MARKET WATCH COLUMNIST
“Cruise divorce, other surprises”, Ellis Henican Column, Newsday, July 1, 2012
Life is full of surprises.
John Roberts leads the Supreme Court liberals to save Barack Obama’s health reform. The Dow shoots up 278 points in a day. Katie Holmes declares Tom Cruise a Mission: Impossible.
Honestly, who would have predicted any of this? OK, the Cruise news — but not the other stuff.
Cynical as we are, blasé as we get, shrewd as we can be about predicting, we still get caught off guard all the time. Hardly anyone expected Obama’s Affordable Care Act to last through the weekend, just as no one guessed gas prices would be sliding into the $3.50 range.
Wasn’t gas supposed to hit $5 by the Fourth of July?
It isn’t true that everyone loves a surprise. The Supreme Court’s health care decision was a 
relief or an outrage, depending on your politics. Tom Cruise pronounced himself “saddened” as People magazine said Katie blindsided him with the outta-here.
What could possibly be next? A functioning Congress? A stock market rally? Some nobody destroying a Wimbledon star?
Surprises can be rattling, especially when they come as a surprise. But life would be awfully boring without them, though that could be an improvement for poor Tom Cruise.
WHO KNEW?
Record ratings for has-been Charlie Sheen’s TV return- No. 100 Lukas Rosol power slams Rafael Nadal
- Euro-zone leaders play nicely on Italy and Spain
- Congress abruptly OKs student loans, highway funds and flood insurance
- Charlie Rangel isn’t quite re-elected
THE NEWS IN SONG
It’s no help growing older or wiser
“Life of Surprises”
Prefab Sprout
ASKED AND UNANSWERED
After three Hamptons fundraisers next weekend at the oceanfront spreads of David Koch, Cliff Sobel and Ron 
Perelman, will Mitt Romney be feeling low-rent — comparatively?…11:59:59, 11:59:60, midnight: Did you make good use of your leap second? You won’t get another one ’til at least 2015…Did you realize that 7.2-trillion degrees temperature achieved at the Brookhaven National Lab was Fahrenheit? In Celsius, that’s a mere 4 trillion degrees…What’s cooking in the basement at Trump-on-the-Ocean? Could it be – nothing? Once famous for his lightning-quick deal-making, Donald had to swallow a
storage-only sub-level to win state approval for his five-years-delayed Jones Beach catering hall…How many people will show up in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, for the new Greenport to Sag Harbor ferry? Both GP’s are on the water, you know…By next summer, the Wantagh State Parkway Bike Path will go an extra 0.7 miles to Jones Beach? Such an obviously good idea, why didn’t it always?…Was anyone overheard saying: “‘Honey, did you put my live grenade in the recycling bin?” Jumpy personnel at the Old Bethpage Sort Facility would like to know who dropped a grenade in the location for latex-paint products… Who let the publisher tweet? This could be dangerous – and fun! Follow @fredgroser.
LONG ISLANDERS OF THE WEEK
ISLAND HARVESTERS
Island Harvest’s new Hauppauge distribution center is up and running. From the 23,000-square-foot warehouse, hunger-relief volunteers are directing 8 million pounds of food a year to hundreds of church pantries, soup kitchen and family shelters across Long Island. And here’s what’s so special about the new facility, beyond the miles of shelving, the walk-in freezers and the high-tech inventory system. It was opened for $12,000 after local businesses and unions kicked in $350,000 in work and supplies. Not a bad Harvest, helping 300,000 Long Islanders to eat.
E-mail ellis@henican.com
Follow him at twitter.com/henican
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