Thoughts of a Common Man

I always enjoyed Richard Lewis as a comedian - particularly when he was trading barbs with Larry David on ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm.’ The two men were lifelong friends and that’s exactly what they played on the show.  The show isn’t tightly scripted so a lot of their banter was off the cuff and was hilarious because they were definitely trying to make one another laugh. Lewis’ health was certainly slipping in recent years and there were plenty of episodes where he didn’t look good… …but I was still a little surprised when news broke that he passed and of course, the tributes poured in. All saying the same sort of thing: A nice man who also happened to be funny. And I immediately thought of a scene between Lewis and David where Larry criticizing his always black attire. “You’re depressing,” Larry said. “When are you going to die?” Larry David laughs as he delivers the line and it also appears that Lewis is about to break up. The scene seems weird now… …Lewis also told David, on the show...

I checked the temperature when I got to my car yesterday morning. 39 degrees. I was wearing a hoodie and had my high-visibility coat in the back seat. By the time I got to the first job I glanced at the temp again. 54 degrees. I slipped on the coat and headed out. Halfway through the inspection I knew that the hoodie had to go. By 10:30 in the morning I noticed that the outside temperature was up to 62 degrees. In Buffalo. In February!! By 2:00, I heard the news that 68 degrees set the all-time record, but there were dark clouds rolling in. By the time I made it home there were loud thunderstorms in the area and Ollie’s game was called on account of rain. They’re saying that Wednesday will bring 60 mph winds, a drop in temperature of about 30 degrees in an hour’s time, and the possibility of heavy snow - south of the city. And we have a tee time scheduled for Sunday! It’s supposed to be 64 degrees when we tee off. I always travel with extra clothes in my vehicle because I never know wh...

A North Carolina pastor made the news this weekend for his stance on women and rape. I don’t even know the guy’s name and I’m not about to look it up, but he said that if a woman were in shorts and had the misfortune of being raped that he’d have a tough time convicting the rapist because of the shorts! ‘Men will be men,’ was his point. Are you freaking kidding me??? Women can’t wear shorts because men can’t control their animal impulses? The guy was rightfully shamed and he issued an apology, telling us how sad he is about his poor choice of words. That guy may not even win the worst comment of the week. Oklahoma Senator Tom Woods weighed in on the beating death of a 16-year-old transgender human being in a bullying incident. Woods explained that they didn’t want transgender filth in their Christian state. A child died. This dude, as a so-called representative of Christ, decides that the victim was ‘filth.’ The language of these men is reprehensible and what really gets to me is that ...

Was a good day to just relax and watch the idiot box. There are a million and one choices, and I found one with Kevin Hart that looked all right - he was a criminal mastermind who worked out a gigantic heist. It was all right, but then we were offered a choice of a couple of others. Kathy likes the coming of age movies of young girls, and there was one called ‘Mosaic’ that was produced by Amy Pohler. A true chick flick, and you know what?  It was really good!  But then the big move: A new one popped up, ‘A Friend’s Obsession.’ A great genre! I d ont want to spoil the plot, but a Tech nerd who lives with his ‘Momma’ falls in love with a beautiful woman he works with. Problem is, she has a fiancé. The stalker solves that problem for her… …and we’re off to the races! “Love these movies,” I said. “So bad that it’s great.” And we were calling out all the bad stuff that was going to happen as the poor girl’s world went to shit. One bad decision after another. All the cliches that lo...

My boys like to send me newer music, in an effort to broaden my horizons, I guess. They’re also looking for me to agree with their choices, and from time to time, I will ask them to recommend stuff. That’s how I came up with a few Taylor Swift songs. I also recall watching a Dire Straits show with my Dad, and was thrilled when he mentioned that Mark Knopfler was a supremely talented guitarist. Yet, in an effort to be where my feet are, I drove back from my Mom’s thinking about nothing other than the songs that played for me - courtesy of the list provided by my cell phone. I marveled at the unbelievable voice of Pat Benatar as she did ‘Promises in the Dark’ from the early 80’s. Her voice is like a musical instrument. The song gave way to ‘Moving in Stereo’ off the debut album from The Cars. That record was a straight up masterpiece and it transported me back in time to the summer between 7th and 8th grade. I was at the high school baseball field and I talked about it with a couple of c...

