Micah's Read of the Week, Vol. 75
Good news to ring in the New Year: Mick Jagger's Instagram, "Wanna be a baller" rapper survives 18-wheeler fire, an ice cream truck funeral procession, and more. Plus, COVID's latest & Recipe Corner.
Hello, and welcome to Micah’s Read of the Week.
![Athletes Then & Now: "Mean" Joe Greene - Sports Illustrated](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!7eQy!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffb045577-652d-43af-81e5-3963e03b55ee_1200x790.jpeg "Athletes Then & Now: "Mean" Joe Greene - Sports Illustrated")
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Good news to start the year
Let’s start out this first newsletter of the new year with a bunch of good news.
Mick Jagger explains his Instagram obsession
Here’s a delightful Q&A from the Stones’ frontman about his IG. It’s delightful.
Q: I see other celebrities on Instagram and they'll primp themselves and be all done up. Almost like a publicity campaign. You seem not to be very concerned about makeup and lighting. You look good in these, but you don't seem to care quite as much about that piece.
A: No, not that much. I’m just trying to get a vibe of where the place is. I mean, I don’t want to look horrible, either, but it’s not about total vanity. It’s just like a diary in a way, I suppose. The places you’ve been.
Q: Have you always been a big walker? I notice a lot of photos on nature trails. You're on this rock, near the waterfall in Austin. Or out staring at the deer.
A: Touring’s a pretty urban thing, so it’s nice to get out in nature and see a different perspective on things when you go to places like that. It’s wild. I went for some long hikes in some of these other places where I didn’t take any pictures. I think we went out in Missouri for quite a long hike to the forest. It wasn’t marked very well on the map, and the Google map wasn’t very helpful. And we made it. We walked to a place with virtually no one except for a guy in a canoe.
My favorite part:
Q: Do you ever ask the guys to join you? Like, "Keith, I'm going for a nice walk on a nature trail."
A: I don’t think Keith really . . . I think he has a different approach to how he handles being on tour. I mean, he does occasionally go out to eat. But I think the covid thing . . . people quite rightly got worried about what would happen if they ran into a crowd of people.
NHL fan spotted staffer’s mole from the stands. Now he’s cancer-free, and she has a med school scholarship.
I told you I would share good news! Here’s a heartwarming story.
Brian “Red” Hamilton, assistant equipment manager for the Vancouver Canucks, was walking off the bench during an October game in Seattle when a fan pressed her phone to the plexiglass. On it read a note: “The mole on the back of your neck is possibly cancerous. Please go see a doctor!”
He sought a second opinion from a team doctor, who “didn’t like the looks of it, either,” removing the mole and having it tested. The results: malignant melanoma. It had been caught early enough that removing the mole was all that was needed. Within a week of seeing the note, he was cancer-free.
The Canucks returned to Seattle this weekend.
She woke Saturday to a rush of messages. She watched the news conference where Hamilton called her a “hero.” And she finally reunited with him, sharing a hug and a few words before the Canucks again faced the Kraken.
Hamilton says he’s amazed Popovici was able to see the mole, which was fairly small and could easily have been obscured by his jacket or equipment. And he’s grateful she went to the trouble to tell him about it. “You know, I’ve got a wonderful family. I’ve got a wonderful daughter, and I just think, like, she extended my life. She saved my life.”
Houston rapper Lil' Troy survives 18-wheeler fire on I-10: 'I thank God'
The story is nice because it ends well. And the quotes from Lil’ Troy are phenomenal.
A Houston hip-hop legend known for lyrics about cars and highway driving almost lost his life Monday on I-10. Lil' Troy, who now works as a truck driver, was able to pull over and get out of his big rig before flames burned through the cab near the Fry Road exit.
Back in 1999, the rapper had a hit with "Wanna Be A Baller", but now he's traded his Impala for an 18-wheeler. He owns Birklett Trucking Company in Missouri City and was on his way home from Arkansas when he spotted smoke under the hood.
"I think God has a better plan for me," he said.
Lil' Troy came to that conclusion after walking away from the flames and smoke that tore through an 18-wheeler he bought for his trucking company just two months ago."Right before I got ready to exit, I started to see fire and flames coming up from the hood. I was like, 'Oh, I got to get out this truck.' You know what I'm saying? It's fire!"
"If you notice, I hit the highway making money the fly way. You know what I'm saying? Truck driving is the new way," he said.
Keep on truckin’, Lil’ Troy.
An ice cream man died of cancer. A funeral procession of ice cream trucks honored ‘the king.’
