This week, I was at a loss about this headline and Twitter's actions here. (Yes, I get lost a bunch, why do you ask?)
The headline on Yahoo.com, "Twitter suspends US Senate candidate for hateful conduct." You gotta click on that, right? So, Missouri Republican Vicky Hartzler had her personal Twitter account suspended Monday and will not be able to tweet, retweet, follow or like posts until she deletes a post Twitter deemed "hateful." In this day and age, your mind wanders to the ends of the Earth about what it could be, right?
Her post was, "Women's sports are for women, not men pretending to be women."
Gotta admit, I was expecting something way more controversial. And yes, I guess Hartzler could have used a more sensitive verb than "pretending" in the post, but considering all the stuff on Twitter, this is "hateful" in Twitter's eyes?
Hartzler's campaign called the suspension "shameful, utterly ridiculous and a horrible abuse of censorship by big tech giants to stifle free speech." So there's that.
Full Speedo ahead
And if you are interested in jumping into the deep end of the transgender sports conversation, Ivy League swimming is the go zone.
Yale has Iszac Henig, a female who identifies as a man but swims against women, while Penn has Liz Thomas, the face of this conversation lately who is a former all-conference male swimmer who identifies as a female. Thomas could break a slew of national records in the coming weeks after winning multiple Ivy League events.
Both took home an Ace truck full of hardware at the conference meet, which surprises exactly no one.
Confused? Yeah, me too. Be careful wading into that debate, and don't forget your water wings.
Pardon me for a sec
OK, most of you know I'm a big sports fan. And I love the game of golf.
On Friday, Jon Rahm, who is better at golf than you or me or anyone you know is better at whatever they are best at, missed a 10-inch putt.
Yes, less than a foot. The percentage of a pro making that putt is 99.96%, according to PGA Tour stats, and Rahm, the world's top-ranked player, missed.
Why does watching the best golfers in the world look human make us feel good?
It's not like we want NBA players to air-ball free-throws or Hollywood A-listers to forget their lines, you know?
But there is something oh-so-identifiable to watch a world-class professional golfer look like a weekend hacker at Moc Bend in his Saturday morning Nassau, you know?
Obit observations
The ages of those listed in the obits this week gave me pause. So, too, did the names.
In the last week alone we lost an Imojean (age 87), a "Sissy" (79), a Desamer (94), a Daisy Joe (79) and a Murel (97). Check the kindergarten rolls, and you'll see we're not creating as many Desamers and Murels as we did before World War II.
We also lost what I have to believe to be one of Chattanooga's great listeners.
Sure, folks who earn a living listing to their patients talk in excruciating detail about their childhood have gifted ears. But old-school American barbers have to be in a listening class all their own.
For Frank Fulton, a 1972 Howard School grad who served his country in the Army before finding his calling with clippers and scissors, more than two decades of owning and operating Fresh Cuts Barber Shop was that lifeline and lifetime of communication.
Can you imagine the numbers of stories Frank heard and told in those 20-plus years? Think of it this way: Five days a week - at least because folks who own their own business are never really "off the clock" - with at least five haircuts a day for 20 years is 26,000 folks pulling up a chair and lending an ear.
Maybe God needed his bangs trimmed or just wanted to catch up on some Chattanooga stories, either way, rest easy, Frank.
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6273. Follow him on Twitter @jgreesontfp.
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Jay Greeson