Who takes on the high and mighty types wherever they may surface.
You won’t get someone who is an apple polisher to any establishment or any politician or any somebody who thinks they’re somebody.
I’ve been hated by conservatives and lefties, been called a communist and a fascist and names not fit to be repeated.
From me, you won’t get thumb suckers, essay-type navel-gazing on my latest thoughts about the state of the world.
That’s not my gig.
You won’t get a fellow who is invited to the best parties or the most elite think-tank gatherings.
You won’t get an individual impressed by power because I know power has the horrible habit of corrupting those who grasp for the brass ring.
So what will you get reading this scribbler, who has been around the track a time or two and still has some gas left in the tank?
You will get someone who has always felt he was an outsider looking in, face pressed up against the window.
Truth be told, that feeling comes from roots firmly in the soil of the other side of the tracks and an immigrant Polish mom who worked at Kmart in what was then called the ladies' wear department.
You will get a man with a notebook who talks to people who tell him things and who then tells those things to you.
Someone who still says "working-class" and isn’t embarrassed.
Someone who has committed many sins but never the sin of forgetting where he came from.
Someone who writes more often in short sentences and short words because they often pack more of a punch.
Someone who believes we live in an age where disrespect for the people who make this country run has never been higher and it’s long past time we did something about it.
Someone who will try to give you a few laughs, a few facts and even some rage when it's needed to push back against the Cloud Cuckooland we see too often in this land of ours.
Someone who calls it as he sees it and doesn’t worry about those who cannot believe anyone would disagree with them because I do believe people can disagree with me.
But, most of all, I appreciate all those who take a few minutes out of their busy day to spend time with a dude banging on a keyboard.
Some days I will hit it out of the park, some days I’ll be lucky to get a base hit, and yes, sometimes I’ll strike out.
That’s life and that’s my column.
Rick Bell
Columnist, Calgary Herald
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