Thoughts of a Common Man

Traveling is a nightmare again. They are redoing the Kansas City airport and the biggest hassle to come of that is the eternal bus ride from the rental car facility to the terminal. I got on the half-crowded bus pretty early on in the trip and the driver was pulling to the curb every 50’ to add more people. In a matter of minutes we were packed in like sardines. Masks were on, but some didn’t cover noses, and let me tell you, being that close to so many people was bringing me anxiety. I stood and held on as we made our way forward when suddenly the bus lurched and the guy directly in front of me made contact with the bag that was on my right shoulder. The bag slipped and made contact with my forearm, which wouldn’t have been a big deal, but I was holding a water bottle (which I squeezed in the impact) and squirted all over the front of the guy’s shirt. Two things happened: 1). He got pissed! 2). I laughed out loud as the kids say. When those two things happened, two more things happene...

It was 99 degrees in Kansas on Thursday and the feel-like temperature was 109. I did a lot of driving and built up a huge sweat walking the jobs.  I also skipped lunch, knowing that I could do dinner right. I had great Mexican on Wednesday and plans for ribs and brisket on Friday… …so I had a decision to make. Chinese? Steak? Pasta? As I’m prone to do, I voted for the pasta and then I researched it. Picked the joint. Settled in and the salad was good. The bruschetta sucked. “Uh-oh.” I ordered a Mediterranean pasta dish with a side of Italian Sausage. The sausage looked like Oscar Meyer made it. Ah well, you can’t ruin pasta, right? It never looked right. I tried it. “Excuse me,” I said. “I know this is penne, but it doesn’t seem right.” “It’s wheat pasta,” the waitress said. “I thought you asked for it.” “What?” “You didn’t ask for wheat?” “I would NEVER ask for wheat.” “I can bring you a new dish.” I know that a lot of people eat wheat pasta. They say it’s better for you. I had ne...

I’ve always had to travel a few days a month for work. Back when the kids were young it was a huge deal. I would call to check in - especially before cell phones were all the rage - and I’d leave the name and number of the hotel room. There were always calls before bed that stretched out with me talking with each of the kids and the being it with: “Make sure you behave!” Now? I’m not sure anyone knows I’m gone. I usually text with each of the kids during the course of a regular day… …something about sports or how their day is moving along. Yet, as far as what town or hotel I’m in? No one has any idea. Back in the day, I would wonder what they were all doing and pray that they’d get into bed without too much trouble. I would feel guilty! Knowing that Kathy would be struggling through a 3 to 1 battle. The battles have given way to relaxed nights watching television, eating well and getting some rest… …for all of us. Safe travels!

Had Simone Biles broke her leg no one would say a word about her sitting out. But since it’s a mental health issue - anxiety - people are wondering why she doesn’t suck it up. She owes no one anything. I have plenty of days when I feel like I could use a few hours to get things straightened away. It’s not great. I think we are all there from time to time. There’s a thin line between being all right and being ill and in this nation there is little concern. “Suck it up, buttercup.” Leads to a whole bunch of self-medicating and extreme angst. So, give Simone a break. She’s a kid. Shouldn’t feel that much pressure. Hope she’s good.

The Serendipity restaurant in NYC has a small plate of fries on the menu. They cost $200. I looked at the photo of the plate of the potatoes that are fried in champagne, covered in truffles and truffle oil, and sprinkled with gold flakes. Serendipity also has a $295 hamburger and a $1000 ice cream sundae on the menu. So, $1500 for lunch! I get a meatball sub, a candy bar, a Gatorade and a bag of chips off the roach-coach for like $12 with tip for the pretty young girl with the short shorts. And it must be said: If you can spend $200 on French fries, you might be an a-hole. I have a lot of problems with rich people hoarding money and evading taxes on it. As we all should. But, when you read an article like that, a whole bunch of people think: “Good for them, they worked hard.” That isn’t the real truth of the matter. We saw, during the pandemic which group was the most important. Those who work hard every day in the service of others. They didn’t get rich off the pandemic… …the billiona...

