Different Times
Vaccines are not full-proof. Talk show host Bill Maher and Yankees shortstop Gleyber Torres both contracted Corona despite being vaccinated, Maher fully, Torres with J&J. Remember, the vaxes are designed not only to prevent infection but to help one survive it if infected. How interesting that this news comes on the day the CDC said the vaxxed can shed masks. I won’t give advice on the issue. Since I’m skeptical about all things Covid, I’m willing to go along with how any individual handles the situation.
It looked like a goose egg was coming the floating book shop’s way this gorgeous day until the last 15 minutes of operation. My thanks to the gentleman who kicked things off by buying a book in Russian, and to The Quiet Man, who bought Murder, She Wrote: A Time for Murder by Jon Land, adding to a collection that must number close to 100 in print and DVDs, all purchased from me; and to the young woman who took home Overcoming Procrastination by Dr Windy Dryden, A Whale Hunt: How a Native-American Village Did What No One Thought It Could by Robert Sullivan, and In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick; and to the gentleman who donated a bag full of books in Russian; and to Lynn, who dropped off six more works of sci-fi.
Here’s a brief excerpt from a short story titled The Unknowable, part of the Billionths of a Lifetime collection, an eclectic mix I tag as “Something for everyone” :
His spirits were lifted by the excited chatter in the schoolyard of an elementary school. A group of Arabic boys was playing soccer. The goalie laughed and did a silly dance as he kicked aside a hard shot, infuriating his mates. Sal chuckled. He wondered how many boys had been saved by sports. He was one of them.
He fondly recalled the mad scramble, the buzzing in the minutes before the bell rang at St. Mary’s. He grimaced and clutched at the area between his dark eyes, giggling as he envisioned Nicholas Gervasi running head long into him. And Nicky was the one who’d ended up on his back! Sal’s head hurt that entire day. Thinking back, he wondered if he’d suffered a concussion. He hadn’t even considered mentioning it to Sister Grace Alfreda.
Different times, he said to himself wistfully, imagining he would have been rushed to the hospital had it happened today.
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