Ah, David, that’s the way to do it …

For someone who has only now been revealed as a drug cheat, David Ortiz sure has the patter down. (That’s him at left above in happier days with fellow juicer Manny Ramirez.)

News he was on the list of Major League Baseball players who tested positive for banned substances in 2003 “blindsided” him, he said after Thursday’s afternoon’s 8-5 Boston win over Baltimore. He can’t comment until he gets “to the bottom of this.”

Lovely.

And the gi-normous sunglasses he used to prevent us from seeing his eyes as he spoke — nice touch.

And it’s not just the patter and the look he has down — he’s also got the strategy. Keep hitting game-changing home runs for the Red Sox, David, and no one in Beantown will even care about your use of banned substances, or your lies. After all, Yankee lovers are giving A-Rod a pass — 19 homers in 247 at-bats will make fans do that.

As for your search “for answers,” let me posit for a possible one: You’re a drug cheat and you got caught. Period.

Bobby, Bobby Bobby …

I guess Florida State coach Bobby Bowden really cares about retiring as the all-time wins leader in college football.

How much does he care?

Reportedly enough to look for proof of what he says were 22 victories he earned coaching South Georgia Junior College from 1956-58.

Really.

Bowden, 79, is a single win behind Penn State’s 82-year-old Joe Paterno (383-382) but the NCAA intends to strip FSU of 14 wins over academic fraud involving some of Bowden’s players. With Bowden ostensibly set to step down by 2011, there's no way for him to make up that gap.

Unless ...

Bowden successfully petitioned the NCAA to accept 28 wins he earned from 1959-62 at Samford University, known then as Howard College. But junior college victories, I believe, are bit of a stretch.

Friday column: Bad things happen in the gap between tale and truth

A gap lies between authentic and inauthentic — between what a person purports to be and what a person is — and that gap is a bad place to be.

Ask Mark Sanford.

Or Eliot Spitzer.

Or John Edwards.

No, those we find in such gaps aren’t always politicians. We also find athletes there — Hello, David Ortiz — and teachers and clergy and journalists and … well, you get the point.

In fact, I’m not sure it’s possible in this life for any person and persona to be 100 percent aligned. But when it comes to authenticity gaps, there are rifts and then there are chasms.

Lance Armstrong saying he was “really happy, perfectly happy” to serve as a support rider for Alberto Contador at this year’s Tour de France — when he clearly hates the Spaniard’s guts — that’s a rift in authenticity.

A 24-year-old woman claiming to be a teenage cancer victim in need of funds for a life-saving operation in a scam that fools Armstrong — a hero to many cancer patients — that’s a chasm.

“Jonathan Jay White” was supposedly a 15-year-old from Idaho with brain cancer. On a blog, “Jonathan” said he wanted to become a doctor and perform “medical miracles.” But first he needed a miracle himself, an operation he didn’t have the money for. People stepped up to help.

Except there was no Jonathan, no cancer. There was Melissa Ann Rice from Ammon, Idaho, and into the crevasse she created a number of people tumbled, including Armstrong and several other celebrities with good hearts.

The chasm also claimed cancer charities and regular folk who sent in donations. Other victims include the thousands of people who followed the boy’s story on his blog.

Also victimized, of course, is anyone truly needing help who might not get it now because people will wonder, “How do I know this story isn’t a scam?”

Large gaps in authenticity are pernicious. As in earthquakes, damage fans out in every direction. But damage is also significant at the epicenter. Such gaps are openings for evil, whether one thinks of such evil in theological or psychological terms.

The week “Jonathan” was supposed to arrive in Arizona for surgery — after receiving an encouraging Twitter message from Armstrong — Rice contacted the charities and confessed fraud. Days later Melissa Ann Rice was found dead in her car, an apparent suicide.

The last line in a report about her death read, “Neighbors in her apartment complex … said they didn’t know her.”

I’m quite certain they didn’t. My guess is that a person creating that large of a divide between tale and truth isn’t known even to herself.


Contact Jim Gordon at gjames43@msn.com.

If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs …

According to the New York Daily News, Mets VP for player development Tony Bernazard recently “removed his shirt and challenged the Double-A players to a fight during a postgame tirade.”

If that’s not bizarre enough, Bernazard also allegedly nearly came to blows with Mets star closer Francisco Rodriguez on the team bus, and erupted at another Mets executive with a public, profanity-laced tirade “as scouts and patrons watched in disbelief.”

It’s worth noting the Mets have lost 16 of their last 23 games.

