Thoughts of a Common Man

I’m a big fan of Billy Bob Thorton as an actor. Have been looking forward to Goliath season 4 and got word that it all dropped. We put it on and I actually missed a few innings of the Yankees big game to watch the first couple of episodes. In episode 2, Billy’s character is talking to his neighbor who tells him that he’s just a little guy and asks if the wind blows him down. “I can handle a gust of wind,” Billy’s character says. And the single sentence got me thinking. The wind is going to blow in all of our lives and handling the gusts is the trick. I think of some of the people out there who’ve really suffered mightily. I ran into a guy on a site today.  “If someone asks you about Covid make sure you show the hand wash station and the sanitizers and the written plan. Don’t treat it like a joke.” (I have to say that to all the job supervisors because some of them do believe it is a ‘hoax’). “I know it’s not a joke,” the guy said. “I had it and was really sick for a couple of weeks...

It’s definitely cold in the mornings, but still sweating by mid-day. I’m going to miss golf. All good in Yankees and Bills land this morning. Allen had a great game and Stanton is hitting baseballs like nothing I’ve ever seen before. It’s not to feel the stress of a game and then cheering when the ball clears the wall. An amusing distraction. Television is picking up too… …Goliath, The Morning Show, Yellowstone and Succession are all coming back. As for the home front? Oliver  The puppy is dominating everything. He wants to spend time in the big room but can’t stop himself from attacking Paris and Miller. Makes for a nice relaxing evening! Go Yankees!! 

There’s a tremendous lyric from Mellencamp, all the way back to the Big Daddy record. It goes, “I Want, I Want, I Need, I Need.” He sings it as the chorus and I have always interpreted it as his put down of the me, me, me society that we live in and have for quite some time. Thought of it when I heard about a basketball player who will skip his team’s home games because he doesn’t want to get vaccinated. “It’s a personal decision.” Indeed. The Sabres anthem announcer is quitting for the same reason and claiming that he’s the ultimate Christian and he sees it more clearly than the rest of us do. Healthcare workers and police officers are leaving their jobs. People can’t go to football games because they can’t show proof of vaccination. I want, I want. I need, I need. Screw the greater good. And that’s the way of the world. Years and years and years ago, my Dad told me, “90% of the people you meet are out for themselves and they’ll sell you down the river for a nickel.” I thought that wa...

Had a chance to sleep a little later because I didn’t have a Sunday tee-time. (Don’t panic - played a meh round on Saturday). But I didn’t get to sleep past 7:00 because Jake needed me to take him downtown so that he could catch a bus to go to the stadium which is a freaking mile from here. Kids! We are also getting some work done around here as 3 rooms have been freshly painted and the holes from video games gone wrong have been patched. Kids! I worked to get the rooms cleaned and the furniture moved back in as the Bills game started. The game was virtually over by the time I sat down. Go Bills! Then Jake called again, asking if I can pick him up from the stadium. He had seen Sam in passing, but wasn’t sure how he was getting home. Kids! Then I headed to the backyard to plug the holes in the fence where the dog and the cat have been getting out. That took awhile because the puppy was out there with me and he kept biting the back of my shoe and running. Pets! I had pasta early and put ...

For some reason I had the memory of a year pop into my mind. 1988 I was living in Connecticut, working with my Dad. And then another stray thought. When you look back and remember days gone by with a person who is no longer here you often think: “Man, I wish I had more time with him.” My Dad was an early riser. He would sit at the kitchen table, fill up the ashtray, drink coffee and play solitaire. He’d shuffle for a long time. He did a lot of thinking in the early mornings, and like all of his kids, he planned out his day. Mostly, he had the meals all set up. He’d work, and he’d try to make sure that everyone around him was comfortable. I was the only guy living with him in those days.  All week I worked as a construction laborer so on Saturday mornings I wanted to sleep a little. I heard the cards being shuffled. Then a loud sigh. “I guess I have to take the garbage out,” he said, loud enough for me to hear in my warm bed. I put my pillow over my head and tried to get back to sle...

