Thoughts of a Common Man

1). The criminal turd in the oval Office made $1.6 billion last year in his crypto scam, and his cult shrugs it off by either yelling, “like Nancy Pelosi?” Or saying “He doesn’t take his salary!” Infuriating. 2). The celebration of 250 years on a national level is a bust, and it’s due to more incompetence. Years ago, the man who was president set up a committee to ensure that the celebration would be worthy of our history. Don Snoreleone disbanded that committee and took the money for that - now we have the two-bit carnival that no one is going to, and his bloated pockets are filled with our money. The highlight being he will speak in 107 degree weather and give us his weight-lifter bullshit, cry about the 2020 election, and pretend he isn’t slurring his words during his adderall laced word salad. What says 250 proud years better than that? 3). My bitches aren’t all about politics! The Yankees are in their June swoon and it’s because they are overly cautious with injuries. They get off...

Four days after open heart surgery, and the first day home, I got the following text: “Where’s the Tylenol? I’m feeling like a pinch in my rib cage.” I laughed when I read it because it dawned on me that if the roles were reversed I’d be asking for a morphine drip. And Kathy has certainly been through hell with two hip replacements and spinal surgery and now this, and I’ve never once heard her say: “I’m in pain.” And I’ve been able to hit some job sites and the workers have been asking me how it all went, and I’ve mentioned the Tvlenol remark. “Women are way freaking tougher,” one guy said.  His wife had also had an involved surgery, and her pain tolerance was ‘just ridiculous.’ Giving birth is a whole ‘nother thing, and seeing a new Mom smiling about twenty minutes after THAT  is obscene. Tough. If a man had to give birth we’d be erecting statues of every new Dad all around every neighborhood. Of course this a long road… …time will pass slowly for all of us, but we aren’t hea...

Heard of two construction guys getting hit with heat stroke on Tuesday. Both needed medical attention, and it calls to mind a couple of fatalities related to heat in just the last few years. As a safety guy, we tell people at every site. “Stay hydrated. Recognize the signs.” And it still happens. The energy drinks are a culprit. Young people don’t do coffee as us older bastards do. Instead, they chug the energy drinks - 3 or 4 a day! That’s like chugging 3 large coffees - each one!  Imagine drinking 12 large coffees and then hanging out in 90 degree heat. One kid had a heart attack at 33. He didn’t make it. His coworker told me that he drank 6 energy drinks a day… …every day! Others go through hell because they drink beer out in the heat, without mixing in a water or two. Be careful out there. These temperatures are soaring. It’s never reached 100 degrees in Buffalo. I have a feeling that is gonna’ happen this summer. I realize global warming is a hoax (sarcasm)… …but protect yours...

You’ve probably seen the photos by now. The grand American Fair to celebrate 250 Years of Freedom is an absolute bust. Virtually no one showed up. Most of the photos I’ve seen show such a limited number of people that you can actually count them. And of course, we are being told not to believe our eyes. “It’s packed!” The now adjudicated rapist posted. It’s not. They showed the food stands, where the people who yell, “You can save money by not going out for lunch or order a $5 coffee,” were willing to sell you a $9 bottle of water. As I said in an earlier post, I vividly recall the bicentennial celebration back in 1976. Proud Americans, lining up for parades, waving flags, and telling the world that we are the best nation in the world. Now. Crickets. We won’t ever hear the true number of people who showed up. We’ll be told there were hundreds of thousands of people, when I don’t think I counted more than a few hundred people…total…in all the photos I’ve seen. It’s embarrassing. I’m not...

The Bills made a decision I finally agreed with: They aren’t putting Orenthal James Simpson’s name on the wall of honor or ring of honor or whatever the hell they call it when they move into their billions dollar palace. Yep. They took the high road, deciding not to honor a man who nearly decapitated two people. I didn’t  believe it was much of a question, but turns out I was wrong about that. The billions we spent as welfare for the billionaire makes people believe that they should have a say in what happens, and from the comments I see, O.J. should be honored. “We are bending over backwards for the politically correct libtards! The Juice was the greatest Bills player ever. The incident after he retired shouldn’t have no bearing on nothing!” The grammatical disaster of the last sentence aside, I think this genius is pissed about it. And referring to a double murder as an ‘incident’ might show how uncaring people have become. Zero empathy. Totally unhinged. Yeah, the fact that he m...

It’s weird that life just keeps barreling forward as you try and navigate BIG things. I remember thinking exactly that when the boys were born. I stepped out of the hospital back then and saw people doing routine shit, and I recall wanting to yell: “Hey! Slow down! I became a father!” And now, as I go back and forth to the hospital, I see life moving ahead and I’m apt to yell: “Can I get a time out?” On the very day of Kathy’s surgery I received an email with an exclamation point telling me that it was really important. I answered by telling them about the situation and that I wasn’t available. The response was: “Hope it all works out! Do you have time to jump on a quick call to discuss?” I was a tad infuriated. I didn’t respond. But that’s how things go. Everyone has an agenda and their big problem needs to be addressed right FREAKING NOW! And it’s funny, but people also put their own judgement on a private situation. I didn’t golf today, which the world believes is the right decision...

I have the reputation here at Camp Clifford as the guy who wants to live the same week every week, with no change. Awake at the same time. Morning routine is the same, and you can set your watch by how my day winds down. We’ve been in obvious turmoil because of the hospital visit, and I spent two days wandering around the halls  of Buffalo General. I heard a couple of families who were absolutely crushed by the words coming out of the doctor’s mouth. My routine days are just gigantic ‘to-do’ lists and every day I play a game of ‘Beat the Clock’ to see if I can finish everything. There are no ‘to-do’ lists when someone is recovering from what turned into a major operation, and all that is going outside the windows of the perfectly polished halls, doesn’t mean all that much. So, I stayed even keel, and shit-canned thoughts of doing everything else. I filled the water glass, moved the blanket, checked the blood pressure on the crazy monitors hanging behind the bed, and Kathy spoke to ...

