Thoughts of a Common Man

How's that for a kick in the head? They are a not-for-profit organization and have not paid taxes, as a business since 1966. Doesn't that piss you off? And of course, someone will tell me about the Catholic Church...or this one or that one, but don't bury the lead! The NFL is a freaking cash cow. Did you know that the NFL also raises money for breast cancer research? Do you also know that the keep most of that money? For their not for profit. I didn't watch the State of the Union. I absolutely hate that format, but I did hear a little about the economic inequality and know that it was mentioned. I heard they may raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour on Federal projects. That won't make people millionaires, but perhaps a start. I'm just sort of lost on all of it. There is absolute outrage over people who are hoping to survive qualifying for food stamps and/or welfare...just go on your Facebook page...you'll read all about the rage...

The above photo is a re-creation photo of a Fazzolari story from long ago. For obvious reasons my recollection of the evening is not great. You'll see why. I'm pretty sure it was a general party with friends and relatives. I know that my Aunt Rosalie and Uncle Herb were there because my cousins Joe and Paul were there. As our corner men. You see, this was a different day and age. Parents would buy boxing gloves for the kids. Ali and Frazier were great heavyweights and we all wanted to box for a living. There weren't helmets. Just two young boys, swinging wildly...trying to knock each other out. I think I was about 10 and John was 11. Joe and Paul were early teenagers. I may be wrong about the ages, but that was the neighborhood. (Like I've said...it's a foggy memory). In any regard, we were in my parents basement and we wanted it set up like a real boxing ring. We put up some tables on end and made a square. We had a bell to signal the end of th...

I never thought I'd wear long underwear. A couple of Christmas past my beautiful wife bought me a couple of pair. I threw them in a drawer, after thinking of my Grandpa Clifford, and forgot about them. You see, my grandfather worked outside on a railroad. We stopped by one day as he was getting home from work. He was covered in dirt. He used to change in his basement. He had dirty coveralls and his long underwear hanging there. Last week, I found the long underwear and decided to try it as I was gonna' spend a lot of time out there. The temperatures being single digits. "I thought of Grandpa," I told my Mom. "Yeah, poor guy," she said. "He really worked hard." And I felt warmer out there. Yet it becomes tiresome, doesn't it? The driving in the snow. The freezing. Blowing in your hands until you get feeling back. I've been walking very slowly as well. Every year someone falls on the ice. I went down twice last year. I...

That's me. February, 1982. North Collins versus Eden during my Senior Year of High School. The North Collins Eagles were really struggling and Eden was a good team. We had the huge game before us in the small gym in North Collins. I was starting the game. The other starters on that night were Al DeCarlo, Digger Braymiller, Ron Haier, and our superstar Chris Heinold. The Eden team was stacked. Their best player was an annoying bastard by the name of Chris Miller. He hated all of us. Eden was going to kill us that night...we all knew it. One of our leaders, Al DeCarlo had an idea. "You think your Dad would shave our heads?" He asked me at lunch. "For what?" "We go to your house...all five starters...shave our heads...and come out of the locker room with ski caps on our heads...we'll get headbands. Eden won't know what hit them. The crowd will go nuts." Al was a thinker and a dreamer. He always liked to put on a show. So we ...

Playing off Corinne's wonderful descriptive word, "Pathetic" I thought of Justin Bieber. Enough with this kid, right? Last week he made news because he was "drag-racing" in Miami. The story says that he was stoned, drunk, and uncooperative with the police. There are reports that his Dad helped him set up the road block so he could race in his million dollar rental car. OH! WHO GIVES A SHIT!!! Yet, every single media outlet had the story and evidently a couple of news stations cut off real world news to carry the story. The pathetic thing, you ask? It seems to have been a staged event. Bieber is trying to toughen up his image with the kids who like real-life tough rap guys who talk about their bitches and hoes and their glocks. You know what he was busted doing in that 35 mph zone? In that Lamborghini that goes 200 MPH at top speed? Yeah...50 MPH. I've had speeding tickets with higher speeds than that. I thought hard about not contr...

