Thoughts of a Common Man

I’m thinking that this isn’t what purgatory must be like... ...actually, it’s a tad like hell, to be honest. I am a creature of habit. I’m also unbelievably driven and I work my entire life with a long to-do list of things every day. If I don’t finish the self-imposed list... ...I get stressed. The painting project is killing me. It’s forced me to go to bed with things still left to do... ...and I can’t change it. “It’s just a couple of weeks,” my beautiful wife said. “Try and relax.” We both laughed. Over the last couple of days it hasn’t been too bad because I’ve had progress meetings with myself. “A little at a time,” I chided myself (Hi Kim!). Yet, on Monday I was on a long drive for work and I couldn’t stop thinking of my schedule. “Stop!” Purgatory!! I finally put on E-Street radio and Bruce offered a chance to relax. On Tuesday, Kathy was off. I hit her with a list of a couple of things she could do with the little home project. Got home and...

I didn’t watch more than a couple of at-bats of the World Series. I never much cared for the Dodgers and that’s because the Yankees played them 3 times in the series - winning in ‘77 & ‘78 and losing in the strike fiasco in ‘81. But I was rooting for them... ...because they were playing Boston... The team with the highest-payroll in the history of the sport. $240 million buys you a lot of wins. They beat the poor cash-strapped Yankees by 1-thin run in two games of the division series. A $70 million payroll advantage may have made a difference. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. I once told my son, Sam, who is a Yankees fan: “Being a Yankees fan means that you never give an inch. When someone brags, hit them with 27.” Sam has it down. Regardless, my phone blew up immediately after Game 5. Red Sux fans, rather than enjoying their bought title were coming at Yankees fans. This is how I answered the first one: “Congrat$, they’re a good $quad. I’m $ure t...

Rose Mallinger was 97 years old. Imagine what she saw in her lifetime. She felt love, pain, and happiness. Can’t imagine that she believe that she would be murdered in a place of worship. Denise and Sylvan Simon were 84 & 86. They shared their lives together. Got slaughtered in the end. David (54) and Cecil (59) Rosenthal were brothers who watched one another die. Joyce Feinburg was 75, Richard Gottfried was 65, Jerry Rabinowitz was 66, Daniel Stein died at 71, Melvin Wax was 88 and Irving Younger was 69. They weren’t a part of an immigrant caravan that was hell bent on changing America to something not great. Instead, they were at a place of worship, celebrating a new life. Being gunned down by a crazed man who purchased a military weapon because it’s his right. That man had a social media profile that warned of a meltdown. On Saturday morning, he decided to take his country back from the Jews who scared him. He heard that a Jew was sponsoring the caravan tha...

The bomber had a short shelf life. 13 bomb packages were discovered. The authority jumped into action and found the guy, living in his MAGA van. Immediately there were cries that Democrats set it all up so that Trump would stop attacking people at his rallies. Isn’t that something? Didn’t last long because Saturday morning brought yet another mass shooting. “There’s an active shooter in Pittsburgh.” I purposely didn’t listen to the details. Not to sound callous, but why bother? To hear the ‘thoughts and prayers’ messages. To listen to politicians say, “We need for it to stop!” Those are empty words when they aren’t followed up with action. The dumbest thing said was by Trump himself, “There should have been armed protection there.” Three cops were shot at that scene. I’m assuming they had weapons. But, it’s all too much. One horrible thing to another, all fueled by constant nastiness in daily speeches that are meant to inflame. Too much hate, too much rage...

Painting sucks! There’s no other conclusion. Yet, I must admit that the one room that I finished up looks good. And I was able to work in a break and scheduled a massage that kept me working... ...slowly. The keys to painting are: Take your time... ...and don’t worry about the rug because we’re going to change it out anyway! But there’s a lot to it. Working on the trim, taping the stuff you don’t want painted, patching the holes, chasing the dogs out of the vicinity, yelling at whoever enters the house to not touch anything, and cleaning up. I was wearing socks, but was surprised to see that my toenail was covered in white paint. But here’s the rub. I’m insane. If there’s work to do... ...and I’ve started it... ...I need to finish. I have the schedule worked out in my mind. The massage therapist is on speed dial, and we are looking into changing up what we had hanging on the walls. “This will be the last time,” I thought as I mixed up the paint. “The...

