Big Mac by the Dumpster Friday Round-Up

$83 million is not nothin’. That’s what Trump is supposed to pay E. Jean Carroll for defaming her minutes after getting found liable of defaming her in the first place. Defamation recidivism. The case will go on forever and Trump supporters, including women unfortunately, will continue to defend him and defame her, but still, $83 million is so so juicy. And the judge told jury members not to tell anyone they were on the jury. We all know what to make of that.

The fourth Friday of every month is my big grown-up day. It’s the day that I chair the Commission on Aging meeting. County Executive David Crowley gave opening remarks this morning, so I had to introduce him which meant rehearsing in my car the entire drive to the meeting, which, if you have to know, involved taking surface streets rather than the freeway so I’d have time for multiple run-throughs. You can be 10,000 years old and still get nervous about stuff. You know?

I finished Story #8 in my series about the U.P. of Michigan. It’s a story about a woman and a very high sand dune. I read it to my writing group on Tuesday. They were very kind which is a good thing and a bad thing. I worry that they are excessively kind and that they’re telling me I’m a great singer when I am completely out of tune so as to not hurt my feelings or discourage me in any way. I want to say, “If you were going to be meaner to me, what would you say?”

Exasperation can masquerade as patience. Faux patience is a sight to behold. It is so subtle, so slippery. I often try to show patience when I really want to throw pens and pencils at someone. That happened today at the meeting referenced above causing me to remember when I was in a meeting once where a doctor – a medical doctor – actually threw a pencil at a nurse who was going on too long about what should be in a grant proposal. They’re both dead now.

Yesterday, we ate Big Macs behind the pet supply store. This may have been the low point of the winter, eating our lunch looking at a dumpster. Plus, Big Macs can be really messy depending on who does the sauce. The fries were good though. Cold, but still good. You’re wondering why we didn’t find a better place to eat. Or a better thing to eat. I don’t have an answer for either question.