We watch all the true crime shows: Dateline, 48 Hours, Deadly Women, Deadly Men, and on and on and on. Saturday Night Live did a skit about women watching the murder shows, and when I’m talking to guys about their wives viewing habits, we all laugh: “My wife watches them too!” The story always starts with the crime, and then they speak to those who loved the victim. “She was so giving. She loved life and would help anyone without even looking for anything in return. Everyone loved her.” I always say the same thing: “Not everyone!” And I suppose that death - especially one so violent - results in people who knew you forces them to say really nice things. “Imagine if Keith Morrison asked what kind of woman she was and someone says, ‘Oh, she was an asshole! I can’t believe she wasn’t murdered 10 years ago!” Kathy will shush me. Watching murder shows is serious business. And, of course, part two fills us in on why the sainted person was found dead. “She was having an affair, but she was ab...

I didn’t even know we were headed to the moon again. I was also surprised that it was the first moon landing by the United States since 1972. Don’t we have anything we need to do up there? There was quite a bit of news yesterday, actually. CPAC returned and a guy named Jack Prosibec announced that they were going to continue to work on ending the Democracy.  That’s quite the mission statement! Not to be outdone it was explained that the impeachment of Biden would continue even though the proof they had was fabricated, came from Russia, and the guy who provided it, was arrested.  Twice. There has been a whole bunch of Russia talk again. Seems that Mike Johnson - the speaker who came out of nowhere - was funded by Russia. We all know that the GOP front runner loves Putin and has promised to allow him to wipe out American allies… …when? When will the party just step up and admit that they aren’t working for America anymore? They’ve done everything but put out an ad in every newsp...

I saw the score of the NBA All-Star game. 211-185 Yeah! A basketball game with 211 points. There were highlights, of course… …guys dribbling down and shooting bombs. The MVP, Dame Lilliard pulled up, at half court, and drilled a shot. It wasn’t because time was running out. He just felt like shooting from there. And have you seen Caitlin Clark, the great woman’s basketball player? She can score from anywhere on the court. The game has certainly changed ever since Steph Curry joined the NBA. There are clips of him practicing his shot from the other side of half court and in the seats. Kids are now pulling up and shooting NBA 3’s - the kids are about ten years old! I don’t think the NBA is entertaining anymore. When I was a kid it was easily my favorite sport because Buffalo had a good team and one of the best players in the league in Bob McAdoo. (I was also a big fan of Ernie D.) Dad took us to a lot of games and my favorite ever sporting event - I saw Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West and t...

I was driving my son somewhere and the commercial from a true patriot came over the airwaves on Sirius. “They have left a lot of hints. Something dangerous is coming. Are you prepared?” “What’s coming?” Sam asked. “Not sure but it’s going to be devastating,” I said. The commercial continued by saying that when the shit hits the fan, you’re going to need something to eat. Sam laughed. “They’re selling food?” “Oh yeah, so you can stay in your basement until it’s safe to come out again.” The announcer explained all that would be included in the box of pre-packaged food that one would need to survive Armageddon. “I think I’d rather go up in the mushroom cloud,” Sam said. “Exactly,” I said. And I thought about the people who might send off a check for a box of food that they could store in their basement until the government came to destroy us all. Because no mistake there are thousands upon thousands who are in the middle of preparing for the coming storm. There are still others who have c...

I’ve been paying more attention to the company emails. In the past few months I’ve figured out that there are holidays that I’ve missed completely through the years. So, everyone in my company was enjoying a day off, as I cluelessly worked right through and then wondered why we didn’t get mail. “The office is closed on Monday.” Saw that email on Friday. Problem being that I had already scheduled a session for Tuesday that required me to leave on the day off! I woke up lost! “May as well just go to work,” I thought. The little guy on the other shoulder said: “You’re off! Relax before you go!” I blame the nuns, or my parents, or my wife, or my kids… …someone! Because I feel guilty when I don’t go, go, go! I compromised: Did some paperwork, played catch with Ollie, took a long while to drink coffee, and went over my course content. A half-assed holiday that I used to completely ignore. Where’s the mail?

