed was a Spencer, and He sent us one.
I would like to ask everyone to pray for Dr. Peter Stafford, the missionary physician who has been evacuated from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after testing positive for the Ebola virus. Please also pray for his wife, Dr. Rebekah Stafford, and their four children. The Staffords now serve with Serge, but were part of our Samaritan’s Purse Post-Residency Program several years ago. I spoke with Rebekah by phone today and told her we would be praying for Peter and their family. https://t.co/8tc68XsvB2
What you're about to watch is two members of the "press" credentialed by Mayor Mamdani, openly endorsing the heinous and evil assassination of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Ashley Rojas and Lena Weissbrot are their names, and they deserve to be famous:
Rojas: "I'm saying f*** Brian Thompson. I don't give a flying f*** he died."
Weissbrot: "His children are better off without him. They need to learn to not be like their dad, and enjoy the blood money ... I liked [his murder]."
Rojas and Weissbrot accuse Brian Thompson of being guilty of "mass social murder" a 19th century term coined by Karl Marx's co-conspirator Fredrich Engels and recently referenced by Hasan Piker to the NYT.
They compare the assassination of Thompson to the killing of Osama Bin Laden and call it "heroic violence."
Assassination culture is rising on the left and is continuing to be mainstreamed and condoned by leftwing political figures like Zohran Mamdani.
Truly grotesque, evil, and disturbing.
Her press badge should be revoked immediately. The levels of depraved indifference is remarkable.
If this is the future of journalism and reflective of the next generation, we are truly screwed.
@NYCMayor@NYCCouncil