If you watched The Rachel Maddow Show a couple nights ago, you saw her do a story about Jack Abramoff.  He was the lobbyist who concocted a scheme with Grover Norquest and Ralph Reed and others that defrauded American Indian groups he was supposedly representing.  Abramoff not only went to prison for his crimes, but his acts were so egregious that an Abramoff law was passed, specifically named for him -- and as Maddow pointed out with a sort of bemused relished, the first person ever found guilty of that law was just sentenced the other day.  And that person was -- yes, really -- Jack Abramoff.

I mention this because I actually sort of cross paths with Abramoff about 30 years ago.  That was when he was producing some movies in Hollywood.  In 1989, a friend of mine, Philippa Salisbury (who I wrote about here) had been in contact with him for some inexplicable reason -- but then, that was Philippa who was often in contact with totally-unexpected people for some inexplicable reason.  It was about a project, Three Men in Malacca, and she needed a treatment based on a one-page idea Abramoff had.  (A treatment is basically a short story version of a movie, before developing the actual screenplay.)

I wrote a 20-page treatment that had to do with old army buddies going back to Malaysia where they'd fought in World War II and got involved with an adventure about a buried treasure.  (Oddly, as I think about it, this is somewhat the premise of the new Netflix movie from Spike Lee, Da Five Bloods, which is quite good.  I'm not even remotely suggesting any overlap -- the movies are totally different -- just noting the whimsy of similarities as I tell this tale.)  I remember the subtext I added to the plot -- making it a bit of an twist of The Wizard of Oz, including that one of the old buddies had been a coward during the war, another was somewhat cold and imperious, and with the passing of years the third had become a bit feeble-minded, as they headed off onto their journey.

I was paid next to nothing for it. (Not hyperbole -- i could say it was three figures, which is true, but that would be giving it visions of grandeur because it had a kinship so close to two figures that if it got drunk and toppled over, there stood a good chance of it landing in that district...) This was on the hope that if it moved forward I'd get to write the screenplay.  It was a foolish thought, but it was earlier in my writing career days where such foolish, naive thoughts take residence, though not so early that I should have known better how foolhardy it was.  To be clear, it wasn't foolish so much because I was paid so little, but that I didn't own the property, so if nothing happened with the project, I couldn't ever do anything with it.  And nothing happened with the project.

And I liked the story a lot.  It was really a fun adventure that had other layers to it, along with a family relationship mixed in.  So, knowing that the project was pretty much dead, I wrote to the company that developed it and asked -- since the project was going nowhere and was based on a one-paragraph idea -- if I could return what I had been paid and perhaps get or buy the rights to it for a reasonable fee.  And the head of that company I wrote to was...Jack Abramoff.

I eventually received a letter back.  And he said, no.  In fairness to him, it was a very polite correspondence, and he had every right to say no.  And certainly, maybe some day he could develop it again.  I just didn't think he ever would -- that rarely happens in Hollywood.  Projects based on just a one-page idea that die are generally put in the bin and buried, and people move on  to something new and fresh.  And indeed, in the 30 years that have passed since then, not only has nothing come of the project since that letter, but Abramoff moved from Hollywood into political lobbying.  And has been to prison.  Twice. 

That was my only annoyance at the letter.  He had every right to say no, and was polite -- but I was certain the project would die, and I liked it so much and would have loved to pursue it.  So be it.  In the end, I'm at my desk typing...and he's in prison. 

Again.

And here below with the signature from Page 2 is the evidence.  A word that Jack Abramoff has probably grown to loathe...

Long-time readers of these pages know well of my friend from childhood, the accomplished Nell Minow who I write about often here -- from her own many skills as a world expert on corporate governance (having testified before Congress and winning awards for it) and top-notch film critic as the Movie Mom (even having filled in for Roger Ebert on occasion) to her sister Martha, former dean of Harvard Law, who once recommended to her lawyer father that he hire the smartest student she'd ever taught, a young man named Barack Obama, to that very father Newton, who did hire young Mr. Obama, was his early mentor and had been the FCC Chairman under JFK, famously calling television a "vast wasteland."