I stopped at 7/11 the other morning for a coffee and when I saw the logo for the store on the coffee cup my mind drifted back in time... ...we were living in Largo, Florida. Six kids in a rented house on a pond where we'd go fishing every day. It was 1974 and we were a handful for sure. Mom and Dad went out one night and our babysitters were a black couple...Bernie and Gloria. Bernie worked with Dad on the construction site and Gloria was his girlfriend. As I looked at the 7/11 logo I thought of that evening. Bernie had a real infectious laugh. I remember that. I also remember thinking that black people were really cool. The reason why I remember Bernie's laugh is because Corinne had yelled at one of us...she had called us 'pathetic.' Bernie loved the word. (It is a good word when used as a description). Bernie kept making Corinne say it over and over. And then there was the trip down the road to the 7/11 store. It's all so vivid in my mind...

RANDOM THOUGHTS..... As I was lying around, pondering the problems of the world, I realized that at my age I don't really give a rat's ass anymore. ..If walking is good for your health, the postman would be immortal. .. A whale swims all day, only eats fish, drinks water, but is still fat. .. A rabbit runs and hops and only lives 15 years, while .. A tortoise doesn't run and does mostly nothing, yet it lives for 150 years. And you tell me to exercise?? I don't think so. Just grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked, the good fortune to remember the ones I do, and the eyesight to tell the difference. Now that I'm older here's what I've discovered: 1. I started out with nothing, and I still have most of it. 2. My wild oats are mostly enjoyed with prunes and all-bran. 3. I finally got my head together, and now my body is falling apart. 4. Funny, I don't remember being absent-minded. 5. Funny, I don't r...

So, it's time to weigh in on Seattle Seahawks Cornerback Richard Sherman. Evidently he's the best. So he says. Like a lot of other people I watched him go off on his opponent after he knocked a ball away to save the game on Sunday. The reporter, Erin Andrews, looked thoroughly disgusted with him as he shouted in her ear that he's the greatest and that his opponent was "sorry." (She's a good-looking girl, by the way, but definitely no Kathy Fazzolari) Sherman later cleared it up by saying the receiver is "mediocre" and when you come at the "best" with a "mediocre" player...that's what you get. Of course I have a problem with him. At first glance I thought he was am uneducated gang member. Was I prejudging him? Well, no...that's what he put forth. That's what he was acting like. Yet what surprised me about it was all the people who had his back in the days that followed. Turns out he's a pretty go...

Like millions of others I watched the football games over the weekend. I didn't really care who won, but I had picked the Super Bowl participants in my blog as San Francisco over Denver so I was getting ready to really hammer people if both of the teams I picked made it. But I don't like to brag about things I get right...so it didn't really matter. I just wanted to see good games. And for the most part, I was doing okay. One pal texted me in the 2nd quarter of the 49ers-Seahawks Game: Him: Good game, right? Me: The refs will ruin it. And I don't say that lightly. This is a sport with billions and billions of dollars and the refs are incompetent. They have review after review after review...and they still blow three calls a week. Now I've also been watching the sport for 30 years. I know some of the rules. I used to know others, but they changed them. When a ball hits the ground it seems like there are 11 rules on whether or not it's a fumb...

What do you think of when you consider how America was back in the 1940's and 1950's? I was born in the 60's and grew up in the 70's. I heard about those old days. This is how I picture it: Americans were hard-working, morally centered, patriotic, and compassionate people. The government cared for us. We cared for one another. The corporations treated their workers fairly...and we had a great grasp on the moral center. Maybe I'm wrong in my assessment. Perhaps it was as cut-throat and difficult back then, but I was having a conversation the other night about the state of the country. A pointless, gripe session about how we are all lost. But it got me thinking. What do we miss the most? Just for fun I often go on the social media comment sections whenever there is a big news story. You know what is really gone? "I got mine, who gives a shit about you," one of the guys said when asked to assess the world now. Yeah. The compa...

