Garth, Mayo & Corona

Country music icon Garth Brooks created a media firestorm earlier this week during his concert at Detroit’s Ford Field. He wore a Sanders jersey — not Bernie but Barry, the Hall of Fame RB who played for the Lions. The two went to Oklahoma St., the singer graduating a year and a half before the player arrived on campus. Naturally, Yahoos coast to coast got bent out of shape, assuming it was a political message. I wonder if Brooks pulled a fast one trying to create media buzz. If so, he certainly succeed. If he was lampooning the entire political process, even better. In an article at Yahoo Sports, Jay Busbee suggests the mega-star can make amends by wearing a Bob Trumpy jersey to his concert in Cincinnati in May. Kudos, sir. Here’s a pic:

Here we go. Foxnews.com headline: “Japanese company debuts sliced mayonnaise.” I certainly don’t wish the company ill, but is there demand for this?

I have no idea where the coronavirus is headed, so the following may prove hollow down the line. Still, at the moment perspective is badly needed and almost completely absent. Here’s an excerpt from a 2/19 article at livescience.com, edited by yours truly: “So far, the new coronavirus has led to more than 75,000 illnesses and 2000 deaths, primarily in mainland China. That’s nothing compared with the flu. In the U.S. alone, the flu has already caused an estimated 26 million illnesses, 250,000 hospitalizations and 14,000 deaths this season.”

I really wanted to set up shop at my usual book nook, but the wind was too strong along Avenue Z, so I headed to my alternate spot. I wasn’t in a positive frame of mind. Having finished transcribing a fellow exchange alum’s memoir about his dad’s last days, I ran into the same madness trying to add numbers in MS Word. How I hate the complexity, especially given the ease of doing it in PDF. Whatever. The wind was also pretty strong along Bay Parkway, but it was cut off considerably when I stood with my back to the Chase bank. What a difference from leaning against the old Hyundai curbside. Anyway, I experienced luck I probably didn’t deserve, given my sour mood. About a month ago Tatianna purchased one of my short story collections, Billionths of a Lifetime. Today she bought Five Cents and Close to the Edge. My thanks, and also to the young woman who selected a Robert B. Parker mystery. And work on the repackaging of Exchanges, now titled Open Outcries, is done, as it was approved by Amazon and made available for purchase. Given these positives, I should be upbeat. Why am I not? Is it the news cycle, the bashing stocks are taking, what seems the inevitable advance of socialism in the USA? I don’t get me sometimes.

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