Lightning Strikes
Partisans on both sides will probably deem this lightning strike of the Washington Monument as prophetic.
Great news from a headline at nypost.com: “NYC reports no new coronavirus deaths for first time since mid-March.”
The Philadelphia Inquirer ran this headline on page twelve of Wednesday’s print edition: “Buildings Matter, Too.” The perpetually offended revolted, citing the phrase as “tone deaf.” Management caved, apologizing.
Although this blog often contains political content, I haven’t posted anything political to my Facebook feed in ages other than a link to the blog, which has to be opened to reveal the content. Sick of the bullying of know-it-alls, I was tempted to post the following today:
“All Lives Matter
Blue Lives Matter
Buildings Matter
If this troubles you, feel free to unfriend me.”
I didn’t do it. I don’t think reason prevailed. It’s more akin to cowardice.
If there’s a funnier headline today than this one from foxnews.com, I’d like to see it: “Some Democrats fear Biden’s inner circle too white.”
Remember one of Rodney Dangerfield’s phrases — “You’re way off!” That’s what I was thinking when I heard the unemployment numbers today. Instead of the expected rise, it fell more than 1% and the economy added 2.5 million jobs. May the trend continue despite the disappointment of leftists. Economists often get no respect — rightfully so.
Born in New South Wales, Australia, Coleen McCullough was successful in two fields, medicine as a neurologist, and as an author. She took the planet by storm in 1977 with The Thorn Birds, which sold 30 million copies worldwide and was adapted into one of the most popular miniseries ever, airing in 1983, starring Rachel Ward, Richard Chamberlain and Barbara Stanwyck. According to her Wiki profile, she wrote 23 books, among them two works of non-fiction, five mysteries and seven historical fictions set during the Roman Empire. I was fortunate to have a copy of Bittersweet, copyright 2013, on hand. Set in a fictional town in the area where McCollough was raised, it is the story of four sisters, two sets of twins born to different mothers. Circa 1920, they begin studying nursing at a time when the job is becoming more sophisticated and women are in the infancy of breaking into fields dominated by men. Their bond is close. They are quick to support one another, much to the chagrin of some of the men in their lives. The narrative follows them into the mid-1930’s. It is not romance. There is far more depth to the portraits than in most novels, let alone genre fare, although at times I thought the author was rendering absolutes in human nature when the psychology of mankind is far more subtle. The ins and outs of the profession and of working in a hospital sounded authentic to yours truly. They provided good background. I was more interested in the characters themselves. Although at times the story seems belabored, it occasionally soars. I was mesmerized by an argument between husband and wife crisply and intelligently rendered, and I enjoyed the snapshots, the customs of an area I will never visit. The prose and dialogue are challenging, which I attribute to the Australian brand of English. The hardcover edition I read is 376 pages and reads like 400+ given the fairly small print. 790 users at Amazon have rated Bittersweet, forging to a consensus of 3.8 on a scale of five, spot on in my estimation. Although I believe it would appeal more to women than men, no male should hesitate to give it a shot. There have been three other screen adaptations of McCollough’s work. She passed away in 2015 at 77. I wonder if she had planned at least one sequel to Bittersweet.
I had only one conversation as I hung out beside my car on Avenue Z from noon to one. Romanian born artist Andu, who’s in his mid-30’s and bi-polar, blubbered about how he is getting no help in trying to save the world. He exploded: “I’ll do it myself, mother…!” he shouted at the top of his lungs. He also claimed to have the cure for cancer: Vitamin C and baking soda. When he returned a while later he was calm and wearing a Joker mask. As always, I thought of his poor mom.
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