What's been going on around here lately
The Swedish Academy’s decision to not award the Nobel Prize in Literature this spring hit me hard, of course. I figured this would be my year and was counting on the cash prize of a cool million bucks. A man needs a little boost now and then. I know I do. People associate me with radio but I was also a Novelist — okay? Novels. With characters and dialogue. Lonely guys looking out rain-spattered windows at bare trees and wondering, “Who am I anyway?”
I did some of that last Saturday morning. I am married to a perfectionist, and so my faults are more clear to me than necessary. I am 75 years old, people. How many men of 75 are actively engaged in self-improvement? Are there rehab programs for us? Inspirational books aimed at us? No.
I was looking out a rain-spattered window, thinking long thoughts, when a wild turkey strolled into our backyard and onto the terrace as if he owned the place. My love and I live in the middle of a big city, but on the steep wooded slope behind us, raccoons live, and a fox, and wild turkeys who roost in the trees and grow very large because we’re all liberals around here and nobody has a shotgun to shoot them with.
The turkey stood preening himself ten feet away from me, unconcerned about trespassing, and it made me think about freedom, which I experienced for a few years in my childhood. We lived in the country where a boy could disappear into the woods and run around without adult supervision for most of the day. Believe it or not, we had no pagers or cellphones on us to allow our parents to keep close tabs. Kidnappers could’ve descended and taken us away, bound and gagged, in souped-up roadsters and demanded a ransom of a million in nonconsecutive bills. They didn’t because our parents didn’t have the dough. And my parents had other children. Spares. So we were safe, tearing around shooting cap pistols, waving our cowboy hats, and re-enacting white racist violence against native peoples in a way children would not be allowed to do today. When I see a pickup truck with NRA and Confederate flag bumper stickers on it, I see myself when I was eight. Been there.
And in this moment of reverie, my true love said to me, “You really need to do something about your desk.”
I don’t run a perfectionist desk. Like our president, I believe in the creative power of chaos. I thrive on confusion. And my wife is sort of the Washington Post in my life. I come out with a big pronouncement and she says, “But yesterday you told me —” etc.
Marriage to a perfectionist offers many benefits, don’t get me wrong. The kitchen is tidy, the rugs harmonize with the furniture, tools and other necessities are well organized so you don’t run around looking for toilet paper and find it stashed in the china closet.
On the other hand, there are moments when I realize I’m being observed as I perform some simple task such as pouring water out of a boot — she is watching to make sure I do it correctly. She goes through my wastebasket and extracts tiny recyclable things and shows them to me. She has carried on a long-running campaign to get me to take a daily walk at a brisk pace and thereby live longer so she can go on perfecting me into my eighties and nineties.
What I need at this point is a big burst of self-esteem and so I imagined the phone ringing and a Swede announcing that I — me — yours truly — not Philip Roth, not some unknown Lithuanian poet — had won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
And I would walk into the kitchen where the love of my life is standing by the refrigerator, and she’d say, “You left a full carton of milk sitting out on the counter and I don’t know how long it’s been sitting here, do you?” And I’d say, “We’re going to Stockholm this fall. We’ll fly first class. We need to buy some dress-up clothes. I won the Nobel Prize in Literature, Babe.”
This column is a mess and I know it. Very poorly organized. But if I were a Nobel laureate, you’d think it were a work of genius. You wouldn’t think, “Should that be ‘were’ or should it be ‘was?’” You’d think, “He won the Nobel, it must be ‘were.’” And so it is.
A few weeks ago, I received an email that claimed I had won a staggering $2 million Bitcoin giveaway sponsored by Binance. At first glance, the message appeared legitimate. It featured official logos, polished wording, and a link that redirected me to what seemed to be Binance’s real website. Everything looked perfect: the login page was professional, there was a security padlock indicating a secure connection, and even the URL was almost identical to the actual Binance site.Caught up in the excitement of what I thought was a lucky break, I entered my credentials without a second thought. When prompted, I also provided my recovery phrase to “verify eligibility.” It was a decision I would soon regret. Within minutes, I received a sinking feeling in my stomach as I realized that my entire cryptocurrency portfolio had been wiped out. It wasn’t just my Bitcoin (BTC) that was gone; the scammers had drained everything, including my Dogecoin (DOGE), Cardano (ADA), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH).The realization hit me hard, and I felt utterly sick. I had always prided myself on being cautious and knowledgeable about online scams, but the fake site was so convincing that I had let my guard down. After hours of panicking and feeling helpless, I knew I had to take action. I began searching for help and stumbled upon PRO WIZARD GIlBERT RECOVERY, a team that specializes in crypto scam investigations to recover my lost assets, I reached out to them, sharing my experience and the details of the scam. The team was incredibly supportive and knowledgeable, guiding me through the recovery process step by step. They explained how they could trace the transactions and work to recover my stolen funds. With their expertise, I felt a glimmer of hope.After two days of diligent work, I was ecstatic to learn that I had recovered 90% of my cryptocurrency. The relief was overwhelming, and I couldn’t believe that I had managed to reclaim what I thought was lost forever. I now understand that even the most convincing emails can be traps, and I will always double-check before taking any action in the future.
