Thoughts of a Common Man

Netflix has an Epstein series regarding his arrest back in the West Palm Beach days around 2005. Before each episode they run a disclaimer that “There are interactions with minors that some may find disturbing.” Some???? It’s hard to believe that so much was just let slide back then. Notes on telephone pads saying that one girl was running late because she had to stay in school. One of the first girls on the show spoke about how young she was and how she’d never even thought about herself in that way - she was only fourteen! - and how she never, ever thought of herself the same way again. Ruined lives. And I know there are a whole lot of people who are turning a blind eye to it. My wife doesn’t want to watch it. “It’s too insane.” Yeah, it certainly is. Some may even find it disturbing. I explained to a friend that we are in the stage where MAGA digests the sick information and processes it. In an effort to excuse it. Some have already floated excuses by saying the age of consent is to...

There was no crazy Valentine’s Day celebration here at Camp Clifford. No cards, or flowers or chocolates. In fact, we didn’t even mention it. I did bring my Mom a candy bar and some cupcakes, but I usually do that each week anyway. Kathy has never cared about any of the celebrations for any event - we forgot our anniversary one year, celebrating it, by going out to dinner, on the wrong day. In fact, the only memories I have about any sort of Valentine’s Day celebrations goes way back to grammar school when we’d be expected to bring a Valentine for all of our classmates. I do recall making sure that I gave the best one to the girl I had a crush on, but it didn’t have much of an impact. I certainly had a date or two on Valentine’s Day in high school or college… …but certainly nothing earth-shattering. Yet, it’s freaking February! There has to be something to look forward to. So, I checked out sone of the posts on social media. Flowers here… …out to dinner there. And there’s going to be d...

Pam Bondi made a complete fool of herself in front of Congress. She was belligerent, nasty and biased. The thing about her job is that she’s supposed to be impartial. She sure seems to be favoring the members of the administration and protecting pedophiles. At one point, she mentioned that they were ‘moving on’ from the files, and it was further announced that there would be no more arrests. All the while the information continues to be leaked. Listen, it’s the last thing I want to discuss. Rape of children. Murder. Even stories of possible cannibalism. That’s what they want to move on from? And imagine the men who KNOW what they did, and now realize that their crimes will see the light of day. Alan Dershowitz, who penned an opinion that the age of consent is too high. He famously mentioned that he received a massage but kept his underwear on. I read some claims made by victims who implied that he most certainly did not keep his underwear on, and that he allegedly raped children who ha...

Much of the country has been caught up in the story of Nancy Guthrie, an 84-year-old woman who appears to have been kidnapped from her home. The horrible story has demanded our attention because Nancy is the mother of reporter and news anchor Savannah Guthrie, who coincidentally enough interviewed the Epstein survivors. It’s a crazy story. A ring camera caught images of the person who may be responsible, but we didn’t see a lot because the person was dressed like an ICE agent. A ransom was offered. There have been tearful pleas from family members, and leads and clues, and hopelessness. And of course, it has turned into a social media event where the most nasty amongst us say things like: “Who cares? People go missing every day!” Or “They’re only looking for her because her daughter is rich!” Sad stuff. I’m hoping the woman is somehow safely returned. Imagine how terrified she is. Try and think about how heartbroken her children and grandchildren are. Empathy. Hopefully, we can find it...

I started writing on November 15th. Just a solid first chapter that centered around my sister calling me by the nickname she has for me. I started the story the day before the Blizzard of ‘77, and then included a story I’d heard, as a kid, about a man who’d taken his half of the house (during divorce proceedings) by using an excavator. Just writing for writing’s sake, and a funny thing happened: The characters took off. By December 1st, I was all in. Wrote into my phone, thinking about their lives. I knew I had something special because I was gifted the plot, and it held a message. Something I had to say. On Monday night, I went to sleep, knowing that I had to get out of bed around 5:00. Woke up at 1:00 anyway because I had the final few pages that I needed. I wrote them into my phone, and when I woke up, I wondered if what I’d written down out of a deep sleep was going to make any sense. It did. That afternoon, I typed the final few pages, and a book that I’d started writing on Novemb...

“We’re all done with that,” Karoline Leavitt said when she was questioned about the Epstein files. “We’re moving on.” Really? Patel and the DOJ came out and said that there was no evidence of a child trafficking ring. Meanwhile, they’re still hiding millions of pages of documents and videos and evidence of the most heinous of crimes. One of the senators who was allowed to look at the files that have not been redacted stated that the huge orange guy’s name appears more than a million times. No wonder they’re hiding it. And some are warning that the files must stay hidden or the entire world might collapse under the weight of the gross misconduct. They are threatening us with destroyed lives if we hold the rich bastards to account. I’m pretty sure that the outcry from the general public would be to let it all burn to the ground. The government is compromised because many of the people in the current administration are also in the files. “If we kick everyone out because they’re mentioned ...

