Thoughts of a Common Man

Harvest Hill golf course is one of my favorite places on Earth. I feel comfortable there, checking the sight lines from the first tee. I often take deep breaths and long looks around. We set a tee time for 11:30 on Sunday morning and the weather app told us that we’d be able to play the round as rain wasn’t expected until around 5;00. Best laid plans. I hit that first tee down the middle. In fact, most were true shots despite not playing for close to two months. The putter was another story… …but I went from being happy and free to wet, cold and filthy inside of twenty minutes. The rain was steady. The club turned in my hand on 9, and on 10, I made horrible decision to look for golf balls near the stream. My left foot went in to the top of my sock. I didn’t have a windbreaker so the constant rain turned my shirt and my shorts into a bathing suit. And still we tried to make par on greens that were slowed down considerably. I grabbed the nearest towel and wiped off my spikes. “You moron!

Kristi Noem is a a governor in South Dakota. She’s trying to sell a book and word is that she wants to be a candidate for Vice-President for the most vile American ever so she put a story in the book about shooting an 18-month old puppy because it was: “Untrainable.” It’s a story that went viral because people lined up to tell her what a disgusting human being she is. So, exactly what she was looking to do. The sad part is that the story is most likely true, but to brag about it to pretend that you aren’t ‘woke’ is vile. Dogs are the purest form of love that we have in this world. We’ve had a lot of dogs through the years and there isn’t one that I felt wasn’t the best boy. What could a dog possibly do to be shot in the face by a human? Even if this was a dog that was aggressive… …there are ways to put an animal down. Yet, if I know anything about the new GOP and their rabid fans, they will lean into the story and the back and forth will explain to us ‘woke libtards’ why cruelty is awe

I guess that one of the cool things about the winter is that you feel a little rejuvenated by the first cleanup of the yard every spring. We bought a new mower! Of course, I was worried about being able to get it up and running as it comes in a big box. Yet, on Thursday I mentioned that we needed to get a mower and get it operational by Friday afternoon because we were on the verge of having our neighbors get a petition together to throw us out of the ‘hood. A credit card and a phone can get almost anything to the front door these days. “Ordered the mower,” Kathy said. “It’ll fit into the back of the SUV.” An hour later, it was here, and I opened the box and unfolded it. I’ll spare you the angst, but I did get it started and it felt good to mow the meadow. Then the weed-whacking, and the heavy sighs because of the garage full of furniture and discarded appliances and two shot mowers. I pulled out the tables and chairs, raked a few leaves, moved some of the garage crap around, wondering

It was hard to believe that the Supreme Court was going to take up the case regarding whether or not a president is above the law. It’s a ridiculous notion that a man could, oh, I don’t know, initiate a coup that would threaten the very democracy and that he wouldn’t have to answer for it. But they took up the case. Well, the argument is so ridiculous at its base that I didn’t worry about it too much, after all, of a president could do whatever he wanted without fear of prosecution than the current president could simply eliminate his opponent and continue to serve as long as he wants. Of course, the current president wouldn’t do such a thing because we are supposed to be a nation of laws, and we have always held our leaders accountable. Now I’m worried. Because this court appears to be absolutely corrupt and it appears that they’re fully owned by the Christian right wing nut jobs and big business. They could actually rule in favor of complete immunity for a man who has 91 freaking fel

I was flipping around on the MLB app and saw that the Angels-Orioles game was a one-run affair in the bottom of the 9th. I clicked over to it just in time to see an Angels play try to steal second to get into scoring position.  He looked safe, but was called out. There was a replay review and they put the play on the Jumbotron at the stadium and the home team roared because it truly showed the runner to be safe. They didn’t - for some reason - despite clear proof - overturn the call and the game ended. “Horrible!” I called out. Yesterday, Aaron Boone was thrown out of a game because a fan was yelling at the ump. “I didn’t say anything!” Boone argued. “I don’t care who said it;” the ump said. After the game, despite video evidence that Boone didn’t say a word, the ump stuck to his story. After the Lakers lost the other night, resident crybaby Flopster James, went on a rampage against the refs for missing a foul call. It didn’t matter that the Lakers had blown a 20-point lead, or that Ja

