A Warning

A Warning

In September of 2018, a highly-placed source working in the west wing of the White House submitted an article to the New York Times about the presidency of Donald Trump. The Op-Ed piece was critical of the President, revealing many of his questionable job practices that stemmed from his deeply ingrained personality characteristics.


The author of the piece asked to be anonymous. The reason was simple; the source was a close confidant, working on the Presidents’ staff and dealing with him on a regular basis, helping with the most sensitive matters of his presidency. Were he (or she) to be unmasked would be the end of his employment and the end of his ongoing effort to help the President and the Republican party avoid some of the most disastrous decisions the inexperienced President often tried to implement.

The anonymous author now has a book on the same subject. This piece is a review of that book. I am providing this book report in the belief that American voters should be informed about the current occupant of the White House and candidate for re-election to the highest office in the land before they cast their votes less than a year from now.


The anonymous author is a patriot. He explained that he went to work in the White House full of hope and enthusiasm for Republican policies that he supported along with the new President. He found that some wheels began to fall off the train before the transition team had completed their work and the new Administration was in place. The source soon learned that the reason for many of the problems was the boss – the inexperienced politician who had never before held office and who knew virtually nothing about the government and how it functioned.

So, enough about the author and his motivation, sit back and take in this view of the President of the United States, he who was elected to the highest office in the nation despite losing the popular vote of the people.

A Warning

The book begins with a recitation of Donald Trump’s character traits that became apparent to the senior staff early in his new Administration. The most important character flaws that were quickly apparent were Trump’s inattentiveness and impulsiveness. Despite their care in explaining how government agencies worked, it seemed that Trump intentionally didn’t listen and/or didn’t understand his aides who were trying to help. Over and over he proposed policies that were unlawful or impossible to implement. His intent to overturn all the executive orders that former President Obama had implemented was his announced policy and aides scurried to prepare new orders that the President needed to sign to overturn Obama policies. The support staff soon found that any decision by the President was never actualized until the deed was done in front of television cameras. Before that step, the President’s incessant Tweeting often overturned decisions that might have been taken just hours earlier. The office was in chaos. That was the beginning and it has continued until the present due to the President’s inability to set a course and keep it for more than a few hours or days at most. “I always second guess things,” he says.


Communication with the President was always problematical since the President didn’t listen very well. His favorite means of obtaining input came from watching television, specifically Fox News and other extreme right-wing media. Government agencies with their highly-trained, skilled and educated personnel seemed to matter to him not at all. The staff soon learned that the President’s impulses and sometimes wrong information was all he needed to make important decisions. Often these sudden decisions obviated months of work by the military and other agencies.

Staff agencies like the CIA, State Department and others were advised to dispense with planning and briefing books for the President. He didn’t read them. Oval Office, face to face briefings were requested instead. Initially the officers of agency staffs brought their briefing books with them. The President often became angry at the affront of the mere sight of their books. “They don’t mean anything,“ the President fumed.


The senior staff swung into action. “Bring pictures,” they told the agency heads, “he likes pictures. And don’t bring up too many points to discuss or he’ll get confused and angry.” Before the briefings were cancelled altogether, the President’s staff suggested to agency heads that they should bring but one picture and plan to discuss only a single issue at each visit. That worked better for awhile until some visitor happened to stop by the President’s office with a different point of view. Often that would become the new policy especially if the President seemed to like the latest visitor. Senior staff were forced to explain the latest policy decision and hope that it could be implemented at lower levels of government despite the flip flop in direction.


Trump does not have a set of Conservative policy positions. He flip-flops from liberal views to conservative depending upon the last visitor to his office or what he sees on television. Surprisingly, (to many readers) he has been ‘pro choice’ (allowing women to decide if they want an abortion) for much of his career. He suddenly changed his view when he decided to run for president, becoming “so deeply pro-life [against abortions] that he believed there has to be some form of punishment for women who have abortions.” Of course, there was a political angle to his sudden flip flop. Complicating his new policy position were the rumors that some of his previous lovers had used the abortion card at his expense.


In fact, through much of his life, Trump identified as a liberal. During his real estate career, Trump changed his political party affiliation five times.

“Over the last three decades, Trump has changed his political party registration five times. He has been a member of the Independence Party, the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, a registered independent, and then decided he was a Republican again. In 2004, Trump confessed to CNN, I probably identify more as a Democrat. In 2007. He praised Hillary Clinton and said ‘I think Hillary would do a good job [as President]’.” 


Of course, Mr. Trump disavows these statements now and continues to disparage Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama despite the fact that Hillary was cleared of all legal missteps and Trump’s vilification of Barack Obama’s birth was also disproved several years ago. {Mr. Trump’s most obvious lies like the Obama birthplace seem to have little influence on his supporters]. Mr. Obama seems an especial thorn in Trump’s side as he continues to disparage the former President for no apparent reason. Perhaps it is because Obama had more success in achieving Republican goals than has Mr. Trump as noted below.