A bobblehead, indeed

Months ago, health care provider Kaiser Permanente was set to help sponsor Wednesday's Manny Ramirez bobblehead giveaway at Dodger Stadium.

Then came Manny’s drug suspension.

Then came some second thoughts.

Then came Kaiser’s withdrawal from the big night.

“As a health-care organization, we thought it was necessary to pull out of our sponsorship of the promotion when he was suspended for violating baseball's drug policy,” a Kaiser Permanente spokesman said.

No matter.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Kaiser was replaced by San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino which, considering the risk the Dodgers are taking by banking of the volatile and selfish Ramirez, is only too appropriate.

And yes, I know Ramirez hit a grand slam Wednesday, sending the Dodger faithful into ecstasy. I remind them the Red Sox fans loved Manny, too ... until they didn't. And made excuses for him ... until they couldn't.

A pitcher's confession

Recommended reading: Former big-leager Jim Parque’s first-person mea culpa about taking human growth hormone.

Parque explains why and how he did it.

Writes Parque: “I cannot and will not ever speak for other players, as this is my story, my life and my career. The decisions I made are mine to deal with, and I take full responsibility for them.”

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/1681419,CST-SPT-parque23.article#

Friday column: It’s perp versus pro — and no contest

You’d have to call Terrance Allan Walcott unlucky.

Very unlucky.

The precise morning the29-year-old decides to grab a purse and laptop from a woman walking in downtown Edmonton, a pro football player happens to be driving by:

* Before 7 a.m.

* Without music playing.

* Not in a good mood.

The lack of music was important, for it allowed Kitwana Jones of the Edmonton Eskimos to hear the screams.

“I just see this guy running with, like, two purses in his hand,” Jones said. “And I seen this little old lady, she’s just running behind him and screaming for dear life, yelling ‘Help, help, help.’ So I was looking and said, ‘Oh man, is this woman really about to chase this guy?’ ”

The bad mood is important because his vexation helped propel the player down the street after Walcott, who had a 40- to 50-yard head start.

“It was mad-early in the morning. I was upset — for real,” said Jones, who was on his way to a pancake breakfast with Alberta legislators, which probably didn’t enhance his mood. “I didn’t even get a good stretch in or nothing. I had to chase this guy, and I’m mad.”

Already the victim of ill fortune, Walcott added to his woes with what can only be called extremely poor judgment.

Said Jones: “ … I’m like, ‘Why you out here trying to rob old women who are really trying to make an honest living going to work?’ And he just laughed.”

Walcott’s flight already had earned him a hard tackle and a forearm to the head; his inappropriate mirth earned him another forearm, along with a kick. And in case you were wondering, no, the police aren’t planning to charge Jones with a crime for the extracurricular activity.

The luck of the robbery victim was significantly better than that of Walcott. Before Jones took chase, the woman actually was pursuing the perp, a frightening scene Jones witnessed from his car.

“I’m like, ‘No, don’t chase him down the alley.’ Know what I’m saying? Anything could happen to her.”

That anything didn’t is attributable to Jones, whose actions made him a local celebrity but who insists, “I ain’t no hero. I just seen someone who needed help and jumped in.”

Jones is 6-foot, 227-pound defensive end who ran a 4.39-second-40-yard-dash at Hampton University, so I take his point: The perp was overmatched and from that perspective, Jones, indeed, is not a hero.

On the other hand, in an athletic world populated with Pacman Jones, Matt Jones, Plaxico Burress, Mike Danton, Michael Vick, et al, Kitwana Jones will certainly serve as a hero until a real one comes along.

Contact Jim Gordon at gjames43@msn.com.

Dept. of Denials

It's not true, not any of it.

That's the word from Larry Woodward, a lawyer for Michael Vick.

A report that Vick spent his first night of freedom at a Virginia Beach strip club is, Woodward said, "absolutely, categorically false."

Vick, he said, was not been Virginia Beach Monday night, let alone at a strip club.

Ben Roethlisberger, meanwhile, says allegations by a Lake Tahoe casino hostess that he raped her a year ago are "reckless and false."

“Saturday was the first I heard of her accusations,” Roethlisberger said. “Her false and vicious allegations are an attack on my family and on me. I would never, ever force myself on a woman.”

This just in …

So.

ESPN finally has decided that a woman’s civil lawsuit claiming Pittsburgh Steelers star quarterback Ben Roethlisberger raped her is worth reporting.

That shouldn’t be a difficult decision, but ESPN was mum on the suit for days — even after it was reported on by no less than The New York Times, among other major media.

