Thoughts of a Common Man

Saturday was a day of speculation because we hadn’t seen or heard anything out of the mouth that never closes - since Tuesday. “Is it dead?” Someone asked me. Then there was a photo of him at a golf club. (Go figure). “Ah well,” I thought. Later it was bantered about that the photo is old or that it didn’t really look like him. So, the question hangs in the air. I know that we won’t be told the truth. He has huge bruises all over his hands and we’re being told that they’re injuries from shaking hands. They haven’t gone away, and hand-shaking injuries are weird because he apparently had an ear blown away by a gunshot, and the ear grew back. There are a lot of anxious people who are willing to splurge on the good champagne if the news breaks. I certainly wouldn’t feel right celebrating someone’s death, and I’m not crazy enough to think that his agenda would stop, but I know one thing for certain: I wouldn’t feel much of anything. The day will come sooner or later. I never once bought the...

“The boys are going to go out to dinner with us tomorrow. Well, Jake & Maggie & Sam are - we’re going to Nine-Eleven. Jake says that their wings are close to the best in the area.” My mind immediately shifted to The Johnson House - Wednesday 10-cent wing nights.  Those were the best wings I ever had. I was in high school and Jeffy was my constant companion and Uber.  He’d pick me up and we’d head up there and order 20 wings (or 30 wings apiece). They were always perfect - or seemed that way to me - and we’d eat them at a table surrounded by all our friends and the girls we were chasing (and hardly ever quite catching). “You’re all right with wings, right?” Kathy asked. “I’m from Buffalo,” I answered. We ordered 50 wings for the 5 of us - (Back when I was 17, I could take a pretty good run at eating 50 myself). We also ordered 2 plates of fries - and we got those about 15 minutes after we ordered them - and they weren’t your usual fries - they were hand cut potato wedge...

The center for disease control seems to be a pretty good idea. We don’t much pay attention to the work they do because what they do makes us not worry. The fact that their leaders are quitting, or are lost as to what direction the center should take seems disconcerting. I’m thankful that I had the polio vaccine. Thought about that every day as I worked with a man, who was about a decade older than me, who had polio as a child. Measles were virtually gone… …they’re back in some corners of the country because it’s now cool to be against vaccines. RFK Jr. seems like a downright lunatic - to me - but I had a conversation with someone who mentioned that maybe he was right about autism being caused by vaccines. This is where we seem to be a little lost. Since the rise of social media we now have everyone on equal footing intellectually. A guy who wins a Nobel Prize can have a long drawn-out debate with Jethro from Kentucky who failed Earth Science three times. “I’ve done my own research!” Yo...

The story of August 27th starts the day and night before. It was the start of my senior year of college. I had my full tuition in my pocket, and I headed to our house three days before classes started.  My college buddy, Fluffy, joined me that early, with the rest of our roommates not scheduled to arrive until the 28th. We moved our stuff in and then we did what one does at college. We got beer and invited people over. Around midnight, Fluff found me and excitedly told me that Springsteen was in Toronto….just 4 hours away. “We don’t have money for that,” I said. “You do! Your pocket is full of tuition money.” I took it as the rantings of a man who had too much beer. “You’re going to be up all night,” I said. “We’ll go if you’re up at 8 a.m.” I didn’t think there was a chance in hell that he would be awake that early. But he was! We drove to Toronto, without tickets, without a plan, and a little hungover. We arrived at the CNE and walked the grounds, searching for someone who had sp...

I got a news alert to tell me about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s plans to get married. Krispy Kreme is giving away free donuts to mark the occasion. And there are millions of people whining about it. Why the hate? My boys helped me with Taylor Swift. Back when I was trying to figure out what all the hub-bub was about I asked my boys to give me a sampling of her best songs. They loaded a half dozen onto my phone, and even though I have 2,000 songs loaded, I’ve learned the songs and I must confess: I like them. And she’s a good human being who has been very generous. Travis Kelce also seems to be a good guy. So, why so much hate? “Why do I have to hear about them?” Because they’re famous! “Who cares what they do?” A lot of people! Taylor gets a lot of hate because she has been an outspoken critic of the orange blob. She goes to a football game and she is shown on the screen for all of 10 seconds and people yell: “She’s ruined football for me!” I wish them well in their lives and their...