One of the touchstones of Republican policy has been the size of government and its seeming largess in handling our money. To assure that I characterize this story correctly, I decided to quote this passage directly.


“The US federal budget deficit was actually declining under the Obama Administration, from $1.4 trillion when Obama took office, to $587 bIllion in 2016, just before he left office. Credit for the downward trend goes to Congressional Republicans who forced a stand-off with the White House in 2011. They demanded a budget deal that would bring the deficit under control. The result was the Budget Control Act, a law that would slash federal spending, … and place a cap on [federal spending.]”

“Donald Trump was not interested in penny pinching. He may try to project the image of a man trying to save taxpayer dollars, and its true he can be talked out of stupid ideas if they cost too much. But that’s not because he is trying to save money that can go back to the American taxpayers. He still wants to spend the money, just on things in which he’s personally interested such as bombs and border security. Today he is sparing no expense on the executive branch, spending so freely it makes the money burning days of the Trump organization look like the five-dollar tables at a Vegas casino. Trump recoils at ‘people who are cheap.’ As a result, the budget deficit has increased every year since Donald Trump took office, returning to dangerous levels. The president is on track to spend nearly a trillion dollars above what the government takes in annually. Just look at 2019. The President proposed a record breaking 4.7 trillion-dollar budget.”


Since Trump took office, the US debt has grown to $22 trillion. Each of us taxpayers would owe the equivalent of $400,000, an amount that only a tiny minority of rich Americans could manage and those who are least likely to pay their fair share. Donald Trump has America back on the road to bankruptcy. This, despite the fact that he promised to eliminate the entire American debt during his first term in office. It seems he didn’t really mean it when he was campaigning or he was too ignorant of the magnitude of the task.


Trump has also reneged on other Republican Party principles. While Reince Priebus was head of the National Republican Party the top staff released a report indicating the steps needed for the party to regain dominance in American political life. The report urged conservatives to broaden their base by being more inclusive of “Hispanic, Black, Asian, and gay Americans, and especially women.” Trump seems to have no loyalty to the Republican Party as he harps against minorities and immigrants despite its effect on party membership.


Lack of loyalty is a part of Trump’s personality as must be concluded from his martial history: a man who paid hush money to a porn star he’d been sleeping with while married to his third wife who had recently given birth to their son. This followed the failure of his two previous marriages due to infidelity on his part and the claims of sexual attacks on scores of other women. Not much of a loyalty record you would want for one who has promised to do the bidding of the electorate.

Trump’s ignorance of how the US government works is topped only by his apparent disregard and or ignorance of the law. He has confessed multiple times to instances that most pundits think are examples of law-breaking such as his televised remark that he would take foreign intelligence about his political rivals anytime. When told it was against the law, he becomes angry. His practice is to force his lawyers to say that such violations are acceptable. He browbeats, then presses them to get to yes on his behalf. Many are reluctant to face his withering attacks. “We can tell when Trump is preparing to ask his lawyers to do something unethical because that’s when he starts scanning the room for notetakers.”


“What the f**k are you doing?” he screamed at an aide who was scribbling in a note book. The room went silent as the aide seemed confused at what was taking place. “Are you f**king taking notes?” Trump continued, glaring at the aide as another low in interpersonal relations was reached.

Trump’s disdain for the law extends to judges and the lawsuits that he loses. When Trump was found guilty of fraud in the case of his Trump University scam, he screamed his vitriol at the judge who ruled on the case. Trump said the judge was biased because of his Mexican heritage. It’s in the record since the exchange was captured on live TV. By the way, the judge came from Indiana.


The failures of the current Administration in diplomacy have been dramatic. Trump has exploded the long-standing US policy of refusing to meet with dictators who have long records of human-rights abuse. His apparent adoration of Vladimir Putin, Saudi Arabia’s Prince who arranged the murder of journalist Khashoggi, and the dictator he fell in love with, Kim Jong Un, are instances where Trump’s meetings and visits have yielded no good results. Trump’s Intelligence Chiefs and Staff aides all warned him of the hazards of meetings with these villains, but Trump ignored their advice, preferring instead to do as he wished, including inviting emissaries of these leaders into the Oval Office. Adding insult to expected injury, Trump invited Russian journalists into the office while excluding American journalists. No one has ever given an explanation for this extraordinary behavior, although one top national security aide offered his explanation, “The President sees in these guys [Putin, etc.] what he wishes he had: total power, no term limits, enforced popularity, and the ability to silence critics for good.”


Our national security experts are worried about Trump’s lack of a foreign policy beyond his love affairs with dictators. China is of ongoing concern. The current US policy toward China it totally focused on tariffs and trade, a topic that the President doesn’t understand and is unwilling to learn. The view held by our foreign policy experts is that skilled diplomats from many other nations recognize the President is a simplistic pushover, easily swayed by outsized flattery putting the US at risk.


Perhaps the most serious concern about Mr. Trump is his proclivity to demonize anyone who differs with him on any issue. Using crude language, he encourages his supporters toward mob behavior. Watch any Trump rally and you’ll hear crude language delivered to cheering crowds who want to “lock her up” or “send her back” or dozens of other aggressive taunts. The consequence of this mob mentality can be frightening. Trump optimizes these occasions and invariably the truth becomes the first casualty. At an event in Florida, Trump was in high gear, egging on the crowd about the so-called risks of immigration. “How do you stop these people?” he asked rhetorically. Someone shouted, “shoot them.” The President smiled his encouragement.


This type of behavior was not new. During the 2016 campaign, candidate Trump displayed some of the same type behavior during the debates. Several Republican competitors and leaders in the party found the courage to comment calling Trump a “race-baiting xenophobic.” Nothing about his attitude has changed, he is still the same racist as before except that his Republican associates are now afraid to label his offenses for what they are.


The book comes to a close with a lengthy warning concerning the possibility of Trump being re-elected in 2020, again with Russian help as in 2016. The “senior official in the Trump Administration” warns that after his re-election, Trump will feel empowered to give rise to his worst impulses as he interprets his re-election as a mandate from the masses for doing whatever he chooses. The warning is that our democracy may not be able to survive eight years of Trump as he works to devolve our nation from a free, representative form of government depending upon the assent of the governed to a dictatorship where the President is all-powerful, free from oversite by the Congress or the Courts. The President has said as much publicly. He will not exit quietly or easily. He is already commenting that ’coups’ are afoot and ‘civil war’ is in the offing if he is forced to leave his office. He is setting the narrative for his followers to justify some action that would end tragically for us and our children.


Will we let him continue his shenanigans past the next election?

Shoveling Snow

There aren’t too many things that I know a lot about. Sadly, one of the things that I do know about is shoveling snow. After several years of practicing the fine art of advanced shoveling, I have finally awarded myself the coveted title of Super Snow Shoveler [not to be confused with the slightly lower-ranked skill of Expert Snow Shoveler]. I just awarded myself this esteemed title today after finishing the second third fourth consecutive snow removal in two three four days from my sidewalks and driveway, since it has been snowing here more or less continuously since Halloween.



One of the requirements for achieving this esteemed title is ‘shoveling a lot of snow’. Since I developed the new title and the requirements for achieving it, I can communicate the various requirements: Expert Snow Shoveler can be awarded to those men who have spent at least 10 years using hand tools to shovel a medium-sized driveway and sidewalk; Super Snow Shovelers must meet the more severe requirement of ‘shoveling a whole shit load of snow.’ Since I qualified for the latter category earlier this fall, I awarded myself the new title. I expect my trophy will arrive shortly after I decide what it will be.


As a celebration of my new title and the requisite hard-won expertise, I am devoting this blog to a description of the finer points of snow shoveling. This will be useful for you men in the unlikely event that you are interested in becoming a snow-shoveling super star, one who can justifiably list himself as a Super Snow Shoveler, worthy of extraordinary praise and respect from a spouse for this rare expertise.


The first thing you need to know is that snow shovels come in different sizes and styles. I have a variety of styles among my five shovels. I position one at each doorway. The aim in my distribution of shovels is based on the premise that if my spouse happens to exit any particular door, she’ll see the shovel and begin work on the adjacent snowy surface. I should tell you that this is one of my least successful snow shoveling strategies, although I must hasten to add that my cooperative spouse took over the shoveling duties last year while I was laid up with hip replacement surgery. Looking back at the experience teaches how effective my tutelage was and also how long I was able to milk my recovery.


The types of shovels I have include the pushers, (toys foisted on beginning shovelers), the honest-to-God shovels that you must bend over, lift and toss to empty, including those with and without a metal flange to slam against, God forbid, a build-up of ice beneath the snow. Early last year I purchased a chipper, now also a required tool for Super Snow Shovelers. This is a long-handled tool with a steel blade at the business end for scraping the dreaded ice from concrete surfaces. It is a necessary accessory to keep your driveways and sidewalks clean when the snow inexplicably turns to ice due to a peculiarity in the upper atmosphere.

For larger driveways you’ll need a snow-blower that I include in the catch-all category of snow shoveling tools. The two-stage variety is recommended. The extra blade in the two-stage type that throws the snow toward distant parts of your lawn often adds extra excitement during the snow removal work. You will undoubtedly be throwing rocks and other debris from the frozen surface using the two stage machine. The Expert Snow Shovelers get extra credit toward their Super status if they successfully avoid broken windows or dented panels on their cars that are parked in the driveway. I learned this skill the hard way.


The final requirement for Super Snow Shovelers is a men-only, highly developed vocabulary of both rare and everyday curse words. Yes, ladies, out-loud cursing is a requirement for those seemingly frequent times the snow plow drivers choose to plow the road leading to your driveway, filling your newly shoveled driveway with someone else’s snow. As bad as the practice of cursing is, sometimes it’s the only way to relieve man-stress after shoveling.


