April 1 April 1, 2008March 10, 2017 Today should be a national holiday – we have been nothing if not Fools, these last few decades, burning our wealth into thin air so as not to have to drive more fuel efficient vehicles. The impact on our economy and prosperity – and national security – has been colossal. The national palm should strike the national forehead with force enough to jar Mt. Rushmore. But I’m running way too far behind to be ruining with my distemper* your April Fool’s Day. April 1? Already? I’m only barely ready to acknowledge the first official day of Spring. To wit: Kathi Derevan: ‘Click anywhere, or click and drag around. You may want to take your allergy medication first.’ ☞ Bah, humbug. JOHN BOGLE And if you think I’m a little grumpy today, here’s my hero John Bogle’s take on the markets. (‘Wall Street subtracts value from our society. There can be no question about that.’) Every dollar Wall Street makes is, pretty much, a dollar its customers don’t. Keep your transaction costs low. Because you know what they say: A fool and his money are soon parted. And finally, veering from fuel, flora, and finance to the deeply sad . . . LAST THURSDAY Joel Kelly: ‘On Thursday afternoon in Columbus, Georgia, as reported here, a man entered Doctor’s Hospital, shot and killed two hospital workers and then another man in the parking lot on his way out before he was apprehended. My boyfriend Kevin Perry works at the hospital on the floor where the shootings took place and was at work when this happened. I knew both of the nurses that were killed. They were two of Kevin’s closest friends. A couple of things which I feel are important to say…one of which is that the second person who was shot and killed was gay. Not that this particular fact is noteworthy in and of itself…but I would like to say that Les Harris was shot in the face while he was trying to wrest the gun out of the hands of the shooter. The man was trying to kill a young woman and Les gave his life in order to save her. We don’t often hear about gay heroes . . . too often stories in which our humanity is front and center are lost in the chorus of the Christian Right. We deserve these stories to be told. The second part of this and the reason that I am sending this to you is to let you know that his partner, Keith Cavendar, another nurse at the same hospital, was unable to secure his partner’s personal belongings, was kept from seeing him before and immediately following his death, and of course will receive none of the benefits due our heterosexual counterparts. Common human decency is not a privilege accorded us under current law. Please let the powers that be in the Party know that we desperately need to win back the White House and let everyone know that we have heroes among us.’ ☞ We have, indeed. The first man to lose a limb for his country in Iraq was Marine Staff Sgt. Eric Alva. One of those who kept hijacked Flight 93 from destroying the U.S. Capitol (or was it the White House?) was Mark Bingham. And for each who becomes famous, there are the thousands of gay and lesbian soldiers and cops who have the courage to serve their country and communities; and the Les Harrises who just instinctively rise to the occasion. _________________________ *Distemper. Yep: I’m still listening to the biography of Alexander Hamilton, even as I watch HBO’s seven-part John Adams, and – thus historically enrapt – find myself, through sedulous immersion, ever more obedient to the felicitous circumlocutions of the day.