Thoughts of a Common Man

We have one kid living here now. Jake is moving into an apartment with a buddy. There are boxes and clothes all over the place, but their apartment is ready on 10/01. It’s weird! Now there’s just Sam here... ...although Matt still does his laundry here every three days. I’m sure Jake will continue to use the facilities as well. But it’s a major adjustment. For instance: Dinner is no longer an event. With just 3 of us hanging around we won’t be cooking roasts and mashing potatoes quite as often. But it kinda’ sucks, to be honest. The other day I found a photo of all the boys, from Christmas back about ten years ago. Thought about playing video games with them, and breaking up fights. The quiet will be deafening. Yet, I think of when I went and got an apartment on my own. I recall my Dad saying, “Stay here! Save money!!” But I knew it was time to get my life started. That’s the feeling that makes you move to a smaller place where dinner isn’t always ready ...

The battle of the undefeated. Bills. Patriots. Are the Bills a good team? Can’t they actually hang with Brady, Hoodie and the Super Bowl Champs? I don’t know any of the answers to that, but my kids certainly have an opinion. “It’s okay if they lose,” Sam said. “As long as they don’t get blown out.” The old moral victory! “But they aren’t gonna’ lose,” Sam said. “They might actually blow them out.” Maybe. The thing is, this little exercise has been going on a long while. Brady and Hoodie. Public enemy number 1 & 2 around these parts. Late last season, Bills tickets were going for $3 on Stub hub because it was cold and they were falling out of the playoff picture. “Going to the game?” I asked. “No! Tickets are through the roof!! $170 a seat.” I’m thinking I’ll probably catch the second half. Depending on the score I may watch with the boys... ...if the Bills are indeed getting blown out they’ll be a tad irritated. I’m golfing first. May nap after...

There’s so much that stinks about growing older. Heard news about the death of a longtime friend who got sick and didn’t get better. He didn’t want anyone to know, so his passing was sad. Spent a couple of days in that cloud. The government fiasco was made worse by a lot of time in the car listening to all the crap. Had a couple of rides in an airplane, slept good a couple of times and lousy twice too. But it all sucked because of one errant golf swing on the second last hole that I played last Sunday. It was a decent drive, right up the middle. “Damn,” I said. “It’s on the fairway,” JC said. “I know, but felt something.” That one swing... ...kinda’ controlled the rest of the week. Immediately after the round I felt like I’d been struck by a car. Got the ice going, but as luck might have it, I was out of bed at 4 a.m. for a two-day trip to Boston. “I need a massage!” I texted.’ Kathy set it up for Wednesday. “I have to get in shape for Sunday’s tee time.” ...

The whistleblower complaint is 9 pages long. I read it in about ten minutes while watching ‘Chicago P.D.’ Most everyone who works in congress with an R next to their name said that they ‘hadn’t had the chance’ to read it yet! I’ll save them the ten minutes. Rudy Giuliani is batshit crazy. He single-handily went all over the Ukraine trying to rustle up some dirt. He’s also spent the last few days, losing his mind on television and confessing to everything. Of course, Rudy made his bones as the Mayor of New York on 9/11. He could’ve spent his last years just living off the goodwill. If he hadn’t opened his mouth. Thing is, I started disliking Rudy a long, long, long time ago. You see, he really took advantage of his time in the spotlight. He was at every damn Yankee game with his NYPD hat on. Every game. The expensive seats. There were also all of the marriages and the Page 6 stories about alleged questionable character issues. Yeah, he was married to his cous...

It promised to be an exhausting day, and man, it was. The new “witch hunt” tweets started early, and then they released the transcripts of the telephone call that is easing to impeachment. Here’s the thing: 1). He doesn’t actually think he did anything wrong. Or 2). He’s an extremely idiotic man. He would know that the call is taped and still he went on and on about a political opponent to the president of another country. He actually withheld the money that was appropriated by Congress. How dim a bulb is that? And how does one handle such a sticky predicament??? He talked about Hillary’s emails!! Seriously!!! Of course, he had defenders and still has a whole lot of people out there who think he’s actually thinking about anyone but himself. Yet, listen to him. Watch him try and string sentences together. He’s ill. There’s severe mental dysfunction going on. “A lot of people are saying.” “That you can believe.” “We’re building a lot of big, beautiful wa...