The press conferences are something that you can’t look away from. There was a story about cars in Beverly Hills that have wide open trunks so that robbers on the street can take what they want and the driver doesn’t have to repair their damaged trunk. I was just in Beverly Hills. I didn’t see one car with its trunk up. Perhaps he didn’t think that made sense so he changed it to a friend of his who leaves his garage door open so that burglars just come in and take what they want and don’t break the door. Has anyone ever heard of that happening? He’s said that gas prices are at $1.98 a gallon in a whole bunch of states. It’s not. He claims that the Epstein story is a Democrat hoax. It’s not. He claims that he’s going to reduce drug prices 1500 percent. That doesn’t even make sense. And yet… …he just talks and not one reporter has enough guts to ask a follow up question. It should go like this: Him: I’m reducing drug prices by 1500 percent. Reporter: So, the drug prices will pay people t...

Republican or Democrat. White or black or Asian or Hispanic. The battle lines are clearly drawn in this country and no one mentioned above is truly in the fight. Rather, it’s the ultra-wealthy against the rest of us. What will it take before the people who sluff off to work each day realize that they’re pawns in the game, and that the pay-off is dwindling. Housing is out of reach for most. You’re a young couple, forget about buying a house. We were a young couple in 1997 and we had a chance. Now you can’t even rent an apartment that costs less than 60% of what you earn. Healthcare? We all know what a scam that is. Grocery prices? And wages have been stagnant since around 1997. The major legislation that just passed was a benefit to the wealthy. I’m not sure how this can work. There will be desperate people out there.  Desperation explodes into pain. Was talking to a couple of guys who are staunch Republicans. They have the same concerns as those who are Democrats. “Will they steal ...

Was invited to play in a golf scramble tourney with some buddies. Got there early enough to look around at some of the other foursomes and saw about 30 guys I grew up with. A lot of handshakes and laughs as we went through the glory days dance. One guy I saw had been the driver of a car that was pulled over - we had about 40 beers in the car and at least 6 of them were open. This was back about 45 years ago. The cop asked us to dump the uncapped beers, asked us where we were headed, and then sent us on our way. When I locked eyes with the driver from way back then we both just started laughing. “I know what story you’re thinking about,” I said. “No need to rehash it,” he said. A bit later, we recounted the trip to Yankee Stadium that resulted in not being allowed to board the plane. It was a very troubling story back then. It’s a great memory that brought a lot of laughs now. All the old buddies still look good, and we creaked a little bit as we swung, but the weather was terrific, and...

It really is amazing. I saw a clip of a couple of young people dressed as we dressed back in the 1980’s, and they spoke about how life was so much different 4 decades ago. It was. The phones have changed our lives.  What’s weird to me is that the phone seems to go off all at once. It was between 9 & 9:30 on Wednesday morning when a bulletin must have gone out. The phone rang (John Mellencamp’s Human Wheels), then there was a chime, a ring, and it vibrated in my hand. Three or four different people reaching out all at once. Thought about those kids in the 80’s. We left the phone home on the wall.  We never even considered what the phone was doing when we were out and about, and even when we were home, we didn’t even look at the phone much, unless it rang. Before call waiting we couldn’t even stay on the phone all that long because others might be waiting for a call. GPS was also a major advancement. Back in the day, when you were lost, you stayed lost. If you were following...

Gavin Newsom has turned MAGA on its ear by simply imitating the posts that have invaded our lives for the last ten years. And MAGA is furious. JD Vance, who was wildly ridiculed when he tried to walk the streets in Washington, came out and said that Newsom was making a fool of himself because he’s not honest and authentic like the big, orange Russian turd. I’ve laughed at a number of the Newsom posts, and he certainly isn’t pretending that he is built like Lou Ferrigno. And speaking of spectacles, have you seen the fake gold all over the White House? Or the concrete pad that is now the ‘Rose Garden’? All I can think of is that we are at a new level of stupid. Is the Newsom campaign effective? MAGA won’t get the satire. It isn’t helping solve anything. Yet… …and this might be the best result… …it has to be driving the fake dictator insane. I’m hoping that Newsom just keeps bringing it until the dam bursts.

