Thoughts of a Common Man

It was early in the week when I asked the question that is the title of this post. “Our freaking anniversary?” Was the question I was asked in response. “I mean, when is our wonderful anniversary?” “Saturday.” “So, it’ll rain,” I said. From our wedding day forward it seems that we get drenched every May 31st. And it’s something that we’ve been able to add year after year to our marriage resume. I’m not sure how many couples make it 25+ years nowadays, but we have stayed on track. Marriage is a journey, and it’s not always Camelot, but how a relationship evolves is pretty amazing. The excitement of youth gives way to the work that is done through middle age, and is topped off by the mutual dependence of the later years. We’ve heard all the stories. “I knew you were going to say that,” is something that gets said often… …but marriage and commitment and being there day after day, for one another… …in sickness and in health… …whether you’re pissed off or not…. …is truly the amazing part of...

A reporter actually had the guts to mention to the Orange stain that Wall Street has figured out his tariff policy. “Trump always chickens out.” T.A.C.O. And much like the Brandon crap with President Biden, I think this little nickname will stick.  The sad thing is that it isn’t a question of chickening out… …the tariff scam is a way to manipulate the market and rob the place blind. “There are trillions pouring in from other countries!” The liar lied. Then he scolded the reporter. Then someone in his cabinet mentioned that referring to him as TACO could result in criminal trouble. Now, that’s funny! Here’s the great thing about American politics - we are free to say anything we’d like. Well, we have been free… …I’m not sure it’s going to stay that way, to be honest! But for now. Trump Always Chickens  Out A better one might be: T A L S A C Trump Always Lies Steals  And Cries.

Every sports talk show in the country wastes a lot of time talking about who is the greatest of all time - or G.OA.T. I’ll save you some time and give you my GOATS in each sport, but I must admit that the subject can get everyone up in arms. Basketball is the one that drives me nuts because there is a clear choice by most fans: Michael Jordan. Yet, there are arguments to be made. Floppy James has certainly had the greatest career - bar none, but everyone that thinks he’s the GOAT takes a beating by Jordan fans. I wasn’t a Jordan fan when he played. I often argued that Bird was a better shooter (he was) and was a better passer (he was because Jordan passed as often as me) and Bird was also a better rebounder (he was). Problem was Bird split his titles with Magic. And don’t get me started on Wilt Chamberlain who so dominated the game that they changed rules to try and stop him. People ignore that he averaged 50 points a game, or grabbed 55 rebounds in one game - not to mention scoring 10...

Miller finally made it to the groomer. My poor cat. He’s a tad overweight, and he was having trouble in the nether regions because his hair was too long. “Miller has dingleberries,” was a common refrain. We ordered a carry case to get him to the groomer, and then we set the appointment. Sam and Kathy hauled him away and two hours later we got the call. “Miller is all cleaned up!” The overly excited groomer said. Of course, I had to pick him up because I was paying for it. Did you know it costs $110 to groom a cat? A shampoo and a hair cut. “Miller was very excited to have me clean his butt,” the groomer said. “Who wouldn’t be?” I asked. (Thankfully she laughed). So, I have a cleaned, freshly shaved cat. He seems happy. We definitely are.

Saddened to hear that the Piano Man has a brain disorder, and had to cancel some of his shows. His career rise was part of my childhood and I’ve continued to enjoy his work all these years later. He’s also a great interview, and I enjoy listening to him speak about his creative process. Certainly hope he fully recovers. In the same vein, I was talking with a younger co-worker who suffered a heart event. He just turned 50 and is in good shape… …or so he imagined! He’s on his way to a full recovery, but with his life stretched out before him… …”Scared the shit out of me!” He confessed. And the health news is coming during a week when I have a doctor’s appointment scheduled - just a routine check-up. “Why do I have to go?” I asked. “I feel fine.” Now, I know better, but I’ve never been great at heading to the docs as often as I probably should. Bill Burr’s latest special began with thoughts on being in the ‘Drop dead’ age group. And that’s the problem with creeping up on retirement age. S...

