Thoughts of a Common Man

Saw a baseball player hit a homer. The camera stayed on him after he rounded the bases and he was literally screaming, ‘Let’s Go ‘ with a scowl. Didn’t look happy to me. Yet, he might have been. Seems to me that people are generally angry out in public. A split-second hesitation at a light and people blast their horn. There are hundreds of videos of people going absolutely crazy when a fast food worker gets their order wrong, and I’m wondering if we were always on edge, or if it has just become more noticeable. One thing I’m not wondering about is how inconsiderate people seem to be these days. I waved a guy in front of my car as he waited to cross. I had the light so I didn’t have to, and after I waved him forward, he broke it down. Instead of hustling to the other side, he proceeded to walk slower than I’d ever seen someone walk. Carts are all over the grocery store parking lot. You can’t walk ten yards and put it away? And when I truly get irritated… …when the group ahead of you lea...

Ran into a guy today who ‘couldn’t believe it’s October.’ “What did you expect would come after September?” I asked. “I know!” He said. “But life flies on by.” Don’t I know it. October 1, 1997 was a day I’ll never forget because a steel erector company I worked for tipped a crane over that day. Thankfully no one was injured - which was an absolute miracle - but it was a very bad accident. I spent about a week at the site, dealing with OSHA and a whole bunch of men who remain friends to this day. And with memories it’s insane how much can be recalled about nearly every minute of the day. I was 32 years old. Had been married for just about 5 months! I blinked. And all those years passed on by. As I thought about it this October 1st I had a desire to call the company safety guy… …I would frequently call him and say, ‘Happy Anniversary’ and he would laugh. He passed away a couple of years ago… …and I missed being able to make the call this year. And with memories, it seems that it couldn’t...

We have so much data at our fingertips. Information overload, actually, and, of course it has entered the baseball conversation. Years ago, the Oakland Athletics used all that information to battle the all-mighty New York Yankees. They lost, but it made a nice little story staring Brad Pitt (it is a great movie). Yet, the movie never mentioned that the A’s had three of the best pitchers in the sport. I mention it because Boston removed their pitcher in the 5th inning of Game 1. “Why are they taking him out?” Sam asked. “They want the lefty to face Rice.” Rice promptly homered. None of the analytics worked and the Yankees hammered them 9-0. So, onto Game 2. It was 1-0 in the 5th inning. Here comes Boston’s manager. “They aren’t doing it again, are they?” Sam asked. “They think they need a lefty.” The pitcher, Sonny Gray, wasn’t tired. He is a good pitcher. Didn’t matter. They made the move and ten minutes later the game was over. They don’t watch the game in front of them. Now, of cours...

Jack Smith was called before the oversight committee because the idiots in charge were sure that they could convict him of perjury because he lied about going to an Atlanta Hawks game. Except he went to an Iowa Hawkeyes game in Maryland. It was a nearly comical exchange, but Smith wasn’t amused by the line of questioning. The reason it wasn’t comical is because Smith was there and was testifying about some very serious stuff. The president of the United States was guilty of treason. Smith laid it all out, and broke down the charges. The members of the oversight committee didn’t respond. They didn’t even seem to hear it. The mainstream media didn’t pick up the story, and it seems that the population of the country simply yawned thinking about it. The president is guilty of treason. They have the evidence. I suppose that a lot of people, upon hearing such news might think: “Of course he did.” We will most certainly learn about all of his crimes, say, 10 years down the road. It’ll be a fa...

The first thing I looked for when the playoff schedule came out was what time the Yankees-Red Sux games were on. 8:15 on Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday if needed. Damn!!! It’s kind of miserable for those of us who are up and at ‘em by six in the morning. But off we go. Sam and Kathy were engrossed in the Braves-Phillies game that started at 2:00. I joined them in the 8th inning with the Phillies up 3-2. I caught the huge 3-run homer that the Braves hit. “That’s why baseball is the best,” I said. And I’ll go to my grave putting baseball up against every sport. It’s incredible tension. The Yankees have blessed me throughout my life. They have been a winning team for 33 years in a row, which is incredible. They ruined a lot of October sleep schedules, and have given me 7 world championships. Can they win it this year? For sure. They will pitch their way there. And if they don’t pull it off? I’ll get some sleep.

