Thoughts of a Common Man

The legendary Dodgers and Yankees pitcher, Tommy John, passed away. When I heard the news, I instantly thought about my first ever trip to Yankee Stadium. It was an epic road trip. Big Al accompanied me to the big city and we settled into our seats for Yankees-Red Sox. Tommy John versus Roger Clemens. It was the late 80’s and Tommy John was at the end of his great career. Nearly 300 wins… …but he didn’t get one that night! He got absolutely hammered, and by the time he left the Yankees were down 8 runs. The Yankees came back and won that game… …but it’s about more than that. Tommy John will be forever remembered as a great pitcher. He will also be remembered for being the first to ever get Tommy John surgery. The surgery is a common one now. Nearly every pitcher in the league has had it by now. Tommy John was the first. Saved his career and has saved a lot of careers since. More than a pitcher, Tommy John was also known around the sport as an all-around solid guy. Just not that day! He...

I enjoy vivid dreams. Now, they generally don’t make much sense, but it’s fun to wake up and enjoy the snippets. I watched a crime drama before bed on Saturday night, so that may have been the fuel, but I spent my night fighting a stalker in my dreams. Someone was damaging my home, and the police were stumped. I met a police officer in my driveway as we assessed the fact that someone had yanked out the bushes in front of my home. “You need to figure out what you did to piss someone off.” I didn’t have anything to say to that. “There’s no reason why someone hates me,” I said. “You must’ve done something. Not everyone is universally loved.” That’s when I woke up, and it made for an interesting morning as I pondered whether or not I’d ever done something that would make someone hate me enough to yank out the bushes in front of my home. “There’s nothing,” I thought, and then I realized that it was a pretty good way to go through life. Like I told the police officer… …I’m not hated by anyon...

Sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln have been at sea for 250 days, and counting. The sailors have been sounding the alarm about food shortages and deteriorating conditions. There have been reports that some are considering jumping overboard. Isn’t this the party that waves the flag, hugs the flag and pretends they care about the vets, the vets, the vets? Of course, Kegseth (he likes to drink, hence the keg) denies it and he’s telling people that the sailors writing/calling home in absolute despair are lying. Hmmmm…. …what do you believe? Someone in the administration or facts? There was a rally on Friday night, and Pedo 🐷 explained that $4.00 gas is fine with him, and that he wasn’t going to apologize for it. He says it’s all worth it because soon the Strait will be open, and Iran won’t have a nuclear weapon. Do you know what the situation with Iran was before he started the war (to hide from the Epstein files)? Yeah. The strait was open and they didn’t have a nuke. All those billi...

These are the dog days of summer. I’ve been sweating a lot these days, and I’m not one to ever complain about the heat. Bring it on. I hate winter. And man, everyone has a spring in their step on Friday. I checked in on a group of roofers as they took their lunch break. They had a grill going and were making meatballs in sauce for meatball subs. One guy was going to the Fair with his wife and a couple of kids. Another guy was heading off to Tennessee for his vacation where he was excited to hike trails. They asked about my weekend. “Mow the lawn. Play a round of golf.” “You better be playing tomorrow. It’s going to rain on Sunday.” And that sent me to the weather app… …rain on Sunday morning! “Oh hell no,” I said. “I’m not gonna miss playing and go right to work again on Monday.” So, I went to work and changed my golf day. I have a two-day golf event next weekend, and Sunday will also be open. “Play three days in a row,” Sam said. “We’re all gonna be sitting in the house soon.” For sur...

In long-term relationships, and more specifically marriages there are certain inside jokes that are repeated thousands of times, and are still kinda’ funny. I have cured my wife of using the phrase, “Would I” by yelling out “Big ears!” every single time. One of our favorites came from my mother-in-law who in a tense moment, when asked: “Don’t you want me to be happy?” Growled: “Nobody is happy.” In an episode of ‘The Big Bang Theory’ Leonard stated: “Do you want me to be happy.” At the same time, some 25 years after hearing it, we both said: “Nobody’s happy!” And I wondered. Is anyone really happy? There are moments of happiness for sure, but if someone came up to you and point blank asked: “Are you happy?” What would your answer be? My mother-in-law may have been on to something… …and even if she wasn’t…. …that’s what we’ll yell out anytime the question is asked.

So, Pedo was gifted a plane that cost American taxpayers about a billion dollars to upgrade it so it had all the security needed for him to fly on it. They took it for a run. In Turkey it was decided that the gift plane would stay in Europe (so the veterans could look at it). Which sounded stupid when it happened, but there are so many lies and stupid statements that everyone shrugged it off. Yet, yesterday it was discovered that Pedo hid in a catering truck and was rolled onto Air Force One because there was a credible threat that Iran was gonna’ blow up the ‘gift’ plane. Yet, everyone else flew home on that plane. Now, I imagine that the people who thankfully made it home and weren’t blown up are still a tad irritated that he snuck off and failed to mention that: THE FREAKING PLANE MIGHT BLOW UP! Now we all know that he doesn’t care about anyone other than himself. If he ever mentions his kid, Barron Abdul Jabbar, he says: “My wife has a boy she likes.” His wife is never around. He d...