So, it’s been a wild few days, huh? It all began to pick up steam when crazy Rudy was on CNN. “I didn’t ask about Biden!” “But you went there to investigate Hunter Biden. Are you saying that you didn’t investigate him?” “Of course, I did!” That was pretty much it too! And you can almost see the wheels turning. The Clinton is a criminal stuff worked! They needed to find a foil. They needed to try and paint Joe Biden as corrupt. All of the Trump kids and the son-in-law have shady deals everywhere! But they needed dirt. It appears that the whistleblower means business. Trump was scrambling. “I wanted to check for corruption because we don’t like corrupt countries.” “Um, I never mentioned Biden. I was congratulating him. Then I said “no corruption with Biden. I was hoping he could look into that.” “I didn’t put pressure on them. I only held the money because I wanted to see if anyone else was gonna’ pay some.” (I gotta’ try that one with the cable company. “I pa...

I didn’t remember that the Bills also started off 2011 with 3 straight wins to open the season. “Was that the year they won the super bowl?” I asked. “Shut-up,” my two excited boys said, in unison. And I’m not being contrarian. Good for them. It’s a friendly place usually, but it’s even more friendly when the Bills don’t suck. I tried to tell the boys what the city felt like when the Bills were going to Super Bowls. “It had to be crazy.” After the game, Sam was doing the math. “No way they finish worse than 12-4 and get a home playoff game.” I laughed. They could easily be 1-2, but they aren’t. The Bills are 3-0. You have to win the ugly ones too. As for me? I watched the 2nd half of the Jets game and the final quarter of the Bengals game. “Are they for real?” Sam asked. “I don’t know,” I said. “Maybe. Allen has to stop throwing the dumb ones.” “Can you imagine if they beat the Patriots?” “No,” I said. “But it’s sports. Anything could happen.” By Sun...

Years ago a 66-year-old ironworker was climbing a column. I was about 30 years old at the time. I marveled at his strength and agility. “I hope I’m in that kind of shape when I’m your age,” I yelled up. “You ain’t in this kind of shape now,” he said. Bruce Springsteen is 70 today. He’s still in good shape, and I probably shouldn’t worry that he’ll stop performing any time soon. “What are your future plans?” Bruce was asked recently. “Another rock record and a tour with the E Street Band,” he said. As the boys might say: “Let’s go!” But I’d be lying if I said I won’t think about Bruce on his birthday... ...I’m not alone. His fans have turned it into a holiday. Brucemas! I’ll listen to E-Street radio all day. Jeff used to call me first thing every Brucemas morning. We had more than a couple of beers back in the day. But what’s pretty funny is that this year, on my birthday, Bruce is returning the favor. His movie for “Western Stars” is due to be releas...

Well, it worked the first time! Now we’re looking for dirt on Biden. If any nation has garbage, send it to the attention of the ‘Orange Treason Weasel’. What are we doing???? Inviting others into our elections? Threatening, bribing and extorting. Evidently there was a whistleblower. His/Her identity is supposed to be kept private, but they’re blaming the ‘Democrat’ party. Oh and fake news. And people believe that!!! What really happened is that the IG, who was appointed by Trump, and who’s job tasks him to find corruption and criminality, reviewed the whistleblower complaint and found it to have merit. Congress is then supposed to receive that information, and they are supposed to have oversight. So that NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW! Not a single damn thing is working! It’s a banana republic!! The whistleblower did what he is supposed to do. So did the IG. And then it all stopped there. Because the president thinks he’s king and the attorney general believe...

I had to drive from Alfred University to Geneva, NY. It’s a 90-minute drive through small towns, winding roads and farm communities. There appears to be a fair amount of poverty in those rural areas. Lot of MAGA signs. I got held up twice: - By a horse & buggy - By a slow-moving, massive tractor. The sun was shining though and the music was good. Then I got behind a school bus. I suffered through 6 stops... ...at 5 of them the Mom came out to get the kid. They weren’t little kids. I found it odd that Mom came out to get them. Our Mom didn’t when we were young, and that’s nothing against my perfect Mom... ...Moms just didn’t do that then. I didn’t think about it too much, nothing too heavy, but I distinctly recalled waiting for the bus, in the morning with Corinne and John. We tortured my beautiful, older sister. In fact, she called us names... ...’little assholes’ was one of her favorites. Back in present day, the bus stopped in front of me and 3 k...

