An Old Man's Poem

I read J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy when I was a young man over 60 tears ago. I saw the three film adaptations when they first came out, and am now re-watching them with my 17 year old grandson. We are halfway through, and I have been inspired to reread the trilogy. I have almost finished the first volume, The Fellowship of the Ring, and in the process read this poem that so much evokes the thoughts of an 87 year old man. 

 

I sit beside the fire and think

of all that I have seen,

Of meadow-flowers and butterflies

in summers that have been;

 

Of yellow leaves and gossamer

in autumn that there were,

with morning mist and silver sun

and wind upon my hair.

 

I sit beside the fire and think

of how the world will be

when winter comes without a spring

that I shall ever see.

 

For still there are so many things

that I have never seen:

in every wood and every spring

there is a different green.

 

I sit beside the fire and think

of people long ago,

and people who will see a world

that I shall never know.

 

But all the while I sit and think

of times there were before,

I listen for returning feet

and voices at the door.

 

J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings

Here is a link to a piano solo of September Song with lyrics that express a similar sentiment. 

Greta Garbo: Ninotchka

 

 

Many film critics and historians regard 1939 as the Annus Mirabilis or greatest year of American film. In that year Hollywood produced Gone with the Wind which swept practically all the Academy Awards; The Wizard of Oz with Judy Garland in an iconic role; Stagecoach which made John Wayne a star; and Frank Capra’s Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Worthy to be included in this pantheon is Ninotchka, a charming comedy directed by Ernst Lubitsch, and starring the great Greta Garbo.

Garbo had come to America from Sweden in the 1920s and became an immediate silent film sensation. When “talkies” arrived, she made the transition with ease, despite her accent, in Anna Christie. Film publicists merely relied on two words: “Garbo talks!” Her first words were “Give me a whiskey” spoken to a waiter in a dingy waterfront bar.  She went on to star in dramatic blockbusters Grand Hotel, Mata Hari, Queen Christina, Camille, and Anna Karenina. Ninotchka, however, would be her first attempt at comedy. This time publicists again used only two words to hail the film: “Garbo Laughs.”

Garbo plays a frowning, no-nonsense Soviet agent sent to Paris to complete the sale of jewels confiscated by the Communist regime to raise funds for the faltering Russian economy. Actually, she is sent to take over the job from three bumbling Soviet bureaucrats who had quickly become corrupted by the charms and luxury of Paris. It turns out that the jewels were formerly the property of a Russian Grand Duchess living in exile in Paris, and whose lover is a French nobleman, played by Melvyn Douglas, obviously a “kept” man who will eventually fall for Garbo. 

Communism was still enjoying a springtime in Hollywood in 1939. Despite Stalin’s show trials and purges, and his recent non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany, many in the film industry still regarded Communism as the wave of the future, the solution of America’s problems, and the savior of the downtrodden and oppressed. 

Nevertheless, director Ernest Lubitsch, a German émigré, and the film’s writers which included Billy Wilder, another German émigré, continually poked fun at the failures of the Soviet system. At one point, Garbo even refers to Stalin’s show trials: “There will be fewer Russians, but better ones.” Compared to Paris, Moscow is drab, cold, and dreary. However, despite the political satire, this film is really a love story and Garbo plays it beautifully.  

She initially appears at the train station wearing a drab Soviet outfit most likely designed by Adrian, her favorite costume designer.  During the film she brilliantly transforms herself into a beautiful woman falling in love not only with Paris but also with Leon, the French Count.

In one famous scene set in a neighborhood café he tries to make her laugh by telling one lame joke after another, but she sees nothing funny. Only when he gives up and falls to the floor after leaning too far back in his chair does she break out into prolonged laughter along with the other patrons. He joins in and the ice is broken. She is a woman.

Later, he takes her to a fancy nightclub. She has shed her Soviet attire and wears an evening gown. He introduces her to champagne, something she thought was only used to launch warships, and we see her slowly get high and then outright drunk. She plays it beautifully as she goes through the various stages of inebriation. Finally, he takes her back to her hotel room where she collapses. Later, we discover that he just put her to bed and left her sleeping. He is in love with her and would never take advantage of her. That was the way a man was supposed to act in those days, and that is one of the reasons why films like Ninotchka are part of Hollywood’s Golden Age.

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Note: click on this link for a brief clip from the film. 

Report on the Economy

 The Economy

The US Census Bureau recently released its latest economic report for the year 2025, the first year of the second Trump administration. Here are some of the findings.

Median household income rose to an all time high of $87,460, surpassing the previous peak of $$85,420 set in 2019 during the first Trump administration. Median income means that half the households in the country make more than that amount, and the other half make less. The Census bureau prefers median to average income because the latter is skewed by outliers on both ends of the economic spectrum. 

Unemployment was at an all time low, and layoffs were rare. At the same time, the poverty rate also fell to an all-time low of 10.2%. That is certainly good news. 

These figures seem to confirm that America prospered in the first year of President Trump’s second term, and despite inflation, there are indicators that the economic boom has continued in 2026.  Stock indexes have repeatedly made new highs. In every speech the President talks about massive new investments in the economy that will create thousands of new well-paying jobs.