My company continues to ask me about the future. One day, a coworker said, “What’s the succession plan?” I had no idea what he was asking me. “Wanted to discuss the future,” he said. “I don’t have one,” I answered. And it’s a weird time because I don’t have any idea on what to do. There are days when I feel like I need to slow down. The next day, I feel like I can go on forever. But the company knows how old I am. They would also like to work with my clients somewhere down the road. “You can stay as long as you want, obviously, but when you have an idea on what you want to do can you give us some lead time?” “You’ll be the first to know,” I said. And I know that people retire so they can spend their time doing what they like to do, but there are certainly days when this is exactly what I like to do. There’s a social aspect to my job. I have a lot of good friends out there. Most of them know that I’m almost eligible to collect social security. “Can we get a few more years out of you?” O...

Joe Biden’s cancer has spread and is now in his bones. His son broke the news, and mentioned that the man is in for some serious pain. Someone thought it would be good to ask the pedophile pig what he thought. His response was vicious and vile, and called to mind that he is the most disgusting American human being to ever walk this land. As I read his words (I won’t ever listen to him say anything) I wondered what the evangelicals, who post photos of him next to Jesus, think about such words. Joe Biden is a good man. He lost a wife and a child. He served in the Congress for decades and wasn’t anything but a gentleman. When Graham died, Biden put out a statement to honor him. Lord knows that they weren’t on the same side of the political spectrum. And it’s insane that we have fallen so far so fast. George W. Bush was wildly criticized. So was Obama. They reached across the aisle knowing that being president was something they shared, and believing that they had a responsibility to show ...

The $2 billion dollar palace is open in one of the poorest cities in the nation. Which sounds like a complaint, but it isn’t. The city is Bills crazy and of course, THIS IS THE YEAR. It was interesting to me that people flocked to the palace to watch practice, and get a look at the new digs, and of course, run to social media to complain about a shitload of things like the screens being too small, the food running out, an escalator that wasn’t working, and obstructed view seats. I spent some time there during the construction and thought the place was magnificent. I can’t see myself ever watching a football game there, but the Stones just released a great new record… …if Mick and Keith and Ronny come back, I’m there. And I don’t begrudge Bills fans as the old stadium was worn out and didn’t fit with the NFL’s adage of: “We want every nickel out of every pocket of everyone in the county.” People make the decision on how to spend their entertainment dollars. The tickets for the opener ar...

Once again, the Leone’s hosted the annual hot pepper party in North Collins. I didn’t have an idea for a pepper until late this week. We make Italian sausage from scratch. I was going simple. Stuff it with the sausage. What’s better than peppers and sausage? I made them Saturday morning knowing the result - it would be good, and I probably wouldn’t win because every year there are some very creative peppers. Doesn’t matter. It’s time to get together with family and friends, and eat a lot of peppers. I’m no longer good for 20 + peppers… …but I still can get to double figures, and I did, including 5 of my own. Chuck took home first place this year, and it was well deserved. He made a spicy Italian pepper that was light and delicious. Pops had another strong entry, and my niece Paige placed again. We sat around telling stories, laughing about some of the craziness through the years. We also paid tribute to those we lost along the way. The original pepper party was Jeff’s idea, and I don’t...

It’s amazing to me that Anthony Fauci is suddenly the ‘bad guy’ for the MAGA world to focus on. They’re blaming the man for all of Covid, which is absolutely preposterous for those of us who can remember more than the last ten minutes. Fauci was brought into help, and he tried to, but the leader at the time was talking about drinking bleach and shooting ultraviolet lights up the ass. Masks were mandatory. The vaccine was fast-tracked… …all about those in charge. They even gave Fauci a medal! So, how did history twist it all into: Fauci and Tom Hanks and Bill Gates, and whoever the hell else they throw into the fantasy, developed Covid in a lab and dropped it in our laps so they could make a vaccine that they’d get rich off of. Fauci was pardoned because they knew they’d go after him, and of course, they did. Fauci didn’t bother to answer, and now they want to arrest him for contempt. He’s an 85-year old man who spent his life in service. Someday, check his accomplishments. There are al...