One of Kathy’s friends explained that she was getting emails from a local college about getting set up for a career of sorts. “Maybe I should look into it,” she said. Kathy laughed. “You’re sixty years old! You’re going to go to school to get a career and someone is going to bring you aboard at 62 years old?” “Oh yeah, I forgot,” the friend said. And it made me laugh. We do have a tendency to forget how old we are from time to time. An old friend and an old boss passed away this week. “How old you think he was?” A former coworker asked me. “Geez, mid-70’s I’d guess,” I said. “Really? That old?” He asked. “Dude, you’re 63. You think he was your age?” “Oh. That’s right. I’m old.” It’s a common theme and people say dumb shit like, “age is just a number.” It ain’t! I got stung by a bee of some sort yesterday. Felt I was being electrocuted! As a kid we would all get stung every day. Never bugged me. Now? All swollen. Non-stop itching. A rash of sorts. “Why am I suddenly allergic?” I asked. ...

Way back in 1982 I was on the high school basketball team and one of the teams we played had male cheerleaders who were dressed in pink. I also hung out with the best player on the team, and a guy who played Division 1 hoops in college. (I figured they couldn’t cut me if I was best buddies with the best player - think Billy Martin hanging around with Mickey Mantle). Anyhow, we played a big game at home and the best player on our team made a derogatory comment about the male cheerleaders in our home gym. Needless to say, the male cheerleaders were furious. Cut to a month later and we are in their gym. During the JV game, me and my buddy went to get a drink in the cafeteria. As we were walking back, the cheerleaders rounded the corner and stood in front of us. “Uh-oh,” I said. “Follow my lead,” my buddy whispered. “I have a plan.” As we got close to the large men dressed in pink tights he yelled out: “Good evening, *******s.” And he ran! “That’s the plan?” I yelled out. I still don’t rec...

Today it’s mail-in voting. Friday the military was on their hands and knees to greet Putin. Washington D.C. is being policed by the military. When speaking about mail-in voting we got a ‘Sir’ story. “Sir, what’s your license plate number?” He said that he wasn’t sure he could remember it. Has anyone ever had to list their license plate number to vote? Have you used an ID to ‘pick up the grocery’? Not only is he corrupt, criminal, immoral, and the biggest liar the world has ever seen he’s also very dumb. And I don’t know if I’m tired or what… …feeling a little burned out… …but I have zero patience for it anymore. Kissing Putin’s ass. Writing long, stupid posts that are meant to cause anxiety. The stupid ass tariffs. People seemingly voted for lower prices at the grocery store. Anyone been to the store lately? Beef is $18 a pound. Tariffs haven’t even kicked in yet. A car will cost at least $6 grand more. No young couple can buy a home. And the payoff? One dumb thing after another… …ever...

I woke up almost two hours before our expected tee time with my usual: “I’m golfing today!” happiness as my first thought. Then I looked out the window. “Uh-oh.” We have not had any rain at all in about 30 days. I KNOW that we need rain, but NOT TODAY! I went to the weather app. I hate looking at weather apps. I’m not a meteorologist. Didn’t have to be one because it started pouring. Thunder and lightning and all. It was just a half an hour before we were officially screwed, and there are times when we cancel our tee time and the weather clears. Not today. “What are you doing here?” Kathy asked when she saw me at home watching an episode of ‘The Rockford Files.’ “Look outside,” I said. And Ollie was down in the dumps too. “We really needed rain,” Kathy said. “Sucks that it rained on golf day.” I think I grunted. Went back to Rockford. Gonna’ be a long week now.

I’ve been saying, since 2015, that the big orange mess is a Russian asset. Watch the way he looks at the war criminal, Putin. It’s kind of the way I looked at the girl I had a crush on in high school. He all but ran down the red carpet to shake Putin’s hand, and he gently placed his arm around him. It’s disgusting, and there is absolutely zero doubt in my mind that the president is owned. The Republican Party is beholden to Putin and Russia. I don’t get it. We all know it’s happening. Ukraine is being obliterated and we are not honoring the pact that we made to protect them from invasion… …and somehow, MAGA is rooting for Russia. Of course I’m doing my best NOT to watch. I now have a complete - music only - policy as I drive around during the work day. I won’t look at social media - not even glance - as I work. Yet it was Friday night and that fat face was everywhere. The media wondered: “What happened at the meeting?” There weren’t any translators or any other people in the back of th...

