Thoughts of a Common Man

Rosalie, Carolyn, Mary Lou, John, Francis and James. My Dad’s family. They’re together again, in heaven, if all we’ve learned is true. My Aunt Franny passed away early on Sunday morning, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that the door has been closed here on Earth for that side of my family. That fact, hits hard for some reason, and of course, they’re all sadly missed, and they’re here for a long while yet as they’ll all be kept alive by those of us who are still here, remembering them and missing them, and laughing at their antics. I often tried to ask some of the old-timers what my Dad was like as a kid, or young man. “About what you’d expect,” one old buddy said. “Hell on wheels.” Those names I mentioned above were all characters in their own right, so it’s hard to imagine what their dinners were like. Grandpa ruled the roost, but Grandma didn’t take any shit. They were all wonderful cooks. They all were hardworking and funny. They’re all missed for sure. The thought that Dad’s famil...

This is a 4-game series in late August between the Yankees and Red Sox. The Yankees entered the series with a 2-game lead on Boston, which seemed crazy because the Sux were so bad early on. I thought they were dead and buried, and at that point, Judge was hitting and the Yankees were rolling. It’s a long season. The injuries to their hitters turned the Yankees into a pitching first team, which is weird because they’re the Bronx Bombers. Anyway, I’m not all psyched up for it anyway. Both teams will make the playoffs and with the idiotic seeding they’ll probably meet in the wild card round. Dumb. I thought back to the old days. A-Rod fighting Varitek. Pedro throwing old man Zimmer to the ground. Aaron Boone. Bucky Dent. And once the steroid-laden Sux broke through and broke the curse of Babe Ruth… …a lot of the craziness has been stripped away. But don’t get me wrong. Go Yankees! Boston sucks.

There’s a viral video that was posted by a former Duke basketball star, Kyle Singler. The man also played in the NBA for a few years, and it’s reported that he earned more than $21 million dollars. The man is in some serious trouble. A commenter likened the video to Heath Ledger as the Joker. Singler posted the almost ten-minute video. He was walking around his home, sweating, and pontificating about the people who were coming after him and his money. His rant was nonsensical to the point that a day after seeing it I’m still thinking about it because he’s in a dire situation. Either drugs or a severe mental disorder. In the video, Singler asks, about 30 times, where Coach K is. Now, as ludicrous as the man’s request for help seemed, and as much as he seemed to be angry at his former coach for turning his back to him… …I found myself hoping that Coach K would be able to see the video because the man who recorded it isn’t long for the world. He’s in bad shape. A few things happened after...

It just keeps getting dumber, doesn’t it? Now we’re supposed to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America and Lake Ontario is now Lake America? Dumb. Idiotic. Petty. Stupid. Changing names like a 10-year old. How about we change a few more names: The Oval Office is now to be known as The Rotundo. The Epstein Files are now The Trump Files starring Jeffrey Epstein. Mar a Lago will forever be known as Mar-A-Lardo. Melania will forever be decreed as Melanoma. And it is no longer the United States of America… …it is now… …Obama Land! Of course, I’m just being a tad juvenile here, but can you seriously believe this crap? He’s fighting with Canada! They’re the nicest people in the world, and the trade agreement he so hates????? Yeah. It was HIS agreement. The stupidity of this term is astounding. How many childish names has he come up with? It’s a rhetorical question and one that should never have to be answered. Yesterday he sent out about 100 social media posts. I saw the “Mission Accompl...

A group of safety guys meet for breakfast every now and again. It’s a fun way to battle through the daily grind. We’ve all known one another for about 30 years. Grey hair all around. A little while ago, one guy mentioned a specific company, but he couldn’t quite recall the name. We all knew who he was referring to, but NONE of us could think of the name. “It’s going to bother me until we figure it out,” I mentioned. “I’ll think of it.” But no one thought of it. That conversation took place about a month ago. We sat down at breakfast this morning and the first topic of conversation was about another contractor. “Who am I thinking of?” The guy asked. “We starting this shit again?” I asked. And perhaps, it’s the thirty years of wandering around sites, and seeing hundreds of companies that makes it difficult to remember every detail, but we have a lot of common ground, and the conversation is easy. Around and around. Like in any good group, we all have our roles. We poke fun at each other....

Dolly Parton will receive a lot of love in the coming days, and man, does she ever deserve it. A life well-lived. Now, Dolly became a superstar because she was an ultra-talented singer and songwriter. I have a number of her songs on my playlist, and Jolene is simply great. Not sure how Dolly lost that battle to Jolene because she was also beautiful. She had a huge wig. Always dressed wildly, and brought a smile and sunshine to every room. She was in a lot of rooms because we all saw her on television. And yet, the celebrity thing was just a means to an end. She gave her money away to righteous causes. She helped fund the Moderna vaccine during Covid. There isn’t any human being alive who has taught more children to read. Just an amazing example of how to go about living. We’ve made a turn to rage and hate in this nation. People have forgotten how to show empathy. If you’re homeless, you’re also hated by a portion of the population. If you’re fleeing a war torn country to save your fami...