On Sunday night, I asked Kathy if it was supposed to warm up. “For sure. It’s going to be 40 one day this week.” So, imagine my surprise on Monday morning as I left for work. “Damn, it’s frigid!” I yelled, as I dragged the garbage tote in from the road. And I play a game, guessing what temperature it is as provided by my car display. “Five degrees,” I called out, not believing that I missed by 14 degrees! -9 Minus-freaking-nine! That’s as cold as I’ve ever seen. We were up to zero by 9:00. And of course, it all brings havoc to my aching bones by the end of the day. Now, one might ask, how is Ollie handling this? On Saturday, I put out a text: “How many passes has Ollie caught in 2026? Closest to it gets $50.” Kathy, Jake and Sam all put their guesses in… …Sam was closest… …just 130 away. As of this writing, Ollie has caught 6,020 passes in 2026, averaging about 150 a day. Yesterday morning, at minus nine… …he had no interest. Can’t blame him!

As we watched the Super Bowl I couldn’t help but thinking about Game 7 of the most recent World Series. I didn’t care who won that game either - but man, that was great drama. The Super Bowl is the big television event of the year. The game itself was a snooze. There were a couple of interesting commercials. I liked the fake sitcom one with Ted Danson, Jennifer Aniston and Tom Brady. I was also curious about the halftime show because I knew Bad Bunny was going to be singing in a language that would make MAGA’s heads explode. I hear a lot of Hispanic music on the job sites. It’s an upbeat sound, and has never bothered me at all. I’ll usually mention something, and get a smile or two. As soon as the halftime show ended the pedo put out a post that condemned it, saying, get this: The dancing would be offensive to children!!! Imagine that! The guy mentioned in the Epstein files 38,000 times is worried about the kids! It was a positive performance and while it may have been interesting if t...

Our golf weekend was pushed up this year because there was a feeling that the Bills were going to be playing today.  They aren’t, and I tried to imagine what this day would be if it were Bills-Seahawks today. There’s no doubt that if the Bills ever win one, this city might burn to the ground. 30 some years ago, my buddy Jeffy and I made a pact to streak through our hometown if they pulled it off. To everyone’s great relief, it didn’t happen, and I don’t think either of us want to honor that pact anymore. I can’t run fast enough to streak at this age! Patriots-Seahawks is a yawner of a matchup unless you’re from Seattle or Boston, and yet, everyone will watch because we are all trying to pretend that the country isn’t going to shit. Of course, there is controversy because Bad Bunny and Greenday are the featured artists for the halftime show. MAGA is screaming because Bad Bunny is from Puerto Rico, and they want a good old-fashioned American artist! Doesn’t matter that Puerto Rico is...

Every day I set a new personal record for consecutive days I’ve been alive. Every day this administration sets a new low in the ‘how low can they go?’ in this shit hole country. The pedophile posted a video that showed President Obama and his wife, as apes. My theory is that it was posted as an effort to remind his followers - who might be disappointed that he’s a pedophile - that he’s still a racist. Some people thoroughly enjoy racism so this might take the sting out of the sexually abusing children stuff. I’m only half-kidding. Posting such a meme is certainly an attempt to divert attention away from the Trump-Epstein files. So. Another low point. There were actually GOP members who were SHOCKED by such blatant racism. Really? Shocked? If there’s one thing that we can all agree on it’s that he’s a blatant, raging racist. It doesn’t matter that if a janitor at the local school posted this he would be fired. Everyone is held to a higher standard than this despicable human. And still, ...

The artists at the Super Bowl were announced quite a while ago. Of those two artists, I know one song: “American Idiot” by Green Day. It was a song that they wrote about George W. I’m told that Bad Bunny is a very popular artist who is from Puerto Rico. The uneducated masses want to know why we couldn’t find an American artist. Um, Puerto Rico is a part of the United States. “Yeah, but his songs aren’t in English! Can’t we find someone who loves our country?” Which is ridiculous. Artists from all over the world have played the Super Bowl gig. The Stones and Who and U2 and Paul McCartney were all from different countries. ‘Course they are white men. I don’t care about the halftime show. I don’t care much about the game either. I do care about my squares. But I hope that Bad Bunny and Green Day get under the skin of all those who are racists and fans of the pedophile portion of our current government. Go get ‘em!

Kaitlin Collins is an excellent reporter. She works at CNN and for years I’ve admired her work, as she always seems to be well-prepared, and she asks concise, detailed questions. Problem being that she is usually asking those questions to a pig. Collins asked about the survivors of Epstein. “You’re the worst,” Pedo Pig responded. “You should smile more.” Which is horrible. She’s supposed to smile when asking a question about pedophiles? And man, what are we even doing here?  There are sworn statements from the victims that clearly identify that disgusting human in the half-demolished White House as being heavily involved. The mainstream media isn’t touching it. Other nations are now threatening to expose everything, and here, in America, we have people in MAGA donning shirts that say: “I don’t care if Trump is a pedophile.” Seriously. Raping children is not a bridge too far for these people??? I’m not surprised. J.D. Vance, who calls to mind ‘Creep’ every time he appears felt compe...

