Isn’t this the best time of the year? I mean, after all, it is Fat Bear Week.

I have sometimes asked them for directions, most often to the restroom. And I have wondered about how wearying it must be for a museum guard to stand for hour after hour. But now, after reading All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me by Patrick Bringley, who was a guard at the Met for ten years, I will see them differently. The book is an outstanding meditation on grief and art and life.

Rob Bresnahan, a candidate for Congress running in northeast Pennsylvania, has ads indicating that he will make the border secure. I wondered how a first-time Representative would do that and went to his website. Under “Issues,” he has a border section, which states in its entirety: “We must secure the border, build the wall, and reverse the Biden/Harris failed policies to stop the flow of illegal drugs and criminals into our communities.” Under “Economy,” however, Rob plans “to stop reckless spending . . . and cut taxes.” I guess in his view a border wall is not “reckless spending,” but he does not explain how he would pay for the construction. Estimates vary widely, but ones I have seen say the wall would cost from $20 billion to $70 billion to construct with hundreds of millions annually to maintain it. But, according to the politician, we can have the wall and lower taxes.

Some people mistake having an opinion for having a sensible idea.

New York City government is awash in scandals. The mayor has been indicted. Many high-level officials have been served with subpoenas, had their homes and offices searched, and their electronic devices seized. Several officials have resigned. I have not followed this closely, but one factoid caught my eye. The twin brother of the police commissioner (who has now left office) has been described as a “nightlife consultant.” I’m pretty sure he doesn’t get paid for advising clubs to ditch the red banquettes and lower the lighting, but I am not sure what such a consultant actually does.

I would like some simple but significant changes to political ads. The identification of whoever is paying for the ad should be prominent enough so that I can learn the organization’s name and research it if I wish. In addition, all claims should give me a source for any of the ad’s assertions, and it should be large enough and long enough that I can write it down and check it out if I wish. Or perhaps, the sponsoring organization should prominently display a website that contains the source material or links to it.

Many of us after Hurricane Helene are giving money to relief agencies to assist those in distress. Surprisingly, however, I haven’t heard that Trump, who we are told is bigly rich, has donated such money. I guess he must do it anonymously.

“No man can be wise on an empty stomach.” George Eliot.