It has been a weird year for the Yankees. The narrative has been that they stink, but in reality, they will win more than 90 games… …which is not a bad year. They only won 88 games in 2000 when they hammered the hapless Mets in the World Series. So, there is still hope. Here’s another little known fact… …I absolutely HATE watching the Yankees play the Red Sox. The games are usually way too long. My hatred of the Sux overwhelms the game for me, and throw in the yellow uniforms the Sux were wearing last night… …ugh! So, I started watching the game on my phone. “In play no out” for DJ. Same for Rizzo. “In play Runs” when  Judge finished his AB. I turned it on. 7-0 after 3 innings with Cole on the mound after Stanton’s laser homer. My brother John texted me. We reminisced about the Boston Massacre when the Yankees made up the 14.5 game deficit by absolutely destroying the Sux. We were kids. Dad took us to our Uncle Mike’s so we could watch the game. We both recalled the night in vivid ...

As expected, letting Oliver out in the early morning hours has fallen squarely on my shoulders. Despite the fact that there are two stories in between us when I get up to shower in the morning Oliver starts to bark. 15 minutes later we are sharing quality time in the back yard as Miller and Paris cower. The puppy wants to play… …always! Miller and the Pair wake up a tad slower than that. This morning, my neighbor, who has a young dog of her own spotted Oliver as he moved around looking for a place to do his morning duties. “Ahh, he’s so cute!” My neighbor called out, and that was enough for The Big O. He stopped what he was doing and darted under the fence and raced across the street. If he could’ve leapt into my neighbor’s arms he would have. He didn’t have to. She immediately scooped Oliver up and he kissed her as though he were at the prom. “Oh, he’s so darling.” I laughed. “Yeah. I know better,” my neighbor said. “Has he chewed up a lot of stuff?” “I’m missing a shoe,” I said. “He ...

  There have been a lot of conversations over the last couple of years. A lot of people are claiming that they will take their chances regarding the vaccine. As the good pastor has stated in this wonderful op-ed perhaps Jesus might have looked at it from another angle. There is zero chance that my opinion will change anyone else’s mind, but the article I have shared here gives pause to the whole: “Jesus wasn’t vaccinated,” crowd out there. And yeah, I saw those words painted on a barn somewhere out in Kansas - vaccinated was not spelled correctly. I shared that with a friend of mine and he said: “Jesus might knock on that guy’s door and explain Christianity to him.” Someone should. The pastor has here.

Heard about a work friend who passed away.  Not even 40 years old. The rumor is that he headed to an emergency room and despite being there for four hours… …he died without even being examined. The hospitals are full. The nurses and doctors are worn to a nub and there are people out there who still swear that it’s all a massive hoax designed by the government to control us. Heart attack victims, car accident victims, and a whole bunch of less serious injuries are being cast aside because the critical care units and the emergency rooms are stuffed with people suffering from Covid. They’re all unvaccinated! I don’t know how much evidence is required. But it may have cost me a work friend. Imagine rushing to the hospital because you are that ill and you wind up dying without even having someone take a look? Just 40 short years. He was a hard worker and a partier. He loved the Bills. He was always smiling and ready for a long chat. I think he deserved more out of a medical community th...

I didn’t play poorly on Sunday, but I certainly hit some bad shots. The elusive ability to concentrate was wavering in and out all day. I didn’t feel loose. I felt tired. And in golf it’s all about being a millimeter off to turn a great day into a big one. Then I woke up on Monday morning and instead of going through the mental Rolodex of what to do I started thinking that… …I should take the day off. I thought about it long and hard and then… …I went to work. Took a long drive to the first job and didn’t want to go in, but a funny thing happened. I felt at home in my element and as I moved I loosened up.  “I thought you were going to shut it down,” Kathy texted. “Ahh.” And I thought about it in relation to the mediocre round of golf I played. Every time you get out of bed isn’t going to be a day when you feel perfect or even decent… …but it’s all about routine for me so I imagine that I couldn’t afford to take the entire day off. I would’ve felt worse! Much as I did on the back 9 ...

