Play On!

What could be more delightful than a literary/film masterpiece in surroundings that are themselves an impressive work of art? On Friday, Aug. 26, my b.w. and I, among some dozen others, were invited by Gene Hawkins to visit his home on Lake Maitland to see and hear an historic DVD of the 25th anniversary of the great Broadway show “Les Misérables.” Gene and his wife, late U.S. Sen. Paula Hawkins, built their Spanish-style house, which incorporates scads of notable architectural features. Enjoying “Les Miz” in the gracious setting of such a home theater combined two arts as an unforgettable experience.

She is

When you meet my b.w., you would not think that she is an excellent housekeeper — but she is.

When you meet her, you would not think she is an excellent cook — but she is.

You would not think she is a whiz on a French horn — but she is.

You would not think she is a good pianist too — but she is.

You would not think she is stupid enough to marry a tenor — but she is. (Such is the fortunate contradictory nature of the human animal.)

China grows

Most of us have thought of China as a sprawling mass of people who just manage to keep body and soul together. The Chinese used to export to the U.S. the cheap little toys that we kids saw in abundance at Christmastime. Napoleon said, “China is a sleeping giant …. When she wakes, she will shake the world.” Now an awakened China’s business is growing at nearly 10 percent. In past decades we have witnessed the exportation of our own once supreme means of production to China and other countries. And now our business is growing at less than 1 percent. Lefties who voted for Obama can now take a bow — not that we weren’t spending too much before, and setting ourselves up for a K.O. — but Obama has multiplied our debt many times over and is still busy in his destructive ways.

Federal hanky-panky

Our economic situation is befuddled and beclouded — and Obama’s pledge to give us the most transparent government since our nation was founded has brought no clarifying enlightenment. The secret hanky-panky of Obama and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke as to inflation may be a national wallop when fully revealed.

Those who live, in part at least, on fixed incomes may be a bit queasy at seeing the results of Obama’s hand on the controls of the great Washington “Benevolence from which all blessings flow.” Just stop and think of the fact that from this land of 300 million souls, we plucked out Obama and placed him in the Oval Office. We chose a man of practically no business experience who clearly does not believe in the free-enterprise system and seems to be doing all he can to bring the U.S. down to the level of a third world country.

Own wisdom

Pleasing everybody has never been my penchant — I am not one to reach out farther than my arms will go. Emerson recommended, “Know thyself — to thine own self be true.” Voting in a democracy, we have the chance to judge the wisdom of others, hoping that our own wisdom either equals or surpasses theirs. Changing others to suit ourselves is often disguised voluptuously, before common sense mercifully takes over and clears our heads.