ESPN cited the fact that no criminal charges had been filed — not even a complaint made — as its reason for not reporting the story, but others have wondered if ESPN’s cozy relationship with the NFL didn’t play a role in the Worldwide Leader’s reluctance.

We’ll see in coming months if the suit has any merit but it’s filing clearly deserves reporting.

)Just last month, ESPN reported on the intent of a woman to file a civil lawsuit against Los Angeles Lakers guard Shannon Brown on sex-related charges.)

As for Roethlisberger, he’s reversed field by deciding to make a public statement about the case — today at noon. He will, however, not be taking questions. In the coming weeks as NFL camps open, he’ll be getting them, just the same.

This is really, really weird

Ah, poor Jeremy Mayfield — is the world out to get him or what?

First, NASCAR — for reasons it known only to its villainous leaders — cooks up, if you will, a story that Mayfield tested positive for meth.

Then, after a judge overturns NASCAR’s indefinite of the innocent driver, NASCAR claims Mayfield tests positive AGAIN for meth.

And if that isn’t enough, NASCAR somehow convinces Mayfield’s stepmother to swear in an affidavit that she witnessed Mayfield use meth roughly 30 times over the years.

Mayfield’s response?

“Now they got this lying [expletive] to tell lies about me, someone I am embarrassed even uses the Mayfield name. She's tried everything she can do to get money out of me. I won't help her, so I guess she found a way to get money from NASCAR by giving them an affidavit full of lies.”

Then it comes out that Mayfield is accusing his stepmother of killing his father, who died by a gunshot wound determined by the cops to be self-inflicted.

Whoa.

So, there’s obviously bad blood between Mayfield and the stepmom. But to believe Mayfield’s story is to believe not only that she lied under oath but also that NASCAR's bosses manufactured the positive drug tests.

That seems a teensy bit unlikely.

Unless. of course, they're the ones on meth.

You play, you pay

Fooling around — yes, in that sense — is getting a lot of bad publicity these days.

First, Egyptian soccer players reportedly are robbed blind by a group of hookers they bring back to their hotel.

Then, 36-year-old Steve McNair is killed by a 20-year-old girlfriend.

Now, there’s a story in the British press that a soccer groupie has told several Premier League players she slept with that she has tested positive for HIV.

The story, which claims the six unnamed soccer stars play for three different clubs, quotes a source as saying, “All of them are beside themselves with worry … (but) none of them have let their families know yet because they don't want to worry them.”

Wow — that is soooooo considerate. That’s probably why the groupie was attracted to them in the first place.

Remembering the great — and courageous — Curt Flood

Recommended reading: Bryan Burwell’s piece in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on the shameful failure of baseball and the Cardinals to honor the memory of Curt Flood at Tuesday’s All-Star game.

Flood, a great center fielder on two championship Cardinal teams, essentially sacrificed the later part of his career to take on the injustice of baseball’s reserve clause, which basically made players indentured servants.

Naturally, today’s generation of players has little or no knowledge or appreciation of what Flood accomplished decades ago, or what it cost him. Burwell’s column should be required reading in every major league clubhouse.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/columnists.nsf/bryanburwell/story/F0DB58578CBBAFA4862575F40015AA95?OpenDocument

OK, listen up — no, really

Dirk Nowizky’s Dallas Mavericks teammates tried to warn him about his grifter fiancée, to no avail. Finally, he listened to his longtime German coach and had her investigated, leading to the jailing of Cristal Taylor on outstanding fraud charges — and to the end of their affair. Even so, Taylor might be carrying Nowitsky’s child, which means he might be paying a long time for his failure to listen to his chums.

Arturo Gatti became enamored of a woman in a strip club — always a good start to a solid, long-term relationship — and didn’t listen to his friends when they warned him about Amanda Rodrigues. (That’s her on top, after her arrest.)

Now, he’s dead and she’s suspected of strangling him with the strap of her purse.

Moral of the story: When your pals try to warn you about the “woman of your dreams,” you just might want to listen.

Friday column: Three unusual keys to victory

You gotta love Joe Maddon.

OK. You don’t have to. But I do, and have ever since I read his remarks in spring training about his keys to his Tampa Bay Rays returning to the World Series.

“I’ve said all along ... my biggest concern is how we were going to react to success. …” Maddon said. “Gratitude and humility, I really believe in that.”

Maddon, who led the American League to a 4-3 victory in Tuesday’s All-Star Game, does more than believe in it. He lives it.