It was only about 65 degrees, but the sun was shining, and I felt good around the 12th hole. The ball stayed in the middle most of the day, and the company was good. It makes you appreciate the fine days when it’s been miserable and raining all the damn time. The news of the day remains absolutely pathetic, and I wonder if the media is going to say anything about the mental failures of the current president, or are they going to keep talking about how diminished Joe Biden was two years ago? Perhaps the words of the speeches should be published. The West Point speech was called the worst speech ever made by a sitting president…. …but that record only stood until the Memorial Day speech which was a festival of slurred words and incoherence. Tariffs on. Tariffs off. The big beautiful bill passed the house, but will be DOA in the senate because it does nothing for anyone but the ultra-wealthy. And in the middle of it all, the sun arrived. Bruce is being attacked by MAGA for standing up to ...

The weather hasn’t been great, and one of the ever-consistent tasks in my life is clearing clutter. I’m also one who doesn’t put off tasks and I believe that when there’s a huge task, doing it a little at a time, with consistent effort, will finish it in no time. We have clothes all over the house. The kids don’t live here anymore, but their closets are filled with clothes they wore in freaking grammar school. I’ve made comments about getting those closets cleaned out, but I also realized that I have clothes that I won’t ever fit in again. I decided to clean out my own stuff first, and this is where I ran into a dilemma. I have journals. Every year - from 1976 on - 1 book for each year - a paragraph written about every day that I’ve lived. They’re tucked in the back of my closet and my initial thought was to gather them and bury them in the bottom of the trash bin. I didn’t write in them each day with a grand plan to go back and read them. I don’t have a lot of interest in reading what...

For the 19th time, I received a first glance at the cover of the new book.   I’m certainly looking forward to putting the book out, and I’ve enjoyed watching my artist cover star work as well. Chris always captures the mood of the story, and this cover once again makes the match. This is an interesting story because I opened the vault for this one. I wrote it during Covid, into my phone, as we watched shows.  It was inspired by my love of all the books written by John Sandford, and to make the story work I knew that I needed a couple of things: 1). A fast-paced storyline - Sandford’s books always grab my attention quickly and hold me, as a reader, to the very last page. 2). Some mystery. A good crime story needs to keep the reader guessing along, but Sandford is a master at showing the good guys and the bad guys, as they navigate the story. I found that to be a pretty natural thing to do. 3). The most important part of building such a story is in making the characters fully de...

Oliver is the smartest dog I’ve ever met, and that’s not a simple thing. There have always been dogs in my life. Growing up we had Ricky one, Ricky two, and Ricky three. We also had Frank and Sam and even Prince who was the first dog prior to the Ricky run. I also had Archie, Max, Melky, Shadow and Paris. My parents had Marley, Chico and Jeter. My sisters and brothers have always had dogs as well. So, a lot of dogs! None have Ollie’s brain. I’m not exaggerating when I say that he knows the name of all of his 50 toys. Not only does he catch football passes out of the air (and actually runs routes based on how I’m standing) but he’s undefeated in roll call. I’ll mention the name of one of his toys and he will go find it. “Where’s Albert?” I’ll ask. He digs through the toy box, and brings back Albert. “Where’s Bruce?” Same result. “I think I can teach this dog to talk,” I’ve often said, but the thing is, we do communicate beautifully. “You left Kangaroo downstairs,” I’ll say. Ollie will t...

So the big beautiful bill passed through the house. It cuts Medicaid to the tune of $500 million. People will die in poverty. To enrich the rich. It cuts SNAP - which is aid to those who can’t get enough to eat. People in poverty will die hungry. So that billionaires can buy another mansion. There are cuts to veterans, who are already suffering. I’m sure those who enlisted are thrilled that they served so that a wealthy guy could buy coins from the criminal chief. Trillions will be added to the deficit that they claimed they were working on by getting rid of waste and fraud. The waste and fraud savings will be shipped to off-shore accounts and no taxes will be paid. Make no mistake. The big, beautiful bill is a transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich. Sad, sad day. And most people have no idea. Those in red states who believe they’re well-represented by a guy who sits on a gold toilet - because he’s just like them - are going to figure it all out… …when they are in a line trying t...