But what about inflation?

In recent remarks Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent noted that “core inflation” is currently at 2.4%, close to the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. However, energy prices are not included in “core inflation” figures, and obviously the Iranian war and the subsequent interruptions of oil traffic through the Strait of Hormuz have caused oil prices to spike causing substantial increases in the price of oil and gas. The average price of gas at the pump has risen to about $4.50 although that figure will vary from state to state. *

However, on September 29. The Wall Street Journal headlined the news that Middle East oil producers are now shipping almost 80% of their pre- war shipments. This news confirms what retired General David Petraeus explained in a Journal op- ed the day before. Oil prices, which had climbed over $100 per barrel during the summer, are now around $90 per barrel. If this trend continues, it will be good inflation news. 

Speaking of dollars, I have also been following the price of gold and silver this year. Even before the Iran war, the price of the two metals had soared to record highs. In particular, I follow the price of an exchange traded fund that just invests in silver. The fund’s symbol is SLV and in February it soared to about $110 per share. In other words, it would have taken $110 of your dollars to buy one share, while in the previous February it would only have taken about $30 dollars.

Before the war began, precious metal prices were signaling a decline in the value of the dollar, a definite sign of inflation.  However, since the war began, precious metal prices have steadily declined to the point where today you could have bought a share of SLV for $55, half what you would have paid in February. Our dollars are worth much more than they were at the beginning of the war, and so we should be able to buy more with them. A rise on the value of the dollar means a decline in inflation.

Nevertheless, my wife insists that prices continue to rise not only at the pump, but also in the supermarket. However, she did note that the price of the store brand of bite size shredded wheat, my favorite breakfast cereal, just dropped from $2.19 to $1.99 a box. Could the cereal be a leading economic indicator?

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*Note: In the summer of 2022, as the Biden administration faced the mid-term elections, the average price of gas at the pump was $5.00. 

War and Peace

  

 

 

Even the most virulent Trump haters would have to admit that so far, the attack on Iran has been one of the most humane wars that the United States has ever conducted. Not only has President Trump shown great care in protecting American combatants, but also his decision to refrain from bombing Iranian civilian targets is almost unprecedented in modern warfare. 

 

Moreover, he resorted to bombing military targets only after negotiations broke down and the Iranians bragged that they were on the verge of producing not one but a dozen nuclear weapons. Even after the combined US and Israeli attacks destroyed the Iranian Air Force, Air Defense systems, and Navy, President Trump has continually held out the olive branch of a negotiated peaceful settlement. 

 

Nevertheless, the President gets no credit from his detractors in politics or the media for the way in which the Iranian campaign has been conducted. Even a regular reader of the conservative editorial pages of the Wall Street Journal will be hard pressed to find a word of praise either for the initial overwhelming success of the operation, or the concern for Iranian civilians. 

 

Instead, Democrats can’t wait to impeach President Trump and War Secretary Pete Hegseth for waging successful operations in Venezuela and Iran with little loss of life. It seems that they wish for failure and hope for more casualties in order to damage the Administration. On the other hand, they rarely blame the terrorists who have been attacking civilians for years, especially when these terrorists claim to be Moslems.

 

By definition, terrorists direct their attacks on innocent civilians as a way to cow a population into submission.  I know all Moslems are not terrorists, but a high percentage of terrorists claim to be Moslem. The attack on the World Trade Center 25 years ago that killed about 3000 innocent civilians was planned and carried out by fanatical Islamists in the name of Allah, one of the greatest misuses of the name of God in history. 

 

Hamas, another fanatical Islamist group, bears responsibility for the murder, rape, torture, and abduction inflicted on Israeli civilians in October 2023, a brutal crime against humanity. Who will ever forget how these murderers exulted in this terrible crime against humanity? They even seemed to enjoy it. Sadly, that brutal attack on a Jewish community has it apologists both in the Moslem world, and here in America where antisemitism is on the rise among Social Democrats who are now welcomed into the Democratic Party’s Big Tent.

 

On the other hand, an op ed in this week’s Wall Street Journal by an Israeli who had been held hostage for over 500 days in Gaza, provided an eyewitness account of the care taken by the Israeli military to avoid civilian casualties in their response against Hamas in Gaza. Nevertheless, Jews are blamed for genocide.

 

Finally, while constantly criticizing the President, Democrats fail to blame the Islamic Republic of Iran, the leading sponsor of terrorism in the world ever since the Islamic revolution. Earlier this year the Iranian regime slaughtered thousands of its own people to keep the rest in line. In his recent speech at the UN, President Trump put the number at 70,000. Does anyone remember the countless missiles aimed at Israeli cities by Iran and its proxies, Hezbollah and Hamas, even before the American/Israeli attack in March?

 

In this week’s speech at the UN, President Trump laid out his claim to be a humanitarian peacemaker. Only 35 minutes long, and lacking the usual campaign rhetoric, it is well worth watching. He even went so far as to condemn the persecution of Christians still going on in many parts of the world. I cannot remember an American President ever making such a statement in a public forum. Here is a link to his speech.

 

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