Thoughts of a Common Man

Made my early morning visit to the Buffalo Bills Stadium Project and immediately remembered that there was going to be a party for the setting of the last piece of steel. The topping out party. There were about a dozen police cars set out front, and barriers were set up. The final beam was in the parking lot, and there were a bunch of workers stepping up to sign it. I didn’t bother, mostly because it called to mind a few topping out parties that I’ve gone to, where I deserved to sign it. I’m not at the Stadium every day - there should be room on the beam for guys who are there every damn day. And the politicians and Bills brass and Erie County reps should also step aside for the workers, who are dirty, sore, tired and just plain beat up. It fascinates me to watch people all dressed up for the show looking down their noses at the men and women who get dirty every day, and piss in rancid boxes and eat off trucks. The brass referring to the workers as hardhats. I did my walk and worked my...

Bruce announced that he’s releasing 7 albums from work that he had in the vault over 25 years. Seven new Bruce records! More than 70 songs that I’ve never heard and while there are a couple of his songs that I skip (I always apologize to him when I do so) the chances are good that I’m going to love the music. Should be excited. The Yankees are hitting a lot of homers. It’s the first week of the season. I absolutely love baseball and reading box scores and following all the teams. Should be in my glory. Work is fine. The family is good. Golf is around the corner (I freaking hope) And yet… …I get home each day after not following anything in the news and I try to catch up on what happened in the country… …and I feel a knot in my stomach. We are headed towards a recession for no damn good reason. No matter what one might say, the economy was in very good shape back in November. The new administration took an absolute blow torch to it. I speak to business owners. “I’m not sure how much bui...

The turd that is making economic policy bankrupted a casino.  In fact, he went bankrupt 6 times. We all knew that. He was elected anyway. Stock market is in the tank. Tariffs across the board will raise prices on all imported goods - 10 to 50%! People have their retirements tied to their 401k and those are being destroyed. One of the GOP pinheads said that old people who are worried about their retirement are just going to have to ‘suck it up.’ Why???? What is the payoff at the end? We all get to suffer for the good of the country because this economic genius - WHO BANKRUPTED A FREAKING CASINO- has an idea? Do you trust the man who has lied more than any other politician ever??? I don’t trust him as far as I can throw him and I’m not getting close enough to pick him up. I can’t believe that his suckups are having much success with their constituents. I’m genuinely concerned, of course… …worried about social security and the 401k. Frightened for business owners who won’t be able to ...

There are a lot of things to trip over on a construction site like cords, hoses, rebar. Every safety guy I know has hit the deck at one time or another. I was side-by-side with an OSHA compliance officer when he rounded a corner and stepped into freshly poured concrete. He tried to retreat, and tripped, and ended up on his back in the concrete. I snapped a photo. “Dude,” he said. “If you share that photo anywhere I’m going to hunt down all your clients.” I’ve never shared the photo, but every once in a while I’ll send it to him and laugh. It was a good dozen years since I took a flop. My streak is over. The site was muddy. I walked with two other guys that I was meeting for the first time. We checked out the framers and turned to face the site guys. I assessed the mud in front of me as we headed in the direction of the concrete pour. “Looks solid,” the guy behind me said, and I took a step into what felt like a bowl of soup. I knew my boot was sucked down into the mud, and there truly ...