Thoughts of a Common Man

I don’t eat at fast food places. But when I was out in Kansas (after some prompting by Pops) I went to Chik-Fil-A. Damn! The spicy chicken sandwich is good! (I usually had more than one), and I stopped every time I went to the job in Olathe. Well, big news!!! We have one in the Buffalo area. I was happy to hear that, but I grew a little perplexed when I heard that people were camped out in the parking lot awaiting the grand opening. The prize for doing so is a free chicken sandwich a week for the entire year. Dudes... ...it’s a chicken sandwich! They’re $3.00!! I wouldn’t camp out for Bruce tickets at this point in my life. A chicken sandwich???? I’m sure that I’ll make my way over sometime soon... ...but given the reaction to the opening it may be a little while. Cripes! Chicken sandwiches topped our local news! They’re on the hot trail of the rotund, orange clown and Russia is attacking their neighbors... ...and here in Buffalo... ...we’re camp

On Thanksgiving a story broke about a 5-year-old child losing his life, one town over from where we live. I saw the headline: Wouldn’t click on the story. Saw an update a few hours later, the kid was struck by a car. There were a few of those in my youth. They were too sad to think about. Yet, the story was even sadder than that. His father was behind the wheel. I just couldn’t even read the story. Sometimes life is way too cruel. As a Dad, I didn’t want to think about it. As a man, I would be destroyed by the particulars. I’ve dealt with sadness in my life and at my job. “How does that family survive?” Someone texted me. “Love,” I answered. “It’s their only chance.” I thought about faith, and friends, and the love of the man’s spouse, and other children... ...but even then... ...there will be a huge hole in a space where all that was there was love. I didn’t want to think about it from the perspective of a Dad, or a friend, or even a stranger a Town over...

What kind of mess is this guy in? Just a couple of years ago, he was your run of the mill rich dude. He joined the Trump campaign and all hell broke loose. He was arrested and there was a raid on his home and business. They allowed him to stay out of jail, but he was confined to his home as he awaited trial. There wasn’t a whole lot of suspense in his trials. He was found guilty on every count, and for good measure he stood accused of trying to tamper with witnesses. Went straight to jail, but there was still a chance to get a reduced sentence. He was probably hopeful of a pardon, but a lot of the charges were state charges... ...so he sat in an isolated area of jail. Then we heard that he was a cooperating witness. Uh-oh! There was so much speculation about what might happen. The squeeze was on and at the age of 69 he was going to come with the information so that he didn’t have to spend the rest of his days in jail. And on Monday the cooperating witness deal was

There are people out there who are strongly opposed to abortion because all life is sacred... ...they are also of the opinion that those slaughtered in school shootings are collateral damage to keeping gun rights intact. There are people who loudly proclaim that God is necessary to Make America Great Again...they let all know that following Jesus is essential... ...but ignore that Jesus was especially kind to the least of his brothers. The anti-abortion crowd is also, usually pro-death penalty. Those who want to make sure that women have their children... .,.don’t much care if those children, once born, can be fed, clothed or properly cared for. Putting Christ back in Christmas is important... ...to people who would reject Jesus, Mary and Joseph if they appeared at the border looking for a room at the inn. That family might actually be tear-gassed if they showed up. ‘Cause given their country of origin... ...they weren’t the preferred race of people who deserve ba

I must confess, it was a rough couple of months for me. It’s not a secret that I don’t care for change, but what I hate more than change is clutter or a mess. The house felt overly messy to me. We desperately needed an interior paint job, and there were a few nicks and holes in the drywall in a couple of spots. I learned to patch a hole, and then I started painting. I would do a room at a time, and after finishing each one I said, “I can’t do this.” But I did. A couple of weeks of pure hell, and the one thing I did was ruin the carpeting. We were replacing it anyway. I put in the order, and picked out what we wanted. The set the appointment out 10 days. Then they postponed it. On Wednesday, they were due. But they came in the early afternoon. “Should only take a few hours,” the crew leader said. They got started at 1:00. Didn’t finish until 9:00. I spent that time locked in my room with the dogs. I put everything back where it belonged and then noticed tha

