Ah, Gee – I haven’t even begun…here’s another installment, however be aware (or beware), gentle readers, this is merely the core story – there’s the REAL story that wraps around the story that is – even as we speak – in outline form with more taking shape in moi’s tete every day. So at some point (after I straighten up the upstairs in preparation for Erik & Tiffany & Sadie’s visit in a few weeks) and do my taxes (ouch…), I will finalize the the outer core story’s outline, put IT on the Writing link, and then we shall be off to the races. Given my style and speed of writing, we should all be retired by the time it’s done. But hey – who cares? Do I do this for fame & glory? Given the likelihood of that, probably not – I just love a great story, and great stories are REEAALLYY hard to come by these days. Concur? Thought so…

Check it out…later!

TWO, yes two, Virginia, more chapters have been added, a real bonus for you, my loyal readers, whoever you may be. Enjoy…

Oh, by the way – when this part is done, I’ll share with you the REAL story that wraps around this story – oh no, you say, oh no! How could it get any better? Just waitttttt…….

S

I’ve added the next chapter to the outline for the book. Anybody out there? Shame to be sharing this Pulitzer-prize winning book for fiction with the world, and not a peep from any ofs ya…come on in – the water’s fine! (BTW – here’s a pic from 1918 to give you a sense of how they tried to deal with the flu then…)

Later…

We’re up thru Chapter IV (of a total of X) and the old plot begins to thicken. Is all lost in despair? Will the world recover? Is this all there is to this book? Wait & See – keep reading and talk to me, eh?

More tomorrow…

Added another Chapter to the saga, which is still building the background – but wait for the next chapter where it begins to be interesting. I’ll also tell you that this is going to be Charlie Kaufmann-esque. What does that mean? Well, if you’re a fan of that lunatic screenwriter Charlie Kaufmann (one ‘n’ or two? Have to check), you’ll know what I mean. Think…Adaptation! More tomorrow…

Hey, Ya’ll –

Yes, Virginia, I am writing a book about the flu. Well, not exactly about the flu – yes, that figures into it, but … too soon to talk about it. I’m posting the outline – section by section – on a daily basis. Check out the “Writing” tab to see what’s up thus far. Then – talk to me!

Later…

Thus far, I think I’ve demonstrated great restraint in not commenting on the debate performance of the Republican candidates. When the Dems were going thru the same thing four years ago, there were some interesting characters saying interesting things too. You just have to wait for the pack to thin, and then comment on what the genuine candidates say and do. So it would appear we’re down to the “Final Four”. In alpha order, that would be Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum.

What do these four candidates have in common? Let’s start with the mundane (and we might end up with the ridiculous!) First, all have 1 syllable names. Gee, the Dems had at least two syllables (Bar/Ack); or three (Hil/La/Ry)…the one syllablers (Joe/Bill) came out before the final rounds. Successful Republicans with one syllable names: Dick (?)…nah – he was on his way to getting impeached and quit before he could be convicted; oh, OK technically his name was Richard, but we all knew and loved him as… ah..Dick – tricky Dick. George (?) The current pack don’t even mention his name. No, the successful ones had at least two syllable names (Ron/Ald) Reagan. Then there was the finest Republican of all – Ab/Ra/Ham – three syllables!

So there you have it: the hidden code for successful Republican candidates. Whatever happened to really great Republicans? Why can’t we have someone like Dick Cheney? Ohh..no, only one syllable and another … Dick …
Ulysses S. Grant? Ohh..no, great general but lousy president – administration full of graft & corruption…Dwight Eisenhower? He was a pretty good president, but he let Tailgunner Joe McCarthy go off the leash for waayyy too long…OK – I pretty much give up. Hasn’t been a really good Republican president since Reagan, who went balmy after he got shot, poor sod..which reminds me: Nancy Reagan ran the country with her astrologer for the better part of four years – can we bring her back? At least there are two syllables in her name!

All for now

I have sold three of Emily’s stocks in the past ten days, as they met her criteria for sale. Which criteria is that, you ask? Why, the value of the stock increased by 50%. So I take this as an indication that things are, in fact, looking up for the stock market, which – as we all know – is a forward indicator of improvements in the economy. These days, improvement in the economy has to mean world, not just US. Everything affects everything any more, so either it’s a lull before the next storm or – in fact – things are looking up. Being the eternal optimist, I prefer the latter interpretation.

Now, of course, the challenge is to find new, quality investments in which to put her hard-earned, hard-saved money for college. She has to file a tax return this year because we moved some money from her mutual fund account to the e-trade account. Imagine, an 8 year old having to file a tax return…

Tomorrow is my birthday, Sunday, January 15th, 2012. I will be 62 years old tomorrow – old enough to retire (if I want to live penuriously for the remainder of my 38 years – hey, it could happen that I live to be 100!)

But all of that is backdrop to today’s topic – Erik is leaving Afghanistan tomorrow – never to be deployed to the middle east or anywhere else – again. As I am, in fact, superstitious about ‘counting my chickens before they hatch’, I write this with fear & trepidation, but feel compelled to say it on the eve of his return: Thank God. Wow, you say, superstitious and religious. OK, get all that out of your system and let’s move on, because that isn’t the point either.

When your only son is deployed in the armpit of the world, on the front lines, getting blasted on a daily basis, and he lives to leave it – you Thank God. He has had scores of people praying for his safe return, because I have foisted my story on everyone I know, meet or in any way come into contact with. As such, scores of prayers have been answered with his safe return. Now, you say, he isn’t coming home until tomorrow – nothing is certain until it’s done – thanks for reminding me. But indulge me while I whisper a repeated mantra: Thanks to God he is safe, whole and coming home.

A thousand years ago, I asked three things of the government, on the eve of his departure: here they were:

1) Give him meaningful work to do (nobody likes to think of themselves as cord wood in a life & death situation)
2) Give him protective gear to at least give him a fighting chance to survive; and
3) Oh, damn – I forgot the third one! What do you expect from a 62 year old?

Back to the point, from which I keep drifting: Erik is coming home to a woman he loves, and who loves him, two daughters that also fit into that classification and an army that – at last! – will compensate him for everything he’s endured since January 2008. At last, we can inhale, exhale, and somewhere in between – not have to pray for his safe return from that miserable place.

Amen.

The outlook has changed a lot in the past two weeks. Rick Perry is toast, and the market is up. Europe is out of denial and Rajaratnam got 11 years for corrupting fellow southeast Asians in furtherance of outrageous insider trading. The updated jobs data for July and August is better. I’m starting to get the sense that the economy is on an upswing. Dividend-paying stocks are becoming in vogue since we’re still seeing market swings. I expect to see little shoots of life everywhere in the economy, despite the Republicans in Congress and their attempts to kill the economy to prevent OB1’s re-election. Well, like many other things, that is clearly going to backfire. Isn’t it interesting how a post about the economy can morph into one on politics? Remember Che…the art of the possible…hard to control the possible…

BTW: I wrote this post on my I-phone using the WordPress app John told me about – so when inspiration strikes, I don’t have to wait to get to my PC to bloviate – aren’t you glad?