Not ALL of the cool moments in baseball happen at Yankee Stadium. (But most of them do). This week, Mike Yastrzemski of the Giants went to Fenway where his grandfather was a fixture in left field for decades. When I think of Carl Yastrzemski a few things come to mind immediately. 1). He made the last out in the Bucky Fu***ng Dent game. Goose pooped him up to 3rd back in ‘78 and the Yankees won. 2). He won the Triple Crown in ‘67. 3). He was a great player and because he played in Boston where they took 8+ decades off from winning...he never won anything. But Yaz was a great player. Hall of Fame stuff. Handled himself with grace. So, here comes his grandson. Mike toils for the Giants. He has played pretty well. It was also his first trip in so... ...there was fanfare. Of course he homered. To dead center. Cool moment. Yet, that’s not what got me. The next night, the Sux brought Carl out wearing his jersey. Mike met his granddad and gave him a hug and then c...

Isn’t Corey Lewandowski just a flunky of sorts? He doesn’t hold a job at the White House and actually never did. His claim to fame was that he was asked by the president to obstruct justice by delivering a message to Sessions. Then he said: “There was no collusion and no obstruction in the Mueller report.” He had just admitted to the obstruction! Yet, the highlight was when he admitted that he straight up lied during an interview. “I’m under no obligation to tell the truth.” I had to shut it off... ...he’s in front of congress admitting that he lies for the hell of it. Disgusting stuff. You know what was comical about it? He was up first on CNN on Wednesday morning. What am I missing here? He stands up, loud and proud and admits he lies to the media... ...and the media brings him on to ask him questions? Why? So he can lie? What sense does that make? I know a guy who is a tad fast and loose with the truth. “You have to listen to him,” another guy...

I was in the 8th grade when The Cars debut record came out. I absolutely loved it. I wasn’t alone. Looking back on it, it is one of the greatest debut albums ever. I was on a soccer field when I heard that an old buddy, Sam Rizzo told me that he won a copy of the record from a local radio station. “Can I have it?” I asked. “No f***ing way,” he said. I eventually got the record. Wore it out! It’s still in my phone... ...along with every other record they made. I also bought Benjamin Orr’s solo record and every solo record that the main front man, Ric Ocasek ever made. Who didn’t love The Cars? Ocasek died on Sunday. I was surprised to hear that he was 75 years old, but about 2 weeks ago I wrote a blog saying that we were going to be losing rock & rollers. Here’s the thing. Ocasek and Orr were great songwriters. Had some exceptional lines. “Flying like a cement kite.” I instantly thought of a girl I had a crush on in high school. It was a serious cru...

When the boys were young they loved the episode of Scooby-Doo where the main villain was ‘The Creeper’. I thought of it when Brett Kavanaugh came back into the news. It’s been about 11 months since the confirmation hearings were pushed through for Supreme Court Justice. “I liked beer. I still like beer. Do you like beer?” I don’t have to look through my blog posts at that time to recall what I thought: “He’s a creepy dude.” Kavanaugh was emotional, defiant and fairly nasty during the hearings. I just remember thinking: “Why doesn’t he withdraw? It’s a pretty prestigious gig.” Thing is, his confirmation was really polarizing. A lot of people were arguing that his conduct, back in college, more than 30 years ago, was not something that he should pay for now. A lot of others believed that his accuser was flat-out lying. I went to school in the 80’s. I liked beer. I don’t like beer anymore. I also went to frat parties and had some pretty wild nights. I didn’t do wha...

I’m not a fan of Saturday nights. I used to be, of course, when I was the guy out on the town, but now... ...not so much. You see, I want everyone to stay home. I hate worrying! This week, I was all about getting some rest so I could make my early tee time. Things were going well. The boys were here and 48 Hours was starting. “I have to go pick up my friend Kathy at the hospital and bring her home.’” “I’ll probably be sleeping before you get home,” I said. I headed out to put my clubs by the door, passed Jake. “I’m going to my buddies house.” “Be careful,” I said. “Bah!” I thought. I did a good job of not worrying as I read the Stephen King book and started to drift. At 12:22, I was startled awake by police sirens. I strained to listen. Surely, everyone was here. But there were no cars in the drive. I knew Kathy was at her friend’s home just three streets away. Jake? Not sure? Twenty minutes later, I heard a car coming down the street. Jake! I se...