My siblings certainly get a thanks for the dinner that I put together for the golf weekend with my buddies. Two weeks before I left for the trip, I met up with Jim and Scott, and we made a batch of sausage. I put the sausage in my golf bag, and it was still slightly frozen when I finally got my hands on my luggage. I had also stuffed Corinne’s recipe for sausage cacciatore in the book I was reading. Corinne detailed the recipe, and I followed it to the letter. I put it all together on Friday night, and on Saturday I set it to simmer as we played. When you’re feeding a group of people there’s a moment, as they’re digging in, when the cook wonders: “Is this good?” I’ve learned to start eating and make up my own mind about it. Two forkfuls in, I knew: “Nailed it.” One of the Italian guys, who I’ve shared a lot of meals with, kept saying: “Mmm, good.” As if he were a caveman eating for the first time. He kept saying those two words. By the end, I had to share the recipe, and as usual, ther...

It’s way past time we have a conversation about the billionaires (one soon to be a trillionaire) in this country. When one reads any of the documents in the Epstein files, the overwhelming feeling is one of depravity. Children. Some as young as four years old, collected and abused, and discarded. Normal human beings can’t understand it. There is an impulse to simply not believe the horrific events that unfolded. We can’t understand it, but billionaires can because evidently they got bored and needed to satisfy their disgusting, vile, horrific, inhumane, murderous, (insert any adjective you can think of) urges. Make no mistake. Hoarding money. Wielding extreme power. Denigrating others. It’s all a moral sickness that builds a billionaire. As normal human beings, we might sometimes fantasize what we might do if we suddenly become ultra-wealthy. Helping other people is often where the mind goes… …if you’re normal. Here in America and around the world the billionaire class appears to be ma...

- Played 4 rounds of golf. Played pretty well 3 times - putted horribly on day three. - Had the big crab cakes and the perfect omelets at the daily brunches. - Used my sister Corinne’s sausage cacciatore recipe to make dinner for the boys and it was a huge hit. - Slept outside under the stars, got some sun on my face. - Had 4 flights cancelled on the way down, but made it, and my clubs did too, but lost a bag for a little while, so had to buy a day’s clothes. - on the return my flight was delayed for hours on end, and the worst part was that there were 4 gate changes at LaGuardia that had me walking for miles. But I had a smile on my face because we freaking laughed a lot. We have so many inside jokes after decades of hanging out, and we bash each other over the head with them at every possible turn. And God help you if you misspeak. We have a very generous host who allows us to move about his beautiful home as if it were our own. The only price paid is that of laughter. Going to have ...

We played our final round of the getaway on Saturday n 62 degree weather. Which was fine with me. We had tee times for today and even tomorrow, but cold weather is going to end that dream. Yeah. Into the 30’s!!! And there are 7 guys here - we’ve all been friends for decades - and political talk - in 5 days - with everything going on this week - has never been discussed. The pig’s name has come up, as a joke, and there isn’t anyone in the group who believes that his continuing to be the leader of the free world is a good thing, but…. …there are a lot of heads in the sand around here. Also, the signs are gone. Not even a single MAGA sign… …and we are way down here. It seems that people in the neighborhood who were once fervent supporters may be trying to distance themselves from ever believing it was a good idea. Which, as more and more of his vile behavior becomes exposed, will be a problem. What do those of us who KNEW all along, do with those of us who will have to PRETEND that they d...

Someone dropped a few more items from the Epstein files and it’s becoming apparent that Epstein had a partner or that Epstein was working for the pig that is currently hiding the files. And the worst part of it all is that the mainstream media appears terrified of even commenting on anything that is being leaked. Please. Read those vile accusations and the testimony of the victims. And then stand up with the rest of us who believe that all involved need to lose their jobs, and their freedom. The people who are guilty must go to jail. Each and every line of these documents must be investigated. The files detail the rape and murder of children. Not underage men or women. CHILDREN  Who were trafficked and abused beyond belief. ICE? It’s a distraction. The tariffs? Just hiding this information. Get them all out in the open. Try them all. Then bury them under the jail. Pigs. Straight up sexual predators. That’s deplorable.

I parred the first two holes of the year, and 3 of 4. Which is rough for the poor guys who’ve known me for the last thirty years. I don’t shut up. And we played again on Thursday morning…and it was so much fun to stand out in the sun and swing a club as the entire northeast is in a deep freeze. As a matter of fact, Buffalo will be below zero today… …so I’m gaining about 75 degrees. Chippy has been solid. My drives are mostly straight, and while I’ve missed a few short putts… …oh hell, it doesn’t matter. I was golfing, with good friends. We have laughed a lot. We’ve eaten great meals. And kind of laughed about how bad it is back home… …but down to a matter of days before I’m back in the frozen tundra. But I will be a little bit happier than I was before I left. Golf and sunshine can do that for you.

