How the White Man Got Manhattan

After running a few ideas past him for my next blog post, my husband rejected them all and said I should try to write about something "cheery." My suggestions had included the current news story about an 84-year-old woman who was abducted from her bed in the middle of the night, how long it takes to get an appointment with a doctor these days, and how after 39 years of marriage we have run out of even trivial conversation.

Fine, I said, give me just one cheery idea. This was his reply: "The sap in the trees is rising, the days are getting longer and we are going to Florida in a few weeks." This may be why Mitch does not have his own blog.

The cold, hard truth is that there's hardly any cheer left in America these days. About the only thing I can think of is that in today's mail I received a crisp one dollar bill from a charitable organization (see photo) seeking my donation, along with the customary note pad and return address labels. I found that to be cheery, although oddly counter-productive. 

I am seriously considering contributing one dollar to their cause. That should fix their wagon.