All these same readers also know well about my high school and college friend, Rabbi Jack Moline, who I most notably wrote about here, and who not only serves as a corporate board member of Elisberg Industries (you can check that out above under "About Elisberg Industries") and is a well-regarded Chicago Cubs fan, but in his other side jobs was a rabbi in the Washington, D.C. area for many years at Agudas Achim Congregation, until he was made Executive Director of the National Democratic Jewish Council, and then in 2016 became President of the Interfaith Alliance.  Which I guess makes him Mr. President Rabbi Jack Moline.  (Fun fact: he also participated in the emoluments lawsuit against Trump's ownership of his hotel in Washington, the one that used to be a post office.)

It's one thing to write about these two fine folks, of course, but another to see and hear them.  And now you not only get to see and hear them -- but both together! 

During the pandemic, as part of his job leading the Interfaith Alliance, Jack has begun a streaming webseries called "Stay Home, Stay Focused," where he interviews various important figures across the country.  And the other day, his guest was...as he puts it...his old friend from high school, Nell Minow!

(I should note that their separate accomplishments aside, Jack and I did a weekly radio show together at New Trier East High School on WNTH-FM, about comedy. We also worked together on the school musical revue, Lagniappe, for which he was head writer.  In fact, when we later attended Northwestern University, we adapted a radio documentary we'd made in high school, "What Makes People Laugh?" for a class project in interpersonal communications -- at the end of which he hit me in the face with a pie, much to the shock and uproarious laughter of the class.  Not to be left out, Nell and I had a class together at Northwestern, as well, on radio production.  It built to a class project at the end where the students created a one-day fictitious radio station, for which the professor made Nell one of the two station managers.  Radio does appear to a be thread weaving things together...)

Actually, in some ways this a bonus trilogy.  That's because early on in the interview, Jack and Nell talk about her husband and childhood sweetheart David Apatoff, an accomplished attorney and an expert in the art of cartooning  with eight books on the subject -- and early in my life knew David even better than I did Jack and Nell, since he lived just down the block from me in Glencoe, Illinois. In fact, much to my huge surprise David still (correctly) remembers details from my birthday party when I turned eight.  Alas, he does not pop in and make an appearance in the video, though shows up by discussion.

(Someone else who appears by discussion in the video, as well, much to my even greater surprise is -- me.  Nether Jack nor Nell happened to mention this fact, so it came totally out of the blue as I was watching.  It actually relates to an article I originally wrote for the Huffington Post but reposted here on Elisberg Industries, which I linked to above in the very first line...before I even knew the piece was quoted in the conversation.)

And so there you have it -- Nell Minow and Jack Moline on video together!  Such things don't get a whole lot better.  You get to see them both.  The very entertaining conversation (that covers business, movies, high school and more) is only 20-minutes long, so it's not a big pull on your time, though listening to either person separately could easily fill up far longer. The two of them together, this barely touches the service and is almost unfair it doesn't last longer.  But then, you can always play it again and again...

O joy.  A happy addition to Elisberg Industries. No longer do you have to take my word for it -- now you can see on your own, in one sitting together, what wonderful, whip-smart, absolutely charming and compassionate people they are.

For our part here, we celebrate National Train Day on these pages by posting a list of the greatest train movies.  These are films in which trains are absolutely central to the story.  Where a train is the driving force of the tale, without which you can’t properly describe the plot.

(Think of it like the classic and beloved Santa Claus song, "Santa Claus is Coming to Town."  Santa Claus isn't actually in the song at all.  He hasn't even shown up yet.  In most ways, it's about "you" and what you should do -- or better not do.  But even though there's not a hint of Santa Claus even appearing in the song, without Santa Claus...there's no song.)

