Selling My Books on the Streets of Brooklyn 12/30 - Enduring

The local pro football teams have finished out of the playoffs. I believe the Jets are on an upward trend, the Giants downward. Pre-season prognosticators had Gang Green winning four to five games. They won eight, demonstrating good defense and a sound running game. They need help at wide receiver, tweaking elsewhere, and management must hope that Geno Smith develops into a solid QB. The team seems to play hard for its coach, who dialed back his blowhard tendencies a bit this season. Expect those to return if the Jets continue to improve. Fans should be optimistic. As for Big Blue, not one of its seven wins was impressive. The entire offense is suspect except Victor Cruz, who has had minor knee surgery. There are holes to fill everywhere. Defensively, they are okay and will be even better if Jason Pierre-Paul, who has been a shell of his former self the past two seasons, returns to peak form. I don’t see how anyone can be optimistic about the team’s near future, but one-year turnarounds have become fairly common in the NFL. Both franchises will pick in the middle of the first round of the draft, so they will have to get lucky.
Also on the NFL front: It is black Monday, when many coaches get fired. The first, which actually occurred Sunday, was surprising -- Rob Chudzinski of the Browns, at the helm only one season, going 4-12; also let go, the Vikings Leslie Frazier, 21-32; the Buccaneers Greg Schiano after two years; the Lions Jim Schwartz, 24-51, who failed to motivate what seems a talented bunch; and the veteran Mike Shanahan of the Redskins, 24-40, once regarded as a genius when the Broncos won back to back Super Bowls with John Elway at QB. No word yet on the Cowboys Jason Garrett. I don't know how he can survive all those blown games the past three seasons.

How many times is the phrase "They don't make 'em like they used to" bandied about, especially by older folks? I wouldn't say things were better in the past, but items were built to last. Case in point: the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust recently made an amazing discovery -- 100 year old negatives in a hut explorers used as a way station. It was left behind in a failed expedition. The team was stranded when its ship blew out to sea. The accompanying article at the Business Insider Australia website did not state whether the crew was eventually rescued. The film was processed by experts. Here's one of the pics:

My thanks to the gentlemen who purchased books in Russian. Mikhail, 81, laughed sheepishly as he picked up the translation of Giovanni Boccaccio's bawdy The Decameron. I'd figured the book was a classic but had no idea which one. "A man my age - sex," he chuckled, reddening. What a beautiful man he is. The book was written in the mid 1300's.
Vic's 4th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
Vic's 3rd Novel: 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 Horror Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp
Vic’s Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx