Monday, October 4, 2021
Yesterday, the New York Times commemorated the 70th anniversary of The Shot Heard 'Round the World, an event probably unknown to most living Americans. https://nyti.ms/2Y5iqHa
We still lived on Pitkin Avenue in Brooklyn, almost
directly opposite P.S. 159, a fraction of a city block in between. The
fatal blow occurred just about 4:00 PM, so I was home by then. My father, brother and I watched the game on our Dumont 13" television set, black and white, what else? When Bobby Thompson hit the infamous home run, I remember bouncing up and down on our worn sofa in anger and frustration. That's all that I remember.
I was in the fourth grade, in the class of Mrs. MacIntyre, a tall, blond woman with an elegant, but warm demeanor. Good friends Michael DiGiovanni and Sheldon Solomon were my classmates, among others, and they were most certainly Brooklyn Dodger fans also. But, as vividly as I remember bouncing up and down on the living room sofa, I have no memory of replaying the events with my friends the day after. October 4, 1951 joins November 23, 1963 and September 12, 2001 as dates lost in the shadows.
. . .
Barney Frank, retired congressman from Massachusetts, described today's pseudo-conservatives precisely as believing that "life begins at conception and ends at birth." The state of Mississippi exemplifies this perfectly. It is currently before the United States Supreme Court facing a challenge to its abortion law (Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health), which directly defies Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the precedents on abortion.
On the other hand, a new study identifies Mississippi as the worst place in America to give birth to a child, based on "health care costs, accessibility to care, and baby- and family-friendliness." https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/30/realestate/best-places-to-have-babies.html
Does Mississippi believe that what it lacks in quality it can make up in volume?
. . .
Jay Stanley, the ACLU's leading expert on personal privacy, was able to meet me for lunch today. We sat down at Sam Won Garden, 37 West 32nd Street, without a strip search to prove that I wasn't wearing a wire. This large Korean restaurant has 10 plain tables outdoors, where we sat, and many more with full BBQ rigging indoors. While the menu features Korean BBQ more than a dozen different ways, it also has a wide choice of other dishes. The restaurant sits at the epicenter of an area densely-populated with Korean restaurants and retail businesses.
We shared an order of "Fried Samwon Mandoo," six tasty sauteed dumplings ($12.95). I then had a generous portion of bulgogi, thinly-sliced marinated beef ($19.95); Jay, "Yukgaejang Galbi Tang," a spicy beef soup with vegetables and glass noodles ($18.95). Each dish came with a bowl of white rice and small portions of kim chi, dried anchovies and potato salad on the plate, in addition to larger quantities of the same items plus two halves of a marinated hard-boiled egg on the table to share. We had plenty to eat and enjoy.
. . .
Heading home, I discovered a new outlet of Ess-A-Bagel, 108 West 32nd Street, where I once made my "office" on Third Avenue, when I was, to put it politely, on the margins of the American economy. This new spot is just down the block from Penn Station and should do a huge volume of takeout breakfast business. In fact, as I passed by in mid-afternoon, it was empty and, satisfactorily fed, I had no reason to try it out. I can only assume that it continues to serve good, big, fat bagels and long may it prosper.
Tuesday, October 5, 2021
This survey of the nation's monuments comes up with total numbers that I could never guess at, although I am not surprised to find Lincoln and Washington at the top.
https://monumentlab.com/audit
I was pleased that Martin Luther King, Jr. placed fourth, right behind Christopher Columbus, but troubled that only St. Francis of Assisi separated him from Robert E. Lee. Other Confederate traitors appear, as well as other pillars of the faith (not my faith exactly). It's an interesting collection.
. . .
Since I am still awaiting my MacArthur Foundation grant to allow me to broaden and deepen my resources, occasionally vital material eludes my attenuated attention. The following insight was provided by Tucker Carlson several months ago, but remains timely. "If you're wondering why so many people are being robbed, raped and killed in American cities right now, George Soros is part of the reason." https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/tucker-carlson-george-soros-george-gascon-los-angeles
I chalk it up to mere coincidence that Carlson, whose own monument was recently crafted entirely in white bread and mayonnaise, cites a prominent INTERNATIONAL JEWISH BANKER as the source of our miseries.
Now that we have caught up with Tucker Carlson, let's check in with the Houthis, a major faction in the war in Yemen. Their snappy slogan is: "Allah is Greater, Death to America, Death to Israel, Curse on the Jews, Victory to Islam."
Wednesday, October 6, 2021
Chicken may be my favorite vegetable, so I made my first visit today to Fields Good Chicken, 36 East 40th Street, when I headed to an appointment with my periodontist next door to continue contributing to his children's retirement accounts.
Fields offers rotisserie chicken, much healthier, but less fun than Southern fried chicken. I had half a smallish chicken with honey spiced carrots (grade D) and "Smashed Potatoes" (B+, but small portion) ($14.75). There is no need to rate the chicken, because there seems to be a common denominator in rotisserie chicken.
To be clear, retired New York State Supreme Court Justice Marjory D. Fields, my benefactor, is not associated with this enterprise in any way. Just as well.
. . .
Thursday, October 7, 2021
We're #16! It's not just Mississippi that lags in providing for the health and welfare of small children, our country spends a pittance of public funds in this area.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/06/upshot/child-care-biden.html?smid=url-share
Where are our Family Values?
Friday, October 8, 2021
Stony Brook Steve accompanied me to Wau, 434 Amsterdam Avenue, a new Malaysian restaurant. We ate outside, at one of about 8 tables in their hut along Amsterdam Avenue, and that detracted from the experience. The hut was almost airtight, with only one open door. While the temperature was mild, in the mid 70s, the bright sun exaggerated the greenhouse effect, making us uncomfortable. Maybe this was why our water glasses were being refilled often.
The food wasn't bad, overall, a bit pricey. I started with roti canai, the Indian pancake with buttery curry sauce that I invariably try at Malaysian restaurants ($9.50). This version lacked the small pieces of potato and chicken usually floating in the sauce. I then had nasi lemak, considered Malaysia's national dish -- rice, curried chicken, dried anchovies, hard boiled egg, cucumber slivers, boiled shrimp, boiled peanuts, sambal (chili sauce) -- served on banana leaf ($22). There wasn't anything missing, but nothing memorable.
I'll probably return to try noodle dishes indoors or on a shady day to conclusively evaluate the Wau factor.
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