It’s truly incredible. The lie is tested out. “It was vandalism.” The reporters don’t push back, but everyone kind of laughs about it, and mentions that it’s insane to even try to tell such a whopper. Step two is to work on the lie. “It was a knife. No wait. It was a box cutter because I told everyone that a knife couldn’t cut it.” 200 feet isn’t a large enough slit to make all the water turn green. So I’ll say it was 300’. Then I’ll mention we arrested people, and are investigating it. So, they try a new lie. “It’s sick. Vandals. They definitely loved Clinton and Obama. Sick, sick people. They jumped in and made a 350’ slit down the floor and started ripping up pieces. Then they ripped up the lawn. That was a fan of Comey, he’s a crooked cop. And Barrak HUSSEIN Obama, who is stupid. Sick, sick people.” The media tries a couple of questions, just for fun. “There is camera surveillance of the reflecting pond. Did they not see the vandals?” “It’ll come out during the investigation.” “We ...

We downplayed the surgery all week. “Everything will be good. You’ll feel better.” On the way into surgery Kathy reminded me, “I’m not done torturing you yet.” I brought a Michael Connelly book, and we arrived at 5:30 AM. Just a procedure. The time that she was in surgery was a lot longer than either of us expected and as I sat there, I heard the doctor break some very bad news to a family seated in the waiting room next door. Tears of disbelief. Heart-wrenching sadness… …and I was getting texts that said, “Still in OR.” The doc came out and gave me the news: “It went well, as expected. Give it some time, and a nurse will come get you.” Back to Connelly. Hiding in a fictional world, where I do all my best hiding. Was finally time to see the patient. Turns out, I wasn’t ready. I had flashbacks to seeing my Dad in the hospital bed when he had kidney surgery. And all the days of seeing my brother under the covers with tubes and machines. Now Kathy was there, and she was out. “Few more hou...

Every year there is a ‘Rainbow’ pride night at a number of major league ballparks. Every year there are a couple of players on a couple of teams who sound off against going to the park that day. This season, three Giants pitchers wrote Bible verses on their hats to ward off the gays, I guess. Now, since MLB disciplined the pitchers for writing messages on their uniform, they’re complaining that their right to free speech has been compromised. Okay, let’s break it all down. 1). MLB wants all the fans they can get. Their sales pitch seems to be, ‘No matter what color you are; no matter what sex you are; no matter if you’re a man who loves a man, a man who loves a woman, or a woman who loves a woman, or a woman who loves a man…we’ll sell you a ticket!’ MLB does a ‘Mother’s Day’ event, honors black history month, raises money for prostate cancer research, and has a gay pride night. Being all-inclusive is good business. 2). MLB has rules regarding the uniform. A player is not allowed to wri...

Golf is a beautiful sport. It’s played outside with perfectly manicured courses.  Every glance is a post card.  You can take a breath, and concentrate on the birds soaring through the air.  As we played on Saturday, a deer crossed the fairway on the 13th hole. Golf is a game of friendship.  There’s the moment when you meet at the clubhouse, the promise of a great round coming up. Catching up on the week of life that was just put in the rear view. Waiting for the guys behind you to finish up their conversation before standing over the ball, clearing your head, working on your mechanics. Golf is a game you play against yourself. Setting the ball on the tee, with the logo facing you. Just put the sweet spot of the club on the center of the ball. Best feeling in the world to see the ball in the blue sky, soaring, to the middle of the short grass. And you turn back to your buddies.  Everyone is saying something. There is usually a fist bump or two as, in a long-stand...

Happy Birthday to my brother, Jeff. It’s hard to believe that he left us more than 17 years ago. I’m not exaggerating when I say that I’ve thought of him every day since, and I’m comforted by the fact that I don’t have enough information in regard to the grand plan. There are so many missed rounds of golf, and Yankees games, and dinners and laughs and laughs and laughs. On his birthday, as with other days, I think about those moments that so many of us were cheated out of. And the fact that 17 years has passed is mind-boggling to me. We have our memories, of course, and they’re enormous, but there are days when they aren’t enough. The new Stones record is three weeks away. He’d be fired up. Aaron Judge would be his favorite baseball player, and we’d probably argue about whether or not Anthony Volpe is a good enough player. But life is funny in a way because I definitely know how he feels on each subject… …I argue with his son, Johnny… …I sent over the new Stones songs as soon as I hear...

I had a great Dad, and I was fortunate enough to work with him professionally. We both worked in an office setting in New Haven, Ct., and Dad was the big boss. I had the chance to watch him run meetings, and manage personalities. We laughed a lot, and I was proud of him as a manager, and was in awe of how he went about his work. Cut to Friday. I was hired to speak at Jake’s company. He was pretty nervous about all of it, and when the owner of the company walked up to the two of us and said: “Are we good? We have a lot of people here.” I just laughed. I did the two hour talk, and at one point, I caught Jake in the audience, laughing and shaking his head. Made me think of how I felt watching my Dad do his thing. And I was doing that talk for more than just the company who was paying me. I wanted Jake to know that he can stand up and be confident, and that he should do a better job than anyone was expecting him to. He’d been beside me before they handed me the microphone so he knew I was ...

We watched 20/20 last night about a young woman who was abducted from her home while she was watching her two infant children. Kathy knew the story because I’m fairly certain that she’s seen every murder ever committed. I knew nothing about it, and as the story was told, I kept hoping that it was simply a story about a kidnapping that had a happy ending. It wasn’t, and it was simply horrific. First off, why do we watch such a thing as entertainment? There are a lot of true crime shows. They are highly rated shows. Secondly, I thought about the man who committed the crime. He was an unemployed plumber. He was a guy who’d lost his job, and his wife. He was also a father, of a 11-year old boy. He simply broke in, took the woman, and killed her. “How can a man do that?” Kathy asked. “Sir, there’s just a meanness in this world,” I said, quoting Charles Starkweather in the 50’s and mowed down anyone in his way during an infamous killing rampage. The young mom was in the wrong place when the ...

