Frequent contributor Jim Peters sent along this essay:

I am looking forward to the 33rd. season of Monday Night Football. Tonight, the Patriots take on the Philadelphia Eagles. One of the concerns is keeping Michael Vick healthy. For some reason, Michael Vick, the name, sticks out in my miind as a not good person, but I cannot remember why or when I came to that conclusion. Could be because he is not Tom Brady, who I heard today is expecting, or at least his wife is expecting. It is incredible when someone brings a life into the world. Tom Brady’s children will likely want for nothing, because of the salary their father earns. It is good for Tom Brady but alot of people cannot make ends meet in a difficult economy. I have a brother who works in robotics who sees a need for Americans to lower their earnings expectations in order to make us competitive in the world market. I see the need to raise the tariff. What can the Chinese do in response but not buy American. They are not buying American anyway, except for our cars. Maybe we should just manufacture cars.

A fair tariff would increase prices, and add to inflation, but it seems to me a little inflation is not necessarily a bad thing in this economy. We need to pay more in order to make the Chinese connection less important. Walmart loads an aircraft carrier size freighter every four days with Chinese goods which are delivered to ports on the West Coast. They then sell those products less expensively to the American public. Walmart is, in my opinion, anti-American. They pressure their employees to increase their stock prices by posting it near the offices in each store. They sell primarily foreign products. When I worked at Jordan Marsh, our men’s shirts were assessed at twice their cost because of the tariff. I am hoping that we are still demandiing a one hundred percent increase in prices as we did then for those shirts. Anything less allows imports to get hold of our wallets and makes us buy foreign-made, not American-made products.

According to the Lowell Sun, or perhaps it was the Boston Globe, Lowell and local parks are enjoying a banner year because of the cost of gasoline. I guess it really is an ill wind that blows no good. Speaking of ill winds, the drought will definitely increase food prices this year. The strange part of it is, that prices go up, but in a better year, they never come down. So the increases caused by the drought will result in higher prices permanently, I believe. If popcorn is $1.19 a pound, which is probably less than it actually is per pound, it will go up to a higher price because of the effect of the drought on corn. Anything based on corn, including corn-fed beef and pork, will go up. Wheat has been hard hit, so flour will be more, resulting in higher prices for bread and other wheat products.

The price of virtually everything will increase. Cars, computers, and other manufactured items will cost more because the cost of doing business will increase. That will be caused by a need to pay higher wages to keep up with prices. All of this because we did not get rain in the plains states this summer. It boggles the mind.

I suppose we will just have to adjust. And we will adjust. It is part of this practice called life. Let us just do well in our efforts to maintain our high standards.

My father used to tell me to straighten up. He meant it, he wanted me to square my shoulders, walk erect, and he believed that that would make me more attractive as a person. He did not want me to bite my lip, something I do all of the time. So today I tried it and I noticed that, by walking more erect, my stomach somewhat flattened out. A benefit of listening to your father, a year after he passed away. I remember that the City Council voted to name something after him, which they sent to the School Department, where it languishes. I have not heard a word about it. I met with the man at the School Department who deals with these issues, and he asked me who my father was and what he was interested in. I believed that to be somewhat shallow. If the City Council votes to name something after someone, and it gets sent to the School Department, it should be high priority. This man did not even know of my father.

I would really appreciate it if a City Councillor would reintroduce the motion and find something to name after my father in the city itself. Do not send it to the School Department. My father simply wanted a copse, or group, of trees to be dedicated to him. I think we can do that. The city seems to move faster than the School Department, I have concluded.

I am ready to name my business “Jim Peters’ and Son Landscaping Service” because my son Rory has done such a wonderful job of working for me this summer. He goes out everyday and mows, and mows, and mows. I could not live without him. He has been great. I do not know why I write about that, but having four life-threatening diseases makes you appreciate the little things people do for you. And, he is doing big things to help out. He also loves his Aunt Niki more than anyone, practically, so he is campaigning and working for her.

I have four wonderful children, but I thought Rory kind of deserved special attention this time. I hope no one minds.