Eileen went with me to the tax people yesterday. She does our taxes, but I submit Mom’s taxes to Liberty Tax. I do this because that’s where she and Dad used to have their taxes done when they were taking care of it. The tax people were so impressed with Eileen care and accuracy in ensuing discussions, they asked her if she was interested in a job. I was pleased.
This took most of the morning. Eileen and I then stopped off and had lunch at Crust 54, a pizza place that recently changed hands. It’s not terrible salad friendly which is what Eileen was in the mood for.
She settled for a meatball sandwich and I had a small pizza.
After that we went and visited Mom, brought her her weekly packages of Hershey bars (she’s up to 12 a week now), picked up her old library books, went to the library, dropped them off, picked out new books for her, and then took them to her.
As I said to Eileen, yesterday was largely a “Mary Day,” Mary being my mom’s name.
In the afternoon, I used up the peppers, tortillas and other ingredients I purchased for a recipe and improvised another two casseroles with them, one with chorizo in it, one without.
Just before I went off to practice organ, the tax people called. They had made a significant error in the form. In order for Mom not to have to pay any taxes we had to come with more deductions to itemize. This is still in process right now. Eileen emailed them the sum total of Mom’s room and board at the nursing home. I need to clarify that number by subtracting fees that don’t apply to this deduction. Fun.
The casseroles turned out well. Eileen said it was just to the limit of her preferred spicy. Maybe next time I’ll leave the “tame” jalapeno peppers out of hers.
1. A Memorial Inscription’s Grim Origins – NYTimes.com
I agree with the idea that a quotation used as a public inscription should reflect its original context. Too late probably to change this. Idiotic to remove the attribution. Good grief.
2. Lashing Out in Verse – NYTimes.com
Young weird Denmark poet.
3. Postcolonial Resentments Loom Over Meeting of Europeans and Africans – NYTimes.
It does seem weird to me that “organizers” of the meeting would forbid some people to attend.
4. Irene Fernandez, Champion of the Oppressed in Malaysia, Dies at 67 – NYTimes.com
This woman sounds extraordinary to me.
5. Marc Platt, 100, Stage and Screen Dancer, Dies – NYTimes.com
I find obits of fascinating people interesting to read.
6. The Price of a Slur – NYTimes.com
I think I come down on the “PC” side of this argument. Some of the anti-“PC” comments seem ignorant and narrow to me.
7. How Not to Enforce Campaign Laws – NYTimes.com
FEC critique written by one of its members.
8. The Aliens Have Landed – NYTimes.com
The basic point of this article is that the damage we have inflicted on our planet is as dire as an alien invasion from outer space and that we should come together now as a planet even as we are experiencing the ill effects of what was thought of as future results.