Good luck, men. I ‘ll be rooting for those of you who want to give a try toward the new, manly skill of Super Snow Shoveling. I can give first-hand advice in developing this skill if you want to stop by my driveway and help shovel. No appointments needed. Any time will work for me.

What's Happening Now?

What’s Happening Now?

The top news in Washington these days is all about the impeachment of President Trump. Democrats seem to have settled on Trump’s ‘abuse of power’ as the principal reason for their impending impeachment vote. Although there are any number of reasons they could site as justification for his removal, Democrats claim they need to simplify his numerous mis-steps into something simple that the electorate can understand. “Besides,” some of the pundits argue, “we need to avoid arguments about whether this or that rises to the level of impeachment and is truly criminal or not.” These arguments and the Republican effort to disrupt the impeachment proceedings has the effect of sucking all the air from the news rooms around the nation.



One of the most egregious things happening ‘behind the scenes’ in national politics is the failure of the Trump Administration to follow the rules of law that have been established to protect our environment. The bulwark of much of our law for environmental protection lies in the requirements of the Clean Air Act. The Act was first passed in 1970 to set requirements intended to help prevent air pollution. The Act was amended by President Bush in 1989 to update requirements as our technology changed. This 1990 amendment to the Act was overwhelmingly passed by a bi-partisan majority in both houses of Congress. Since that time, the Act has been effective in helping clean our air by requiring that polluters initiate a variety of controls to minimize and control the poisons that were previously released in our atmosphere without compunction.



The Trump administration has implemented a strategy of pretending that neither science nor climate change exist. Mr. Trump therefore cancelled America’s engagement in the world-wide agreement concerning air pollution known as the Paris Accords. Not surprisingly, Mr. Trump was intimately aware that the Paris Accords were contrary to effective political fund-raising contributed by the fossil fuel industry. As a consequence, Trump has ordered his bureaucracy to walk away from its statutory obligation to curb greenhouse gas emissions that are causing climate change. For the past two years, the administration has pursued a strategy of avoiding implementation and enforcement of air pollution regulations that affect climate change. It is no surprise that relaxing regulations or ignoring them totally is of great value to many of our nation’s wealthiest individuals and the companies they own or manage. These are those who show their gratitude by providing money for politicians and their political parties. Of course, this particular quid pro quo is largely kept hidden and is therefore unknown by most hard-working Americans who have little time for investigating foolishness such as this.



These actions by the government have real-life effects on average people. A detailed study concludes that “By not addressing methane leakage from both new and existing oil and gas operations, the toxic soup released during oil and gas operations -- including methane, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and hazardous pollutants such as benzene -- will generate dangerous, localized pollution that will annually cause 1,900 premature deaths, 1.1 million asthma attacks, and 3,600 emergency room visits by 2030.”



Fortunately, we have *State government agencies that are aware of these failures and have taken action. State attorneys general have stepped in, challenged the legality of these delay tactics, and obtained court victories over a recalcitrant administration. Backed into a corner, the Trump administration has finally come forward with proposed rules of its own. Rather than reducing greenhouse gas emissions as required by the Clean Air Act, however; its proposals would roll back the reductions embedded in current rules and sanction a return to pre-existing greenhouse gas emissions levels. In some cases, climate damaging greenhouse gas emissions would actually increase further under the administration’s proposed rules.

The causality between health and pollution is undisputed. To ignore the means of preventing harm to innocent Americans seems to me to be criminal and worthy of impeachment. Surely, we can do better.

In the last 200 years, we’ve burned enough fossil fuel to raise the concentration of CO2 from its historic level of 275 parts per million to 400 ppm. Each year we burn more and more fuel for energy; experts believe we are on track to reach 700 ppm unless major changes are made. We earthlings are now pushing about 40 billion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere annually. “The extra heat we trap on the surface of the planet from this expenditure of carbon is equivalent to the heat from 400,000 Hiroshima-sized bombs every day.”

More heat means drought. Drought means fires. The fire season in the American West is 78 days longer than it was in 1970. Since year 2000, more than a dozen US states have reported the largest wildfires in their recorded history. In Alberta Canada, a fire burned over 1,500,000 acres causing 88,000 people to flee. The large fires cannot be suppressed by any means known to man.

When there are fires there are also floods. The rule of thumb is that dry places get drier and wet places get wetter leading to flooding. Flooding has risks beyond the loss of homes and household goods and the inconvenience of leaving one’s home until the flood waters subside; a survey has shown that 2,500 toxic sites in America lie in flood-prone locales.

None of this is news to Exxon, Shell and other global oil companies in the last generation. The unusual property of CO2 in allowing visible light to be transmitted but preventing the passage of infrared energy had been known for a long while. One of those who warned of this effect was the famous physicist Edward Teller, who announced this effect in 1959 and its impact on our atmosphere. The oil industry has long understood the effect of carbon in the atmosphere. In 1977, one of Exxon’s senior research executives warned his company of the rapidly developing problem in warming the earth. His secret warning soon became public knowledge as another researcher also made public the data that was beginning to come in.



