200 Million Americans Can't Be Felons

I'll say it again... read this.

Exactly 100 years ago, economist, lawyer, and historian Brooks Adams, great-grandson of revolutionary John Adams and a close advisor to Roosevelt, was in pitched battle against the U.S. railroads, who were charging extortionary rates for shippers to and from points between Chicago and the West Coast, where they held monopoly power. Adams wrote:

"There is no ancient and abstract principle of right and wrong, which can safely be deduced as a guide to regulate the relations of railways and monopolies among our people, because railways and monopolies are products of forces unknown in former times. The character of competition has changed, and the law must change to meet it, or collapse. Such is my general theory."

At 4 AM local time and suffering the delirium of jet lag, it's my general theory as well.

Adventurous Evening

Imagine David, on one shot of tequila. I took two in a row once at 1:30AM because I couldn't sleep, and when my wife told me to take a shower (relaxes the body) I said "I can't," she asked why, I said "because I can't stand up," and no sooner had I said this, but I rammed my shoulder into the door frame trying to enter the bedroom. She laughed, of course. Silly Mexican. Or is that silly American?

So anyway, I have a cold sore, so my friend Kevin told me "Listerine" and I tried our generic last night - no burning sensation. I read the label. No alcohol. So I take a shot of tequila and swish it around the front of my mouth. God, that tastes awful. Swallow. Woozy. Buzzed. One shot of tequila, mind you. I sit down and chat with my oldest, who is still up. It's almost 10PM.

We go to hang out with my lady, and she says her tooth is really hurting, can we go to Walgreens? I think "Well, I have to go, might as well not worry her..." so I don't say anything about Tequila and make my firstborn come with me so she can talk to me along the way, not that she minded.

We get to Walgreens at 10:02PM. Northeast stores close at 10 or earlier, if they are smart. So I try thinking of any pharmacy open that late that is closer. Think, think, think. It took a conscious effort to pull up the locations in my head. Tower road. Millhopper Plaza. Butler Plaza. 13th Street. They were all on the Western side of the city. Why? For the same reason everything closes at night in Eastern Gainesville. 13th Street it was.

We came back safely, but the first 10 minutes of the ride were fun.

After we came home, I told Maria the complete story after she'd applied her medicine to her tooth and felt better.

She laughed.