What happens in California doesn’t always stay in California. What happens there affects us all.
The West Coast of the United States is suffering through the worst drought in a century. The next time you stroll through the aisles in the supermarket, take a good look at the produce shelves.
Products grown in California eventually make their way to markets across America and, as expected, their prices have increased significantly.
Our friends in the Golden State are doing their very best trying to deal with the water shortage. Do you remember the water shortage here in New York? On every radio station, AM or FM, early or late, we heard the voice of the late Mayor Ed Koch saying, “If it’s yellow let it mellow. If it’s brown flush it down.”
New Yorkers complied, stopped washing cars, held back on watering lawns, dealt with the problem, and we succeeded. California residents are also complying with all the current restrictions, but don’t expect much. Eighty percent of their water supply is used for farming.
Not enough water equals less crops, which translates to higher prices for all of us. For a hundred years the rain and melting snow from the Sierra Nevada Mountains was plentiful. Today that runoff is minimal.
I strongly urge all Americans to pray — and not just to Jesus, Mohammed, or Moses. Lift your arms to the sky, look up and plead your case to Tlaloc.
Will it help? Couldn’t hurt.
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Polls, polls and more polls!
Start taking your telephone off the hook, because very soon all of those different polling companies will be calling you. And when do they call you? It’s always at suppertime. Dinner at the Gershbeins is at 6 pm. O’Reilly is at 8 pm. The phone goes back on at 9 pm.
In 2012, 66 percent of America had a favorable opinion of Hillary Rodham Clinton. That number dropped to 59 percent in 2013. Near the end of 2014, Mr. Gallup announced that her favorable polling is down to 48%. It doesn’t matter. We learned a long time ago that there is only one poll that counts, and that is the one on Election Day.
In the meantime we hear campaign lines that seem to stick with us for a long, long time. The best line of the 2016 campaign so far is, “If only the terrorists would attack a golf course…”
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Every one of us has had an embarrassing, hurtful scene or two burned into our past that we try hard to erase from our memories.
Several weeks ago Robert Downey Jr. was in London plugging his latest movie, “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” He was being interviewed when the newscaster asking the questions switched gears and changed the format of the questions. Instead of questions about the flick, he began asking the actor about his past and personal life.
His alcohol and drug problems and his stint behind bars for drug use are long gone. Not very happy about this dialogue, Mr. Downey stood up, removed his microphone and walked out of the studio. Word has gotten around and now, wherever he goes, Robert Downey Jr. is greeted with a round of applause. He stepped into a restaurant and received a standing ovation. This, of course, is a lesson to be learned. We can look forward to more celebrities rising and politely walking off the set. Perhaps, some not so politely.
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I am StanG
