Kate was staying with us for a few weeks before she left on tour for three more weeks, which is over as of today. Her rental house’s single bathroom was being remodeled, and there’d be no shower, so back to her parents’ it was. Alan picked her up at their terminus and she informed us she’d be with us for a few more days. Turns out the original contractor demo’d the bathroom and replumbed it and then ghosted. So her roommate had to find a new contractor, and the work won’t be done until midweek at the earliest. Story of, well, so many lives.
The tour was a success, even at the hardscrabble level they generally work at. They made some money and had a good time. That’s what it’s about when you’re 26 and in a band.
Not a terrible week, but a busy one. The temperature is finally moderating, although in some ways it’s even worse now, because today it was 52 degrees and tomorrow? 41 degrees. This is…cruel. It’s been five months of this shit, it’s time for a full week of 52 degrees with no threat of more cold, but even as I write this, I remember every April in Michigan since we’ve lived here:
The Michigan Sucker Punch. Every year.
Thursday I had some errands to run, and took the opportunity to give a deep listen to a couple of mix CDs Jeff Borden sent earlier this month. The revelation was Fadoul, aka the Moroccan James Brown. Seriously: Want to hear “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” in Arabic? Click. Something to welcome Ramadan, although I bet Morocco wouldn’t welcome Fadoul so much these days. (The recording is from 1971.) This is definitely a relic of the days when Iranian women went around in miniskirts with their hair uncovered. A different world.
Another thing I did Thursday was attend a short Detroit high-school jazz showcase downtown. It was held in a small club, the quarters were close, and I was surprised to see how many kids were wearing masks, and reflected on how rare they are in the loftier suburbs where I live. No surprise, I guess — Detroit was hit way, way harder by Covid, and it left a mark. It’s entirely possible some of these kids live in multi-generational households, and don’t think anything of protecting their grandparents by masking up, something…well, you don’t see it here. Here, the school board majority shifted in the last election, in part because the administration did not buck the county’s mask mandates, keeping kids in them until February 2022. Just a couple weeks ago, we were in an exercise class discussing who’d had Covid, and someone remarked, “I got it from my kids, and they got it when the masking ended at school,” like hey, no biggie.
As we’ve said here more than once: Our country is stupid and stubborn.
Speaking of which! Indictment watch continues. And the northern lights, which are going great guns the last couple of days. I don’t think Ann Fisher will mind me snagging one of her Facebook pix to share with you. She lives in the U.P. and can see them, and said they were the best of her lifetime. (And she’s no spring chicken!) Enjoy and have a great weekend:
Bruce Fields said on March 24, 2023 at 9:59 am
“So her roommate had to find a new contractor…”
Is her roommate the landlord?
I thought one of the advantages of renting was turning that kind of hassle into Somebody Else’s Problem.
(I’m currently in the middle of some minor plumbing projects, and missing renting.)
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Deborah said on March 24, 2023 at 11:00 am
Ditto. The things we need done to our unit in Chicago still aren’t done. We had a contractor lined up last year, they did one thing, never to be seen again. I’ve kind of gotten used to the things in a broken state by now, especially in the bathroom, none of it is plumbing related so it’s livable but ugly. I can’t wait to renovate the kitchen someday, but that’ll be way down the road if this keeps up.
So if Trump didn’t get indicted this week, will it happen next week? I hope not because we’re in Manhattan then. I want it to happen for sure, but I hope it waits until we’re back in Chicago.
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nancy said on March 24, 2023 at 12:00 pm
Her roommate’s father owns the house, yes.
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Julie Robinson said on March 24, 2023 at 12:08 pm
Contractors and plumbers and electricians, oh my. We can’t even get responses from most people, meanwhile a friend in Tampa has done four projects in two months. Send some folks to Orlando, Tampa!
That said, a friend recommended a handyman and he’s been ripping through our list of outdoor jobs. Take down old metal fence, check. Build boat rack, check. No additional materials cost, since he used the fence poles to construct it. The friend said she thought he was an architect in his country of origin. Wish he had an electrician’s license but I suspect language barriers.
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alex said on March 24, 2023 at 5:00 pm
So this is weird. All week long in local news there’s been a story of a missing teen-age boy in the town of Eaton in Delaware County, including pictures of him wearing a shirt with writing all over it that his parents made him wear as some sort of punishment. The town has been doing searches of the riverbanks, holding vigils, all sorts of stuff.
