USA. Summer. It is 95 degrees outside, and I am shivering inside a sandwich shop.
I have discovered how Americans forge strong souls.
Outside, the sun is trying to kill everyone. Inside this small restaurant, it is winter. My breath does not fog, but it is thinking about it. A man near me is eating a cold sandwich while wearing a jacket. In summer. Indoors.
In Japan we would simply turn it down. Americans do not turn it down. And now I understand them better than they understand themselves.
This cold is not an accident. This cold is a gift.
The owner has built, inside his shop, a second season. He invites you in from the brutal heat and hands you the one thing the sun has denied you all day: a reason to be cold. To endure it is to be tempered. You walk in soft and sweating. You walk out sharp and clear, a slightly stronger person than you were.
So I did not complain. I removed my outer layer and offered it to the woman at the next table, who was hugging herself. She said, "Oh, no, I'm fine, thank you." She was not fine. Her lips were blue. But she, too, understood the training. She would not break first. I respected her deeply.
The owner asked if everything was okay.
"It is perfect," I said, through my teeth, which were chattering. "Thank you for the winter."
He said, "...I can turn the AC down if you want?"
I told him no. A man does not ask the mountain to be shorter.
I stayed two hours. I ordered a hot coffee to survive. Then a second one, to hold. By the end I could no longer feel my hands, but my spirit had never been clearer.
So now, on the hottest days, I seek out the coldest rooms. I sit. I shiver. I sharpen.
And when I finally step back out into the summer heat, and it wraps around me like a warm bath, I feel it.
Reborn.
A man who has survived the winter, in August, indoors, for the price of a sandwich.
@AndrewCFollett@BasedMikeLee Hey, as we've discussed before, I was also Gret's friend. Do you have evidence that Danehower was a leftist? I've also had my suspicions that Gret's politics were a reason for the light sentencing. Happy to discuss in DMs.
Jason Miyares calls out the sanctuary policies of Fairfax County and the victims who have been harmed and killed as a result of them while Fairfax DA Steve Descano sits next to him visibly uncomfortable and shaking his head.
@BlakeSNeff I don't know why we make any one who works for the federal government pay federal income taxes. They should just be paid proportionally less. Instead of paying them $100k a year and taking back $30k, just pay them $70k. How much money is spent processing those taxes?
As a side note, I don't know why we make any one who works for the federal government pay federal income taxes. They should just be paid proportionally less. Instead of paying them $100k a year and taking back $30k, just pay them $70k. How much is spent processing those taxes?
Thank you so much to the Clark County Sheriff’s office for taking me out for a ride along. It’s an honor to get a chance to see what you’re up against firsthand. In DC, I’m working to provide tax relief on the first $100,000 of federal income tax for law enforcement. We need to think creatively about how to support law enforcement and first responder health and wellness.
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@JosephRooks Honestly I never thought that it really needed a sequel. They should have just released more DLC for it. The first game was pretty perfect.