I was killing time with a normal person yesterday (don't do that too often), a court reporter. She is Hispanic, I believe of Cuban ancestry. "Ben, what do you think about what's going on in politics?" I don't want to talk much when I'm with a normal person, about Big Subjects, I want to listen, I always did that with Carmen my ex-Cuban Concubine to my profit, and especially on politics I want to stay general and agreeable and hear the other person out. The intonation in the court reporter's voice, "Be-en," and her facial language, big smile, clearly conveyed that she was scandalized by the political scene. I replied with grimace, head shake and a short "Oh, it's just awful" and threw it back to her and listened as long as I reasonably could and still have it be a conversation.

"Did you hear, one of them said the other has short fingers 'and you know what that means.'?"

Catch, immediate throwback.

"And Trump said 'p-u-s-sy' [That's what she did, spelled it] and 'fuck' [That's what she did, said it.]"

Says I, "'Liar.' I thought after one of the debates, 'Nobody on that stage is a president.'"

"And Hillary," head shake, no smile, down glance.

I felt on terra firma to agree more volubly here. "Bill's shadow...New York senator [too much, terra not so firma]..."started well enough as Secretary of State and then Benghazi. 'It's all the film! It's all the film.' [felt windy there, wrapped it up with] and then she leaves office and immediately we learn about her email. And I thought 'THAT is what the Clinton's do.'"

This was her moment. She nailed a point I hadn't thought of:

"Do you know how we look to the rest of the world? It's EMBARRASSING. They're looking at us like, 'What is going ON?!' ["shocked" face] We're an ex-AM-ple. We're a DEMOCRACY and Trump wants to build a WALL?! That's something a KID would say. [real laugh] They're LAUGHING at us. It's embarrassing. [head shake, sigh, down glance]"

"You put that very well."