We're strict about this.  A friend once recommended The Taking of Pelham-1-2-3, and it was strongly considered, but that was a subway train or light rail.  This list is for full-bore trains, the kind that either have sleeping cars and dining cars, or could if they were hitched on.  But I've added it to our Honorable Mention list this year.

I should also note that, since the list is fluid, we've added another new movie to the list of Great Train Films, a film from 2013, Snowpiercer.  I saw it several years ago, but for whatever reason it slipped through the cracks, so it's time to correct that notable oversight.  It's a vibrant movie.  I was reminded of it for two reasons -- one, it was directed and co-written by Bong Joon Ho, the filmmaker who did last year's Best Picture-winner, Parasite.  And the other is that TBS has adapted it into a TV series coming very soon.  The story, like Parasite is a clash of class systems, but far-differently is about a time in the future when habitable climate has been destroyed on earth, and all of remaining mankind lives on a massive train that circles the globe, building to an insurrection.

There are two other categories:  Honorable Mention is for movies which you can tell their stories without using the word "train," but they have some connection to trains -- usually a great, standout train sequence -- that makes them memorable.  And a few years I added a new category of Special Mention, for works that don't qualify as a train movie or perhaps even as a movie at all, but deserve a place of honor.  For instance, Stephen Ambrose's excellent book on the building of the Transcontinental Railroad, Nothing Like It in the World.

And as I noted in the past, though something I think is likely very obvious, I love train movies.  Here is the current list of Great Train Movies.

Around the World in 80 Days
Back to the Future 3
Bridge on the River Kwai
The Commuter
The Darjeeling Limited
Emperor of the North
The General
The Great Locomotive Chase
The Great Train Robbery
The Lady Vanishes
Murder on the Orient Express
The Narrow Margin
North by Northwest
Northwest Frontier
Night Train to Munich
Polar Express
Runaway Train
Shanghai Express
Silver Streak
Snowpiercer
Source Code
Strangers on a Train
Tough Guys
The Train
Transsiberian
Twentieth Century
Union Pacific
Union Station
Unstoppable
Von Ryan’s Express
 
Honorable Mention
Throw Momma from the Train 
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
The Greatest Show on Earth
Go West
At the Circus 
Cat Ballou
Trading Places
 
Special Mention
Great Railway Journeys of the World (TV documentary)
Nothing Like It in the World by Stephen Ambrose (book)
The Railrodder (short)
The Taking of Pelham-1-2-3

I've also added another new feature last year -- a scene from one of the Great Train Movies, or another entry on the list.  In honor of it being added to this list, here's a brief scene from Snowpiercer featuring Tilda Swinton (as the sort of general manager of the First Class), and Chris Evans and Octavia Spencer (as two of the rebellious leaders of the Lower Class.)

Because I post pretty bluntly on social media and also respond when I see some especially-offensive post if it's received enough "Likes" for "Retweets" to make it worth my time, that means I also get a lot of replies back -- though not all the time -- and get into my share of annoying "conversations."

I try to be as polite as possible -- for several reasons -- though politeness is rarely returned.  Rarely, as in "pretty much never."

I don't keep up the exchanges for very long, enough to make and repeat my point, maybe respond to their latest attempt once or twice, and then saying goodbye because life is too short.  But as short as the exchanges may be, it's still wearying -- not for their anger and name-calling, not for their point of view, but mostly for their almost-literal inability to accept reality.

But something else occurred to me last night, much more clearly and focused than what rumbles through me when I respond.  And I thought it would be good and healthy not only to vent here, but more importantly to have a place I can link to the next time one of those back-and-forths begins, since Twitter only allows for 188 characters.