This last month has seemed like one long day. Grey, greyer and greyest. The golf balls sitting, untouched in my car. I can’t even tell them when they might get hit. 45 degrees flashing at me. How do you turn off the outside temperature gauge, and of course, the busted mower kept me from cutting the grass and now my neighbors are watching a field pop up around my house. They’re probably wondering if we abandoned the joint. I on ow it’s going to break here soon, but what if it doesn’t? We watched the True Detective with Jodi Foster and they were in the darkness for weeks… …maybe they should’ve just filmed it in WNY in April. Let’s go!!!! Had enough.

I tried to mow the lawn. The mower stopped working after I made two healthy swipes across my front yard. I know one thing about fixing a mower: I checked the gas. There was plenty. Not to fear!  I have a second mower. That one didn’t start either, and it too had gas. “We need a new mower,” Kathy said. Which was painfully evident, but I wasn’t about to go buy one that very minute… …so I went to the weed whacker, but that wasn’t going to get done either as my sons had unplugged the charger so that they could charge their phones. My next door neighbor, meanwhile, mowed her lawn, so now my uncut yard looks even worse… …couple that with Ollie Stadium being an absolute disaster as he: 1). Collects sticks and makes a pile of them 2). He’s worn out the grass making a virtual infield 3). He takes a lot of dumps 4). There are leaves and balls scattered about. What a mess! I went to the garage. It’s filled with junk… …a hot tub that needs to be destroyed and hauled off… …the old refrigerator… …fu

We watched a movie on Saturday night about a man, about my age, who was suffering with Alzheimer’s. Early on, he is speaking with a woman and he asks her if he can take a break for a moment so he can write down what she said so he can remember. Made my heart hurt because Kathy’s Mom lost her ability to remember the days of her life, and my Mom has certainly been battling it. My Grandfather, Clifford, died young, by today’s standards, and he certainly didn’t recall much about what was happening on any given day, although he would tell me stories about growing up. It’s an amazing, confounding, sad, horrific affliction, and I say, ‘amazing’ because while it removes all the good memories, it also takes away the earth-shattering memories of heartbreak and despair. I’ve been blessed with a pretty good memory. I have recall of conversations that I had about 50 years ago. I remember all the shots of the last round of golf that I played, and I last played at the beginning of March! When someone

I had fresh Italian sausage for dinner last night… Me, my brother and a couple of buddies (Scott & Daryl) cut up, ground, mixed and stuffed 120 pounds of sausage. I appreciate being there every time because it’s one tradition that has endured for decades. The recipe was Grandpa Fuzzy’s. He passed it to Dad and then on to Jim. It always starts the same way: “How’s your supply?” Jim will ask. “Been out for a while.” This time, Scott did a lot of the leg work, picking up what we needed and getting it all to Jim’s where the equipment is there waiting. “7:30 start,” Jim texted, “Saturday morning.” I was late, and got the text as I made my way. “Let’s go!” And we all know our jobs. I pack and label the bags and clean the dishes. Jim and Scott stuff and Daryl helped me with the packaging and working with the casings. We all do a hit from the bottle of Anisette before we get started and that’s in honor of Dad… …he definitely started that tradition. Not only is the sausage perfect every tim

They really should be televising the court case. For the 3rd time in 4 days the defendant fell asleep during the trial. There are reports going around that the courtroom was cleared by the defendant farting in his sleep. Your GOP presidential candidate, ladies and gentlemen! The sad part about the news of the day is that you really can’t be sure what is true and what might be exaggerated. Yet, this particular story? Most certainly sounds true. There was a clip of a meeting in the White House where poor Diane Feinstein was seated next to Donny Dumps in his Depends and the microphone picked up the sound. A split-second later, Feinstein, who wasn’t really all there at that point in her career, turns and flashes a look of pure disgust. As the courtroom drama of the day ended, the defendant stepped in front of the microphone and made the case for lifting the gag order so that he could attack the jurors, I guess. Those poor jurors are in some serious trouble. Their names haven’t been release