My college roommate loved the expression: “Rode hard & put away wet.” I thought about it a lot on Sunday afternoon. Because I’ve been running myself ragged lately. Up early, plenty to do, no chance of slowing down. Petal to the metal. Got in from golf (a normal round - no hero stuff this week) and settled in for the Bills game, which was a snooze fest as far as entertainment went. I battled to keep my eyes open for most of it. Then I went to stand up and I made the old man noises that come with putting my feet of the floor. “I need some rest.” But when I shook off the cobwebs of the Bills blow out of the Dolphins I slowly came to the realization that work was coming again. Mere hours. “Take a day,” Kathy said. “Yeah. Right.” I made dinner. Washed some clothes. Then did something really unusual… …I stopped thinking about the upcoming week. No planning of the schedule other than knowing the first job I might visit. I’ve been rode hard. They put me away wet. Sometimes I feel old.

There was so much food! The highlight being the roaster filled with hamburgers prepared by Mom Renaldo. There was an absolutely wonderful cake that perfectly portrayed the cover of the book (thanks CC). There was a grand surprise as original Lion Digger Braymiller headed into the party via Colorado. He was singing the Barking Lions song. There were so many smiles, handshakes, hugs and moments of sadness as we remembered my brother, Jeff’s brother, Robbie and Danny. There was ball-busting as I was roundly laughed at regarding my memory of how I was elite. And we talked of the book - which was grand fun for me - as I was asked about how Al and I worked to put the story together. I ate, drank a couple and did a lot of looking around. Russ was telling us a story of long gone days and I haven’t seen him for quite some time, but I was comfortable in the friendship. Great friendships are all about picking right up where you left off. We talked about writing a sequel. Maybe it’s in the cards. ...

I often tell a joke during my training sessions about being a safety guy and knowing that when my phone rings it’s never good news. “No one calls the safety guy and says, ‘Hey! We’re doing terrific!’ It’s usually bad news.” There’s one call that all of us safety geeks absolutely hate. “We had a fatal accident.” Now I do my best to not have any such call with my regular clients. We go out there every single day to make sure that we are seen. Just a gentle nudge to say, “We’re here if you need us.” But we can’t be everywhere and there are a lot of companies that we meet… …mere moments after the tragedy. I received such a call this week and immediately responded, going to the scene to help the owners of the company speak with OSHA. I’ve been doing this for 30 years so I know all of the OSHA personnel. They’re good at their job and despite the fact that they swing a citation book that can be costly, they genuinely are most concerned with keeping people safe. A couple of other things usuall...

Kathy & Sam decided on a mini road trip to visit my niece and nephews. “Who’s going to cook dinner?” I asked, when Kathy first brought it up. She gave me a sideways glance.  “Who will do the laundry and clean up around here?” “You’re funny,” she said. Because, of course, I’m truly independent. “The pressure will be off,” she said. “Oh yeah.” As luck may have had it, I was instantly incredibly busy at work. So, as it turns out, you know what I do when the wife is gone? First thing was: I cleaned everything and put everything in its place. Then: Clutter-free! I ate what I wanted! I had taken out a lot of steak on day one, figuring they would eat before they left. They didn’t. I had a huge porterhouse on day one. On day two, Jake was around so we had more steak and I added a couple of tails. Day 3 we ate our favorite Mexican joint. And it would be quiet around here, but we have a puppy throwing everything into a spin. “How are you enjoying being a single man?” Kathy asked. “Turns ...

Who didn’t love Norm? I know I did. He made me laugh in every interview, television show, podcast and movie. I laughed as soon as I saw him or heard that distinctive voice. His timing was unreal, and he told jokes that didn’t have the greatest punch line every time but the telling of the joke was hysterical. He stood up to SNL because he was thoroughly disgusted by O.J. Simpson and he refused to let up on him. He was threatened:  “Lay off or lose the gig.” He didn’t lay off. His world views were unique. Everyone who ever said anything about him spoke of his compassion. He died after battling cancer for a decade. No one knew he had it. When news of his death broke my heart sank. Like it did when Lennon, Carlin, Gandolfini and Robin Williams died. My buddies, who always shared Norm clips started filling up my phone with great interviews and so many jokes. Then a surprise: My son, Jake, who loves comedy started sending me some perfect bits too. “He was great,” Jake said. “What a talen...

