Whoppers

BLM is on its way to Chicago after another violent weekend — 44 shootings, six fatalities — not! The news isn’t any happier on this front in the Big Apple. Headline from foxnews.com: “NYC gun violence surged 166% in August compared to same month last year.” Officials are touting this past quiet weekend. May it be a trend.

In an article at foxnews.com, Sally Pipes cites the negative effects of the lockdown. Here are some stats: drug overdoses have risen by nearly 18% since March; because people are forgoing doctor visits, cancer screenings dropped 90% in April compared to February; between March and April, the average number of weekly diagnoses for six common forms of cancer fell by more than 46% compared to the previous two months. A recent study found that stay-at-home orders didn’t contain the virus, and reopening the economy didn’t lead to another wave of infections. Of course, the next study may cite the opposite. Here in Brooklyn I estimate that 20–30% are going about sans mask or with it in hand or, like me, pulled down. Given the number of people ignoring the mandate, why hasn’t there been a spike? The left coast also has many who defy protocols, manifested by this FN headline: “LAPD breaks up house party packed with hundreds of people defying coronavirus guidelines.”

Here’s an encouraging headline from Yahoo Sports: “Six weeks, zero positive COVID-19 tests for NHL.”

And here may be a preview of what’s to come in November. From FN: “Georgia: 1,000 people voted twice in state primary.”

Too much of a good thing? From an article at FN: “Home sales have doubled in some parts of Florida, and the state is bringing 950 new residents in per day.” Will officials have to put a stop to the influx at some point? And with so many more residents needing services, will taxes have to be raised, a sales’ tax instituted?

And my favorite headline of the day: “Burger King in Taiwan offers chocolate-topped Whopper, draws massive crowds.”

RIP TV stalwart Kevin Dobson. The Queens native had a great run that began in 1968 and will continue into 2021 with a work still in production. He shot to fame as Detective Crocker opposite Telly Savalas in 117 episodes of Kojak. He appeared in 291 episodes of Knots Landing, and directed nine. He also won four Soap Opera Digest Awards for his work on the series. Overall, there are 67 titles under his name at IMDb. He appeared in 22 episodes of F/X, 15 of Days of Our Lives and 13 of The Bold and the Beautiful. He also worked in regional theater, directing as well as acting. He played semi-pro baseball, was a conductor on the LIRR, and served as an MP in the Army during the Vietnam era. He was active in veterans’ affairs. Here’s a quote attributed to him: “If you love your country, thank a Veteran.” Married since ’68, he was the father of three. Well done, sir. Thank you.

It looked like it was going to be a second straight downer for the floating book shop until I started packing up, when a young man bought two kids’ books and, just as I was thinking Asians aren’t buying at present, another young man pulled up on a scooter and chose a fix-it pictorial, textbooks on accounting and marketing, a book on athletic coaching and one on massage, the latter of which Mike had donated awhile before. My constant benefactress also showed late with ten works of non-fiction. Until that burst of activity, the only sale had been of a book on playing slots, which seems so much B.S.. There is only one strategy — sit at a machine just abandoned by someone who has been playing awhile — and even that’s a longshot. Anyway, my thanks to all who contributed on this gorgeous day.

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