And this is the point...in case any of them are reading this --

Don't you understand?  You can't win this argument.  It's not possible.  It's not because you don't have logic, truth and reality on your side -- you don't, but that's not the reason.  It's because Trump is president.  He's in charge of all this.  And there are, as of this writing on May 6, 2020, and there are 76,227 Americans who are dead right now.  And that's the number we know of, that's been repeated.  Since there isn't much testing, the number is likely much higher.  And it's going to get higher still -- that horrific number might seem even paltry by the time you read this months from now.  So, whatever argument you make that you think is brilliant, whatever nasty smears you through at others you disagree with, in the end, those two facts remain, and will always remain -- Trump is president and responsible for all the actions taken by the United States after he learned of the coronavirus being here (whatever date you wish to choose -- November when the intelligence service learned of it, early-January when records show Trump was told, mid-February when he says he found out, you pick, it doesn't matter), and as of May 7, 2020, there are 76,415 dead Americans,

You can't "win" an argument on Trump and the coronavirus pandemic with that is your starting foundation.

Of course, there is much, much more that makes your attempt to defend Trump and smear the "damn libs" am empty, lost cause.  For instance, as much as you want to think and shout what a great job Trump has done, and it's all China's fault, and it's New York State's fault, and Massachussett's fault, and all the Blue States' fault, and Dr. Fauci's fault, and Barack Obama's fault, and perhaps George Washington's fault, just a few things about Trump that come to mind that make your arguments unwinnable are --

Trump was informed about the coronavirus and risk of a pandemic in January, at the very latest, but dismissed the information as it just being like "the flu" and took no action for almost two months.

Trump's administration ignored the Obama Transition Team, who advised him on pandemics when they met before Trump became president.  And there are documents that prove this.

Trump closed the Pandemic Response Unit in 2018.

Trump didn't renew $8.5 BILLION in CDC budget that was meant specifically for use in dealing with infectious diseases.

Trump fired the CDC expert on infectious diseases, Dr. Linda Quick, who was actually stationed literally in China on July, 2019.  Only four months before the coronaviruis broke out.

Trump claims that he saved lives by closing our borders to China -- except he did not do that.  He only closed the border to Chinese nationals wanting to come to the U.S.  Any Americans in China and any approved travelers in China were free to fly back to the United States -- as if they couldn't have possibly become infected when in China... -- and 420,000 travelers returned here from China...and none of them were tested!!  Further, studies are showing that it's likely most of the early coronavirus came into the United States from Europe (which had already gotten infected by their residents who'd been in China), and no travel from Europe to the U.S. was blocked.

Trump has claimed that the cupboard was bare of PPEs when he took office, but not only is that not remotely true, Journalists visited the national strategic stockpile in 2016, and validated that it was fully stocked.  But even if it was "empty, Trump had three threes to replenish it -- but (if it was bare) did nothing.  And as much as Trump claims it's President Barack Obama's fault to not have a test for COVID-19  -- there was no COVID-19 virus in the world when he was president, so it literally was not possible to have a test for something that didn't exist.

Trump promised there would be 27 million tests by the end of March.  But by the beginning of May, only about 5.5 million Americans had been tested.  In a nation of 325 million people.

Trump had the ability to enable the Defense Production Act and order companies to make the desperately-needed N95 face masks and ventilators and PPE -- and never has done so.  (Indeed the only time he enabled the Act was to order meatpacking companies back to work -- a disastrous decision putting all those workers and their town at great risk, as records showed, which shut them down in the first place.)

And none of this even includes Trump's suggestion that we test bleach, disinfectant, high-power UV rays and hydrochloroquine as treatments -- all of which can KILL you.

You cannot "win" an argument on Trump doing everything wonderfully and bearing no responsibility for his utterly irresponsible action.  It's just not possible.  Any one of these mistakes above are disastrous.  Pick one, any one.  And that's without putting them all together.

The one saving grace that Trump cultist defenders think they have is to blame China.  It's China's fault.  It's all China.  China did it.  To be sure, China has much to answer for, and they will in the world community.  But -- we know China is at fault.  The issue, though, is that it's Trump's JOB to protect the United States when there is a threat from outside.  That's his first and foremost responsibility when swearing his oath -- number one -- "to preserve, protect and defend."  So, whoever "caused" the pandemic initially -- it was Trump's JOB to keep the country safe after that fact.

