ALONG CAME A SPIDER…

…and didn’t sit down beside anybody but hangs suspended on the trapeze of its own making between two shrubs at the edge of my back porch.  When I got close for the picture, it shifted up toward the top of the web away from a bundle of food it had wrapped.  This spectacular creature isn’t bothering anybody, so I’m leaving it alone.  

I am more concerned about creatures in my own species. A condition that is bothering me a whole lot more than a spider in my backyard is the disparity between upper income Americans and the folks who are struggling every day of their lives at the bottom of our economic ladder… and the reluctance of the Republican legislators, new and returning, in our Senate and House of Representatives to address the problem of poverty in America. 

I read in the LA Times this morning that young Mike Trout with the Angels at age 23 has signed a six-year $144.5 million contract… that’s in addition to his lucrative Nike contract. What the #@## is that about?  I don’t even know how to begin to think how it is that American culture has developed to this absurd stage… What are we becoming?  What is the collective mindset of the American people if this has become the new normal condition?   Alex Rodriquez, the Yankee’s faded star with $61 million left to be paid on his contract, isn’t wanted by either the managers, the other players, or Yankee fans.  He is one of the wealthiest sports figures in the world.  ESPN sportswriter Pablo Torre suggested in an NPR interview today that A-Rod, who hasn’t played a full season since 2007, will probably not return to the game at all but will be paid the $61 million either by the club or by the club’s insurance if he is declared to be medically unable to play. I wonder how many of the people shelling out around a hundred dollars for a ticket to see a baseball game in my city give much thought to the problem of homelessness obvious in all the streets around Petco Park.

In spite of everything, cheer up!

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