I stopped by 7/11 this morning and as I was pumping my gas and watching the amount I was paying to fill up approach $60… …I caught the store insignia and my memory kicked in. 1974. Over 50 years ago. Largo, Florida. Dad was doing a job there, and we were along for the ride. Six kids wreaking havoc in the sun. Mom and Dad went out, leaving us with a baby-sitting couple. Bernie was a laborer who worked for Dad. He had a booming laugh and he used that laugh a lot around us. His girl, Gloria was also very pleasant. After all these years we still talk about them, and perhaps it’s because they were a black couple. They were cooler than anyone else who’d sat with us! Back to 7/11. Bernie walked us down there and paid for what we wanted. I got 6 packs of baseball cards to get to the dollar gift headed my way. As a kid…I was 9…I was amazed by the generosity of the gift. Some 53 years later, I marvel at my ability to recall the gesture. We thanked Bernie all the way home, and told Mom and Dad al...

Saw a Threads post about how the writer missed the drop by. This is one of those back in my day posts, but of course, it caught my attention because at the big house on the hill the door was always open, and man, we got visitors! Grandpa was always there on a Saturday morning, and on the weekend, for the most part, there were neighbors and friends in the house, in the yard, or at the table. Doesn’t happen much these days. I’ve never seen the inside of the neighbor’s house. We’ve lived near them all for years and years. If one of them stopped by we’d wonder what the hell is wrong with them. Kinda’ miss those days, right? And I mentioned to an old former neighbor that someday people will once again that they need to hang out a little with other people. “The tide will turn,” I said. “I don’t think so,” the old neighbor said. “It’s something that will stay lost. People are too used to staring at a screen. Don’t see them ever making the effort.” One of us is dead wrong. I hope it’s him… …th...

News broke yesterday that Pedo Pig’s bank accounts with Capital One have been frozen because they suspect that he’s laundering money through his accounts. Isn’t that enough? Yet, being convicted in a sexual assault didn’t do it, so what’s a little money laundering. “When you’re president they let you do it.” The GOP has responded by making sure that the IRS can’t ever audit him or his family members. Think of how far we’ve slipped. We pretended, at least, that we were a country built on a foundation of honor and integrity. They dropped the charges against the man they arrested for supposedly making a 300’ cut in the reflecting pool. But of course, the mistake could not be admitted. “We have video.” Of course, we can’t see the video. It’s like the ‘they stole the election’ bullshit. Every day. That’s how he gets away with it. There is an impeachable and immoral move made every day. There are so many reasons why he deserves to die in prison that we become too fatigued to do a damn thing ...

😂 😂 😂  Pedo Pig sent out a post to congratulate himself on winning yet another club championship at his own club. 😂 😂 😂  He explained that he won and all the losers who competed against him lost because he has talent and they don’t. 😂 😂 😂  I’ve golfed with some very good golfers who played in college and a couple who now work as club professionals. Those guys can certainly card a 70 on a good day. Yet, they’re in their 60’s and they take penalty strokes, don’t take mulligans, don’t have a caddy dropping a ball for them in the fairway, and they know that golf is a game of integrity that requires the player to be honorable. Dipshit  Don doesn’t have an honorable turd in his diaper. Can you imagine him shooting a 70? 😂 😂 😂  Arnold Palmer. Arnold freaking Palmer couldn’t card a 70 when he was 80 years old. Now, information came out following his ‘I have talent’ post. The only time he ever played in a tournament when someone actually kept his score - some...

The Yankees traded for the hitter who leads the National league in OPS. Desperately needed a bat and picked up a good one. There will be more coming by Monday afternoon as the Yankees always go for it. Of course, the Dodgers stole the headlines by getting Skubal and all fans of baseball are tired of the hedge fund team over paying for every player that hits the market. I’m a Yankees fan and of course, the Yankees aren’t playing in the shallow end when it comes to paying their players, but even Yankees fans are tired of the Dodgers. The problem I have is in their deferring money. The have signed Ohtani, Snell, Tucker and others - deferring a huge portion of the salary. Baseball does have a cap of sorts. If your payroll exceeds certain limits you have to pay a tax. The Dodgers, by deferring money, are circumventing that tax. Ohtani’s annual salary is $70 million a year. They are deferring $68 million of it! But trade deadline is always a big day because now it’s game on for the stretch r...

“I can end the Ukraine-Russia war on day one of my presidency.” That didn’t happen. “Mitch is in rehab working hard for the citizens of Kentucky.” No he isn’t. He’s either dead or totally incapacitated. “We are in a little excursion in Iran. Will be a 4-6 week event.” We’re months into it. No practical way to end it. “The GDP will be 4.0 next quarter.” It’s 1.5 and when asked about it they stated: “It’s because we are building factories all over the land. Soon there will be a golden economic age.” The number of factories being built has decreased. “We’ve taken in trillions and trillions in tariff money and DOGE saved a trillion dollars.” Neither happened. “We will release the Epstein files for all to see.” That didn’t happen. “They cut a 300-feet gash in the reflecting pool.” Even arrested a man for that one. Charges were dropped because: It didn’t happen. “Grocery prices will come down on day one. That will be easy.” That turned into: “I don’t care about affordability, it’s a hoax.” A...

