I have decided to start a blog category for awful people. I will call it "Self-righteous, Sanctimonious, Condescending, Pricks." You are all conjuring up someone in your head right now, so limited explanation is necessary. Except, that I will reserve the category primarily for awful people I run into in the course of my daily toils - not the horrible talking media heads we must vomit to every night. I seem to only run into a mean person about once every couple years these days in my life. My wife says I am far too kind and that I must have a high tolerance level to "assholes". Her words people; I just pass on the story.

   To prepare my legs to do independent journalist work in Iraq, I deliver semi-weekly "free" newspapers. Yes, someone pays to put advertising in them, but you know the type of paper. They usually sit on a rack in the grocery store. They pile up on people's porches and front steps. I deliver 600, twice a week to homes and apartments. It is great exercise and I get a stipend for my troubles. In two years only a couple of people have grumbled at my paper delivery performance. 

   Tonight a woman chased me down on a sidewalk and declared she would have me fired as the delivery of her (free) paper was woefully inadequate. My journalistic, criminal justice, and medical training taught me to quickly size her up. She was definitely no longer in the "perky" classification. 

   "Perky" = a woman assigned a front desk, gate-keeper job because she is sharp minded and sharp looking. 

   This woman surely had recently been demoted to the back cubicles of what ever business she worked for. Furthermore, there is never a car in front of her duplex indicating to me she is either a "tree-hugger" or broke. A friend of mine used to say, "If you be walk'n, you got nothing you can do for me." 

   Now, you know, I should not disparage duplexes or triplexes either, but when I lived in one it was a sound indication I did not run "shit" anywhere, anytime. Another friend of mine used to say, "That person can't run anything at home, so they are determined to leave a devastating trail of social interaction destruction every where they go."

   I wanted to say, "Lady, do you know how many Wisconsin soldiers have died in Iraq? By delivering your 'free' paper, I am preparing my old legs to go back to Iraq and walk the dirt and sand, breath the air, and grovel with the fracas that is Iraq and its many charming nut cases; all that, to appreciate where we have lost so many soldiers and pass the experience on to people like you." 

   I fear my lovely wife would not have been so kind. Her family is fiercely combative to someone who disparages a family member; in this case "me" - a member by marriage or any other form. 

   I wanted to say, "Lady, thank God my wife is not filling in for me tonight."

   I said none of these things. I simply said, "Ma'am, I am so sorry, and 'we' will endeavor to improve your paper delivery service." 

   This week's Wisconsin soldier to remember is Lance Corporal Shane K. O'Donnell, 24, of De Forest. Lance Cpl. O'Donnell died during combat operations in Babil province, south of Baghdad and Fallujah on November 8, 2004. He was a member of the Marine Reserves battalion in Company G, 2nd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve. The battalion is headquartered in Illinois. Some 900 Marines were activated June 1, 2004; they arrived in Iraq in September. There is about 175 Marines in Madison based Golf Company and 160 in Milwaukee based Fox Company. They are rifle companies. Lance Cpl. Daniel Wyatt, 22, of Caledonia, of Fox Company, was killed a month earlier. O'Donnell is the 24th Wisconsin soldier to die in the Iraq war. De Forest is a town of about 8,000, north of Madison. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel mentioned Shane played football at De Forest High School. He had also attended Madison Area Technical College. Shane was single and had worked construction. The Journal Sentinel went on to say O'Donnell joined the Madison Marine unit in October of 2002. Lance Cpl. O'Donnell is survived by his mom Peg, and Eric a younger brother.

   3,789 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.

   27,936 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring 2003.

   79 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.

   112 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.

Soldier of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; and, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.