It’s been a long time since I listened to a politician speak and thought: “Damn, THAT guy is brilliant.” I saw a couple of great speeches yesterday. Mandami’s tribute to the Knicks was very well done, but the speeches made for the Obama Presidential Center were a lot of fun because those I listened to were filled with compassion, and empathy, and brilliance. “Obama is a cool guy,” my son texted me. “No doubt,” I said. “Handled the job with grace and class.” The ceremony for the presidential center was attended by all the living presidents THAT matter. As Obama spoke I considered how he must feel when he hears Pedo Pig refer to him as a ‘dumb son of a bitch’. Imagine hearing that from THAT thing. And I also thought about Michelle Obama being roasted by MAGA. The stupidity THAT goes into someone believing she is a man is astounding. The Obama family is what the religious right refers to as their idea of what every human should be doing. A man and a woman in a longtime marriage, with two ...

Wow. Iran did all right, huh? The Art of the Deal - which is absolute fiction garbage that fooled millions of Americans is on full display. I won’t bore you with the details but what America achieved was getting the strait open. It was closed when they dropped the bombs, used as leverage to out maneuver the morons who went in without a plan. America First, huh? Good job voting there, MAGA…. …Iran First was what you voted for. And Pedo Pig in his rambling, incoherent, fart-filled speech had the nerve to call Obama (who truly cut a deal) a ‘stupid son of a bitch’ on the world stage. So sad. Yet, it was all almost worth it because Marco Rubio, who hated pedo when he wasn’t a suck up pig himself, had to stand beside the orange dude as he let go with his gassy speech. Was almost all worth it to see the expression change on Marco’s face when he caught a whiff. What a beautiful celebration this 250 year anniversary will be. Celebrating the end. With the slothiest American ever leading the way...

Ollie will go over 30,000 catches today. He’s crushing it as we have a lot more time to play with the dry days. He also gets a lot of time in as I mow the lawn. It’s aerobic mowing as I make the trip up and back, and he figures my path, and drops the ball on my right hand side. I throw, he catches, and brings it back. It takes a little longer to mow, but it’s his favorite day of the week. Of course, summer always brings me a case of poison ivy because I like to scour the woods for stray golf balls. I have a mild case, but it’s irritating. Summer also brings earlier work hours, which doesn’t mean I get done earlier. Getting old for such long hours, but WNY has excellent weather this time of year. And that brings the summer backache. I tweaked it tying my shoes on Monday morning. I was sitting down. Simply turned to the right, and 💥  Poison ivy, a sore back and a crazy dog allows time to fly on by. Summer fun in the sunshine. Go Yankees.

There’s a video clip of three MAGA hillbillies in a wrestling match on the White House lawn. One of the wrestlers or fighters, or whatever hell they are called Michelle Obama a man. Pedo pig fell asleep. The reflective pool is filled with algae after the $14 million, no-bid contractor messed the entire thing up. The Iran ‘Deal’ is an absolute ass-kicking as it is worse than what was torn up. We are white trash. I didn’t watch any of the $60 million birthday party other than the couple of clips. I did see the idiot call Michelle a man, and that truly disappointed me because it tells us exactly where we are as a country. Racists. Embarrassing. No matter where you stand, look at what they’ve done to the property. They paved the rose garden. Demolished an entire wing. Ripped up the lawn. Not to mention that the Oval Office now looks like the room they dragged Sadam Hussein out of. Gawdy. Ugly. White Fucking Trash.

I made it through an NBA Game- start to finish - and I’m glad I don’t bet because my feeling before the game was that they would clinch it on their home court in Game 6. They did it in 5 because they never backed down when things got tough. Brunson is a terrific player. Opened my eyes on Sunday morning knowing that my favorite 4 hours of the week was coming up. Got a text 90 minutes before tee time: “Doesn’t look good.” What???? I glanced out the window. It looked all right to me. Checked the weather forecast. Rain for the next hour. Stopping in 30 minutes. Next rain cloud showed up at one in the afternoon! “Pouring here,” was the next text. “I heard thunder.” Five minutes later, everyone backed out. Yep. Between 8:15 and 2:00 it rained a total of 3 minutes. We skipped a cherished round of golf because we would have had to wipe down one club around hole 15. I certainly was not going to fill my time with the white trash olympics on the White House lawn. The one thing that keeps me stres...

On Saturday afternoon I caught a video of people on motorcycles or dirt bikes, or some freaking thing, doing flips on ramps in front of the White House. I had one thought: “Embarrassing.” Where are the conservatives who frown on behavior that is frivolous and undignified? On Sunday there was a wrestling match, or some such nonsense, and all the lying brown-nosed GOP politicians were quick to send out birthday wishes to  the guy they claim works 22 hours a day, and only seems to rest his eyes in meetings. And there’s a demolished section of the White House on the property, which brings to thought another phrase: “White Trash.” To top it off, birthday boy supposedly spent some of his time with his best buddy Epstein torturing a child by mutilating her nipples. This was discovered by a group of New York Times reporters who sat on the story until their book came out ,.  ..and the story was widely ignored because being a pedophile in that party is a ‘who cares?” nothing burger. Cel...

Sports is such an amusing distraction for the shit show that is normal every day life. I’ve seen a lot of great games through the years, and most of the time my team loses, but that’s why God made me a Yankees fan… …so I knew what winning was like. Anyway, Game 4 of the NBA Finals was one of ‘those’ games. An instant classic, I suppose, but for 3/4ths of the game, it was an absolute snooze fest. Of course, they didn’t start the game until 8:30, so I had no chance of watching beyond halftime, and given how the half went, I wouldn’t have watched it anyway. I was asleep by 10:15 or so. I woke up for some reason and checked the score. Spurs 92 Knicks 75 with 11 minutes to go. “No chance,” I thought. Immediately went back to sleep. Through the din, I heard my son Sam say: “No way!” Checked again. The lead was down to 4.  I thought: “I can stay up for the rest of it.” Immediately went back to sleep. The next time I woke up it was morning. The Knicks won on an insane tip-in, and all of Ne...