Witness his attitude not only last year when his Rays shocked the baseball world by beating the mighty Boston Red Sox in the ALCS, but at this week’s All-Star festivities, where, smiling, he introduced himself to strangers, had his photo taken with anyone toting a camera, and generally enjoyed every moment.

He even took time to remind his players to savor the experience.

Writes John Romano of the St. Petersburg Times: “… he began telling them what it meant to be an All-Star. How it was a moment that should not be taken for granted. That it was an honor and an experience to be enjoyed. That they did not want to wake up later in the week and realize they had not taken the time to appreciate what this moment meant in their careers and lives.”

Maddon’s sense of gratitude and humility might come from his family — his 75-year-old mother, Beanie, still cooks and waits tables as the Third Base Luncheonette in Hazleton, Pa. Or it might come from the fact he’s only one of 10 All-Star managers to have never played in the bigs. Or to the fact it took him 25 years of coaching to get a crack at leading a major league team.

The 55-year-old — one of the first baseball men to utilize computer technology — has an inquiring mind, and is not afraid to be unconventional.

“He’s an outside-the-box thinker,” his son, Joey, says. “He used to ride his bike in Mesa, Ariz., then lie on a yoga mat on the grass in the front yard and do yoga in his spandex. Everybody could see him, but he doesn’t care what anybody thinks.”

That was clear last year when Maddon got his white hair clipped on a Mohawk following the lead of B.J. Upton, his young left fielder.

“He’s a young team’s manager,” Upton said. “He allows us to have fun.”

Yet last year when a seven-game losing streak threatened the team’s post-season chances, he went after his youngsters for violating his only team “rule” — hustle and effort at all times.

“The message was, basically, we’re in a position right now that’s actually very special and needs to be treated with respect,” Maddon said.

Add respect to Maddon’s other keys of gratitude and humility.

What’s not to like about this guy?

Contact Jim Gordon at gjames43@msn.com

All the rage

There’s a line I like from the 1968 film The Lion in Winter. With England’s Henry II getting all snarly — that's him at right, played by Peter O'Toole — Phillip II of France says coolly, “You’re good at rage. I like the way you play it.”

Miami-area physician Pedro Publio Bosch sounds very Henry-esqe in a statement attacking the very idea of his being involved in Manny Ramirez’s little drug problem.

An idea that he might be has been floated by ESPN, which said Bosch and his son are under investigation by the DEA in Ramirez’s use of HCG, a fertility drug commonly used by athletes coming off a steroid cycle in order to boost testosterone production.

"I consider the allegations of ESPN outrageous and slanderous, and issue this statement to correct the misrepresentations made by ESPN," Bosch said. "First, Mr. Manny Ramirez is not, nor has he ever been my patient. I have never prescribed drugs of any kind whatsoever to Mr. Ramirez.

"Second, in my thirty-three years of practicing medicine in Coral Gables, Florida, I have never prescribed HCG, not to Mr. Manny Ramirez nor to anyone else."

Bosch's statement also said, "to the best of my knowledge there is no DEA investigation involving me in any matter whatsoever."

Sorry, Pedro, but ESPN is standing by its story, and there apparently is an investigation. Then there’s the little matter of your son, Anthony, whom your huff-and-puff statement never mentioned, and whom sources have said is believed to have been a conduit between you and Manny-boy. And, though you say ESPN's allegations are "slanderous," your statement made no mention of a lawsuit against the network.

All in all, then, Pedro, you’re good at rage, but I don’t think the feds will be particularly impressed by the way you play it …

Don't make it so easy, Ron-Ron

In his first news conference in La-La land, the Lakers' newest acquisition said that signing with Kobe Bryant and company was — and I quote — a "no-brainer."

I believe him. After all, if anyone is familiar with making decisions without fully engaging the human CPU, it has to be Ron Artest ...

The thing about McNair

In many ways, as friends and former teammates point out, Steve McNair was a model athlete.

He was talented, he was tough, he cared about his community. So they are asking the media to tread lightly on his infidelity — the infidelity that led to his death — because, they say, it dishonors his memory.

Actually, it was McNair — by his actions — who dishonored his memory.

And let’s talk about community a little.

McNair did many wonderful things for “the community,” including this month when he held a free football camp in Hattiesburg, Miss., for 600 underprivileged children. And he didn’t do this for PR; he did it because he cared. One just wishes he had cared a little more about a smaller community — his wife and his four sons.