Man, I just cannot do change. A new phone has long been on the horizon and there was a last day deal that was too good to pass up. When Kathy brought it up, I said, “Let me think about it.” She laughed, “The deal ends today.” So we did it and man, the phone got here fast. The same day that I got a false fraud alert that I was able to stop, but not before I canceled my debit card. So, here I sit with about four problems that are ricocheting around my obsessive brain, and none of the problems can be solved quickly because they hedge on getting a new debit card that may not arrive for 3-10 days. Normal people can handle such things. Obsessive people can’t. My new phone is not synced in my car. I can’t use the online banking app because I don’t have a debit card number to enter when prompted. My passwords were changed on a couple of apps. I don’t know the new ones. I feel like I’m in a brain fog. The things I do at a precise moment each day… …I can’t do them and my protective cover for the...

 In a whole bunch of television shows they will show two men talking to each other about their feelings. One guy might say something like: “I really love her, but she doesn’t seem to get me.” I’ll laugh. “What?” Kathy will ask. “Guys don’t EVER talk like that,” I’ll say. “How do they talk?” “We bust balls! That’s about it.” And on Saturday, I spent a lot of time doing just that with a bunch of my Syracuse friends at a golf tourney. “That was horrendous,” I said to my cart mate after he hit an errant shot.  He laughed. The one thing you never want to hear after hitting a lousy shot is how bad it was. At one point he said, “You’re the first teammate I’ve ever played with who I’m openly rooting against.” “So you don’t want me to get a hole in one?” I asked. “It would benefit our team.” “Oh, hell no!” He said. “You won’t ever shut up about it!” As luck might have it, I made a long birdie putt on the very next hole. He groaned when it dropped. “Here we go,” he said. “Now he’s going...

There is suddenly a mad push in GOP circles to get people to realize the importance of getting vaccinated.  McConnell put out a statement begging his constituents to get shots in arms. Hannity suddenly believes in the science. Steve Scalise, who was very vocal about not needing the vaccine, has publicly announced that he suddenly got it. Why? The stock market plunged, and the love of money is always a factor, but some of the “Get Vaccinated Now” chatter started before that. Could it be compassion and empathy? I almost made myself laugh there! There has been a lot of angst in major media circles regarding how dangerous this virus is… …but that never swayed the group mentioned above before… …I don’t think they’re compassionate. So, why? The thought of what might be behind it actually makes my stomach churn a little. Before the collective ‘we’ knew about Covid, the so-called leaders were briefed on how bad it could be. They didn’t believe it at the start of 2020. I think that perhaps ...

The first box of Barking Lions books that I was supposed to get was ‘stolen off the truck.’ So, I had to wait an extra week to sign copies and get them out to people who wanted them that way. I love doing that, and while the post office is an eternal pain in the ass…I got it done on Monday. By Wednesday morning I was hearing from people who, not only received their copy, but finished it! “I started it and just kept going,” is a lovely thing for an author to hear. And here’s the secret… …during the writing process you wonder: “Is this any good?” By the time you’ve worked on it for months you think: “This blows.” But a funny thing happened with this one. The start of it and the end of it was a small window of time. The actual writing took less than 3 months, and about halfway through, I had a sense that it would be greeted well. I read through it after it was released and thought: “People will like it.” That’s a good feeling too, but when they reach out, happy to get you on the phone, an...

Are people becoming more rude? A few examples: 1).  I had the green light. A relatively young man who wanted to cross the road caught my eye. I waved him through. That son-of-a-bitch couldn’t have possibly walked any slower. Aggravated the piss out of me. 2). Also in the car, I was behind a man who couldn’t have been less interested in driving his vehicle. We were in the city so I had to follow him from one red light to the next. He stopped at the lights all right, but he was so engrossed in his phone that he couldn’t get going when the light turned green. I didn’t beep at him as we waited for him to go through the first green light. Didn’t beep at the second one either. I finally beeped after he stuck me a third time. He flipped me the bird. A moment later, a small bag of garbage flew out the driver’s side window. Not sure he was throwing the garbage at me, but he may have been. 3). We were behind a 4-some on the golf course a couple of weeks back. We waited patiently as they got ...