We know that Japan attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor and we know that Germany started World War II by attacking our allies and then made us their enemy.  If Franklin Roosevelt had just spent his time shouting, "It's Germany fault, it's Japan's fault!!!!!" over and over again -- he's have been 100% right.  But if he did nothing to protect and defend the United States at that point, while shouting it, we'd be speaking German and Japanese right now as our national language.  Whoever caused the problem, it's the president's job to fight it off and defend the nation.

China is where the coronavirus began.  But if Trump hadn't done all those mind-numblingly horrific misdeeds after misdeeds after misdeeds above, and had also listened to the Obama Transition Team and prepared, we could have been spared a 1.36 MILLION infections and 76,415 deaths -- as of May 7 -- and spared shutting down the economy and 33 million new Americans unemployed.  As of May 7.

So, the one prayerful defense of Trump that his cultists cling to, that has no merit either.  Because it's Trump's JOB to protect the country against whatever outside "attack" comes our way, whether it's an army, terrorist or a virus.

And here's the thing, too --

In late February, Trump said that there were only 15 cases and in just a few days there will be 2-3 cases and then soon it will be gone like a miracle.

In mid-April, Trump than changed and said, "Now we’re going toward 50, I’m hearing, or 60,000 people.”

Then, in late-April, he changed again, and this time said, "I'm hearing 74,000."

A few days ago, in early May, once more Trump changed, and said "it could be 100,000."

Here's the deal -- we're over 76,000 on May 6.  And deaths are increasing by 1,500-2,000 a day.  Even it something remarkable happens, and deaths plummet to a "mere" horrific 1,000 a day...we will be at 100,000 deaths by the end of May!   If the low-end of that likely range occurs, though, we'll be at 100,000 deaths in just two weeks.

And deaths will tragically keep rising, and then there will be a second wave.

So, the question for Trump supporters is -- how many more deaths when we hit 100,000 will it take before you say, "Hmmm, well, this isn't good.  Shouldn't our government be doing something"?  At the very least, how many more deaths over 100,000 will it take you to say, "Gee, Trump said it would be zero, gone like a miracle, and he keeps changing his prediction higher and higher and higher, I don't think he actually knows what he's talking about"?

And by the way, "This is no worse than the flu" doesn't cut it either.  The general average of flu deaths every year is around 20-30,000.  Only a few few times have we ever hit 60,000 flu deaths in a year.  We'll be at 100,000 coronavirus deaths by the end of May.  And the end isn't in sight. 

But more to the point -- in flu season, we don't wear face masks, don't social distance from one another, don't shelter-at-home, don't close down businesses.  Life goes on as normal.  We are doing that now, with the coronavirus -- and even Trump is now saying it will be 100,000.  But all serious scientists and experts said from the first that without face masks, social distancing, sheltering at home and closing businesses (like how we live during flu season)...there could probably be between 1-2 MILLION deaths.  This Is Not Like the Flu.

Let me repeat -- This is Not Like the Flu.

All of which finally brings us to the last and only remain attempt at a defense by the Trump cultists -- that they don't believe any of this.  That it's all a hoax.  It's fake news from the Main Street Media.  That all those stories about the disastrous mistakes made are not true.  That the number of infections and deaths are not truth.  It's not true, it's not true, it's not true.

The problem with this "argument" that is akin to one make by a four-year-old child is that, of course, it's all true.  It's reality.  It's science.

You may not believe the science, but science isn't a belief system.  You may not believe the reality, but reality isn't a belief system either.  It's reality.

Just because you don't believe reality doesn't make it not true.  When you close your eyes in the daytime, it doesn't become night just because it's now looks dark.  When someone points a gun at you, it's still pointed at you no matter how much you say to yourself over and over that it isn't.  If you don't believe there is a cliff ahead, but there is and you speed your car towards it -- you will go over the ledge and plummet all the way to the bottom, crashing in a fiery inferno, whether you believe it is happening or not.

