Today's Tids Issue 5,551
All that glitters:
There’s something about the islands off New England. I still remember a day in the 1940’s and stepping ashore in Nantucket for the first time. And the feeling I was in a place where whalers lived and toiled. And wives prayed they didn't become widows. And the Roses; the roses on roofs of cottages in Siasconset. And Block Island, the stark beauty barely touched by modernity, still held hostage by weather. Ye beautiful in its unassuming way. That was in the 60’s Sailing into new harbor, sleeping on the beach, waking ot a tussle between a crab and a seagull yanking apart a breakfast fish morsal. I remember being disappointed by Martha's Vinyard, but I did find beaches off the beaten path. And then there is the wonderful sounding island Cuttyhunk, one of the 20 Elizabeth islands that set the boundaries of Buzzards Bay. Toss an anchor there and wait for a couple of kids to push their skiff next to youth with chowder for sale, Of course I live on Aquidneck Island where you can still find natural beauty sanctuaries of long ago barely touched by humans. There are the Plums off Newburyport and the magic of coastal Maine Islands. Islands have been special to me and I often drift way to one of them to dream of quieter yesterdays.
People who know a lot more about are world than weather forecasters are becoming seriously concerned about the nuclear developments in Iran and their association with North Korea. All with the imprimatur of Putin. And of course, Putin loving the prospects of them supporting his aggression ambitions. There are no islands when a nuclear threat arises.
The current Russian charm offensive could be called Putin on the Glitz.
The Question:
Name the ten wealthiest people in the USA
The Headlines:
--Stocks Slipping as Nvidia Magic Thins; Microsoft retakes First Place as Most Valued V Company.
--Barcelona to Make City Airbnb Free Zone; Says Vacation Rentals are Killing availability of homes for People.
--Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft and Meta expected to spend Combined $200 Billion on Cloud and AI Investments.
--SC Upholds gun Ban for Domestic Abusers.
--75 Muslim Hajj Pilgrims Die from High Heat, So far.
Before the duel, Department:
I was just reviewing the latest RCP Averages on the race. Head to head, it is Trump 46%, Biden 45.5 %. Throw in the three minor candidates and it is Trump 41.9%, Biden 40.6%. It is close. Trump has a lead in the battleground states polls – 47.9 -45.6. So, it is very even right now. I'm guessing the debates won’t move the needle much.
I always seemed to enjoy movies that starred Donald Sutherland. Maybe he knew how to pick good plots. Or more likely he made bad plots work. For some reason, I remember him most in The Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Must be my depraved mind. It seems to me we are losing a lot of the good people lately.
How many more cities are pondering following Barcelona's decision to eliminate Airbnb for the simple reason that it sucks up too many reasonable priced homes for basically business ventures. I know around here in the Touristville, feelings are running the same,
Sometimes when you pick tourism as your economic base, you sell your soul to the devil. Ask those once placid Islands about torrents of ferry landings and no place to live for locals.
I remember once I was out on Block with a good friend, and while we were enjoying a beer at a local watering hole, we spoke to a young couple who were spending a vacation there. My friend asked, so how do you two like Block Island, “Oh it is nice they said, but it would be great with an amusement park. No, it was nice because it didn't have an amusement park
While hiking in the woods, Nate and Sam found this huge rock which had an old iron lever attached to it. Etched into the rock was the following inscription: "If this lever is pulled, the world will come to an end!" Nate wanted to pull the lever and see what would happen, but Sam, being a paranoid pessimist, greatly feared this! He said to Nate that if he tried to pull the lever, he'd shoot him! In a daring attempt, Nate lunged for the lever, and sure enough, Sam shot him! What is the moral of this story? Better Nate than lever!
132 boats just set sail for Bermuda. It is a big deal here with people lining the shores and horns a blowing at sea to send them off. Enduring that hard race was one of those dreams I never got to.
Over a million people showed up to salute the Celtics today in the big Duck Boat parade. It was one of those wonderful chilling moments. But if you are not a Celtics fan it is just a big nuisance traffic jam. Isn’t it interesting how the same thing can have such diametric views. But that's America.
No question, I feel much healthier in cold weather.
Too many people working for businesses seem to find customers annoying. And go out of their way to make the people with the wallets free ill at ease.
The Answer:
Number one is Jeff Bezos. He is followed by, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page, Bill Gates, Larry Ellison, Steve Ballmer, Sergey Brin, Warren Buffett and Michael Dell. Another measurement adds Michael Bloomberg to the top ten and reorders 123 to Musk, Bezos and Ellison. The second ten has a lot of Waltons and a few Kochs plus a couple from the Mars family and Phil Knight.
This is the song I was humming earlier this week Bittersweet Symphony... If you listen to the music, it is one song. If you read the lyrics, it is entirely another song.
Happy Weekend, E-v-e-r-y-b-o-d-y!!
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