WWW.WEDNESDAY

 

 

WWW. WEDNESDAY asks three questions to prompt you to speak bookishly. To participate, and to see how other book lovers responded, click here. 

PS I no longer participate in WWW.WEDNESDAY via that link because her blog won't accept Blogger comments. I mention this only to save you the frustration I experienced trying to link up.

1. What are you currently reading? Pete Rose: An American Dilemma by Kostya Kennedy. Let me say it up front: I cannot stand Pete Rose and do not believe he belongs in The Hall of Fame. Part of my disgust comes from a sense of betrayal. I remember watching Pete Rose play and, even though I have always been a true blue Cub fan, I loved it when he came up to bat. He respected those 90 feet to first and always, always ran it out. That he turned out to be such a rampaging asshole is beyond disillusioning.

 

But it's time for me to get educated and evolve. All this talk about him being eligible for the Hall has made me face my own prejudice. While I have compassion for those addicted to drugs and alcohol, I'm dismissive of compulsive gamblers. Gotta work on that. Since baseball is a metaphor for life, I'm going to let baseball teach me.

 

Kostya Kennedy is a good writer and a good reporter. He shares Rose's story in an "it is what it is" manner. No moralizing, just straight-up story telling. So far I'm appreciating it.

2. What did you recently finish reading? Who Let the Dog Out? by David Rosenfelt. A very good mystery until it's not. A dog is kidnapped from the shelter run by Andy Carpenter and his partner, Willie Miller. Why would anyone steal a dog they could adopt? This enrages Willie and gets Andy's antenna up. They track the dog through a chip in her collar and find her quickly, along with a dead body.

This book has everything I like about the series. Andy Carpenter may not like being a defense attorney but he's an entertaining one and I enjoy reading about him before a jury. Especially because while he wants his client to be innocent, he's not 100% sure. Of course, for our system of justice to work, even the guilty deserve a zealous defense. Andy would just prefer his clients be innocent. An unrepentant smart ass, he cracks wise beautifully and often at inappropriate moments throughout the story. He loves baseball and is imparting this passion to his son.    

It's the ending of the book that I didn't like. Too violent, too complicated, and simply not credible. That's all I'll say as not to spoil it. Not that he has asked for my help, but I recommend Rosenfelt get acquainted with the old Columbo TV series. Those mysteries are brilliant little plays, and each episode feels fresh. Yet at their core, the murders are always about basic human motivations: greed and lust. Rosenfelt adds too many exotic, unfamiliar and unnecessary elements and my bullshit meter goes off.

3. What will you read next? A thriller: One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware.

 

 

 

How low can we go?

President Donald J. Trump addressed West Point graduates while wearing a MAGA hat. I suppose that's fitting, because he went on to slag Joe Biden and Barack Obama, even though our military is supposed to be apolitical. Continuing in this self-indulgent vein, he warned them against marrying "trophy wives," whined for the umpteenth time that he's been investigated more than the "great, late Alphonse Capone," and rhapsodized about golfer Gary Player. I don't know what he was trying to impart to these young people, except that he loves having eyes on him and thrives on being center of attention.

Disgusted yet? No? Then enjoy his Memorial Day message to the country, as posted on Truth Social. 

“HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY TO ALL, INCLUDING THE SCUM THAT SPENT THE LAST FOUR YEARS TRYING TO DESTROY OUR COUNTRY THROUGH WARPED RADICAL LEFT MINDS, WHO ALLOWED 21,000,000 MILLION PEOPLE TO ILLEGALLY ENTER OUR COUNTRY, MANY OF THEM BEING CRIMINALS AND THE MENTALLY INSANE,THROUGH AN OPEN BORDER THAT ONLY AN INCOMPETENT PRESIDENT WOULD APPROVE, AND THROUGH JUDGES WHO ARE ON A MISSION TO KEEP MURDERERS, DRUG DEALERS, RAPISTS, GANG MEMBERS, AND RELEASED PRISONERS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD, IN OUR COUNTRY SO THEY CAN ROB, MURDER, AND RAPE AGAIN — ALL PROTECTED BY THESE USA HATING JUDGES WHO SUFFER FROM AN IDEOLOGY THAT IS SICK, AND VERY DANGEROUS FOR OUR COUNTRY.“ 

Of course there's no mention of our nation's war dead, because, well, why would the Commander in Chief honor them on Memorial Day? It's so much more satisfying for him to focus on his grievances. (BTW, Eric? Don? If you can't take his phone away from him on holidays, at least tell Pop Pop to release the all caps.) 

Wait! There's more! Our President went on to repost a message that referred to Joe Biden as a "decrepit corpse." Think I'm kidding? Here it is: "They stole the 2020 election and hijacked the country using a decrepit corpse as a frontman, They used an autopen to start wars, steal from our treasury, and pardon their friends." Yes, Donald Trump just endorsed referring to a man diagnosed with metastatic cancer as a "decrepit corpse." Oh yeah, and as far as pardoning friends goes, our President just pardoned Todd and Julie Chrisley, reality TV stars convicted of tax evasion. 

All this makes Memorial Day weekend especially memorable, doesn't it?

I know there are loud-and-proud Christians who are happy this man represents the USA. My aunt/godmother is one of them. Her sanctimony and blind loyalty have literally torn our family apart. So far, I have stubbornly managed to maintain relations with her. But I don't know how much longer I can continue rising above the fray when no bottom has been established. I fear Donald Trump's base instincts will just drag us lower ... and lower ... and lower.

 

PS I limited myself to Memorial Day. I still can't get over January 6. Neither the original riot nor the pardons that followed. Or the way Trump has treated our allies. Or the wheeling and dealing his family does in plain sight. Or the recklessness and ugliness of DOGE and Elon's chainsaw. Or his slow and steady destruction of Madisonian Democracy. I'm afraid we're going to keep descending lower, and lower, and lower ... until it dawns on MAGA Nation that between the tariffs and the Big, Beautiful Bill, everything is going to cost them more. Sigh. Part of me just wants to say, "What the fuck!" and watch baseball.