Showing 1 - 10 of 18
The kids aren't alright
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 08/11/2019
» Crime is not limited by gender or age. Men, women and children can all end up behind bars for committing criminal acts. Ignorance of the law is no excuse. Many jurists advocate that laws be reconsidered periodically to determine whether they are still applicable. Some turn into the Blue Laws of yore, still on the books but no longer enforced. Others get overturned.
Too ambitious
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 20/09/2019
» We are told as children that we must have ambition to make something of ourselves. What we aren't told is that it must have its limits. To be sure, most people are too lazy to make the effort needed to fulfil it. They figure that just getting along is enough. Anyway, they tell themselves that the odds are stacked against them. That those who succeeded did so by cheating or were just lucky.
A fatal prank
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 16/03/2018
» Pranks are supposed to be fun. They seldom are. They're cruel. The victim invariably suffers. When complaining, he or she is admonished: "Can't you take a joke?" A pail of water falling on the head when opening the door. Being told that a loved one has had an accident. A snake put in a car. Hilarious?
One of a kind
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 03/11/2017
» In the US, and many other lands, justice is in the hands of the police and the courts. The citizenry must abide by their decision. But this overlooks the fact that vengeance is a human instinct.
Scandinavian myth
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 17/02/2017
» However much we desire to live in peace, when our nations' leaders beat the drums of war we are obliged to exchange our sickles for guns and march off to combat evil (our side of course good). Through training and luck we return victorious from the fray, perhaps without a leg but with a medal to compensate for it.
A love mantra
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 11/11/2016
» According to literary surveys, love stories are the most popular reading matter. The reason why, I leave to psychologists. This reviewer guesses it's because however hard we strive for it, it continues to evade us. Vicarious is the closest we come to the actual experience.
The Fourth Reich?
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 30/05/2016
» Whereas the guns going quiet with a ceasefire (armistice) marked the finis of World War I, World War II ended with unconditional surrender. Tens of millions, soldiers and civilians, perished in both struggles. The sides realigned in the Cold War with far fewer deaths.
Empires don't endure the ages
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 23/05/2016
» Empires have come and gone throughout human history -- some lasting more than a millennium, others less than a century. Contemporary historians keep analysing the reasons for their rise and fall. They peruse the same documents and works of earlier historians and eyewitnesses, yet often arrive at differing conclusions.
Be wary of your spouse
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 16/05/2016
» It's said that men marry for sex, women for security. An oversimplification yet consistent with the undeniable fact that each party enters matrimony with expectations. Before exchanging vows, they've probably discussed and agreed on children, one or two jobs, family relations, domicile, time with friends.
Hey presto
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 15/02/2016
» In every category there's a person or group recognised as the best in their field of endeavour. Not all people agree with the judges' choice. Arguments invariably ensue over, "This award or prize goes to …..", "Are they blind or deaf? W, Y, Z was better than X by a long shot."