Role model.

Today's Tids Issue 4,449

Smiling Down:

How many words rhyme with hump?

It is that day you know, to jump,

To finish a week in triumph!

Even though laboring in a slump,

That hope can generate a bump

Get yourself up and off that rump

Earnestly begin a workload dump.

Relax, turn down the politico stump

Forget rants of good old what’s his name.

There are a few new people the Tidsville population. I should have used this midweek awakening to get off to a better start. Yikes!

A lot of average local stories become national news today simply because there is video.

I doubt if any local dining scene will be able to accommodate all of those graduating chefs who want to start their own restaurants.

On a similar note, eaters just can’t buy everything that is now offered in the trending “Don’t turn on the stove” era of domestic living. The formerly lovable “Blue Apron” is rapidly losing its customer base.

Couch potatoes, Russet or otherwise, are firm believers in fitness protection programs.

I just have this feeling that as crunch time for this super economy nears, the first to go under will be all of those people who overpaid for investment properties in tourist towns.

BTW, there have been the usual accusations and calls for change following the recent mass murders. But one is left out as usual is the breakdown of the family units.

The Question:

What was BJ Thomas’s greatest hit song? Bonus: Name The Top Ten Universities for student marijuana smoking. (As reported by the extensive Princeton Review Survey of 140K students.

The Headlines:

--After Strong Tuesday Rally, Stocks Open Nearly 300 Points Down.

--Trump On The Way To Dayton And El Paso.

--Tariffs Cause US Businesses $6 Billion In Losses Since June; Britain Pound Sinking As EU War Escalates Again.

--3 Asia/Pacific Central banks Cut Rates In New Surprise – New Zealand, India And Thailand.

--Peter Strzok Suing The FBI For Firing.

--India Actions In Kashmir Could Ignite New War With Pakistan.

I remember fondly burning leaves on a autumn evening, the glowing embers reflecting up though a crystal clear martini. But, alas, a great human pastime has been banned for several decades now. So, I now see firepits in yards all over town and it’s called trendy. Maybe if we all roasted marshmallows over the burning leaves, the sensible way to get rid of dead foliage would still be with us.

As you age, don’t ever let anybody call you a placebo – a harmless pill.

Thera have been a lot of horrendous peoples who have ravaged this earth; Attila the Hun and Al Qaida to name a couple. But for me there has no been no worse group of heartless murderers than the girls and boys of the Charles Manson gang.

Do you realize that the PGA tour is entering its final three big Tournaments? The First event in the FedEx playoff begins tomorrow. This is the result of the new League schedule which now has all of the majors played earlier so the big money playoff can begin and end before the eyes of American sports lovers turn to the NFL. Not baseball?

There’s Red Sox/Ya, Ya, Ya’s, USA/Russia, and LA/San Fran, but according to industry watchers, the biggest battle of all that is looming will be Disney versus Netflix. I wonder if Jeff Bezos knows this.

Red Sox GM Dombrowski inherited a lot of very good ballplayers, and overpaid for some big-name pitchers who have lost their touch, but not the promise of big money to come for a few more years. He could eb gone if the Six don’t awaken. He could be gone anyway after the accountants report to John Henry.

And the aromas. Nothing has replaced the wafting scent of burning leaves.

Thanks to Shoe and Grim for some comic relief ideas.

The Answer:

BJ Thomas is best remembered for “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head”. He also did pretty well with, If You Ever Leave Me, Everybody’s Talking, and I’m So Lonesome I could Cry. But, it’s Raindrops that keeps his memory moist. Bonus: The University of Vermont is number one among USA college Marijuana smokers. Next is Pitzer in Cal followed by the U of Rhode Island, Wesleyan, Skidmore, Reed, Maine, Bard and Marlboro College In Vermont. The next ten are Warren Wilson (NC), Sarah Lawrence, SUNY Purchase, Champlain (Vt), Colorado College, U Colorado, Ithaca, U Wisconsin, Syracuse and Hamilton (NY). Come to the Northeast for a mind vacation.

I’m off to a funeral this morning. The man was good friend, a great contributor to humanity. A war hero. Yet when you are with I him, he is just a guy you like. A guy who never reveals his accomplishments. He fought the battle against the insidious disease that finally got him. But like everything else he did, being a friend was more important than exhibiting his discomfort. He is the kind of person would like to be.

See you tomorrow.