The passing of George Wendt forced me to think about the top 5 ancillary characters in my favorite television shows. The character wasn’t the lead in the show, but often stole the episode when he/she appeared. It’s a tough list to compile as there are so many great non-lead characters in some truly great shows. Here we go: 5). Arthur Spooner - ‘King of Queens’ - I could’ve also picked Frank Costanza from ‘Seinfeld’ as Jerry Stiller was always funny. One episode stands out. He’s in a restaurant on a date when a woman goes into a coughing fit. In total deadpan his first question to his blind date is: “How long have you had pneumonia?” Made me spit my drink the first time I saw it. 4). Saul Goodman in ‘Breaking Bad’ - he stole a lot of episodes because he was slimy and funny. Bob Odenkirk is a fine actor too, and they did the right thing and did a whole show around Saul. Classic. 3). Woody Harrelson in ‘Cheers’ - with great respect to Norm, Woody was the clueless bartender who made me lau...

“How’s it going, Norm?” “It’s a dog eat dog world and I’m wearing Milk Bone underwear.” Rough! George Wendt, who played Norm on ‘Cheers’ was a friend that you saw every week. ‘Cheers’ was a ‘can’t miss’ show that made us laugh for years, and Norm might have been the best character - which is no small feat because they were all so well developed. Norm worked as a character because we all knew of a guy like him - a guy who would rather sit with a beer at his favorite bar - more than anything else. He always delivered a great line whenever he walked through the door, and his friendship with Cliff Clavin was also well-defined. George Wendt was 76 and unfortunately he joins a long line of celebrities who have passed, or are within range. Feels like childhood completely slipping away. My Dad once told me about people getting older and passing away. When Mickey Mantle died of liver troubles Dad kind of summed it all up by saying: “When I hear Mick’s name I don’t picture him as a guy who got s...

It was announced on Sunday that President Joe Biden was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. The correct response to that news is: “I’m sorry that you’re going through this. Love and prayers to the Biden family.” Check the responses by Donald Jr. “Shouldn’t his wife, Dr. Jill Biden have noticed this earlier?” That’s despicable and epically stupid. Jill Biden is not a medical doctor, and Dummy Jr. obviously doesn’t know how cancer works - you don’t notice cancer. J.D. Vance - who is unbelievably idiotic - mentioned that the cancer diagnosis meant that Joe wasn’t fit to be president. Where has humanity gone? A cancer diagnosis isn’t an invitation to take pot shots at a man because of his political affiliation. But there’s absolutely zero empathy or compassion coming from that side of the aisle. Cancer treatments are on the table for millions of Americans. Make no mistake, cutting people from Medicaid will result in a lot of suffering and death. All to allow for a tax bre...

It’s certainly a very weird time to be an American. Every day there’s another story of absolute stupidity that brings division. I’ve listened to Springsteen about every day since 1975 and I’m frantically skipping the story about the MAGA fans going after Bruce and his true words about what’s going on. I’ve been asked by Republicans and Democrats alike what I think.  “He shouldn’t be talking bad about America,” a Shitler fan mentioned. “Seriously? How many times have you heard something disparaging about America from the dear leader? He trashes everything about the country, every day.” And as I’ve said, I’ve been skipping the political stories, but I also got a text from a long-time friend who I hadn’t heard from in quite a while.” “This is scary. How does it end? Will the Democracy really crash and burn?” It’s a sad question and one that most of us shouldn’t have to worry about as we try to get through the day. I tried to say that I didn’t have a clue about how it would all play ou...

Picked up a nail on a construction site and for what has to be the tenth time in the last 365 days, I had a flat. Kathy made that announcement on Thursday night, and I turned it into a decision. “I’m going to get the flat fixed, and coming home. A day off.” Kathy laughed. “Seriously, I’ll leave the phone on, but just hang around here.” Took a look around. The yard is a mess from the long winter and miserable spring. 18 bags of mulch later, and after mowing the lawn and weed whacking and cleaning up the garage, I came into the house. I could barely walk, and standing up straight brought shards of pain. “You’re a moron,” Kathy said. “What’s wrong with you?” “The yard looks better.” It’s a once a year soreness and ache that comes with cleaning up the yard, but it’s getting harder every year to stand up straight. Grabbed the ice pack and we caught an episode of the new Jon Hamm show. “There’s not going to be a lot of movement tomorrow if I’m going to make the tee time on Sunday.” “Sucks ge...

