Random Notes from a Crank

On Monday evening when I picked up my daughter from dance class, I observed a simple conversation between two people who were also there to pick up their daughters. I happened to notice as one speaker asked a question and the other replied and the conversation went on for a bit that they never looked each other in the eyes. They talked to each other as they stared at their iPhones. No eye contact -- just talking while looking at their phones. I don't even think they knew they were doing it, and I'm not sure if they would care if they knew. 

Also on Monday, I had to deal with a tremendous headache. I don't know whether the headache stems from going back to work after the holiday or because I'm somehow mimicking what I've been reading about Thomas Jefferson, who suffered from debilitating migraines. 

And after reading about the various accounts of what Aaron Burr might have been up to after he lost the presidential election and killed Alexander Hamilton, I had to order David O. Stewart's American Emperor: Aaron Burr's Challenge to Jefferson's America. But I'm also wondering if there's ever been some "what if?" fiction written about Aaron Burr winning the 1800 election or being successful with whatever he intended to do in New Orleans or Texas or Mexico or elsewhere around 1807 and 1808. Someone could write some serious dystopian historical fiction if they wanted to. If you do take this idea and run with it, you owe me.