Page 10 - Palm City Spotlight - February '21

Page 10, Palm City Spotlight DOUBLE SPACE

Book Review

Hits & Misses satirical commentary on our screaming his head off. And now, he is in a cage in a glue factory
and nobody cares about him, and his friend, Paul – you know
“millennial” generation’s
By Nils A. Shapiro foibles and lifestyle trends. him, Paul Revere – is famous. It isn’t fair.
I should make this an That story has just Menlo Park, 1891. Thomas Edison’s laboratory was located in
annual treat! been made into a film, An Menlo Park, N.J. In 1891, he invented the kinetograph, the first
Exactly one year ago, in American Pickle, starring “motion picture camera” which he knew would change the world
February 2020, I reviewed Seth Rogen in dual roles and make him famous. He hires a boy, hands him two oblong
a collection of short stories, as both the immigrant wooden clubs, tells him to just swing the clubs over his head,
Spoiled Brats, by Simon Jew and the century-later films that activity for a few minutes with his new invention and
Rich, an author among whose descendant of his wife who sarcastically titles the film Newark Athlete. Then Edison invites
credits are having been a was pregnant at the time of the press, screens the film and anticipates their excited reaction
writer for TV’s Saturday Night his disappearance. and questions. When the reporters notice the boy, they rush to
Live and The Simpsons. He is Rich’s newest collection, him – not Edison – and ask what it feels like to be an actor, what
a frequent contributor to The Hits & Misses, contains 19 advice he has for youngsters seeking an acting career, inquire
New Yorker magazine, has created several TV series, and now stories. Published in 2018, it about his girlfriends, and so on. Simon Rich lives in Los Angeles,
has seven published books to his credit. is every bit as much fun. And, just as with the others, you can and knows full well the irony of celebrity worship – actors over
England’s Guardian newspaper calls Simon Rich “the open it to almost any page – at the beginning of any story – and all others, including in this fictional case the inventor!
funniest man in America,” and he has also been described as “the find a hit; there are virtually no misses here. In my case, I had Dinosaur is about a real dinosaur. You know, the really big,
Stephen King of comedy writing.” Conan O’Brien has simply an hour or so before dinner New Year’s Eve and decided to start green kind with a scaly back, yellow eyes and sharp razor teeth.
stated, “My admiration for Rich is rivaled only by my jealousy.” reading the first story. In two sittings, by the end of New Year’s Except this one works as a writer for a TV show, and the rest of
As for my reaction to Spoiled Brats, the book I reviewed a Day, I had turned the last of the book’s 230 pages ... captivated the staff, humans one-twentieth his size, are really way – and I
year ago, I laughed out loud from first page to last at the wildest again by the almost inconceivable imagination capable of mean waaaaaaaay younger. The problem is that the others keep
extremes of comedic imagination I had ever encountered in springing from one man’s mind! using words like “woke,” and other terms that he hasn’t caught
any creative form. One of the 13 stories in that book, Sellout – I kept telling myself “just one more story ... just one more ...” onto, and he is embarrassed to admit it, so he has to keep looking
although, at 78 pages in length, I described it then as almost a After all, they average only about five or six pages each. But, them up. It’s a “generation gap” thing, but when robots enter
novella – I found especially hilarious and impressive. It tells of an like eating potato chips, I couldn’t stop until there were no more the picture it all works out at the end, thanks to Simon Rich’s
immigrant Jew who arrives in America from Europe, gets a job in left. Here are several examples to explain why: inexhaustible imagination.
a Brooklyn pickle factory, marries a girl who becomes pregnant, Riding High: The Oatsy Story is told by a horse who has a There are 16 more like these. Go along for the ride. You will
and one day he falls into a large vat of brine, the lid closes above legitimate complaint. He describes how one night he spent hours love it. And when somebody makes a movie out of one of these
him, and he is not discovered – perfectly preserved – until 100 running all around town, even through brambles, no matter how stories, you will have read the book first!
years later! What happens to him then becomes the author’s tired, while his friend Paul on top of him, was scared and kept

fInanCIal foCus

Remote Work May Offer pandemic, according to a Harvard Business School study. appropriate office attire. By working from home, you
can “dress down,” reducing your clothing costs and dry-
This shift to at-home work can affect people’s lives in
Financial Benefits many ways – and it may end up providing workers with cleaning bills.
some long-term financial advantages. As you can see, it may be possible for you to save quite
By Bryce Buchanan, If you’re one of those who will continue working a bit of money by working from home. How can you use
Edward Jones remotely, either full time or at least a few days a week, your savings to help meet your long-term financial goals,
During the COVID-19 how might you benefit? Here are a few possibilities: such as achieving a comfortable retirement?
pandemic, many of us have • Reduced transportation costs – Over time, you can For one thing, you could boost your investments. Let’s
been forced to work from spend a lot of money commuting to and from work. The suppose that you can save $2,500 each year by working
home. But once we’ve average commuter spends $2,000 to $5,000 per year on remotely. If you were to invest this amount in a tax-
moved past the virus, many transportation costs, including gas, car maintenance, deferred account, such as an IRA or your 401(k) or similar
workers may continue public transportation and other expenses, depending on employer-sponsored plan and earned a hypothetical 6
working from home. More where they live, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic percent annual return for 20 years, you’d accumulate more
than one-third of companies Analysis and the U.S. Census Bureau. If you are going to than $97,000 – and if you kept going for an additional 10
with employees who started work primarily from home, you should be able to greatly years, you’d have nearly $210,000. You’d eventually pay
working from home now reduce these costs. taxes on the amount you withdrew from these accounts
think that remote work will stay more common post- • Potentially lower car insurance premiums – Your auto (and withdrawals prior to age 59½ may be subject to a
insurance premiums are partially based on how many miles 10 percent IRS penalty), but you’d still end up pretty far
you drive each year. So, if you were to significantly reduce ahead of where you’d be otherwise.
these miles by working from home, you might qualify for You also might use part of your savings generated by
lower rates. remote work to help build an emergency fund containing
Captain’s was established in 1980 servicing • Lower expenditures on lunches – If you typically eat a few months’ worth of living expenses. Without this fund,
Palm Beach County and is a privately lunch in restaurants or get takeout while at work, you could you might be forced to dip into your retirement accounts
owned and managed company. easily be spending $50 or more per week – even more if to pay for something like a major home repair.
Captain’s is committed to providing you regularly get coffee drinks to go. By these figures, Becoming an at-home worker will no doubt require
dependable, reliable and professional you could end up spending around $3,000 a year. Think some adjustments on your part – but, in strictly financial
ground transportation to and from all
South Florida Airports and Seaports. PBCVH212 how much you could reduce this bill by eating lunch at terms, it could lead to some positive results.
To reserve your vehicle: home during your remote workday. This article was written by Edward Jones, member
561-798-2180 or 800-634-7890 www.captainsairport.com • Lower clothing costs – Despite the rise in “casual SIPC, for use by your local Edward Jones financial
dress” days, plenty of workers still need to maintain advisor.

Answer for

Crossword Puzzle Aligned
with

Home • Auto • Boat • RV • Life
Flood • Business • Commercial

Mary-Beth Zipsir
Agent in Charge

O: (772) 233-4444
www.smartchoicepartnersfl.com

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