Two Minnesota cops and a paramedic were shot to death over the weekend as they tended to a domestic dispute. The news story that I read about it had the headline: “Thoughts and prayers for Minnesota families.” We had the shootings at the Super Bowl parade. A young woman lost her life. Social media was filled with people commenting about how fervently they were all ‘thinking and praying’. Color me skeptical, but I don’t think all that praying is going on, and we sure the hell ain’t thinking much or we may have made some headway to stop the mass shootings. John Mellencamp put out a statement over the weekend saying that perhaps it’s time to show the carnage. Of course, Mellencamp doesn’t want to see the result of the shootings, but he has a point in that it has become way too easy to slap a ‘Thoughts and Prayers’ message on it and then move on… …and wait for the next one. I’ve done my fair share of praying through the years, particularly when I was a child and missing a prayer before I w...

Like all Americans it’s been painful to buy groceries since Covid times. It’s crazy, for sure. A couple of bags will run over $100. There’s simply no denying it, but it’s also become a little ridiculous because what most people don’t realize is that it’s a calculated endeavor. There are about five companies who hold a virtual monopoly on products we all need. Remember the egg fiasco? All of a sudden a dozen eggs were three or four times their usual price. That was a plan! And make no mistake, it is corporate greed that is driving the high costs we all feel.  Record profits are being raked in and we’re all paying the price. Which brings me to a totally nonsensical piece I had the great displeasure of watching, courtesy of Tucker Carlson. Yeah. Tucker, who sat down with Putin, and slobbered all over the murderous dictator, decided that he was going to show Americans how great life is in Russia. Tucker went grocery shopping in Russia. The clip starts with him putting a coin in the slo...

Okay, let’s see: 1). Guilty of sexual assault. 2). Guilty of Fraud for Trump University (years ago). 3). Guilty of financial crimes - mainly fraud - yesterday. He and his sons are banned from working as directors or applying for loans in New York State. 4). All those bankruptcies from years ago. 5). Upcoming trial on stealing classified documents. 6). Upcoming trial on insurrection against the United States of America. 7). Said that if Russia were to attack a NATO ally (and he didn’t feel like they paid enough) he’d tell Russia to do ‘whatever the hell they want.’ Phew… …tough decision because: 1). Joe is old. I don’t know why I did it to myself, but I went on a bit of a hunt to see how his ‘cult’ would defend their huge, orange god. “Judge and prosecutor are crooked!” “It’s a witch hunt!” “Jack Smith is deranged.” “Joe Biden is the leader of a crime family.”  (While also suffering from dementia that leaves him u able to remember his name). STOP THIS!!! Why is anyone still pretendi...

I’ve been a visitor to Kansas City at least 30 times in the last dozen or so years. I’ve watched Royals games, devoured barbecue, and driven all over the state, as well as through Kansas. I’ve particularly enjoyed spending time in Olathe, Wichita and Topeka along with Kansas City, Missouri. My heart sunk when I read about the mass shooting. I’m familiar with the parade route - I’ve been down those streets. Heaven knows how many people will suffer because of the actions of those madmen. Certainly thousands more than those who were shot. Those kids. Shot as they lined up to watch their heroes float on by. The faces of the dead flashing on the news, their lives deemed disposable by those who fail to take action. Their deaths will have no meaning to anyone making the rules. Thoughts and prayers. The Missouri governor is a wild proponent of gun rights. The gun laws are virtually nonexistent. The governor was spotted running away in fear… …there were good guys with guns. The bad guys were ta...