In life, it takes time to learn that you are not the center of the universe, that you are responsible to other people, that some things are not OK to do just because you can. If you are a star athlete like McNair, it can take a good deal more time to learn.

McNair hadn’t learned that lesson by age 36. That’s not surprising, but it is a shame, not only for his family, but for his fans.

McNair meant something special to his fans because of his toughness, because of his talent, because of the caring he demonstrated. They should have always been able to think of him with unalloyed affection and pride.

Their thoughts about him now will be, well … more complicated.

Oh — soooo sensitive!

We discovered LeBron James’ sensitive side — sensitive as in oversensitive — when he was too ashamed of losing the Eastern Conference finals to congratulate the winners.

We see more of it now that it appears he directed a Nike flack to confiscate tape showing Xavier sophomore Jordan Crawford dunking over “The King” as Lebron’s Camp.

According to Ryan Miller, a 22-year-old freelance photog, following the Monday game in which James was posterized, James called over and spoke to a Nike official, who then made a beeline for Miller and his tape.

Reportedly, when reporters tried to talk to James about this on Tuesday night, James agreed to an interview. But the Nike flack came over a minute later and said that James wasn’t talking.

After all, gotta protect the product. I’m not sure, though, that allowing James to be seen as a Kim Jong-il on stilts really protects James’ image all that much. By Thursday, at least one Web site was peddling T-shirts reading: “I dunked on LeBron (but he stole the video).”

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/2009/07/09/2009-07-09_lebron.html#ixzz0KoFmLSH1&C

Mike Schmidt wants out of Manny's world

In viewing the relatively supportive response to the return of steroid cheat Manny Ramirez, Mike Schmidt has seen the future, and it doesn’t work for him — at all.

“Accountability, morality, substance, trust, honesty and so on, are all on a steady decline in our country,” the Hall of Fame third baseman said. “And Manny's world, like some other ‘worlds’ we know, is perpetuating it. At this rate, 20 years from now, pro sports are going to be just like pro wrestling -- marketing to the masses who just want to be entertained.”

Friday column: And we’re evolving as a species — really?

Bernie Ecclestone, president and CEO of Formula One, said last week he has a preference for "strong leaders." Such as, Bernie?

Well, he mentioned former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Now, the “iron lady” wasn’t everyone’s cup of Earl Gray, but OK.

And he mentioned Max Mosley. The outgoing head of Formula One’s governing body is more problematic, having been photographed last year in an S&M session with hookers. But “different strokes,” I guess.

Anybody else?

Well, yes, unfortunately. Bernie went on to praise Hitler, saying he “got things done.”

Devastating one’s own country, overseeing the slaughter of six million Jews as well as other “undesirables,” and plunging the world into a war that ends an estimated 50 million lives certainly is getting things done.

“In a lot of ways, terrible to say this I suppose, but apart from the fact that Hitler got taken away and persuaded to do things that I have no idea whether he wanted to do or not, he was in the way that he could command a lot of people, able to get things done,” Ecclestone said.

Persuaded to do things he had no idea whether he wanted to do or not? Bernie, you need to reread Mein Kampf; I’m sure you still have your copy somewhere.

Critics called Ecclestone’s comments “quite bizarre,” and Jewish Chronicle editor Stephen Pollard said Ecclestone was “either an idiot or morally repulsive.”

Actually, in Ecclestone’s case, I don’t believe the two are mutually exclusive.
Ecclestone later insisted it was all a “big misunderstanding,” and actually said, “Many of my closest friends are Jews.”

Not anymore, Bernie.

* * *

Ecclestone isn’t the only one into revisionist history.

Asked if the reputation of new teammate Ron Artest would be a problem, the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant flared.

“Where is that reputation coming from? Because he ran in the stands and kicked somebody’s (posterior)?” Bryant said. “You talk to anybody who played with him — he’s a great teammate, (will) never be a problem in the locker room. He had that one incident in Detroit, but outside of that, he’s not a problem at all.”

How about the time he was benched by the Pacers after asking for a month off to promote his rap album?

How about the games he missed as a King after his arrest for domestic violence?

How about the total of nine suspensions for a variety of offenses?

Artest’s Wikipedia entry includes a link to an ESPN Artest timeline, which lists 38 such instances of Artest being a “great teammate.”

Of course, it’s possible that in all these cases, he was taken away and persuaded to do them, and we have no idea whether he wanted to do them or not …

My money's on the demons

Yes, it could be that Jim Leyritz is just a victim of misfortune.

