3 Good Things: A salmon boom, less pain at the pump and sportsmanlike conduct

By Philip GrayDeputy Op-Ed Editor

Aug. 16, 2022 3 AM PT

The fish are jumping

This is beyond what conservationists would dare to dream about. The sockeye salmon population of Bristol Bay, in the Bering Sea off the southwestern coast of Alaska, set a record this year, clocking in at 69.7 million as of last month. These fish hatched in the area and are returning to spawn. What a homecoming! Scientists aren’t really sure what’s behind the boom. The state also counted more than 3 million salmon headed up into tributaries to spawn the next generation. With each female laying up to 4,500 eggs, the next generation might well break another record.

Fill ‘er up

Buying gasoline is a little less painful now than it was earlier this summer. The average price per gallon in California has fallen by nearly a dollar since June, tracking the decline in the U.S. as the economy has weakened. The national average price per gallon just fell below $4, a relief after hitting $5 in June. Good news for summer road trips. Better yet, with each passing month, more Americans are going electric and no longer sweat the price at the pump.

The kids are all right

I don’t know about you, but I’m quite sanguine about the next generation. Witness the display of compassion last week in Waco, Texas, when a Little League pitcher lost control of a ball, hitting the batter in the head and knocking his helmet off. Medical staff gave the batter the all-clear and let him walk to first base, but the pitcher was not OK. He was shaken from the accident, knowing he had narrowly avoided hurting another player. He seemed despondent — until that batter walked over to the mount from first base and reassured him. “You’re doing good,” the player told the pitcher. “Just throw strikes.”

And one more ...

Garfield was onto something in his loathing for Mondays. It’s the day people register the most stress and the least productivity. It’s even correlated with higher rates of suicide. But it doesn’t have to be so bad. One main cause of Monday misery is readjusting to weekday sleep-wake cycles after we’ve stayed up late and slept in over the weekend. It’s basically jet lag. We’ll avoid it if we just stick to a similar sleep schedule seven days a week.