I had to trim the hedges yesterday, which is a job I hate because I end up getting little slivers - even when I’m wearing my PPE. I also needed something to haul away the debris. I spotted the kid’s wagon. It’s been in the garage since the summer of 1998. I know that for a fact because I dumped the wagon and I saw the inscription. “To Jake…Happy First Birthday! We love you…Grandma and Grandpa Fazzolari” It was Dad’s handwriting. Dad had perfect handwriting. My heart did a little jump, and then it ached. It looked as though he scrawled the inscription yesterday and not 28 years ago. I thought back to those birthday parties when the boys were young. The boys birthdays are within a month of each other so we’d have one party and serve 3 birthday cakes. Those were events and our parents spoiled their grandchildren.  We got a lot of use from that wagon. Kathy would put the boys in it and take them around the neighborhood. Where did that time go? One moment they’re celebrating their first...

I’ve been to Cornell about fifty times through the years. It’s a beautiful campus, and of course, it’s a highly regarded academic institution. But it’s kids at college. We had to lower the boom on the crane because students were climbing up a couple of hundred feet on the weekends. Netting had to installed at the bridges where students were jumping to their deaths when the pressure of their grades was too much. And yet, nothing prepared me for the story of the rape. I hung around the frat houses when I was in college. I pledged at a house and a couple of weeks into the process I dropped out because one of the guys who was going to soon be ‘a brother’ spit tobacco juice into my face. I stepped out of line, walked out the front door and had the pledge master chasing me down the street to try and talk me into coming back. I remember that conversation. “We want you to make it,” the pledge master said. “It’s just what you have to go through. Couple of weeks and you’re in.” “Done,” I said. “...

On the tee box, polling my fellow golfers. “What’s going to happen?” I asked. “Oh, there won’t be an election,” golfer #1 said. “I don’t think so either,” golfer #2 added. I didn’t digest that all that well. If there aren’t mid-term elections there isn’t any more pretending… …it’s over. I don’t see how they can possibly stop the election.  You can’t just declare martial law (or as the MAGA crowd says: ‘Marshall Law’ - as if he were the sheriff on Gunsmoke). “We have the Democrats saying, ‘He can’t do that! Then he does it and no one stops him.” That is a fair point. I mentioned: “He knows if he loses he’s going to jail.” “He’s NEVER going to jail. He does whatever. There won’t be an election.” It was my turn to hit, with that thought ringing in my ears. After my swing I said: “It’s going to be a crazy few weeks.” Chasing the media away is a calculated plan. Trying to challenge ballots and pretend there’s fraud. That’s out of Hitler’s playbook. On Saturday it was noticed that the wa...

I went to school at Gannon University. I had a lot of friends on the golf team, and they decided to play in a memorial tournament at Whispering Woods in Erie. Three all-American golfers and me! Now, I’ve played in this foursome before, and it’s a lot of fun watching great golf up close. This year, I wanted to participate. I set up at the tee on a par 3 that was 178 yards away. A hole in one would win me free steak for a year. I can eat a lot of steak. I hit a great shot… …that was about 6’ from all that steak. The next golfer… …put it within 3’. “I couldn’t let you have that,” he said. On the very next hole we were about 40 yards off the green following our drive. I went first, and as I set up, my longtime buddy who routinely golfs around par said, ‘Hang on a second.’ Then he told me where to put the ball in my stance, and aimed at the spot on the green I needed to hit to put it close. I hit the spot. Holed it for an eagle. And man, we laughed all day. Four guys who’ve known one anothe...

So, a judge ruled that the Pedo Pig couldn’t ban the press, but when the media tried to access the White House in the morning they were denied. However, right around noon, just a half an hour before they’d have to show up in court, the White House lifted the ban. And the press stayed away in droves. They allowed the pug to meet with President Xi without any coverage. And then the orange mouth complained that the press wasn’t there! Good. Stay away! We’ve heard all his bits. We know he’s going to lie and tell us everything is going great. It ain’t. It was learned this week that his approval rating is now at 29%. Nixon got bounced when he was at 24%. It’s widely believed that there is a blue wave coming, and Pedo Pig knows that if they lose the senate and the house that he may wind up in Federal prison. What are his options? 1). They will try to cancel the elections. This doesn’t seem plausible, but a run at martial law is on the table. Make up an emergency and declare that the election ...

It’s funny how we salute one another. “How’s it going?” Is usually answered with: “It’s going?” “How are you?” Often gets: “Same shit, different day.” We all have stock answers. When someone asks me how I am I usually answer: “Lovely.” I see different people each day, which is good. I can’t imagine working in an office where you run into the same people every day. That’s dangerous because you get invested! At the same time, there was a plumber that I ran into the day after Kathy had her surgery. About a month later I saw him again, and the first thing he asked was: “How’s your bride?” Which was very thoughtful given that I’m not sure I even know his first name. There is one good day for greeting people. “How’s it going?” “It’s Friday.” That’s always the response on Friday morning, and yeah, it puts a little pep in the step. That’s followed by: “Have a great weekend.” And then on Monday we have to deal with the: “How was your weekend?” question. “I played all right,” is my response to t...