It could be the former World Series hero wasn’t actually responsible for the death last year of Fredia Ann Veitch, even though witnesses say he ran a red light before his car plowed into hers, and even though police say he was driving drunk.

It could be that, as he maintains, he doesn’t have a problem with alcohol, even though after the accident he refused a breathalyzer test and three hours later, when his blood was ordered drawn, still had an alcohol content over Florida’s legal limit.

It could be, as he seems to think, that he’s the victim here.

But he didn’t strengthen his case in May by checking into a psych ward after reportedly threatening suicide. Nor did he strengthen it Thursday when he allegedly dragged his ex-wife out of bed and pushed her to the floor because she wrote a check without his permission.

He was arrested on charges of domestic battery. In two months his DUI manslaughter trial is to begin.

It appears Leyritz has some serious demons to contend with — unless, as he seems to think, he’s just very, very unlucky.

An end zone moment to remember

So.

After scoring a touchdown, the Toronto Argos’ Arland Bruce paid “tribute” to the departed Michael Jackson by taking off his helmet, shoulder pads and uniform top and lying down in the end zone, pretending to be buried.

The Argos weren't happy with the "tribute," and the CFL fined Bruce an undisclosed sum, calling the display "excessive."

That's one word for it.

Despite the fine, I can't help but think the slotback is still happy he pulled the stunt. After all, it accomplished its purpose. No, not giving tribute to Michael Jackson — bringing attention to Arland Bruce.

Ah, sportsmanship …

There’s nothing like lining up and shaking hands after a youth baseball game to teach the youngins the proper respect for one’s opponent.

Nothing, that is, unless it’s assaulting the opposing coach, which is what Andrew Hamilton, a fill-in coach, is said to have done during the traditional handshake in Berkeley Heights, N.J.

"Basically they had words, and this guy just head-butts (the Westfield coach) in the face," police Capt. Cliff Auchter explained.

Hamilton was charged with aggravated assault, according to news reports, “because the incident occurred in front of children under the age of 16 at a school or community-sponsored youth sports event.”

If found guilty, perhaps Hamilton can plead for mercy — citing youthful impetuousness. He is, after all, only 47.

Friday column: When life as usual doesn’t seem right

Shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the NFL postponed that Sunday’s games. Major League Baseball took the next six days off.

In 1963 after the assassination of John Kennedy, the AFL — a rival of the NFL — shut down its games for a week. Pete Rozelle, then NFL commissioner, had his league play on — and came to regret it.

Why do I bring this up? Because this is a sports column, and the above paragraphs are as close to the world of games as I can come today. And more to the point, because there are some times when it seems things just ought to stop. Completely shut down. Not just sports — everything. For a day, a week, two weeks.

Tragedy and loss need to be noted, need to be mourned, need to be pondered sufficiently before life resumes. In times past, in smaller communities, the violent ending of four young lives would have brought things to a halt until a level of grieving and understanding had been accomplished.

First at Cathedral Park, then at Santa Fe Prep and Monte del Sol, there have been memorial gatherings for classmates, parents, friends of Rose, Alyssa, Kate and Julian — and for Avree, for whose continued recovery we offer prayer. We’ve had one funeral, with more services to come.

Yet that doesn’t seem enough. There’s just too much pain, too much shock, too much anger that needs to be processed.

Perhaps the world, including our part of it in Santa Fe, is too large and complicated now for such extended mourning, extended reflection.

Our loss.

Of course, in a city the size of Santa Fe, it’s impractical for everything to shut down. And even if it were possible, where would we draw the line? What level of tragedy would be necessary for everything to stop in its tracks? Who would decide?

A few weeks before Sunday morning’s deadly, possibly alcohol-fueled accident, we had the deliberate killing of a young mother-to-be, her father, and the baby in her womb. A few hours after, we had a teenage boy shot and killed, allegedly by another teen.

So, if we put everything on hold for senseless tragedy, we’ll never get off hold.
But going on with business, with life as usual, seems wrong somehow. In my imagination, I see a city with everything stopped. A stranger approaches and asks, “What’s going on?” and is told, “Nothing is going on, and won’t for several days.”

“Why?”

“Something happened.”

Everything didn’t shut down after JFK’s killing or the World Trade Center and Pentagon bombings, but enough did stop to make us — briefly, at least — aware that something had happened, something worth taking note of.

Yes, ultimately, life goes on and normalcy returns. It just seems that sometimes it shouldn’t. Not for a while.

Some times, things just ought to stop.

Contact Jim Gordon at gjames43@msn.com.