Thoughts of a Common Man

I saw the promotion for the documentary on Matthew Perry’s life, but I was hesitant to mention it because I knew it would be sad. We were fans of ‘Friends’ when it was on 30 years ago, and I know it’s cool to say that ‘it isn’t funny’ or that the jokes are ‘embarrassing now’ because everything is so serious now, but it was a good show. Chandler Bing was a household name. There are three long episodes that are mostly narrated by his sister and a few of his closest friends. They are fair to him, but it was truly a sad story of massive addiction and it cost him his life at just 54 years old. Sad. And over the last ten years of his life he battled to understand why he couldn’t beat it. He spent $7 million on rehab. He wrote a book and performed a play, all in the effort to help others who suffered. And he couldn’t help himself, and some opportunists took advantage at the end and stole his money as they fed his problem. Yeah. Didn’t want to watch it. But did, and in the end, I wanted to und...

It’s supposed to be 72 degrees on Wednesday. In Buffalo on November 04. Funny thing about it is that I have a quick golf trip coming up with a few buddies. It was supposed to be a trip away from the cold, and a chance to play golf late in the season. I played here yesterday…the ball still bouncing down the fairway. Not sure what to make of the change of climate here. Is it an indication of global warming or is it just the way it goes? I have dreams about a year where there isn’t a deep freeze and 6’ of snow in the driveway. “Imagine if we lived somewhere we don’t have to dread 3 months of the year?” I asked a coworker. “I love the snow,” he said. Walked away from that dope. But one can dream. Anyway, what’s the point? I’m going golfing! Turns out, could’ve stayed here and played too. Either way, I’m all right.

We are not dressing up this year, unless you count shorts and tee-shirt to watch all the great shows that are suddenly out. Lowdown with Ethan Hawke is a good one - that has a second season - we binged all of season 1 last week. Tulsa King is back - Stallone’s face doesn’t move at all anymore - Botox makes people look crazy. It’s not a great series, but we’ve watched it all along. A new series - Nocturnal - is a good one - on Apple TV. Yet, what drives me crazy is that a series will start in a certain place, and then suddenly we go back in time to try and explain the bad guy’s motivation. And then it will flash: “Two weeks ago.” A story should have a start, middle and end, but it seems we get a story arc of: “Start, Before the start, Present Day, a month before the main character was born, twenty years down the line, and then two weeks ago.” “Who the hell is that guy?” Kathy will sometimes ask as we get to the end of an episode. “That’s his long-lost son from when he was a teenager.” S...

Quite the election we have coming up. There are absolute doomsday scenarios unfolding as reports are flying around. This is what I’ve heard: 1). The pentagon is preparing for 90 days without power. 2). There are surface to air missiles set up around Mar-A-Lardo. 3). The military is being trained on how to dig mass graves. 4). Nations are telling citizens to prepare for food and water shortages. We great yet? Now, of course, we may not need those mass graves, but I know a lot of people who are nervous about what might happen because all indications are that there will be a blue tidal wave as Americans hit the voting booth to show their absolute disgust with what’s been going on. The thing is: There’s a true possibility that all hell may break loose because we are being controlled by an absolute madman. He ripped a Reuters reporter for asking if he was sick of the travel. Of all things he bashed the man’s appearance, implying that the man was out of shape. No mirrors? It’s all so insane....

Last year, Toronto knocked the Yankees out of the playoffs and their former slugger, Vlad Guerrero, being egged on by steroid cheat David Ortiz, looked at the camera and yelled: “Da’ Yankees lose!” Whatever. You just beat them in a playoff series, and you need to do that. Pissed me off, and I recall saying: “I hope they lose in game 7 in the bottom of the 9th.” That’s exactly what happened to them, and I called Vladdy a former slugger because this year, after signing a $500 million contract, he hit 9 homers and drove in 45 runs. Karma came for him. So, this year, Tampa beats the Yankees. Judge didn’t play. Had he been healthy, it may have been a different story. Yet, injuries are part of the game. The Rays deserved to win. Their star, Junior Caminero, decided to join the party. “Da’ Yankees lose!” He announced. Caminero was horrible in the World Series and guess what: “Da’ Rays lose!” You’d think I’d be happy, right because I enjoyed watching the Brewers play some great baseball, and t...

I can proudly say that I have never donated a single penny to a politician. That’s not to say that they haven’t tried. I’ve received texts, spam calls, e-mails and singing telegrams asking me to kick in. “I still need your help!” One of the candidates just texted. “We need to make sure that we bring it across the finish line. Evan a single dollar can put us over the top!” Not from me. Money as it stands now needs to get out of politics. Millions upon millions are being spent. And meanwhile, we have politicians crossing the country doing rallies. Today, the sitting president (our national embarrassment) was talking about Arnold Palmer being ‘all man’. He completed that train of thought by explaining that Palmer had a huge weiner. That’s crucial for undecided voters, right? We are watching a complete mental breakdown as every speech these last ten days have included a section about ‘beautiful, muscular men.’ Who would’ve guessed that one? He’s a couple of rallies away from fully coming o...