Savash Turkel was among a small group of family and friends who showed up on a dreary Friday morning in southeast London to bury his brother, Hassan Dervish, an ice cream man for more than 40 years who recently died of cancer.
But something was different about this December funeral procession, Turkel told The Washington Post: The jingles from ice cream trucks, driven by colleagues who knew and admired Dervish, flooded the streets in memory of a 62-year-old man hailed by loved ones as the “king of the ice cream.”
“The first one came and then there was another and then there was another,” said Turkel, 57. “All of a sudden, there were probably 10 ice cream trucks that followed him all the way to the cemetery. There were so many ice cream trucks for my brother.”
You love to see it.
More good news from Micah
It’s a new year, and I’m here to help you with your financial resolutions. The best place to start, your largest expense: housing.
Is your lease coming up in the new year? Rental prices are up 30%(!!!) YOY in Austin with no signs of slowing down. Now is the time to get out of the rental market and buy a home.
It would be my pleasure to offer you a free consultation right now. Click HERE. Or get started in just a few clicks at micahwiener.com.
Thank you for your support.
Back to the read…
Stop shaming people for getting covid
It seems as if everyone has the CoCo right now. Omicron is breaking through big.
As two variants collide and states hit new records daily, breakthrough cases are becoming more normal and less of an exception; the CDC warns these cases are now “likely” to occur. For many people who test positive during this latest surge, the virus is sparking yet another unpleasant feeling in an ordeal that’s churned out plenty: shame.
From: Thousands who ‘followed the rules’ are about to get covid. They shouldn’t be ashamed:
“There’s been this large narrative about the importance of controlling your actions to prevent yourself from getting sick, and from transmitting the illness to other people,” says Jessica Stern, a clinical psychologist at NYU Langone Health. “Because the narrative is so closely connected to our behaviors, I think there’s this implication, or this assumption, that if you get sick, you must have done something wrong to bring it onto yourself.” That’s not true, she stresses, “but unfortunately it’s inherent in the way we’ve been thinking about and talking about covid.” That can lead to shame, which Stern defines as “the combination of embarrassment or guilt and identity — one of the most visceral emotions.”
“It’s important to understand that with the omicron variant, we’re facing a virus that is more transmissible than delta, and in turn delta more transmissible than alpha and so forth,” says Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. Some people have misunderstood the role vaccines play in preventing illness, believing that they protect against any and all infection. That’s not the case. As Hotez points out, just two to three months after getting the Pfizer booster, protection against symptomatic infection from omicron drops from around 70-75 percent to 30-40 percent. “The bottom line is that getting infected with omicron could now happen to anyone,” he says.
So, you got the virus. What do you do now to void the mental anguish that comes with it?
Practice self-compassion. Perhaps easier said than done, but it’s important, especially given that you’re also dealing with a serious virus. First, if you’re ruminating over everything you wish you had done differently, flip your perspective and consider: “It could be that you’re very diligent and very conscientious, and that’s why you’re taking this so hard,” Varma says. “That just means you’re a thoughtful, considerate, caring human being trying really, really hard.”
As Bufka points out, second-guessing ourselves isn’t productive. Did you forget to wear your mask that one time at the grocery store? Should you have canceled dinner with friends? It’s a moot point by now. “I’ve lived long enough to know that reliving things I did in the past, and trying to figure out a better way to have done them, rarely changes those events,” she says.
Remember: You’re not a failure. “Millions of other people have gotten sick,” Varma says. “Unfortunately, you’re not alone. You’re not the only one. You’re not the first one to get covid, and you won’t be the last.” And that positive test, she reiterates, “doesn’t make you an irresponsible person.”
More from Stop shaming people for getting covid. Blame belongs elsewhere:
For nearly two years, many Americans have treated coronavirus infections as something that can, and should, be avoided by rigorous, proscribed behavior.
You should have known better than to go into that restaurant! What, you went to a wedding? Did you wear a mask? Did everyone else? Was it indoors?
Instead of insisting that the government and the corporate sector step up in the face of a once-in-a-century viral pandemic, many expected individual responsibility to accomplish protections. And many blamed themselves — or each other — when they got sick, a pattern that is repeating as the omicron variant spreads.
An easy example of our nation’s failings, consider our less-than-adequate testing supplies.
Remember all the helpful advice that people should take a rapid test before gathering with friends and relatives, particularly those who are older or otherwise at-risk? Well, many testing sites have no appointments left, and pharmacies and online stores are sold out of rapid, at-home tests.
