There is something in us that bends over to the zipper-dropping con man. We like the prospect of a bargain. Unlike most Europeans, Americans tend to tolerate the stranger with a story, even if his narrative is stitched so obviously with entreaty. We trust because we expect others to trust us: as the ethicist Bernard Williams points out, it is fundamental to our image of ourselves that we see others as having the veracity we assume we possess. It is easier to trust, less stressful than suspicion and more conducive to psychic peace. It becomes a habit. Like the dying family pet, we instinctually raise our paw to everyone, even the vet whose glove hides the waiting needle full of pentathol.
The con memoir reached its post-war high tide with Geoffrey Wolff’s Duke of Deception (1979), the story of Geoffrey and Tobias Wolff’s legendary sire-snookerer, a man who faked prep school, military and college records to land himself on the boards of General Electric and ITT. John le Carré’s father was also a celebrated broker of non-existent real estate and thoroughbreds, continuing it on into his children’s adulthoods by begging them, prostrate, for bail money with hands around their knees and cries of “Not prison again, not at my age.” It worked.
Now comes David Samuels’s The Runner, the story of a brilliant petty thief, James Hogue, who re-tooled himself as the self-educated ranch hand Alexi Indris-Santana. Hogue’s cons would classify him as crazy under many sections of the DSM-IV, but to look on his actions that simply would be to miss the fact he latched on to the American Dream and the way it allows, encourages, even decorates the wide latitudes sometimes necessary for self-invention.

bookslut.com

By Josh Poland
COLORADO SPRINGS - The estimated 8,000 to 12,000 black bear found in Colorado have spent the past 5 months or so in hibernation. In the coming weeks, that bear population will begin to re-emerge, and there are steps we can take to be prepared.
“This is an excellent time of year to begin to look at your property and begin to assess what might attract bears to hang around after they come out from hibernation,” says Colorado Division of Wildlife spokesperson Michael Seraphin.
One major attraction to bears is food. Black bears will eat almost anything, including trash.
“Pick up residual food components, trash, and things that smell like food to a bear,” says Seraphin. “This would be a good time to start cleaning those up so if a bear does come onto your property, it won't find anything and will continue to move on. It's important for people to realize that they are the controlling factor, that they can do things to minimize potential conflicts by being bear aware and practicing bear safety tips.”
If you do spot a bear on your property, contact the Colorado Division of Wildlife. More often than not, the bear will not be a threat; however, if you do find yourself in a potentially dangerous situation, the best advice is to not panic.
“You want to remain calm, speak softly, reassure the bear that you don't mean it any harm and slowly back away,” says Seraphin.
If the bear continues to hang around and becomes aggressive, the advice at that point is to fight back. Black bears have been driven away when people have fought back with rocks, sticks and even their bare hands.
For more information about the black bear, click here for a link to the Colorado Division of Wildlife.

krdo.com