Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello, my summer soul mates!  How are you?  We’re finally in the temperatures appropriate for this time of year, but the rain hasn’t stopped.  Last year was just the opposite: dry as a desert.  Did God promise not to destroy the Earth by water again?  We should be safe, then, from too much flooding.  While we’re soaked, wildfires rage across the dry western states.  Like our politics, our weather is polarized.

I hope you all had a fun and safe Independence Day.  I didn’t go to the parade.  Señor Zanza and I stayed home and cooked on the grill.  Junior went to the parade, stopped home afterwards to wolf down some brats and burgers, and then took off with his friends again.  God knows what those kids do all day.  I’ll worry ten times as much when Junior learns how to drive.

I’d like to thank all of the volunteers who helped clean up North Beach on the 5^th of July.  Bravo!  You represent the best of Racine.  Unfortunately, the people who left the mess represent the worst.  Boo!  Why can’t they bring along some plastic grocery bags and clean up before they go?  Is that so hard?  I guess so…  I’ve tried talking to litterbugs.  They don’t appreciate it.  I think some will be littering their entire lives while others will be picking up after them their entire lives.  It’s almost symbiotic.

Did anyone go to Summerfest in Milwaukee?  It’s been quite awhile since I went.  Last time, I almost passed out on one of the carnival rides, the Zipper.  Never again.  No carnival rides.  None.  Never.  Summerfest can become very crowded and I don’t like that.  When I see large groups of drunken people, I am reminded of the drunken rioters in my native Romania, who burned out the Gypsies.  I’m better off staying away from Summerfest and enjoying what Racine has to offer: smaller groups of drunken people.

Oh my, I’m teasing.  I love Racine. 

Poor Paula Deen, crucified for admitting to using the dreaded “N-word.”  Really.  I think it would be odd if she, or anyone else her age, had not used the word at some point in their lives.  Unless she’s been using it recently to degrade others, I don’t quite understand the fuss.  We have ceded so much power to the “N-word.”  We fear it like superstitious natives.  A collection of symbols can destroy a career.  That’s preposterous, but true. 

Finally, is Racine broke or not?  I keep hearing different stories.  Our Mr. Mayor Dickert has many ambitious projects in the works, but furlough days and removing streetlights have been required to keep the books balanced at City Hall.  Is everything going to happen with borrowed money?  Who will pay it back?  Oh my. 

Thank you for reading my blog today.  Thank you for being you.  I look forward to my visit with the Irregulars and others every week.  I appreciate your patronage. 

Looking for love in all the wrong places?   madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com

Enjoy summer.  It’s hard to believe that the 4^th of July is already over.  Take advantage of the weather while you can, because 6 months from now we’ll be in the deep freeze.  Pedestrians and drivers: look both ways, please.  Docta ignorantia!