It’s truly an every day question that’s aggravating.  It’s worse in the summer months when the thought of turning on the oven after being out in the sun is kinda’ pathetic. “We ordering something?” Kathy asked. “I guess.” “A sub? Hot dogs? Pizza?” “I’d do Chinese,” I finally said, knowing full well she didn’t want Chinese. “Order yours,” she said. “Me and Sam will get something. What time we eating?” “‘Ten Minute’ is what they’ll say when I call,” I said. I ordered all my favorites, and got an extra egg roll for some reason. Ended the question for a day, anyway, but ‘what’s for dinner?’ will rear its ugly head again tomorrow. One of the best things we did was assign a couple of meals to a couple of nights. Wednesday is pasta for me. It was pizza night for everyone else. On Sunday, I make pasta. So, we’re down to five nights. “How about breakfast for dinner?” Is tossed my way once in a while, and suddenly I’m a short order cook. When I lived with my Dad on the road, dinner was never...

We have to further discuss the presidential visit to the NBA Finals as we now know the facts so they can be preserved for all of history. First off, a funky aspect of it all is that New Yorkers are currently walking around New York City burning sage to get rid of the evil. For the uninitiated, they flashed pedo pig on the screen during the national anthem. That was by design.  They didn’t think the boos would rain down during the anthem. They believed that would be unpatriotic, but we are way past that. And they don’t know New Yorkers. The boos were loud. They were louder at the watch parties everywhere people were gathered. How would the cult respond? First, Fox News manipulated the tape - mixed some cheers in and eliminated some of the booing. A reporter was to afraid to frame the question any other way than ‘What did you thing of the reception you got?’ That lined him up perfectly fly to do the thing he loves best: Lie. “Amazing. Mostly cheers.” Now, it may seem trivial to some,...

The New York Knicks being in the NBA Finals is such a feel good story. A moment that is good for the escape of the shit show the country has become. So, how do we turn the feel good story into a divisive, garbage night where everyone was excited to be at a watch party. Mr. Me, Me, Me, Me decided to go to a game that no one wanted him. The watch parties were canceled because of the security required. So much for needing the security of a huge ballroom, right? It did allow us to fantasize about the reaction that he would get. New York absolutely hates him because they’ve known he’s a criminal for decades. The mindset is what fascinates me. If you were well aware that the majority of people hate you, wouldn’t you lay low? But check the gall of the man as he spoke to the young reporter. Sitting a foot from her he called her crooked or stupid because she asked what evidence he had for saying the 2020 election was stolen. (It wasn’t). (He has zero evidence). (He was laughed out of court). Bu...

Images of the Bi-centennial celebration flash through my mind. I distinctly recall the parade through town, and the men marching in uniform. We had balloons and floats and waving flags.  We watched the fireworks at the town park, and as a 11-year old, I distinctly recall being undeniably proud to be an American. A lot has changed in 50 years. First off, I learned about life and how it works. As a kid, you don’t see a lot of the rough edges. As a kid, you don’t have any idea who has money and who doesn’t. You don’t know who is having troubles at home, or who is sick. Back then we had a lot of people looking over us. Our friend’s parents  knew us and they’d discipline us or feed us. Now, as adults, we know all the deep, dark secrets. We understand that there are people in power taking advantage of us. We don’t have healthcare for all. We have way too many poor and homeless. Our education system is in tatters. We aren’t being led out of the mess.  We are being dragged into t...

I visited Mom on Saturday afternoon, and we chatted a little bit, and watched a funny episode of Roseanne (John Goodman is great). I mentioned that the Knicks were going to win the championship, and how we watched them together in 1973. She loved that team - especially with Jerry Lucas who was a genius. She asked: “What sport is that?” So, her memory isn’t great, but I knew how to get it going. I put on Sinatra. “Strangers in the Night” She watched the video. Her leg moving to the music. Her eyes full of tears.  She sang every word. I thought about taping it, but she was watching the video on my phone. Then she looked up. “He’s dead, right?” I nodded. “Why?” She asked. “He was old,” I said. “He had a great life. His songs will last forever.” She sang a little more. “I remember it all,” she said. “Why did he die? He was handsome.” I knew those tears were for my Dad who loved Frank. I knew she heard his voice as Frank sang. That’s why she had tears. It was beautiful to see, but it hu...

Text chatting with an old buddy the other day, and he jokingly asked if I regretted my choice of not joining him at his college. I most certainly do not regret my college choice, Gannon’s University was a great experience and I made great friends. Had a tremendous time, and made hundreds of memories, but I had a thought: There are a lot of 60+ people out there who live their lives out, buried in regret. What do I regret? 1). I regret not buying an acre of land when I lived in Mountain View, California. 2). I regret not seeing Billy Joel and Bob Seger. I had shots at seeing both of them, but didn’t. I also had a chance to see Frank Sinatra in the 80’s and didn’t take it because I thought he was lame. I was the lame one. 3). I regret not continuing to pay my Union Dues for one more year. I was a Union laborer for 9 years. My Dad told me to keep paying the dues through the 10th year because I’d be eligible for a pension. Blew that one. 4). There are a number of girls that I knew through t...

My boys are amazed at my knowledge when it comes to the NBA. I mentioned that the Knicks won championships that I remembered in 1969 and 1973. I wasn’t rooting for them because they beat the Lakers in both instances and Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West were my two favorite players. It’s pretty obscene that I can recall sitting in front of the television and crying in the ‘69 Finals as the Knicks won game 7 - 113-99. I was just five years old when that game was played. It was also the Willis Reed game. Reed was hurt earlier in the season and could barely walk, but he opened Game 7, and scored 8 points before leaving. I’m rooting for the Knicks these days, mostly because they have a lot of Villanova players on their team, and Sam made us watch every single ‘Nova game. We knew how great Brunson could be. I don’t watch much of the games, but I’ll catch highlights so that I can chat about it with the boys. They’re also rooting for the Knicks, who haven’t won a title since ‘73. After Wilt ret...