NYSEG is straight up robbing people. I said it. Through the years, we paid about $150-$180 a month on electricity. For some reason, these are our last 3 electric bills: $395 $390 (At which point, we called to ask what the hell is going on). We were told that it was the balanced budget billing working itself out. So, when I opened the bill this month: $496 was quite the surprise. I decided to talk it through with the guys I see on construction sites. Turns out, we are all being balanced budget billed out of our minds. “My last bill was $1,080,” one guy said. “I lost my mind. Went crazy on the poor lady who answered the phone.” “Did they work with you?” I asked. “They shut it off!” He said. “Two days after I made the call. I didn’t have a grand sitting around…I’m going to be paying it off over the next 3 months with whatever they charge each month.” We weren’t the only two guys talking… …the other three guys stories similar to what we’ve been charged over the last 90 days. “We are all be...

Kaitlan Collins is a very good reporter, and someone I’ve admired in a media that has become a freaking cesspool. She was in the news last week because at the White House Correspondents Dinner she was targeted by a bully who happens to be a convicted sexual predator, and an assumed pedophile, who is also the president because he executed the greatest con in the history of the world. It was downright embarrassing. Of course it was below the dignity of the office, but that ship has sailed long ago. As he spoke, making fun of Collins because she doesn’t smile enough, calling her fake, and being as nasty as one can be, Collins simply sat there. She didn’t react. I wondered how she felt in that moment, and a couple of days later, I heard her saying that she expected it. She also said that she basically felt nothing because she knew that what he was saying wasn’t true. And then she stated that she will continue to ask him tough questions and take his non-answers, and his verbal abuse, withou...

People often ask me how an idea for a new book hits me.  It’s usually a lightning strike! I started working on the book that will be my 20th published work after my oldest sister, Corinne, sent me a simple text: “What’s up, Clit?” It made me laugh, but it also made me come up with a new character, whose name happens to be ‘Clifford’. That had to be his name so I could work through the opening chapter. A story needs good characters. I started with ‘Clifford’ and his sister, and then I thought about the Blizzard of ‘77 and how we spent those days.  As a kid, I wondered how more than 25 people died in that storm. The Blizzard kicks off the story of a group of friends, a love interest and playing on the high school basketball team. Playing on the team in high school was the absolute best - we had a lot of fun - and one year we were good enough to make the playoffs. So, now we had, a nickname, the blizzard and the basketball team. I needed tension, and a memory played a part. ...

My friend Reggie always had a huge smile on his face. He had 5 kids at home. He was born with lungs that didn’t quite work right, and he had to be careful about where he worked, and was often simply hurt by breathing air. Yet, our conversations were always so upbeat. When I asked him about his health he would often say: “It’s all right. I just have to deal with it.” Outwardly, he always looked healthy and strong and he hated to miss a day of work. “I have five kids, man!” Reggie was so happy to be a Dad. He had a photo on his phone that he would show everyone. “World’s Best Dad!” was written on the mug. We became friends as Reggie ran some jobs and he’d ask me for help in setting up the safety. I would greet him with the old Bronx chant: “Reggie! Reggie! Reggie!” And he’d flash that huge smile. We spoke about the race riots years ago. A black man working in an industry where ignorance can run rampant some days. “Some people just ain’t right,” he said. A coworker of Reggie’s texted me: ...

I was confident with every club in my hand on Sunday. And it was so much fun. The ball was bouncing well. First off, the weather was great, and Pops was pushing me with 40-foot putts and long drives. I knew I needed to keep the ball in the short grass, and stay consistent. And it’s never about winning or losing - we all cheer one another’s good shots. It’s such an unforgiving game. You can hit a shot exactly where you want to and it can just bounce the wrong way. I had a long putt for an eagle…it hit the flag stick. Ended up 8’ away. Missed that too. A tap in par. Pissed about it. Watched Pops on very next hole from 235 yards out…hit a ball that rolled all the way around the cup and was spit out. Would’ve been an eagle. He made the birdie putt. When we pulled up on 16, my heart sunk a little. Only 3 holes left. Thought about the busy week ahead. A lot of hours between swings. Deep breath on 18. Finish it with a par. Great drive. Hit the green with the 2nd shot, ended up in the fringe. ...

I’ve had enough of the fireworks every freaking night. My dog is an absolute mess and on Friday night the m-80’s started going off at 12:30. It’s Saturday night now and we have them blasting off at 11:00. The poor animals, all over the neighborhood are shaking. I can’t imagine what vets are thinking. STOP it. I don’t understand it at all. That’s fun? Get pissed up and blow shit up? Ah man. Pissing in the wind. Police won’t stop it. People don’t give a shit. You voice a concern about the public good and you’re a ‘woke libtard’. I don’t get it, but someone needs to make it stop.

