An article by S. A. Miller in today’s NY Post cites the findings of a recent education study, Race for Results. It was based on a scale of 0-1000. Asians scored 776, Whites 704, Latinos 404, American-Indians 387, Blacks 345. This did not surprise me in the least. Each Saturday, as I drive away from my old block to my weekend book-selling nook, I pass P.S. 101, where cars are double parked, waiting for kids to exit some kind of program. Almost all of them are Asian. When I used to try to sell my books in front of libraries, most of the kids who entered, often accompanied by a grandparent, were Asian. The piece did not report on what seems to be the single most important factor in a child’s success -- the two-parent household. I’d bet Asians have the lowest divorce rate and the most grandparents involved in upbringing. 90% of the people I see redeeming recyclables are Asian. They out-work everyone else, open stores in any neighborhood. I have the utmost respect for them. I'm sure while other groups whine about the difficulty of the new Common Core test standards, Asians will buckle down and master it.
Political Man visited the floating book shop yesterday. He’s all lit up. His connection called and said huge shipments of medical marijuana are on the way from California. He uses it for recreational purposes. It’s good that it has been made available to those in pain or those nauseated by chemotherapy, but it’s no surprise that it’s legalization in this area allows easier distribution of the product for those whose only aim is to get high. I'm sure it will be legal in all respects in the near future. I just hope people don’t rationalize its use while working. Of course, this occurs with alcohol. Hopefully, the negatives won’t outweigh the positives.
As for today, I outmaneuvered Mother Nature. It was raining at eleven, so I returned to the apartment, read for a while, took my power nap early, and went out again at 1:15. I had to cover everything up at two, as the sprinkles returned for a few minutes. Fortunately, Steve, the poet laureate of Sheepshead Bay, stopped by while I was waiting for the rain to stop. He told me about the music class he'd just taught. The subject was an obscure opera in which Marie Antoinette and other French royals are dead and bored. The title escapes me. Soon the precipitation ceased and my patience paid off. All three of my customers bought in bulk. My thanks, especially to the young Russian gentleman who showed as I was packing up and purchased five books in his native tongue.
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
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