We had a love/hate relationship with the Netflix show ‘Orange is the New Black’. I’m not quite sure we saw all the episodes because we got bored with a few of the seasons, but we did jump in on seasons 6 & 7, and it’s a good show to watch when you’re doing other things, like reading or writing. There are a lot of characters and the plot line isn’t something you have to pay close attention to. Yet, the show touched on the immigration issue in a huge way as it came down the stretch, and I went from being indifferent to getting a little agitated. The scene that got me was of two little Hispanic children before an immigration judge. “Do you have a lawyer?” The judge asked the 4 & 6-year-old children. “No.” “Do you know what a lawyer is?” And it may have played for just a ridiculous television moment, but... ...that’s really happening. “Who could be FOR THAT?” I asked. “A lot of people,” Kathy said. “Millions.” Later on in the episode a woman who’d been in th...

“Two tickets to Paradise.” “Baby Hold On.” My wife’s favorite is “Shakin’” I used to like that one, but she knows the words... ...and sings it. Destroyed that one for me. My two favorites are: “Walk on Water” And “Maybe I’m a Fool”. Regardless, Eddie Money had a lot of hits. In the early 80’s, he put out a record every year or so and the hits just kept on coming. I remember showing back up for my second year of college in 1983. My roommate, Rosie, met a girl at a party and sang every word of “I Think I’m In Love” to her. She was very receptive to such an advance. It’s another great song. I suppose that I might’ve gone to an Eddie Money concert, but can’t ever remember there being a chance to go. I hear that I missed out. When I heard the news, I felt a little like a little more of my youth passed away. And he was only 70 years old. That isn’t far, far away anymore. But, he isn’t gone. I just visited Apple Music and added a few more songs. David...

We should’ve asked for a group rate on leg surgeries. I’ve had 4. Kathy just had number 2. Jake has even had 1. And the wait before Kathy’s surgery was brutal... ...for me. I’ve never been a patient man. Tell me what time something is happening. Then let’s get it done. Move on to the next thing. I sat in a hard chair reading the new Stephen King book, (which is excellent) ‘The Institute’, on my phone. I was dressed in my work clothes, on a work day. (I should be working!) “It’s your wife!” One of my buddies said. “You can’t go to work! You have to be there!!” The nurse popped her head in... ...Kathy was snoring. Surgery should’ve started by now. “You doing all right here?” The nurse asked. I didn’t want to tell her about my impatience. “Fine,” I said. “Did she remember to sign the ‘Do Not Resuscitate’ form?” The nurse looked like I slapped her. I laughed. Then she laughed. Kathy woke up. “My knee hurts,” she said. “Your face is killing me,”...

The 27-Time World Champion Greatest Franchise in the History of Organized American Sports ushered the Red Sux out of the AL East division. After the game they blasted Frank signing New York, New York in the visitors locker room. Too bad. So sad. And it’s been a pretty great year. The Yankees will win more than 100 games after starting 9 and 13 and suffering more injuries than any team ever. (That’s not an exaggeration). None of the injuries mattered. They showed up every night and won more than 7 out of every 10. The lineup didn’t look like anything they imagined. Urshela took over for Andujar. Tauchman took over for Stanton. Judge missed time. Didi was out half the year. Sanchez missed a couple of months. Didn’t matter. They just kept winning. The best part of it is that they never felt like they were out of a game. I’ve watched them play better than .500 ball for the last 26 years. No other team in any other sport can say that... ...but I’ve even sto...

It’s all so vivid. Like many other Americans I know exactly where I was when the first plane hit. I know exactly how sad I felt when the towers came down. The fear. The sadness. The rage. For a while there we seemed to be making some progress. I feel a lot of the same things now. Fear, rage and sadness. Back then our democracy was threatened by an outside enemy. Now... ...what will take us down is all right here. The division. The nastiness. The lack of coherent leadership. It’s strange to say, but I think we are in worst shape now on September 11, 2019 than we were on September 12, 2001. Because back then we were united. Now we are divided. And those in charge have zero interest in togetherness. “The Democrats are for crime.” “The Democrats don’t believe in God.” Those are the kind of statements that are being made. They aren’t true. They are meant to divide. So, enjoy the freedom. Think about what it meant to be united with members of...