LeBron James is taking his talents to Philadelphia. He’s been a Cavalier (twice), went to Miami, to the Lakers and now he will be a 76er. He’s now 41 years old, and while he is no longer a top ten player in the league, he can still play the game. I have a buddy who lives close to Philly, just over the Jersey state line. “We got Floppy,” he texted. James has won a championship in each place that he has played. If he wins one in Philadelphia the legend will grow. Hell, even Pedo Pig checked in by calling LeBron ‘a racist’ which is absolutely ridiculous, but so is the rest of the river of shit that comes out of his mouth. LeBron James is a fascinating athlete and he will be remembered forever as one of the all-time greats. He’s also lived and thrived while being a famous man. There haven’t been any scandals, by all accounts he’s a great dad. He speaks up on key issues, and I can’t do anything but marvel at his conditioning to get up and down the court. James has spoken up when his voice h...

I was scrolling around on Wednesday night, and did my website check ins. My bank account can be checked, and for some reason, I clicked on it. The balance was a bit low, and when I looked at the recent transactions I knew something was amiss. “Did you order something?” I asked Kathy, sending her the two odd transactions. “You better call the bank,” she said. Now this was ten o’clock at night and I’m usually going to sleep around then, but I didn’t wait. Quickly, the card was locked and then deactivated, and I noticed that there were three more fraudulent transactions. I heard from the bank in the morning, which seemed odd to me, but the guy on the phone asked me about the bad charges. And then he began asking me more personal questions, and I hung up. He called back, and I went off on him, hung up and called the bank on the true number. “That’s a scam that they’re running,” the woman said. She checked in on my now-defunct card. “We’ve been denying charges all morning,” she said. “Out o...

Ran into a MAGA guy I know, and I tried my level best to not get into anything political, but he was quick to bring it around, one way or another. He wanted to discuss AI. “I don’t get it,” I said. “The data center they’re building in Barker is simply massive. I don’t understand what they put in all that space.” “Oh, I understand ALL of it,” he said. (He’s a brick mason). “We better get control of it before China or we’re done.” (A straight up MAGA talking point). “We’ll be gone when the whole new world kicks in,” I said. “Are you ready to retire?” He asked. “Who knows?” I said. “My electric bill was $491 this month, groceries are through the roof, and gas ain’t coming down.” (Okay - perhaps I was attempting to get under his skin by pointing out that this is a mess). “We had to stop Iran,” he said. “Even if it costs us double to live this year it’ll be worth it because they were a couple of weeks away from dropping a nuke on our heads.” That one almost made me laugh out loud. I tried t...

I was working in New Haven, Connecticut in 1989. In fact, I was working at the single best job I ever had. You see, back then I was trying to find a career. I had graduated college, and bounced around a few jobs. I had a book out, was teaching creative writing and writing copy for a magazine. The teaching was fun, but I hated the office job. My Dad was on the site in New Haven and he called me. “I need someone to work in the office here. The mayor wants a daily report of progress on the job.” He didn’t ask twice, but just a few months into it, things went sour for Dad and the mayor, and Dad left. The company kept me. A month after Dad left, I was offered a different position with the company that Dad up and left. They wanted me to be a fire watch on the second shift. I didn’t accept the demotion. I walked down the hall and got a job with the concrete company. Same job. Just changed hardhats and I stayed through the end of the job. Had a lot of fun as a 24-year old kid. Lived on my own....

If a Major League Baseball player sees his average dip to about .220 when he’s thirty-five years old, his fans will wonder if he’s washed up. The twenty-five year old guy doesn’t have to worry about such questions. For him, it’s just a slump that he’ll get over.  His abilities will come back. The 35-year old? There are questions. Thought of all this on Monday morning after playing golf on Sunday. My right arm was tight, and two fingers and a thumb were pins and needles. “That’s new,” I thought. I pinched the tendon at my elbow and the tingling eased a little. Feet to the floor, and my left knee buckled a little. “Fun.” Which, I know, “it’ll come back.” But I thought about it a little… …there will come a day when… …like the older player… …it won’t come back. My father-in-law loved to golf, and he was pretty good at it. He got a brand new driver at his retirement ceremony, and was really happy about it. He’s 89 years old now, and every once in a while he’ll ask me about my round. I c...