So, Bruce made fun of Governor Christie of New Jersey on a recent Jimmy Fallon Show. It was kinda' funny, actually, but it didn't go over so well with the gargantuan governor. I don't live in New Jersey so I don't have a lot to say about Governor Christie in regard to his policies and procedures. I thought he was tremendously human during the hurricane strike and commended his courage for reaching across party lines. That should be done more. Yet the allegations against his office are alarming. Would someone manufacture a traffic jam to get back at a political rival? Did some of that hurricane relief money get held for ransom? As with all things political there are two sides to all issues and both sides are developed in deep hatred. I both believe and not believe the allegations. I pray to God they aren't true...but money and ego often rule the day. What I want to speak of is the lack of true love on one side of the Springsteen-Christie relationshi...

Given yesterday's post about the future of the kids. This is a brilliant song written by Springsteen. Every single parent should read this and apply it to the lives of their kids. I know a lot of people who really feel it. I even read the words to Jake and said, "As a Dad, some day, you'll know." T his Is Your Sword - Bruce Springsteen off High Hopes Record (Buy it!) Now brothers and sisters listen to me These are the few things that I leave to thee The sword of our fathers with lessons hard taught The shield strong and sturdy from battles well fought Well this is your sword, this is your shield This is the power of love revealed Carry them with you wherever you go And give all the love that you have in your soul At times there are dark, dark must cover the earth This world's filled with the beauty of God's work Hold tight to your brawn, stay righteous, stay strong When the days of miracles will come along Now this is your sword, this is you...

It's an often absurd question for a kid. "What do you want to be when you grow up?" And there's an awkward balance, as a parent, as you try and nudge your child down a certain path. In this day and age it is truly mind-boggling as the costs of college are through the roof, and there are no guarantees. I do remember one of my college professors saying: "The work you put in will be what you eventually take out." And that was great advice, but it took a long time to decide where to go and who to believe. I think that's fair for everyone and the illusions often give way to a life of grinding your way. We have one boy in college. He seems to be on a focused path and it'll likely work for him. He works hard. As long as he doesn't have to get his hands dirty. Coming down the line is Jake and he has a pat answer for his future. "I can cook meth in an RV with my science teacher." He certainly appears drawn to entertainment an...

If you grew up in the 1970's you couldn't get away from Gilligan's Island . First off, there weren't that many shows on television. We'd run home to catch cartoons or even Commander Tom here in Buffalo. (It was the weatherman doing a puppet show). So when we had the chance to see a real show...we were excited. Everyone loved Gilligan. To a young kid, he was just plain hysterical...and Ginger was hot...but Mary Ann was hotter. The Professor? Well, we all knew he was brilliant. How he wasn't smart enough to get them off the island was sort of lost in the translation. I actually remember rooting for their plots to fail so they couldn't get away. And now the Professor is dead. Who's left? Ginger and Mary Ann, right? Well, The Professor's death brings to mind the moment when I shook his hand. He wasn't thrilled with the fact that he was shaking mine. My college buddy bought us tickets to a cruise around the Baltimore Harbor. Th...

So, my feet are swollen. The doc says that it's part of the trauma from the operation and will take quite some time to abate, but that's not the real story. My beautiful wife wanted to check things out. She is a highly trained professional, of course. I'll set the scene. Melky and I were in bed for the night when the examination was to take place. Kathy came by and said: "Let's see the foot." I showed it to her and she reached to check the swelling. Melky lunged at her. I'm sure that Melky wouldn't have bit her, but you never know. Kathy jumped back and cursed out the dog. "You can't touch me," I said. "Melky loves me way more than anyone else ever has." And it's true, and our love is mutual. So, it's established that I sing songs to the dog. We often discuss our upcoming day and the fact that we need to keep other animals off our street. Yet what came under direct fire was my nickname for the dog...

