One more step to change your world.

Today's Tids Issue 3,337

Opening Stuff:

It’s about an inch I figured as I sat on the peeling wooden thwart, lolling in the grasp of gentle waves lapping at the waterline of my old grey dory. Yup about an inch between me atop sunlit waters and the plummeting depths below. I lived those days as a kid, 7, 8, 10 years old, taking a breather after rowing, pondering a world below I knew little about. It would at times feel scary I remember, but the more I explored the more I reveled in the magnificence of the sea. The more I adapted to a strange world. It’s a little like life, isn’t it? You don’t find heavy, wooden old grey dories any more. They were so seaworthy, at least that’s what I always believed from tales of old fishermen in shacks by the coast, and in paintings so vivid by Winslow Homer. I love the wind pushing through sails, and the quiet chugging of a harbor launch, but nothing beats putting your back into a couple of oars on an old dory with peeling grey paint.

There’s been a lot of “Almost” Triple Crown winners lately, but I think American Pharoah is the real thing. He looks real strong, and up to the mile and a half. I would be surprised if he didn’t give us the first TC winner since Affirmed in 1978! -- even if they bring in some well rested surprise horse for Belmont. He just seems that good to me.

Apple close-to-the-tree, Department:

You can’t make this stuff up, but it appears that “shakedown Artist” Al Sharpton’s daughter Dominique is suing NYC taxpayers for $5 Million…for a sprained ankle! Apparently she tripped over an uneven sidewalk surface. During her so-called continuous pain period she has been pictured, often in spiked high heels, marching in protests, living it up on vacations and climbing ladders. She’d make a great RI State employee. I guess corporate America isn’t paying big Al the way they used to.

The Question:

What was the name of the chewing gum sensation that was supposed to use photosynthesis to make your teeth and mouth sparkly clean and breath smell like the fresh outdoors? Bonus: Name all of the Triple Crown winners.

The Headlines:

--Bulletin: Jim Skeffington, Leading Owner To bring Pawtucket Red Sox To Downtown Providence, Dies from heart Attack Over Weekend; Boston Red Sox President Larry Luchino Was Other Major Active Owner; Move Culd Be In Limbo.

--Markets Aiming To Set New All-Time Highs; Question: Would It Be Prelude To Extreme Down Draft?; US Homebuilder Confidence declines In may.

--9 Dead, Many More Injured In Texas Biker Gang War; 192 Arrested; Various Bike Groups Issued Threats To Police.

--Obama Issues Restrictions On Police Use Of Military Style Equipment; Police Neutered As Threats And Violence Against Protective Organization Rises.

--Admin Admits That ISIS Has Firmer Hold On Ramadi Than Originally Reported; Terror Group Went door To Door Killing Hundreds Of Police And Ordinary Citizens; 8,000 Fled City; Iraq Army In Retreat..

--FBI Confirms That Security Expert Was Able To Hack Into Flight Controls And Move Plane Full of Passengers Sideways.

--Osprey Hard Landing In Hawaii Kills One Marine, Injures 19 More.

--Volvo Ocean Race Departs Newport RI For Lisbon; Largest Crowds Ever In Race Event Visited Newport’s Fort Adams During Highly Successful Stopover; Sailors Expected To Face Fierce Weather, Floating Ice As 40,000 Mile Jaunt Enters Final Stages; Newport Given Opening To gain  Back Stopove in 2017.

--Senate Girds For Battle Over NSA Gathering Of Citizens Ohone Data.

Remember when Indy drivers were household names and the old brickyard was the paragon of motor sports.

On Saturdays I generally reach into the dustier side of my classical CD collection to see what I can discover. This weekend it was a Sebelis symphony I rarely play – his second. It was typical of our favorite Finn, in that you can always find some very pleasant moments. Any time you can find a pleasant moment in this cacophonous world, it is something special. Another quiet place is immersing yourself within the soothing strains of the French composer Durufle’s requiem. Don’t let then word “Requiem fool you. This is just pleasant listening for the lively and energetic

So how volatile will the Middle East become when the current military government kills Egypt’s former freely elected Muslim ex-President Morsi, and the 120 Muslims who tried to escape prison with him? They let off Mubarak and his henchmen, who just so happened to be the impetuous for the “Egypt Spring” uprising which gave Morsi the power in the first place. Now the so-called demonic despot of Egypt’s past decades is free, and the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood is to die. The Muslim Brotherhood have never been known to sit on their hands. I don’t think I’ll be taking a river cruise down the Nile in the near future.

I’m looking at the Baseball standings and I’m think ning that a little hope may be creeping back into the hearts of Cubs fans.

How much more squeezing can a company do. Somehow though, accountants and pliant execs find ways to reduce costs, which in  reality doesn’t bode well for the return to a higher middle income average wage. Personally, I had said here over thepast months that it would be tougher and tougher for companies to match the earlier profit reports based more on cutbacks than on increased revenue. I was dead wrong as the Q1 2015 produced an average profit of 9.75% that bettered Q4 2014’s 9.64%. In the nineteen-nineties the company execs were hailed and rewarded for hitting around 7%. For a sector guide to investing, consider the top four – Technology 17.5%, Financials 16.3%, Tel 11% and Health Care 10.3 %. But the question still remains, How strong will be top lines?

The Buffet Rule:

Avoid filling salads; aim for lobsters, and tenderloin, and resist too many potatoes even if they are drenched in rich creamy gravy. Have a third lobster for dessert.

Mad Men is hitting the bricks after last night. Over the years it has been a pretty good show, and paralleled my own introduction to and career in an advertising agency. It is, however, not a fair appraisal of the industry, in that it only serves to preserve stereotypes of a fiction writer’s view of the ad game. Basically it was an industry of hard working, pretty smart and very creative people trying to find ways to help companies deliver messages about their products qit the main objective of contributing to top lines. The best of agencies including then one for whom I worked, one of the largest in NE, measured success by the sales numbers of clients, not by creative awards.

If mad men was on HBO or Sho, then plot may have been lost in an overabundance of F---, A—H---, S---, P---- or any other of a long list of swear words used by people with no vocabulary. Advocates of shows on premium TV say they are more like real life. Not, like my life, thank God.

The Answer:

Green Chlorophyll Chewing Gum was all the rage in the 50’s and 60’s. It was silence, after all! Bonus: Since the first winner in 1919, Sir Barton, there have only been 10 additional winners of the three races, Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont: 1930 – Gallant Fx, 1935 – Omaha, 1937 – War Admiral, 1941 – Whirlaway, 1943 – Count Fleet, 1946 – Assault, 1948 – Citation, 1973 – Secretariat, 1977 – Seattle Slew, and 1978 – Affirmed. What happened to Man-o-War, and Sea Biscuit?

I’m thinking that while roaming the Volvo Around the World stopover I was only a footstep away from being on board, a trip across the Atlantic in driving winds, through pounding waves. One step away from exploring a new world, experiencing new challenges that could only make me a better and stronger person. I think you can do anything. Well, maybe I couldn’t write computer code. I was wondering if a crew of men over seventy could be competitive on such a race. Of course, you’d probably need double the standard mael crew to account for extreme nap time!

A lot of people missed out on seeing the in-harbor races up close, strategy by strategy, when they missed out on watching it live on the big screen at the Jane Pickens.

Have a good week everybody.