Not believing reality does not make it true.  It makes you ignorant.  And when that reality is all around you, pounding at you every day, and you knowingly refuse to accept it, willful ignorance is no virtue.  Worse, in this case, in a pandemic, it can kill you.  And your ignorance can kill others.

And all this is why any argument to defend Trump and blame "damn libs" and the media and China and whoever you want is not possible to "win."  Because reality always wins.  That's what makes it reality.

But if all that is too much reality pounding down on you and your carefully crafted tin-foil hat to protect, we can simplify it all and go back to the very beginning --

You cannot "win" this argument because Trump is president and in charge of protecting the country, and as of May 7, 2020, there are 76,415 Americans who have died when Trump said there were only 15 cases, and it would all be gone soon "like a miracle."

You cannot win your argument.  It is not possible.  So, do the next best thing and accept reality and help protect your country from a deadly pandemic.  But if you can't even do that, at least get out of the way and let everyone else do so.

Today is the 96h birthday of Broadway lyricist Sheldon Harnick, who won a Tony Award for Fiddler on the Roof, a Pulitzer Price for Fiorello!, and such other musicals with Jerry Bock as She Loves Me, The Apple Tree, The Rothschilds, Rex (with Richard Richard Rodgers), and the opera Captain Jinks and the Horse Marines -- and much more.

I interviewed him years ago when I was a student at Northwestern, and he returned to campus as Homecoming Grand Marshall.  I made a radio documentary from it and two decades later when I finally tracked down his address through a mutual friend to send him a copy -- and when I told my mother that I finally found someone who knew where Harnick lived, she said, "Oh, you mean, Aunt Joan?"  I was floored.  I never had any idea that they grew up together and went to college together.  Though. no, she didn't have her address.  When I sent him the radio documentary though and explained my further connection, he sent a handwritten note back, and the first line was, "OH, MY GOD!!!  JOAN SERED!!! (which was her maiden name.  And yes, this is the Aunt Joan who I wrote about here back in January for her surprise 90th birthday party.)  Though they've periodically crossed paths over the many decades, I was able to get them together 13 years ago when we all saw a production of his show She Loves Me at the Writers Theatre in Glencoe, Illinois.  (And yes, this was the production I've written about several times that starred Jessie Mueller before she left for Broadway and won a Tony Award for starring in the musical Beautiful.)

But enough of all that.  On with the show.  Here's a wonderful, hour-long interview with Sheldon Harnick at the Kennedy Center six years ago when he was 90, and you'll see he's vibrant and entertaining.

And here's one of my favorite of his lesser-known songs, "In My Own Lifetime," from The Rothschilds, which starred Hal Linden who won the Tony Award as Best Actor.  Harnick writes poetically and richly with the simplicity of almost everyday language, which is his hallmark.

And we'll end our celebration with this video from two years ago -- when Harnick was 94 -- singing absolutely wonderfully one of his classics, "Do You Love Me?" from Fiddler on the Roof with Judy Blazer.
​

​I thought you’d appreciate this.  There is a fine art movie house about three blocks from me.  I haven’t seen it for a few months because, of course, I’ve been staying inside, and the few times I ‘ve been out, I went a different direction.  But I took my morning walk in its direction the last two days.  I walked past it yesterday, looked over and started laughing.  I took a picture of the marquee but it was fuzzy, so I went back today – and the marquee was different.  So, my guess is that they actually change this every day.   I don’t know if they’ve been doing this for the past couple months, or if they just started it recently or what.  But hats-off to them whenever they began.
 
Yesterday, the marquee was --
 
“Now Playing: 
High Anxiety.” 
 
“Coming Soon: 
“Serenity.”
 
