Blowing It All on Ye Brand Sneaks

[mallorys_camera]

I note the death of Judy Heumann (along with her intriguingly suggestive surname) whom I interviewed for People Mag sometime in the 90s and who shocked the hell out of me by telling me she was ambivalent about polio vaccines—“Well, their intent is to eliminate people like me, isn’t it?”

###

I had five completely pleasant TaxBwana clients yesterday (for a change):

• A lovely woman around my own age with whom I was able to do lots of planning viz impending RMDs

• Another woman around my own age, a breast cancer survivor, who replied, “Probably not—they’ve found brain metastases” to my cheery stock farewell: “See you next year!”

• A cute pair of newlyweds who ended up owing more than $10,000 to the IRS/State of New York after he withdrew $50,000 from his IRA and blew it on—ulp!—Ye (a/k/a Kanye West) sneakers. (I walked them through the Financial Literacy 101 course, which ended by telling them, “I know it doesn’t seem possible that one day you’re gonna be as old as me—but trust me, it is gonna happen! See all those old people walking around on the street who don’t have anywhere to live or anything to eat? You don’t want to be one of them.”)

• A smart, lovely woman who will be celebrating her 90th birthday this coming Friday who is in complete possession of her mental faculties, and who still drives (although she walks with a cane.). I was filled with admiration for her! Also hope for myself! 😀

###

Of course, I was absolutely knackered when I got home because of sleeping so poorly the night before.

Couldn’t concentrate well enough to remunerate.

Am between books, so couldn’t read.

And despite the fact that I subscribe to every streaming network known to man, there wasn’t a single thing I wanted to watch. Television and movies are one big wasteland.

Then—to add insult to injury—when I finally deemed it was okay for me to go to bed—I still couldn’t sleep.

Something is going on!

Some pervasive if low-level persistent anxiety.

It’s not connected to my daily life, which, as I say, is going along well.

I wonder what it is?

Comments

Sole-id investment

[bb_lurks_here_too]

How many Ye kicks does one get for 50G? Was this an idea for an investment? Like they'd become collectors' items and make him a fortune?

When he's living large, you'll be saying, "What a great idea, how did I miss out?! LOL

Re: Sole-id investment

[mallorys_camera]

The Daily Mail thinks you're absolutely right! 😀

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-11827761/Sneaker-geek-reveals-10-Nike-shoes-sell-make-fortune.html

Re: Sole-id investment

[lethe1]

And now we just have to hope that Kanye West is as strong a brand as Nike is... somehow, I have my doubts.

[lethe1]

I can't read Heumann's obituary, but what nonsense. "Eliminate", as if she would have been killed. She would have lived, but without disabilities. Wouldn't she have liked that? Would there really be anyone who contracted polio who are happy that they got polio, when it could so easily have been prevented?

[mallorys_camera]

Variations on this argument are not uncommon in the disability community here. Usually, you get them from deaf people who are objecting to cochlear implants.

Her remark rendered me speechless! 😀 I didn't think it was my place to argue with her since your role as a professional interviewer is to showcase the thoughts of your interview subject plus you want to stay on their good side, and Heumann seemed to me like one of those people who's quick to take offense.

But, yeah. I thought her remarks were nonsense, too.

[lethe1]

With deaf people, I can kind of understand why they would prefer the peace and quiet to the very noisy surroundings hearing people live in. At least with a normal hearing aid they can decide for themselves to switch it off whenever they want.

I used to have a deaf colleague with a hearing aid, who even sang in a choir. At work she would regularly switch if off, and she was expert at reacting in all the right places when people talked to her. Afterwards, she would ask me what they had said, and I hadn't even realized her hearing aid was off.

I once saw a beautiful documentary, Le pays des sourds (English title "In the Land of the Deaf"): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107796/ It was very enlightening.

[mallorys_camera]

At least with a normal hearing aid they can decide for themselves to switch it off whenever they want.>

I think you can do that to some extent with a cochlear implant as well.

[asakiyume]

I'm going to take travel anxiety for ten thousand!

There you go. Answered your question!

Speaking of 90s, Wakanomori came across this cute story about a guy in his 90s in Japan who still runs a candy shop.

[mallorys_camera]

I don't know why I'm so absolutely resistant to thinking it's travel anxiety.

Because it probably is travel anxiety. 😀

I suppose because it shifts the cost/benefit analysis—like if you spend a month feeling anxious about travel, is it really worth traveling? 😀

That's a lovely story!

[asakiyume]

It **is** worth it because (being hideously earnest here) it keep our adventuresome muscles flexible. At this stage in our life, all our systems are stiffing and contracting--but we want to keep on going forever! So we need to keep pushing against contraction. You do this automatically. You have great instincts.

So yeah, we suffer the anxiety, but I think that anxiety would find us anyway--it would get so we were anxious about walking down the street or driving to the supermarket--and by doing these adventures, we're making ourselves overall **less** anxious. So it's worth it.

[lethe1]

So yeah, we suffer the anxiety, but I think that anxiety would find us anyway--it would get so we were anxious about walking down the street or driving to the supermarket

Yes! I noticed that during the first lockdown. I really had to push myself to venture beyond my own street.

[asakiyume]

Good for you for doing it! Stretching the muscle is what keeps it working.