You’d think I’d be nice and relaxed after my little golf trip. Think again. I was on the way home from the airport when Kathy told me about Jake needing a wheel bearing for his vehicle. He’d be without a car on Tuesday. Cut to Tuesday night.  He asked to borrow my car so they could go play basketball. I tossed him the keys. Ten minutes later, Kathy said: “Your car has a flat.” I pick up nails on construction sites. “No big deal,” I said. Headed out at 8 p.m. with the air compressor and the idea to get enough air in it to get it home. Tire wouldn’t take air. I looked for a nail. Meanwhile, the boys jumped in the other vehicle and headed for home. I decided that I was too tired and sore to change the tire. They came and picked me up. “I’ll get it tomorrow. It’s in a parking lot.” Instead of going in the morning, I headed out in the Jeep that has 220,000 miles and no radio.  No one else had a car. I also had a full schedule. Finished up site visits at 3:30 and headed to the lot w...

So, Travis Kelce is being compared to Charlie Manson for running up on Andy Reid and yelling. Word is Kelce wanted to stay in the game and he took out his frustrations by raising his voice to make his point with his long-time coach. When I saw it happen during the game I shrugged it off. Turns out it’s way worse than I thought! “Taylor needs to get away from him if that’s how he handles frustration!” As stated by a Swifty. “He needs to apologize to every kid in America,” said another woman. “The kids are watching and they imitate their heroes.” As with everything else these days, those opinions may be an overreaction. I certainly grew up in a more vocal time. I had bosses and coaches and priests and nuns who spent a lot of time yelling at me. My Dad certainly voiced his frustrations in a loud manner. Believe it or not, I’ve been known to raise my voice from time to time. I get the argument that a point can be made in a calm way, but sometimes people need to vent! Kelce and Reid played ...

The GOP frontrunner for the 2024 election stated that if NATO members were attacked, and he didn’t feel as if they paid enough, he’d let “Russia do whatever the hell they want.” That’s insane. Disqualifying. Yet, you know what has his ‘fans’ in a tizzy? Not that Russia has free reign to attack our allies… …but that Taylor Swift spent 54 seconds on the screen during the Super Bowl. Fascinating! I’m certain that if there was a poll in the MAGA world that Swift would be seen as a bigger threat to the American way of life than the guy who continually trashes the country, the soldiers… …openly roots for a terrorist attack…and a stock market collapse. Can someone explain it to me? The people who quit watching football because a black man knelt during the anthem are now quitting again because a pop star goes to the game? Because she spoke out for Women’s rights? This timeline is truly an absolute mess. During the game Kelce caught a pass in an important moment. “How is he open!” Twitter explo...

My final day on my little break was to include a party to watch the Super Bowl. Didn’t quite work out as it wasn’t all perfect this year. A stomach bug went around the group. Each morning, a different guy woke up feeling queasy. I was in the healthy group… …which was down to four by the time the party rolled around. So, instead of dragging guys who were a little green around the gills to the club for the party we stayed in together to watch the game. We were thoroughly entertained by a board we put together that paid a mere $40 a quarter (we all put in $20 and had 12 squares). The same big dope - Joe - who also stayed healthy - won 3 of the quarters. He and I were rooting solely for Taylor Swift (although I was also extremely impressed with Blake Lively as well). As for the game? I never once believed that the 49ers would win. I like them and all, but Mahomes-Kelce-Reid are the new Brady-Gronk-Hoodie. Never in doubt, and while a lot of people hate such dominance I kind of enjoy watchin...

 Of course I’m awake early on my little 4-day break from reality, but the agenda is fairly simple. Hot tub, brunch at the club, a round of golf, a drink or two, dinner, sit around with friends I’ve known for more than 30 years, laugh and sleep. Do the same exact thing the next day. And the golf has been uneven, and all of our bodies seem to stiffen up a little more each day. Tomorrow’s final round will be a challenge. Yet, I was front and center last night as I made the pasta as I’ve done each year. The sauce turned out great, and I was able to enjoy my favorite part of the trip when we all sat around the table… …stuffed to the gills and laughing about glory days, sports, who missed what shot, and our aches and pains. Tomorrow we will also throw in the Super Bowl party and then we work our way back home. “We have a great group of friends,” Tony said. “It’s important we keep doing this as long as we can because some day.” His voice trailed off. “Think of how fast it’s gone,” he said...