I’m so proud of Bruce Springsteen. Now, readers of this blog, and dear friends of mine know that I love Bruce’s music. It’s not just because I can sing every word to Dancing in the Dark or Glory Days. It’s because he has always been there - every step of the way as I’ve journeyed through my life. His lyrics have taught me about growing up and becoming a man and a husband and a faithful, kind, compassionate American. Yesterday he released a song, dedicated to the Americans who lost their lives to a thug fucking Army in an American city. Bruce stood up. Again. And a song or a book, or a blog won’t change the world, but it might change one person’s mind. I will keep trying. And Bruce is always on the right side of love and compassion. Those Americans should not have died. And if you’re on the ‘other side’ of this - you know that too. Thank you, Bruce. It’s why you’re the greatest to ever do it.

It’s hard to describe the day I had yesterday. My flight was delayed for two hours. Then another hour.  Then it was cancelled. I got used to the idea of going on Wednesday, but found out, I was rebooked and I’d be leaving at 3:00. Good enough. A snowstorm on the way to the airport, and yet, we were loaded onto the plane. We waited 30 minutes and were greeted with the following announcement: “You might wonder why we aren’t leaving. We can’t find the pilot.” Seriously! We waited. 30 minutes later: “We found the pilot. We will be leaving shortly.” My phone pinged. My connecting flight from Charlotte was cancelled. They rebooked me on a flight for the morning, but I looked around, there was still a flight leaving at night. I got off the plane and went to customer service and switched my flight. Found one of the guys from Syracuse who was booked on the same flight. As we ate an $11 slice of pizza, twenty feet from the gate, both of our phones pinged. “The flight has been canceled.” We w...

There’s a photo floating around that the NFL put out on September 4th for the start of the new season. In the photo (which I couldn’t post for some reason) a player from each team was shown, staring up at the Super Bowl trophy. The two players closest to the pedestal where the trophy was displayed were: You guessed it: Drake Maye and Sam Darnold. In a league with Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, Matthew Stafford, Lamar Jackson, and Jalen Hurts… …among about 200 other players you’d think of before Maye or Darnold entered the conversation… …that was who the NFL decided to feature… ..4 months before the big game. Coincidence? Now, for years, the NFL has heard rantings of lunatics who discovered that the Super Bowl logo (which is released before the start of the year) always gets the colors exactly right… …red for Chiefs and dark green for Eagles last year… (It’s happened a lot!) But this????? Darnold and Maye?????  Seriously???? The Patriots and the Seahawks both missed the pl...

I came in from cleaning the car and creating a path to it from the front door. My feet were like blocks of ice when I came in. We got about 9.5 inches here, which is basically a dusting. Ollie got his reps in, and we watched a couple of movies and checked the football games. I’d even watch the NFL to stay away from the news. That poor guy was murdered on video, and the pigs in charge are doing whatever they can to blame him for being beaten, disarmed, pepper sprayed, and shot in the back, and then shot 9 more times. An RN nurse who went to check on a woman who was body-checked into the snow bank. One guy explained to me that “Americans need to learn to carry their papers if they leave the house, but should just stay home.” Really? Doesn’t he know that ICE doesn’t need a warrant to enter your home? This is the America we want to live in? A virtual police state? Ruined the weekend for a lot of people. Check social media… …it’s just scared Americans wondering how the madness can be stoppe...

Saturday was the latest day to be ruined by the tyrannical administration ruining what was a once great nation. “We are a shithole country,” was what I said. Watch the video - as painful as that might be - ICE murdered another American in Minnesota. They got away with the first murder by claiming that a woman was a domestic terrorist. Her murder was absolutely disgusting. The one yesterday was even worse. ICE officers pushed a woman down - for walking down the street - and a 37-year old man, who is a nurse, has no criminal record, and was a legal gun owner, approached in what can best be seen as an attempt to help the fallen woman. Eight ICE Agents took him down, disarmed him, pepper sprayed him, bashed him with their gun, and then shot the man multiple times. There are videos from every angle. Murder. The Kent State moment, and as I watched the video for the second time, all I could think was, it’s not sustainable. It has to stop. The premise is that ICE is ridding the country of ille...

The weather has been downright miserable. Frigid cold. High winds. Snow. And I know everyone is wondering, Ollie is still catching passes. 150 yesterday in 4 different sessions. I’m all dressed up, he’s running and diving, and leaping in the ice cold air. But he’s going to get a break because if I can get the hell out on Tuesday, I’ll be playing golf in the sunshine. Yet, I have to battle through this storm like everyone else. And this isn’t one of those storms that might miss us somehow… …I’m not much of a meteorologist, but dead red on the radar is a tip-off. The problem being, of course, that clearing snow is most definitely more difficult as an older man. Especially because by the end of each week everything hurts. And in a widespread storm like this the news reporters spend the first ten minutes every hour giving us all tips on how to survive: Here’s a handy recap: 1). Stay inside. 2). If you go outside, dress warmly. 3). Don’t shovel for too long if you’re old cause you’ll end up...