Did you happen to read the expose on Jerry Falwell Jr.? Me either. But I did read through the lowlights. There have been plenty of rumors about his sexual exploits involving his wife and the gardener. There were also reports of financial indiscretions including borrowing money from Liberty University. I have zero time for any of the big-time organized religious guys, and the list is long. Remember Jim & Tammy Faye? How about Osteen and the locks on the doors during the flood in Houston. These guys fly around in private jets, live in mansions and preach at the vulnerable to give them all their money. They use their unique vision of God To milk their parishioners out of every last dime. Something that God would probably look down upon. Jerry Falwell Jr. has been in the news a lot because he is firmly behind Trump. A lot of people are saying that Trump was handed the election when the Evangelicals threw their Bibles behind the candidate who had an affair with a por...

Wasn’t until Friday that we decided to book a tee time. We went for 8 a.m. on Sunday morning, and while none of us were too fired up, we were all thinking about the cold days that are fast approaching. Thing is, everyone there had the same tee time. “What is going on?” It was a shotgun start... ...2 4-somes on each hole. We started on 16, and we were paired with a young guy and a man just a bit older than me. They were good, and were nice guys... ...until it started to go bad for the older guy. He shanked one. Then he hooked one into the woods, and a guy, who hadn’t said boo for the first 13 holes let go with a string of obscenities. Now, we’ve all been there. Even the best of all golfers have struggled from one hole to the next, but the trick of the sport is to not carry the baggage to the next swing. The older dude completely lost it, though. One bad shot led to the next worst shot. “What the f***k!!!” He screamed after leaving a putt short. Even though we...

Was everyone enthralled with the Antonio Brown garbage? He got himself tossed out of Pittsburgh, skipped the entire summer of practices with his new team, finally showed up and went off because he was disciplined. It actually looked like he might suit up, but then he went off on his bosses and they finally fired him. And, of course, he ended up in New England where Hoodie and Brady will turn him into a Super Bowl Champion. Yawn. I was in a class this week and on Thursday they were all excited: Football is back! “Who’s playing?” I asked. Everyone looked at me like I was crazy. “Packers-Bears! Should be a great one.” It wasn’t. Yawn. I didn’t even flip over to it. I was watching the Freddy Mercury movie. “How was the game?” I asked on Friday morning. “Horrible. My favorite part of watching commercials is the 8-seconds of football in between.” I tried to be enthusiastic for the boys. We went over their predictions for the Sunday games. “San Francisco agains...

The phone counts our steps. Just gotta’ hit the little heart button. I didn’t walk much this past week with class room time... ...which was rough. But as I was driving home, I glanced at the phone which was on the seat beside me. “You have 2 hours and 41 minutes of screen time today.” Really? It was 1:20 in the afternoon and I’d been up since 6:00. So, I was on my phone for nearly 3 hours out of 7? It even broke it down. Twitter time. Facebook time. Reading newspapers. Playing a game. I’m not sure I really want to know how much time I’m wasting with this damn thing. I’m one of the guys who remembers what life was like when we left our phone at home and didn’t think about it at all. I recall waiting for the mail man to deliver me handwritten letters from the girl I liked. I’d read a letter that she wrote 3 days earlier. Hell, that first month of college was all about whether or not you got a letter in the mailbox. When’s the last time you got a hand...

Back before the election, I wrote a blog because I couldn’t believe that people were going to vote for Trump. I got a lot of pushback and I’m sure some people stopped reading me. But are you kidding me??? How could anyone, with a straight face, tell me that things are great again. Thursday was a day when Trump attacked the media because they reported that he’d made a mistake when he said that Alabama could be in the path of the storm. He said it, the media reported it, and he couldn’t let it go. He brought a map out and, with a sharpie, made it include Alabama. Then he jumped all over it, all day long, concerning himself of where the hurricane DIDN’T go, and not saying one freaking word about the people who’s lives were destroyed by where it DID go! He thinks he’s the victim in the whole hurricane episode! And that’s bad enough but something embarrassing has happened every stinking day! It’s what I asked when I considered that people might actually vote for him. He ...

