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Thursday, November 2, 2017

The Writer's Life 11/2 - Pizza Woes

Papa John's, which advertises heavily during NFL games, has complained to the league about falling sales. I suppose the company sees a link between the players kneeling and fed up fans boycotting the product. Fortunately, we in the five boroughs of NYC still have enough shops that make good pizza to keep us happy, although the number is dwindling. A pie such as PJ's, like frozen pizza, needs generous toppings to pass muster. Although I'd like to think fans are boycotting in protest, other factors may be in play. Have other advertisers noticed a drop in sales?



It's nice to see the Astros win a World Series before they begin to lose talent to larger markets through free agency. Maybe it will be the Indians turn next year. During almost every championship run, an unlikely hero seems to emerge. Kudos to Charlie Morton, who stymied the big bats of the Yankees and Dodgers when it counted most. Although I don't like to see anyone except those in a Yankees' or Patriots' uniform fail miserably, I've always thought Yu Darvish over-rated. His post-season performance may cost him a few million, but he will still land a big contract. I bet Tommy LaSorda would have started Clayton Kershaw on short rest in Game Seven. In the 1988 NLCS he used his ace, Orel Hershizer, in four games against the Mets, and we all remember how that turned out for the Amazin's. The L.A. seems set contend for the NL crown for several years. Management is certainly not averse to spending. The team had the highest MLB payroll in 2017.

In today's NY Post, Molly Shea outlines a new book: The Blue Zones of Happiness: Lessons From the World's Happiest People by Dan Buettner and Ed Diener. The authors researched Gallup polls and other surveys, and found that Americans lag behind at least 12 countries when it comes to the satisfaction of citizens. Denmark, Costa Rica and Singapore are the top three. And yet people from around the world continue to flock here. Go figure. At least our own malcontents now know where they may emigrate - if those countries will take them. I'm sure those places will welcome refugees with open arms.

From Yahoo's Odd News, in my own words: A North Carolina woman won a $10,000 prize on a scratch-off ticket, and went to the lottery headquarters in Raleigh to claim it. On the way home, she stopped and bought another, winning one million. She has chosen a lump sum worth $417,012 after taxes.

My thanks to the kind folks who bought books in Russian and English this glorious Indian summer day. The most surprising sale went to a gentleman who usually buys a mystery. He selected Alexandra: The Last Tsarina by Carolly Erickson. For the second straight day I had a visit from Ol' Smoky. He refuses to eat meat because cows eat grass, which he believes taints it and which might alter his "genome." Saying that billions of people on the planet eat it every day fails to persuade a mind such as his of its safety. He smoked at least four unfiltered cigarettes in my presence, unbothered by the toxins present in them.
Vic's Sixth novel: http://tinyurl.com/zpuhucj 
Vic's Short Works: http://tinyurl.com/jy55pzc
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