There's a definite chill in the air these mornings, but the temp was touching 80 on Tuesday afternoon. So, summer is still hanging in there, but September has always been a transition month. Back to school, the start of the football season, the pennant races are heating up. I’m caught in between. I want to feel the sun and absolutely love the summer, but I also get a little tired as the fun winds down. And I also start feeling the dread of the coming cold. I hate it that much! And it’s funny, but every year around this time I hear from someone who says: “The Farmer’s Almanac says that we’re gonna’ have a long, hard winter.” “Shut-up,” is my usual answer to that. Now, I have zero clue on what the good old almanac has said regarding this winter. I’m not keen on hearing it. I’m also dreading the countdown on how many Sunday tee times are left. 5? We got a round in on November 15th last year! Can’t count on that happening again. And it feels as if it’s all winding down and the idea tha...

In 1983, I lived and worked in California. There was a golf course just down the road from where we lived in Mill Valley and I would grab my clubs after work and head down there to play. I was young and strong and on one fine day I golfed 18 perfect holes. My score was 40 on the front 9 and 39 on the back. Since then? I’ve been anywhere between 84 and 105, settling mostly in the 90’s. I have always wondered what might happen if I could make everything work and have been chasing that forever. When I drive and chip well I can’t putt. When I can putt I can’t hit an iron. It’s a fickle-f****ng game! On Sunday we were back at our usual course. A course that I love everything about except the high price tag. We pulled up on hole 3 where we were to shotgun start and I said, “Honey, I’m home,” as we pulled up. Hit my first drive down the middle. Bogied the opening hole even though I was still shaking cobwebs.  I had three straight pars and then I birdied a hole. 🤔  I was putting the ...

The Yankees have been all around the playoffs - every single year - for the last 30 years. They have had a winning record every year since 1993 and might have won the series in ‘94 had it not been canceled. They did win 5 World Series while playing in 7.  I don’t even remember how many times they made it to the ALCS and lost in heartbreaking fashion because it’s World Series or bust around here. Pretty spoiled. And this year’s team is no different.  They are going to win more than they lose and still might make a playoff run, but man, they’re a tough bunch to watch. They should be lining up their pitching for the playoffs but they just can’t stay out of their own way. The entire season has been a grind and not a whole hell of a lot of fun. I like the players, but they have under-achieved. They’ve blown huge leads. A few of their guys have had awful years. Gleyber, Frazier, Urshela, Chapman and Sanchez have all looked absolutely lost. The team philosophy appears to be “Play two...

We enjoy Mark Wahlberg movies.  They always seem to carry a positive message in the end and Wahlberg took on a gutsy job with the story of Joe Bell because it is a movie that showed the courage of a man in the face of bullying, and Wahlberg, as a much younger man was arrested for violent, racial attacks. He’s not the same man and has worked to make amends. All that being said, it’s a good albeit disturbing story. Very disturbing. And without spoiling it for anyone, it addresses anti-bullying in the face of a true story. The real Joe Bell story took place in 2013. “Bullying is worse now,” I mentioned as the credits rolled. “Really? I don’t think so,” Kathy said. “When is the last time you were online?” I asked.  The nastiness is present in every single discussion. Mention the vaccine and inside five minutes someone will call you a ‘moron’ no matter where you stand on it. For God’s sake, don’t mention a politician by name! Or even a sports team! Social media has given everyone a...

