The line is uttered by Ed Harris in that great Nicholas Cage / Sean Connery action flick “The Rock”. The soldiers under Harris’s command have arrived on Alcatraz Island with the goal of forcing the U.S government to pay them millions of dollars so they won’t fire missiles containing deadly V/X gas into San Francisco. Whether Harris is serious about inflicting death on the likes of Tony Bennett or not, he cautions the soldiers who have joined him using that immortal line:

“Make no mistake about it, gentlemen, we are in harm’s way.”

It’s the same line I utter whenever I step off the jetway and into the terminal at Boston’s Logan Airport, where a sea of big-government liberals, progressives, and Kennedy family worshippers await. They’re not necessarily bad people, mind you – certainly as human beings go they’re no better or no worse than the folks you’d meet anywhere else (albeit with cooler accents), and in fact I always feel a sense of gratitude at being able to enjoy yet another visit back home to where I grew up: my family and friends, veal cutlet subs (no cheese, thank you), Howie Carr, Margaritas Mexican restaurants, fried clams and seafood (not fish), Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, exorbitant taxation, small, windy roads, and the endless construction on Route 93 to and from New Hampshire. (BTW, were that road was here in Arizona, I guarantee it would be called, “the 93”, like they call every main artery or interstate that runs through these parts.)

Ahh Massachusetts. Where in the Logan car rental center lobby there’s the advertisement for the JFK Library and its seemingly-endless exhibit dedicated to “The Lion of the Senate”, Ted Kennedy. Not sure if it’s a worthwhile gig to do or not, I only know Mary Jo Kopechne was unavailable for comment. A fat, sexist pig, a fraud, and a hero in Massachusetts’ highest political traditions.

You can’t avoid the politics of the place, because, unlike here in the Valley of the Sun where it’s all about recreation, ASU football, tattoos, Dutch Bros. coffee stands (although Dunkin’ Donuts are showing up all over the place), and doing one’s own thing, the folks in Massachusetts live and breathe professional sports and politics as if it’s a part of the very air they breathe.

…not that being a liberal stronghold is worth much where you have a state Senate and legislature that’s on the take from top to bottom, where it’s not a question of if you’re corrupt but how corrupt you are and how many family members you’ve been able to get on the state or county payrolls. Of course, Massachusetts is represented by those two powerhouses of progressivism and integrity, Elizabeth “Fauxcahontas” Warren and Ed “Milquetoast” Markey, who are nothing but pigs feeding off the trough of the D,C. Swamp. If there are two more ineffectual progressives and partisan pols in Washington, D.C. you’ll have to let me know. But no one cares about that kind of thing in Massachusetts – it’s just the way it is and has always been.

But that’s OK – I just like visiting there. The food is the best you’ll ever eat outside of New Orleans, the fall weather I plan on playing golf in ought to be a welcome change from the heat that still hasn’t broken here in the Valley of the Sun, and my friends remain my friends even if we might see things from different sides of the political aisle. There will be the seashore to visit, woods to walk in, golf to play, good food to eat, and friends and family members to visit and share laughs with. I still can’t get used to the fact that my Mom won’t be at the apartment to greet me with a warm, “There’s my son!”, but Dad is still there and we’ll have a good time when we take the Sunshine Bus down to the Mohegan Sun to play some Caveman Plus Keno.

The weather promises to be great the first few days before settling into the kind of fall weather I’m hoping to see. A chill in the air at night, bright-colored leaves, and the smell of the air that’s uniquely autumn in the northern climes. I’ll be playing golf at the “Three Ps”: Pease Golf Course on Sunday, Passaconaway C.C. (one of my top 5 favorite courses) on Monday, and, hopefully, Portsmouth C.C. (my #1 favorite course) the following Sunday before I return on Halloween Eve.

There’s a lot – and I mean a lot of stuff waiting for me to get to when I get back, but I’ll worry about that when I board the plane to Phoenix. Until then, it’ll hopefully be another nice trip back home. Even though, as a conservative and a die-hard fan of President Trump, I’ll be in harm’s way.

See y’all in the Eastern Time Zone!