On Facebook there was a simple post about the book award in Hollywood and above the comment section there was a floating A.I. bubble that said: “Want more information about Cliff Fazzolari?” How could I not click on it? And those two pages popped up about my writing, and I was a little honored, particularly on how it broke down what the books are all about. It’s a flattering response, but let’s be honest here: It’s a little creepy. That information such as that is just there… …and so quickly! One of the things that bothers me about the time slipping away is that I’m not going to see all the advancements made. Unless the planet blows up, or unless the orange menace destroys us from within, time will march on. Technology will advance. To our detriment? I find myself saying that life was better before we all had cell phones, and I honestly believe that. I had a day earlier this week when my phone buzzed, beeped and rang about 12 times in a half an hour. “How far can I throw this f***ing t...

We entered the park near the Santa Monica Pier. I stopped at a stand and bought a Gatorade for $5 and as I sat down on a bench to drink it, I scanned the area. I counted a half dozen homeless men on the grass, sleeping in their shoes. There’s so much money in that area. Just excess. Everywhere. I headed into the public restroom there. A middle-aged man was washing in the sink. His clothes were ragged. “Do you have a cigarette?” He asked me. “I don’t smoke,” I said. “A dollar?” I gave him three, and he said, “God Bless You” about eleven times in a row. I see a homeless man and my heart aches. I realize that other men, in positions of power, who take weekly golf trips in Air Force One are disgusted by the homeless. The amount of people on the street has grown in the last decade as the cost of housing eliminates people from ever living with a roof over their head. Stagnant wages and rising monthly rent costs has sent WORKING Americans into the streets. And it appears that the answer to al...

A Florida couple was arrested for selling tickets to heaven.  When I read the headline, I thought, ‘In this society, that’s not a bad idea!’ And it wasn’t.  Despite the fact that they claimed the tickets were solid gold and that they just had to be presented at the pearly gates, the $99 price tag wasn’t bad. They sold $10 grand worth! After the arrest, the male was talking. He mentioned that he got the solid gold tickets directly from Jesus - behind a KFC - and that Jesus mentioned that if he sold all the tickets he and his wife would receive an all expense paid trip to another planet that was made entirely of drugs. Sounds reasonable. The man claimed that Jesus was the one who needed to be arrested and that he was willing to wear a wire to capture the son of god. Now, it’s easy to discount the story as the rantings of a mad couple… …but they sold a thousand tickets! To heaven. For the low, low price of $100. Worth the gamble, I guess. Why does Jesus only speak to the crazy pe...

I like this Yankees team… …which is a strange thing to say because they haven’t played well, but the season isn’t over. Once again, they haven’t played well had a lot of injuries. They lost 3 starting pitchers for most of the year. Judge was the run-away MVP but he tweaked his shoulder and has been merely mortal lately. Stanton has been great, but his season didn’t start until June. So, I’m not sure what to think, but they have good lineup balance and a bullpen of good arms who have pitched poorly. As for the rest of the majors? Philly looks like the team to beat at this point. The Dodgers for all the money they spent (more than $100 million more than any other team) wouldn’t be favored in a series against the Phillies. And now, Ohtani - whose bookie is in jail for betting more than a million dollars of Ohtani’s money - evidently also has a realtor who steals money. The league will protect Ohtani at all costs because he is a good player. It’s no different than the NFL excusing domestic...

The military is on the streets, going after American citizens in the latest installment of things I never thought I’d see. Washington D.C. is the city that will be under siege despite the fact that the crime rate is at a 30-year low. So, why? It’s pretty easy to break down. 1). Washington D.C. went deep blue in the election. 2). The maniac in charge is trying to distract Americans who are close to finding out that he raped children. A heavy distraction is required. What better way than to terrorize American citizens and further advance the authoritarian policies of this unhinged administration. Saw my buddy from Portugal again today. He was no longer joking about it. “They took my sister,” he said. “She’s in Phoenix, Arizona and they’re deciding where to send her.” “Oh man, that’s awful.” “She was 1 year old when we got here! We have green cards. We are 100% legally here and we’re on the path to citizenship. We were anyway. Not anymore.” “Your sister is definitely being sent away?” I a...

It’s been a long couple of weeks to be sure. A whole lot of fun, and some serious work, but on Saturday night, all I could think about was standing on the first tee, at our favorite course. The great thing was that for the first time since May, we had all four members of the 4-some that’s played together for years. Pops started out fast with two pars and the third hole that should’ve been a par but he missed an early putt, That was about where I was at as well. I was putting for par on every early hole, but was writing down a bogey. I took the lead from Pops on the 7th hole when Chippy showed why he is a legend, putting it close enough for me to tap it in for the elusive par. Wasn’t about how we were playing as much as the fact that we WERE playing together. An easy, comfortable round with friends I’ve known since grade school. And it’s hot out here!  The heat is great. I will never complain about it because we have way too many cold days here. Spent a lot of the round looking arou...