1). We still have no idea if Mitch McConnell is dead or alive. It’s fairly insane that in this day and age a man could stay hospitalized for more than a month, and still be paid as though he were still performing duties as a senator. There have been two photos put out as ‘proof of life’ but they are certainly fake photos.  It’s embarrassing. 2). We’re losing servicemen in Iran. The war that we ‘won’ more than 50 times because Iran doesn’t have a military left, is ongoing as drone attacks killed our soldiers. There appears to be no way out, and the war appears to be boring the administration. 3). The World Cup is over and Spain won it all. I didn’t watch any of it, but I was never into soccer. I did see the obese orange guy wandering around the stage like a bag lady as he tried to immerse himself into the victory celebration. After being roundly booed by the entire crowd. 4). The election garbage is absolutely disgusting. It’s pretty transparent that there is a movement afoot to eit...

We have a ravine behind our fenced in backyard. Every once in a while a deer or two will pop up back there, and hang out, and watch Ollie glide through the yard making leaping catches. I wonder what the deer are thinking. The trees that start in the ravine and hang out behind my fence are at least 60’ in the air. There are a half dozen of them back there, and when they start moving in the wind it’s a pretty awesome sight. Lately, I’ve been looking up at the largest tree in the pack. The very top of the tree. Started thinking about those trees and how much they’ve grown in the nearly 30 years we’ve been here. I couldn’t tell you the difference in how they look now as opposed to then, but I thought about us buying the home from an older couple, and their son, The father mentioned, ‘we raised our family here, and now you will too.’ And soon enough, someone else will live here, and gaze up in wonder to the very top of the tree. Those trees will stand up straight and proud after we are gone...

My son was walking beside me when a young, black kid who works construction saw me and started laughing. “What’s going on?” I said to the kid. “Why are you laughing at me?” “‘Cause you’re a funny dude,” he said. “I was in your safety class, and you shocked me. I told the guy sitting next to me that you reminded me of Billy Bob as Bad Santa.” “That’s the perfect description,” another guy standing nearby said. “You’re there for a safety class, and he gives us the Bad Santa talk.” It was a high compliment, and as word got around, a lot of people seemed to agree that I have the old Billy Bob vibe when I speak. And here’s the thing: It’s a safety talk in front of a lot of grown men who have heard a review of the rules a lot of times. About 30 years ago, I was sitting in a safety class that was being taught by a highly entertaining speaker.  As that man spoke, (Bill Bord) I realized he was teaching us the same stuff but doing it in a way that I would remember for a long time. 💡 time. “T...

My son sent along a tale about a woman in Denver who ate the tainted produce and hit the head more than 40 times in a couple of hours as the explosive diarrhea hit her. Here in Western New York we are in a cloud of ash due to Canadian wild fires. The sun hasn’t been around much and it feels a bit like zombies are going to dance out of the cloudy skies and eat our brains. What made all of Thursday even worse was Pedo Pig was promoting the speech he scheduled for Thursday night. None of the networks felt like carrying it because it’s the same garbage. He won, Biden lost, Dumb has a ‘b’ and no one ever knew that. Of course I had zero interest in ever hearing anything he has to say unless it starts with: “It’s terminal.” I’m not a huge fan of social media as opposed to the life we used to live when you only dealt with the people in your life. Strangers were people you saw out there, hanging around, and if you didn’t make time, you never heard their opinions about anything. Now, I usually w...

I listened to Ossoff question Jay Clayton, as a job interview for a high appointment in the sham of a government that we now have. This was the question: “Who won the 2020 election?” A simple question.  Obviously, Joe Biden won by a large margin, and while the loser of that election refused to concede, promised mountains of evidence that it was ‘stolen’ and then could not provide a single instance showing that he was cheated. The failure to concede led to an insurrection that is an incredible embarrassment to the reputation of the country. Pathetic comes to mind. And Clayton couldn’t answer the question. He wouldn’t answer it, I should say, because while he knew the truth, he didn’t want to wind up on the bad side of the Pedophile Pig who is the Guiness Book of World Record holder for the most whining on every subject imaginable. This post isn’t about him. It’s about Clayton. How? Why? Are you freaking kidding me? Everyone who knows this man should be embarrassed for him. He’s a we...

It’s a little weird around here, as Kathy continues to recover, and I had my little bout of whatever the hell got me yesterday. “You should try eating dry toast, or rice, something bland,” Nurse Kathy said. “Nah, I’m going pasta,” I said, “It’s never failed me.” “You’re an idiot,” she said. “Wrote a whole book about it.” And there was a knock at the door. Sam responded, and said:  “She wants to speak to the home owner.” I headed to the door, and a peppy young girl asked me if it was a good time to talk. “Depends what we’re talking about,” I said. She asked me if I’ve enjoyed paying my electric bill lately, and asked if I ever considered adding solar panels. I knew that she was wasting her time with me. I’m not adding solar panels, but I listened and spoke nicely. She finished it all up in about ten minutes, and promised to email me more information. “Great. Have a nice day,” I said. When I returned to the family area Kathy and Sam were having a conversation about I’m a nice guy bec...

