07:54 – When I was talking with Kim yesterday, I mentioned Barbara seeing a guy in plain clothes wearing a pistol openly. Kim, who’s a New York City native, said that seeing that would make her extremely nervous. I said, “So, if I strapped on my pistol before the next time I walked Colin down here to see you, you’d be afraid of me?” She just laughed and said that of course she wouldn’t be afraid, because it’s me. What would scare her is a stranger openly carrying a weapon in public, which is a completely different thing from being afraid of the weapon itself. Given what’s been in the news constantly for years now, I have to admit that her fears are not unreasonable. Also, people like us have to remember that sheep aren’t afraid just of wolves. Sheepdogs terrify sheep, too, because we look a lot like wolves.
Speaking of culture, that Winston-Salem alderman who proposed changing the name of the Dixie Classic Fair because he considered it racially divisive has backed off fast because of an outpouring of outrage in phone calls and emails from his constituents. He’s withdrawn his proposal, apparently realizing that if he pushes it he doesn’t have a prayer of being re-elected.
More science kit stuff today. Yesterday was a slow day. We shipped only one science kit.