Relying On Others

to muddle through

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about something I read in Let Them Eat Tweets (by Jacob S. Hacker and Paul Pierson). It took me a while to find what I needed but luckily I knew about where it was on the page. Sure enough, I found it this morning, and I want to quote the sentence verbatim. I reported in a previous post that the book seems to require permission, but I think one sentence of such import that it remained with me through a couple more heavy books on similar subjects deserves to be noted. On Page 100, in the final paragraph, the authors are discussing the complexity of the modern world and flood of information: “We cannot develop anything resembling expertise on more than a small slice of reality, and thus we depend on others for guidance.”

So the upshot of my thoughts on this subject is that I wonder what is my area of expertise. And I realized that it has been for the past 40-plus years searching out the title chains for properties in both Connecticut and New York States. The underlying skill is that things have to make sense ultimately. Properties do not pass magically from one owner to another, and we searchers are also responsible for reporting any outstanding encumbrances. We are also skilled in searching the old records and some of us have grudgingly adapted to the new computerized version of our profession. I can still remember when one Town Clerk began scanning her documents, but I didn't foresee quite such a change as has occurred. Be that as it may, the inherent skill of getting to the bottom of things still has value—if people have the time and patience to dig out the answers. And this is what leads me this morning to remind people of some history.

The front page of The New York Times for Tuesday, October 16, 1973, has a story with the heading “Major Landlord Accused of Antiblack Bias in City” reported by Morris Kaplan. The case was brought against Trump Management Corporation (with Fred Trump and Donald also named) and you can find many of the details online. One thing I remember reading was that if a black person applied to rent an apartment, the application was marked with a “C” which at the time was the term “colored” and those otherwise eligible applicants were subsequently denied. To hear the current nonsense coming from this now convicted felon about his marvelous history of caring for black people is astonishing. And this morning I was assaulted with an endorsement from another convicted felon from Detroit who got his get-out-of-jail free card from the person who was president at the time. Please pay attention to the sources from which you get your information.

Another confluence of events in my life has been that while I’m reading Jim Sciutto’s The Return of Great Powers I’ve been learning about the latest in anti-submarine warfare. Incredible advances in technology have added new meaning to the motto “run silent, run deep” since I was editing manuals in the early 70’s. Then when I turned to my before-bed escapist moment with the telly the other night, my recent favorite “Monk” presented a story which involved him being stuck on a boat as it was underwater for a few days. I have never been to visit a submarine, and I’m not a fan of tight places. But it was fascinating to see the character interacting in what I assume was an actual interior (or a very cleverly designed facsimile). The current expert view is that submarines will play an even larger role in the future.

I’m going to end with some happier thoughts today. I will always be grateful to the wonderful owner of Harney’s Teas who gave me a tip many years ago that saved me this week. I have discovered a tea that I really like but the other day the store did not have it in decaf. I bought the high-test instead and have proceeded to enjoy it by following the advice I was given: Brew the tea bag for 5-minutes in boiling water, then discard that liquid (or share it with someone who can tolerate caffeine) and you will have a decaffeinated bag to use in another cup of boiling water. While this may not result in the really strong brew I sometimes want, it is still very much to my liking. Thank you, Mr. Harney (which may not have been his name but that’s how I think of him). And another item bringing me immense pleasure this morning is my new box of tissues that pop up—they’re Kleenex, by the way. I think I shared before that I had purchased some that didn't and was very disappointed, so I had given them away to a friend. Now I can be happy when the allergies require me to reach for the tissues more frequently.

Finally, I read about Umberto Eco’s book collection this morning, and I am in awe. There’s a video online of him walking through his stacks of books to retrieve one in particular. That warmed the cockles of my heart although I was sad to learn that he had died in 2016. His neat and tidy collection has inspired me to get a better handle on these precious possessions. I have a great many books associated with the political events of the past few years, including from Fiona Hill and others who testified at the January 6 Committee hearings—and of course I have the Report of the Committee. Perhaps I should set aside a specific bookcase to shelve all this history in one place? We’ll see . . .