Although public health experts — and many others — said from early on that testing would be critical, neither government nor business coordinated to ensure there would be enough tests for Americans.
Of course, the virus has made us all crazy. I guess the author is arguing that everyone is to blame.
On the right, it caused widespread vaccine denial and interest in dodgy treatments such as ivermectin, a parasite cure unproven against the coronavirus. On the left — particularly, as Substack writer Freddie de Boer pointed out, among the “educated, liberal, and upwardly mobile” — fear led some to hold fast to social-distancing rules that became unnecessary as vaccines reduced risks.
Don’t beat yourself up. Hopefully, we all get through this soon. There’s a resolution I can get behind!
Recipe Corner
Charred Cabbage and Carrots
Cold weather is finally here. So let’s start off the new year with some warm veg.
Actor and cookbook author Ayesha Curry is on a mission to get cabbage the credit it deserves, starting by braising it in a sweet-tangy-hot mixture of allspice, lime juice, maple syrup, and crushed red pepper flakes.
⅓ cup fresh lime juice
2 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
2 sprigs thyme, leaves picked
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp. plus ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. Diamond Crystal or 3½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, divided, plus more
1 medium head of green cabbage (about 3 lb.), outer leaves removed, cored, remaining leaves torn into 3" pieces
2 large carrots, peeled, thinly sliced into rounds
1 shallot, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
6 whole allspice
¼ cup low-sodium vegetable broth
4 scallions, dark and pale green parts only, sliced on a diagonal
Whisk lime juice, maple syrup, thyme leaves, red pepper flakes, and 2 Tbsp. oil in a small bowl to combine; season dressing with salt. Set aside.
Heat remaining ⅓ cup oil in a large heavy pot over high. Add half of cabbage, sprinkle in 1 Tbsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¾ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and cook, turning over once, until tender and charred in spots, 8–10 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining cabbage and salt.
Return cabbage to pot. Add carrots, shallot, garlic, and allspice, then pour in broth. Cover; cook until cabbage and carrots are tender, 6–8 minutes. Remove from heat. Drizzle in reserved dressing and stir to combine. Transfer to a large shallow bowl and top with scallions.
Healthyish Chicken Salad
And how about a cold salad for good measure? This one looks exciting enough to take to work. Big Salad Energy, amirite?
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (1–1½ lb. total)
3 Tbsp. kosher salt, plus more
3 scallions, thinly sliced on a deep diagonal
3 Persian cucumbers
½ cup toasted sesame seeds, divided
2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
2 Tbsp. tahini
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. honey
¼ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
¼ head of romaine or green or red leaf lettuce or 1 head of Little Gem lettuce
Big handful of cilantro leaves with tender stems
½ lime (for serving)
Bring chicken, 3 Tbsp. kosher salt, and 5 cups water to a bare simmer in a medium pot over medium heat (chicken should be submerged). Be patient—this will take a little while. Once liquid begins to simmer, reduce heat to low and cook (water should not be simmering at all now) until juices run clear when thickest part of chicken is pierced, 8–10 minutes. Transfer chicken to a medium bowl; discard poaching liquid. Let chicken cool slightly, then shred meat into big pieces; set aside.
Meanwhile, place scallions in a small bowl and pour in very cold water to cover; let soak 10 minutes. Drain scallions in a mesh sieve or colander, then rinse under cold running water, swishing vigorously to encourage them to curl up and to rinse off any scallion slime (ew). Shake off as much water as possible and place in a large bowl; set aside.
Working one at a time, slice cucumbers in half crosswise, then slice each piece in half lengthwise. Place quarters cut side down and slice in half lengthwise again to create 8 pieces total per cucumber. Add to bowl with reserved chicken.
Set 1 Tbsp. sesame seeds aside in a small bowl for serving. Crush remaining sesame seeds in a mortar and pestle until some of the seeds have turned to powder, but with plenty of whole seeds left. (Alternatively, if you’d rather spare yourself the elbow grease, pulse seeds a few times in a food processor or spice mill, then transfer to a medium bowl before proceeding). Add lime juice, tahini, soy sauce, honey, and red pepper flakes and mash to create a paste. Add ¼ cup water and whisk to combine (if you don’t have a small enough whisk, work in with the pestle). Taste and season with salt.
Add lettuce and cilantro to bowl with reserved scallions. Pour half of the dressing over greens and toss to coat. Arrange on a platter. Pour remaining dressing over chicken and cucumbers, toss to coat, and arrange over greens. Top salad with reserved 1 Tbsp. sesame seeds and squeeze juice from lime half over.
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