Eating with respect

One day this week I had lunch in an upscale steak house restaurant in North Charleston with another person. A police officer of commissioned rank came in alone and sat down at a table near ours. He was in full police uniform, complete with gun, cuffs, radio, etc. and his commissioned rank on his collar. He had a salad, a beverage and an entree. A couple of members of the restaurant's managerial staff came to his table and spoke with him while he was eating. When he finished he got up and left. He was not given a check, he did not pay and so far as I know did not leave a tip for the waitress who served him.

Several weeks ago I was in a submarine sandwich shop for a bite and looking out the window while eating saw a policeman get out of his cruiser, come in the shop, order a sandwich, chips and a soft drink, PAY FOR IT, and then go back to his cruiser.

Which police officer do you believe I respect the most?

On being alone, temporarily

Around my house I make the coffee in the morning; that is I plug in the pot which my wife usually sets up the night before. This didn’t work on Tuesday because my wife went to hospital on Monday night (she’s doing better, thank you). I managed to find some coffee in a large blue can and made a pot that would warm a submariner’s heart. These past few days have been an eye-opener for me into what has to happen around this house to make it worth living here.

Take clean clothes for example. I looked high and low for the dark grey metal wash pot and scrub board and could not find them. I recall my grandmother and my mother had a set at one time. At the hospital I asked my wife where she kept these and she told me we did not use them because “We have a washing machine.” “How long have we had this?” I asked.

“About fifty-two years. Do you remember when we were on our honeymoon and after about two weeks you let me out of bed one day? Well, I went and bought my first washing machine that afternoon.”

This is pretty good piece of equipment. You have only to put the clothes in and close the door. Some powered soap goes in a small slot behind a little door and you pull the lever and it works automatically. There are no rollers nor wringer to turn. To top it off when the machine finishes you can take out the wet clothes and put them in another machine and it dries them.

Eating has been less of a problem, but also a learning experience. We often eat out in the evening at the cafeteria or one of the restaurants; (we tend to favor steak houses.) I am confident that in a reasonable amount of time my wife is going to be OK so I wanted to avoid the widows with casseroles circling the neighborhood. I went to the cafeteria for lunch one day was pleased to find them open for business. The food in mid-day is better than at night. I had a large, delicious baked salmon and some veggies. Being alone without an eating-habits critic on hand, I also knocked off a dessert; a delicious lemon meringue pie, fresh out of the refrigerator.

All in all it has been a pretty good week, my wife being in hospital notwithstanding. I can make coffee, do the laundry and find a meal in mid-day. I believe this is enough of domesticity for a man my age so this week I intend to concentrate on letting my fingers do the walking thought the yellow pages until I find Maids-Are-Us. Somebody has to do the dusting.

The family business

When the subject "a family business" comes up in polite conversation we ought not to overlook that concept in Congress. Representative John Dingell, D-Michigan, 80-years old, has been in Congress since 1955 when he succeeded his father (also John Dingell) who had served from 1933. Mr. Dingell will likely re-assume his old chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce Committee (he was the chair from 1981-1994), in the next congress.

In related notes, Massachusetts (my birth state) holds a unique place in the House of Representatives. Among states with more than two Representatives only Massachusetts has a solid Democratic membership, 10 seats, and each incumbent was re-elected this week. (The state also has two Democratic Senators.) California has the most seats in the House, 53, with 34 Democrats and 19 Republicans; the Dems picked up one seat in the election. South Carolina has two Democrats and four Republicans, unchanged from the current term.

The American People Have Spoken

DATE: November 8, 2006

MEMO TO: New Democrat Leaders in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives; Democrat Governors in the majority of the States; Democrat Legislatures in the majority of the States, and all other Democrat office holders.

You have a fresh opportunity to govern. Don't f**k it up!

/s/Francis X. Archibald

A joke and no joke

During the final days of World War II, two Germans are in a bomb shelter and it is shortly before noontime. They have been there since mid-evening of the previous night as first British bombers and now American bombers pulverize Germany. One asks, “What will you do after the war?” The other answers, “I will go on holiday and walk around Greater Germany.” “And what will you do in the afternoon?”


In Latvia, the parliament has decided to postpone until March 1, 2007, releasing the names of Latvians who were collaborators (read: spies, informers, tattle-tales, and neighborhood snoops) with the KGB during the 51 years of Soviet occupation (1940-1991). The list, estimated to contain approximately 4,500 names, was to be made public on November 1 and published in the official government newspaper. Husbands, wives, children, extended families, neighbors, bosses, workers, lovers, teammates, drinking buddies, etc. are all waiting to see who was ratting on whom. Critics say the KGB in 1990 sent to Moscow the most sensitive parts of the archive and the complete list with the most important names will never be revealed. Some collaborators have left Latvia; some probably are hoping their files were among those sent to Moscow. Anyone on the list will not be eligible to vote nor hold public office. When similar lists were unveiled in Germany several years ago, it was reported there was much heartbreak, anguish, fear and anger. Some relationships were forever broken.