The dialogue has been toxic. Most of the toxicity has a clearly identifiable focal point. Maxine Waters is a low I.Q. Person/I can beat up Joe Biden/Crooked Hillary/Lock her up/ Obama wasn’t born here/Good people on both sides/I like my war heroes not captured/You should see this guy (disabled reporter)/she’s a fat pig/she had blood coming out of her wherever/Sleepy Chuck Todd/Cohen is a liar/Fake news/witch hunt... ...and on and on and on. Every day for two years. The tweets have been nasty, mean, and vile. Nearly every subject imaginable. Well, it appears that one of his disciples sprang into action, and went after those known enemies. Ten bombs were delivered to 2 former presidents, a former Secretary of State, an actor, a billionaire Democrat, Former Vice President, sitting member of Congress... ...all on the left side of the aisle. Those rallies are particularly troublesome because they are designed to rile people up. They make people angry, and those who are ...

The interior of our house really needs a paint job. I asked a lot of people... ...even hired a guy. He said ‘Yes.’ I went out and bought the paint. And then I looked at it every time I walked by the newly purchased paint... ...sent a couple of messages to the kid who wanted to do it. Nothing. “Let me try the trim,” I said. I didn’t have a lot to lose. We are going to replace the carpet anyway. I took my time. There was good and bad: 1). It looked all right. 2). My back was destroyed. But I was invigorated. “I can do this!” During the day on Thursday I thought about finishing the small hallway when I got home. I was flinging paint in a dizzying mess of chaos. I couldn’t see it properly. Was I missing a spot or was it the shadow from the lights? I wasn’t invigorated anymore. Reaching up, bending over. “I need a massage!” I shut off the lights. Left the drop cloth on the rug. The paint could sit right there. “I felt like I did okay,” I said....

I’ve always had this troubled mind. I distinctly remember being no more than ten or eleven years old, and having been made aware of the big, bad world (I actually knew about the fighting in Vietnam - my parents shared stuff with us) I recall thinking: “I was lucky to be Born in the USA.” I even felt fortunate to be in New York because my Dad was proud of saying it was the best state. I’ve lived in other states. I’ve been in most of them. I’ll die as a resident of New York. And I still feel fortunate. Yet, the song, “Born in the U.S.A.” wasn’t all about feeling proud, and I figured that out too. I watched footage of the thousands of people in the caravan. It’s an overwhelming piece of video. I saw a lot of kids in there. “We don’t want ‘em! It’s an assault on our country.” When I was a kid, I was taught that we are better than other countries because we stand up for what’s right. “A shining light on a hill,” Reagan once said. The light bulb needs to be changed......

Movies and television shows have done it to death. They show a really qualified kid running against a total screw-off for class president. The qualified kid talks about ideas to make the school better, and the screw-off just stands up and says, “Free candy for everyone!” The screw-off wins. I thought of that when I considered three statements that came out of Donald’s yap. 1). The Caravan - Donald is pulling out all the stops to stoke fears of the coming immigrants. “Hardened criminals,” gave way to “the Democrats are going to probably give them free cars” which turned into “they’re giving them free cars.” Which then became a double-down of fear: “There are Middle-Easterners in there.” If that wasn’t enough. “They’re rioting in California to get rid of their sanctuary cities.” There haven’t been any riots. 2). Middle-Class Tax Cut! Trump announced that he’s working “around the clock on a middle class tax cut of 10% that will happen in early November.” Couple of prob...

There are just four of us here. We are all set in our ways a bit, and just one out of four of us is organized. He’s the guy who called the meeting to order. “We all have to get on the same page here,” I said. “The house needs to be cleaned up a bit.” My call for a meeting went over like a lead balloon. I knew what I needed: Incentives! How does one motivate people???? As we were talking about the meeting we let Sam in on some of the work that was coming his way. An hour later, he was actually doing some of it! The work that needs to be done comes from five (now four) people living in a space without actually updating things that break. “We can’t wait until the entire thing caves in on our heads,” I said. And it drives me crazy because I am limited in my capabilities. I didn’t follow my Dad around when I was a kid. I ain’t exactly handy! Plus, we’ve all been hobbled. We might know what to do, but our stamina is limited. “I have one rule for the meeting,” I said...

