A few odds and ends as we — my wife and I — recover from a wonderful journey only to catch some varied viruses from the last leg of a long day in airplanes and airports coming home.
My old flip-phone’s technology did not work where we were. I didn’t find this text message until we got home. It was sent shortly after my Aug. 26 Saturday Sub entry concerning Andy Rooney and school fundraisers: “I am certain that I read somewhere that after Andy Rooney bought a new mattress, he was a lot less grumpy.”
Priceless. Had to share that.
———
I see my old friend Jimmy Buffett died in our absence. Well, OK, he really wasn’t a friend. I do not consider myself a Parrothead, but I surely would have liked to have met him. I have often referred to him, with tongue only very slightly in cheek, as one of the great philosophers of our time.
Whenever we head south during the winter months, I am humming “Changes in Latitudes,” which of course, bring “changes in attitudes.”
Yesterday’s over my shoulder,
So I can’t look back for too long.
There’s too much to see waiting for me
and I know that I just can’t go wrong
And the chorus:
With all of our cunning and all of our running
If we couldn’t laugh we would all go insane.
There are a number of other nuggets in his lyrics, including perhaps my favorite — “I’d rather die while I’m living than live while I’m dead” — and some were just plain fun, such as “I don’t know where I’m a-gonna go when the volcano blows.”
But I don’t want to land in New York City
I don’t want to land in Mexico
I don’t want to land on no Three Mile Island
I don’t want to see my skin aglow
I’ve always thought this reference to New York City ironic. I had read at some point that he maintained a corporate office somewhere in that metropolis that exudes the exact opposite lifestyle he wrote and sang about. In contrast to that laid-back image, Jimmy Buffett amassed a net worth of more than $1 billion in restaurants, retirement communities and other business ventures.
One article this week noted his one “rare misstep” was a 2018 Broadway show — “Escape to Margaritaville” — that bombed.
“Even the brutal New York Times review,” this particular eulogy explained, “noted the irony of Buffett’s slacker image against his staggering success: ‘Mr. Buffett, Margaritaville’s prototype and mastermind, has a wife and family and 5,000 employees; he works nonstop.’”
Another essay I found noted that the timing of Jimmy’s death at the end of summer is most appropriate. His music, like the Beach Boys, has been the theme of endless summers. So as this summer faded away, so did Jimmy Buffett.
“But be of good heart,” this writer concluded, “It’s 5 o’clock somewhere.”
———
An Associated Press article in our Wednesday edition caught my eye: “Some small towns in America are disbanding police forces. Hiring woes cited as cause.” I have been on this soapbox before so will not belabor the point. Ossian has been struggling with this very issue and the solution seems obvious.
The story relates that the town of Washburn, Ill., dissolved their department in 2021, making arrangements with the county to provide 24/7 coverage.
“You really can’t tell any difference,” Mayor Steve Forney is quoted. “I was always very hesitant to go this direction, but I feel it’s working for us.”
He added that there has been no increase in crime and that “I haven’t had any griping or fussing” from the town’s residents.
Although the story didn’t mention it, I have to believe that the new arrangement saves money as well, not to mention time and headaches. The town will no longer have to budget for vehicles, equipment or training. They are no longer competing for qualified police officers in a shrinking pool of candidates, nor are they supervising and managing them. And they are getting at least equal protection from equally or more experienced officers.
It is a solution that many small-town leaders should at least investigate.
miller@news-banner.com