The Dr. Death series on Peacock is extraordinary. Great?  Yes, but it is also not a comfortable watch.  First off, it’s about neck, back and spine surgeries that are badly botched by a surgeon who just annihilated his patients. We have some of those types of problems here. I most certainly could go in and have back surgery tomorrow. I have the MRI’s to prove my distress, but I have continued to battle through because I have always heard it’s a crap shoot to have back surgery. I’m also very leery of all surgeries since the hip surgery. After watching the series… …damn! I want no part of any of it! Alec Baldwin and Christian Slater were outstanding. The guy who played Dr. Death was great too. The story moves forward fast. The fact that the man was allowed to practice any sort of medicine is deplorable, in hindsight, but it was made possible because of greed. The more surgeries you do, the more money you make.  A surgeon maims 33 people! Now, I wrote an entire book on the me...

The first NBA Finals I remember was to finish up the 1969-1970 season. I cried as the final score on Game 7 flashed on the screen: New York Knicks 113 Los Angeles Lakers 99 Sad.  My Dad had watched with me as Wilt and West lost to Reed and Clyde. Basketball was definitely my favorite sport to watch and it stayed that way until 1977 when the Yankees and baseball took over. I have always kept an eye on the NBA season though and the Lakers-Celtics battles in the mid-80’s were epic. I was rooting for Larry Legend then, but Bob McAdoo and Kareem were on those Lakers teams so I was okay either way. And then there was Michael. Man, I rooted against him hard! Couldn’t stand that he was winning every year. I bad-mouthed Michael all the way up until I watched “The Last Dance.” Then I respected him. Of course, LeBron became my new villain as his ‘taking my talents’ program aggravated me to no end. He still makes my skin crawl because of how he flops. But I haven’t truly watched an NBA game si...

The rain was coming down hard and cold on Saturday morning. I opened the back door and the cat just stood there, watching the water circle the drain. Miller looked up at me, and I got his message: “Are you freaking kidding me with this shit?” He let out a long, drawn-out meow that was borderline yelling. “I’m not making it rain,” I said. There were more loud protests that seemed to remind me that we live in a place where 8 months of the time the weather isn’t great for heading outside and sitting by the fence as the birds and squirrels play. “This is supposed to be the fun time!” Miller screamed as he bounded back up the steps. And I know the frustrating feeling of watching it rain for what seems like the 50th straight day. Miller isn’t the only one with problems… …streets are flooded. Idiots who are trying to drive through standing water are wondering why their cars won’t move. Golf courses are closed! Or will be so wet that a drive will just stick. Things are supposed to brighten thi...

The texts started coming in when the Red Sux scored in the 2nd inning. “Yankees are losing.” I have a few friends who have been relentless in this car crash of a season. But the thing is, the Yankees were going to be hard-pressed to score as their lineup was absolutely ridiculous. Three guys took their first at-bats of the year. Two of the starting outfielders were batting less than .190. The other one was making his major league debut. A spring training lineup in a game that they really needed to win. Takes a whole lot to get into such a predicament. There are at least 6 guys felled by positive Covid tests. The early reporting is that 5 of them had been vaccinated. There weren’t any real symptoms. To top it off, the starting first-baseman somehow got hurt over the all-star break. All year long! Actually, for the second or third year in a row… …the players can’t stay on the field! And I don’t get it. News broke yesterday that Tom Brady played the entire season with a completely torn MC...

There are very few signs of the pandemic out there anymore. I saw a woman in a mask at the grocery store and I kind of did a double take. Not many masks left. Halfway through the afternoon I read an article about Los Angeles County reinstalling the mask mandate. Covid cases have increased by 500% in that neighborhood. And just before dinner I received an alert that the Yankees-Red Sux game was postponed. I thought about rain, of course, and was already bitching about the 7-inning double header. I barely got through that thought when I found out it was because a whole bunch of Yankees players had tested positive… …right through vaccinations???? Which makes the whole thing a huge mess. Vaccinated people are at risk? I know, I know… …you can still get it, but it is less severe. Then you hear about the Delta Variant. And all the people refusing to get vaccinated. A whole bunch of disconcerting stuff. “I don’t want to wear a mask anymore,” Jake said. “Why doesn’t everyone just get the shot?...