Grandpa Clifford used to doze off now and again after dinner. “I’m resting my eyes,” was his go-to-answer. Quick question: Did you ever see ‘Sleepy Joe’ fall asleep while there are 12 cabinet members around? Pedo pig falls asleep. As his suck ups tell him how amazingly energetic he is. The White House claims he was ‘resting his eyes’. And I don’t want to make a comparison with my Grandpa Clifford because he was a fine upstanding man who worked hard every day of his life. And I don’t want to make it about Pedo Pig either. He bores me. This is about me catching a couple of winks now and again about halfway through a show and then denying it. “You were sleeping,” Kathy will mention. And I don’t know why we get defensive there. “No, I wasn’t!” “You were snoring!” Ah well. We all age. Even pedophile pigs need their rest.

I’m not really allowed to do a lot of painting around here. I did paint the interior of our house a few years back, and it was a horrendous experience. I vowed that I’d never do a big paint job again. But we have concrete outside that was looking worn, and I remembered doing that job in a half a Saturday. I may have misremembered. And how much of a mess could I make of it. It’s on the ground. I could kick the paint can over and cover a lot of it. My idea was to do a couple of steps a day each night after work. Which is difficult for me because I like to finish a task once I start it. Yesterday was day three of a the week-long experience, and I’m tired of it. Kneeling and bending over aren’t quite as much fun these days. My back hurts. My knees hurt. I need more paint. “It looks good,” I said…. …because no one else said it. A couple more days. Painting sucks.

I had a stop in the city on Elmwood Avenue, which is a busy stretch of road with a lot of traffic, plenty of pedestrians, and people riding bikes. I got out of my car, and went around it to feed the meter, and I spotted money on the ground. When finding money it’s usually a five-dollar bill or something less.  A couple of ones.  On a great day, a ten spot. I haven’t found money in a long time… …and this time, I kind of gasped because it was a hundy. And it wasn’t alone. There were two one-hundred-dollar bills and two twenties. $240 is a pretty great score. And a lot of money to the poor bastard who lost it. I looked around. There wasn’t anyone within shouting distance. I didn’t see anyone searching the street for their lost cash. I wasn’t going to go up to random people and ask them if they lost anything lately, and the law is pretty clear on this issue: Finders keepers  Losers weepers. Then I did something supremely stupid: I told Kathy. She won’t rest until she has ever...

It’s a great day today because it makes me think of Dad and Uncle Jim and my siblings. A day that Italian Americans have chosen to, uh, I don’t even know! Sort of the day when everything comes due. June the 2. It’s funny, but yesterday I was in the Dollar General getting dog bones because every day is an Ollie day, and a middle-aged black guy approached singing ‘Soul Man’. We turned that into a discussion about John Belushi and how great that song was on SNL. “Are you Italian heritage?” The man blurted out. I laughed because he caught me off-guard. “I can tell. It’s around your eyes, and the way you talk.” I laughed again. “I grew up around all the Italian families in Niagara Falls,” he said. He mentioned a few names. “You look Italian,” he added. We fist-bumped and I said, “Have a great day.” He responded with: “Happy June the 2”. Classic.

The weather was exactly perfect. 70 degrees and carts were allowed on the fairway. We had our usual 4-some together for the first time all year, and the driver troubles are all sorted out. (I don’t want to discuss the putter - it’s too soon). But I enjoyed every swing. Returned home and made a huge turkey with all the sides, and headed out to play ball with Ollie, and noticed that a fawn settled in behind the fence and watched. It was remarkable. The fawn was at full attention, as Ollie ran on by retrieving every toss. I walked closer, and the fawn just looked at me. I was less than 10’ away. Finally, the fawn stood up, and that’s when Ollie noticed him, and chased the fawn down rhe fence line. Very cool. By 6:00, I was worn out. Put some ice on my back and watched some mindless television. Brilliant sunshine. Good food. The boys were here to see the Yankees score 13 runs in one inning. And it dawned on me. That’s all Americans want. We don’t need a ballroom/bunker. Or fights on the Wh...

Twenty-nine years ago, we were married in left field at the town park in North Collins. I was just 32 years old. And of course: “No one knows which way loves wheel turns. Will we hit it rich, or crash and burn?” We’ve done all right, and today we celebrate. I’m making a turkey because I know it’s Kathy’s favorite meal. I’ll make the stuffing too, because that’s what I like. The wedding was a great time. Beer and music and pouring rain, with everyone I ever met showing up to wish us well, We talked a little bit about the wedding, but we also kicked around all the stuff we have had to battle through since. Being married for 29 years is no small feat. There are good days, great days and days where the best thing you can do is retreat to separate corners. I’d say we are pretty safe on making it out to the end, but I know a guy who divorced his wife after 52 years of marriage. Seriously. When I asked him about it he said: “I should’ve left her 40 years ago.” Then, five years after their div...

Kathy had to spend a few hours in the hospital for a medical procedure, and I spent a little while in the waiting area, scrolling through my phone. The waiting room was packed, and none of us were waiting to be seen. We were just waiting for an update. I looked around the room, and saw a bit of grey hair. I thought about how life goes from here on out. Hospital waiting areas aren’t anyone’s favorite place, and I tried to be patient.  I’m not a patient man. Thankfully I’ve been healthy because I have little interest in being in a bed. I passed a room and saw a man about my age laying there watching ‘The Price is Right’. He looked absolutely miserable. And our healthcare system is an abomination.  I thought about a well-known actor who recently passed away after an illness (I’m too lazy to look up his name), but I remember reading that his family needed a go-fund me to pay for his medical expenses. This is someone who likely made millions while on television and in the movies. D...

Springsteen and the E-Street Band played Washington D.C. on Wednesday night, and as he’s done in cities all across the nation, Bruce addressed what’s going on with a very thoughtful presentation of the facts of the matter. They’re receiving death threats. There are just a couple of times when Bruce stops playing music and breaks down the rights we’ve lost as the members of the current administration enrich themselves as the rest of us suffer. Now, I’ve been a Springsteen fan since 1975. I was 10. I was aware of Bruce’s political leanings by 1981 or so. He was vocal about how scared he was for the future of the country when Reagan was elected. Reagan later tried to poach ‘Born in the USA’ for his political campaign. Bruce stopped it. When he released the video for ‘Born to Run’ he ended it with the statement: “No one wins unless everyone wins.” And people have used his words to say he’s a communist who hates the country. Which is the exact opposite of the truth. Springsteen wrote a reco...