We were all chatting about the summer we spent in California. “That was ‘83,” I said. “I don’t remember,” Mom said. Yet I asked her if she remembered the flight we took that year. She laughed. I remember it like it was yesterday. It was just me and Mom flying out because I’d just finished my first year of college, and she was going with me for a visit. She’d return a week later to ride out the school year with the others. We got stuck in Chicago for a few hours (flights delayed). “Let’s get a drink,” Mom said. (I was legal to drink at 18). Some 5 hours later we met Dad at the San Francisco airport. “What the hell?” Dad asked when he saw us. “You two are pissed up!” We had laughed hard all day. Then, of course, the famous first trip over the Golden Gate Bridge. Just as we got on the bridge, Mom opened the window and flicked what was left of her cigarette out the window... ...and straight into the backseat where I was sitting, and where it instantly came int

Tiger Woods is a magnet. People just seem to want to watch him play golf... ...so they designed a match - Tiger versus Phil...for $9 million dollars... ...loser gets nothing. It was supposed to be a pay-per-view event and I didn’t buy it, but I saw on Twitter that Phil was up one. And then I stumbled across the feed that was showing it for free. (Something went wrong with how they were collecting money...so they gave it away). Good for me because it was a lot of fun. First off, they hit shots that I will not manage in this lifetime. Routinely they drive the ball over 300 yards. They chip out of the sand with precision. They putt it close every time. Yet, they are also human. Tiger missed a putt that should’ve won it on 18. Phil missed 3 straight chances to win it. On hole 22, Tiger knew he had to make the birdie and he left it short. “Can you imagine having a 5’ putt for $9 million?” I asked my beautiful wife. “Would you make it?” She asked. “I could. I wo

At our Thanksgiving meal... ...another amazing spread provided by Jim.... ...My Mom was talking to me, Jim, John and Corinne about some of our escapades. “I went in to talk to one of your teachers right at the start of the year because she gave one of you an assigned seat on the first day. She said, “you’re a Fuzzy. You have to sit in the front.” Mom was getting angry just talking about it again. (That was Jim). “Then there was the time your father went down to the school because one of the teachers hit one of you on the head with a book. (That was John). The tone in Mom’s voice was one of a protector. She didn’t want any of her children wrongly targeted. “I’m gonna’ fill you in on something,” I said. “We deserved all of it.” Mom laughed. “Seriously, we were all wise-asses. We should have been in the front row because we were always in the middle of the trouble.” Corinne tried to get me to admit to something. “Did you ever skip school?” “Nope.” “Ever get deten

Life can beat you down. It’s actually pretty relentless, and definitely is not for the meek. Which is all the more the reason for being thankful. This Thanksgiving I’m thankful, first off for my brother, John. Thanksgiving falls on his birthday this year, and now he’s 55. Which means I made it through the time when we were the same age without getting a beating. Can’t say it didn’t happen before. When we were kids, Dad once said, “Pick on someone your own age.” From October 18 to November 22, we were the same age. So, he’d beat me. I’m also thankful for my Mom. Her birthday is on the 25th. I’m thankful for my beautiful wife and adoring kids, and my siblings, nieces and nephews. It’s been a little bit of a wild ride this year, but I’m truly thankful for where I live, and the freedoms we still enjoy. I’m grateful that I can still get up and go to work, and that I still enjoy what I do. But, as I said... ...it’s too easy to forget to live a life of gratitude. O

How can it be America First if we abandon the values that America stood for? If we turn our backs on the sick, the poor and the viciously attacked and dismembered... ...aren’t we destroying ourselves in the process? The American Flag has always been a symbol of a whole bunch of things to me. “And to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.” How does that stand now? Liberty and justice for all? An American based journalist was chopped up and dissolved in acid. The CIA, with certainty, communicated that Saudi Arabian leaders ordered the murder. “We stand by Saudi Arabia!” ‘Cause of deals. Big deals!!! Hundreds of billions of dollars. Millions and millions of jobs. America First! But here’s the thing about selling your soul for money... ...it makes your life... ...not worth a damn nickel. “I like Saudi Arabia. They give me $40 or $50 million for condos.” He said that in the last couple of year