I love reconnecting with old friends because no matter how much time goes by… …things still click when you see them. Especially high school friends. It’s been 40 years since I saw those people on a regular basis, but when I trade messages with some of them it’s like nothing has changed. I still know what they might say or do. The conversations are similar. Yet, it’s the people that you don’t see at all anymore. Thought of an old friend from back in 1988. It was a girl that I had a crush on, and although my crushes didn’t normally work out, I took this girl out a few times. She even came to my parent’s home for a party, and was exposed to an afternoon of abuse at the hands of my siblings. Her name popped into my head for some reason and I remembered her innocent laughter. She had a loud, confident laugh. I even remembered the movie we went to see - Lost Boys - and that our last date ended when the Yankees-Red Sox game went into extra innings and I sat at the bar and watched the end inst...

So Richard Branson, who is worth $5.3 billion dollars got $220 million in a handout so he can help send other rich welfare kings to space. It’s the kind of story that makes my skin crawl. Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and other billionaires also take handouts that are generously given by taxpayers who can’t even afford to eat three good meals a day. There was another report that explained that billionaires buy sports teams for the tax write-offs. Tax fraud? Who cares! They’re rich!! I have this discussion all the time. It’s the one thing that angers me most of all on social media. Men and women who struggle to pay their bills take pot shots at the people they believe are beneath them on the social ladder. They bash people who take food stamps or are on disability. Many of those people who they look down their nose on may have crippling medical bills, or sick family members. This country is filled with the working poor. People who work 70-80 hours a week and still can’t manage to stay above wat...

There were another 300 shootings this past weekend. 150 dead. A 4-year-old girl was shot while watching fireworks. She died over the weekend. A whole bunch of people will get away with murder. There’s no way that they will even bother to try and solve those murders. Here’s the thing: It happens almost every weekend, especially in the summer months. I can’t believe that the public good doesn’t take precedent. So many people have their lives cut short and we take a collective shrug. Nothing to be done! And the Capitol insurrection was a ‘lovefest’? There was love in the air? We have no interest in making sure that doesn’t happen again? Law & Order is bandied about when there is an election  But my, my, my these are lawless times. There was an indictment on tax fraud a couple of weeks back. “We’re talking about $3.5 million dollars? What’s the big deal?” Imagine stealing $3.5 million as just a regular working slug and telling the IRS that it was a mistake, and not even worthy of t...

We got the round in, but it was a slough. The rain came down all day, just enough to keep me wiping my hands on my pants before I took a swing. I was too quick through the zone on my first swing and yanked it left. Hit a good second shot, but found myself behind some trees. Up and over and I would be on the green for the par 5. The swing felt great. Clipped the very top of the tree! Ball bounded back. Well, at least I was left with a lane. Put it on the green close enough and I would have a par putt. Just needed to keep it low and in the gap. Another free and easy swing. Clipped a branch that was just hanging there. %^*+#€£*! I may have yelled. The ball ended up in a sand trap! Bah! And I chipped out of the trap and the ball rolled towards the cup… …and hung on the damn lip! Anyway, I thought a whole lot about that hole as my Sunday evening faded. We are always trying to do things in life and adversity rears it’s ugly head. I could’ve avoided a lot of trouble by not trying to go over t...

For quite a few years now, spurred on by a construction guy I know, I buy a scratch-off on pay day. Usually it’s a donation to the great state of New York, but I had a run a couple of years ago when I won $20 or $50 a few times. I gave the tickets to the boys. Well, this week I was on my way to the grocery store to figure out something for Saturday dinner and my mind was on steak. I bought the lottery ticket first and was shocked when I won $100. It was definitely going to be steak, but I also found some filets so I not only bought the strip steak, I also tossed 4 of the filets into the cart. Seasoned and marinaded them and then added potatoes and Bowman’s corn to complete the meal. Now, my boys love steak. They have eaten a truckload of it through the years. “What kinda’ meat is this?” Jake asked as he popped a bite of filet in his mouth. “Is it good?” “It’s ridiculous,” he said. They brought their completely empty plates to the sink. “We should have that more often,” Sam said. Yeah. ...