In 1988, a man named James Hansen gave testimony to the United States Senate about the impending doom being caused by carbon pollution. By this time, the executives at Exxon and other oil companies had put together their strategy of misinformation and hired many of the same public relations experts who had defended the tobacco companies. The big lie to the public began even while oil company executives raised the height of their offshore drilling platforms because of rising oceans. They just didn’t tell us. It was also a simple matter for the oil executives to arrange for Vice President Dick Cheney from the oil company Halliburton to convince others in his political party to ignore the problem and do nothing about the rapidly escalating issue.

And now here we are today with a dire problem that is being made worse by a lawless President who pursues the same old policies of earlier Administrations. The question now is, what are we going to do about it? I say impeachment is the only reasonable answer.







*For a full report on the work of the State Attorneys General see: https://www.law.nyu.edu/sites/default/files/State%20Attorneys%20General%20—%20Empowering%20the%20Clean%20Energy%20Future

Climate Strike,

Friday Sept 20, 2019

We have just lived through a remarkable event that is likely the first and only world-wide undertaking inspired by a child. The event was organized and attended by millions of activists around the world. I know because I was one of them. Just in case you missed news of the event, here is my report.

The event was a one-day Friday Strike and demonstration, organized to promote and provoke action on behalf of our planet that is in dire peril. Climate experts around the world agree that our planet and all life thereupon are in great danger as a consequence of man-made air pollution. The first and most recent Climate Strike occurred on Friday, September 20 to reflect the rising tide of public opinion that our climate is changing and temperatures are warming as a result of the huge increase in carbon dioxide that is poisoning our atmosphere from burning fossil fuels.


The Friday event was inspired by Greta Thunberg, a sixteen-year-old child from Sweden who left her school to sit alone on the doorstep of the Swedish Parliament with a hand lettered sign concerning climate change. Her message and determination were so compelling that she was invited inside to address the parliamentarians. The resulting publicity from her speech created a ripple across her nation that ultimately became a tidal wave of public opinion around the world. Her initial single-person demonstration became known as The Climate Strike, sending citizens to the streets of most major cities in the United States and around the world. The US hosted 1000 Climate Strike events. Similar events were held in 137 nations in all seven continents. The events attracted huge crowds everywhere. The New York City event drew 220,000 marchers and photos from the Dublin, Ireland event hint at a crowd as least as large. The Sierra Club estimated that as many as 4 million people attended events around the world.


The event in Montreal was as large as any, hosting an estimated ½ million demonstrators. Events in South America, Europe and other nations were equally impressive with movies of the events showing parading masses of humans striking for change.

Montreal Climate Change Demonstration

 I attended the Sept. 20 Climate Strike held in Traverse City Michigan. Our event was not so large as those in any of the large cities, but it seemed to have just as much enthusiasm among the 200 plus citizens who attended, including a number of school-age youngsters scattered among those of us from the senior set. Ours was a demonstration with marchers congregating next to a busy street, hoisting hand-made signs for passing motorists to see. Most motorists signaled their sympathy with our efforts by honking their horns, waving, and shouting their agreement as they passed by.


Marching with others of a similar persuasion was a heady experience. I appreciated the sentiments offered by the hand-lettered signs and the solidarity of marching with a wide swath of local citizenry; mothers with children and grandparents with canes, youngsters absent from school (as was Gretta who remained in New York) a host of ‘ordinary Joe’s and Josettes.’ Here are a few of them who showed that they care passionately about convincing our political leaders of the need for change to improve our atmosphere.

Public opinion polls now show that most people are supporters of the need to implement laws that will protect our atmosphere. Depending upon the nation polled and the survey questions, supporters’ number in the realm of 80% and higher. Among climate scientists, the number of supporters is a whopping 97%. These trends are world-wide. In fact, the United States stands alone as the only major industrialized nation with a leader who refuses to recognize climate change and a political party that follows his lead. Fortunately, that is of little consequence since the support for climate change action in the US is strong and cities and state governments are proceeding to implement climate changes steps despite the ignorance of our President.

The Case of the Missing Phone

(I almost titled this piece The Case of the Wayward Phone instead of the missing phone, but that would be prejudging the case and I want to give you the facts so you can decide for yourself.)



The saga began nearly a week ago when I returned home from a camping trip and sat on the porch with my phone and a glass of wine, giving each equal attention. I remember looking at the phone because it wasn’t responding to my commands. After a moment, I realized the phone was misbehaving because I had been away from home and my goldhorse WiFi system. My cell phone had been mostly--reliable but the friendly little machine wasn’t used to being absent from its favorite signal. After I realized the cause of the problem, I finished my wine and promptly forgot about my friend Sammy the Samsung smartphone.


