Thoughts of a Common Man

Sam brought it around, and of course we all assumed he had Covid, but the tests were negative. So, just an annoying summer cold that got more annoying when Kathy got it. She’s having a miserable enough go of it. Of course, my powers allow me to mostly avoid mere mortal annoyances but my first conscious draw of air on Thursday was an: “Uh-oh.” I’m too busy for a summer cold… …I was up and out by 6:00 anyway. But while there may be a God… …a summer cold certainly proves the existence of Satan. Tomorrow will be a day when no one wants to be at work. Get away day before a long weekend. I may be sneezing on the tee.

This is not inflation. Gas prices are not through the roof because of inflation. Neither are groceries. Or coffee! I stopped at a restaurant stop on my never ending trip between Buffalo and Syracuse. There was a huge line at the only open place - Tim Horton’s. I don’t need to go to ‘Timmy’s’ for coffee. In fact, given a choice, I’d pour my own at 7/11. There were two young people working to serve the 7 people in line.  So, high prices are not through the roof because they’re paying higher wages to employees because they CUT the number of employees! It was finally my turn. “Medium black coffee,” I said. “Four dollars and twenty-eight cents. Would you like to round up for the Ronald McDonald House?” “Are you freaking kidding me?” I asked. “Pay $5 for 12 ounces of coffee?” He looked at me. “I bought a huge container of Maxwell House for $8,” I said. “How the hell do you charge more than $4 a cup?” The kid shrugged. Price gouging! Go to any fast food joint. Ain’t no dollar menus anymor...

So, the Supreme Court was at it again on Monday claiming that the football coach who wanted his team to pray was free to do so. I’m all for freedom of expression. Yet, aren’t these the same people who ostracized players for kneeling? So, you’re okay with expressions that you like… …but expressions you don’t like are… …not the time or place for it? See the hypocrisy??? And it is going to get truly ugly when a group of students move to the 50-yard line next year and start praying to a different version of God. Muslim freedom of expression? Years ago there was a Muslim basketball player… …he got run out of the league because he was vocal about American problems. How about Satan? Will devil worshipers be given equal time? I’m truly confused! We formed this Democracy based on the fact that we felt that citizens should be free to express themselves. Now? Freedom is great… …as long as it’s the same freedom that a religious sect wants. Makes no sense to me. Very troubling decisions handed down...

We played golf on Saturday instead of Sunday this week… …which was weird…. …but we all swung it pretty well. I haven’t been feeling well (for some damn reason) but I’ve never hit the ball further than I have this past month. “Put it on my tombstone,” I told Pops. “Yeah,” he laughed. “I’ll write, ‘He was really hitting it well.’” But we also golfed behind a father-son team and I was a tad annoyed because the Dad was in a Trump 2024 hat.  They were nice enough to us and didn’t even say anything when I hit the green from 200 out while they were still lining up their putts. “Sorry!” I was yelling. “I didn’t think I could get it there.” “You did! Almost hit me. Would’ve hurt for a minute,” the kid said. He was laughing.  He was happy.  We watched him running across the fairway, across the green, and on the tee box, There’s usually not a lot of running in golf. He was just having fun. And on one tee I was lining up my shot as the subject of abortion came up. Our discussion grew...

It shouldn’t have been a surprise. I knew they were lying during their confirmation hearings. Shouldn’t it be frowned upon to lie under oath? And it’s not that people are FOR abortions, but pro-choice is certainly something that all Americans have as a right. There’s been separation of church and state. It’s a basic tenet of the constitution… …until yesterday. I’m not a woman. I have zero idea how they feel about being judged as second class citizens. That’s what it feels like to me. And here’s the sad thing: Abortion didn’t end yesterday. Safe abortions did for a whole lot of people. The rich will still be able to get safe abortions for their mistresses. The poor and the marginalized will be forced to carry children to full term, no matter if they are raped or trapped by incest. And once the baby is born… …no one wants to hear anything about assisting a mother who can’t afford to raise the child. But make no mistake… …it’s about control. I’m a Catholic and I spent years reading from t...

My youngest is 22 years old today. That’s pretty crazy. I can always remember his age as he was born on ‘00 - a few months before the Yankees spanked the hapless Mets to win the World Series. Sam counts that as one of his titles. And he’s had a few. ‘Nova has won for him twice. He’s already counting the Bills super bowl for next year. Sam has been the heartbeat of the house since ‘00. He’s had a rough year. Lost his beloved Paris. 13 seconds. ‘Nova lost in the Final Four. Sam has a huge heart and a great personality. He goes to work every day. Helps around here. I’ll always worry for him, as I do for all my kids… …but I’m proud of the good man he’s become. I may send a “make good decisions” text to him now and again, but usually that’s all he needs. Happy Birthday, son! We love you! Go Bills! (Just don’t bet on them!)

