So much for the dinner Rina and I'd planned for tonight.

But what I'll share for today's entry is that about fifty meters north of me on Spuistraat I've spotted a nearly-pristine new opus by Morcky (who apparently no longer styles himself "Morcky Boy").

I cannot resist crowing that last year when I was sending my draft Amsterdam by Foot tales, I Googled Morcky and found no hits on his work. Which means you loyal readers heard it here first, and it just delights me squishy that a year later, Morcky has his own site and many people have posted some fine photos of his work. Google him. I posted only a few in Amsterdam by Foot, and there's lots more.

Oh, and I might as well throw in a little tale of our times. Last fall I was offered a ride down to Fresno in a two-engine Cessna, and since I hadn't been in an airplane that small since the sixties and figured it would offer an entertaining experience as well as a panoramic, low-altitude view of the upper half of the San Joaquin Valley, I gladly accepted.

The flight was every bit as enjoyable as I'd imagined, and it also provided yet another little insight into life in neo-America.

I gave the pilot and the other two passengers a Prius ride over to the Livermore airport, where the plane was kept, and while we were readying it for the flight offered to pay for the fuel as my contribution.

The pilot graciously refused, but I insisted that I'd enjoy the flight more if I felt I were helping pay for it. He eventually accepted my offer, and we filled up on my credit card.

Later, with my usual voracious curiosity, I was questioning him about various aspects of the plane and inquired about the record-keeping needed to distinguish business from personal use of the plane. With admirable honesty, he admitted that under the current administration the rules have been simplified and all expenses are now deductible as business expenses.

At first, this didn't seem quite right, but then I made some inquiries, and a Party spokesman explained that, as part of the Fairness Doctrine, the opportunity to deduct recreational aircraft costs as business expenses has been extended equally to all taxpayers, the poor as well as the rich.

Well, of course, we all get to deduct our airplanes, be they large or small, a fleet or only one.

Similarly, folks who purchase the larger SUVs (but not smaller SUVs or automobiles) can deduct the entire purchase price as a business expense, and I had to agree with the Party guy that it just wouldn't be equal treatment to give that tax break only to the poor.

Back to art: here's a mailbox down the street from my door.