The anticipation builds for weeks as the date of the show gets closer. Then there’s the buzz as the arena begins to fill.  Everyone is sort of eerily quiet as people talk about the number of times they’ve seen the band and where.  When we find someone in the gathering who’s never been, we gang up and say, ‘Just wait and see!’ There’s never an opening act. No need for one. We all know what’s coming. The lights dim, and the quiet is gone as people start cheering and chanting, “Bruuuuuucccceeee!” Then the band comes up the stairs. Nils and Garry. Sister Suzie and Max and Jake, then Patti and Steven (who gets a cheer). In the old days, Clarence’s appearance would bring a roar. Then the buzz begins again… …Bruce comes up the stairs and there’s a huge roar. “Good evening, Buffalo, or Rochester or Albany or Syracuse!” Then just a “One, two, three, four!” And we’re off. One song into the next, Bruce pouring every ounce of energy into every word. The band just warming up, never missing a note.

I don’t like listening to baseball talk after a Yankees loss - they had lost a couple in a row - I had no intention of listening to the doomsday talk… …so I went to music and shuffled my 2,000 songs, not looking at what was coming up. I heard the first note of Mellencamp’s ‘Minutes to Memories’ and checked to make sure I was on cruise control because I got two speeding tickets to my name listening to that particular song. I then turned it up to the max. “Days turn to minutes and minutes to memories, life sweeps away the dreams that we had planned, you are young and you are the future, so suck it up, and tough it out, and be the best you can.” If that’s not enough he screams the closing verse: “Another hot one out on highway 11, this is my life and what I’ve chosen to do. There’s no free rides, no one said it’d be easy, and my old man told me this, my son, I’m telling it to you… …days turn to minutes and minutes to memories. Life sweeps away the dreams that we had planned. You are young

Just amazing that there is anyone, anyone at all thinking about voting for Don Snoreleone. Not only has he fallen asleep at his criminal trial for using campaign funds to try and silence the porn star that he had a fling with when his wife was home with their newborn… …but he showed up in Pennsylvania this past weekend and did a talk about the Battle of Gettysburg. It’s an incredible clip as he says that it was amazing, horrible, bloody, intense, beautiful and great. He then breaks into an imitation of Robert E. Lee telling people that they shouldn’t ’Fight uphill me,’ sounding a little like the Lucky Charms leprechaun. It’s astounding. It reminded me of a 8th grade Social Studies class where you had to get up there and tell your classmates about the battle. He has absolutely zero clue as to what happened and I believe that he only told the story so he could defend Robert E. Lee who, ‘have you noticed has fallen out of favor a little bit.’ Yeah… …cause of that racism bullshit that Donn

As a Yankees fan I was sad to hear that legendary broadcaster John Sterling is immediately retiring. “Theeeeee Yankeeeeeeesssss Wiiiiiiiinnnnn!” Is the best call ever. I use that all the time.  He also had some absolutely great home run calls  “An A-bomb from A-Rod!” “Bernie goes boom!” There are hundreds more, and I even enjoyed his banter with Suzyan Waldman during the slow moments. Sterling was born on the 4th of July - same as Uncle George. He, of course, was a true homer and he was even worth a laugh now and again when he would start his home run call while the outfielder was standing under the ball making the catch. Sterling is 85-years old. Father Time is undefeated, but man, he could call a Yankees win, and he certainly knew the game. It’s funny, but I grew up listening to Scooter and Frank White and they were the best. It has transitioned to Michael Kay and Paul O’Neill and I enjoy them too… …but John Sterling will be missed. “Theeeeeee Yankeeeeeeesssssss Wiiiiinnnnn!

