Finally got the car transfer accomplished. Met big J. and little J. at the DMV in Manahawkin and it was done by 4:00. The employees there were extraordinarily helpful and friendly--all of them! Geez, we didn't know how to act, it was so far from the usual.
We went to dinner to celebrate--I'm always glad to spend more time with them--and, virtuous me, I got a Caesar salad AND took about two-thirds of it home. It was early when we said goodbye, so I shopped a bit. Got Vivian a foam "haunted graveyard scene" she can assemble and Violet Halloween pajamas with "So Cute It's Scary" on them. However, I may take them back, as it later occurred to me they may be too warm for Singapore.
Looking forward to lunch with Pat's niece Donna today.
Wider: I continue to be amazed at the crap-smashing eloquence of some of our pacifist writers, most prominently Chris Floyd at his "Empire Burlesque" site. Here's just the tiniest teaser from his "Happy Junta Grounds: Militaristic Machavellis Maneuver For More War":
"These days, the always noxious air of the Beltway is astir with the machinations of the military junta that now dominates the gutted and looted ruins of the American republic. Two recent articles provide excellent guides to the brazen Pentagon squeeze play to ensure that the civilian government does not stray from the militarist agenda of more war, all the time, everywhere, always..."
That phrase, "the gutted and looted ruins of the American republic," strikes me as unutterably sad because so horribly true. Look what we've become! We routinely accept the idea of world domination requiring endless war, as advanced by the wacko leaders of the hired killers we call our armed forces. Not only is our financial structure looted, as Floyd notes, but our media, which might have once been at least occasionally inclined to investigate and report the truth, is now an arm of show biz. The country is "gutted," all right, and the populace walks around dazed, unable to understand how things went so wrong. They're the proles and, as good ol' George knew, only if they rise up is there any hope.
How likely is that? Read the book.
Later: Went to WW to find I've lost two pounds for a current weight of 138.2 and an overall loss of 61.4 pounds. I still want to lose at least another eight off to stay within my 125-130 desired range, but am pleased to be on my way.