What is your standard answer for: “How’s it going?” Seems to me that we haven’t learned much in the way of anything new. The answers I get are: “It’s going.” Or “Same shit. Different day.” Not a whole Lot of cheerfulness in those responses. Every once in awhile some nut bag will say something along the lines of: “It couldn’t be any better.” That one is a little hard to believe coming from a guy pushing a drywall cart on a dirty construction site. I usually try to give a real answer if someone asks me. “Busy. Too busy. Wish I wasn’t so busy.” If I’m having a miserable day I will probably try and mix in a joke or two to see if I can liven things up somehow. We all need to interact. What I find amazing are the people who might tell you their entire life story, as a total stranger, when you’re waiting on a line. That happens every once in awhile. “I have to get home because I left the kids with my mother and she likes to get her drink on and since my kids are assholes they’ll fight with he...

I pay a lot of money for health insurance. Seems like every single visit comes with a gentle reminder that payment - less the minuscule amount that insurance covers - is due immediately. What a scam. All of it. I’ve had blood work drawn three times in the last couple of months. It’s kind of fun to see where everything lines up and if you call into the normal categories. I had a blood test that showed way high glucose levels. Two months later I have the sugar levels back in the normal range. Not saying it’s been fun! No what else is crazy? Mentioning the birth year to a nurse who looks at you like you’re ancient when you mention that you were born in ‘64. “Long time ago,” I said. The girl laughed. “Were you around for 9/11?” I asked. “I was born 2 weeks after it happened,” she said. “Damn!” “I read about it!” She said. Imagine that! I was going to tell her all about all the things she’s missed, but I didn’t need her to tell me that she’d make it all up on the back end. “It goes fast,” I...

What a party there would be today… …my brother Jeff’s birthday is June 22nd. I often think about the laughs that we’ve missed out on and despite the fact that we continue to say a lot of his punch lines… …it’s not the same. Yet, the thing about losing all wine you love is that they can still walk beside you as you move through the dark days that life offers up. My nephew Johnny is always in my ear. If the Yankees are on… …he’s texting. About every move, with the same sense of humor, and all the trash talking he can muster. Last night he explained to me that he was a better golfer than me even though he’s just picked up the sport. He offered to teach me a few things when he sees me this summer. And in some ways, the conversation that I started with Jeff is continuing at least a little! And the days go by and turn into weeks, months and years, and it’s hard to quantify all that’s been missed. No sadness today! There was never sadness on Jeff’s birthday! We’d laugh… …have a few beers… …an...

We truly are a tad pathetic as a society. President Biden slipped off his bike on Sunday. I must’ve seen mention of it at least 400 times. In some cases, it led off the news program. Now, it wasn’t that he fell to the ground writhing in pain. The exact opposite happened, actually. He was up and back on the bike in seconds. Made me think of a couple of bike accidents that I wished they’d got on film when I was a kid. I rode around the neighborhood on my older sister’s bike. First, it was clearly a bike for a female rider and my buddies knew it and broke my stones about it endlessly. Secondly, we lived on a big hill that we had to descend to go anywhere. That bike didn’t have breaks. I used my feet. Like Fred Flintstone. Our good buddy lived at the bottom of the hill. I once tried to navigate the turn without slowing down. I went over the handlebars and into a deep ditch as the bike skittered off into the abyss. I jumped right up too. To see the neighbor mom bent over laughing in hysteri...

I’m working today, but it’s a holiday for some members of the work force. I never much care for the ‘Holidays’ that are only for some, and I imagine that I could use a day as a holiday to stay home today, but the construction world will be a full go today. Still, Juneteenth is a day that should be celebrated to make historical note of the fact that the slaves were finally free in 1865 after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1862. A day that should be memorialized, but like every damn thing it’s taken on political connotations. There is a faction of the population that believes “it’s a garbage made up day! It’s Father’s Day! That’s enough!!” I saw that note on a social media post, and it made me laugh. It should scare a whole lot of us to understand that there is also a portion of the population who are of the belief that there are too many societal mentions of black issues. “There’s a black history month, and black college fund and now this? No one even knows what the hell it means!” Ye...

