Scooter use is rising in large cities. So are trips to the emergency room.

In Santa Monica, Calif. — where one of the biggest electric-scooter companies is based — the city’s fire department has responded to 34 serious accidents involving the devices this summer.  WaPo

I do not like to take the bus or walk so very far,

 my work place has no parking space for my own little car.

And so I find that scooters are a fast and easy ride;

the breeze whips through my thinning hair as through the streets I glide.

It brings back childhood memories of happy wheeling trips;

when a folding push scooter brought smiles unto my lips.

and if today it happens that pedestrians I clip,

and cause them to collapse in pain or do a full back flip,

I don't think it is reason for them to begin a scene --

after all, my scooting helps to keep the city clean.

I wish there were more bike paths so I wouldn't knock 'em down;

but who needs road construction in the summer here in town?

As for wearing helmets, there's no law that says I must;

so in my navigation skills I place all of my trust.

A pratfall is not in the cards for drivers smart as me;

I barrel down the boulevard, in attitude carefree . . .

But when the brakes did fail me and I crashed into a wall

I found my joy in scooting smothered with a painful pall.

The doctors say I'm better now, although I must take care

as I cross the curbside in my motorized wheelchair.  

A Tweet from Trump -- The Anonymous Coward

Are the investigative “journalists” of the New York Times going to investigate themselves - who is the anonymous letter writer? @realDonaldTrump

Anonymous contributors should never be allowed

to make an accusation that will stir an angry crowd;

At least when I make statements that cause people up to jump

I'm mighty proud they know that they're from me -- old Donny Trump!

ant on the sidewalk

ant on the sidewalk --

brown piece of the puzzle;

will autumn be hard?

A Tweet from Trump, and Other Nonsense

Isn’t it a shame that someone can write an article or book, totally make up stories and form a picture of a person that is literally the exact opposite of the fact, and get away with it without retribution or cost. Don’t know why Washington politicians don’t change libel laws? @realDonald Trump

Isn't it a shame that books are published all the time;

that all their information isn't treated like a crime?

If I were made the President, I'd make those authors scram.

Oh wait, what am I saying? The Chief of State I am!

In that case, have a care, you swine, that publish such malarkey --

My apparatchiks will find you; and they can be quite snarky.


****************************************

Schools in multiple states are tearing out water fountains and old faucets after finding elevated levels of lead in their drinking water.  WSJ

The reason that Johnny has read
nothing of late is the lead
from school water which
his brain does bewitch --
no wonder his parents see red.


*****************************************

Nike revealed on Monday that Colin Kaepernick — the out-of-work NFL quarterback who generated controversy for kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial injustice and police brutality — would be featured in its 30th anniversary “Just Do It” campaign.  WaPo

There once was an athlete named Colin
who liked on his knees to be fallin'.
Such rank sedition
brings to fruition
a bank account with greenbacks crawlin'.

accomplish nothing

accomplish nothing --

be nothing and go nowhere --

peace already comes

Roman Sea Gulls -- Salt Water Taffy -- Cleaning Up San Francisco

The sea gull population in Rome has grown in recent years to the tens of thousands, according to some experts. Their physical dimension has grown, too, as they gorge on the smorgasbord of trash, snack on handouts from complicit tourists and snatch sandwiches from unsuspecting pedestrians.

NYT

The sea gulls in Rome are so rude

they'll snatch up your al fresco food.

And like any bird

they'll leave you a turd --

they're pigeons with bad attitude. 

*******************************************************************

Saltwater taffy, a practical treat easily found in most beach towns and less expensive than chocolate, is a candy that seems to hang around longer than most, said Debbi Shaffer, 51, an executive assistant based in Florida. “Not all the saltwater taffy flavors are delightful,” she said.

WSJ

When taffy is offered to me

I always decline gracefully;

although I am willing,

it takes out a filling --

and I can't afford dentistry.

**********************************************

“I want people to walk around this city and think, ‘Wow, it’s so clean here,’ ” San Francisco Mayor London Breed said during a recent interview.

WaPo

The best way to keep cities clean

is moving the poor off the scene.

All that does not glitter

is certainly litter,

and ought to be hid with a screen.

poets, leave it be!

even a dullard 

knows brilliance during sunrise --

poets, leave it be! 

Reporters without bylines

Reporters without bylines are a national disgrace;

I wanna see their name and education and bright face.

How sad that in a country where the Press was once supreme

they have to lose identity as well as all their steam.

Who belongs to a Union anymore? -- Kerry in 2020?

Most Americans like labor unions, at least in the abstract. A majority (55%) holds a favorable view of unions, versus 33% who hold an unfavorable view, according to a Pew Research Center survey from earlier this year. For most of the past three decades that the Center has asked that question, in fact, Americans have viewed unions at least somewhat more favorably than unfavorably.  
Despite those fairly benign views, unionization rates in the United States have dwindled in recent decades (even though, in the past few years, the absolute number of union members has grown slightly). As of 2017, just 10.7% of all wage and salary workers were union members . . . 
Pew Research Center 

Belonging to a union is a fine thing, in abstract;

but if I were to join one my darn boss would have me sacked.

Or else the dues would levitate to heights I can't afford;

Teamsters pay enough that even Bill Gates would be floored.

My father was a Union man -- his father was one, too;

but all those heavy lifting jobs have gone to Katmandu. 

Former secretary of state John F. Kerry isn’t shutting the door to a second presidential bid, more than a decade after his narrow loss to President George W. Bush in 2004.  WaPo

Running to be President in 2020 is

something to give has-beens a fine calculating fizz.

But I don't think the prospects for a wannabe like Kerry

are anything to make Republicans feel very wary. 

brittle flowers

an overgrown yard 

with an outmoded commode 

and brittle flowers