For some reason I can recall the night before Thanksgiving more than I can actually remember the Holiday meal. There was the stop at the Fox’s Den one afternoon when my first drink was a Bloody Mary. I was with my sister and a couple of her friends. I’m not sure how many Bloody Mary’s I drank that night... ...but it was more than 5. Then there were the nights when I hung with my college roommates. We were packed to go to our homes. “Want a beer before we go?” My roomie George asked. “One,” I said. He came back from the bar with beer number two. “I said one!” I said. “One each,” he said. We never moved our cars that night... ...ended up back in our rooms... ...left for home on Thanksgiving morning. (Mom wasn’t thrilled with that move). They say that the night before Thanksgiving is one of the busiest nights of the year for hanging in a bar. It’s been a lot of years since I pulled off that particular maneuver. I just know that I did a lot of eating just to

Jake has been looking for a car for some time now. When you’re 21 years old, it kind of dominates your thoughts. I recall being in that part of life and wanting things to go faster. Yet, my beautiful wife was on the front line of that particular endeavor and when she’s around... ...things tend to slow down. Her motto is “Why do it today if you can put it off until tomorrow?” But, I decided to help Jake. “We go Saturday morning,” I said. “But you better be ready because I nap on Saturday by 1:00.” (They all know that the office is closed from 1-3). He was ready. We headed straight in to the dealership and met with a couple of guys I know. Ten minutes later we were sitting in a car driving down the road. Jake liked it. I liked it. The salesman loved that he was only 12 minutes into it and was selling a car. “Here’s the thing,” I said. “I don’t do details. We’ll take it, but we’re done. I’ll come back to sign things if I have to, but other than that, you’re dealing

I really can’t take the stupidity anymore. I don’t understand the people who have his back either. Trump came out and said that the fires could’ve been avoided had the forest been raked like they do in Finland. He also said, “people are burned beyond recognition.” How tone deaf can someone be? There are a thousand people still missing, the fires are still raging. People ran for their lives, leaving their homes... ...Americans being destroyed by a tragedy. An American President needs to be a consoler. He needs to let people know that it will be all right... ...somewhere down the line. It’s not about placing blame because it’s a state that didn’t vote red, and there are experts in the field of forest management. Believe it or not, Trump doesn’t know more than everyone in every field about everything. I heard it said, when he was running for President that he offered highly simplistic solutions to extremely complicated problems. Raking it out? I don’t know much abo

Drove from Buffalo to Syracuse after working all day, and I barely beat the snow. It was a rough drive, and I was beat. I just wanted to get to my room and rest for an hour before dinner with some friends. I have one demand for when I’m checking in: Do it fast. The young lady behind the desk didn’t have any such urgency. She was actually chatting with a coworker. I placed my credit card and license on the counter. “Name?” She asked. “Fazzolari. I booked it online.” “Spell it.” I pushed the card towards her. She turned to her coworker again. “Can you believe she said that?” She asked. They both laughed. She picked up my card and set it down again, turned back to her buddy. “So, I told Ann that she should be fired. No way that should be tolerated!” Looked at me again. “What was the name?” “Oh give me a break here,” I said. She looked at me as if I were an absolute lunatic. “Are we tired?” She asked. “I don’t know if we are, but I am.” She went to t

So, Roy Clark passed away. Stan Lee too. I guess the longer you stick around, the more you see your youth fade away. Hee-Haw was on Sunday nights. It was pretty hard to miss in the 1970’s, and watching Roy Clark and Buck Owens playing and singing... ...and hearing the corny jokes. It was quality entertainment. My kids give me weird looks when they catch me watching Quincy, or Columbo or The Odd Couple. “How does it feel to know that everyone on the show you’re watching is dead?” Jake asked as I watched Peter Falk, as Columbo, muddle his way through the interview of a suspect. “It’s sad,” I said. “Watch this with me. It was a great show.” Jake hung in for a little while... ...Columbo is a 2-hour show... ...that’s tough for the new generation. “It’s good isn’t it?” I asked. “He’s amusing,” Jake said, and then he bailed. As for Stan Lee... ...Spider-Man is an absolute classic. As a kid he was a cartoon... ...then the movies came along. “We just wanted