It’s always so shocking to me. I ran into a couple of guys at a convenience store, and we commiserated about the miserable weather. I noticed the guys were looking a little down. “What’s up?” They mentioned a man’s name that we all knew. Just said his name. “What?” I asked, not wanting to hear the answer. “He passed away,” one of them said. “Took his own life, I guess.” My legs went weak. “What the f**k?” Was the only response I could come up with. I said it three or four times. A successful guy with a family. Always personable. Always well-groomed and driven and… …what the f**k? I thought about his wife and children. I did not know them, but I imagined their pain. And, of course, I thought of our last conversation at the Christmas party. All good. Smiles, well wishes. Yesterday, I went about my day. Had a couple of discussions with men who also knew him. Men who’d spoken with him that morning. “There wasn’t anything different about him. Just a regular day.” And yet… …what  …the …f...

The Bills owner and the general manager held a press conference that left the community in an uproar because they fired the coach. Meanwhile, the leader of the free world held a couple of rambling, nonsensical press conferences where he spoke of stealing Greenland. And the country collectively shrugged. There are reports out that the president has made $1.4 billion since he was ‘elected’ (more like appointed by Musk) last year. Shrug. He’s not supposed to make money off his position. The Epstein Files, by law, were supposed to be fully released in late December. They aren’t being released. (Because the giant turd is in them). The reporters at the press conference did not ask a single question about the non-release of the files about a pedophile ring. Not important enough, I guess. The world remains upside down, and I guess, even though it has been all bad news regarding the local sports team, at least it takes people’s attention off the fact that we’re being played. The latest Greenlan...

It was so cold yesterday that I was questioning my very existence. “Why do I live here?!” I screamed on my way into the first site. And then I started taking calls and answering emails because everything happens on Tuesday (it’s the day of the week when all the shit goes down). The workforce is in a bitter mood with the Bills loss and the firing of their coach. “I’m not talking about it!” One guy yelled. There was a rambling, bumbling news conference by the dementia, pedophile and catching even a glimpse of that was enough. He reminisced about his little league days and how his mother said, “Donald, you can be a professional baseball player.” Then he talked about how great he was. (Spoiler alert: He sucked). Yet, the important things to come out of it was: 1). He’s going to invade Greenland and start World War III. 2). He said that no court in the land will make him release the Epstein files. 3). Everything wrong is Biden’s fault. 4). He’s doing a spectacular job. Most of the calls now...

The Buffalo Bills fired their head coach. Sean McDermott, and man, the Bills Mafia went crazy. I was surprised when I saw the news, because the Bills have been good for a lot of years now. I thought McDermott should’ve been fired years ago when his team lost a game they were winning with just 13 seconds left. He survived that. Yet, they couldn’t get over the hump, and in the end, it’s a results-oriented business. People get fired every day. I’ve lost two jobs in about 40 years of working. One was way back in 1988, and I left one company, and joined a new one the very next day. On the same job site. Simply switched hardhats, and it was worth it just to see the look on the face of the guy who let me go the afternoon before. “What are you doing here?” He asked. “I work here,” I said. “God, I missed you.” And then I was let go after 20 years… …but also immediately just changed the hardhat I was wearing. I imagine that is what will happen with McDermott. He’s going to switch hats. Seinfeld ...

Back in 2015, in the lead up to the election that may have destroyed America, I wondered, in this very blog, why we were hearing great things about Russia from the orange candidate. “Russia if you’re listening.” Of course, during that first disaster presidency the Mueller report told the world everything we needed to know. The Steele report also has been found to be true… …but it was all buried. In all the years since, everyone from Rosie O’Donnell to Rob Reiner has been bashed by the pedophile criminal that is robbing the place blind - and announcing it at every turn. He’s at war with a blue state or two. Hates everyone. Except Putin. Fast forward again to yesterday. A report came out from Ukraine - they, fearing that the Russian asset in the half-demolished White House is in fact a Russian asset - fed bad information to Captain Pedophile. That information went directly to Putin. Clear treason. All this about Greenland? Tariffs on NATO nations? All in service to Russia. If Putin were ...

“No Goal.” “Wide Right.” “Music City Miracle.” “13 Seconds.” And now this latest heartbreak for the city. I watched the game, and even though I wasn’t overly emotionally attached, I felt stress as the game moved along because I know how much it means to everyone. Especially my boys. I also told anyone that would listen that winning three straight road games to get to the Super Bowl would be difficult, if not impossible. It’s just physically exhausting to play a game and travel to an away game - six days later - when the other team is coming off a bye. But I certainly didn’t think the Bills would lose - even when they were down 23-10. Should have known better… …this is Buffalo, after all. And my boys, and every Bills fan I talked to, blamed the refs for the loss. There were some ugly calls, to be sure. But, you can’t turn the ball over five times. And again, the defensive minded coach watched the Broncos take the lead with a minute left. Every year, this team loses in heartbreaking fash...