Every once in a while I’ll have golf on television and my wife will say: “Are you kidding me? We’re watching this?” Actually playing golf feels like it’s about 3 more months away - the high for next weekend is like 49 degrees. So watching a little of the Masters was fun for a minute. And I’m going to miss Verne Lundquist who was a great announcer - he did his last Masters. We’re losing our beloved announcers as they age out. Al Michaels is probably the next to go. The fun of watching professionals golf is in trying to imagine what clubs I’d have to use when they’re hitting a 9-iron 190 yards. “That would be my 3 hybrid,” I mentioned. The putts? That’s a whole ‘nother atory. They line up and sink uphill, downhill and wide-breaking putts that turn one last time to fall into the hole. If I were taking some of those 25-footers I’d leave them about 30’ away. They’re freaks. They chip it to within 6’ from 220 yards out, and then act disgusted that they didn’t get it closer. I hit the green f

 Ollie Stadium is a mess. The heavy rains rendered the backyard a mud pit and even though we threw in the side yard, the Big O was looking for more, and we were both covered in mud. I had to take some steam out of him somehow so I suggested we go visit Grandma. Ollie hates the car, but he laid quietly as we made the trip. We even brought the football because there is plenty of room to play at Grandma’s. Mom opened the door and started laughing. I thought about the love she had for every single dog we ever had. Oliver was quick to give my Mom a kiss, and then he stood beside her. The love between Mom and Dogs is a mutual bond. Through the years, Mom would make breakfast for the dogs.  Fried eggs, toast, bacon… She would wrap Christmas gifts for them. “To Jeter, Love Santa,” she would write on the cards. They played with the big chicken that made a lot of noise. Mom tossed the football and Ollie brought it back to her. As the visit drew to a close I headed for the door.  “C’mon, Oliver,”

A couple of times this week I thought of a Mellencamp line: “Sometimes life is too ridiculous to live.” JCM spits the line in his great song “Between A Laugh & A Tear.” We started the week with horrendous health news about a treasured family friend - just one of the out of the blue, ‘are you freaking kidding me?’ Sort of stories. Thankfully, the docs are on it and time will help it all work out, but when there is a sudden attack… …just ridiculous. The weather has been horrendous. Trying telling a dog that he can’t get his reps in because of the mud. Work has also been a battle as there are people who go out of their way to puff themselves up when they get desperate. “You were yelling at him!” Kathy said, as I finished a call. “Dad told me that 95% of people are self-serving asses who will sell you out to save themselves. I think he was a little short in his estimate.” And when you consider all of it, and making sudden changes it all seems somehow pointless and… …ridiculous. Yet, w

I have a lot of good buddies from the early days of my life. I know what they were all thinking about when they heard the news that O.J. died. “Man, he was my favorite as a kid.” How could he not be? He was a true superstar - the greatest running back in the early 1970’s. We all knew where we were when he went for 2,000 yards in a season. A couple of years later, he held out for more money. I recall agonizing over it. Just pay him! He’s the best and he’s a great guy! I was just a kid. I was wrong. But, O.J. was cultivated. He was arrested for beating up his first wife. Three weeks later he landed a huge national contract. They put him in movies, and on the football pre-game shows. All the while his new wife was calling the police screaming: “He’s going to kill me!” His murder trial was embarrassing. It also captivated the country and turned the news into ‘breaking news’ moneymaking broadcasts. In recent years, O.J. returned to social media to comment on football and other sports. Those

The abortion issue is once again front and center as the 2024 election shapes up between the incumbent and the defendant. What’s sort of fascinating to watch is that the GOP is backpedaling on Roe V Wade because the recent elections have shown that they’re getting demolished on the issue. Women, even in middle America seem to be rejecting the idea that men should have a say over their healthcare choices. The rotund orange dude is the biggest backtracker of them all, but that’s of little surprise. There are plenty of tapes of him speaking on the issue. He was pro-choice until he saw that it was an issue that could make him money. Then suddenly, the least religious man of all-time, found a deep faith and he became the chosen one to his cult of whack jobs. Now he’s saying that there shouldn’t be a national abortion law because…. …well, it’s not polling well. The straight up hypocrisy of the issue is what galls me. When it was about getting a vaccination the people who are trying to regula

Life is weird and people are pretty predictable. I knew that there was going to be a whole lot of bitching because it was very cloudy here on eclipse day, and while it was disappointing I talked myself into enjoying it. I started the football toss with Ollie in complete light, and he made a pretty good catch in total darkness. And then I went on social media to hear all about the event ‘sucking’. Everyone is looking for something to blame and there’s just a blatant, consistent need to whine about everything. Yeah. The sun and moon were blocked by the clouds, but it was still a monumental event… …and when it went from light to dark and then back to light, I threw that pass and shared the moment with two of the boys. “That was cool,” Sam remarked. I congratulated Ollie for being the first dog to catch a pass in a total eclipse in more than 100 years… …and he had pressure on him to not dub it… …he’s the GOAT. So, there you have it: Eclipse fun. Not everything sucks.

