The Writer's Life 6/17 - Narcissists & Neighboors

In an op-ed piece in today's NY Post, Roger L. Simon offers a new term -- moral narcissism, which he describes as: "What you say you believe or claim you believe — not how you actually behave — defines who you are and makes you 'virtuous' in your own eyes and the eyes of others. Almost always, this is without regard to the consequences of those beliefs, because actual real-world results are immaterial and often ignored. If you have the right opinions and say the right things, people will remember your pronouncements, not your actions or what happened because of them." He cites examples of it in the behavior of the left, particularly Bernie Sanders and Hillary. I would add that their thinking seems to be "We are on the side of the angels; we are right; therefore anything we do is just." Simon maintains that Donald Trump is the least morally narcissistic politician in the field, hence the vitriol directed at him from both sides. He has a new book, available at Amazon: I Know Best: How Moral Narcissism Is Destroying Our Republic, If It Hasn't Already.

In 2015 NYC paid out $586 million to settle lawsuits. In 2014 it was $561 million. The madness not only continues, it expands.

I speak to Mark just about each time I set up shop at my regular book nook. A Vietnam vet/retired postal worker battling diabetes, he's a daily recipient of Jewish Meals on Wheels. Today the delivery lady double-parked her truck and brought food to a building. Mark walked over so she wouldn't have to make another stop. A traffic agent was writing a ticket.What a creep! The woman must have been gone no more than ten minutes -- and she's doing the community a service! It's not as if the truck were there for a long time. It's the sort of behavior that makes me so cynical about government and its insatiable need for funds (see above).

I took BP medicine for the first time this morning. I haven't felt any dizziness and I don't have a headache. I was conscious of possible effects during my morning walk and don't know if I was imagining slight light-headedness due to wariness. Amazing how the mind works.

My Hyundai is a 2003 model. The plastic housings that cover the headlights are covered in grime. I assumed it was on the inside, as it doesn't come off during washing. Yesterday a young man who lives on the second floor of the building where I set up the floating book shop gave me a tip on cleaning them. When he's not riding around in his little red sports car, he's on a skateboard. He said something about the oxidation that occurs. That was Greek to me, but he also suggested I use Off, the bug repellent, to clean them. I used it on the golf course. I haven't played in almost three years. Did I have any in the apartment? Sure enough, I did, in the cabinet under the kitchen sink, and it worked well. The white sock I used was black with dirt. I'm interested to know if I will see better while driving at night.

My thanks to the young beauty who bought the two Bridget Jones sagas. Mountain Man, aka Steve, visited for at least an hour, lamenting the state of the union in his own inimitable way.

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