I live in Buffalo. I really don’t get to complain about it being cold, as this is where we made our home, and it will certainly get frigid here. But I’ll still bitch about it because, frankly, this sucks. One of my contractors gifted me a huge winter jacket - it’s bright yellow and has the company name on it - but I’m wearing it proudly. Helps some, but nothing stops the wind from making my ample forehead freeze. Yesterday morning was very trying as I got up and saw the political headlines. Then I saw that the Dodgers bought another free agent. And finally, I headed out to the driveway. My phone dinged. “Can you clean off my car too?” Was still dark out. “At least it’s Friday,” wasn’t working to cheer me up. Because big jacket and all: “I’m freaking cold!” 🥶  🥶  🥶 

I know people who are physically sick about what is happening in America. I have a friend that I try to talk off the ledge every day. I don’t know what to say to her. “And so many people are oblivious to how close we are to the end!” She said. And that is true. “It’ll be fine,” others say. For those not paying attention. 1). We have a roving gang of thugs attacking American citizens. They’re not following any laws. They’re beating children and murdering people. The government gave them immunity. They aren’t trained, aren’t accountable and are using war time tactics on Americans because they live in a blue state. 2). We bombed a country and stole the oil and the money that was stolen was out into an offshore account controlled by one man. The man has gained billions in wealth in a year by profiting off the presidency. 3). He stole a Nobel Peace Prize by bombing that country. The deserving recipient of the prize handed it over to save her people from thuggery and corruption.  4). The...

Lost my freaking mind yesterday afternoon as suddenly my phone went from working to SOS mode. I’m challenged when it comes to technology. I don’t have a clue on how to fix anything, and in the middle of a work day, I went into a straight up panic. I simply believed that I had somehow hit a button that sent everything askew. Shut the phone off and turned it on again. Didn’t work. Went to settings and looked around - no clue! Didn’t want to flip any buttons. So, I had to hustle home… …we have an IT person here. I couldn’t call or text. As I was pulling in, Kathy was leaving. I flagged her down. “How the hell do I know? We’re late!” Spotted Sam in the car. “Mine is in SOS mode too,” Sam said. So, I took a deep breath. I didn’t do it! Yet, it also dawned on me that if they want to attack us, all they need to do to destroy us is to attack the phones. The SOS garbage went on all afternoon. I’m sure they’re going to send out quick refunds. SOS My ass.

I don’t wish time away. I know that every day is a blessing, but I’m 13 days away from my annual golf outing with my long-time friends. Five rounds, hot tub, dinners at the club, crab cakes as big as my head, a few drinks, a lot of laughs. I’ve been talking to the ball that I’m going to hit off the first tee. And this is why. Woke up Tuesday morning wondering why my right knee wasn’t working properly. It was fine when I went to bed. The wind takes the temperature down. Absolute misery out in the cold, and I almost broke my neck slipping on the ice, but my unbelievable balance kept me upright. Then the temp goes up enough just enough to turn Ollie Stadium into a mud pit and his paws need to be wiped whenever he comes in. Wind. Cold. Mud. Ice. Winter weather advisories. And I’m driving around talking to my golf ball. And trying not to watch the news. 13 days. It’s going to pass like a year. “It’s 78 where you’re going in Florida,” Kathy mentioned. “15 with wind here next week.” “Yeah, bu...

The videos going around social media are disgustingly. Yesterday in Minneapolis a gang of ICE agents descended on a Target where a 17-year old, Hispanic American citizen was spotted. ICE surrounded him and asked him about his citizenship. The kid plainly said that he is an American. They tackled him to the ground. The kid was absolutely terrified, and even though concerned citizens were standing up for the kid, the tough guys, with their faces covered, and their weapons drawn… …threw the crying kid into their car. It gets worse. After discovering he was indeed an American, they threw him out of their vehicle at Walmart. He worked at Target. So, he was thrown away, 8 miles from his job, and he was beaten. His eye was closed and blackened. This what you voted for???? Since the murder, ICE has become more aggressive. They’re telling American citizens: “Didn’t you see what happened last week? Didn’t you learn your lesson?” I wish this blog could be about other things, but it’s hard to igno...