A couple of least surprising things happened over the last couple of days. First, Springsteen started his tour overseas in Manchester. “Bruce is going to go off on Shitler,” I mentioned to Kathy. “No way he stays silent.” “He’s definitely not happy,” Kathy said. And we both knew that because we’ve followed Springsteen for decades and his message has never changed. “Nobody wins unless everyone wins.” Bruce believes in human rights for all, regardless of skin color, or religion or economic status. Bruce grew up poor, and made a fortune playing his music. Go see him sometime. Every show is an affirmation for every person sitting in the arena. Anyway… Bruce didn’t let it slide.   He attacked the policies of the selfish slob, and he even named the tour, “The Land of Hope & Dreams” tour. He believes in the democracy and can’t fathom the things that are being torn apart. Welp. The second least surprising thing ever happened: President Con Job sent out a post calling Springsteen: ...

So, evidently I looked like a Hispanic man as a youngster. That seems to be the general consensus and after posting my senior photo there was some discussion about it because I took Spanish in high school, and our great teacher - Mrs. DeMeo gave us Hispanic first names to answer to. There aren’t a lot of ‘Clifford’s’ Walking around in Mexico, but evidently Cirro is close enough for rock and roll. My buddy Doug was also in the class and Diego and Cirro decided that we needed full names. I became ‘Cirro Joaquin Andujar Lopez’ (there was a good baseball pitcher named Joaquin Andujar. Doug whose given name was ‘Diego’ became ‘Diego Fredrico Hernandez Gonzalez’. It’s been 44 years since we came up with those names and Diego was the first or second comment on the Facebook post that showed me looking Hispanic. The above photo is what happens when my favorite artist gets involved. My head has been on an awful lot of crazy photos (my buddy Jeffy is also a pro at it). So, there it is. I do get d...

Can someone explain to me how it helps Americans if we boot millions off of healthcare so that the poor, downtrodden billionaires can get a break? We have heard a little about the ‘big, beautiful bill’ that essentially cuts taxes on the wealthy at the expense of the poor, and it will be sold as a way to get Americans away from taking free stuff while playing video games in their parent’s basements. If there are kids in their parent’s basement it’s because they have zero chance on ever owning a home, or even renting an apartment. One bill was passed in the first term of the orange stain on America. It was also a tax cut for the wealthy that added trillions to the deficit. Back then the wealthy pretended that they would create jobs but instead they bought back their own stock and took huge bonuses. This time they aren’t even trying to tell that story again. Instead, those who are hoarding billions and shipping their money off shore are now standing behind the pig as he devours more. And ...

A $400 million jet. A golf resort in Qatar. Weekends jetting out on Air Force One to golf at his resorts and charge the government for hotel rooms and carts for secret service. The coins. Manipulating the stock market. We are being robbed in plain sight by a lifelong criminal and the 16 billionaires in the cabinet. There’s a tax cut for billionaires on the table at the expense of healthcare for millions. DOGE didn’t find waste. The tariffs won’t bring in trillions and take the place of income tax because they’re off for 90 days because they weren’t anything but a scam. It’s hard to keep up, and he posts lies: “Gas is down! Everything is cheaper. You’re welcome.” It’s not the real world. They cut the air traffic controllers and planes started falling out of the sky and they’re trying to blame the previous administration. Those of us who read and think are horrified and wonder how he can be stopped. The rest are rooting for him to enrich himself… …at their own expense… …for some damn rea...

Was a beautiful Sunday morning. A little chilly but the sun was shining and I was on the tee. Golf is a hard game, and it takes practice and precision and I heard someone say that it’s like life… …you can’t ever get it perfect. I hit the ball well enough but had 3 drives where I uncharacteristically popped it up. “What the hell am I doing?” I asked. JC has played with me long enough to know my swing. “Swing through it. You usually swing through it without even thinking about it. Looks like, to me, that you aren’t finishing your swing.” And that was it. Fixed it for the rest of the round. I hit the last 7 or 8 drives pure. Another life’s lesson. Sometimes you need to be willing to listen, and make adjustments. We spent less than 4 hours out there on Sunday morning, but it was so relaxing. At one point I went in the woods to take a leak. I came out with a pitching wedge. Another golfer, I’m guessing got a little fed up with his chipping and threw the wedge away. It was like brand new. No...

