"...These are the times that try men's souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country: but he that stands it NOW deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like Hell, is not easily conquered. Yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph."

Thomas Paine

I watched a movie called The Clearing a couple of nights ago. It starred Robert Redford and Willem Dafoe. I was sorely disappointed. Not that it wasn't realistic; it was plenty that. I also found the acting superb. The ending left a bad taste in my mouth, however. I found myself asking, "Is that it?"

During this movie, however, I picked up on a lesson that Hollywood teaches. A very dangerous and FALSE lesson. Simply put, the lesson is this: If someone has a gun pointed at you, that person is in control of the situation, and you'd better do exactly as they say.

So, what do you do if you're in the mall parking lot and a guy points a gun at you, telling you to get in your car? Statistically speaking, if you do what he says, your chances of survival are about nil. The appropriate response would be to run, zig-zagging, and making as much noise as possible. Anyone who's ever fired a weapon can attest to the difficulty in hitting a moving target.

What if you're already in your car when the gun is pulled? Crash it, preferably ramming a tree or telephone pole on the passenger's side. Too often, our response in these situations is to acquiesce with the gunman in hopes he'll show mercy. Seldom does this occur.

We also may try to reason with the guy. You gotta remember, though, that if a guy points a gun at you he's already shown a lack of willingness or capacity to hear logic. These situations trigger our fight or flight responses for a reason. It's very black and white. Either you fight, run, or die.

If you watch The Clearing (and I don't recommend it), do exactly opposite what Robert Redford does and you might survive a situation like that.

Until yesterday, Hunter S. Thompson and Sandra Dee had almost nothing in common (that I know of). How is it, I wonder, that a man who'd probably ingested more chemicals than anyone on the planet lived five years longer than America's epitome of naivete', and did not even die of natural causes?

I'm sure wherever he is, Mr. Thompson is partaking of the astral equivalent of substances he consumed while in the flesh. That is, considering he realizes he's dead, and not on a bad acid trip.