CONTACT INFO=WhatsApp +1 (920) 408‑1234
TELEGRAM==:http s:// t. me/Pro_Wizard_Gilbert_Recovery
EMAIL==:pro wizard gilbert recovery (@) engineer. com
I will always be deeply thankful for the incredible work you did for me, Dr. Godsent Yare. Words cannot fully convey my gratitude. In 2022, I was diagnosed with herpes and tried every possible method to find a cure, but nothing worked. Then, I came across a post on a health forum about a herbal healing home who creates herbal remedies to treat various diseases, including the herpes virus. Initially, I was skeptical, but I decided to give it a chance. I reached out to the Dr. Godsent Yare via email, purchased the herbal medicine, and received it through DHL within five working days. I followed the instructions carefully, and after just 21 days, I tested negative for the herpes virus. I am so grateful to Dr. Godsent Yare. If you wish to contact him for cures to any other incurable Disease, Alzheimer, ALS, MSA, MND, MS, AIDS, Cancer, Lupus, Parkinson’s Disease, Aphasia etc. You can email him at dryareherbalcurehome@gmail.com or reach him on WhatsApp at +2348164653711.
www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090745420235
How To Unfreeze Crypto on Blockchain With Lost Recovery Masters
The Lost Recovery Masters is a team of experienced Crypto Experts. It has the capacity to assist in unfreezing blockchain funds, stolen or lost cryptos and recovering frozen crypto wallets. They work directly with smart contract protocols and have right connections and tools to initiate and facilitate the process whether it’s through dispute resolution, compliance validation, or recovery services.
If the freeze is due to platform level restrictions, they navigate that with proper documentation and verification. They deliver Actionable Intelligence to all of their clients by utilizing the most recent Cyber tools, Open Source Intelligence (OSINT), Human Intelligence (HUMINT), cutting-edge technology, and Crypto Tools
If you need their service, here is their Contact.
email ( Lostrecoverymasters@gmail.com )
whatsapp +447537105921
https://recoverymasters.wixsite.com/lostrecoverymasters
How To Unfreeze Crypto on Blockchain With Lost Recovery Masters
The Lost Recovery Masters is a team of experienced Crypto Experts. It has the capacity to assist in unfreezing blockchain funds, stolen or lost cryptos and recovering frozen crypto wallets. They work directly with smart contract protocols and have right connections and tools to initiate and facilitate the process whether it’s through dispute resolution, compliance validation, or recovery services.
If the freeze is due to platform level restrictions, they navigate that with proper documentation and verification. They deliver Actionable Intelligence to all of their clients by utilizing the most recent Cyber tools, Open Source Intelligence (OSINT), Human Intelligence (HUMINT), cutting-edge technology, and Crypto Tools
If you need their service, here is their Contact.
email ( Lostrecoverymasters@gmail.com )
whatsapp +447537105921
https://recoverymasters.wixsite.com/lostrecoverymasters
How To Unfreeze Crypto on Blockchain With Lost Recovery Masters
The Lost Recovery Masters is a team of experienced Crypto Experts. It has the capacity to assist in unfreezing blockchain funds, stolen or lost cryptos and recovering frozen crypto wallets. They work directly with smart contract protocols and have right connections and tools to initiate and facilitate the process whether it’s through dispute resolution, compliance validation, or recovery services.
If the freeze is due to platform level restrictions, they navigate that with proper documentation and verification. They deliver Actionable Intelligence to all of their clients by utilizing the most recent Cyber tools, Open Source Intelligence (OSINT), Human Intelligence (HUMINT), cutting-edge technology, and Crypto Tools
If you need their service, here is their Contact.
email ( Lostrecoverymasters@gmail.com )
whatsapp +447537105921
https://recoverymasters.wixsite.com/lostrecoverymasters