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Hitting A Bucket

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Kathy was talking to me on Saturday morning. A story that I wasn’t quite all tuned in on because I was watching a video on how to rid one of a slice. I’ve been playing golf for a long time and I’m usually fairly automatic off the tee, but this year I’ve felt off. … anyhow… …back to the story. “Were you even listening?” Kathy asked. “Truthfully, no. I’m thinking of hitting a bucket of balls.” “Yeah. Just go.” Golf is peaceful. Even a bucket of balls allows you to think of other things, and let your mind wander. I thought of my lifelong friends Jeff and Kathy becoming grandparents again as my Goddaughter, had a baby girl. Welcome Carrie Joan! Awesome. I considered the death of a longtime friend from my hometown. He was a Mets fan and we laughed a lot through the years, going back and forth about the Mets and Yankees. Too young, and I’ll miss him. And I swung the club without paying attention to the tips I got online. The ball went straight. Emptied the bucket and returned home. “How’d it...
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“Dude, You’re a Legend”

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I received a request to meet a new client on a job site. Easy enough. I was told that their safety guy would be meeting me at the site, and that we’d walk it together. I’ve met a lot of young safety guys, and for the most part I’ve been thoroughly unimpressed, but my first impression was that he seemed like a good kid… “Why do you look familiar?” He asked. “I’ve been around forever,” I said. We continued the walk-around and the site was in good condition. The kid (in his early 30’s) was doing a good job. We walked up a huge hill that was about a half-mile jaunt. When we got to the top I mentioned: “Not gonna’ lie, that hurt a little on a Friday afternoon.” He stopped. Just looked at me. “Hey, didn’t you win the safety award from the WNY Safety Council?” “Yeah, guilty,” I said. “Dude, you’re a legend,” he said. “Congrats.” “I’m old,” I said. “They were telling me that the end is near.” “Still,” he said. “Most people don’t get an award on the way out.” Again, he made me feel old… …I thou...
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Lunacy

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Nick Gilder, who wrote the song, ‘Hot Child in the City” felt the need to put out a statement saying that he wasn’t writing about a literal child. Complete lunacy, and pretty sad that Gilder had to put out such a statement. First off, it’s a good song.  Secondly, can we stop doing this garbage? I read ab article about how horrible ‘Friends’ was because they seemingly downgraded women with some of their jokes. Springsteen has a song called, ‘I’m On Fire’ that begins with the lyric, “Hey, little girl, is your Daddy home’ mostly because it rhymed with ‘or did he go away and leave you all alone’. It’s a song about a working class guy who desires a wealthy woman who appears to be married to an older man. The video for the song, released in 1985, makes it abundantly clear. There are people who burn books because there are curse words included. ‘Baby it’s cold outside’ is supposedly a song about holding a woman against her will. ‘Claire’ the song he sung about his niece, is now considered...
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I Had to Bail

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I was looking forward to Game 4 of the Sabres-Canadians hockey playoff series. My boys excitement with the team brought me back, and the Sabres are very entertaining. They were coming off two bad games, and everyone was writing them off, but Buffalo sports fans tend to BILLieve when it doesn’t make sense. The Sabres scored first, so the belief grew… …and then all hell broke loose. The Sabres scored again…or so we thought…the goal was taken away by an awful refereeing decision. They promptly fell behind 2-1 and I was losing my mind. “I’m stressed during the work day, and now this?” I asked. The hockey gods responded and the Sabres scored on a truly freak shot into the zone. 2-2 after two. “I’m going up,” I said. “WHAT?” Was the collective groan. “It’s driving me crazy,” I said. “I’m feeling anxious, and irritated and I can’t sit here through this.” My idea being: I can read and watch. Perhaps if I didn’t strictly focus on the game, I could handle it. And it worked. I read and snuck a pe...
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Robbing Us Blind

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Remember last year when Musk was running around firing people because the plan was to save money and cut waste? Turns out there is plenty of money. A ballroom. An arch. Painting the pool. A war that’s costing billions to get rid of non-existent nukes and to open a strait that was open before we started bombing schools. Golf trips every weekend, where the government pays the golfer for going. Imagine running your household finances in such a way. “We don’t have money for food or healthcare, but I painted the pool. I knew a guy who needed the work so I overpaid him.” The quote. “I don’t think about Americans at all. I don’t think about anyone.” That’s as pathetic a quote that an American president has ever uttered. And it’s every damn day. He’s calling reporters dumb and stupid. He’s sleeping through meetings. We’re at war and we have no clue, as he spends half the day saying ‘We’re doing great. We like Iran and we’re close to a deal.’ The other half of the day it’s: “We’re going to bomb...
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Succession Plan

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Nearing 62 years old, I’ve started getting questions about what my plans are for the future. I usually get those questions from someone in the corporate office, and it always catches me a little off-guard because while I know there’s less days left in front of the horse than what’s behind the cart, but I never think of it much during the work day. Only difference between now and twenty years ago is that the legs get a little heavy towards the end of the week. I climb ladders and scaffolding without hesitation. I can’t imagine my clients calling someone else for their work because I’ve worked with most of them for more than 30 years. “Your son is in the business, right?” I was asked.  “Yes, he’s still learning.” “Bring him in. I’ll hire him tomorrow.” So, a true succession plan, I guess. And nothing lasts forever. Truly hoping that my boys get the chance to have a nice, long career in a country where they have a chance. It’s bad enough what we did to these kids. They need an opportu...
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Out of Sync

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My golf game is dependent on my hitting the ball straight. I’ve been playing for 45 years, and I know my swing. If it goes out of whack, it usually snaps back in early enough in the round, and I can repeat the swing. I’ve played 3 rounds since the weather half-ass broke - and I haven’t felt comfortable. At all! The ball is tailing off to the right, and it’s going nowhere. Wind has definitely been a factor. Cold temperatures. I can’t get the grip right. Now, I’m not butchering it, but it’s driving me crazy. I’ve always said when I’m going bad that I don’t know what I’m doing wrong, and why I’m going good, I don’t know how I fixed it. It’s an infuriating game, and one year I won’t be decent at it anymore. Yesterday, I was in the barrel after a double bogey, and I went for a walk, and a team meeting. Last hole. Par 5. “Hit the damn ball straight.” I was 10 yards past the hole after my 3rd shot. Chipped on. Made the putt. A par to finish on a tough hole. Now? I have to wait about 160 hours...
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