Friday

Waking up at six-thirty, I was surprised by how dark it was. Has there been a time-change, that hour thing, fall back or spring forward? Then I remembered that big hurricane on the east coast. The last big one they had some weeks ago seemed to bring some big rains our way, but this was probably a misconception: Florida is too far away (three bus transfers). The last time must have been a coincidence. I was thinking about keeping Ash and Sammy in, but the forecast isn't bad, and so I let them go. However, there is a 40% chance of storms this afternoon. I don't know. Maybe Florida isn't that far away. ... ... Oh, look, I made the news: 'One out of 6 prime-working-age adult males in the United States is not temporarily unemployed, or "between jobs," or "looking for work." No, a huge cohort of men in America is now neither employed nor looking for work. They are just skating by on a combination of girlfriends, wives, mothers and government benefits. Their status, argues Nicholas Eberstadt in "Men Without Work," is a "quiet catastrophe."' [RealClearPolitics] {"Let me see! Aww, it doesn't have your picture here."} They don't want to lose readership. {"It says that you guys spend on average five-and-a-half hours a day on TV-watching. You aren't that bad, are you, Monk?"] Very funny. Though, I suppose I might come in at about three hours these days. As you know, I spend more time in a book. And you will notice that they don't give any statistics for that. I don't get paid for my time, but it's not like I am frittering away my days watching soap operas and reading John Grisham and Stephen King. {"But what is society getting for all your serious study?"} They can always read my blogs. ... ... We have been getting some rain this afternoon, nothing stormy, but I have the cats in the house, Ash and Sammy. Life should be a little easier, right?, in taking care of the cats, having two instead of three cats. But it is easier in some ways and harder in others. I have to keep telling myself that Coco is not suffering any pangs or pains for not getting to enjoy the autumn, that she is of the past and gone. Yet, I feel the pangs for her. She was still young, and with a little more luck, she should still be taking in the little joys of life. ... ... Well, it looks like we really do have a cold front blowing in through town. I thought it was a little early for that, but seeing & feeling s believing. To be sure, it's only a modest cold front. The highs will still reach into the lower-middle eighties. For now, though, this evening, even Ash is spooked and has opted to come back inside, with all that gusty breezing and the wind chimes singing and the noticeable drop in temperature. Sammy, on the other hand, is more willing to take his chances. And, yes, I wonder what Coco what have done. Would she have followed Ash's lead and come inside for a while, or would she have favored Sammy's spirit and remain outside and take in the bracing air? ... ... There is this sense that Trump's campaign is imploding. A new tape leaked from 2005 that has Trump talking about how, among other things, he just liked to grab women by the pussy. He was saying that a star can get away with anything. People are talking about how Trump could have gone this far in the campaign, and Ross Douthat says, "He thought he'd get 20 percent of the vote in early primaries, make a statement, get a convention speaking gig, get respect. He had no idea that the morons would let him win." However, it's not really clear how this plays out. How will this look on Monday morning? He made some squicky comments ten years ago. It's not clearly the worst thing he has said or done.