Dec 2, 2015

Dear Hildie:

I’m listening now to the Libera Irish carolers. I wish the hell I were in Armagh right now. Ireland is such a wonderful place, when Irishmen aren’t killing one another, which they seem to do with great gusto when it happens.  Of course, it’s fine to be right here, but I only want at this point to curl up in my chair with a novel and some history books and enjoy the fire, though it isn’t quite that cold yet, and may never be again with global warming (though that may have a cold-winter effect here, I understand). If t were up to me, the whole world would have only one season–Halloween to New Years.

Boy, talk about bad advertising—I was passing Zippy’s Mexican food on Perkins  yesterday at lunch time and among the many cars, there was the coroner’s van. They should, for the sake of their business, ask these folks to park out of sight!

I read some reviews of the Ted Koppel book predicting Armageddon. The NY Times review was pretty tepid, but I can’t really fault the basic premise: Surely it will happen here, sooner or later. And when it does, what then? The terrorists will do it to get us to intervene massively in the tar baby of the Middle East, which would be a terrible mistake, as the president realizes. But American popular opinion, being Neanderthal, will insist, whoever the president is, and then after a few years or decades, will have second thoughts, but by then…?

I have an appointment to visit my sick friend at 10:00 this morning. Did anybody ever have such a scripted plan for dying? Hey, he’s my beloved friend, and I think he’d laugh at that. In fact, last time I told him it was hard to get an audience and he laughed.

Take care, you old thing.

Love,

M