Then this morning there’s this lurid story in my MSN news feed at work, only the story was attributed to WANE TV in Fort Wayne and Nexstar:
https://fox59.com/news/indycrime/court-docs-missing-teenager-found-in-kokomo-mans-bathroom-with-hickey-on-his-neck/
But nothing appeared on WANE’s web site or in any other Fort Wayne media and apparently still hasn’t even though this story supposedly broke much earlier in the day. It’s on the Fox News web site in Indy.
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Suzanne said on March 24, 2023 at 6:05 pm
Alex, that is creepy. I saw the headline earlier but didn’t read the article. I didn’t realize it involved the missing teen. I have seen nothing online from local news sources either. Weird.
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Jeff Borden said on March 24, 2023 at 6:48 pm
There are street scene photos from Kabul in the late ’60s to early ’70s showing crowds of modern-looking men and women in smart attire. The women are in short skirts and wearing Western hairstyles. The men look like average guys anywhere. And now. . .wow. The Middle East has succeeded in doing what so many white conservative evangelicals in ‘Murica want to do. . .go back in time. So, yeah, Fadoul would be shot or imprisoned or stoned to death for being funky.
On another front, I am really getting scared of what tRump cultists will do once the gelatinous orange tumor is finally indicted, whether in NYC or Atlanta. He is revving them up with language far worse than he used before January 6, promising death and destruction and smearing Alvin Bragg with horrible racist smears, dubbing him “an animal” employed by the favorite whipping boy of anti-Semites, George Soros. He’s holding a rally in Waco timed to the 30th anniversary of the Branch Davidian disaster there. This guy is a lunatic. . .a very dangerous lunatic. . .and his own party stands aside while his rants become more maniacal by the day. The Waco disaster led white supremacist Timothy McVeigh to blow up the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City as retaliation against the state. (He was also inspired by the racist novel, “The Turner Diaries.”)What might tRump’s rally wreak?
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Scout said on March 24, 2023 at 7:29 pm
I signed up for two tickets to the rally. https://twitter.com/MaryLTrump/status/1639066446855651329?s=20
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David C said on March 24, 2023 at 8:24 pm
How do you sign up without giving up all your info, Scout? I’d love the mess around with them but not at the price of giving them my email and mobile number.
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Dexter Friend said on March 25, 2023 at 5:35 am
My insurance called, closing my case: no pay-out at all. Maintenance negligence on my part, they said. It’s raining now and water is dripping through the ceiling and the contractor is busy until much later, and no others are available at all. It’s maddening ; I have the funds to pay the guys but they’re all booked up. Out of my hands. I have a 20-gallon tote catching the rainwater.
The independent adjuster fucked me, writing the estimate at exactly my deductible of $500. I know nobody’s gonna fix the interior damage for $500 ! Fer kreist’s sake, no contractor will drive to your house and haul in his tools for just $500. C’mon, man!
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Suzanne said on March 25, 2023 at 7:21 am
Now, I am very confused. So was the teen found in Kokomo with a hickey on his neck a different teen than the missing Eaton teen?
https://fox59.com/indiana-news/missing-indiana-teen-scottie-morris-found-safe/
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Suzanne said on March 25, 2023 at 7:32 am
https://www.propublica.org/article/cigna-pxdx-medical-health-insurance-rejection-claims
This does not surprise me at all. We had Cigna insurance for a few years probably 20 years ago. I had to call every time I used it. They would never pay even a simple doctor visit. I always got a bill from the doctor, had to call Cigna who would always tell me that the doctor’s office hadn’t filed the claim, then I had to call the doctor’s office and ask them to refile at which point I was always told that they had filed a claim, then Cigna would finally pay. Every time we had any medical care. Every single time.
With all my health issues this past year, I am forever thankful that we now have Blue Cross Blue Shield. It has been great.
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alex said on March 25, 2023 at 8:18 am
Suzanne, I think it must have been a different teen found in Kokomo. One could be forgiven for confusing two different cases in this instance, though, given that both boys were 14 years old and recently reported missing. Sounds like there’s going to be some CPS involvement in the Eaton case.