When I lost my Dad I spoke with a buddy of mine who had lost his Dad when he was way too young. He suffered mightily while grieving. “We are fortunate to be this sad,” he said, at my Dad’s wake. “Huh?” I asked. “‘Cause we really loved our Dads and our Dads really loved us. There are millions of people who don’t miss their Dad for even a minute when they pass.” He was right. He made me feel better. All these years later, I know that my Dad wasn’t perfect, but who is? I also learned how difficult it has been to stand in the shoes of being a father. What I took from my Dad and used as a Dad: 1). Put everyone first. I’m in last place around here. That’s how it should be. I took on the job and it comes with a whole lot of responsibility.  Dad lived up to it. I’ve tried every single day. 2). Let the kids know you love them. Dad left zero doubt. He would write little notes. He would make a lot of calls. He’d invite me to dinner when I was in my 40’s and had my own family. On his last Fath...

My Dad did a number on us as kids. On the weekends we had to be up and out of bed early to help in the garden, or to shovel snow, or even just to sit with him and have breakfast. Kids these days! I’m telling you, my boys would’ve lasted about ten minutes under Dad’s regime! Which brings me to today. I woke at 5:35 and said to Miller: “It’s too early. It’s Saturday.” Turned over and for the first time in probably 40 years… .:.I slept past 8:00. Was a hard week that had plenty of work hours and some insomnia. But here’s the worst part… …I didn’t wake up feeling refreshed. In fact, I feel more tired. Won’t be doing that again. Hope Dad isn’t mad.

So, Oliver spent a night in doggie jail, and it wasn’t a popular event around here. First off, the dog is like Houdini. I have the entirety of my fence lined with bricks because he kept getting under the damn thing. Walked the perimeter of Sunday, with Oliver beside me, nipping at my heels. “You ain’t getting out now, you bastard.” Sounded like he said, ‘Wanna’ bet?’ Regardless, on Monday, Jake’s birthday, Ollie planned his escape. I was playing at a work golf event (I HAD to play - it was work) and since I’m the guy who usually keeps an eye on him when he’s out… …well… …he dug underneath the bricks. A Shawshank deal - must’ve taken him an hour - and out he went! The neighbor kids love him, but they couldn’t catch him. He meandered up the road, yelling, “Ollie! Ollie!!” Then they knocked on our door and screamed: “Oliver is out!” (I still wasn’t home - and the boys didn’t react fast enough because a mean bastard of a neighbor immediately called the dog warden). Yeah. The neighbor kids ...

Been a little hesitant to post this one because I don’t want to jinx them, but man, the Yankees have been a lot of fun this year. They started the season 7 & 6. They’ve won 37 of 47 since. On Sunday I was a tad concerned of a let down because they’d won the first two against the Cubs and their Sunday lineup was a bit short as some of the regulars took a seat. It was 5-1 after the first. 8-1 after the second. Evidently they weren’t letting up. By the time it ended they had put up 18 runs, and I had received about 25 texts about it. It’s amazing because they did not go all in on the free agents. Instead, they added a bunch of guys who were hungry to play good baseball. The defense is much better. Aaron Judge is on an absolute mission. I decided to bust chops a little and sent some texts to some anti-Yankee dopes. “It’s a long season,” one guy finally answered. “You saying crap now is dumb.” Maybe. But man, it’s definitely fun! Go Yankees!

 Happy Birthday to my son, Jake. It’s pretty absurd that he’s 25 already… …blink of an eye and all that. I distinctly recall that first moment of his life when the doc asked if I wanted to cut the cord. I didn’t answer the guy right away. “He’s perfect,” I said. And I kept thinking: “Living proof.” Then I told the doc to cut it himself because I wasn’t very handy at anything! And then I walked outside the hospital and was moving around, wanting to tell everyone who passed by that I just witnessed an absolute miracle. And I had, of course. I also bought myself a lot of days of constant worry and pure joy. Jake has turned into a fine young man. He goes to work. Is on the right side of all the issues and has a big heart. I made him steak and shrimp yesterday - two of his favorites and there’s more planned for today. He also provided me with one more conduit of stress and worry: He brought Oliver into my life. Now there’s a pain in the ass! Happy Birthday to Jake. I was Counting On A M...

My cousin Maryann is an amazing human being. Every interaction with her through the years has been filled with love and laughter. And there’s been so much pain involved!!! We have lost beloved family members. There has been brutal sickness and hard times, but man, we have all grown to expect nothing but the love and laughter that my beautiful cousin has brought to the family… …day after day… …year after year! When we were doing the softball tourney benefit for Jeff’s kids… …Maryann was there every year. Bringing gifts. Just sharing and caring. Recently, she has been batting back after another health scare. A painful surgery led to a whole bunch of prayers up the East Coast. From Baltimore to New York. And just a few days after the extensive procedure… …there was a post. Full of cheer. Telling us all that she was good. A life of love. I was just sitting home on Saturday night watching the Yankees pummel the Cubs… …and I thought about busting balls a little. Of course I thought of the Ba...

