Early Monday morning...

heat---unbearable--at least that is what I thought yesterday---remained in the apartment most of the day---today it is forecast that the heat will even be stronger--where does that leave me in terms of plans? Ironically enough I woke up early this morning feeling stronger in my body then I have in a long time. Could take the subway somewhere, but what if there is a blackout---always a possibility. So I will probably stay around the apartment again, unless I can invent some other plan.
  Summary of yesterday: three good conversations on the phone with friends and a nice conversation with my brother, who is in LA, probably the best one we have had in a long time. Long story about how he and his friend Michael were perfectly situated to get the roles of Lenny and Squiggy in Laverne and Shirley. He has a great memory, gave me the info detail by detail. I admire him for dealing with his MS in the way that he is doing---being very outgoing, and, I think, stressing the positive. Lots of stories I could tell about our friendship which peaked during the four years I was at Hopkins. We went to so many musicals and plays together at that time---always waited outside the stage door, if there was a "West Side Story" graduate in the cast of whatever musical we saw that day. He also put up with my "dating problems" which were many during that time. Yes, that was a good time for us.
Rest of the day: rented The Wizard of Lies, the HBO movie directed by Barry Levinson and starring Robert de Niro about Bernie Madoff.  I had wanted to see this movie for a long time---being stuck in the apartment yesterday, it seemed like a perfect choice. Now I am a little disappointed. Everyone's work is very very good--in addition to De Niro there is a great cast---but the movie can't break into the one dimensionality of Madoff's personality. The script tries to get under the surface of the man, but it can't break through---I don't think that anyone really could. Madoff to me is the ultimate "Hollow Man". He did what he did because...well I guess because he could. But I wonder, as he became closer and closer to being caught, did he fantasize what life in prison would be like. Here is a man of tremendous power, who loves to use it, but who makes a choice  to start a Ponzi scheme that, when it falls, will  ha have to  spend the rest of his life as a cypher--and all the aspects of his life that were so important---the money, the travel, the homes, the power---gone.  The movie dances around this conundrum---scenes throughout it simply repeat what we already know. After the first hour, my mind began to wander.
 That is a lot for one session---Monday is just beginning---we will see what happens.