Various and sundry

• Maebelle died on Monday; Sheila wrote in what seemed good spirits, which we of course wish her & Bobby.
• Jennifer apparently cake-walked through her first law school exams, at least she sounded typically blasé and relieved about them when I caught her at "home" when I wanted to phone with her mom.
• Die Deutsche Bahn meint Streiks gerichtlich verbieten lassen zu können, ihr offenbar lieber als ernsthafte Verhandlungen mit der Gewerkschaft der Lokführer, die den Arbeitskampf als legitimes Druckmittel verwenden wollen. Nun werde Geisler und Biedenkopf vermitteln - hoffentlich kriegen die Arbeiter mehr Geld und nicht nur die "Managers".
• There are cracks in some 425 of the stone slabs of the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, although it only opened two years ago. Most aren't serious, but repair must occur before the winter frosts come. Another enduring repair site.
• The brick-facade skyscraper at Potsdamer Platz is still bounded by scaffolding to protect everyone below from the bricks falling out of the building, and there is still no sign of any work being done to fix the structure!
• Edith, my mother-in-law, will turn 70 on Monday, and we're all taking her out on a pedal-train ride preceding and following a fancy lunch. She's promised to serve as my other mom for some time to come, now that Rose is no longer.
• Another MH has arrived for my perusal: Aus der Erfahrung des Denkens, a collection of 66 years of shorter pieces.
• Berthet's Journal de Trêve is also awaiting my reading, as is the rest of Pamuk's Snow, Chomsky's Failed States, and Grimmelshausen's Simplicissimus.
• And last night we watched that fabulously quirky 60's film: I love you, Alice B. Toklas with Peter Sellers etc.
  And now it's time for a weekend.