Sign of the times: In an op-ed piece in today’s NY Post, Thomas Sowell divulges the entry examination results for NYC’s elite Stuyvesant High School. Here’s the breakdown of those who passed: 9 blacks, 24 Latinos, 177 whites, 620 Asians. This does not surprise me. When I used to set up the floating book shop in front of libraries, I'd marvel at how excited Asian children were to enter, many running to the entrance, many accompanied by grandparents. Family and education seem to have been ingrained in them. A couple of years ago Amy Chua caught a lot of guff for her hard-nosed approach to parenting, chronicled in her book Tiger Moms. It seems a lot of Asian parents take her approach. More power to them. Sowell relates his disappointment when he was teaching college classes and seeing mostly Asians and no fellow blacks studying in the library. Even in the simple endeavor of recycling, Asian immigrants out-work everyone. Most of the people I see performing this monotonous task are Asian. They are relentless in creating a better life for themselves. I respect them so much.
It was a perfect day to sell books -- pleasant temperature, benign breeze and plenty of sunshine. Although business was slack, I had ample evidence of how lucky I am. All one has to do is note the physical state of some passersby. Ol' Smokey has been taking an item or two on credit from the floating book shop every time I see him. I can't say no, even though I expect he will never pay. After expenses, any money he has will likely go to tobacco and booze. That's all he has. And Marty has been walking on egg shells lately. A month ago, concerned about a cough he'd developed, he quit smoking. He's been losing weight. He just went through all the tests and is obviously worried. I don't know what to say to him and keep it to a simple: "Hang in there." Later, while I was sitting on the ledge of the garden before the building where I set up shop, an SUV pulled up to the end of the bus stop. Soon a man was wheeling an emaciated woman toward the passenger door. He helped her to her feet. She was so weak she couldn't lift a leg to climb inside. She groaned in agony when the man lifted and placed her in the seat. There was a lump in my throat. A few minutes later a miserable old woman using a walker excoriated me for not having flagged down the bus for her. She has purchased several large print books from me. The last one I had was the Bible. "I don't believe in God," she snapped. When she reached the point where three local Latino porters were yukking it up, she excoriated them for not speaking English. What she says about Russians is unbelievable. She is some piece of work. Fortunately, Marie, who I hadn't seen in weeks and was worried about, had a much simpler problem. She was on her way to dental surgery.
My thanks to the Russian woman who bought two CDs in her native tongue, to the black woman who purchased a book on skin color improvement, and to the three people who donated books. My selection of former best sellers has improved dramatically the past two days.
Vic's Third Novel (Print or Kindle): http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
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