Povey Prattle

I am reading “Brothers” by George Howe Colt (Scribner 2012). Colt (who lives in Western Massachusetts) is also the author of “The Big House”, and of “November of the Soul: The Enigma of Suicide”. He grew up in Dedham, MA, then Darien CT, then back in Dedham with his parents and with his three brothers, Harry, Ned and Mark. Colt weaves an affectionate and honest tale of life in a family of four sons (and no daughters) with wondrous, sad, and lovely stories of famous brothers. There were the Booths , especially Edwin Booth and John Wilkes Booth. Both were famed Shakespearean actors in the 19 th Century.  John Wilkes Booth is remembered not for his acting skills, but because he was the assassin of President Abraham Lincoln. Thus John Wilkes Booth’s name is remembered more than his brother’s . How about the Kellogg brothers?  They were Dr. John Kellogg, health food fanatic and founder of a sanatorium in Battle Creek MI, and his younger brother Will (W.K....

We , that is the Povey family of 47 Devon Rd, Whitehall, Bristol, BS59AY, had a rabbit made of foam rubber, with a malleable wire skeleton by which he could be twisted into all manner of shapes and poses. It had been a Christmas gift. Of course its name was “Harvey”.  Only an older generation will understand why my Dad chose this moniker.  Harvey brought us great pleasure. We also had a living rabbit whose name was “Snowy” or “Fluffy”.  The poor little beast lived in a “hutch” in our back garden. Not one of we Poveys was singularly dedicated to Snowy’s welfare.  I remember cleaning out the hutch, removing the turds and wet straw, inserting fresh straw (or was it sawdust) as this real live pet rabbit shivered in the winter cold - doing so with great self  righteousness ! We also had a Tortoise. One Sunday after Church my pals Jeff, Eric,  and Richard were visiting.  We were in the “middle room” of 47 Devon Rd.  I was wearin...

So ---- today my Peruvian  friend German got a new job with the most famous of American Pay-Day Loan Companies. The Company will train him (with pay) next week in TPA, and pay for his hotel room as he is trained.  Then he will be assigned to a local office within 25 miles of SRQ with pay at $14 per hours (not bad these days). After 90 days he will be eligible for health insurance benefits. As much as I dislike the Pay-Day Loan Companies, I am glad that German has landed on his feet. Ethical consistency is not easy. Therefore it is  impossible to reconcile my dislike of   Pay-Day Loan Companies with my joy that German has landed a job. I have to live in the balance between my dislike of some enterprises and my concern and care for German. 

German Antonio Rodriguez will be my house guest for the next few days. Herman (that’s more or less how you pronounce his first name) hails from Peru. I first met him about six years ago when he was the dogsbody at a local convenience store/gas station here in SRQ. Never was a man more dedicated to a very lowly job. We became good pals and I have followed his progress, first as he moved to Maryland (where my Brasilian friend Ronaldo Amado and I  visited him);  and then as he became a United States citizen, and washed up in Los Angeles. It’s been very hard for German (who has a College degree) to find work.  First he had a well paying but exhausting job with a Logistics company in CA, a company that did not treat him well. Then he was with an insurance company for a while making “cold calls”.  His supervisors gave him enough leads for two days worth of work each week at one of those minimum salary plus commission jobs. German was not making enough to p...

1.    Am I the only person who still writes ‘phone and photo’?  Surely not. 2.    Summer has not rushed into SRQ this year.  We are enjoying balmy days with gentle breezes and temps reaching 75f (23c).  Nights have gotten down to about 62f (16c.).    'Tis terrific. 3.    A lonely (and a bit skinny) red fox is still roaming our neighbourhood. She/he is a beautiful beast.  But I do not allow junior cat Adelaide to go out at night, “just in case”. 4.    As well as the fox, a neighbour reports that she has seen a coyote in the neighbourhood. This is another good reason to keep Adelaide housebound.   Coyotes have become urbanised.  About 10 years ago a Cambridge MA parishioner, (the wonderful Sarah F.) had her treasured little dog killed by coyotes in her semi-suburban neighbourhood in Lexington, MA. 5.    The irascible “Judge Judy”,  ( she is a T.V. show personality in ...

Thanks to Patricia C..A. for the tip off on this article. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Gun Violence Since Newtown   May 3, 2013 by   John Light   and   Lauren Feeney ( From Moyers and Company Website.) Take a look at gun deaths, school shootings, public opinion and the Senate vote on gun control in the wake of the massacre at   Sandy Hook Elementary School   in Newtown, CT, that killed 26 people, including 20 children. The Victims Number of people killed by guns in the first 98 days post-Newtown:   2,244 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total gun homicides in 2011 (the latest year for which there are FBI records) :   8,583 Total gun deaths , including homicide, suicide and accidental death in 2010 (the latest year for which there are CDC records ):   31,300 ...