So, the journalist went into the embassy to be interviewed. There were 15 men there for the interview. The pudgy, little journalist decided to fist-fight all 15 of them, and he was winning the fight!! They had no choice but to defend themselves so one of the 15 grabbed the rabid journalist in a chokehold and unfortunately was too aggressive. The poor journalist passed away. They never meant for it to happen!! Their intentions were good!! So, they chopped him up with a bone saw, and dispersed his body all over the place. That’s what you do in an accidental death. “Did you do it?” The world asked. “Nope! Never heard of the guy!” “We have him on camera entering and never leaving.” “Oh! That guy!! Yeah, he stopped by!” Listen, it’s very responsible of America to allow the people who committed the murder to investigate the murder. That’s not unreasonable, right? “We didn’t mean to do it,” was the verdict. “Sounds credible,” the Big, Orange Fraud said. “They bai...

I watch American League Baseball. I don’t ever need to see a pitcher try to hit. I’m not all that enamored with a sacrifice bunt, or the very tricky double switch. Pitchers are way better in the NL...cause they get to strike out the pitcher and the Punch & Judy SS. But, you know, of course, I’m rooting for either the Dodgers or the Brewers because they will be playing Boston. Boston is the Evil Empire. $240 million payroll, and all of their pitchers are slathered up in grease and rosin and anything else they can scuff up the ball with. And Kimbrel? That’s a closer? If Mariano Rivera cane out of retirement he would have to give up a run in 54 straight innings to get his ERA to match Kimbrel’s. And what the hell is he doing out there before throwing a pitch? Does he think he’s a bird? Maybe he is with that ratty looking beard. Now, this may sound like sour grapes because the Yankees lost... ...it is!!! I spent the entire year thinking that they weren’t that ...

“Got up, got out of bed, dragged a comb across my head.” The Beatles ‘Day In A Life’ is one of the great songs. I thought of it on my birthday, yesterday. I really don’t care who you are or how old you are, or how many times you say, “It’s just another day”... ...you still know it’s the anniversary of the day you arrived. But it was a work day. Dogs still wanted their ride. Meetings were made & kept, but first step out of the door, and I stepped on the gutter. It had been hanging on the house when I went to bed. The fact that it was in the driveway...sucked! And it was cold. 30-some degrees. I felt tired too... ...birthday or not. Then, things got different. My siblings all texted first. Then my best of friends. Then my beautiful wife and adorable children. Then old high school friends, old college friends, friends from work, friends from grammar school, nieces and nephews and cousins. Hundreds of people, taking a second to say hello, and I found myself smil...

I always get a tad squirrelly around my birthday. Nothing much, but I’m a very reflective person anyway. I examine everything I do and try to figure out why I’m thinking like I do as opposed to how I thought in the past. I’m fifty-four years old today. And that’s just weird. My body feels that way, but in my mind, I’m kinda’ stuck around 25 or so. I know, I know... ...I don’t quite look 25. But that’s the tricky thing about time... ...and your mind. You used to do things! Think you still can!! You can’t. I can’t even begin to count the number of time I fall asleep and my book hits the floor. I can now fall asleep on planes, and while watching a show. “You were snoring over there,” someone will mention. “I wasn’t sleeping!” But I was. Yet, I’m stubborn too. I won’t let one of the younger guys outwork me. I still tell the kids that I can beat them in every sport. I can’t. Ah well, it’s my birthday... I can cry if I want to. I wish I could get a...

So, the stomach churning debate this week appears to be the murder of Jamal Khashoggi the reporter from the Washington Post who was chopped to pieces by Saudi Arabian monsters. You see, in the past, such a murder would be strongly condemned by the President of the United States because we USED to stand for human rights. “He firmly denied it. He really firmly denied it, so there’s that.” Does he not get it? Does he not know that the jails are full of people who firmly deny it? Did he believe Orenthal when he said “100% absolutely not guilty?” Yet, the reason why the Orange Dope believes the King of Saudi Arabia is because... ...money. He didn’t believe the Central Park 5 we’re innocent even after they were found not guilty. He wanted to put those five BLACK kids to death...after the verdict was handed down. He believed Roy Moore and Bart O’Kavanaugh’s denials. He was good with Putin’s word. “He denies it, I can tell you that. He very strongly denies it.” Years ag...