We had round 2 yesterday and spiced it up (which we never do) with a $20 three-putt rule. Simply, everyone takes out a $20. We did it that the oldest guy held it first - as soon as he three-putts he passes the money to the next guy. Whoever is holding the money at the end gets to keep it. Makes for some pressure and a few laughs. We ran mock interviews of guys who had pressure putts. I was the youngest guy in my group so it took me until hole 7 to get the money. I was determined to keep it…and bash them over the head with it after every made putt. (Game also teaches you to concentrate on your putts). I have Chippy! Stroke only counts if you are using your putter, so I held that money through the turn and onto the green at 13. I putt my 4th shot on the par 5 within 8’ - easy! First putt was for par. Ran it 3’ past. Big deal - 3’ for the win and to hold the money. Yeah - you guessed it. I ran a 3’ all the way around the hole. And out! “Man, I don’t even want to win now,” my buddy Tom sai...

As I write this on Friday morning I can hear my back breathing! Flight left first thing yesterday and so I was up by four and trying to snore between two perfectly nice, but sorta’ chatty women. We arrived and immediately received a text to ‘go straight to the course’ as there wasn’t time to hit the house for lunch or to change clothes anywhere other than the parking lot. An hour off the plane, I was at the driving range, trying to work out the kinks. There were kinks!!! As I listened to Joe explain how good his omelet was, I sipped a water at the first tee. “Hit a decent first drive,” I chided myself (Hi Kim). And I did! A medium length drive that hugged the left side of the fairway. (Joe went over the trees and flirted with a car that was coming down the road as we all yelled, “Hit it!”) And we were off! I drove it well on 15 or 16 of 18. Hit some lousy fairway shots, some horrendous chips, lagged some putts, and considered that: “I’m starving,” as I heard every detail of Joe’s brunc...

Loved the Grammy performance as Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs sang her unbelievable song, ‘Fast Car.’ Tracy’s version went back to number 1 - 36 years after the original release. I couldn’t be happier for her because she is an unbelievable writer and artist. What’s funny is that I have been a Tracy Chapman fan since the 80’s and have never stopped listening to her, but now my sons know how awesome she is. Thing is, I read a few criticisms of her ‘stealing the spotlight’ from Luke Combs!!! A GOP dope said that her being there was an attack on a successful, straight, white male! She wrote the song!!! Anyway, I am thrilled that she is back in the public eye- people need to go and check out more than just ‘Fast Car.’ ‘Subcity’ is an amazing song. So is ‘Sing For You’, ‘Revolution’, ‘Baby Can I Hold You’…. …and on and on and on. Her debut album is as good as any first album I’ve ever heard. In fact, I played the entire record on a jukebox in a bar, back in 1988, in New Haven, Ct. The bartend...

I’ve been doing construction safety for a lot of years. I’ve also been speaking in front of people since college. There’s one rule that all my clients and all their employees know: “I eat first.” I showed up mid-morning for my gig yesterday and the nervous host said: “You may go on at 12:30, but if one of the speakers doesn’t show I may need you to fill a half an hour before.” “Whatever.” “What do you need set up?” “Nothing.” “How about the audio-visual if you have to go on early?” “Don’t worry about it?” “You just gonna’ stand up and talk without notes?” He asked. “Get away from me,” I said. He laughed. And that was what I did. For well over three hours. They were in the palm of my hand and I watched them laughing, and I had one thought, over and over again. “Damn! I’ve been doing this a long time.” I picked on guys in the audience, told stories about my wife and kids, made fun of Taylor Swift and the Bills, laughed along with guys who joined in and told their own stories, and the tim...