My normal morning practice upon awakening is checking the weather forecast. I reached for Sammy on my nightstand, its usual resting place, only to feel the smooth mahogany texture sans telephone. “Strange,” I mumbled. Then I remembered. I had a job to do that demanded immediate attention.

I had agreed to assist with the county Hazardous Waste Program. I began hurrying; I was supposed to arrive at 8:00 AM at a location some thirty minutes distant, not counting the road closure that stood in the way of my journey. I climbed out of bed and made myself a cup of coffee, found my thermos, and finished the shaving ritual before running out the door. I was one of 30 volunteers and we gathered at the County Road Commission where we would ultimately collect, sort, and empty refuse from the trunks, trailers, and pick-up boxes of citizens who began lining up along the road anxiously awaiting their chance to deposit their unwanted waste. We volunteers were assigned to one of the various collection stations. My assignment was electronics – televisions, computers, keyboards, printers and other electronic devices including cell phones.


I spent the next five hours smiling and chatting up the citizenry as I helped unload and toss the unwanted detritus from our modern life into waiting gondolas and onto rapidly filling pallets. I must have handled several dozen old TV’s, scores of keyboards, and dozens of printers and copiers not to mention a host of cell phones all of which I ceremonially tossed into a large gondola. Helping me were two trustees from our local jail who seemed to enjoy the act of tossing formerly expensive hardware into the trash containers for recycling while secretly sharing an occasional forbidden smoke. 


I arrived home tired. I spent the next few hours resting before I assumed my normal routine that included checking e-mails on my phone. It suddenly struck me that I didn’t have my cell phone in my pocket, its normal place. I began searching for the missing gadget that I knew would turn up in one of the usual locations where I used it regularly. I looked high and low. It didn’t turn up.

My paternal instincts were aroused – where could the little fellow with all the buttons be hiding? With a mixture of regret and fear for my former friendly assistant, I went to the second level of investigation; I asked the wife if she had seen my phone. She began actively searching as well. We looked in the closet, the garden and all my normal hiding places but the phone was nowhere to be found.


The search went on the rest of the afternoon and evening to no avail. We took turns dialing the home phone and listening for the ring of the cell. It was deathly quiet. I went to bed disappointed. I had a restless night as I mentally calculated the odds that the phone might have fallen from my pocket and was then whisked away by a pal with travel connections. By morning I had determined the most likely sequence of events: my phone must have run away from home sometime after the frustration of not getting its normal WiFi signal. There was the answer, plain as day. I could just imagine my phone sitting some strange place with a bunch of other wayward phones, drinking, smoking and laughing uproariously at those of us who were suddenly phoneless, bereft of our calendars, appointments, and telephone messages.


I should have guessed the answer earlier from the signals I had received from the little devil – his habit of occasionally moving from my nightstand to the floor should have hinted at his deviant behavior. Just the week before last he managed to jump from my pocket to the floor of the truck for an afternoon of freedom doing God knows what.

So, there you have it. Don’t ever trust cell phones. Especially smart phones. They can turn against you in a moment. An old Indiana proverb from my mother comes to mind –'its too smart for its own good.’ And now you’ll understand if I haven’t returned your phone call or missed some important date as I ponder the wisdom of seeking another smartphone, hopefully one that remains in my pocket.

Coffee Drinkers in the Neighborhood

Coffee Drinkers in the Neighborhood

It has been some while since I reported on the daily conversations at the coffee table with my friends, the North Woods men. Yesterday’s occasion of chewing the fat had all the earmarks of a typical chat, so I’ll report on it to bring you up to date and you can decide on the level of early morning intelligence in my neighborhood.

We met yesterday morning in Larry’s kitchen as is our normal, every morning practice. I was first to arrive so I had the duty of finding a few, mostly-clean coffee cups among the assortment in Larry’s cupboard. (Larry sets them aside specifically for us freeloaders.) I sat down at the oak table that Larry waxed just last year so’s we’d all know he is serious about keeping things up. He skittered about his kitchen while I settled in, emitting the odd curse every moment or two that always accompanies the making of coffee in his second-hand coffee maker. The thing about the coffee maker is that it came at a good price at Saint Vincent’s – the most popular store in town. The pot groaned and burbled just as a vehicle pulled in Larry’s driveway and Tim walked in the kitchen after a single perfunctory knock on the cabin door.

“Mornin,” Tim managed to grunt as he pulled out the special chair that he claims at Larry’s table. No one else sits in his chair since he equipped the chair some months earlier with a special pad for those who have his particular assortment of back and butt complaints. No sooner had Tim pulled up his chair than Lew slipped in to occupy his chair opposite. Although Lew always walks in without knocking, I knew he had arrived from the sound of his pick-up truck that needed a new muffler last year – the same one that Lew has steadfastly refused to fix despite its noise that rattles the cups in Larry’s cupboard. No one else heard the commotion since most are not good at keeping their hearing aids equipped with fresh batteries. There is a fair amount of yelling required at the table to make yourself heard.