Something woke me up at 5:15. Just a boom. Miller was beside me and he was one pissed off cat, but he’s always kinda’ pissed about something. I didn’t think much of it, and got another half hour of sleep. Forgot all about it, but social media was all over it. A meteor. ☄️  Of course, there were a lot of scientists out there who immediately began telling us all they know about it. God was sending us a message about our bad behavior, according to one guy. Another guy was about to jump in his car and scoop up the meteor because finding it would make him an instant millionaire. I made a mental note to read about it, and ignore the ignorant comments, but I do wonder if that guy is riding around in his pickup truck searching the landscape for evidence of a meteor strike. I did think about how helpless we are if meteors do start raining down on a regular basis. The boom was loud. Pissed off Miller. What else can happen, right? Maybe the next one will land in DC during the UFC fight on the...

The summer season brings work to the forefront. We’ve had a lawn problem in the backyard because Ollie runs a path. I didn’t think it was so hard to grow grass, but evidently it’s not quite as easy as it looks on the bag. “Guaranteed to grow anywhere! Sun or shade!” Uh, not so far. And I started thinking about getting the mulch. I didn’t bother over the weekend because of the rain, but I stopped and picked up supplies on my way back from work yesterday. I was spreading some of it when Sam stopped by the back yard. “That looks like fun,” he said.  “Wanna’ help?” I asked. He laughed. Didn’t even answer, just laughed. “It’s gonna’ be under snow in 3 months,” he said. Which, sadly, is kinda’ true. (He did carry a few bags around, and he usually ‘grinds’ his way through the lawn, now and again). Yet, it’s been a solid twenty-five years of me trying to make the yard look all right for the summer months. Now that everything is in place the months long battle against every freaking weed I ...

We didn’t get much of a break weather-wise over the three-day weekend. It sucked because going into the weekend, I thought about some of my Memorial Day memories. Growing up, Memorial Day weekend was the weekend where we were dragged from our beds on Saturday morning to plant the garden. We had a big garden, and we were rudely awakened by my dad who wasn’t messing around. Five minutes after we opened our eyes, we were in the dirt. Tomatoes, peppers, cukes, eggplant… …and on and on. Of course, there was plenty of banter. Sometimes there were fights. There were a lot of laughs. And by noon, we were usually free. We’d swim, and play hoops. When we got older, we introduced beer to the event. The Yankee game was on in the garage. And then the grill got going. My father was an excellent cook, and his chicken and ribs were standard fare. I have no idea how much money he spent on food, but there was always plenty. The neighbors would stop by and by the time we sat down for dinner there were us...

Back when I was a kid I used to daydream a little about a scenario where I would bravely stand up and save lives. Perhaps it was the storyteller in me, but I’d invent elaborate schemes where I’d escape by the skin of my teeth. A natural thing for a child to do, and inventing drama and then being the hero doesn’t do much for you as you try and navigate being an adult. Unless you’re part of the White House security team. There have been five shootings at the White House in the last ten years. There weren’t any during the years 2021-2024. When there was a real President living there. Assassination attempts? Seems like we have one a month now. Quickly followed by social media posts asking for a billion dollars for a ballroom and a bunker. Back in 1963, Kennedy was assassinated. In the 80’s Reagan was shot. We know more about who was responsible than we know about the thing that went on at the correspondents dinner. That one flopped so badly that it was out of the news in a single day. Wres...

Kyle Busch passed away this week at just 41 years old. He was a highly decorated NASCAR driver, and his death shocked the sports world. A sudden death in such a manner is horrible. Turns out Busch had pneumonia, and missed a few chances to save his own life. He developed sepsis, and it killed him quickly. Tragic. And news like this shakes things up, mentally. He was doing interviews, and racing just a couple of days before. One minute you’re here. The old saying, “Be where your feet are,” is something that I’ve reminded myself about. I’m throwing the ball for Ollie - and I get caught up in his enthusiasm (he’s at 23,600 catches for 2026). If I’m walking on a job site, I’ll take it all in, knowing that I’m fortunate to be able to climb ladders and scaffolds. We talked about Busch’s death here as I marveled at how quickly it happened. “That’s why it’s important not to ignore the warning signs,” Kathy said. “If you get sick, you have to rest.” Of course, men are well known for just barrel...

The end of the week brought the end of Steven Colbert as a late night host because CBS was pressured by the obese, orange pedophile, over jokes Colbert told about him. That’s scary stuff. Another freedom lost for all those who are happy to see Colbert go. I haven’t watched late night shows in years, but there are always clips on line, and I thought Colbert was funny enough. Evidently, Colbert got under that bright orange, thin skin, but let’s think about the late night hosts who like that mess. Kimmel despises him. Letterman can’t stand him. Jon Stewart is not a fan. The people behind Saturday Night Live have made fun of him for a solid decade. Every president has taken the heat from the late night comedians. Chevy Chase pretended to fall down every week as he played Gerald Ford. And no one was ever fired for poking fun at anyone… …until now. We are being told: “We are the hottest country in the world right now,” by the slob and his people. The truth is, the economy is in shambles by e...

Back in 1991 I worked with the best boss I ever had. We were in Baltimore on a fast-paced job that was like a little war each day. We dealt with ironworkers, boilermakers, operators, engineers. It was a frenzy every day, and was a hell of a lot of fun. In the middle of all that - after a long stretch of 60 hour weeks, my boss was heading to vacation. That day, all hell hit the fan, and I drive to BWI to get him to sign some papers just minutes before his flight was set to leave. I found him in the bar where he was having a beer or ten. I immediately started telling him about the problems of the day, and he couldn’t have possibly cared less. This was a guy who busted his ass and handled every detail. Now he was completely out of touch. “I’m on vacation,” he said. “I don’t give a flying…. I just stood there. “You gotta know when to take a break,” he said. “I’m on break.” I might need one now. I didn’t know it was memorial day weekend! Kathy was talking about the weather and the best day ...