The murder of the young father in the Tampa movie theater has set a lot of people off. Including me. I'm not supposed to be talking about guns because every time I do I get attacked by the people who think it's just the bad people who shoot people. Another former responsible gun owner snaps and becomes a non-responsible gun owner. The victim is another guy who didn't understand that he is living in the Old West. Of course, the lawyer for this retired cop is saying that his poor client felt as if he were being attacked because the guy who was texting stood up quickly and fired his popcorn at the gun owner. Watch the son-of-a-bitch get off on the old stand your ground deal. It's certainly possible, right, Zimmerman? Maybe that's the deal. Perhaps we all need guns. I should head off somewhere and get a half-dozen semi-automatics so that I can go to the mall, or the kids can go to school, or perhaps we can all head to a movie. Are you freaking kidd...

New York State Assemblyman Dennis Gabryszak resigned his seat this weekend after pressure in regard to the sexual harassment claims levied by a number of people who worked with him on a daily basis. Isn't that a kick in the nuts? And a lot of time when you hear about these types of stories you might be tempted to think: "Geez, he was just joking around." Yet there certainly is a fine line to dance across, and when you're consistently stepping back and forth across that line than you probably need not be in a place of position over those you are guiding. Right? Many of the women making the claims are people who were working directly for the guy. They claim to have been the subject of lewd advances, difficult choices and juvenile comments. Don't these politicians have something to do during the day other than cause problems? It's weird, but most people don't have time for such nonsense during the course of their work days. People in the trenc...

It's been twenty years since a group of thugs sanctioned by Tonya Harding (allegedly) bashed my sweetheart, Nancy Kerrigan with a lead pipe, in an effort to try and get her out of the Olympics. First off: Where does the time go? I recall so much about that time in my life. I was living alone. I was spending a lot of time playing video games, drinking beer, playing softball, golfing, and barely paying my rent. I had just met my future wife. We were spending time going to lunch and drinking beer. I was young and strong and I most assuredly wasn't watching figure skating. I'm not sure why the story caught so much of my attention. Perhaps it was the cries of the attractive Nancy that tugged at my heart. Whhhhyyyyy? Whhhhyyyyy? And then Nancy was dragged in front of the cameras and I sort of liked that she was shy and scared and reluctant to get involved. I was angry with Tonya that lousy piece of trash! Nancy would come back!! Nancy would skate for the...

The one lyric that captured me off the new Bruce record is trapped in the middle of the song: Hunter of Invisible Game . Strength is vanity Time is illusion I feel you breathing the rest is confusion. (First off...14 words...just brilliant). Secondly, I got stuck on the 'Time is An Illusion' sentiment. A baseball writer posted a YouTube video of a play in the 1974 World Series. It was a throw to the plate by Dodger right-fielder Joe Ferguson. The throw came after Ferguson jumped in front of center-fielder Jimmy Wynn to make the catch. Ferguson then gunned out the runner with a perfect strike that hit the catcher's glove dead center. I remembered every second of it as if it happened last night. It had been Reggie at the plate and Bando trying to score from third. I knew it was Wynn that Ferguson cut in front of. I recalled that Ferguson was a catcher-turned-outfielder. The throw spanned a few hundred feet on the fly and landed in the center of Steve Yeager...

I went back to work and perhaps it didn't go quite as smoothly as I might have liked. By Friday afternoon it was pretty difficult to stand up. Nothing new there. Gonna' take time. Yet on Saturday morning I decided to do the old ice and heat routine. And I got an early text about my buddy Gag's progress in the marathon in support of research for a cure...a run for our sons program at Epcot Center in Florida. It's a battle against M.D. and while I should have been running... After I tell him that he's crazy for running such distances at our age, Gag always tells me that he runs for those that can't... I thought of that as I was packed in ice. I looked at the happy faces all around as he took a break during the run. Isn't that awesome? Life itself is filled with heartache and despair. There's nothing better than turning it around. Through hard work. Through inspiration and faith and belief. And love. So proud of all of them. ...

So the Bruce album is out on Tuesday and it has been leaked already. I've heard a bunch of the songs off the record and I'm happy with them. It's more Bruce music. What could be bad? Yet there are critics out there who are saying that it's not great enough. Bruce's records are always ambitious projects that spawn a number of hits. This one might not do that. Will he release another record before the end of 2014. People, people, people. The man is 64 years old. He's the only rock and roll guy doing anything! I have a buddy who is a Led Zeppelin fan. They last made a song in about 1978. Before this guy was born. Then there are the Beatles fans... ...and while McCartney is still writing songs... ...they broke up in 1970. The Stones haven't made a record in ten years. They keep re-issuing the same songs in a different package. So Bruce has written only five records in the last five years. He's only played a couple thousand t...