April 8th is a day on the calendar where I have a single thought when I see the date. Hammerin’ Hank. On April 8, 1974, I was a very excited 9-year old boy. We were living in Largo, Florida at the time and I was about 4 inches from the television screen when Aaron came up and hammered a pitch from Al Downing of the Dodgers that cleared the left-centerfield wall and ended up being retrieved by Braves pitcher, Tom House. It was the 715th homer of Aaron’s great career, eclipsing (you see what I did there) Babe Ruth’s all-time record. I still consider Aaron to be the king, and it galls me to no end when people talk about letting the cheaters into the Hall of Fame. Aaron went through hell in breaking that record because he was black. It’s amazing to me how the mind works. I have an image of that living room in my head whenever I consider that night. I know where Dad was seated, and my brother, John, was just as excited as me. A great memory. Cherished one. April 8th won’t be remembered as t

The forecast isn’t perfect.  The poor weather dudes, who seem to get blamed for bad weather, sound almost suicidal as they let us know that the look we get won’t be perfect because of partial cloudiness. Sucks for those who are paying a grand a night for their Motel 6 hotel room. And because I’m a mental midget who can’t deal with change to my daily routine, I won’t know quite how to go about things. Most businesses are shutting things down, and the job sites will be quiet. So, I will make my way home. I’m half tempted to play ball with Ollie as we go from light to dark and back to light. He can catch the ball no matter how far or when I throw it… …so we will watch him try. I talked about it with my Mom. “I don’t get why it’s happening,” she said.  I don’t know all the ins and outs of it, but did my level best to explain. “The universe is amazing,” she said. Thought about that simple line for a while and then I saw a Tic-Toc post that mentioned that in 2124 there wouldn’t be any mentio

I saw news about a fundraiser for legal fees for a politician. Those types of stories always catch my attention because it’s an invite to a $200,000 a plate dinner. What can they serve? Everyone gets 200 pounds of lobster and a half a cow? And there was a follow-up story where the same candidate expressed despair, saying that the rich aren’t happy and want change. Are there going to be people who fall for the idea that the ultra-wealthy need a break so that they can create jobs that will allow for a trickle down? That was the plan back in the 1980’s and the stock buyback idea is what turned the world upside down. What always makes me insane, as well, is the question: “How much do they need?” Some day look up how much money someone like Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos makes a minute… …more money in three days than most Americans will see in years. But just to finish the con… …the ultra-rich has somehow convinced a lot of the middle class and the lower middle class to blame… …get this… …the peo

Prior to the start of basketball practice - way back more than 40 years ago - we would take shots from half court. Well, I would because I was Steph Curry before he was. It was fun to try to hit those long shots and every once in a blue moon they’d go in. In my junior year we had a good team and it was a lot of fun - I came off the bench and mostly when the home fans chanted “We want Fuzzy.” “Get in there and take your shot and get out. Don’t try to dribble,” Coach Loretto would tell me. I had great teammates too and usually I’d get the ball first time down and I’d shoot a bomb, make it, and then return to the bench. I also hit one as time expired at the end of a quarter and it was way out there. I got to try and do it again a whole bunch of times - never made another one. I take this stroll down memory lane because I watched a clip of Iowa basketball star Caitlin Clark practicing long shots. Perhaps she modeled her game after Curry (or maybe she saw old footage of North Collins games