We had an 85 degree day. Two days later we were back in the 40’s for a little while. Shit load of rain coming this weekend, and there was a lot of grey on Wednesday. I want to be able to ride to my ball soon… …it’s been cart path only so far. And man, I can’t watch the news anymore. They’re talking about the 2028 election and they’re talking about blowing off the constitution again. There aren’t any rules anymore. Remember the ‘assassination’ attempt? That was so fake that they stopped reporting on it. And how do we get there from a blog that started out talking about the weather? That’s how it feels right now. We are trying to get through our lives and think about other things and the crap just keeps coming at us. We need the summer. “That’s peanuts,” the pedo pig said when he was asked about the high gas prices. “I don’t even think about that.” That’s quite the strategy on America First. “Loyalty over law,” was another unbelievable statement. In other words, the law doesn’t matter an...

Now, we are going to use $1.7 billion of taxpayer money to compensate the people who stormed the Capitol and smeared shit on the walls. And it was also announced that Pedo Pig’s taxes will never be audited. Can someone please explain why we are allowing this disgusting slob to break every law? And the ballroom. $100 billion dollars for a ballroom that Americans don’t want. “It’s my gift to the country,” he said. We’re paying for it! We need affordability. Lower gas prices. Healthcare. Housing that is affordable. Instead, they’re compensating terrorists, robbing the IRS and building a freaking ball room. 72% of the country hates him and wants him gone. Fine. Perhaps we have to wait for an election but in the meantime… …he transfers all of our tax money into his own pocket and the media simply reports on it.,. …nothing to be done! I have a feeling that no one will explain it to me because there is no reasonable explanation other than… …we are absolutely done as a Democracy. So freaking d...

Have we all been following the Iran war? The Strait remains closed. Bombs are not being dropped, despite the fact that we were led to believe that Iran was going to be blown off the map. And that’s because Trump Always Chickens Out. Taco’s for everyone! Here’s the deal: He has no way out of it. The war began because supposedly the nuclear program posed an imminent danger to every single American… … just six months after it was announced that he had totally obliterated Iran’s chance to have a nuclear weapon. (He was truly trying to wipe the Epstein story off the news). So… …a massive lie was told. Also, not to mention that there was an Iran Nuclear agreement that worked perfectly, but it was orchestrated by Obama. Anyway. If you have followed along, it goes like this: Monday:  We are going to end a civilization. I’m not kidding this time. Tuesday: Tick-tock losers. You have no boats or planes or leaders left. Wednesday: Iran is making me mad. They bombed us and sent me a hate letter...

The Sabres have a Game 7 tonight. I was surprised to read that they’ve only had one in their history - which they won - about 20 years ago. Got me thinking of Game 7’s. First one I remember was the Knicks over my Lakers team with Wilt and West in 1970. The Knicks won 113-99. I remember it because I cried! I also recall Yankees over Red Sux in 2003 in the Aaron Boone game. Yankees came back to beat Pedro in that one. Of course, there were crushing game 7’s in 2001 and 2004 that won’t be mentioned. It’s a sick feeling, really. I imagine I’ll feel tense. Super Bowl’s are Game 7’s in and of themselves and Buffalo hasn’t had much luck there. I have a good feeling going into this Game 7. This team doesn’t quit. But, ‘anything can happen in a game 7’ is a cliche for a reason. Come on Sabres. I don’t want to cry again.

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

A great Mom is the best. My Mom has lost her memory, but that’s not to say that we haven’t had some great times and laughs over the past year. I discovered that her memory survived when music is being played, and watching her sing every word to ‘Summer Wind’ by Frank was a highlight of the year. Through the years, we shared a love of reading, and one of the television shows we loved was ‘The Odd Couple’. I played her the theme song and we watched a couple of episode clips a few weeks ago. I love that I always had a close relationship with my Mom and I’m grateful she is still here. As for Kathy, she is close to the boys. Perhaps a little too close. A few years back they were in Vegas and she was talking with them and their friends and I heard her calling an uber for them. “What’re you doing?” “Making sure they get back to the hotel safely,” she said. I laughed. But that’s what a Mom does. And there’s no expiration date to it. Happy Mother’s Day to all the Moms out there. Have a perfect ...

The Rolling Stones are releasing an album of new songs in July. They put out the first two this week, and I couldn’t help smiling through the opening riff. Classic blues, Mick, gritty lyrics.  Turn it up! The Sabres and Yankees both laid an egg last night, and it’s crazy how emotions are centered on a game. It’s a good thing too, as the country spirals down the drain. Gas prices are out of hand, huh? It’s sad. People struggling to keep their necks above the water aren’t going to be able to do that much longer. But we don’t want Iran to have a nuke that they didn’t have. I learned late on Friday that I have my Vegas safety comedy residency back and that it’s uncensored. “Free rein,” the guy said. “I caught your act a few years back and it could’ve been on HBO.” That’s always great fun, and Kathy is excited about the trip. What else? Weather still sucks. Gonna’ try tomorrow to find the swing…. …hoping the wind is quiet. Go Sabres 

Hearing the mumbling about the Hantavirus making its way to America. Remember how much fun we had during Covid? I’m sure we’ll be well-informed. What’s known so far is that it started on a Dutch cruise ship and has to do with rodents. Didn’t we do away with the World Health Organization? I know that no one believes in science, and I can’t wait for the first press conference where we spit ball drinking bleach or shooting ultra-violet light up our asses. Why not, right? The war has grown boring as it goes like this: “We are doing really well. Iran loves us now, and we are hours away from a deal that saves us all from the nuclear bomb that they were going to drop on us, but I stopped it, and did you hear that I passed a cognitive test? The first question was easy. There was a picture of a giraffe. I aced that part, and the doctor said, with tears in his eyes, that no one ever got that answer so fast, and Obama wouldn’t take it. I’ve stopped eleven wars.” And then Iran bombs our ships. The...

