Five from the Orphans’ Closet
Five more unconnected pieces...
One....Not to sound like I’m taking sides, because I think Israel is doing a lousy job of making peace over there, but who’s right isn’t the issue here. I don’t watch much television, and very little news, but lately, what with all of the Supremes marking their territory from Tallahassee to D.C., I’ve switched on the headlines every so often to catch the latest score. And lately, the Middle Eastern sands are again soaking up blood. What is most distressing about the conflicts are the scenes of the Palestinian children — some toddlers, some teens — who accompany their fathers for a day of stoning uniformed men with rifles. Regardless of the justice of their position, no matter that Allah is smiling beatifically that day, it’s just not good child care. Indeed, and this doesn’t justify their being shot for their parenting failures, it seems remarkably primitive behavior, and one wonders why no one on their side has suggested that they send their children to school instead.
Two....A recent flying article stressing the importance of a pilot checking the weather wondered if it wasn’t probably easier to teach meteorologists to fly than teach pilots to understand the weather. The fact is that in order to get your license, you need to pass an FAA exam that is full of weather questions to answer. The problem, as I see it, is that meteorologists don’t seem to know much more about forecasting than the rest of us, pilots included. They may be able to say there’s this likelihood of this, or that, and that’s why this happened, but as far as being able to tell me what’s coming tomorrow — or even this evening in many cases — their guesses are as good or as bad as mine. Now I’m supposed to be going up for three days of instrument flight lessons this week, so I’m keeping an eye on the forecast, and at the moment, the Yahoo weather prognosticators says rain on Monday and Tuesday, while the AOL cornpuckers are calling for inclemency to hold off until the end of the week.
Three....Since we don’t often go to the movin’ pictures, it’s rare that something will pop up on the satellite service that will catch our attention because we are familiar with the title. Which means that we push a coupla buttons and are delivered information on the type of film, the stars, and a short line to suggest the plot. They were likely written by people who once had futile dreams of one day penning for Hallmark. But what is clear is that sometimes the author hasn’t even seen the picture he is describing, and is just working from the press kit. One clue is when you read a line that ends with "and hijinks ensue." Only shut-ins will opt for this picture.
Four....Speaking of bad television, ya gotta think David Boies’ mother probably taught her son better. Like how you should cover your mouth when you yawn. The lawyer for The Wooden One was traipsing through the Florida court system and was no doubt a very tired boy when the photographer caught him with his mouth agape in extremis. The picture made front pages and newcasts all across the country, and probably dropped Gore’s support numbers by five points. And it called to mind the on-point observation by Rebecca West a number of years ago, when the British writer said, "There is no wider gulf in the universe than yawns between those on the hither and thither side of vital experience."
Five....I met a man from Kazakhstan...no, not I, but Reuters reports that a Kazakh man who was said to have been electrocuted while trying to steal power cables, and was subsequently interred -- shallowly, apparently -- regained consciousness two days later and rose "naked from the ground." Word is he had trouble flagging down a ride home.
And that’s SetonnoteS...I’m Tony Seton.