 
Here’s what it was today –

Among the many stories I remember Elinor talking about was how she was quarantined when she was around three years ago because she'd gotten the Spanish Flue in 2018.  Well, as it turns out, WGN television in Chicago found out about this and did an absolutely wonderful five-minute featurette about Elinor, centered around that story.  It's told very well by her great-grandaughter Kara.  I don't know Kara well, she's a fourth cousin and we've only met once or at most twice, but the video was sent to me by her very proud mom Janice Goldman, who I stay in touch with, and who was overjoyed at seeing her mother remembered this way, let alone by done so by her own daughter.  (Janice herself even makes a guest appearance in one photo.)

WGN did a really terrific job with the report.  There's a great twist to the story that I won't give away, but they handle it beautifully.  And they even got video footage in there of Elinor talking.  My favorite part, though, I have to admit was around the 2:20 mark when they show a lot of documents from Elinor's past and application to Northwestern University, all registered to "Elinor Elisberg."

Here it is --

This is not a picture of my mother.  It comes pretty darn close.  She was 89 when she passed away.  She was small, about 5'3" and 95 pounds, somewhat short-cut gray hair.  She also had polio, and then late in her life developed something that's called post-polio -- it weakens the neck muscles, and so her head drooped.  (When she sat down, though, her head would fall back into its normal position, and sometimes she wore a neck brace.)

When I saw this picture below, I almost burst into tears.  I don't mean that in a metaphoric, social media kind of  way, where so many people "literally started crying" when they post a photo of a heart-breakingly cute puppy.  I mean I almost burst into tears.  And when I'd look at the picture again, several times, the same wave of emotion returned, each time

The one thing I know about my mother, though, was that as frail as she was, she was one of the strongest people I've ever known.  Again, I mean that quite literally.  I won't go through the litany of physical things she dealt with her whole life, but will just say that when that's your life, she just accepted it and plowed on and never complained.  As in, never.

(Okay, once. When she was 85 and had a stroke, that happily she recovered from, followed by macular degeneration, I was talking with her on the phone and ran through the litany of issues she'd dealt with her whole life, and then asked something I never had before, "So, mom, do you ever look up to the sky and say, 'Okay, God, I get it.  You can move on to someone else now."?  There was a brief pause, and then she said as simply as possible, "Yes."  That was the closest I ever came to hearing her complain.  And that was only because I asked.

I can't say that that's the same for this lady in the photo.  I hope it is.  But even when you plow on and don't ever complain, life is still there, sometimes pounding you.  

And so I look at this photo with great difficulty.  And anger at the hoarding.  And at the figure in charge who called it all a "hoax.

A couple weeks ago, I wrote here about my friend, novelist and ad litem children's advocate Gay Courter who was quarantined on the Diamond Princess with her husband Phil.  The happy news is that they're well and finally back home.​

​Huzzah.

She said it all played out like a B-movie and even had a crazy ending.  As Gay explained, "When the mayor of San Antonio said we radioactive zombies couldn’t enter his town, one of my travel insurance policies went into effect and they sent a private jet to take us home.  That part was fun."

There's sort of an an odd bonus ending to the tale, as well.  During the quarantine, the cruise line put out a notice on behalf of the passengers, which I came across on their website when trying to track down news of the Courters' status.  It said -- 
 
“Because of the extraordinary circumstances onboard Diamond Princess, the company is refunding the full cruise fare for all guests including air travel, hotel, ground transportation, pre-paid shore excursions, gratuities and other items. In addition, guests are not being charged for any onboard incidental charges during the additional time onboard. Princess Cruises will also provide guests with a future cruise credit equal to the cruise fare paid for the voyage."
 
I thought, boy, was that ever clever of Gay and Phil.  The lengths some people will go to get out of paying for a cruise.  And get another for free!  Mind you, I'm not sure if going on another cruise is high on their list, at least for now.  But perhaps in the future.  After all, they have it in writing, and as Gay wrote back, "Yes, now they are stuck with the deal!"