We were living in Mountain View, California in 1986. The entire family was out there for the summer  of ‘86, but once school started again it was just me, my brother Jim and my Dad. I was 21 years old, and working as a construction laborer at a Fairnount Hotel in San Jose. During that summer Springsteen put out his live album and it basically stopped traffic. He sold so many copies that there were long lines at record stores, and some stores sold out entirely. But Bruce was nowhere to be found. He took the year off and didn’t appear in public at all. Then, there was an announcement. Bruce would play a show...in Mountain View, California! We applied for the lottery... ...and didn’t win. On the day of the show, we were pretty sad. As the day went on, Jim worked on me. “Let’s just go down there. We can scalp tickets.” That was easy for Jim to say. He wasn’t working. If we were going to scalp tickets, it was on me. I finally broke. I decided to take a ride down to...

Today is my buddy Jeff’s Birthday... ...you’re getting old, Champ. Thursday I get to 54 on the time calendar. “Time to celebrate birthday week,” I said. Everyone yawned. Birthdays are weird for us old dudes. It’s turned into a day of aggravation for a guy like me. You see, every day I’m alive is a day that starts with a To-Do List. I spend the first 20 minutes that I’m awake compiling my list of things to do... ...I’m obsessive compulsive so I have to get the list clear before I return to that bed. A bad day is when I don’t get it done. Birthdays are tough for that because I get a lot of texts, messages and calls. I have to answer each one  individually. If someone took a second to send me a message, I need to answer it. “Wait until the end of the day and just send one big thank-you,” my beautiful wife said. Can’t do it. So, having a birthday in the age of social media has made me older. It’s a tough day. And as I’ve grown older, I’ve thought about my Da...

“What about what Clinton did?” That was the standard response by those who were trying to defend the Kanye West tantrum in the Oval Office on Thursday. I happened to hear the entire thing on one of the news channels. To me, it sounded like one of the fake preachers that you might hear in Times Square. He went from Hillary to the super power from his hat to a hydrogen plane, to the guns in Chicago to holy crap...until he dropped a M-fer. He was invited to talk about prison reform! Now, I know that qualifications are optional for a lot of the government positions now, but is he qualified to somehow get to the bottom of the problem? You heard a whole lot about “innocent until proven guilty” but you don’t hear much of that when a poor defendant gets a high cash bail set, and then sits in prison until the trial. In his entire 10-minute rant, Ye (as he now wants to be called) never said word one about the men and women who received long sentences for pot offenses. I was horri...

We’ve seen so many of these storms come and go. It starts with an evacuation plea. The heads of government come on television and beg people to listen to what they’re being told. Then the media shows up and finds people who decided to tough it out. The implication being that they’re stupid. Then the storm hits, and as a nation we watch them pick through the rubble. How many dead? A few days later, we move on. Wait for the next one. I was a horrible science student. I wanted to be interested in it, but it all seemed so abstract to me. I’d read all about it, but nothing stuck. I wasn’t much of a science geek, and I still don’t know what to think. “We’re all doomed!” That’s the news coming out of the climate change believers. “The planet will correct it!” Says the climate-change deniers. Well, we’ve had an awful lot of once-in-a-lifetime storms in the last few years. I’m no scientist, but something is awry. I read an article that said that the planet, given the pat...

More than 30 years ago, I worked as a laborer for a construction company. My labor partner was a little black guy who lifted weights. We worked on the rehab of a huge hospital in Buffalo. I called him Zeus because he believed that he was a Greek god. Zeus was a pretty good guy and he worked hard... ...when he was there. Zeus would usually miss a day a week, and more than once, he asked me if he could borrow enough to get lunch. I’d give it to him. He was a good audience. I told him a bunch of stories, and a lot of jokes. We worked side-by-side for about four months. It all ended abruptly. Zeus missed a day, but he swung by the hospital with a sand pail. Yeah. A sand pail. He was crying. “I need money,” he said. “I need you to help me. Go around the hospital and see if people will donate to help me. My Mom is sick.” I sprang into action. We knew a whole bunch of hospital people by then, and I walked the halls of the hospital, begging on behalf of Zeus. I wa...

On Wednesday morning my eyes opened and my mind sent a message: “Today is gonna’ be rough for you, Clifford. The Yankees were eliminated last night. Do you remember that? The winning runs were on a Nunez made a good play.” “Shut up,” I growled. I grabbed the phone. I had 3 texts, 8 Facebook Message and a messenger notification. None of them were sympathetic... ...which is not surprising. I can be a tad annoying when I remind people which team is the 27-Time World Champion Greatest Franchise in the History of Organized American Sports. Every year, if the Yankees go down... ...I get lambasted. Yet, here’s the thing. The loss didn’t hurt me. They were good enough to win it. I’d rather that they didn’t lose to the Suck Sux, but there’s no shame. They didn’t play well for three of four games. They could’ve won Game 1 and Game 4. They didn’t because they didn’t get the big hit, and every bloop and bleeder fell in for Boston. J.D. Martinez, the $120-million free agent ...