Since no one spoke, I decided to start the conversational gambit. We normally cover the expected weather for the day first, but I broke tradition. “Did you hear what our President said last night?” I yelled. I had no idea what he had said, but I was sure I would start something that would last for the next thirty minutes covering my time at the table. Larry rose to the bait.

“The damn fool is at it again,” Larry said with a vehemence that was noteworthy for both its volume and Larry’s clenched teeth.

Despite Tim’s bad back, he saw an opening for his initial salvo. He straightened his back and leaned forward in his wobbly chair, “I agree that he is a fool, but whatever he said probably wasn’t true anyway since he is known to have publicly uttered several thousand lies that have been verified by a whole cadre of respected journalists.” Since there was no immediate response, Tim continued. “What did he say last night?”

“It was more about the black Congress-women that he doesn’t like. He showed his racist traits again,” Larry announced as he looked around the table for agreement.

I saw an opportunity to add fuel to the fire that was just beginning to be kindled so I jumped in, swallowing my self-respect. “Are you sure you aren’t being too hard on the poor guy? He can’t seem to say anything about Blacks and Muslins without the press jumping all over him.”

Maybe I went too far. There was a dead silence as the three Trump-bashers stared at me and my brashness in questioning the independent press and their treatment of their favorite target, Mr. Trump. It seemed to me that they surely must owe Trump since he provides grist for their reporting efforts on a daily basis, even if it is all about him or his campaign to be President--For--Life.

Larry seemed to take the lead as he began a lengthy diatribe in attempting to list the many failures of our current President. Since we were in his house, drinking his coffee and muddying his kitchen floor, we all felt compelled to let him rant for at least 30 seconds before interrupting. Lew took the honors of Chief Interrupter since he had been silent thus far. I could tell Lew was serious since he took off his stained baseball cap as he began his interruption.

“I know that Trump feeds at the public trough just like all the politicians in Washington. The main difference between him and the others is that he gets Russian help in whatever he wants to do as the marine, Robert Mueller has proved. And, no matter what anyone says, Russia’s involvement in our election is against the law and Trump ought to go to jail for permitting it. In fact, I’d like to see the Sergeant of Arms in the House of Representatives leading him out of the White House in handcuffs.”

The sudden twist in the argument against the President seemed to take everyone by surprise. Since we had discussed the Mueller report numerous times and since Tim had furnished a copy of Part Two of Mueller’s 400-page report, no one seemed inclined to argue Lew’s point. After reading the report and engaging in lengthy discussions. we all believed Mueller’s facts, what with him being a decorated marine, while the other side mostly shirked their duty by avoiding the Army. No one wanted to reopen that topic again.

Feeling that the firestorm was beginning to falter, I tried stirring the coals. “Wouldn’t that be something! – having our president run the government from a jail cell.” That did it. Everyone seemed to have an opinion about the benefits and risks of sending envoys to jail for orders from the President. Some thought it wouldn’t be seemly to have three- and four-star generals running in and out of a jail with important papers for the President.

We debated the pro’s and con’s of that circumstance until Lew finally ended the topic with what seemed to be a summary conclusion. “On second thought, maybe it’s a good idea. It would save us the cost of paying for all the Air Force One trips to Mar-a-Lago.”

The stirring up of government waste by a President who loves playing golf did the trick. The conversation took off anew as Lew, Tim and Larry each had a favorite example of government waste. Tim was just getting warmed up on this latest thread when I slipped out the door for my walk home. It was just another day at the coffee klatch, I mused, as I stretched my legs for my daily exercise.

Bill’s New Book – A Beach Time Read

Hurrah! After six months, I have a new hip and a new book, The Soldier Boy, that is now available on Amazon.com or Kindle (as an e-book). This book of fiction was conceived and developed during my convalescence from hip surgery; both are now doing well, thank you very much.

The Soldier Boy tells the story of a boy born in the waning years of the Great Depression. His mother was unable to raise him and gave him up for adoption immediately after birth. The boy was sent from one orphanage to another, spending his entire childhood under the care of sisters at a catholic orphanage. While the nation recovered from World War II, the boy witnessed an outsized display of patriotism that provoked his interest in the military. After leaving the orphanage, he joined the Army, ultimately qualifying as a Special Forces soldier assigned to duty after lengthy training. His childhood and Army experiences left an indelible mark on him as he went from being a ‘throw-away’ orphan to a caring adult who created a home and family with adopted children of his own.

Want more? Here is an abridged version of the first chapter.

New York City was hurting. And the pain was felt most severely in the many ethnic neighborhoods scattered around the metropolitan area. America’s oldest and largest city had dozens of small, medium and large residential areas where poor folks lived in ethnic neighborhoods and they suffered more than residents of the city’s other areas. The ethnic neighborhoods generally had no identifiable borders: all existed as small islands with a teeming mass of people, many underfed, who were daily struggling with too little money, too few beds, and too many mouths to feed. 