Spent the entire day out in the hot sun and it was a long day. Got home and scrambled to make dinner, and play with Ollie, and help the wife. Nothing major for dinner - fresh corn and an assorted sandwich with what I thought were fresh cold cuts. By 7:00 I threw the ball for Ollie again, and then all hell broke loose! Between 7:00 and about 7:50, I threw up no less than 15 times. Absolutely wildest fifty minutes of my life…and I had a passing thought about ‘this is how it ends.’ I could hear Kathy telling people at the funeral breakfast that I was fine one minute and then gone. As it was going on, I was hoping that there would be a funeral because I wanted it to stop one way or another! So, what was it? Food poisoning? Heat stress? I know the signs of heat stress. I talk about it on every job, and I’m good about making sure that I’m hydrated. But…it doesn’t take much to throw the body out of kilter. Now, on the food poisoning angle - it was cold cuts, with lettuce and tomato. Yet, it w...

When I opened my phone on Sunday morning, the death of Lindsey Graham was the first post I saw. I felt absolutely nothing. Graham embarrassed himself at the end of his days by being a brown nose for King Pedo. Look back at what Graham said about Pedo back in 2016. He knew exactly who Don Snorleone was. He said that if he won the election we would be ruined and we would deserve it. True. Thing is, at the start of the first term, Graham was invited to golf with Shitler. Following the round, there wasn’t anything that Graham disagreed with when it came to Mr. Cognitive Test. After January 6th, Graham stood on the floor of the senate and explained that ‘it’s gone too far.’ He said that he was ‘out’. The next day, he was ‘in’. An empty suit. If you stand for nothing, you’ll fall for anything. He was an embarrassment. I waited all day Sunday for Mitch McConnell to send his sympathies, but he hasn’t said anything in about a month. But I wasn’t gloating. Graham died at 71 years old. A sudden d...

We watched the 1999 movie, ‘Hurricane’ starring Denzel - who is in the top five of my favorite actors. It’s a well-known story about the boxer, Ruben Carter, who was jailed for a triple-murder he didn’t commit.  Bob Dylan wrote an epic song about it. Anyway, the movie was great too, and towards the end, Denzel speaks about laws and justice, and upholding truths. My heart sunk because we are currently operating outside of those principles. It’s sad. For instance, Mitch McConnell has been incapacitated for quite some time, and may in fact, be dead. Those in power are hiding the fact so that his seat in the senate remains with the GOP. The president is making statements meant to manipulate stock prices as he makes trades to enrich himself and his family. Billions of dollars. Lawless. And I don’t know if I will ever see the pendulum swing back to where honor and justice and integrity become something we strive for. I’ve spoken on the new Stones record. There’s a song called ‘Ringing Ho...

We had a half-hour to kill before the show we wanted to watch came on. “There’s Cops,” Kathy said. Enough said.  I put it on, knowing full well why I liked watching it… …because it’s an absolute nightmare! The first guy was a felon who was caught trying to break into a condemned home. He had a large knife. “I knocked on the door because my Dad used to live here, but he didn’t answer. As I was walking away I saw this knife, and I figured I would take it down to the police station and turn it in so a kid didn’t find it and hurt themselves.” I spit my drink. “Not sure they’re buying it,” Kathy said. The guy tried three or four variations of the story and then couldn’t believe it when they cuffed him. The next one was even better. “We have a domestic fight that turned physical.” I was thinking a husband and wife got into it and it turned into a mess. When they arrived on scene there was an obese, shirtless, bearded, tattooed man seated on a red couch in the center of his front lawn. “W...

Back in the 1970’s, my brother John was a Beatles fan, and my buddy Tom was a huge fan of The Who. From the moment, I first heard ‘Tumbling Dice’, I was hooked on The Rolling Stones. By the late 70’s, I had ‘Some Girls’ on repeat, and I pestered my Mom about going to see The Stones at Rich Stadium. “No!” The Stones had the reputation of being bad boys who were hooked on drugs. Mick was weird. Keith was a mess. And I was hooked.  ‘Tattoo You’ and ‘Emotional Rescue’ came out and I absolutely wore those records out, while also going back to their other records. Moonlight Mile might be my all-time favorite song. I finally saw them perform live in 1981. They opened with ‘Under My Thumb’ and when I close my eyes, 45 years later, I can see Mick singing ‘Tunbling Dice’. My college buddies, Rosie and Terry were also huge Stones fans and I had a ‘Glimmer Twin’ tee-shirt somewhere with ‘Keith’ on the back. Rosie was ‘Mick’. I saw the Stones 3 more times after that 1981 show and they were alwa...