What a mess I got into with my damn dogs. Early in the week it was all about not being able to move from the house, trying to clear snow without becoming an instant snowman and hoping that whoever left the house returned safely...even if they were looking for the mail. The dogs didn't want to make the trip to pee, but damn, they wanted their ride in the car. "We can't go! There's a travel ban!!" I said. No comprehension. "We have to stay! Tomorrow!" I tried. Those are all key words, but they let me know that they were pissed. It took 3 pig ears to calm them down, but two hours later they were asking again. Dopey bastards. Speaking of dopey bastards I tried to decipher the press conference with Dennis Rodman as he talked about his midget best buddy in North Korea. What is wrong with that dude? What does he hope to accomplish? World peace?? Speaking of world peace...pot is now legal for recreational use in a few states. "Wh...

My first day back to work caused me to set the alarm for 5:00 as I had a 6:30 a.m. meeting scheduled. I was up an hour before the alarm. Which gave me time to think. I've always enjoyed going to work. It's an honor to be gainfully employed and I've never once taken it for granted. However the time off to try and recover was good for one thing: It calmed me down a little and made me appreciate the fact that I could get back out there. So what happens? It's freaking zero degrees out and they're calling for Buffalo to become the North Pole by 11 a.m.! The first job-site was before me. I dressed in layers and even found my gloves. I parked the car as close as I could get to the project and opened the side door. It closed in on me in a mad rush of the heavy winds. I laughed. "Guess I'll have to hold it open." I held it open and placed my bad leg, which is getting better each day, on the ground...the parking lot was an ice rink. ...

Just the word brings back so much in the way of remembering. The Blizzard of '77 was epic...and despite the horror of it for the adults it was a lot of fun for a 12-year-old kid. Two weeks off from school. Monopoly games with the entire family. Street hockey in the blowing and drifting cold. When they started talking about the 'polar vortex' over the weekend it brought a feeling with it. They weren't kidding. And here in Western New York if all the conditions line up just right...we're at the mercy of old man winter. As the travel bans started coming in, and after Kathy stumbled through the door after a nearly two hour 15-mile trip home, we were safe. I started thinking about the kids most of all and what they'd remember of being locked in the house. On Monday night, just before midnight, I tried looking out my bedroom window and I thought of my Dad and a conversation we had long ago. Me: It must be terrible to freeze to death. Dad: Why do ...

So I resolve not to get into any discussions this year about: 1). Guns - If all those children getting slaughtered in Connecticut can't get the gun laws changed than me arguing with Joe-Six-Shooter isn't gonna' do it either. Besides I love the ignorance of it all especially when someone who can't spell 'constitution' beats me over the head with it...but I'm not being combative. You can see that there's no point in any of it, right? 2). Obama - - Or any other political leader for that matter. Again, it's a pointless debate and once it devolves into the name-calling based on heritage it really gets depressing. People always say that you shouldn't bring up politics or religion which takes me to point number 3. 3). Gay Marriage - Why debate this issue either? As I've mentioned countless times if gay marriage is against your religious principles then don't get gay married. What in the world does it matter if I'm for it or ag...

I really enjoy short conversations with people I see every day. The woman who works the counter at the local convenience store is one such friend. When I'm working regularly...which is hopefully starting up again...she can set her watch by my appearance to buy the newspaper. We trade kind words each day. "You're walking better." "How's your arthritis?" She has grandchildren that she adores. We talk about recipes now and again. You know, just short words. I try and make her laugh every once in awhile. On Friday I stopped in for the paper. "Has anyone mentioned that it's cold?" I asked. I was quite sure that everyone had mentioned it. She sighed. "Everyone is bitching to me," she said. "Like I control the thermostat." And I laughed because I had said it just for that simple fact. "Is that what you hate most about the job?" I asked. She pointed to the lottery ticket display beside her. ...