In 1939, the Great Depression was still raging despite its ten-year history and the best efforts of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Unemployment plagued the nation and the city. The overall rate of unemployment across the nation was 25%; in New York the figure was closer to 33% and in the ethnic neighborhoods it was much higher as immigrants with identifiable accents were always first to lose their jobs and last to be hired. Most of the immigrants living in these areas were going through the hardest times of their lives and there seemed no reason for hope.

On a February evening in 1939 in one of the Italian neighborhoods, a shadowy figure dressed in hand-me-down clothes emerged from one of the many apartment buildings that dotted the street. The street lights were already on, at least, most of those that the city felt were essential in the meaner neighborhoods. The figure clutched something at her chest. She appeared to be a young woman. Another person from a 4^th floor window watched intently as the young woman moved silently down the street. If anyone watched both the young woman in the street and the figure in the 4^th floor window, the similarity in appearance would have been unmistakable. The coincidence of tears flowing freely from both figures might have given a clue to the walker’s mission.

It was a short walk, but it took the young woman from her neighborhood to an older, formerly upscale area of the city. She walked directly to an old building, one that was large, ornate and mysterious as it sat alone, surrounded by a garden that featured a tiny cemetery behind a stone wall. The wall was low, the cemetery with its lonely upright stone markers was clearly visible from the street even as the darkness covered the graves distant from the dirty sidewalk. The woman paused for the briefest moment at the door that was illuminated by a single light bulb above the door. She found the bell, pushed the button, and then laid her burden on the concrete stoop directly in front of the door. She took one step back from the door into the shadowy darkness. She appeared to be listening to sounds behind the door. Then she disappeared down the street before the door was unlatched and pushed open.

Sister Mary had entrance door duty that night. She had just finished her first year at Sisters of Charity and had only recently been given the title of sister. She was a slight young woman who looked more like a student at the convent than a sister. Mary had joined the Sisters of Charity because of her mother.

Mary’s mother was deeply religious. She had taken Mary to the Catholic Church in their parish on most Sundays since she had been a small child. Sometimes mother and daughter walked to distant churches so that Mary could hear other priests offer Mass. One Sunday, the pair ventured into The Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul of New York, most often known simply as the Sisters of Charity of New York. This congregation of sisters in the Catholic Church had a primary mission of education and nursing dedicated to the service of the poor. The Sisters of Charity found themselves obliged to also serve as an orphanage based on the needs of the poor during The Great Depression.

After their initial visit to the facility on that early spring morning in 1938, both mother and daughter were impressed by what they saw. It was nearly a month after that visit when Mary’s mother spoke to her about the Sisters of Charity again. She asked if Mary had ever considered becoming a nun. It was the beginning of a spark that led Mary directly to the Sisters of Charity.

The nuns at the Sisters of Charity welcomed Mary as she began her novitiate period. It was difficult for her to be away from home, but she enjoyed the close association with the older nuns and the two younger ones who, like her, were just beginning their life in the convent.

As a first-year sister novitiate, Mary was closely supervised by others and her assignments were invariably simple, boring duties requiring few skills. Her shift of work on this night required her to deal with any front door visitors. She was also in charge of the adjacent vestibule and front door closet. In the vestibule was a single, small table with a telephone and a log book gracing its top and a simple straight-backed chair. Mary’s job of answering the door included completing a log book entry for all visitors. 

Mary was sitting stiffly near the front door when she heard the doorbell ring. It took a moment after the ring for her to unlatch and then open the large door. When the door swung open, Mary didn’t see anyone. She was about to return to the dimly lit hallway when she noticed the small wicker basket laying on the stoop below her. It seemed to be full of clothes. And then she saw a tiny movement. She waited and stared intently. Seeing nothing beyond the jumble of fabric, she picked up the basket and stepped inside to see more clearly.

There was something – a note was pinned to one of the fabrics. As Mary unpinned the note from what appeared to be a worn-out towel, she saw something else. Mary had tried hard during her first year as a new sister to remain calm and serene as befitting her residence in God’s house. She lost her calm demeanor when the note and the blanket moved, and her sudden intake of breath provoked a noise from her throat. The movement was caused by a baby lying beneath the jumble of fabrics in the basket. She carefully sat the basket down by the table and closed the door. Her heart was pounding. She stood silently for a moment to take command of her senses and her muscles. She studied the note in the dim light. It was hand-written in a childish script.

“I can’t keep the baby. Please take care of it. Don’t try to find me. My father will kill me if he finds out.”

There was no signature. Sister Mary didn’t know what to do -- It was too late to report to Sister Rose who was her immediate superior. Undoubtedly, the sister would be in her cell, either in bed or more likely on her knees in prayer and she didn’t like being disturbed. Mary considered her options. After a moment she decided to inform the Mother Superior despite the late hour.

If you are interested in purchasing your own copy of the paperback book, it is available at Amazon.com for $11 or at Kindle.com as an e-book for $3. Or, if we are close by, you can ask me to hand you a copy of the paperback and avoid the shipping costs. Happy reading/BIll