So, a woman is too emotional to be president, huh? Trump flew to France... ...didn’t go to the cemetery for the ceremony to honor fallen soldiers. ‘Cause it was raining. All the other leaders made it. Copters can usually make it through the rain, and even if the weather was actually the reason, he could’ve squeezed in to catch a ride. He stayed back. Was 2 hours late for dinner on that trip. Flew home and skipped the trip to Arlington to place a wreath on Veterans Day. (So much for kneeling during the anthem, huh?) The White House released a statement saying, “he was in for the day.” At 10 a.m. The next day the chatter was all about: “He’s pissed at everyone.” There are troops at the border, away from their families for Thanksgiving, waiting on a caravan of invaders (who haven’t been mentioned since the election). There are rumors as to why the president is in a foul mood... ...he’s mad about the Dems winning the house... ...Junior is about to be indicte

The Bills released Nate Peterman. Yep. They just up and cut their Game 1 Starting Quarterback from the 2018 season. What a story it could’ve been. Last year, the Bills were muddling along and their coaches made a decision to sit their regular QB and give Nate a start... ...on the road, against a good team. (I even knew a few dopes who flew across the country to watch the game). Nate threw 5 interceptions in a half. He said all the right things... ...he would learn, he’d work harder, he’d be better through adversity. And sure enough, he won the job!! And stunk again! More picks. Booed off the field, joke after joke on the Internet. He spoke of his faith and how God loved him even though the fans hated him. He went back to the bench. An injury put him back on the field... ...and he threw a clutch TD to give the Bills a lead... ...he was going to be a hero!!! Then he threw two more interceptions. “Maybe he’s blind,” one of my kids said. There was on

My Lord, the wild fires in California are simply devastating. I watched a woman drive through the fire as she tried to make it out, and here in the land of blizzards, it’s hard to fathom, but look at the list of the most devastating fires ever. The majority have happened in 2017 and 2018. Couple that with hurricane storms that are ‘once every hundred year’ storms that now happen every few months... ...and it’s hard not to believe that something is amiss. The woman in the car was praying hard to make it to safety and I’m sure all of our minds would go there, but there are also some “preachers” who claim that the devastation is a result of God being angry about lifestyle choices. So, removing some of the religion from it... ...I’m horrified by the loss of lives, animals and property. The news of the day often seems overwhelming, and that has to be doing something to our collective psyche. There was also another mass shooting to check in on, and the images from that nigh

The numbers of men who sacrificed their own life for the good of the country is staggering. From World War I on through Vietnam and all of the Middle Eastern conflicts... ...just staggering. Many of those who lost their lives didn’t even get to really live one... ....they were just kids. There are even more who were severely injured, both mentally and physically. And fundamentally, I’ve always wondered about whether or not conflict could be handled in another manner. Is war and fighting a necessary evil? That’s my disconnect, and I have received some feedback from some who are a bit more gung-ho about conflict resolution through battle, who have explained that I’m hopelessly naive and that war is a last resort, but certainly necessary to maintain peace. And maybe that is indeed true. I appreciate all the men and women who paid the price. I think about the Mom’s and Dad’s who go to sleep worried about the fate of children who are far away. My heart aches for those

There’s a full-on war against the media. The entire week has been an absolute attack on reporters who are asking questions of the administration. CNN is the favorite target of this administration, and it all came to a head during an absolutely crazy press conference. (I’ve never seen anything like it). CNN reporter Jim Acosta, who is an unabashed critic of Trump, asked a question about the caravan. Trump went off on him. Then a young girl tried to retrieve the microphone to ha d to the next reporter. Their hands brushed. And it got way worse from there. Trump went off. The White House put out a video that didn’t look right. Some people claim that it was doctored. They yanked Acosta’s press credentials. Another American institution under blatant attack. It all seemed silly to me... ...but the next day... ...a young, black reporter asked a question about the new attorney general... ...”That’s a stupid question. I’ve seen your work, a lot of it is stupid.”

