At least here in the NY Metropolitan NE region, "SO" is the kind of word that initiates a friendly, sincere conversation about je ne sais quois. Yes, it violates the laws of grammar, which makes some people uncomfortable. There is in fact no rule that says communication must be limited to language approved by certain credentialled strangers. On one hand -- especially in legal or medical settings -- communication can be life altering. Otoh, when you're among friends who won't judge you on how good you are at commas, adverbs, hyphenation etc., it's more appropriate to focus on the problem that you want to solve. In sum: So what?

I do believe East Rockaway still qualifies as Long Island :D

I was hoping to make it over to Ukraine - a neighbor's daughter was doing volunteer work there. I wanted to report on the ground and what was going on. Now she's been transferred to London. If she goes back, maybe I'll get my passport in time to travel.

That said, I think it's important to shed light on the problems with the U.S. Justice System, the targeting of Hispanic immigrants who have fled danger in their own country but are vulnerable here, the segregated black populations in the U.S. and the way lawyers -- typically white men with inferior legal education and low test scores who are indifferent to the effects of their bad criminal defense work -- profit off that condition. The press ignores them completely, probably because the press has no idea what's going on in those communities.

Other people are working on poverty in foreign lands. I am the only one working on these issues in Nassau County. I am not good enough - yet - to depict these victims in pictures. Maybe I'll get better.

In my retirement, I do civil rights work, where a picture really is worth 1000 words. I often visit our local jail. As I left one day, I photographed the gleaming silver of the barbed wire as it glistened in the sun. There's so much to tell the world about the human condition. And never enough time. I need to do better.