To every their own.

Today's Tids Issue 3,575

Opening Stuff:

I remember the days when you turned on the radio on Sunday morning and heard preachers and choirs singing. Now all you get are vitamin and health food salesmen.

I will be on a mini-vacation for a few days, so just be patient with the Tids. It’s always good for you when I travel, because it gets me out of my ruts. I’m expecting to see some beautiful stuff, so be prepared for lots of adjectives.

Heard while standing in a line at the supermarket deli department: “I had a real meltdown with my grandson this morning. You’ll see the video on FaceBook.” Say what? Have I been transported to a new planet?

There is growing chatter that Hillary could be indicted before the November elections. And it is also being said that Prez Obama will pardon her. Ok…so what do Hillary supporters do in the face of having an indicted candidate regardless of the pardon. Do they vote for  a probable lawless individual? Or do they dismiss it as irrelevant, in their quest for Hillary over all. It should be a modal dilemma for people with a conscience. Except, that the mood of today seems to tell me that legal is how you view it and if it can be rationalized away to assuage personal guilt so be it; then all is ok. Remember the IRS chief saying just last week its aok to steal social Security numbers as long as you use them to pay taxes. This kind of anything goes as long as it fits my agenda thing is why so many people are looking for new style candidates. When vitamin salesmen replace preachers and truths of the ten commandments are diminished, people create and follow lesser commandments that can only lead to general chaos and decline. BTW, how do you pardon a person from an indictment?

Another moral dilemma in the new age of anything goes  technological communication is the growth of the very dangerous “Sex offender for life” designation. This new version of the Scarlet Letter is more painful than the death sentence or life in prison. The reason I bring this up is that more and more teens sexting are necessarily coming under legal guidelines that would generate such a penalty. Many DA’s are saying, wait a minute, we got a real problem here. Kids who are momentarily stupid are by no means similar to a child porn producers or sexual predators. Yet, somehow we got to get back to establishing the importance of standards, educating ids to the importance of understanding how and why moral behavior is intrinsic in a civilized society. Maybe we should start reopening churches and putting the ten Commandments in town squares. It’s not about religion, it’s about the rules that guide all who should want to live honest, caring, respectful lives.

The Question:

Today’s “Who are these people” are actors Jon Cryer, Peter Billingly and Lucas Haas. Bonus: In 1912 an American was the first woman to fly across the English Channel. Who was it. Double Bonus: There has only been one Opening day “No Hitter”. Who pitched it and when?

The Headlines:

--Today Marks 241^st Annversary Of Paul Revere’s Ride And 120^th Running Of Boston Marathon; Security At Highest Levels.

--FTSE Don; Crude Prices Tumble; US Markets Expected To Open Lower.

--After Battle Losses, ISIS Cash Diminishing;

--Brazil President About To Be Impeached.

--Deaths Continue To Mount Following Japan Quakes.

--Air Heads Johnny Depp And Wife Amber Apologize To Australia For Dog Smuggling Caper; Lesser People Would Be In Jail.

--Israel Ok With Stabilizing Syria; Says It Will Never Give Up Golan Heights.

--Giant 7.8 Quake Devastates Ecuador; Nearly 300 Dead. Thousands Injured; Aid Rushing In.

--Verizon Looks Like Leading Bidder For Yahoo!.

--Putin Says Goldman Sachs Leaked Info About Panama Papers As Part of USA Attempt To Derail Russia Elections.

It is a great day up here in the greater Boston Area which for this Monday includes little Rhody. It’s Patriots day, and I always take it off because I love patriots. This in reality commemorates the ride of Paul Revere and other callers to arms, but is now known best for the Boston Marathon. It is also a great baseball day with the Sox starting a game at 11:00 AM. If you like congestion, it is a good day to go to Kenmore Square. Musinex will not help.

Call me superficial, but I tend to root for golfers and ball players who wear simple hats with curved brims.

It was sad to read of Stacey Konwiser, “The Tiger Whisperer” of the Palm beach Zoo, who was attacked and mauled to death by one of her beloved animals. It was one of the older tigers. He probably forgot who she was.

A Papal news release says that Pope Francis has brought 12 Muslims to the Vatican. I wonder if the Swiss Guards did a background check.

Speaking of Hillary, did you happen to read the politifact-check after the NY debate? It seemed to determine that most of Hillary’s claims were basically untrue and Bernie’s true. She keeps her reputation going.