Whenever the year flips there are lists. Lists of what is in and what is out. Lists of the top songs of the year and lists of what is coming in the new year. Here at Thoughts of a Common Man we are no different. Here's a list of some of my favorite sings...not the big hits...the ones that make me really turn up the volume though - they are in no particular order: 1). Hearts by Marty Balin - took me a long time to find this song on I-Tunes. I got so excited I downloaded it twice. 2). You Will Be My Music by Frank Sinatra - the best vocal of any song...ever. Play this one for the fans of rap and let them compare the music value. 3). Leah by Bruce Springsteen - Yeah, a Bruce song on the list, but not one you might expect. Lyrics are incredible. I shake my head all the way through it. It's about a guy who is almost living his life right. Almost . 4). Kentucky Rain by Elvis - The imagery just really works. His voice is perfect. You can feel his pain. 5). Beaut...

A little writing secret for you. I try and write a chapter at a time with the end game in mind. A bunch of pages of the old black notebook are filled with quotations. I pull them from books, and off the Twitter feed, and some of them I've written down over and over again. Sometimes I use them, but most of the time, they just sit there, and I read them to get fired up about what I want to write next. I thought I'd share a few: The purpose of our lives is to be happy. - Dalai Lama All, everything that I understand, I only understand because I love. - Leo Tolstoy The mystery of human existence lies in not just staying alive, but in finding something to live for. - Fyodor Dostoyevsky The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experiences. - Eleanor Roosevelt. You were put on this Earth to achieve your greatest self, to live out your purpose, and to do it fearlessly. - Steve Mara...

So I headed into the gaming room to face the boys in the PS4 sports games. They had been on me since Christmas to participate so I broke down. First rule: No rap music on in the background. Second rule: I choose their team and I get to play at home with a good team. The first game was the Golden State Warriors against the Sacramento Kings. I knew a couple of things about it. Golden State has a great 3-point shooter and the Kings suck. My opponent was Sam, and the game opened with him laughing hard because I grabbed a rebound and hit the wrong button, shooting it from the full-length of the court. And let me tell you, the game has really evolved. They interview players at half-court. The players have sweat dripping down their faces. The whistles are real. The crowd noise is real, and the scores scrolling at the bottom of the screen are the NBA scores from the real NBA games that are going on in the real world. It's weird. I shot every single time with Curry. He h...

So it isn't as widely anticipated as the new Springsteen album that drops on 01-14-14, but we are getting there. And Springsteen has something to do with this book, of course. The idea was a long time in the making and it was developed from the idea of sitting at a Bruce concert in 2012. At that point I'd been attending his shows for about 30 years and as I watched him in Buffalo in 2012 I thought of all the beautiful people who'd attended such shows with me through the years. We had so many dreams back in '83 when we saw Bruce together at the Aud. He opened with Born in the USA. He played for just about 3 and a half hours. I remember being shocked at the display. Just so much energy and passion. When I attended the show in 2012 the cast was a little different, but I thought a lot about the crew that has stayed the same. Great college buddies who still call once in awhile and the topic eventually gets around to 'What Bruce is up to.' Wives added a...

The New Year always brings a lot of hope with it, doesn't it? I always feel as if the slate is wiped clean, sort of, and that a new day is dawning on a life that will be more filled with wisdom, willpower, faith and hope. That shit is usually out the window by the 5th of January, but still... ...I feel it. And there's a thought that it really shouldn't be so hard. Just get up and say a little prayer. Eat right. Be kind. Smile at strangers. Wave to the neighbors. Laugh with the kids. Kiss the spouse. Work hard. Don't bitch. Save some money. Eat right (again) Exercise. Brush and floss the teeth. Be fair. Drift off to sleep with a prayer. Stay organized. Read more. Eat less. Exercise. Smile. Watch less television. Think kind thoughts. It ain't all that hard, right? It should be easy enough to pull off. Follow the AA mantra...just a day at a time. Break it down to one good hour and then another good hour. I really ...