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Digging Out

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I guess that one of the cool things about the winter is that you feel a little rejuvenated by the first cleanup of the yard every spring. We bought a new mower! Of course, I was worried about being able to get it up and running as it comes in a big box. Yet, on Thursday I mentioned that we needed to get a mower and get it operational by Friday afternoon because we were on the verge of having our neighbors get a petition together to throw us out of the ‘hood. A credit card and a phone can get almost anything to the front door these days. “Ordered the mower,” Kathy said. “It’ll fit into the back of the SUV.” An hour later, it was here, and I opened the box and unfolded it. I’ll spare you the angst, but I did get it started and it felt good to mow the meadow. Then the weed-whacking, and the heavy sighs because of the garage full of furniture and discarded appliances and two shot mowers. I pulled out the tables and chairs, raked a few leaves, moved some of the garage crap around, wondering
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Supreme Court Debacle

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It was hard to believe that the Supreme Court was going to take up the case regarding whether or not a president is above the law. It’s a ridiculous notion that a man could, oh, I don’t know, initiate a coup that would threaten the very democracy and that he wouldn’t have to answer for it. But they took up the case. Well, the argument is so ridiculous at its base that I didn’t worry about it too much, after all, of a president could do whatever he wanted without fear of prosecution than the current president could simply eliminate his opponent and continue to serve as long as he wants. Of course, the current president wouldn’t do such a thing because we are supposed to be a nation of laws, and we have always held our leaders accountable. Now I’m worried. Because this court appears to be absolutely corrupt and it appears that they’re fully owned by the Christian right wing nut jobs and big business. They could actually rule in favor of complete immunity for a man who has 91 freaking fel
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“You Suck, Blue!”

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I was flipping around on the MLB app and saw that the Angels-Orioles game was a one-run affair in the bottom of the 9th. I clicked over to it just in time to see an Angels play try to steal second to get into scoring position.  He looked safe, but was called out. There was a replay review and they put the play on the Jumbotron at the stadium and the home team roared because it truly showed the runner to be safe. They didn’t - for some reason - despite clear proof - overturn the call and the game ended. “Horrible!” I called out. Yesterday, Aaron Boone was thrown out of a game because a fan was yelling at the ump. “I didn’t say anything!” Boone argued. “I don’t care who said it;” the ump said. After the game, despite video evidence that Boone didn’t say a word, the ump stuck to his story. After the Lakers lost the other night, resident crybaby Flopster James, went on a rampage against the refs for missing a foul call. It didn’t matter that the Lakers had blown a 20-point lead, or that Ja
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So Grey

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This last month has seemed like one long day. Grey, greyer and greyest. The golf balls sitting, untouched in my car. I can’t even tell them when they might get hit. 45 degrees flashing at me. How do you turn off the outside temperature gauge, and of course, the busted mower kept me from cutting the grass and now my neighbors are watching a field pop up around my house. They’re probably wondering if we abandoned the joint. I on ow it’s going to break here soon, but what if it doesn’t? We watched the True Detective with Jodi Foster and they were in the darkness for weeks… …maybe they should’ve just filmed it in WNY in April. Let’s go!!!! Had enough.
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The Spring Mess

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I tried to mow the lawn. The mower stopped working after I made two healthy swipes across my front yard. I know one thing about fixing a mower: I checked the gas. There was plenty. Not to fear!  I have a second mower. That one didn’t start either, and it too had gas. “We need a new mower,” Kathy said. Which was painfully evident, but I wasn’t about to go buy one that very minute… …so I went to the weed whacker, but that wasn’t going to get done either as my sons had unplugged the charger so that they could charge their phones. My next door neighbor, meanwhile, mowed her lawn, so now my uncut yard looks even worse… …couple that with Ollie Stadium being an absolute disaster as he: 1). Collects sticks and makes a pile of them 2). He’s worn out the grass making a virtual infield 3). He takes a lot of dumps 4). There are leaves and balls scattered about. What a mess! I went to the garage. It’s filled with junk… …a hot tub that needs to be destroyed and hauled off… …the old refrigerator… …fu
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I Don’t Remember

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We watched a movie on Saturday night about a man, about my age, who was suffering with Alzheimer’s. Early on, he is speaking with a woman and he asks her if he can take a break for a moment so he can write down what she said so he can remember. Made my heart hurt because Kathy’s Mom lost her ability to remember the days of her life, and my Mom has certainly been battling it. My Grandfather, Clifford, died young, by today’s standards, and he certainly didn’t recall much about what was happening on any given day, although he would tell me stories about growing up. It’s an amazing, confounding, sad, horrific affliction, and I say, ‘amazing’ because while it removes all the good memories, it also takes away the earth-shattering memories of heartbreak and despair. I’ve been blessed with a pretty good memory. I have recall of conversations that I had about 50 years ago. I remember all the shots of the last round of golf that I played, and I last played at the beginning of March! When someone
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Making Sausage

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I had fresh Italian sausage for dinner last night… Me, my brother and a couple of buddies (Scott & Daryl) cut up, ground, mixed and stuffed 120 pounds of sausage. I appreciate being there every time because it’s one tradition that has endured for decades. The recipe was Grandpa Fuzzy’s. He passed it to Dad and then on to Jim. It always starts the same way: “How’s your supply?” Jim will ask. “Been out for a while.” This time, Scott did a lot of the leg work, picking up what we needed and getting it all to Jim’s where the equipment is there waiting. “7:30 start,” Jim texted, “Saturday morning.” I was late, and got the text as I made my way. “Let’s go!” And we all know our jobs. I pack and label the bags and clean the dishes. Jim and Scott stuff and Daryl helped me with the packaging and working with the casings. We all do a hit from the bottle of Anisette before we get started and that’s in honor of Dad… …he definitely started that tradition. Not only is the sausage perfect every tim
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