Seems to me that every NFL game now comes down to the last minute. Down by 20 in the fourth quarter… …don’t worry about it because the opposing team, that stopped you all game long, won’t stop you once the rest of the way. Need a yard? Just stand there and 4 guys will pick you up and carry you. I haven’t watched football all year, but it’s impossible to avoid a playoff game when the Bills are participating. So, I shut up and watched. Even bought a square. “He’ll win,” Kathy said, as I announced my numbers. I did. $500. Didn’t care about a damn thing the rest of the way, and had a running text dialogue with my boys. Two out of three were pessimistic about the outcome. Sam, who always lives in brilliant sunshine, reminded everyone that they were fine. I asked them how they felt about the stress that sports brings, reminding them that I had absolutely zero stress about any sport that doesn’t include the Yankees. “I live for this,” was their verdict. The Bills pulled it out. They live to s...

Checked videos on ICE and their confrontations with American citizens. Like a gang they’re pulling up to cars, all masked up, weapons all over their belts. “Are you an American citizen?” They asked a black man who was waiting in a parking lot to pick up his Uber customer. “I’m not answering that,” the man said. “As a matter of fact, why are you even asking me? Is it because I’m not white?” “Answer the question,” the ICE agent yelled. “Why?” “Because we’re law enforcement and we’re asking.” “Not good enough,” the man said. “Are you a U.S. citizen?” “If you don’t cooperate, we’re going to take you in,” the ICE agent said. “I’m working here! I ain’t done a fucking thing! Why are you asking me?” “You have an accent,” the agent said. “You don’t sound like a citizen.” The man laughed. “Get the fuck away from me,” he said. They didn’t. They yanked him from the car, and put him in handcuffs. Turns out, the man is an American citizen… …and for all that are saying: “He should comply!” That’s the...

We had an early morning meeting at a job site on Friday. We talked about what we had to, and then the laborer made an announcement: “They murdered that woman,” he said. I groaned. I didn’t want to hear any of it. There were five us standing in a huddle. The guy next to him said: “She needed to obey their commands.” “She didn’t so they shot her 3 times?” A third guy asked. “They’re trying to rid the country of filthy immigrants,” the 4th guy said. They looked at me. “This is the point,” I said. “He’s in the files for raping children.” “Oh, he’s going down a rabbit hole,” the first guy said. I explained my point. All of it… …putting the military on the streets…. …kidnapping the Venezuelan president… …talking about invading Greenland and Canada and Mexico… …it’s all an attempt to distract people from the fact that they have not complied with the law. It’s been nearly a month since they were told to release the files. They haven’t. They won’t because in those files there are videos of him…...

Watching the spin is dizzying. To think that the shooter was under threat, at the side of a vehicle that was turned away is some serious bullshit. Even worse was the “he’s lucky to be alive” statement made by Pedo Pig. But I got nothing. Very little hope. Because if you read the comment section on the social media sites you would think that the woman deserved her fate. There’s the you have to comply crowd. One of the masked thugs told her to get out, as the other tried to open her door. Comply with what? They’re pepper spraying anyone who gets in the way. Standing in front of a vehicle is some idiotic garbage by the way. That’s why the woman backed up. To get away. Then she turned the wheel away.. And she is shot in the head through a side window. The domestic terrorist who wrote poetry, and had dropped off her child at school when she was accosted… …died. And whether medical help could have saved her, we will never know, because they wouldn’t allow a medical professional near the car....

It was only a matter of time. ICE has been on the streets - all over the country - arresting people for ‘looking’ like immigrants. Take a good look at that poor woman. A mother of three. In the prime of her life. She was being stopped by ICE for who knows what. There are zero laws. I watched a lengthy video taken by her neighbors. The woman was scared. She attempted to simply drive away from these thugs terrorizing her neighborhood. They murdered her. Point blank range. Immediately the pig in chief went online and claimed she was the aggressor. The video is clear. The woman was terrified. They simply killed her. A United States citizen. Mom. And it’s not an isolated incident. Men have been being beaten. Others have been abducted - despite having their papers - and they’re being sent who knows where. No one knows what is going on at the detention camps. I don’t even know what to say anymore. America is at an absolute crossroads. Will we sit back and just watch it end? Will we? Those bei...

I love dreams. I try my best to recall them in the morning, but it doesn’t go so well. I also read that a dream is more of a flash and that they only last seconds. Some seem much longer than that, don’t they? The randomness of dreams is also weird. Like why? Sunday night to Monday morning brought me a dream that I remembered in the morning, because it was a doozy. I dreamed I was sleeping, and that Miller was beside me when the beautiful actress, Kaley Cuoco, asked Miller to scooch over. She laid down beside me, and said, “I had a fight with my husband, and I’m wondering if you mind if I sleep here. You can cuddle if you want.” I pushed over. Then I woke up. Miller was next to me. “Bastard!” I went to work, confused, and absolutely irritated. But, I also wondered why… …I haven’t seen Kaley in anything new. I haven’t watched “The Big Bang Theory” in a long time. I mentioned it to Kathy. She didn’t seem impressed. “Yeah. That sounds plausible.” Seemed plausible to me. Wonder what Kaley t...

