Write and Right
Quadrants October 2022
I
Doing the Right Thing Can Be Difficult
The water heater in our house died last weekend.
Observation 1. You don’t appreciate how fortunate your life is until you face the inconvenience of “no hot water” while seeing images of people’s homes washed away in a hurricane.
And powerful hurricanes lead to thoughts of global warming and climate change and “doing the right thing.”
Therefore, in looking for a new water heater, we considered the conventional option; a gas-fired, same-old, same-old replacement. It would be a little under $2,000, I learned from a couple of quotes. But I also looked into a hybrid heat pump water heater. It would be electric—and I do opt for and pay more for green electricity. It would cost more—about $4,150. But, there were rebates and tax credits available—incentives to do the right thing.
Ultimately, I decided to do the hybrid system. There was a $1,000 rebate available on the manufacturer’s website, and it showed that I was eligible through my utility. Plus a $300 tax credit. I was one call away from placing the work order, but there was this one little thing I had to get clarified.
The water heater shown on my estimate had one less letter in the 10-digit model designation. I’ve been through rebate hell once or twice—I know that a single letter can cause a problem. So I called the installation company (not the utility) and asked for clarification and assurance that this model was eligible for the rebate.
After my initial contact, Scott, a very nice man, called me back. Yes, this model was eligible, too. He had some documentation on it. I thanked him and asked him to scan and send me the document by e-mail, and he said he would.
About three hours later, Scott called back.
Not only was the model not eligible for the rebate—all the equipment from that manufacturer was not eligible. Another company had been chosen for the rebate program by the utility, contradicting the information from the web.
And one more thing. The hybrid heat pump water heater from the other manufacturer was not available. Not in stock at the distributor. Scott didn’t know when it would be.
I was willing to pay more to do the right thing, but I wasn’t ready to pay more than twice as much.
So, as I write this, I am waiting for my long-time plumber to come and replace the conventional water heater with a similar new model.
But it did try to do the right thing. I really tried.
Preview
Sometime soon, I am going to write up a piece on an episode of Ted Lasso titled Do the Right-est Thing. I’ve watched it at least a half dozen times and done a minute-by-minute breakdown. It is just downright remarkable, great TV. The title for the post will be something like Why I love Ted Lasso. (I do, and I am eagerly awaiting season three.)
II
Going to Prison—Again
We completed the pilot class in money management at the North Central Correctional Institution in Gardner, MA, using The Richest Man in New Babylon as the text. And the men gave the class and the book great reviews. Here’s more information about how it went.
I got good feedback from the teacher and the men, I created a set of lesson plans for 15 classes, and a second class is now underway. I’m working with the head teacher at the institution, and we are hoping to get the class authorized as an official part of the curriculum next year.
All of that work led to some insights into The Rules and a new beginning for The No B.S.* Rules for Taking Care of Your Money (*No Boring Stuff).
The manuscript is complete, and I’m working on the layout. And I am looking for advance readers who might be interested in leaving a review and maybe giving me a blurb.
The Periodic Table of Financial Elements
If you might be interested, send me a message at ridgek@gmail.com.
III
Books—Heavy Listening
I read (listened) to the book version of The 1619 Project. I had read the original New York Times Magazine, and I was impressed. The new book is similarly impressive and depressing. I followed that up with a reading of the tenth-anniversary edition of The New Jim Crow.
The books are cut from the same cloth. The 1619 Project addresses the 400-year history/legacy of enslavement in the U.S. and concludes with a new chapter addressing the idea of reparations. Politically, the idea seems inconceivable. Morally, the cause is just.
The New Jim Crow focuses on the “war on drugs” that began in the 1970s and has been waged vigorously (viciously?) ever since. The big takeaway: The “war” has been waged almost exclusively in poor urban neighborhoods and focused primarily on poor black and brown men. Hence, the extraordinary mass incarceration statistics in the U.S. You want to know one place where we are world leaders—it’s the prison industry. And there’s the transfer of military gear to the police leading to more late-night drug raids and an overall military approach to policing, and look where we are with that now.