Of course it’s a day that is unforgettable. We all know where we were, and how we felt. The beautiful blue sky and the perfect weather sticks with me because what was happening in my mind was a complete contradiction of that perfect sky. Prior to that day, I thought about politics about once a month. Now, everyone is MAD! All the time. Did 9/11 do that to us? I’m thinking maybe. Who was on the right and who was on the left meant absolutely zip to me prior to 9/11/01. Now? You can’t have a conversation with anyone without quickly finding out what ‘side’ they’re on. In ‘01 we were still ALL Americans. Pains me to say, but the only attacks on American soil in the last 20 years have been by Americans. Shoot outs. A run on the Capitol. So damn sad. I felt empty on 09/11/01. I think I actually feel worse about things now. We need to turn it around. Seems like this downward spiral began 20 years ago today. We have to figure it out. And honor those who were lost.

I must admit that I got mildly annoyed at a guy on the bus from Logan to the rental car place. He had a mask on, in a completely packed bus, but it was barely covering his mouth and was nowhere near his nose. “Pull your mask up,” the no-nonsense driver said. The guy did and then muttered, “It’s bullshit.” “I ain’t telling you twice,” the driver said, and I thought, ‘Good for him.’ I spend my days telling guys to wear hard hats or eye protection when they’re hammering concrete at eye level. When I tell them, they get pissed at ME! Yet, it’s an epidemic! People are screaming at flight attendants and bus drivers and owners of private businesses. Everyone knows the rules!! Comply! But no. I looked across at the guy. His mask was down under his nose. Go to Twitter. There are two to three confrontations every day. Flight attendants aren’t paid enough to get berated, threatened and destroyed by drunken morons who knew the rules when they bought the ticket. Who would’ve believed that this coun...

I’ve been a mess for a couple of weeks now. I do a lot of work each week and I manage it because I break everything down in tasks to be done.  The routine hours become days of getting things done. The upset of that schedule started with the back-to-back rounds of golf In Binghamton a couple of weeks ago. Then. I set feet in the following states: Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Michigan, North Carolina, DC and Maryland. The entire routine went up in flames. “I’m too old for this shit,” I cried on the 3 mornings that I was up before 4:30. I have days set up where I eat the same foods. Sunday and Wednesday are for pasta! I had pasta on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday one week and had freaking steak on Sunday! That doesn’t work!! I have a regular time to write the blog, or look through Twitter. That’s all been off! I’ve only watched about 15 innings of baseball. That’s not right either. So, yesterday was all about getting back i...

 

The drive was long, but I felt all right once I made it to Virginia and I got a big steak and a good night’s sleep on Friday. So, that’s not the problem. Saturday was a busy day and I had a huge breakfast, played Top Golf and had just three drinks in about 18 hours of being up and around. Only slept 4 hours and then drove back 9 hours. That might be the problem! Since I’ve returned I’ve felt horrible! Completely worn out. I slept a good 8 hours and fell asleep during the Yankees sleep-walking through another game on Monday afternoon and I simply marveled at the kids just moving around so easily. They had more than 3 drinks. Doesn’t appear as if it has bothered them in the least. And in the worst of all idiotic scheduling snafus, I’m back on the road tomorrow morning. 6:30 a.m. flight and a 10:00 p.m. return.  I’d like to kill the schedule maker. (I make my own schedule). I will bounce back. That’s always been the way. It just takes a little longer.

Cut to about 1976. “The bus!!!” Corinne was screaming at me to hurry up. I ran for the door. Just as Corinne slammed it shut. I went straight through the glass and heard my mother scream out: “What the hell was that?” I could turn and head back into the house and my extremely agitated mother or I could run for the bus. I ran for the bus. My arms covered in blood from the cuts from the broken glass. Cut back to 2021. Seated at the party. I was beside my big sister. I could see our reflection in the glass. We are old! And in a trick of the mind… …I suddenly saw Corinne on that bus all that time ago. She was laughing at me as I stood in front of the bus driver as she bandaged up my cuts. We were kids! Ten minutes ago!!! Now there was grey staring back at me in that mirror. And the party was filled with teenagers who were taking their turn at driving all of us crazy. We were trying to talk some sense into them. We were mostly failing! And I sat there, looking around, remembering all those ...