Well, there’s something to be said about being stuck in the house on a cold winter day. The week that just ended was a bit of a battle. Flew out to the Midwest. 4 flights in 3 days (that were all on time) and got caught in a middle seat for one leg. Sitting straight up and down with no room to bring a hand up to adjust my mask wasn’t fun. (About 7% of us wore a mask). Landed on Wednesday and had 40 messages on the phone and via text. The worst possible news: A bad accident. Turned out to be fatal for a young man. Then site after site and phone call after phone call and by Friday afternoon I was still at the computer after 5:00 and the phone rang. Another work call. “I bet you’re pissed it’s a late Friday call,” the guy said. “Dude!” I answered. And man, the car woke me up at 5 a.m. on Saturday morning. Wanted to strangle him… …but his food bowl was empty… …and since I have a cat who has learned to love OCD tendencies… …I couldn’t be mad. “Sorry, pal. I’ll get some as soon as the store ...

Early on in the hearing about January 6th I saw a tweet that said: “If you’re watching the hearing, you should probably find something more important to do with your time.” That tweet was written by a member of a party that claims to be fully patriotic. The same party that desecrated the American flag by flying it beside the Confederate flag, or even more disturbingly next to the blue and white one with the former embarrassment’s name on it. And I honestly couldn’t watch all of it because it is so upsetting to me as an American. To just trample all that the flag has stood for in lockstep with an absolute self-serving maniac is infuriating. Yet. I don’t know what might happen because of these revealing testimonials. The members high up in that administration stood straight up that day and denounced all of it after it was under control. They all spoke about the election fraud being nothing but a huge lie told in desperation by a crazed man. About a week later, most were in lockstep with ...

The House passed a gun safety measure to protect the children. It’s going to die in the Senate. And it’s so embarrassing to me to listen to some of the excuses being made. One senator stated that the AR-15 is a fun gun.  He likes going to the range and shooting it. Great fun for all. That’s why we need to keep them in play. Even if a madman gets one we have to learn to live with the results because who wants to give up that fun we’re having. Another senator said that those guns are necessary because: They need to keep the raccoons out of the chicken pens and that’s an effective gun for such a task. I’m no marksman, but you need that much action to kill a raccoon? A third dude talked about needing to kill prairie dogs. So, you see, there’s nothing that can be done!!! But, of course, they have ideas! More prayers. Doesn’t matter that other nations don’t pray to stop shootings… …they enact laws! Safe gun laws to keep the powerful weapons out of the hands of those who are mentally inca...

Was still half-asleep while moving around the breakfast area at a hotel in Topeka, Kansas. My wife reminds me constantly that I don’t talk much around the house (certainly a lot less than her) so I wasn’t much expecting to get into any discussions. I grabbed some eggs and sausage and was heading to the table when the woman who was setting out the breakfast asked me, in Spanish, if I speak Spanish. “I know enough to know what you said,” I answered. “But I can’t speak it.” “Oh, I thought you were Hispanic,” she said, in perfect English. “You know why I thought that?” “Well, I have Italian blood,” I said. “My skin is darker.” “No,” she said, laughing. “Your eyebrows are dark and your hair is grey. That happens in Hispanic men.” “Really?” Obviously I didn’t know that it was a Hispanic trait. “My friends make fun of me for it,” I said. “Oh! Very handsome,” she said. Somehow we kept the conversation going and I learned that she has 4 daughters. One of them speaks 4 languages. Another is in h...

The heat is being ramped up on those who tried to overthrow the government on 01/06/21. So far here have been precious few arrests of those who organized it, but sooner or later, it is going to all come out. What we’ve heard so far is unbelievable. Mike Pence was worried about being strung up by his boss. There were tours of the Capitol in the week leading up to it. People are being charged with contempt and the leader of the Proud Boys was also just arrested. Sounds like the freaking crime of the century. So, what should we expect? There’s going to be a great effort to change the subject. What’s Hunter Biden been up to? Or Hilary? Surely they’ve done something way worse than smear feces on the wall of a federal building in an effort to overturn a free and fair election. There’s a real concern that arresting those responsible will result in civil unrest. Yet, there has to be accountability. We are a nation of laws… …we’ve heard that since we were kids… So, let it all play out. Arrest t...