That’s my entry for 2025. I stuffed my peppers with meatballs. I didn’t make it to the winner circle, but they were good. As usual, all the peppers were very good. Pops crushed it again - finished 2nd - got my vote as the best one, but I also liked the winning entry which was an Italian Arcina stuffed pepper. The lasagna stuffed pepper, by my niece, Paige, was also outstanding as was the shrimp taco pepper. I believe there were about 15 entries. I tried every single one. And of course, the company was great - nieces and nephews and now there are grand nieces and grand nephews moving around. Johnny and Sam won the cornhole contest… …we drank more water than beer. I thought of my brother, Jeff, a lot during the day. The pepper party was his idea, and I’m certain that he would have won first place every year. Corinne and Chuck have hosted the party for a lot of years now, and once again, they were the stars of the day. I have a half doyen peppers left. It’s early enough… …I’m going to add...

It’s been hot and dry and there are things to do, before, during and after work. I was truly chasing rest all week long, and it was a losing battle because everything kept coming. “You’re in California?” A client asked, on Monday. “When do you get back?” “Flying home tonight. I’ll get in after midnight.” “Do you feel like driving to Ithaca tomorrow?” (a 2.5 hour drive). I can’t publish my answer to that question. So, I was chasing it all week and tomorrow is the hot pepper contest. We had three ideas…. …and I got them ready tonight. I will reveal what they are after I gather my first place ribbon. (I probably won’t win - but mine are good!) The pepper contest is always a great day and I’m looking forward to seeing the family. We have our regular tee time on Sunday… …and then back to work. Just summering it up. Big time.

News broke yesterday afternoon about Howard Stern. It was said that his radio show in Sirius was to be cancelled after 20-some years. Of course, prior to that Howard was a shock jock on ‘regular’ radio, and his career has been long, storied and lucrative. Howard was definitely controversial in his early days as he pushed the envelope and truly berated women, gays, minorities and just about everyone else. Absolutely nothing was out of bounds and some of what was done was juvenile and downright wrong. I didn’t listen to Howard in those very early days. I started listening to his show in the mid-to-late 90’s and he was already changing his ways. The show was absolutely hilarious when Artie Lange was there and Gilbert Gottfried was a frequent guest. There were days when I cried laughing, and I would tell anyone who’d listen that Howard was an intelligent guy, and that his school boy days were behind him. After Artie left the show, things got even more tame, and Howard was attracting big-ti...

We met a couple pool side at the Roosevelt Hotel. They were eating Calamari and drinking martinis and they let us know that they were old college friends. Class of 1987 - Stanford. “I’m a liberal elite!” The man announced.  He was a funny guy. Of course the subject got around to the man who sucks the soul out of every discussion everywhere. “If it wasn’t so tragic it might be hilarious,” he said. “Now he has people pulling for pedophilia.” I noticed that the liberal elite couple was glib about it all. I asked a serious question. “Will the Democracy survive?” “Eventually it’ll be fixed, but we won’t be around.” Nothing to be glib about. “You don’t seem worried,” I said. “Nothing I can do so I ignore it. I eat calamari and drink martinis.” Which is easy to do when you’re not moving around in the real world. But, there’s a point in there somewhere and I decided not to get wrapped up in the constant barrage of information that is designed to make us forget about being on a list for bei...

The east to west and west to east travel takes a toll on a professional sports team… …never mind an old man. I didn’t sleep on the plane because it’s difficult to sleep when you don’t have enough room to even scratch your nose without touching everyone in the row. Every seat is sold and there’s no space for your carry-on bag. I knew I was in a bit of trouble when I couldn’t get to sleep after we arrived home. My cell phone vibrated just 4 hours after I went to sleep, and the only way through a hard day is straight through. I crashed around 2:00 and I still had to write a few reports. There are varying degrees of tired… …this was what they call ‘bone-tired.’ And right back at it is an understatement. There was no time to bask in the afterglow of what was a nice break. “It’s not even worth it,” I thought as the day went along. But I knew it was. I will be fine by the morning, but you know you’re tired when you watch the hands on the clock slowly move and think: “How early can I sneak off...

