Please, Talk to Strangers

On Wednesday morning I got forwarded the following alert:

“Albany police are investigating a report of a male exposing himself on Delaware Avenue. Staff from Myers Middle School notified police that on Tuesday September 24, 2013 at approximately 7:30 a.m., two female students were approached by a man on Delaware Avenue. The students told police that while they were walking to school, they observed a male exposing himself in the area of Delaware Avenue and Morton Avenue. They stated the male then followed them for approximately one block and attempted to engage them in conversation. The students were able to get away from him and reported the incident to school officials.”

After some details about the investigation, the alert followed up with these tips:

History, We Hope

I’m writing this the morning after a historic primary election day here in Albany, and also the morning after a Presidential saber-rattling speech about a proposed act of war that, amazingly enough, even the general news coverage seems to admit Americans are not enthusiastic about. (Perhaps we are finalizing realizing our own internal inconsistency about what’s ok when we do it, or an ally does it, versus someone we don’t care about, versus a strategic enemy?)

Those things shouldn’t really be related, but somehow I’m finding them tangled together in my head this morning.