Sunday mornings are for peace and quiet reflection of the Lord’s gifts. I used to spend that time in church, but lost a lot of my interest in that due to what the church allowed to happen for a whole lot of years. But that’s not to say that I no longer pray or believe in paying homage. I do it out in nature with a long walk that is interrupted by 87-95 swings of a club. 3 or 4 times a round I will stop and look up, and say ‘Hello’ to lost loved ones. I try not to swear too much when I’m on my relaxing nature walk, and I’m usually with a good buddy or three. This week, there were just two of us, and we weren’t at our usual course, but the place wasn’t overly crowded. We waited on the first tee until the 4-guys in front of us were on the green so that we didn’t have to wait for them before we took every shot. Turns out we had to wait on them before we took every shot because they were lining up putts like they were playing in a major. “They think they’re on T.V.,” Pops said. They’d drop ...

Yesterday was the 38th anniversary of the release of ‘Born in the U.S.A.’ That was a record that we listened to so much in that first year that I basically cringe when in hear a song from it. We wore that record out! Yet, we were watching ‘Stranger Things’ and the first episode of season 3 was a blast from the soundtrack of those days. Corey Hart with ‘Never Surrender’. The Stray Cats with the ‘Stray Cat Strut’. The Cars with ‘Moving in Stereo.’ All songs that I know every word to… …which is crazy because they are songs that I haven’t heard in decades! How does one remember the lyrics…immediately…as soon as the song starts playing? And of course, I sound like an old bastard when I talk about how music, back in my day, was way better than anything that is being made now. As for ‘Born in the U.S.A.’ it is actually a pretty down record, lyrically, that was made into a rock album because of the happy music of the E-Street Band. The song, ‘Born in the U.S.A. is a major protest song that det...

Customer service is an absolute disaster. Started my day with an email from a client. “What’s wrong with your email? I’m trying to send you the schedule.” I panicked. Then a text: “Dude! Your emails are bouncing back.” It was pretty early. My IT department (Kathy) wasn’t awake yet. So, I bit the bullet and called my internet provider, Spectrum. I got the automated voice and did that dance, all the whole screaming: “REPRESENTATIVE!” Before I was put on hold they told me that following the call I had the opportunity to fill out a survey to explain how wonderful they were. Then I was put on hold with a wait time of 35 to 47 minutes. Or I could get a call back. I voted for the call back. It came about 49 minutes later. Automated voice with an instruction to hit one if I wanted English. I hit one. Nothing happened. Then the voice asked me to hit one if I wanted English. I hit one. “We could not hear your response. We will try again later.” The voice was gone. 20 minutes later they called ag...

I didn’t watch a second of the Amber Heard and Johnny Depp trial. I take that back: I saw one clip that was pretty funny. The thing is, there isn’t much more boring to me than hearing about someone else’s relationship. Or their problems. Especially rich people. Every once in awhile some guy on the site will bitch about their wife and I can barely listen. “Good luck with that,” is my usual response, Yet, I’m in the minority, evidently.  That trial was widely viewed. Now, Depp is a good actor. I’ve enjoyed his work, but didn’t he drag his own name through the mud? He was trying to sue for defamation because he was trying to clear his name, but he opened the door to show the world that he had huge problems with addiction, spending money and emotional baggage. Amber Heard? I don’t know much about her other than she doesn’t appear to be a day at the beach. Physical abuse? Mental anguish? Millions wasted? Ah well.  I hope that people were entertained. 🥱 🥱 🥱 🥱  (Did I make y...

I definitely felt this one. Especially after reading about another shooting in Tulsa. I told my boy the other day that life wasn’t always this way, and that when I was a young man life seemed a lot more peaceful and that the nation seemed to be a much less violent place. Is life 50% garbage? I’d like to think not, but it’s pretty hard to feel like it’s all sunshine and rainbows. Hopefully it evens out, and there is peace again for the coming generation. They deserve it. My boy is 21. 9/11 A pandemic. Shooting after shooting after shooting. It’s going to turn… …right?  

Been hearing an awful lot about what God wants. Those who are bending themselves into pretzels to pretend that guns aren’t a problem at all are spewing out beliefs that they have formulated on their own by cherry picking Bible verses. Meanwhile, back in the real world there are facts that should not be disputed. 1). More people don’t commit murders with hammers than guns. Those stats are readily available. Hammers are below handguns, rifles and high-caliber weapons of war on the murder charts. 2). We didn’t take God out of schools in the last 22 years as shootings became a thing. The separation between church and state goes back all the way to 1776 when those who established the guidelines for freedom decided that all Americans would be free to practice their own religion and that there would not be a set God in America. Amazes me that there are people who are intent on ignoring the entire reason why the hell we left England and fought for independence. It was to keep it all separate! ...