Arrived home to write reports yesterday and immediately got a call about an accident. An elderly driver had smacked a job trailer, and when I looked at the vehicle, knowing that the man was with his wife. Air bags deployed. On the way to the hospital, but okay… …we have big moments in life. Some aren’t so grand. We had one here. Kathy made it upstairs, which is a great relief to her. We were worried about balance on the stairs, but with a little guidance, she navigated it easily. No more running things down! Big moments for me tomorrow as the Rolling Stones new record drops. Unbelievable. I waited for their new records in the 70’s. I’ve heard 4 of the new songs (there are 14) and I love all four. ‘Jealous Lover’ is Mick singing falsetto and it’s so great. I know what I’ll be doing all day tomorrow as I drive around, wondering what Mitch McConnell is going to say to all his Republican friends. Talking to others after death is certainly a big moment situation.

As Kathy recovers it has become evident that the one thing that changed was the routine. I’m finding that the little bit of casual time that I did have within a day is lost as I play beat the clock at work to get back to help around here. More anxiety in a world that is filled with it in the summer months because my work is going full blast. We had some movement as Kathy was able to shift out of one room and hung around the room where she could get as close to being outside as possible, and PT came around, along with the nurses, so there has been a bit of relief, but it doesn’t change my mindset as I have thought: Get up and out earlier. Hustle when I’m on a site, and get back earlier. The other change has been dinner, as there hasn’t been much of an appetite, and I found that I don’t exactly know how to prepare heart-healthy food. I made a few dinners that were passed on, and thankfully Kathy’s sister made her dinner that she was happy about. Being thrown out of my routines has been r...

Seems that Mitch McConnell is brain dead. Cue the, “He’s been brain dead for decades,” jokes, but it truly is a disgusting story. The turtle collapsed about three weeks ago, and on the day it happened, his wife took off for China. She hasn’t returned. Evidently, it was the wrong time for Mitch to suffer his fate because if he is in fact incapacitated (which he has been for a couple of years now) the GOP would lose his vote in the Senate, and they need all the votes they can get to continue to steal all the money. This is about as low as one can go, right? The man is gone. One of the dopes said: “He appreciates the outpouring of concern and is working as he recuperates.” Just lie. About a man who carried that party through the muck and mire. He stole a Supreme Court justice. He wouldn’t vote to impeach even though he condemned the January 6th uprising. He opposed Obama at every turn, saying that he wanted to destroy his presidency before it even started. The state he represented has bee...

The big wedding took place at MSG on July 3rd. We were able to catch glimpses, and of course, it set off an absolute shit storm trashing them. Jake is my Taylor Swift connection, and he is caught up in it because his girl would be considered a Swiftie, I guess. “You’ll like this one,” Jake will text. Sam and Kathy are also fans. The songs are great. There are a couple I even sing along with. I’d say I probably have six or eight songs in my library. The other thing is that I see her at games, and she’s always smiling, and dancing and having a good time. Evidently, her mere presence absolutely pisses off a number of people. “Why do I have to look at her when I’m trying to watch football?” If she’s at a game, I’m thinking she’s on the screen for about 7 seconds of your life. Some of the hatred comes from her new husband. I’ve heard that it’s a fake marriage that’s about white power and their not-so-subtle attempt to take over the world. She has mostly stayed out of politics, but when she ...

Our neighborhood sounded like a war zone. It went on for a long time too, and I thought about the good old days when people used to gather at a town park to watch fireworks. Ollie handled it like a champ for the first hour but then there were a few loud blasts that scared the piss out of me. My poor dog was shaking for an hour. And I could only wonder why. Is it fun to shoot them off? They aren’t the huge fireworks that light up the sky, they’re just little bangs. They certainly don’t make anyone go “ooh and aah”. And aren’t they illegal? And expensive? Spending thousands of dollars? Just another example of me getting aggravated as an old man. Part of me wants to think: “Ahh, let them have fun.” But they’re messing with my dog! And man, tomorrow will be filled with stories of people who lost their fingers, or worse.  You Tube will have 50 idiotic videos. Ain’t that America?

Kathy is continuing to recover and truth be told, it’s been a long 9 days. Everything out of routine. A lot of, “Can you….?” But all things considered, it’s going well. Kathy was adamant about me getting out to chase around the golf ball, and we set up her friend stying with her so I could play with Sam and a couple of his buddies. It was hot out there, but we had a lot of fun, and hitting the ball felt great. Two of the golfers are just starting out. There were some wild shots. The cart was plunked at least three times. Lot of laughs. Returned home and back to house duties, but also noticed the lawn was in need of mowing. Waited until it cooled off a little, or so I thought, but we played mowing football and by the end, I was wearing down. Tired. The kind of tired that feels good, as the day winds down, but then the fireworks started, and Ollie thought we were under attack. It’s crazy to me that every July every neighborhood turns into what used to be handled at the town park when we ...

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...