Initiative

Sign of the times in a NY Post headline: “Drivers Shunning Asians.” I know the feeling. I have to force myself to dismiss my fears each time I hit the Chinese bakery. I find myself hoping none of the staff have been to their native land recently.

Here’s an amusing tidbit, also from the NYP, in my own words: It’s not unusual when people are upset by a political decision. Residents of Dyker Heights have reacted in an unusual way to the renaming of its local post office to the Mother Cabrini branch. Many claim its an insult to the saint, such is their contempt for the post office.

Stop the presses — actual intelligence from a politician. Staten Island councilman Joe Borelli, a Republican, suggests that bail reform be put to a public referendum. Best of luck, sir. There have been many repeat offenses lately to justify such an initiative. Here’s another, from an article at foxnews.com, edited by yt: Charles Barry, 56, has been arrested 139 times. His lengthy record includes six felonies, 87 misdemeanors and 21 missed court hearings. He has served several stints in state prison. He’s been busted six times since the start of 2020, and released each time without having to post bail. Before being transported to Manhattan Central Booking on Thursday, he yelled to reporters: “Bail reform, it’s lit! It’s the Democrats! The Democrats know me and the Republicans fear me. You can’t touch me! I can’t be stopped!”

Other than selling a copy of one of my own books, my favorite street sales are of obscure works, especially if they are large in size. A lovely young woman filled that bill today, purchasing Winter King: Henry VII and the Dawn of Tudor England by Thomas Penn and Stealing Athena by Karen Essex, a novel. My thanks, and also to the young woman who bought Staying Sane In the Arts: A Guide for Creative and Performing Artists by Eric Maisel; and to the gentleman who selected The Real Jesus: The Misguided Quest for the Historical Jesus and the Truth of the Traditional Gospels by Luke Timothy Johnson; and to Monse`, who donated a cache of mostly non-fiction, much of it educational; and to the woman who did her customary weekend swap of books in Russian; and to the couple who approached a moment before I started packing up, and who went home with Born in Shame by Nora Roberts, a book in Russian, and the beautifully illustrated Theories for Everything: An Illustrated History of Science from the Invention of Numbers to String Theory by Bruce Stutz, Andrea Gianopoulos, John Langone. Yay, team!

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