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Sherri said on March 25, 2023 at 1:12 pm
A friend was telling me last night about The Loose Ends Project (https://www.looseendsproject.org/), which connects crafters with people who have projects that loved ones who died left behind before they could finish. She’s been connected with a quilter to finish a quilt her mother had begun before dementia and finally death took her away.
I know there are crafty sorts around here and thought someone might be interested.
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Sherri said on March 25, 2023 at 2:08 pm
“Traditional” “authentic” Italian food. Mostly a post-war invention.
https://on.ft.com/40wV9Jm
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Ann Fisher said on March 25, 2023 at 7:38 pm
Honored, of course. It was an amazing night. For anyone who wants more, let me recommend putting this on double speed and then dipping in and out. Or just bliss out and listen to the lake and watch the whole eight hours. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FGmAjRIV6E
Here’s a feel-good story about Ramadan and the busiest day in the Illinois legislature. https://capitolfax.com/2023/03/24/house-celebrates-historic-first/
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FDChief said on March 26, 2023 at 9:50 am
Jeff, re: midcentury Afghanistan…
It’s hard to remember now, but a LOT of Middle Eastern polities emerged from colonial rule with a very secular elite in place to take over from the European occupiers and a big pash for Western technology and society. Look no further than the Young Turks and the various Ba’ath parties in places like Iraq and Syria.
The “lesson” of colonialism was “guns and steel will boss your medieval superstition”, so lots of parts of the Arab/Muslim world wanted to be more like 1955 Baltimore than 725 Mecca.
What changed that
Well…mostly us and Israel.
Beginning in ‘48 the Israelis punked a series of secular Arab states in war. Secular leaders like Sadat made accommodations with the New Colonialists. The U.S. helped secular dictators like the Shah, and in general made it clear that the Yankees would and could buy any and every secular government and militarily defeat anyone who refused to be bought.
Throw in the godless Commies in Afghanistan…it looked like the “secular option” was a total fail.
And who defied these invaders?
The religious nuts.
The mullahs in Iran. Hezbollah. The Afghan muj. They kept fighting, kept hurting the Russians and Yankees and Israelis. They showed that Middle Eastern people could hit back. So, unsurprisingly, lots of people in Afghanistan, Turkey, and Egypt tossed their Levi’s and threw on a turban and grew a beard (those who weren’t already all in on old-school Islam, anyway).
Not that it isn’t on the people who made that choice, or hard on the people (like women or gays) who that choice hurt. But to a great extent we – us Westerners and Israel – showed them that it was a practical choice if they weren’t willing to bend the knee…
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basset said on March 26, 2023 at 11:08 am
The only drum solo you’ll ever hear on a bluegrass tune:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDuT1Ujze6E
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basset said on March 26, 2023 at 11:16 am
Dexter, I’m surprised the independent adjuster went low, particularly since those guys usually work on commission and the damage was obviously more. What do you think happened there?
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Heather said on March 26, 2023 at 3:30 pm
Huh. I had a good experience with Cigna–no issues. But for their 2023 Obamacare plans, they decided not to renew their contract with my medical system, so I went to Blue Cross Blue Shield, which covers less.
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Sherri said on March 26, 2023 at 6:51 pm
These fucking public’s charter schools: https://www.yahoo.com/news/n-c-state-funded-charter-000354041.html
This particular charter is run by Roger Bacon Academy, created by Baker Mitchell, a fine gentleman described in this ProPublica article: https://www.propublica.org/article/charter-school-power-broker-turns-public-education-into-private-profits
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Dexter Friend said on March 27, 2023 at 5:13 am
basset, obviously the adjuster cut a deal with the insurance company. I was offended to be treated like I just fell off the turnip truck and would believe that guy didn’t know my deductible was $500 and just rubber-stamp an estimate for that. It wasn’t a disaster the other night as only about a cup and a half of water dripped into the catch-tub, but it’ll get worse before it gets better, and that contractor has to get here.
26 dead in tornado damage in Mississippi and environs, and Rolling Forks just levelled. My little water leak seem so piddling a concern.
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basset said on March 27, 2023 at 9:05 am
Obviously indeed, but he’s supposed to be an adversary. A search just now showed several private adjusters’ associations, he’s prob not a member but they may have some thoughts on how to cause him some trouble.
Our private adjuster was exactly the opposite after we got flooded – negotiated with the insurance company over the damage, negotiated again over what they didn’t agree on, then a third time.
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