It’s hard to believe that it’s been five years since we watched an insurrection at the Capitol. What a horrible, horrible day, and I mostly recall the night before when I told my wife that it was going to happen, and she doubted that any such thing could happen here. How I long for that day, because it’s a whole lot worse now. Stephen Miller, yesterday, explained the new policy of this regime, by saying, “We’re a superpower. Why wouldn’t we take what we want?” They plan on taking over Cuba, Greenland, and Columbia. You know who talked like that? Think back… …he was German. If that doesn’t make you look back fondly on a simple insurrection, I don’t know what to say. And of course, it’s horrifying. It’s like me going into my neighbor’s house and taking over because I don’t like the way he cuts his lawn. He has good stuff and I want it and I should be able to take it because he’s old and frail and I’m stronger than him. Why wouldn’t I just take his shit? And here’s the thing. We are all t...

I’ve always pictured the founding fathers as really smart guys with white hair, and dressed in layers like we’ve always seen in photos. As children we were taught that they came up with a foolproof system that would rely on leaders who would use a system of checks and balances so that no branch had too much power. The system would work unless someone ultimately corrupt came along so as circumvent the system. But there were measures in place that would make a total destruction of the system impossible. Right? We will find out shortly. The executive branch is currently ignoring all laws. The law says that the Epstein files are to be released. All but one member of Congress voted for the release. We don’t have them. It appears that they’re being held because the leader of the executive branch is starring in the files - as a pedophile. Americans are - by and large - against abusing children. Or so I thought. Congress is also required, by decree of our founding fathers, necessary to set the...

Writing is certainly a funny business. I was struck by an idea for a long story in November. I once wrote a book that had 85,000 words, and the first note I got from the editor was: “It’s too long. Should be between 60,000 and 70,000 words.” So, I normally shoot for that number, knowing that I have to pace the story, and land it, all in that range. When I start a story, I plan on it taking me a full calendar year. That’s unless I get supremely focused, and consumed by the characters. I’ve never written so many words in such a short period of time, on this story, which I’ll be calling, ‘Perfect World’. In just a little over a month I’ve written 45,000 words. It’s just kept flowing, as if I can’t turn off the faucet. It’s that odd state of mind as well as I’m at the stage where I’m wondering: “Is this any good?” Now, I’ve done this for forty years so I have an idea of how it will land, but it’s never a certainty. And, I bring this all up in light of what is happening in the world. I’ve t...

As a young man, I spent a lot of time at Rich Stadium.  The last game of the season might be the final event there, and it got me thinking about the times I had there. 1). 1973 - We begged Dad to take us. It was the opening season, and OJ was on the team. We loved OJ. My Dad hated football. He never enjoyed it, even when they were going to the super bowls in the 90’s, but he loved what we loved. So, he took my brother John and me. It snowed all game long. The final score was 6 to 3 or something like that. On the way home, Dad said two words about 100 times: “Never Again.” It was also the time he said, a couple days later, “I had more fun at my grandfather’s funeral.” 2). September 1981. If I concentrate hard enough I can see Mick Jagger sing the opening line to “Under My Thumb”. I remember a lot from that concert. “Tumbling Dice” was an encore.  One of my favorite memories. 3). Super Bowl Years. I have no idea how many games I attended during the Jim Kelly era, but it has to b...

This is purgatory. A halfway sort of thing that leaves me wandering around wondering what to do. The dog and cat are out of the usual routine too, so they’re wandering around with me, asking: “What’s up, dude?” I don’t know what’s up! On New Year’s Eve I tried a few jobs - one was open. Guys standing around doing zip. Called a buddy and we met for coffee. Sat there for a long while. He couldn’t figure out why he’d gone in either. Then another day off, and here we are at Friday? “You working tomorrow?” Kathy asked. “Of course.” “Is there anything going on?” She asked. “Not really.” “Then why?” She doesn’t get routine. So, me, the cat and the dog went through our morning rituals and I headed out into the cold. I’m hoping there are a few jobs going. Two more days off coming up!

In my younger years I’d spend New Year’s Eve at the Aud watching the Sabres in a tux and pucks outing. Or we’d hang with friends at their home or ours. We laughed last night because as the snow fell during the early afternoon we thought about the party we had here back in 2003 or 2004. Kathy was out getting the beer, and Jeff and I were waiting for her. It was REALLY snowing. The car broke down. We headed out on a rescue mission to find Kathy walking down Lake Avenue, carrying two 18-packs of beer. “Oh, you gotta’ keep her,” Jeff said when we saw her. How things have changed! I made sure we had plenty of food for the dinner. I bought a whole bunch of fancy dishes for three of us. By 7:30, I was wondering if I was going to make it to 10:00, let alone midnight. We have three boys. I was more concerned about their activities. “None of them are even going out tonight,” Kathy said. So, the New Year’s celebration has evolved into a whole lot of nothing. We didn’t pop any corks. Two 18-packs ...