I know of some guys who have already retired. Others have solid dates in mind. This was actually the first year I considered it, and it’s pretty funny, but a lot of conversations start as though we are nearing the end of a term of incarceration. “How long you got?” And of course, the retirement age has shifted through the years. Does one pull the plug at 62? Or 65? Or freaking 70? Seventy would certainly be too long, but as you get older the 13 years I would have left in that scenario doesn’t seem so daunting. Most of the people who are nearing the retirement age would still like to keep a tow in the water. I spoke to a guy who has a date in mind. He was asking me about a job. “Could I work 2 or 3 days a week?” I guess there’s a fear there. I would certainly wonder about filling in all the hours. During the little Covid lull when things slowed a little I would often open my eyes and think: “Why am I getting up?” That would be magnified and with not a lot on the horizon… …I might have a...

Read an article that people in the Southern states are causing problems because they aren’t being vaccinated. The Delta variant is the coming problem, and how much it spreads is dependent upon how many people aren’t vaccinated. That’s one side of it. Others state: “Covid. It’s not real!” I would certainly think that one fact would change my mind had I not yet got vaccinated: Everyone who died of Covid in June in New York State was unvaccinated! One doctor was quoted as saying that he’s spoken with people suffering in the hospital and they told him: “I didn’t think it was real.” Come on! How can there still be people out there who don’t believe it? I’d think by now that everyone in America has either had it, knows someone who had it, or someone who had died because of it. And still nothing? I had to wear a mask into a medical facility yesterday. It sort of irritated me because I had to go back to grab the mask. But still… …I’m not totally convinced it’s all over because 30% of the count...

The air has been heavy and there’s a lot of sweating going on in the construction business. I started my day feeling all right yesterday, but a lot of the work around town is of the gut rehab variety. Lots of dust and plenty of stairs. Legs got heavy quickly and sweat was drenching and the 9 hairs on my head. “So uncomfortable,” one guy said. “Beats the hell out of snow,” I mentioned. “Oh not for me!” He exclaimed. “I love the cold.” Can that possibly be true? Are there truly people who feel that way? I’m biased, I guess, cause I live in Buffalo and I can’t ever imagine ever loving snow again. I’m over the beauty of the first snowfall of the year. I never ever want a white Christmas. I don’t like driving in it, walking in it, or even thinking about it. I hate the grey days without sunshine that seems to linger for eight months around here. I don’t need to ever hear another Christmas song, or get excited about chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Give me steaks on the grill. Sweat pourin...

Britney Spears is a 36-year-old woman who has made millions upon millions of dollars. From what I’ve read, she’s a basic slave to make money for her father who seems to run every aspect of her life. She’s allowed to go onstage and perform so that the money rolls in, but other than that she doesn’t seem to have much of a life. I read as much as Britney’s testimony as I could, but man, she was a jumbled mess. Now, of course there may be a good reason why they are taking control of her life, but they didn’t seem all that concerned with her mental well-being when they had her do the Las Vegas residency. She’s not able to control her own life, but she can do a show, night after night as a high-level performer? It just seems like someone is taking advantage of the situation. I wonder why. Money? Now, I don’t care much for her music. It’s always seem a bit contrived, but she seems like a good kid, and we all saw the pressure she was under as the spotlight consumed her… …and the mess of it has...

An NHL goalie died in a firework accident.  The story is a little weird as it was reported that the 24-year-old man was exiting a hot tub and he slipped and hit his head but later reports stated that he died of internal injuries after taking a direct hit to the chest. Someone at the party mentioned that the fireworks were being sent in the wrong direction somehow. Sad. I’m sure we’ll hear about a lot more amputations and the such. But that’s not the real tally. At least 150 people are dead following 400 shootings across the land. That number will probably go up. And I saw a photo of one of the congressman posing with an AR-15 as a campaign shot. How tone deaf can you be? I get it.  You want to appear to be a tough guy so the other gun-owning tough guys will vote for you… …but chances are that some of your constituents know someone who has been lost to random gun violence. And this isn’t a gun argument post but when you see that number of people dead over the weekend because th...

