Thoughts of a Common Man

My poor sister. She came for a visit and promptly got sick. And it’s her birthday! And it was nearly 70 degrees here in Buffalo. Which felt great. I struggled at the end of the week as my hip went south on Wednesday, and took my legs and back with them. I needed a massage, and my people scheduled it for me. I got ready to go, threw a few passes for Ollie and it hit me. I could head out in shorts and a tee-shirt. Thoughts of golf creeped in (while my body felt like the tin man). Tried to figure out how old Carrie is now. She doesn’t want me to advertise it, but suffice it to say that I can’t believe that the youngest of us all is that freaking old! The massage worked. The poor therapist was very skilled, and she wondered how I could get my body in such a state. Happens as we get older, I guess. When we were growing up, I knew that if Carrie got sick I would get sick soon after. Anywhoha… …moving better… …it was great to see the sun… …and Happy Birthday, Carrot… …we love you.

Stumbled upon a Facebook request of an old college friend. I’m thinking that the last time I saw him was 1986. Probably hadn’t thought of him in 25 years. And there he was, and he looked human! It showed that he was recently retired from the bank where he worked for 36 years! I was happy to see that because I wasn’t sure that he would be able to survive in the real world. We all drank a lot in college, but he set records. We once placed him at the door to the party with a sign around his neck that said: “Welcome to the party!” He slept in that chair for about 6 hours after he’d attended the party for about an hour. About a month later, he was set adrift in a canoe… …in Lake Erie! I didn’t participate in that one, but saw him after he woke up and swam ashore. Yeah. So, I was happy to see that he was alive and seemingly healthy. I sent a message that I was thrilled to see that he was good. He answered: “Hey Fuzzy.” And nothing else. So, I guess we are as connected as we are going to be, ...

During the summer months there’s an audible groan of we get advanced notice that the Yankees game has been rained out. Pops will usually send me the following message: “Bah!” Ollie has a whole new level of disappointment for a rain out. We played catch all through the winter in horrendous temperatures. The warmer temps lately have made an absolute mud pit out of the backyard, but we can play in that - I just have to clean his paws. The heavy rain brought the end of the game yesterday afternoon and I swear I heard Ollie say: “Bah!” And for anyone keeping count, he’s up to 9,685 for the year. We should go over 10 grand over the weekend. Weather permitting.

Gas prices, electric bills, grocery prices and insurance costs are soaring. The morale of the country is as low as I’ve ever seen it. We are at war. Corruption is being bandied about as Congress got around to asking questions. The Epstein files are horrific. And everything we hear from the administration is even worse. Hearing Hegseth say that they aren’t going to follow any ‘stupid rules of engagement’ as they talk tough regarding ‘Epic Fury’. It made me think of high school kids trying to name their band before they learned how to play instruments or write songs: “Hey, dudes, how about ‘Epic Fury’?” It’s not a planned event at all. Try and find the basic reason as to why the bombing started. Little Marco can’t get the story straight. We’ve heard that it was to free the good people of Iran, and now… …they’re dropping two hundred pound bombs on the good people’s heads. Blew up an elementary school. Of course, America is now looking for allies to help in their effort. We don’t have any ...

I don’t do anniversary dates of tragedies, but it’s impossible not to realize that 17 years ago, we lost my brother, Jeff, and the light of the world severely dimmed. There’s been a lot of death around us. The two Americans killed in Minnesota, for nonsense. Americans who are shot and killed on the streets every day because we can’t have common sense gun laws. I knew a man who arrived on a construction site last week. He sat down and laced up his boots, and then he collapsed and died of a heart attack. A school of elementary children were bombed in Iran. Sad stuff to think about on the saddest day on the calendar, and yet, it made me contemplate the value of a single life. Alex Pretty and Renee Good have been gone for less than a month, and the millions of us that were shocked and horrified have moved on with our own little lives. Both those who loved them won’t ever fully get over it. The light of their world has dimmed. And we don’t talk about death much past the fact that it’s too s...

I don’t know much about the coming technology. I have no clue what Crypto is about. I still write checks to pay my bills, and I pay with cash as often as I can. My boys don’t carry cash. I handed Sam two twenties and a ten one day and he asked if I could Zelle it to him. “I’ll lose that in ten minutes,” he explained. And now we are talking about AI and I’m starting to hear that down the line there won’t be any need for drivers as cars will self-drive. We won’t need lawyers as AI will write briefs and summarize arguments in seconds. Surgeons? Gone - robot surgeons and computer doctors will be all we need. As for artists, teachers and writers and musicians and movie makers? Human participation is not required. The article that I read stated that the work force will be cut in half in the next 5-7 years. Companies won’t need to buy health insurance or give time off to robots or computers. In order to be a productive member of society those who lose the jobs described above will be picking ...