I know, or I hope, and am damn near ready to pray, the forgoing article and the passage quoted draws letters. Maybe two or three in the physical magazine and certainly some on the web site. But there is a tone in so much journalism of "Out of the way, now to the great story of," in this case, "The big confrontation with the 'ump' and, of course, the won-loss record." Yes, I have often been called, occasionally to my face, the term "pussy" by brothers, coaches, tradesmen and other people I never learned the Christian and all-American value of bowing to. And many feminists regard my protests as faint and not borne of suffering such as they have endured. Cool. I'll side with the latter, nevertheless. It's a form of character not as often remarked upon in Sports Illustrated and even more seldom in NRA Journal and National Review. And it's practiced more solidly by many more people than me.

Several years ago I took a trip to the San Francisco Bay Area: Bus to Amtrak to BART to walking to my east bay motel(brag, brag, little Dan). I had a pair of conversations with a floor manager; once he made a side comment about religion being a manipulative tool of the population, in so many words. Okay, enlightened in that respect. He also talked about the amazing football record of one (Catholic) Concord De La Salle High School. Ah, "little boy stuff". It must be noted this school is noted for coaching that does not emphasize abuse and winning at all costs, which I experienced in the 60's and of course has much cache to this day.

Well, you know the title of this blog, and somehow the conversation turned to my account of two well-off boys in Palos Verdes who published and distributed an obscene and unfounded (...duh) newsletter about a teacher who hadn't graded them well. And I believe massive cutting-up in class was in the picture. They were expelled, and when legal action was taken about the news letter's contined publication, well, guess what? None other than the (and I will, in the spirit of Catholic education and the fact I will be insulted by all the liberal males as a "pussy" spell out the name) American Civil Liberties Union took the boys' case and the newsletter continued.

And the manager said, "Well, those boys had every right," in that knitted brow, three-flats key solemn voice people whose dubious causes have been vicariously vindicated often use.

And I kept "tacet".

More later, maybe.