We certainly enjoyed our stay in LA LA Land. It’s an interesting place to be sure. We saw a man talking to a tree. Near as I can tell he lives on the Boulevard. He was also truly pissed at the tree. I was in the theater where they have the Academy Awards, which was also pretty neat. All the best picture notices are posted. Two eggs and bacon runs about $25 around here and gas prices are insane. “We pay for the weather,” I heard on more than one occasion. I lived in or around big cities a lot when I was a younger man, and I returned to Buffalo - despite the fact that I hate snow - because I hate traffic more. 13 miles takes an hour in Los Angeles. Brutal. It’s funny, but when we mentioned Buffalo we were asked about how cold it is there this time of year. “It’s hotter than it is here,” we told our driver. “Oh, I thought it always snowed there.” We began the long journey home. Two planes, lugging bags, knowing that the rat race will be in full swing in a matter of hours. Can’t wait to se...

The fish tacos at the pool were tremendous. I am a sucker for Hard Rock and we had a wonderful lunch there as we looked around - it’s across the street from us. We checked out some shops and were surprised that we couldn’t find a Kobe Bryant shirt for Jake - evidently his estate doesn’t allow for the sale of his gear. There are way too many Dodgers hats here. After my speech I’ve been noticed by the people who attended. “That one woman looks at you like Ollie looks at you,” Kathy said. The woman was a little scary! Saw another guy in the elevator who announced, “I read your book last night. It’s hilarious!” I’m not sure how the man got the book so fast, but he’d definitely read it because he loved the Bills stories. “Is it weird that people recognize you?” Kathy asked. “A little surprising,” I said. “But they’re nice enough. It’s good to meet people.” We had a great dinner last night, and set up plans to visit the Santa Monica Pier. Miller is having an absolute fit that we are gone, an...

  It was kind of astounding to take the tour bus around Hollywood and Beverly Hills.  The first thing that hit me is that this is kind of a crazy place to live every day. We saw the spot where Hugh Grant was arrested, and where Paris Hilton caught a DUI. We also saw the chicken place where Brad Pitt was discovered spinning a chicken sign for a fast-food place. Just regular old places. Then we were shown the houses where Michael Jackson and George Harrison died. Kathy perked up when we went by the Menendez home.  The Manson home. Al Pacino’s house. Just interesting stuff on almost every corner. The Hollywood Hills was wild, especially Mulholland Drive. What a crazy street with views of all the mansions tucked into the hills. The photo I posted is supposedly the location of Taylor Swift’s mansion, and it appeared that she was home and Travis Kelce’s car was parked in the long driveway. “How do they live like caged animals?” I wondered. There were security guards parked in t...

“Are You An Idiot?” was sort of a pop song in a career filled with more ambitious books, but it did something that none of the others did. It won the whole damn thing. We walked into the festival in the famous Academy room at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood (they film the Jimmy Kimmel Show next door) and Bruce Haring the event organizer greeted me with the news that I would speak last because “Are You An Idiot?” was the Grand Festival Award Winner. There were 9 festivals across the country that all had winners, including the Hollywood Beach Festival which “Are You An Idiot?” won. It was also chosen as the winner of all 9 festivals. Grand. I made a quick speech - it’s on my Author’s Facebook Page and then we called it a night. We have the Hollywood tour package in the morning and we are kicking around going to the Hollywood Bowl for ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ or the Santa Monica Pier. An awards show is a long night, and we heard from about 40 winners. A couple of the authors cried as the...

All things considered the long journey to Los Angeles went okay. We had a flight delayed from Chicago to LA, but we didn’t mind that one as it gave us a chance to grab a $25 burger in the airport. It was getting on that initial flight that was a little hairy. We left the house a tad late because one of us was leisurely about leaving. As I drove to the airport it dawned on me that we were going to have a hard time checking our bags and getting through security in time. I pulled into the lot like Mannix and said, “Okay, you just gotta get to the gate. I need to get these bags checked in.” I sprinted away, pulling two bags and wearing a backpack. “You had 30 seconds to spare,” the nice counter guy told me. “Literally, 30 seconds.” I was out of breath, but we still needed to get through security and I felt like a jerk for leaving Kathy to make the long jaunt alone. I was panicking a little. “Just gotta have faith that she makes it,” I thought, as I stepped in line. I was scanning the mass ...