Mick Jagger is 75. So is Keith Richards. Pete Townsend and Roger Daltrey are more than 75 and so are Roger Waters and Paul McCartney. Bob Seger too. Billy Joel and Bruce are the babies of the group at 70 (Bruce turns 70 next month). Tom Petty, & Prince & David Bowie are already gone. Bob Dylan is 78. Van Morrison is 74. They aren’t all going to live and make music into their 90’s. And for me... ...there’s nobody coming behind them. Long live rock??? Maybe not! Now, of course, they’ll live on. People will be playing those songs for another hundred years. I heard a Bob Seger song, “You’ll Accompany Me.” I knew every word and even the parts where Bob just kinda’ moans. The song is nearly 40 years old. Seger, The Who and the Stones are approaching the end of their touring days. I’ve always believed that Bruce would play until he dies on stage, but he’s slowed down too. You just can’t run around and jump on the piano every night when you’re 70. ...

Every four years I have to sort of re-up on my OSHA recertification for my job. What is kinda’ sad is that this is the 7th time I’ve had to sit through the 3+ days of training. On the last day we get to stand up in front of the class and make a presentation. I don’t really have to prepare anything. I can pretty much do every topic off the top of my head. Experience prepares you. What’s funny about it is that the teacher will most likely be someone I taught along the way. That’s how it worked 4 years ago, and when he saw me he said, “just don’t cause any trouble.” Me???? In the past I’ve taken my re-up elsewhere. I went to Arizona once... ...to Long Beach another time. This time? I had no choice but to book 3 nights at the Holiday Inn in beautiful Binghamton, NY. Ah well. It’ll be good to not climb ladders for 3 days, and the conference is in the same hotel as where my bed will be. I can just hang out and take an elevator to the class. “We have a bar onsite i...

185 mph winds? I can’t even imagine what that might look like. And Dorian is slow-moving and was a little unpredictable all weekend long. It battered the Bahamas. Florida braces for it, and braced for it, and braced for it. To stay or go? I can’t even imagine having to make that decision, and then going away only to wonder what will happen while I’m away. And honestly, there’s not much that can be done. I saw a guy on the internet who suggested that they drop some ice in the ocean to try and cool off the water. There will be a whole bunch of people who will shoot their guns at the storm. Trump wanted to nuke it. But none of that will work. You can’t fool with Mother Nature... ...and Mother Nature is angry, and hot! We’ve had an awful lot of once in a lifetime types of storms lately, right? We all need to pray away these storms, I guess because science is just a theory, after all, and prayers work. Right? What amazes me is that we have decided, as a country...

Vice President Pence went with:’ “Our hearts go out to the families.” Rubio put out another Bible verse up. Trump talked about the wonderful law enforcement. Everyone else did the ‘thoughts & prayers.’ One of the Texas lawmakers said that he wasn’t going to think about the gun. Instead, he was going to try and get God back into the schools. So, it’s all a bunch of crap. After the El Paso & Dayton shootings we heard all about background checks. “I think we’ll get something done.” Nope. This is how it goes: 1). Thoughts & Prayers 2). Why are they trying to politicize this? 3). We will look at gun laws and think about it. 4). What part of ‘shall not be infringed’ do you not get? 5). We need a good guy with a gun there. Then a few days pass... ...Trump is ‘bored with the gun control debate’. That was a direct quote. I saw the photo of the 17-month old girl who was shot in the face on Saturday. If your coworker showed you such a photo you ...

What an amazing man. Jimmy Carter is 94 years old. He broke his hip a little while ago... ...and now he’s back, building homes for the poor. I had just turned 12 years old. Jimmy Carter was running for President and I really, really wanted him to win. My Mom & Dad voted Democrat all their lives. I didn’t know that back then... ...I just really liked Jimmy Carter, and I really got into it. I remember Carter being asked about what might happen if he lost. “I don’t intend to lose,” he said. And he didn’t. I stayed up late to watch it. And then his presidency happened, and he was churned up by the DC machine. There were long lines at gas stations. There was the Iran hostage crisis and a ill-conceived rescue attempt. In the 1980 election, Jimmy lost. But that’s when the real work began. You know, it’s funny, but a whole bunch of people remember Carter as a peanut farmer. I read a social media thread that referred to him as ‘dumb.’ Actually, he was too ...