Phoenix observed

Songs don't "appear" in a movie, as one of the presenters at the Academy Awards said when presenting the Oscar for "Best Original Song." Songs occur in a movie from time to time to help the story along, unless the movie's made by Martin Scorsese and there's almost no differentiation between the songs being used and the story being told.

Let's not forget that actors will say almost anything; no, that's not correct, actors will say anything they are instructed to say, that's what makes them actors.

Yesterday morning, in the lobby of the Sheraton in Phoenix, Arizona, people were sipping their morning Cokes. None of them seemed to be quite awake yet, and so they looked like they came from other worlds, like Iowa and Wisconsin and Minnesota where it snows in the winter and people become whiter and whiter as they age.

Most people are good looking, in as much as they look like people and are regarded in the Christian context as children of God. People who don't look like people aren't good looking, but unless they're absolute animals are still people and must be regarded as such, no matter how white they are.

Question: if you're playing golf in Phoenix and find a 10 foot bull snake in the middle of the fairway, you should 1) observe the snake in all its glory and move on 2) behead the snake with your five iron 3) pick the snake up by the tail to allow your golfing partner to snap a picture of the snake to show the folks back home or 4) pass quietly by the snake as if it is a Republican candidate for president.

Since we're living in a time when they sprinkle sugar on your Caesar salad so that it tastes good, but behind the scenes where you can't see it being sprinkled, the correct answer to almost anything is to be obedient to your instincts and live your life with both courage and joy.