Rocky Times

America’s national debt is nearly $23 trillion. In an article at foxnews.com, most of which was too technical for me, investment ace Ken Fisher offers this reassuring nugget: “… we lived through the debt levels of the 1980s very comfortably, and we’re at half those levels today.” Can’t explain it, just hope he’s right.

WTF? Five sailors assigned to the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier have committed suicide in the last two years. This on top of the rash of them in the NYPD. Why are so many of our guardians killing themselves?

From foxnews.com: In San Francisco a group of neighbors banded together to place about two dozen boulders along the sidewalk to try and deter homeless people from camping out. It’s a nice try, but humans, even bums, adapt to just about anything. Here’s a pic:

NFL: Game One of the NY Giants Daniel Jones era was a big success thanks to Tampa’s misfiring kicker. He looked great. Unfortunately, Saquon Barkley is out for at least four weeks, and the secondary was only a bit less clueless than in the first two games and last season… The Chiefs will make the playoffs, but they may have a glaring weakness. The Ravens averaged more than six yards per carry on the ground against them. Teams may use this to try and keep KC’s awesome offense off the field for long stretches. At this point, they don’t appear ready to dethrone the Patriots… The Chargers are back to their ridiculous selves, blowing games… Why aren’t the Eagles as successful under QB Carson Wentz as they were under Nick Foles? He’s an awesome talent… The 49ers, 3–0, won despite four turnovers. The jury is still out on them, although they appear much improved.

I had a visit from Romania born artist Andu today, and it was immediately apparently that the negative half of his bi-polar condition was in command. He dialed emergency numbers on his cell phone and brutally excoriated those who answered. When two men who seemed of Punjab descent settled nearby for a smoke break, he began mouthing gibberish toward them until they were driven away. As usual, I was clueless as to how to behave toward him, worried that I might incite even more boorishness, so I said very little. I was relieved when he left, a feeling that delivered a twinge of guilt. Later, my constant benefactress showed for the first time in a while. Among the cache of books she left were several on coping with loss. Sad;y, I was reminded that her daughter, late 30’s, only child, was a victim of the opioid epidemic. And here I had the audacity to be bummed about the lack of customers. I’m so fortunate not to be plagued by life’s harshest sorrows.

My thanks to Wolf, who bought two books in Russian, and The Man Who Kept the Secrets: Richard Helms And The CIA by Thomas Powers; and to The Quiet Man, who purchased four DVDs, and audio books by Jeffrey Deaver and Danielle Steel at a steep discount.

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