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Topping Out

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Made my early morning visit to the Buffalo Bills Stadium Project and immediately remembered that there was going to be a party for the setting of the last piece of steel. The topping out party. There were about a dozen police cars set out front, and barriers were set up. The final beam was in the parking lot, and there were a bunch of workers stepping up to sign it. I didn’t bother, mostly because it called to mind a few topping out parties that I’ve gone to, where I deserved to sign it. I’m not at the Stadium every day - there should be room on the beam for guys who are there every damn day. And the politicians and Bills brass and Erie County reps should also step aside for the workers, who are dirty, sore, tired and just plain beat up. It fascinates me to watch people all dressed up for the show looking down their noses at the men and women who get dirty every day, and piss in rancid boxes and eat off trucks. The brass referring to the workers as hardhats. I did my walk and worked my...
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Stomach in Knots

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Bruce announced that he’s releasing 7 albums from work that he had in the vault over 25 years. Seven new Bruce records! More than 70 songs that I’ve never heard and while there are a couple of his songs that I skip (I always apologize to him when I do so) the chances are good that I’m going to love the music. Should be excited. The Yankees are hitting a lot of homers. It’s the first week of the season. I absolutely love baseball and reading box scores and following all the teams. Should be in my glory. Work is fine. The family is good. Golf is around the corner (I freaking hope) And yet… …I get home each day after not following anything in the news and I try to catch up on what happened in the country… …and I feel a knot in my stomach. We are headed towards a recession for no damn good reason. No matter what one might say, the economy was in very good shape back in November. The new administration took an absolute blow torch to it. I speak to business owners. “I’m not sure how much bui...
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An Absolute Disaster

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The turd that is making economic policy bankrupted a casino.  In fact, he went bankrupt 6 times. We all knew that. He was elected anyway. Stock market is in the tank. Tariffs across the board will raise prices on all imported goods - 10 to 50%! People have their retirements tied to their 401k and those are being destroyed. One of the GOP pinheads said that old people who are worried about their retirement are just going to have to ‘suck it up.’ Why???? What is the payoff at the end? We all get to suffer for the good of the country because this economic genius - WHO BANKRUPTED A FREAKING CASINO- has an idea? Do you trust the man who has lied more than any other politician ever??? I don’t trust him as far as I can throw him and I’m not getting close enough to pick him up. I can’t believe that his suckups are having much success with their constituents. I’m genuinely concerned, of course… …worried about social security and the 401k. Frightened for business owners who won’t be able to ...
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Face-First in the Mud

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There are a lot of things to trip over on a construction site like cords, hoses, rebar. Every safety guy I know has hit the deck at one time or another. I was side-by-side with an OSHA compliance officer when he rounded a corner and stepped into freshly poured concrete. He tried to retreat, and tripped, and ended up on his back in the concrete. I snapped a photo. “Dude,” he said. “If you share that photo anywhere I’m going to hunt down all your clients.” I’ve never shared the photo, but every once in a while I’ll send it to him and laugh. It was a good dozen years since I took a flop. My streak is over. The site was muddy. I walked with two other guys that I was meeting for the first time. We checked out the framers and turned to face the site guys. I assessed the mud in front of me as we headed in the direction of the concrete pour. “Looks solid,” the guy behind me said, and I took a step into what felt like a bowl of soup. I knew my boot was sucked down into the mud, and there truly ...
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Torpedoes

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On Saturday afternoon I settled in to watch the Yankees 2nd game of the year. I mentioned to Kathy that it was odd that I could just sit on my ass and watch a game on a Saturday afternoon, but there aren’t any kids around anymore. There’s time to relax! And I was looking for the Yankees to win and play well, but my God! They hit homers on the first three pitches of the game. Three different guys homered in the first pitch they saw. A fourth player homered in the first inning. “They hit like that and they’re going to score 20,” I said. They did. Judge hit 3 homers. They won 20 to 9. During the broadcast, Michael Kay noted that a couple of guys on the team were using a new style of bat that pushed the barrel down towards the label. The bat was a little odd looking, but as Kay mentioned, it is within the rules and other players on other teams were using it last year. Well. The story blew up!!! “The Yankees are cheating!” MLB reiterated on Sunday that the bats had been reviewed and that th...
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Such a Sad Story

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Watching the Yankees (or any other sports team, for that matter) makes you feel as though you know the players a little bit. Brett Gardner was a Yankee for more than a decade and was on a World Series winning team, so I got attached. Gardner wasn’t the biggest or most talented guy, but man, he played hard every day, and fans appreciate that. He retired a few years ago, but hasn’t been back around the team because he wanted another year, I suppose. But retiring in your mid-30’s, financially set for life seems like a good deal. Brett has a wife and a couple of boys so he was available to hang out as a Dad. Good stuff. The family was in Costa Rica on vacation at a resort.  It seems they went out to dinner, and for one reason or another, they all got sick - gastrointestinal stuff - nightmare when you’re on vacation. Away from home. Everyone throwing up. Not sure how to treat it. Well, the nightmare turned horrifically tragic The Gardner’s 14-year old son, Miller, died overnight. The fa...
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What’s the End Game?

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Spoke to a farmer who voted for the orange blob. The farmer is worried because, “most of my employees are immigrants here on work visas. They’re good, hardworking people. They’re scared. I’m scared. Will he throw them out?” Also spoke to another guy who definitely is an outspoken fan of Shitler. “I applied for social security because even though I’m not ready to retire, I want to be on the docket in case he rips it away.” Read an article about food being kept from food banks in big cities. The article stating that it won’t be given to the poor. It will, instead, be thrown out. Saw another bill from Florida as they try and strip away protections for child labor. They need children - as young as 14 to work as many hours as they can because (see above) they’re booting immigrants. Speaking of which, the Supreme Court will soon decide whether or not due process will be required, or will this administration, headed by the bloated golfer, be able to throw out anyone who doesn’t look right to ...
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