Morning all:

“Ninety-eight percent of the adults in this country are decent, hard-working, honest Americans. It’s the other lousy 2% that get all the publicity. But then—we elected them.” — Lily Tomlin

I woke from the sweetest of dreams. The dream acknowledged that over the past months the American public had received the pummeling of their collective lives—in the form of non-stop advertising from the politicos. Backed by a halo of light and standing on stairs of white marble stood incoming Pelosi and outgoing Hastert to deliver a joint announcement—the government changeover would begin by taking a year-long hiatus.

I best sip some coffee to clear my foggy brain. And, it won’t be Starbucks either—I am seriously studying whether or not I should be staying out of their establishments for a while: click here for the reason.

Shortly I’ll celebrate Veterans Day by going to our downtown Public Library. Following a performance by the Sheriff’s Bagpipe and Drum Corps and a choir it is the guest speaker who I want to hear. The speaker, Dr. John Dolibois, is the last surviving Army interrogator from the Nuremberg war crimes trials. Dolibois, a Luxembourg native, was recruited because of his German fluency to conduct pre-trial interviews with the likes of Nazi leaders such as Herman Goering and Julius Streicher. He should provide some fascinating insights into that era.

Whatever you do today, do remember our veterans. Personally I will remember the service my brother George gave in the Seventies; and whose military career keeps growing incrementally year after year as he regales us with ongoing stories from his days of yore in Vietnam. I believe I heard George’s mellifluous voice describe another of his amazing wartime escapades to some young guests at our family party only a few weeks ago.

Last night several of us went to a wine tasting at one of the better wine stores in the city—the Wine Merchant. As streams of very “yupified” tight-jean squeezed single women entered the store it crossed my mind that possibly our little “geezer” group had made a mistake and had ended up at a nearby meat-market instead. The cheeses were great, the company excellent, the views more than passable, and the wines were definitely so-so.

Never daunted by an occasional failure, I am glad that this coming week is Beaujolais Nouveau week! This year’s Beaujolais will arrive on Thursday, November 16th (always the Thursday before Thanksgiving), so maybe we’ll give tasting another try.

Make it a great week everyone; don’t start decorating the Christmas tree too early.

Cheers,
Dirk