My sister Carrie Lynn has always stood out as sort of a diamond in a rough of some real dopes. Even as a kid she was the one we all collectively looked at and said, “She’s got her shit together.” And so naturally, she was the one we drove crazy by demanding her help around the house. “Carrie! Bring me a drink!” “Carrie! Do the dishes!!” Well, she was never more accommodating than she was yesterday.  What. A. Party! We worried about Carrie too, but man, her and Dave make a good pair and threw together a flawless (nearly) get together! I went! And had. Fun! I played Top Golf with Dave & Carolyn and Larry and Charlie. A ton of laughs! I had 3 drinks!! I won the last round with my expert touch. And then the party. I kept looking around at the smiling faces. Everyone was laughing!!! The Fazzolari-Switala families are obscenely close. Have been forever. And it was just so wonderful to talk and laugh and sing and eat. Top level entertainment! Thank you to David and Carrie Lynn! You go...

Back when I was a younger man I used to make long drives from Buffalo to Baltimore or Buffalo to New Haven. There were months when I made those long commutes at least every other week. That’s a lot of time in the car. Back in those days I would pop in a tape or a CD and listen to music. Bruce was featured a lot. I spend time in the car these days too, but it’s usually just a couple of hours at a time. I don’t make many 5 or 6 hour plus drives these days. But Friday I packed the car and headed out. I didn’t have any cassettes or CD’s with me, but I programmed “Western Stars” first. Great record. Before long I was in Pennsylvania. A beautiful sunny day. Music up loud. Hot coffee. Surrounded by green hills. “Letter to You” followed as I thought about old college friends. I called one. “We gotta’ get together soon.” I made my way into West Virginia and then smoothly transitioned into Virginia. “What a beautiful country.” And though I’d been dreading so many miles. I relaxed and sang along ...

Hurricanes, floods and wild fires. Abortion rights, Afghanistan and the Delta variant. The Tampa Buccaneers, Tampa Rays and Tampa Lightning. Everything is coming up Roses, huh? Yet, the one thing that I read that turned my stomach came courtesy of Remington who is trying to defend themselves in the lawsuit brought by the families of the Sandy Hook victims. Remington has subpoenaed the attendance and disciplinary records of the kindergarten and first-grade children who were slaughtered. To what end???? I can imagine Remington’s lawyers and their argument: “Little Timmy missed four days of school in a three-week span. He got what he had coming.” Seriously! Explain it to me!! How are they going to find exculpatory evidence in the records of those poor children who never got to live their lives? Isn’t that just sheer torture for the families? I’ve faced questions posed by lawyers. There have been moments when everyone in the room knew that the lawyer questioning me was flat-out lying, but ...

Really weird, but it always seems as if there’s a sudden change when the calendar turns from August to September. It has been so hot and humid here over the last few weeks that I figured we would just enter September on fire, but man, there was a chill in the air on Wednesday morning. Made me think about the miserable months of snow for a moment. Not looking forward to it, but things have been pretty busy lately. A lot more hanging out and get-togethers a year after absolutely nothing was going on. August was hot! Of course, the unofficial end of summer is always after Labor Day weekend, but if you’ll remember - we golfed on November 15th last year. So I’m hoping that there’s still some time left. By noon, the air conditioning was on full blast in my car and I was sweating pretty good again. So it’s not over yet, and we have a big family party coming up this weekend. A little more fun… …before Covid and snow threaten us again. Thinking of those poor people in New Orleans again. It’s ha...

The United States did not leave the dogs behind. So, that story should die on the vine. We lost a number or service men and women during the extraction. All way too young. Just like the number of troops who died over there over twenty years of… …of what? Who knows what. It started under a false premise and on and on and on and on it went. Twenty years of death and destruction and so much money. Make no mistake a whole bunch of defense contractors got rich. War is a profit machine. Think of all of that when you hear that we can’t afford to help people here. We certainly could afford to destroy things there. I’ve never quite understood war. I distinctly recall being in second grade and asking a nun that if “God had a commandment like ‘Thou Shalt Not Kill’ what happened when someone killed someone in a war. Is God mad?” I remember that the poor nun was absolutely stumped. She never answered me! And war is romanticized and I’m one of those who wonders if society will ever evolve enough to ...