As I noted earlier in the week, I have zero idea why the eclipse is such a huge deal, but the ramifications are being felt. Hotel rooms are being rented at astronomical rates. I’ve stayed in a Motel 6 and didn’t have any complaints - I like the rooms where your car is just on the other side of the curtain. But $500 a night? And that’s the best deal in town! Most sites are being shut down and the best course of action may be to stay off the roads… …a million people additional roaming the streets of our fair city? More people means more trouble as well as everyone will need to drink and fight and shoot guns, or whatever people like to do to blow off steam. I’m of the mindset to stay home and watch it all happen from the backyard with a pair of glasses, of course. Yet, isn’t it amazing how the price gouging works? Some of the hotel rooms are going for a couple of grand, and people are paying that! Others saw the eclipse coming and booked the rooms a couple of years out at normal room rate

That’s a Schwarburger that is being served at Phillies games this year. I also saw a photo of a sandwich being served in Pittsburgh - it’s a pot roast sandwich that is loaded with at least a half a dozen pierogis. The best sandwich that I ever had at a baseball game was the prime rib sandwich that set me back $22 at Yankee Stadium. My brothers were with me. We had to get them. Yet, there is also a sandwich at Kaufman Stadium in Kansas City that is an absolute monster of a sandwich and that comes with a great story. I was going to KC and then onto Boston. I told my traveling secretary - my son, Sam, to get me tickets to games in each city. He printed them off and slipped them into my bag. I got to KC and saw the sandwich. A brisket sandwich that includes an Italian sausage, about a pound of cheese, onion rings and Mac and Cheese. It was my dinner. I handed my ticket to the security guard as I balanced the sandwich and he pointed me to the very front row - directly behind first base. I g

There is a candidate for president who is using rage and hate as a campaign platform and every rally is another stage for him to spew absolute venom against human beings who aren’t white. It bothers me greatly when he speaks of immigrants as animals. I have a group of men that I’ve gotten to know. They’re from Guatemala. They frame houses, and they all whistle when they see me coming to alert each other that the safety guy has arrived. They got in trouble a few years back, and I helped them with the fine, and I trained them in the proper procedures. The supervisor bought me a bottle of booze. “This is the best!” He said. “Most popular booze in my homeland.” It was horrendous.  I brought it along on a golf trip and I have been teased endlessly by the guys who tried some. (We still drank it). Yet, our friendship has grown, and despite the men are here only on work visas - they aren’t illegals.  They aren’t animals, either. They love their family. They have friends. They work hard, and th

Buffalo, New York will be a hot-spot for the coming solar eclipse on Monday. There are reports that about a million people will crowd our streets. We can’t handle a million people. And, I’m about as non-science as one can get so I’m trying to figure out what the big deal is. It gets progressively dark every day, doesn’t it? It’s only gonna’ be dark for 3 minutes. “We have to get glasses,” Kathy said. “I’m not even going to look up,” I said. The mayor was on the news yesterday trying to let everyone know that the garbage won’t be picked up and that cars can’t be parked on the streets. He then explained that looking up without those glasses could cause blindness. The city offices will be closed. If you have court scheduled for that day… …reschedule it. “I wonder what a hotel room costs for Sunday night,” I said. Went to the Google machine and noted: “$500 a night for the Motel 6.” Absolutely insane… …because it’s going to get dark for three minutes. Well, I probably will put on the glass

For the last five years I’ve noticed that someone in the A.L. East catches the benefit of a fast start because the schedule-makers give them an advantage. Last year, Tampa opened 13-0 because they played 4 straight teams who finished last. The Yankees drew a tough assignment last year and again this season. They opened in Houston - 4 games - I didn’t have a lot of hope that they’d do anything more than split the opening series. And yet, here they sit at 4-0 and each game was a good one. Their new superstar, Juan Soto, was dominant. There’s only one thing to do in such a situation: Gloat!!! Now, of course, that opens me up to a whole lot of aggravation when they do lose a game… …and they will lose at least 50 of them. The greatest Yankees team I’ve ever seen won 125 games… …even they lost more than 50 times. It’s a long season and the thrill of baseball, for me, is that it’s a numbers game. I look at every box score - I used to study them when I was a kid. I know the starting rotation f