Read a report today that said the first human to live to the rip old age of 150... ...has already been born. I was born in 1964. If I’m the guy they’re thinking about that would put my death at 2114. Or 96 years from now. I’m going to really, really hope that doesn’t happen. What a freaking mess I would be! I can barely walk now. Yet, it called to mind a conversation that I had with my grandpa on his 80th Birthday. “80 years is a long time,” I said. “Not sure I wanna’ live to 80!” (A horribly dumb thing to say!) Grandpa was ready though: “You do when you’re 79,” he said. And that’s true enough, but going all the way to 150 years old??? I’d have to pass. It also called to mind a conversation I had with a friend. We’d worked together in 1990. I mentioned four names to him, asking if he knew where they are now. “John is out west. Fred is dead. Bob is dead. Doug is dead.” “Damn!” I said. “Well, it was 28 years ago.” But think about retiring at 65 and t

Up and out early, and the dogs did their usual trek across the front yard. I stepped on a piece of glass. It was early, I was a little worn. “Why the hell is there glass in the driveway?” I looked up... ...at Sam’s bedroom window. “BAH!” I texted my beautiful wife. “How’d the imbecile break his window?” “Not sure. He told me about it. It’s not a story of sheer brilliance.” So, who fixes glass? “We may have to take it in,” came the message back. “What do we take in? The broken glass?” Sam asked. “Yeah,” I said. “They’ll glue it back together.” “Really?” “No! Not really! You dopey bastard!” I had to find out why I was picking glass out of my bushes, but I also realized that I broke plenty of windows at the mansion on the hill in North Collins. “It was really dumb,” he said. “Try me.” “I was playing a game, had my controller in my hand, lost, kind of forgot that glass breaks if you hit it with your hand.” “You forgot glass breaks?” “Kinda’.” “We

So, the attorney general has been dismissed. Shocker! For the last couple of years, the president has lambasted Jeff Sessions at every turn. He wouldn’t quit, until yesterday, when he was effectively fired. Now, all hell will break loose. Because the reason for the firing is that Trump is trying to get rid of all the people who are trying to investigate him. “Witch hunt! Hoax!! No Collusion!!!” You’ve heard the greatest hits, and now, we wait and speculate. Jeff Sessions was arguably the worst attorney general ever. He was called to testify about what he knew about the ties to Russia and he “I do not recalled” his way through a couple of hearings. I listened to him for about an hour one day, and I was livid with his rope-a-dope attempt to hide. His stances on gays and marijuana are mind-numbing. His weird laugh, his be-tough voice, and his ass-kissing of a man who was verbally abusing him every chance he got... ...made me sad for him. I don’t know how any man, w

I saw a post on twitter from a woman who said: “I’ve been alive for 18,345 days, and I am clueless about how any of this works.” I don’t even know why she was talking about, but it made me think: How many hours have I been around? You’ll be happy to know that it’s more than 19,000. I’ll make it to my 20,000th day in early August of 2019. So, what have I spent those hours doing? One-third of it sleeping. A couple of hours a day eating, showering, brushing my teeth, and what-not. (I love ‘what-not’ as an expression, by the way). From April to October I usually spend 3 hours a day keeping an eye on the Yankees as I do other things... ...been doing that for about 45 years. I’ve logged a whole lot of hours at work... ...40 years of about 8 hours a day there. I’ve seen Bruce 32 times at 3.5 hours a clip. So many hours in the car or on a plane... ...hours in church, at funerals, weddings and as an altar boy for a long time. About a thousand hours writing too.

The Bills are historically horrendous. There was a play in the game where there receiver lined up to catch a pass but was obliterated by the defensive player. “How is that not pass interference?” One of the boys who actually went to the game for the first half but left ‘cause it was 28-0. Turns out it’s legal if you’re still on the line of scrimmage. The QB was throwing the ball to a guy who was three feet in front of him! And I don’t ever watch a whole football game, but I caught a little of Rams-Saints. “Doesn’t look like the same game the Bills play, does it?” Jake asked. “Why can’t Buffalo have anything good?” Sam chimed in. So, they shifted their love to the Sabres who won 9-2 on Saturday. “The Sabres are back!” Jake tweeted. The Rangers beat the Sabres 3-1 on Sunday. Back to normal! “We’re looking at our first lake snow of the season!” Channel 2 exclaimed. “It could be a significant event!” Oh, goody! Just over a month ago, I played golf with my buddie