The Yankees game on Monday night was hardly watchable... ...but it soon turned into a comedy. “Safe!” The ump motioned on a close play. The announcer (who thinks it’s his job to not shut up from the time he gets behind the mic until I threaten to throw something through the television) told me that the ump in question was Angel Hernandez. “He’s probably out,” I said. “Hernandez is incompetent.” He was out. Then the guy Hernandez called out was found to be safe. Then the third guy who approached the bag was called out after reviewing why Angel called him safe. It happened 4 times!!! And here’s a secret... ...anyone who has watched baseball for a long time can be sure of one thing: Angel Hernandez is an awful umpire! Yet, Tuesday night he was behind the plate. Why does he appear in the playoffs? My dogs know he sucks. Well, he’s suing the league for discrimination or something because he thinks that a league that is made up of about 80% Hispanic players... ...

Not a great memory here at Camp Clifford. I had a cold that day, and so did Jake. His cold actually saved his life because he could barely speak and went to the MAC center to get an antibiotic. That’s where they found the huge mass on his chest. I went to a Bills game that day... ...last Bills game I’ve attended. They beat the Jets. I had telephone messages that nearly stopped my heart. I you want to remember the rest, read ‘Counting On A Miracle.’ Blows my mind that it was 17 years ago. “Know where I was 17 gears ago?” I asked Jake. He shrugged. “Trying to get into Toys R Us to get the new Scooby-Doo,” I said. “They let me in after closing and I brought it to you at the hospital.” “Whatever,” Jake said. He certainly doesn’t want to discuss it. Yet, it’s hard to not revisit. Kathy and I talked about that day. M Our fears, our anger with the misdiagnosis, and the doctors who saved him. “How’d the A’s do?” I asked Jake as he passed me in the hall. “Don’t m...

We need work done around our house. The following items must be addressed: Interior paint - one of the boys’ friends is willing to get it done. He works in the construction field and knows what he’s doing. “Just pick the paint out,” he said. We’ve stalled right there. “I don’t know what color I want,” my beautiful wife said. New Rugs - the rugs in our home were installed in 1997. I had a carpet rep in here. We figured out the price. “We have hardwood floors underneath. We should get those polished and just get area rugs,” my beautiful wife said. “Let’s think about it.” We need a new couch: “I’ve been looking. I haven’t decided which one I like,” she said. So, here we are. The problem being that I live my life with a never-ending to-do list in my head... ...drives me nuts when things aren’t done. But, I have been easily distracted. Baseball playoffs. So, I’ve been able to stay patient... ...sort of. “We gotta’ get this done!” I said. “In due time,” wa...

Here’s what I don’t get about the media and the political game. Bart O’Kavanaugh is in, and there was great hand-wringing on the left and extreme happiness on the right. I was teaching a class where a guy stood up and said: “36 years ago! Who would believe any of that!!” And that’s where the argument went and stayed. He was approved as a guy who may have done something very nasty, but it wasn’t proven. I kind of stopped listening to that battle immediately after watching him testify. ‘Cause he was a lying creep. He drank like that. He was that disrespectful to women. Ford’s story will go down as unsubstantiated, and maybe it should, but what was substantiated was that he certainly was okay with lying about a bunch of things: Under oath. That disqualified him in my mind. Yet, here we are. I remember watching the Clinton deposition all those years ago. I recall thinking: “He’s lying.” When he started debating what the definition of ‘is’ is, I was done with him. ...

Pro: Baseball playoffs on all day.  Con: Baseball is almost over. Pro: The changing leaves are pretty.  Con: I get cold. Pro: My Birthday is this month.  Con: My Birthday is this month. Pro: Beginning to hear about Christmas.  Con: It ain’t even Halloween. Pro: It ain’t snowing yet.  Con: I can smell it coming. (I get cold). Pro: Couch time as it’ll slow down.  Con: I’m gonna’ really miss golf. Pro: Election coming up to change things.  Con: Election ads (lying bastards). So, you see where I’m at here. I like some things and I hate some things regarding fall. One of life’s great pleasures for me is feeling the sun on my face, and actually sweating. Some people  don’t care for the heat... ...hotter the better for me. And I know the sun is leaving. You know what will make the winter better? Yep. Go Yankees!