There’s a new book out now—The 1620 Project I think it’s called. It is positioned as a rebuttal to The 1619 Project. I have not read it. I should. It got great reviews from a bevy of conservative commentators and The Wall Street Journal. But here’s my problem with this kind of thing (I have read numerous anti-1619 reviews, critiques, etc.).
Why does anyone feel it’s necessary? Nothing in any of the critiques I’ve read have cited any actual errors of fact. The whole purpose of the criticism I’ve seen has been focused on the degree of things. Was the protection of slavery a big reason southern colonists went along with the independence movement in 1776—or was it just a little reason? Maybe only a very few of the men thought about it. How much of the wealth of northern banks was due to the “capital” created by enslaved people in the south? Three quarters, a half, or maybe only a third or less? It’s a fact that human beings were used as collateral on loans. Does it actually matter how big the loans were?
Way back in the ‘60s we talked about consciousness-raising. We thought that once you know something, it’s really hard to “unknow” it. It seems to me that these books are part of an important reexamination of the American past. It is consciousness-raising. They are uncomfortable. Unsettling. A lot of American history is horrific. And it’s the truth.
I think we can all agree that the United States has an imperfect history, and we have, over time, tried to do better. Books like these suggest to me that we have to keep trying to do better. We’ve got a long ways to go.
IV
Cookery—A No Recipe Recipe
This started with a recipe for chicken Caprese and kind of evolved into a no-recipe recipe for just about anything. It’s tasty, has earned the cook very positive Yelp reviews for Chez 28 Yale, and gets made once or twice a week.
Start with a big sauté pan. Medium-low heat. I use a non-stick pan—not my carbon steel. This “not a recipe” has water and acid in it that will wreak havoc on carbon steel or cast iron.
Next, a lemon, maybe, thinly sliced and seeds removed. Olive oil. Sauté until the lemon falls apart, and remove the rinds.
Diced garlic? A shallot? A small onion? Bell peppers? (Green if you like them, we like red or yellow). All are thinly sliced or diced.
Sun-dried tomatoes or cherry tomatoes or maybe just some diced tomatoes from a can.
Olives—kalamata and green. Slice them into nice little chunks—one olive into four or five pieces.
What else do you like? Add a bit. I can imagine a lot of possibilities, but the first thing that comes to mind as I write this is dates. I just found some nice ones, but they will have to be pitted.
I usually add a single pepperoncino sliced very thinly. That adds enough heat for our palates.
You could serve it over rice now if you wanted. Or as a side with whatever. A veggie main?
For the chicken Caprese, take a chicken breast, salt and peppered, butterfly-sliced into two thin filets, and pounded flat. Add tomato slices, mozzarella, and a bunch of fresh basil, and fold the chicken over, like in a big sandwich. Push all the good stuff in the pan to the sides and sauté the protein for about three or four minutes on a side. The chicken is cooked, the cheese has melted, and the basil is blanched.
Serve the chicken on a warm plate and top with all the good stuff from the pan. One breast serves two generously.
Or, the same thing with a fish filet. I’ve used tilapia and flounder. Whatever you like, I suppose.
The same thing with tofu would work. Or tempeh?
OK—there is a secret ingredient!
After you remove the chicken, fish, tofu, whatever—turn up the heat just a bit. Add a slice of butter. And—the last little bit—a teaspoon or two of capers! Mix them into the sauté just before plating.
Shopping Tip: The Big Lots store next to my produce market has those skinny jars of capers for less than supermarket prices. And Costco sometimes has what looks like a lifetime supply of capers in a big jar if you have lots of fridge space.
Thanks in Advance for Sharing
I am hoping to add a few readers to this too-occasional newsletter. And so, I will be less occasional. If you find the things I’m working on interesting, please share this newsletter with a friend. There is new work afoot. Good stuff to come.
Anon.
Ridge