October 28, 2006

On Golf and the Death Penalty

For the 15th consecutive year, I have turned down the standing invitation to go to Myrtle Beach or North Myrtle Beach to play golf the week after Thanksgiving. While the average high temperature of 60 F is attractive, the average low of 37 F is not.

In younger days, I played golf when the temperature was in the 20's with snow flakes flying and in the 30's with rain and sleet coming down; so, I'm no stranger to playing in the cold. And as I rummage around my memories, I think, "Boy, that was pretty damn stupid."

Now, from the Saturday morning golf group, when I make an appearance, I hear comments about my dedication; and I endure, continuing to play with them from time-to-time, weather permitting. Nothing is wrong with my dedication, which runs to being comfortable and healthy, not cold and miserable.

So, while 60 and sunny is enticing, the down side of that forecast is not. And while I would like to look at the glass as half full, it is still half empty; it's not worth it.

I have written about my opposition to the death penalty in this space on other occasions. While the brownies I am making from scratch are baking in the oven this cold and windy, rainy morning, thoughts about imposing the ultimate penalty for certain heinous crimes are percolating from a dark, malevolent region of my mind.

Killing a golfer on a golf course, as revealed by the admitted, serial killer, Lee Malvo, part of the duo, along with John Muhammad, which terrorized the region around Washington, D.C., in October, 2002, is something that could persuade me to change my mind about the death penalty.

Although I have not done so, if I were to change my mind on the subject, of course, the only appropriate method of carrying out such a penalty is lethal injection of an 8-iron into the skull of the killer. The technology to perform that function already exists.

Posted by Bill at October 28, 2006 01:59 PM
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