NYC's head nanny, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, is at it again. He has been on crusades against smoking, trans-fats, soft drinks, and automobiles. He has claimed that banning smoking from restaurants and buildings has saved many lives. I hate smoking, but I am skeptical of the claim. It doesn't seem that less people are smoking. Then again, maybe that's because I live in a neighborhood that is predominantly Russian, and it seems like every Russian above the age of 16 is a smoker. The Mayor's edict against trans-fats seems to have flopped. Gothamites are as portly as ever, if not more so, and McDonalds fries now stink despite being laden with salt. He is trying to ban soft drinks more than 16 ounces, which seems ludicrous when a person can simply buy more than one at a time. His predilection for bicycle lanes at the expense of smooth automobile traffic has riled many more people than it has pleased. Not satisfied with these measures, he now wants hospitals to hide baby formula so that more mothers will breast feed. It's a good thing he doesn't have absolute power at the national level. Who knows how far he would go? His first edict would no doubt be a gun ban, leaving citizens at the mercy of criminals when policemen aren't around, which is almost always. I try not to be an alarmist about the so-called erosion of freedom conservative talk-show hosts rail about, but politicians like Bloomberg make it difficult.

We were back on the golf course after last week's rain-out. I was at the top of my game in all aspects except putting. I shot 87 despite six three-putts. The one putt I made was for birdie, which took a lot of the sting out of the others. My boy Cuz again struggled with his ball-striking except for a few off his classic bombs off the tee. He's had some interesting customers lately in his limousine duties: wildly successful mystery writer Michael Connelly and Annie Jacobsen, author of Area 51, a work of non-fiction that made it to the top of best sellers lists. Connelly has been very generous to him, as was a sheik of an Arab country, who gave him a tip in the currency of his native land, which turned out to be worth $113. A couple of weeks ago his son, Willie, went to a WWE try-out in Iowa, run by Jim Ross, who has done blow by blow from ringside thousands of times, including Wrestlemania. He really liked Willie, who has been doing side shows in the metropolitan area for years. Unfortunately, Willie is small for the Sport of Kings, standing only five-nine and weighing but 170. He was told to keep trying. Good luck, Junior.

The floating book shop will reopen tomorrow at East 13th and Avenue Z, 11:30.

Visit Vic’s sites:
Vic’s Third Novel (Print or Kindle): http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic’s Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic’s Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic’s 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6 Vic’s
1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic’s Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3f