They set off fireworks 🎆 at the Bills Stadium. I could’ve watched the show from my backyard had I cared to. I asked Kathy if she wanted to head out to watch. “No.” Sam was home in time after a shift at work. “Want to watch the fireworks?” “Nope.” But it was a good day. I stopped off to give Mom a copy of ‘The Barking Lions’ and she grew teary-eyed when she saw the jersey number and Jeff’s initials. “When did you do this?” “It came together quickly.” A little yard work and then ribs with stuffed peppers. Buffalo Mac & Cheese and baked beans. We ate good. The Yankees have been a sore spot lately, but midway through the day I figured out that I was being chided by: A Mets fan - they last won a series when I was 21 years old. An Orioles fan - come on now! They’re going to lose 100 again this year. They’ve been the armpit of the league for 20 years. A Twins fan - The Yankees have won about 100 of 110 against them over the last five years. So I set off a few fireworks. Reminded folks th...

Played a quick round of golf on Saturday morning. We headed to our old stomping grounds, a course that we grew up on. It’s a course out in the sticks that isn’t quite as nice as what we play on every week, but the layout has always been fun, and it felt pretty good to move after using a massage gun all week. Then I took requests for dinner, and Kathy is a huge fan of fried potatoes. I don’t do them often because they’re a pain in the ass to get ‘em just right. They were perfect and the ham was the perfect compliment. Then we caught a long Matt Dillon serial killer movie from 2018 that was truly interesting. None of that was important, but about halfway through it, I felt relaxed! It was an odd feeling! Totally and completely relaxed! “I wish I could bottle this,” I thought, but knew it would fade relatively soon. I had a college buddy, who, during the playing of Jim Croce’s ‘Time in a Bottle’, and whilst we were drinking beer said: “If I could save time in a bottle, my dumb ass would p...

Rain was guaranteed because I took the day off.  No way I was going to get away with a tee time when I was supposed to be working. So, I spent the day with my beautiful wife and the boys. We watched the monsoon descend upon us. Hail is a strange thing. I mean, I know there’s a scientific explanation for it, but who really believes science anyway? Isn’t the jury out on smart stuff and facts and all that? Anywhoha…(the above is a joke BTW)  We spent time watching a couple of movies that were mediocre at best, and I used the massage gun every half hour or so. (The massage gun is great!) And the rain came down, hard and cold. I imagined living in an area where a storm could be violent enough to blow your house down. What a scary feeling that must be. Then the sun came blasting through. “What a weird ass day,” Kathy said. We had a good dinner that I spent a little while preparing. Television, rest, good food and a freaking hailstorm! Perfect.

 I had lunch with a buddy yesterday afternoon and I was walking away he called back to me: “Geez, you look awful.” “What?” He mimicked my walk and laughed. “Sciatica!” “Get it under control!” So, I’m on it. Going to take 4 straight days off (I hope). Now, I also would like to golf 2 out of the 4 days, but I can do that and still get the legs back under me. But I’ve always kind of enjoyed the lead up to a long weekend. Everyone is in a great mood. Cookouts, sunshine, fireworks, family, yard work, and rest. There were a bunch of younger guys on the last job I visited yesterday afternoon. They were talking about drinking and putting on a fireworks show. “Safety there too,” I said. “Don’t come back with stumps.” They laughed, but man, there will be a story in a newspaper near you. Wasn’t it just a few years ago when a young kid died after setting off a fire work on his head. “No drinking until the show is over,” one of the kids said.  I started to limp away. “The safety guy is lim...

Now, I know there’s real news out there: Cosby was released from jail. Brittany Spears is still a slave to her father. The T***p organization indictments came down.  Donald Rumsfeld died. But I know, that you’re all clamoring to know how the pain in my ass is going. Yes, the sciatica pain that has tortured me for the past few days was analyzed and discussed a lot around Camp Clifford (Also, the camp is closed following an epic 21st birthday bender and a visit from nephew Johnny - no word on reopening). I booked a massage with a therapist that I knew would help. She smiled when she saw me and asked how it was going. “Mess,” I said, and she laughed. The thing about a great therapist is that they know the body.  “We’ll get it under control.” I actually think she was standing on the pressure point at one time or another.  Felt like it. “How does it happen?” I asked. “That I don’t know,” she said. “Your muscles are way too tight and then it sits on the nerve, right about here....