EDITOR'S NOTE

“What do you believe in?”
“People’s suffering, and the fact that it is indomitable.”
—Simone De Beauvoir, The Woman Destroyed
Today I was in the bank. It’s now a Chase bank but it used to be a Chemical. I wish it still was. Nonetheless, I had some banking to do. While waiting as the teller, Hazel, made the usual motions, I became aware that although she hand counted the bills, she also passed the bills through a counting machine. Twice. I couldn’t help but ask, “So, which do you rely upon, the hand count or the machine.” She laughed and retorted, “The machine, but we don’t have no chads or dimples.” Chad dimple, count recount . . . rather no count. $125.00 dollars or $127.00. Florida. Which method does the banking establishment at Chase, much less country, rely upon? Most certainly the machine. Because the stakes are real: money and power—they are not ideals or individuals. And who dispenses these realities: Hazel and Katherine Harris. Exactly the same and yet as opposite as it can get— to quote The Woman Destroyed, “What do you believe in?”
Definitive Judgments by our Supreme Court?
So . . . contests . . . trophies . . . fishing . . . sailfish . . . gold button . . . our cover and reciprocal back letter . . . wife of Supreme Court Justice circa 1930 . . . Mrs Stone wins . . . one and 1/2 hours to land . . . seven feet ten inches long . . . 66 1/2 lbs.
Postscript: January 13th. Received a courtesy letter from the Chase Manhattan Bank:“Most likely, you have heard and read about the merger between The Chase Manhattan Cooperation and JP Morgan & Co, which became official January 2, 2001.”
A customer’s suffering . . . a country’s suffering . . . a fish’s suffering “and the fact that it is indomitable, ” or rather, expected.

Devon Dikeou
New York, New York
2000