Ay, Waferinos!
Is it too soon to look back, to survey the highs and lows of the past year? What I keep noticing is the split between ourselves and the US. This was a disastrous year for the latter, which will be known in history as Trump 1. So much damage he did! What declinist is not excited by this, is not looking forward to yet another year of gaffes and boorishness and misguided foreign and domestic policy? Stupid advisers, ridiculous appointments, China and Russia laughing up their sleeves--the whole 9 yards.
And yet, concomitant with this, we have the world of Waferdom, with its inhabitants having a grand ol' time. The contrast is really fascinating. Here the US is going to hell in a basket, and Wafers everywhere had a pretty good year of it. For me, it started out at the end of 2016, when Trumpi was elected and I was giving lectures in Germany. Watching Botox-Face on German television, heavily sedated, mouthing some scripted message about how the future was female: Jesus, does entertainment get any better than that?
And then spending 3 weeks in Italy, a land of fabulous art, fabulous food, and a landscape to die for. This was followed by the Wafer Summit Meeting in NY, where we all thrust our faces into pie and reveled in the disgusting mess we created: a party like no other, really. Then, for me, an interview with RT, which then proceeded to cut out two small pieces, fold these into other shows, and toss out the rest. Sublime!, as was a visit to the Met with 2 other Wafers. Plus, I ducked into the 2nd Ave Deli and porked out on pastrami, chopped liver, dill pickles, cole slaw with Russian dressing, and a Cel-Ray Tonic. Life doesn't get much better than that, although the publication, at long last, of
Are We There Yet?, felt pretty good as well.
For me, the year winds up with a lecture on my Japan book, shortly to be released in Spanish translation, in Guadalajara on Nov. 27. In Spanish, of course, so if any of you hispanohablantes happen to be in the neighborhood, it will take place in the evening, as part of the Feria Internacional de Libros. I hope to see you there, muchachos!
And if I ask myself why, when the US is crumbling, life is so good for us Wafers, there can be only one answer: because we are Wafers! Our lives are glorious, by definition. So all of you, por favor, write in now, and tell us of your triumphs and joys over the past 11 months, and how Waferdom has blessed your life. As Patrick Henry cried at the height of the American Revolution, "Give me liberty, or give me a tuna sandwich on rye with lettuce and mayo!" These are the words of a great man.
-mb
