The Second Half Begins

Another miss from Stroock's Books on Sunday, what gives? We had a lot to do up at the Stroock Northern Strategic Direction, town dump haul, cleaning up, and generally squaring things away. When we got home we knew the surest way to fall asleep was to put a computer screen in front of our face. So we didn't.

Also, we had a second gout attack in a week. The right big toe again.  Which is a neat trick. We got it after an afternoon on the water, failing to properly hydrate, and a couple of burgers at the BBQ. We're 52 and feeling it. 

So passeth our birthday weekend, so passeth the first half of summer. We've seven weeks to go. 

Speaking of the Stroock Northern Strategic Direction, the house purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Mark E. Stroock in 1973...  Today is our grandmother's birthday. More than 22 years after her death, Hannah Marx Eisman's touch is all over that house. From the green coasters she knitted to the lily of the valley and tiger lilies she planted outside, to the Edwardian drawing room she conceived and furnished; one can feel her presence.  

Bla-bla Israel/Hamas negotiations, bla-bla Israel attacks Yemen. We remain bored with the whole thing [Idiot-Ed]. Yes, yes we are. [You weren't bored on October 7th, were you, Knobhead? -Ed] No, no we weren't. 

As we write this it seems Malcolm Jamal Warner has died at age 54. We always related to his Theo on The Cosby Show, even though he was black and better off than we. Theo was about our age. He was a high school screw up whose father wanted to ring his neck. We were a high school screw up whose father wanted to ring his neck. Race and class ain't had nuthin' to do with it. Do note, younger reader(s), Cosby was absolutely the biggest show on television and Mr. Cosby was The Boss. There is nothing equivalent to him today. Nothing. 

This week begins the final two front push. First, we want to wrap up our work on the 3/4ths of World War 1990: Thatcher's War we've written. That means it's time to stop worrying and read through the Battle of Derry [You mean Londonderry?-Ed]. Shut up, Ed. You're from Liverpool. And B, we want to wrap up the Battle of Los Banos and the first four chapters of World War 1990: The Managua Campaign. We're optimistic.