A lot of analysts are trying to figure out what motivates millennials, mainly with regard to their political attachments. Now I know some millennials and I believe many are incredibly hard working and very intelligent. But, I think that they have had trouble adjusting to their new world of reality that doesn’t include the major coddling and instant gratification of their youth. Wanting it now is ambitious, but in many cases there is already somebody there. Supplanting the implanted just means transferring the job vacancies to those with accumulated bigger responsibilities; forcing retirement before retirement is funded. We all live ina dependency cycle that relies on certain elements of unselfishness, and some millennials have trouble with that. But, I hate to condemn a generation because all people cannot be defined by a demographers need to categorize people into like groups. It would be better for all if we could all just be ourselves.

Isn’t it interesting that in the wake of the Japan and Ecuador earthquakes we have today which marks the anniversary of the great San Francisco quake? The Pacific “Ring of Fire” seems to be on a seasonal schedule.

A lot of people who’s religion is climate change like to use the phrase “caused by manmade climate change”. The universe and our earth are quite complex and as we have seen for thousands of centuries, we are most likely undergoing some level of natural climate change now as we always have. Yet, these fucused scientists have a unique ability to extract the human element from the natural causations and attribute all of the catastrophic prophesies to that alone. And, that alone makes me feel that somebody is making money out of what God wrought. O, wait a minute, we can’t say God anymore.

The Parking Lot: Chapter 54 continues…

    A well groomed young man about 30 wearing a highly starched white button down shirt, and perfectly pressed Khaki pants accented with a belt full of red lobsters, rose steadily as Jared walked in. This was his idea of casual business attire and the lack of emotion in his face matched his outfit. Jared thought, I could be really important. The young man was studying Jared like a he might a blind date. Jared immediately felt the blotches on his aging face expanding, and knew for sure that the gravy stain on his shirt was growing.

   Finally he misled and a said “Mr…?”

   “Oh yeah, Jared replied, “Foster, John  Foster.” His handshake was as sharp as the crease in his pants. Has Jared moved to a chair he sensed he was being watched. He turned his head slightly to see an older man ducking away from the door. That was for sure thre very busy older Howland, he thought.

  “I’m Zach Howland.” He settled into is plush very expensive leather chair much to big for is small frame, gesturing with a hand that Jared should do the same. Jared’s chair wasn’t so soft. The old make the guest feel uncomfortable trick.

   “Nice place you have here,” Jared offered as an opener.

   “Thanks, what brings you here?” Not much of a conversationalist. Good way not to look foolish.

   Jared didn’t immediately answer, locking his eyes on those of the young man in the big chair who was starting to become annoying. Finally, “I hear your firm is pretty important in this community, and know all of the ins and outs. It appears to me and my associates that there are a lot of ins going on around this place today which means there could be some very good opportunities for an imaginative opportunist like me and my friends.” The kids face didn’t budge.

   “Where did you go to law school,” Jared changed the subject.

Lacrosse is alive and well here in the Greater Providence area. Yesterday Brown knocked off Number one in the land Yale, and a week or so earlier Bryant U (Under former Duke coach Mike Pressler who’s rep was scathed by lies and mindless Duke officials)  beat Brown in OT. Providence College, which plays Brown tomorrow is making great strides in the Big East, which has several teams in the top 20. And the crowd at the Yale-Brown game here yesterday was huge and raucus. Maybe Bernie showed up. Remember when all of the lacrosse players were in Baltimore and Long island NY?

The Answer:

Peter Billingsley is probably fondly remembered by all who saw him as “Ralphie” in the Christmas Story. (Note, his mom was the niece of Stork Club owner Sherman Billngsley). Jon Cryer was a pretty accomplished actor, writer director but it wasn’t til he was cast in 2 ½ men that he made it really big. Lucas Haas melted the hearts of movie goers as the little Amish boy in the move Witness, a good one. Bonus: I picked this question to give a little publicity to a woman who has never had a movie made about her. Her name was Harriet Quimby. She was born in Bear Lake Michigan and died in Massachusetts…in a plane crash shortly after her big channel feat. Quimby was a journalist who became the first woman to receive a pilots’ license. She became a screen writer and produced seven films all directed by DW Griffith. Oh yeah – the world didn’t hear much about Harriet’s crossing of the channel as that was the day that The Titanic went down! Double Bonus: The only man to pitch an opening Day no hitter was the incomparable Bob Feller. Good guy and one of the greats of my youth. He died it in 1940.

A large Tid is called a Tidtanic.