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Sunday, July 22, 2018

The Writer's Life 7/22 - Hearts

In an op-ed piece in today's NY Post, Kevin D. Williamson focuses on the lingering effects of '60's protesters. He concludes: "The radicals of 1968 thought they were getting a revolution. What they got was involution, a generational retreat into childish self-absorption. Turn on, tune in, drop out." While reading, I sensed the article was implying, although Williamson didn't go there, that national unity is virtually impossible in a multi-cultural society. That certainly seems to be the case at present. I hope I'm not putting words into his mouth.
Since it's contested while I'm out trying to sell books, I don't get to see the British Open. I just read the good news that a goombah has won it. Italy's Francesco Molinari, 35, who had his first victory on U.S. soil earlier this month, outlasted big names: McIlroy, Rose, Woods and Spieth. Bravo!

It was one of those sessions when the floating book shop was worth the effort despite meager returns. My thanks to Raffaella, who spotted Side Effects by her mom's favorite, Woody Allen, which also led to the woman purchasing Gregory Maguire's Confessions of an Ugly Step Sister for her precocious child. Soon Kaline came along, speaking on his cell phone, which he hung up to take a look at the wares. I call him that because his favorite ball player of all-time was the Detroit Tiger's Hall of Fame rightfielder. I hadn't seen him in ages. I took a chance and dug out an Eddie Matthews bio, which I was sure he already had, since he has more than ten thousand books on baseball. Lo and behond, he didn't have it. He recently went through a very rough patch involving a woman he'd first met 44 years ago. He fell in love, and she proceeded to steal from him. He took her to court but the case was dismissed because she was on welfare and food stamps. It sent him into a mental tailspin that required therapy. Kaline is one of these guys who is very good at making money. Well past retirement age, he is still doing income tax returns. When the record shops began going out of business, he bought up a lot of their wares and makes a ton selling it. He has a bat Babe Ruth used, which he bought when he was eleven, and which he estimates is worth a million bucks. Thank you, sir. Soon Bob approached, saying: "I owe you a ton." Last week I told him I'd eschewed cable and gone to an indoor TV antenna. He had an old one in his apartment, hooked it up, and it's currently bringing in 45 channels. He plans to get a better one and a co-axial cable, which the guy in the video I watched recommended. Only a few days ago he had a defibrillator installed. He pulled his T-Shirt down a bit and showed me his doctor's handiwork. As we were conversing, Bad News Billy showed. He's scheduled for the same surgery - at Coney Island Hospital, a facility that does not inspire confidence. Bob gave him information about his man, who's regarded as one of the best in his field and is associated with St. Luke's Hospital, part of the Mt. Sinai empire. Bob bought non-fiction by Aldous Huxley and Alexander Woolcott. My thanks.

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