 Enough said:

We had a party for my father-in-laws 88th birthday. He’s an absolute legend. I had the seat across the table from him for the entire party, and we talked a lot of baseball, touched on politics, spoke of the past, and argued about the Yankees and his beloved Cleveland Indians/Guardians. “Ramirez is having a lousy year,” I chided him. “Lousy? He’s hitting .280. That isn’t lousy.” “Judge is at .402,” I said. “Besides, Ramirez isn’t at .280.” “Look it up,” he said. I did. “Ramirez is at .278,” I said.  “See,” he said. “See what? That isn’t .280.” He laughed. Amazing to me that he is on top of the stats.  Then he spoke about the 1968 Yankees. “They were lousy in ‘68,” he said. “They didn’t do crap until 1976.” I knew he was right. Sharp. Then he ate. A burger, a hot dog, macaroni salad, beans, a piece of cake and an ice cream. “Dude, when was the last time you ate?” He laughed. It was a great day. “Hoping I get to see the new stadium finished,” he said. “Where you going?” I asked. ...

Years and years ago, I had the chance to work with my Dad. He was the project manager of a job in New Haven, Connecticut and I was bored out of my mind working the job I got straight out of college. “I want to be in construction,” I said. “Come here,” Dad said, “You can work in the office, doing payroll, writing progress reports.” For three months, I worked in the same office as Dad, and it was an experience I cherish. I got to watch him run meetings and deal with people. Then he quit! And I stayed on, and I have been in construction ever since. About a year ago, one of my clients was looking to hire a young safety guy that they could mold into a company safety guy. Their idea was that he would work closely with me. I recommended my son, and they jumped at the chance. Jake has learned the job, and he’s doing well… …today I was front and center at his company doing a safety meeting for more than 100 people. Jake was nervous when he saw me yawning just minutes before I was to speak. “You...

The white smoke showed itself on Thursday right around 12:30, as I was having lunch with a couple of buddies. “Hearing it might be an American,” one guy said. “Could it be?” I asked. “The first Pope to pay off a porn star?” Didn’t get much of a laugh because we all were pretty disgusted with the photo of Pope Pig the first. But it turned out that it was an American! The first time ever. And I immediately wondered about the name change. How do they decide that he is going to be Leo the fourteenth? And of course, it turns out that the new Pope is as ‘woke’ as all the Popes who came before him because he believes in love and faith and compassion and empathy. Which is bad news for MAGA because of you speak of compassion or empathy you’re an immediate opponent of their movement. Simply kills me! Springsteen and DeNiro and Clooney and Tom Hanks are all well-hated by MAGA because they’ve spoken out against human rights violations. “He’s woke!!!”  It’s the worst possible label that MAGA th...

My boys will sometimes complain to me about their work troubles. I haven’t done that in a couple of decades. If I’m asked about work I often use the line my buddy Tom coined: “If they weren’t paying me I wouldn’t go.” Yet it’s different for those starting their careers. They get worried when they get a questioning email, or a weird look. “This one guy texts me all day long. He’s always asking me what I’m doing, and hitting me with his goofy ideas about safety.” “Yeah, people like to talk to make themselves feel important,” I said. “Drives me crazy. He calls me at night.” “Don’t answer it,” I said. “You have to set the boundaries.” “He’s always trying to kiss up to the owners.” “Yeah, that’s what they do. Forget about him.” Yet my boy couldn’t and since I’m in the same field as him and also work with his employer, I had him introduce me to the pest. He was nervous about it. “It’ll be all right,” I said. The three of us met on one of the sites and I brought up a couple of his goofy ideas...

There seems to be a true lack of understanding about tariffs. I read something the other day that may explain it. 54% of American citizens read at less than a 7th grade level.  That might explain it. I have a trade deficit with Target. I’ve spent a few hundred dollars there and they haven’t bought a damn thing from me! It’s not fair! We’ve all known for decades that Americans consume more of the world’s resources than just about anyone else. We are consumers. We have deficits with other nations much as I have a trade deficit with Target. Now the great lie about it is that by placing tariffs on other nations will result in them sending us billions of dollars. That was never going to happen. They also were not going to take a loss to sell us their products. So… …two things will happen. 1). They will continue to send stuff to the all-consuming nation, but the prices will be much higher. If we want it, we will pay more. So the billions ‘pouring’ in will be pouring out of our own pocket...