The orange pedophile has been doing a lot of talking lately. He had a group of children into the Oval Office and he asked one young girl which sports she liked. She said volleyball and soccer. He told her she was a little short to play volleyball. You don’t say things like that to children, but who knows, right? He went into the war with Iran. Seriously, he talked to the children about Iran shooting protesters in the head. He also spoke to them about the election being stolen and how he aced his dementia test. To children!!! But he’s all there, right? Then to top it all off, Melanoma joined him and spoke of his ‘great empathy’. The audience laughed! When he spoke of his wife he mentioned that she has a boy that she loves who is quite tall. It’s his kid!! Yet, he never says that. He always references that: “She has a boy.” No wonder he doesn’t know how to talk to children. He probably shouldn’t be left alone around them anyway. He was Epstein’s best buddy.

John Sterling was a tremendous baseball announcer. Don’t let anyone tell you differently. Sure, sometimes he’d say: “The bases are loaded and there are two outs, and the Yankees are up one. They need to get this out or they won’t be leading anymore.” But he had tremendous calls for every Yankee who hit a homer. “Bernie Goes Boom!” Was a favorite and he would end that call with “Burn, baby burn.” I have always loved listening to baseball on the radio, but it takes a great announcer to make that work. Sterling knew how to pace himself. Baseball is a game that doesn’t need endless chatter, and allowing the game to breathe is essential. And of course, “Theeeeeeeeee Yankeeeeeeeees Wiiiiiiiin!” Was what we all waited for. John Sterling wasn’t Vin Scully who was the absolute master, but he was great. That simple. A good announcer can make a kid love a game. Sterling and Kay (and then Suzyn) on the radio and Scooter and Frank White on television were the voices I heard every night as a Yankees...

Oliver will catch his 20,000th pass of 2026 tomorrow. He will get a new ball to commemorate the achievement. Yet, two years ago he would catch 100 passes per outing. Last year he was good for 50. Currently, he catches 30-40 each time. He’s slowing down, but the fact of the matter is that he’s always up for a game. At the end of each month, I give away a prize to the family member who gets closest to the number. Kathy won it this week. As the weather improves, the number will get bigger each month. 100 grand for the year is in play. As for my game and happy place, golf has been a bit of a grind so far, as I’m trying to work out the kinks. Through most of two rounds, my driver has been off. The 7-wood has bailed me out, and Chippy has been good, but it’s a wonderful game because if your mechanics are a tick off, it’ll destroy you. We’ll get there. Windy and chilly aren’t the best conditions to work things out, but there’s hope.  I hit good drives on the last 4 holes of the round, so ...

Saw a thread on social media by a young guy - think mid-20’s - who took on an ambitious project. He decided to listen to every record ever made by the Rolling Stones, and he ‘reviewed’ them. It was pretty funny as he didn’t really believe that the Stones deserved their fame. There were classic Stones songs like, ‘Mother’s Little Helper’ or ‘Beast of Burden’ where his review consisted of: “This song sucks.” He criticized Mick’s voice saying that ‘He can’t sing at all.’ Made fun of Keith and Ronny for their long gone drug days, and gave nearly every album a C + or lower. And I read every single album review he did. “Exile on Main Street” is an album that is widely regarded as one of the greatest rock and roll records of all-time, and he pans it by saying: “It sounded like it was recorded in a shed.” Okay, maybe the Stones weren’t his cup of tea. He went to the Beatles and immediately began complaining about how they were a bubble gum pop band that was truly just a boy band. I didn’t read...

Work friend of mine spent a lot of time taking care of his ailing wife. Over the last few years, we’ve often met at the grocery store on Sunday morning. This is one of those guys who can build anything, or fix anything. He’s worked hard for decades. Was rewarded with a wife who ran into a lot of health issues, but he didn’t complain about it. Went to work. Returned home and did a lot of work there too. 46 years together. His wife passed away this past Sunday, and he scheduled the wake for today… …because it is his birthday, and he said: “They wanted to have the funeral on Thursday, but I wanted to spend one last birthday with her.” I went to the wake. He mentioned us having to do the grocery shopping and the laundry and clean up around the house. “It never felt like I was sacrificing anything,” he said. I get that. His children and grandchildren were all around him. “You have a lot of adjusting to do,” I said to him.  “That’s life. It’s a battle.” Sometimes it’s more than just a ba...

Hockey is truly an insane game. Those kids are out there taking a freaking beating, and playoff hockey is a whole ‘nother animal. I haven’t watched much of it over the last 20 years as the Sabres have been bad. They aren’t bad anymore. In fact, there were a couple of days leading up to Game 6 in Boston. Buffalo hates Boston. The Patriots beat the hell out of the Bills for twenty years. Hell, even the Celtics eliminated the Braves in the best year of that franchise. During the lead up I had to talk my boys off the ledge. Years of the Bills coughing it up when there are big games has left my boys with PTSD. “The Sabres are going to win,” I texted, over and over to Jake - who absolutely loves this team. When the bell rang to end Boston’s season, Jake asked me why I was so confident. “The Sabres are the better team,” I said. Now it’s Buffalo against either Tampa or Montreal.. The Sabres can win the next series too… …and the one after that… ….and the cup final too. Let’s go Buffalo 🦬 🦬 🦬...

So, the First Lady chimed in. Let’s talk about her for a minute. Every time she gets dressed up someone compares her to Jackie O and mentions that she’s classy. She came off a stripper pole, and there are plenty of nude photos of her. We’ve heard it said that she was Epstein’s girlfriend and she was handed off to the orange blob. Now, she’s chiming in on a joke that Jimmy Kimmel told about her being an expectant widow. Jimmy Kimmel is a comedian who gets paid for telling jokes. His joke didn’t call for anyone to be 86’d… …she’s married to an 80 year old man who eats Big Macs like tic-tocs. She’s an expectant widow. Another thing. I’ve heard that she can fluently speak 5 languages. I heard that out of the mouth of the man who lies as he breathes but I tell you that one of the languages isn’t English. She’s an immigrant who got in under suspect circumstances, but that was a long time ago, and she really can’t speak English. She destroyed the rose garden. She doesn’t live with her husband...