As my kids yell: “Let’s Go!!!” Unbelievably 2 of my kids are Oakland A’s fans. Too bad, so sad. The Yankees pummeled the hapless A’s on Wednesday night... ...and now they get the Red Sux. Two teams with over 100 wins. One team with an obnoxiously high payroll who signs 2 or 3 free agents to long contracts every year, and one team with last year’s rookie of the year and 2 rookie of the year candidates this year. Here’s how I see it: The 27-time world champion greatest franchise in the history of organized American sports is going to win it in four. Yep! I know it’s a stretch for a longtime Yankees fan to pick the Yankees, but hear me out. Chris Sale is hurting. He was throwing 90 tops in his last start. David Price is horrible against the Yankees. Horrible! Their bullpen is weak outside of their closer, and they won’t get to him... ...because the Yankees are healthy and hitting. Judge is on a hot streak. Stanton nearly hit the moon on Wednesday. One t...

On 10/02/78, I remember exactly where I was. I’d played in an afternoon soccer game at North Collins High School...played is a loose term...I ran up and down the field with a radio playing in my ear... ...Coach Loretto took the radio away and was listening to it instead (he’s a Yankees fan too) and I was running down the field, but stopped dead when he said: “Bucky just hit a three-run homer.” I arrived home in time to watch Reggie go yard, and Goose close it out. Dad, who never missed a day of work...never...was there. “Why are you home?” I asked. “I have a cold coming on,” he said. Yankees 5 Red Sox 4. I know where I was on 10/03/95: “The verdict is coming,” my friend Ron said (may he RIP). Orenthal stood up. “Not guilty.” We had all listened to and discussed every second of that trial (and that case led to every single story being...breaking news). There were moments when I wished Orenthal was not guilty... ...I wanted there to be someone else who murde...

The New York Times broke a story on Tuesday that said Trump is a tax fraud who cheated the American government out of millions and millions of dollars. Trump said: “Fred Trump? Never heard of him.” Fraud. He’s always been a fraud and the people who love him the most love him because he’s tough on welfare and immigrants and poor people. He’s going to make America great again by stopping those pesky people from milking the system... ...as he and his crime family did for decades. When will America wake up and start blaming the massive amounts of money being stolen on the people who are actually stealing it??? “Saw a guy buying beer in the middle of the work day! He’s probably on welfare!” “People on food stamps at a store and they had a smart phone!” You see those complaints all the time on social media. No one bitches about the white collar criminals stealing millions. It’s so aggravating. One lie after another, avoiding taxes, lying and cheating... ...doesn’t...

Matt Damon was funny as Kavanaugh on the opening of SNL. John Oliver made me spit laugh when he was talking about it. Bill Maher always makes me laugh... ...but what do those shows have in common? They’re considered liberal funny. I often wonder about watching the show if my political slant was different. Would “I’m a keg have full kind of guy” still make me laugh? Probably not... ...Tucker Carlson wants to go to a Human Rights organization to protest Kate McKinnon’s portrayal of Lindsey Graham. Yet, where do the laughs come from there? As far as I know, they’re all considered to be liberal elite comedians. I can’t think of much humor coming from the conservative side. Yet, that’s how it goes. They certainly made fun of Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. There’s a way to react to it all. John McCain appeared on SNL a number of times. I saw Hillary making fun of herself on a show the other day... ...but the lines are blurred and I see how it can be considered cru...

There’s been a whole lot of talk about being young and dumb, and having the past evaluated. I went to high school and college in the 1980’s. I liked beer. I don’t like beer anymore, but I had one a couple of months ago, and it was ice cold. Not gonna’ lie... ...it was good. Yet, there are old college days that I cringe thinking about, but I had a great group of friends and we had a good time. We didn’t do things that were abusive or criminal. We drank beer, listened to music, shot pool, played sports, and ate like pigs. Once in awhile we were overserved, but to a man, we were good to the girls we hung out with. The fact of the matter was we hung around a tight group of girls as well, and if we hadn’t been respectful we would have been policed from within. Reading Kavanaugh’s yearbook entries all I could think was that he was immature. Horribly immature, and without a whole lot of guidance. We all knew what ‘ Ralphing’ was. You drink a lot, you throw up. I don’t know one...