This is training season… …which can be a tad overwhelming because I still get asked to, and accept way too many events. I have two scheduled for this week which makes life difficult because this is also: GOLF ⛳️ WEEK! My great work friends get together for what is always the best… Golf, drinks, hot tub, ready for more golf. So, I will spend 3 days totally stressed with too much work, and then I’m going to stand at the tee, take a deep breath, listen to my buddy Joe tell me that I’m going to slice it into the water on the right side… …and if it’s last year… …I’ll slice it into the water. Two years ago, I parred the first hole and then rolled one in - with Chippy - for a birdie… …and I listened to my buddy Tom yell and say he was going to go home because I wasn’t going to shut up about it for 4 days. (I didn’t). And I’m a tad stressed going into it, but will do my best to break down into relaxation mode. Yet, I also worry about leaving town as I do a whole bunch of things around here. “W...

It’s amazing, but a trip through Twitter or any other social media site will result in some crazy stories. Things that just aren’t true. What’s worse is that eventually you’ll hear those crazy things out in the real world. It made me think about a whole bunch of things that need to be debunked. 1). Michelle Obama is not a man. It’s truly incredible but this one is all over the place. The vicious, idiotic people who spread this one are so amused in calling her ‘Mike.’ So dumb. 2). A president is not allowed to ignore laws, the Supreme Court and the constitution. This one is scary because there’s a whole bunch of people - even ones who’ve studied American History - who are now claiming that a president can do anything he wants and never face charges, or be found guilty. If these idiots who are misrepresenting have their way - the democracy will be over. They know that.  Starting to think that’s the idea. 3). Comforting your grandson at his father’s funeral is not pedophilia. There’s ...

Today is the day I go to the funeral for my friend, Dave. Yesterday was a sad day because after a site visit I had a quick passing thought that brought Dave to mind. Thought about calling him… …and a huge wave of sadness gripped me. “He’s not here anymore,” I thought, and then my stupid mind took me through a Rolodex of construction guys who are no longer here anymore. Budman, Kensey, Ed Rose, Mike Cam, Joe Black, Irsay… …all really solid dudes. They were guys who shared the trenches with me. We shared a whole bunch of laughs, told each other stories, watched our kids grow up. The thing about it is that I also considered a lot of the jobs  that we battled through. Those places are built. Those guys were major participants in the completion of the job. Left their mark, which is all fine and dandy… …but they aren’t here! I’ve always believed that people stay alive in the hearts and minds of those they’ve left behind… …so they’re ’kind of’ still here. Yet, the down moment lingered all...

It’s funny, but I can’t imagine going to sleep at night without first reading from a book. I’m definitely the only one in this home doing such a thing. I go up to bed a good 45-minutes before I go to sleep, and on the very good days I’m reading something that I think about during the day, and I can’t wait for that moment when I pick up the book. My love affair with reading started way back in 2nd grade and I believe that I’ve read every night with the exception of about 30 nights in my life. There are nights when I fall asleep holding the book, and it’s with great respect for the book - I hardly ever drop it. I often wake and finish the chapter and then shut it down. I have 4 filled bookcases in my room and at least 4 other filled bookcases in other rooms in the house. “We have to do something with some of the books,” Kathy said a few months back. (I don’t know why! They’re just sitting there). “I’ll try,” I said.  Then I looked through one bookcase, and there wasn’t a single book ...

The sports betting thing is crazy to me. I’ve never once put $ on a game through one of the betting sites even though I get a lot of emails offering me free money to bet with. We do have a couple of people who enjoy betting on certain things. Last week, Kathy said: “I bet $10 with the chance to win $150. Here’s what has to happen….” Then she listed six different wagers on everything from the over to how many yards the starting QB would throw for and who might score the first touchdown. She was spitting out facts about Christian McCaffery. During the game she was telling me that the 49ers were “plus two-fifty” when they were down. “I have no idea what that means,” I said. A little while later, her and Sam were going over all of it, and Sam gave her some of his insight.  Kathy actually won the bet. I did mention, at one point, that gambling was akin to giving away your hard-earned money and hoping it comes back. “It’s $10 dollars!” There are people out there betting so much more....