My elderly dog, Melky, is becoming a real pain in the ass. There are a few distinct moments for her after, say 4:00 in the afternoon. She eats at 4:30. We eat between 5:30 and 6:00, and then there’s ‘Bony Time!’ She’ll lay on the couch until about 7:30 and then she goes outside. We know she’s ready because she gets off the couch and sits in the same spot. Around 9:00 it starts. She cries to go up to bed. It’s a low cry at first and then it evolves into a siren. On weeknights it’s no big deal because that’s when I go up to read and go to sleep. On weekends, it’s very annoying. I was able to coax her to relax until 10:00 on Saturday night, but it eventually got to be too much and I had to go to bed. Put to sleep by the wailing pit bull. And before you say it, she won’t go up without me. Anywhoha... ...I was in bed, reading, when I heard Jake arrive from work, talk things over with Sam, and my beautiful wife, and then watched the car head back down the road. I felt t

If you’re actually paying attention, it’s kind of funny. “Our relationship with Saudi Arabia will result in 45,000 jobs.” That’s the actual statement that is closest to the truth. A half an hour later: “Our relationship with Saudi Arabia will result in 60,000 jobs.” An hour after that: “Our relationship with Saudi Arabia will result in a lot of jobs. Some people are saying about 200,000.” Before that night’s rally: “What are we supposed to do? Give up 400,000 jobs?” At the rally: “Our relationship with Saudi Arabia will result in 600,000 new jobs.” The next day: “We’re talking over a million new jobs, okay, some people are saying like 1.6 million jobs for Americans.” None of that is fake news. It’s words directly from one source over a 24-hour period. It can’t be classified as anything other than lies. And you know why it happens? Because it works!!! Public sentiment shifted from horror over the murder of a journalist (I can’t believe that story left the

Sometimes it feels that it takes a month for a Friday to get here. The work around the house has slowed a little, as I had to take a couple of nights off... ...too stressed and sore, but “WE” are down to just a single room. I say “WE” because I actually heard my beautiful wife tell her parents that “WE are painting the house.” WE????? The closest she’s come to helping was when she put her hand on a wall that hadn’t dried yet. Still, it is just a long week.... ...and it will be ready for the holiday season. We’re less than 3 weeks to Thanksgiving! That’s nuts!! And yet, that’s the illusion of time. The clock seems to stop at times when you’re at work and want to be home, or you’re watching the Buffalo Bills offense... ...but the months and years fly on by, right? “I’m counting the minutes. I wish it was five o’clock,” a young girl once said during a workday. “Don’t ever wish time away,” I said. And that’s a phrase that I try and remember on the long days.

I’m hoping that people vote. I really do, but I couldn’t possibly be more annoyed with the election cycle, especially since the banter going back and forth is absolutely toxic. The caravan is two months away, but is being sold like an invasion. There are 15,000 troops heading to the southern border to do something... ...shoot refugees, I guess. The ads are on radio, on television and in the news programs. They go something like this: “I’m a family man. I tell the truth, and my opponent is a liar. I want everyone but me to be rich, and I want you to have free healthcare and a million dollar job, my opponent wants to steal your kids, beat your dog, and take every dollar you have. You need to vote for me.” We have 5 eligible voters in our family. At the most, two of us will vote. Maybe just me. “Why aren’t you registered to vote?” I asked Sam. “I don’t want them to pick me for jury duty,” he said. Bah! I posed the same question to Matt and Jake. “Our votes don’

I visited a farm yesterday for my job. I watched as a young Mexican guy cleaned up around the milking stations. He looked afraid of me. “How are you?” I asked. “Good,” He said. Once he saw that I didn’t want to question him about why he was working there, he smiled. He was wearing all the proper PPE. I pointed at my own eye protection. (He was also wearing glasses). “That’s good. Smart!” I said. He nodded. His smile grew even wider. I turned around and the Mexican kid’s boss was standing behind me. “Thanks for doing that,” she said. “He’s a good worker. They really love when someone tells them they’re doing a good job.” Over the summer, there was trouble at the farm. A car was parked on the side of the road. The hood was up, and the exasperated driver was throwing his arms in the air as if he were in an absolute mess. Four of the Mexican guys who worked at the farm ran to the car, looking to help. The man flashed his badge, two other guys jumped from the car, and th