There was a window of time. I glanced at our lawn and sighed. “It has to be way too wet,” I thought. The forecast is for a couple more days of heavy rain. “I’m going to have to cut the lawn with a sickle,” I said. We had dinner and then we heard it… …the neighbor was mowing her lawn. “Should I mow the lawn?” I asked. “No,” Kathy said. “Maybe Sam can do it tomorrow.” “It’s going to rain tomorrow,” I said. I turned to Ollie. “You want to mow?” That was a stupid question. Ollie is always up for mowing.  He gets a ball and figures out my back and forth pattern, and he drops it where I can grab it and throw it for him. I’m now doing aerobic, speed, football mowing. The whole thing only takes an hour to push mow it, but it bothers my low back, probably from picking up the ball and throwing it. We finished it up. I was a sweaty mess and Ollie was struggling to get his breathing under control. “At least he’ll be tired,” Kathy said. Yeah. Ten minutes later he was back with kangaroo. He’s no...

My Dad loved the time of the year when he opened up the garage and placed the television there. I thought about that today as I watched the Yankees lose to the Rays in an epically lousy game. We watched so many Sunday games in the garage. The sauce was in a roaster and it didn’t matter how many people showed up there was plenty. And it’s funny going through some of the old box scores because in our salad days, the Yankees weren’t World Series contenders. They went from 1978 to 1996 without a title. Not that they weren’t good. There were years when they won more than 95 games and didn’t make the playoffs because there weren’t wild cards back then. Didn’t matter. They needed to win those Sunday games while we were all together. Here in 2025 the Sunday lineup isn’t always the best one they put out all week. Boone likes to give a guy a day of rest every week. There wasn’t time management considerations back 30 years ago. If a guy could walk he played. On Saturday the Yankees 25-year-old sh...

Okay, I do realize that there are people out there who read my blog who voted for this guy. I understand that I can get a little angry about his so-called ‘leadership’ and some may even question my own politics. We can disagree, and there were healthy debates during the Reagan catastrophe and George W.’s war against the wrong nation. This is different. That photo was sent out by the White House’s official account and retweeted by the Orange dope himself. Is it funny? The Pope just died. He was a man of deep faith and compassion. This guy? He paid a porn star to paddle him with a Time magazine that had him on the cover whilst his wife was home nursing his newborn son. I’m not quite sure what the interview process is as they elect a new Pope, but that might be a disqualifying factor. Not to mention the rage, fraud, theft, intolerance, corruption, the divorces, the racism… …well, you get the point. He won’t be the Pope. Still, as a life-long Catholic who has my own problems with how the c...

So, how are things going? We should all expect empty shelves in the next couple of months. Cargo is sitting in ports and won’t be delivered. Prices are going way up anyway so most people won’t be able to afford them anyway. Empty shelves. Starving people. No chance for a young couple to buy a home or even rent an apartment. For what? Appears the huge goal is to cut taxes on the wealthy with the new budget. That will be done by taking health care away from millions who depend on Medicaid. And when asked about it, the brain-dead architect of this economic disaster tried to blame the guy before him and then when asked directly about the empty shelves he said that perhaps a child will only get two dolls instead of thirty and that maybe they’ll pay more for it. How long will the people who voted for him suffer to feed their family or find toilet paper when every week millions are wasted so he can cheat at golf? You have some sort of nerve to tell people to suffer for the greater good while ...

I have the heater and the air conditioner plugged in and ready to go in my bedroom. I have 4 coats in the back of my car. I don’t know what temperature it’s going to be when I get up. It ranges from 38 to 70. We had hail, lightning and thunderstorms with 60 mph winds this evening and even Ollie didn’t want to go outside. The lawn is a mess, but it can’t quite be mowed because it’s sopping wet. I don’t much care for this. “I’m hearing it’s going to be a hot, dry summer,” one guy mentioned on the site the other day. “When is it going to start?” I asked. “Not today!” I put a hoodie on in September - I’ve basically worn it every day since. “It’s only May 1st,” someone mentioned. It’s been a long, hard winter, and our yard looks like it’s been through hell. “What’s the weekend look like?” Who The  Hell Knows? Sunny and warm with a chance of snow. I’m over it.