Thoughts of a Common Man

On the date mentioned to name this blog, I was living in Mountain View, California with my Dad and my younger brother, Jim. The rest of the family had headed back to Buffalo, but Dad and I were working on a Fairmont Hotel in San Jose. I was 22 years old. A college graduate working as a construction laborer. My God, it’s a blink of an eye! The reason I remember the date is because Bruce released his first live album, and it was epic. Four CD’s filled with music. That year, Bruce played live just one time after finishing his huge ‘Born in the USA’ tour. He played just that one show… …in Mountain View, California. Yeah. He came straight to the town where we were living. Jim went with me to scalp tickets to go to that show in October. But November 10, 1986 was all about the live album. Of course, we headed to the record store to buy our copies. “We sold out,” the man at the store said, “but I heard that they have more copies at another ‘Record Theater’ store. You better hurry.” At that sto...

There’s a video going around of Mitch McConnell in a wheelchair in the halls of Congress. Someone asked him what he thought about the midterm election. He simply stared straight ahead. It wasn’t because he didn’t want to share his opinion. Rather, he couldn’t process the question. And we were all treated to the CBS interview of the lame duck, pedo pig who occupies the half-demolished, fake gold, Cheesecake Factory, White House. Physically, he’s an absolute mess. His eyes are dilated, with heavy bags under his horrible makeup. Those eyes are barely open, and they’re filled with hate and rage. He’s starting to float the ‘rigged’ theory about the midterms, but it isn’t gaining much traction because it was an epic ass-whipping. I was surprised that there were direct questions about the corruption and the billions he has raked in by using inside knowledge to rip us all off to the tune of billions of dollars. He pretended that anyone could do it. The reporter wondered what he might say if Jo...

I brought a book with me so I could read as I waited at the airport, and in bed after golfing. Finished it before leaving my buddy’s home, and knew I had to find another for the trip home. And I looked around at my fellow travelers. I didn’t see even a single person holding a copy of a physical book. Even the book section at the airport store had a limited selection, but I found another book. It made me a little sad. People are looking at screens. Playing games on their phones. Watching football on their I-pads. But my sadness was short-lived. A copy of me book, ‘Perfect World’ was on a table in a backyard, and a work acquaintance wrote simply: “Hey, Clitford! You had me from page 1!” And then there was a Facebook message: “I finished it in back to back marathon sessions. So great!” That was from a Facebook friend who I haven’t seen in decades. And I knew if accomplished my goal of writing something that entertained. That’s been the goal from day one as an author. The book I finished o...

Sunday morning and I have my return flight home today, and I’m struggling to stand up straight and get out of bed. Golf is over for 2026, and that’s good. Rest up and make this trip again in February. The thing is, I arrived on Thursday, and the rest of the world took a back seat as all we did was have fun. Great meals. Big laughs. Horrible putts. The sore back being the only downfall, but I played the round yesterday and it loosened up as I went along. These are some longtime work friendships. We were talking about things that happened in the 90’s as if they happened yesterday. The ‘98 Yankees-Padres World Series that two of the guys attended. They were one ticket short of bringing me along, but they made sure that they got ahold of me from their seats before the game started. “You texted me,” I said. “We called you! There weren’t any texts yet.” But you get the idea. We’ve done a lot of living together through the years. Trips to Yankee Stadium. More golf trips than we can even count...

It’s been a great season for golf in 2026. It’s going to end this weekend on a golf trip with my longtime friends. The laughs have been plentiful again, and we’ve all had our moments here in the sun. In fact, that’s what the sport is all about. The good shots, the missed putts, and the horrific shots and bad breaks that leave us shaking our heads. I think of my son, Sam, who has just started his lifelong love of the game. He birdied his first hole this year with a chip in from off the green and he texted: “It was the best moment of my life,” just seconds after it rolled in. We’ve played back to back days here on beautiful courses and halfway through yesterday’s round I hit a shot that made me say: “Uh oh,” as pain shot through my back. I’ve been healthy all year. The rest of the round felt like work, and I mentioned the back tweak to Kathy as we were 5 holes from finishing up. “You hurt your back, but you’re still playing, right?” “Right.” “Are you an idiot?” That’s been well establish...

The shock of the election hasn’t quite worn off. Kansas elected a Democratic senator. Hasn’t happened since 1932. Texas is blue. Women governors, black senators, a tight race in freaking Mississippi (and who doesn’t love typing that word). And everyone waiting on the huge, narcissistic, ketchup throwing tantrum… …which hasn’t been made public yet. The first response was anticipated: “This wasn’t about me. Everyone loves me. If I were running we would’ve won bigly.” But that’s where what we expected runs dry. He claims he can work with Democrats. Credits how they ran their races. Talks about his pool, the ballroom and the arch. Zero enthusiasm for any of it. Seems medicated. He was asked if he was worried about being impeached. “For what? Being the greatest president ever?” The corruption needs to be addressed. As ugly as it might be, making $2.4 billion while Americans suffered to eat, must be addressed. For now… …we wait. And wonder if he will start flinging his crap all over the cage...