Hurtling down the road of life…damned if I didn’t run into the technology editor of one of the nation’s national newspapers. She is our neighbor. And while her task is to cover Silicon Valley, she admitted to me that this particular Saturday her mind is elsewhere…specifically in the sordid and gobsmacking news that endlessly rolls out of the White House. I found it reassuring that someone involved in such a disciplined profession, her time tightly rationed and her mind highly focused…also can’t get away from the news.

Although getting away is essential. For one practical reason, and perhaps the most important, there is so much of it. Take the Internet. Even in San Francisco, supposedly the high-tech capital of the world, we put up with risible service. I’m embarrassed to even mention our upload and download speeds. The local monopolistic carrier AT&T doesn’t even pretend to invest in modern digital technology…or deliver what might be described as service. Oy. And at this very moment with everyone distracted by the President’s antics…Washington’s great Trump-appointed Internet regulator is doing everything possible to ensure that the nation’s Internet performance declines even further.

Because my neighbor covers technology news for a national publication, I can’t resist bending her ear about telecommunications. She nods. She understands. Still, like almost everyone else, she can’t resist learning about the latest developments in Washington. Neither can I. And maybe this is okay. After all, behind this obsession is love of Civis.

Leaving the editor in the dust, I hurtle on. My mission, after all, is to ensure that my wife is adequately caffeinated. This is one of the few practical things I can actually do for us. And it’s not even practical. I shop. I return home with goods and cappuccino. Onward.

At least in Canyon Market, everyone knows my name. It is a personable place, even if its goods are priced at the brink of credibility. The bin of cherries on sale at $8.99 being but one example. Oh well, enjoy the cherries while one may. It’s a house of cards, this economy. But I try not to think about this. Canyon Market has a staff-to-customer ratio that rivals a cruise ship’s. Lots of employment. Not much deck space. And I do hope the whole thing doesn’t sink.