We're suffering a deluge in the New York City area. Some spots have had ten inches of rain - and it's supposed to continue for two more days! It's a good thing I have Bob Rubenstein's second novel, The White Bridge, to edit, otherwise I'd be wall-climbing. I concentrated on chores today, picking up the wash at my sister's, redeeming recyclables, dusting book shelves and vacuuming - what fun. At least I had the chance to watch a good chunk of the season's final golf major, the PGA. As usual, the last few holes provided great drama. Jason Dufner, a ten-year pro who has never won a tournament and who missed his last four cuts, had a four shot lead with four holes to play. He squandered it, as Ralph Kramden would say. It was painful to watch. He then lost a three-hole playoff to second-year pro Keegan Bradley, a St. John's alum, who followed a triple bogey on 15 with back to back birdies to keep himself alive. Congratulations, Keegan. Better luck next time, Jason. Great show, guys. Jim McKay said it best in the opening to the old Wide World of Sports show on ABC: "The human drama of athletic competition."
And sticking with the subject of golf and adding a literary spin, one of our All Things That Matter Press family of authors, Monica Brinkman, has a novel out titled The Turn of the Karmic Wheel. In it, characters who have prospered by exploiting others experience comeuppance. When Tiger Woods missed the cut this weekend, by a mile, I couldn't help but think the Karmic Wheel has turned against him. Monica would say he is suffering payback for his well-chronicled sins. I would like to believe that, although Tiger has a lot of money to cushion his fall.
There are those who believe in karma, those who would like to believe in it, and those who think it's bunk. I'm in the middle group, but I do believe I would suffer for any bad I might do. For several years, in a couple of novels and several short stories, I explored characters who were unafraid of doing bad. I wondered if they, the unethical, liars, cheats, pornographers, even killers - at least those who got away with their crimes - were living right, laughing at the rest of us who tried hard to be good, a good that would never be rewarded, especially upon death. There are days I still wonder if that's true. Bad behavior is so frequently rewarded by the media. Casey Anthony is only the latest example.
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