The day after O.J. Simpson was found not guilty of the double murders and the evidence was freshest in mind, polls showed that the majority of Americans, both white and nonwhite, believed that the verdicts were correct. Only later did public opinion change. You can check it out and try to figure out why.

Do you remember when “Close Cover before Striking” was the most printed phrase in the English language?

Each time I wear my specially-made tee shirt I feel a lot of eyes on it. It reads, “Trump: His Mother Did Not Have Him Tested.” I expect that many who read the legend won’t get it, but so far no stranger has asked me what it means. Still, the daughter, who helped get the shirt, has made me nervous about wearing it. She told me that a woman wearing something anti-Trump was hit in the face by a Trumpista while dining in a Brooklyn restaurant. But so far, in New York I have gotten the expected quizzical looks but also many smiles and nods of appreciation. Once I even got outright enthusiastic laughter from a woman sitting at a window table in an upscale establishment. A young man fell in step along side me when I was wearing the shirt , told me that he worked for a union, and asked if I had seen a Trump documentary that he said was hilarious with its clip of the President’s mother. The only time I was actually nervous wearing the shirt was when I came out of the subway at a construction site. Hardhats, all white, were leaning against a fence on a coffee break. The youngest-looking saw what I was wearing and quickly came towards me. A white construction worker and me with an anti-Trump shirt. I thought that I was in for an awkward time at the least. A few feet from me he smiled broadly and said, “You got it right.” He turned to the crew and said, “Look. Isn’t that great!” Some of the coworkers smiled; one laughed; and the rest looked dumbfounded. I realized that I, too, could fall victim to stereotypes. But I still haven’t worn the shirt outside of New York City.

I was driving midweek in central Pennsylvania. Signs seemed to be everywhere for a weekend church festival. I was sorry that I was not going to be there then because the festival offered not just the usual music and food, but something that I have never experienced and could not entirely imagine: A Polka Mass!

I would like some study to examine how, if at all, voter ID laws affected our last election. I am sure that it would be hard to do, but solid data on the number of people who were prevented from voting who were not entitled to vote and the number of people who were entitled to vote (except for the ID laws) but who did not vote because of those laws. Knowing this would help us to understand what we call a democracy.

How did it originate that baseball players throw the ball around the infield after the first and second outs with no runner on base? Why is the first baseman often excluded from the ritual? Why does the third baseman always throw the baseball to the pitcher?

A Mercedes Benz ad that I see frequently during sporting events shows families in a nice suburban neighborhood admiringly looking up as a fleet of red cars zoom past. Each time I wonder where is it that people barbeque in their front yard?