This is the final week of the baseball season. It hurts me to write that sentence, but of course, we have the playoffs coming up, and baseball playoffs are incredible. It’s been a weird year, as the Yankees have had a lot of major injuries. Aaron Judge hasn’t played much at all since May, and Stanton checked out in late April. That’s about 75 homers missing from the lineup, and still, they won 90+ games, but not the division. Which means they will be seeded behind teams that won considerably less than the Yankees. Just stupid. The Yankees will face Boston and then the winner of the series will face Tampa while the other 3 teams with way worse records will battle it out. One of those lesser teams will be in the championship series. Ridiculous. Teams should be seeded by the number of wins. Period. The Yankees should be the 2nd seed. Boston should be the 3rd seed. Whatever. Beat the best to win it all. And for the first time in decades, the Yankees will win a title if they pitch as they’r...

Finally. The media decided to work together. Instead of cowering, they decided to band together in solidarity with the entities that were banned. White House events went off without audio. Which was close to heaven… …he couldn’t be heard! No talk of windmills causing cancer, or the fact that no one ever knew there was a ‘b’ in dumb until he figured it out. Just silence. And why I say it was ‘almost heaven’ is because he could still be seen. The accordion playing hands as he tries to reason his way through his lies. And I mention all this because it brought to mind the glorious day, off in the hopefully near future, when he won’t be part of the daily conversation. Do you remember the days when we hardly ever thought of politics? Someone asked me about 9/11/01.  How’d I feel about America leading into it? “I was clueless,” I said. “I barely knew Bin Laden from Saddam Hussein.” And that was the truth. There was far less drama, and we trusted that those in charge had the best interest ...

I remember the first time I ever went online. I had received a floppy disc from AOL, and I had a PC, so, I put the disc in and man… …it made an awful sound! I was online! Now what? I remember telling Kathy that it was awesome because I can talk to anyone in the world. I went in a chat room and was in a conversation with someone in Colorado. “You don’t even like talking to someone you know who is in the same room as you. Why do you want to talk to a stranger?” A couple of months after that we ordered a movie and it was sent to our television! Amazing!! We watched ‘Waterworld’ with Kevin Costner. The movie wasn’t great, but watching it from my couch? That was outstanding! Fast forward 28 years. We have screens at the gas pump because God help us if we just stand there filling our tank without looking at a screen. There are 40 screens in every sports bar. People drive and look at their screens, and they argue with strangers, from all over the world, everywhere. I found that: I hate talkin...

Getting a little closer to making the old constitution obsolete. There was an announcement that free press won’t be allowed to cover the White House because the news doesn’t favor the president. And America collectively shrugs. Now there’s a reason why this sudden announcement hit yesterday just hours after it was decided that the missing 37 pages from the Epstein files will see the light of day. The details of those missing 37 pages? It’s all about the rape of a 13-year old child at the hands of the man who just banned the press from asking questions. And of course there are the polls. It is forecasted that Democrats will clean up in the midterms, and the poll numbers are a disaster for Republicans because their crimes will be investigated. The GOP midterm message is that people don’t mind paying a fortune for gasoline because they don’t want to be nuked. Healthcare? Doesn’t matter - we have gold in the oval. Lost your job? Not to worry!  There will be a huge ballroom! Can’t find ...

At the Bills Stadium opening game, the Bare Naked Ladies sang Canada’s National Anthem. I’m not sure about the choice of singers as they kinda’ hurt my ears, but I love the Canadian anthem. I know every word because the Sabres have opened every game with it for nearly 60 years! Didn’t think anything of it until I saw MAGA going off on social media because the fat, orange pedophile has declared Canada our mortal enemies. “That’s it! I’m never watching another NFL game ever!” One of the MAGA cult members declared. Oh no? Didn’t you stop watching when Colin Kaepernick knelt for the anthem because men were being shot all over the country because they were black? How about the Miller Lite protest? Or because Kendrick Lamar or Bad Bunny played the halftime shows? Didn’t you quit the NFL then? You’ll watch 7 games next week. The fake outrage over the anthem will be your talking point as you try to decide where Lake America is on your map. Go eat some Canadian bacon, slip on a hockey jersey, a...

There were a lot of: “Go Bills!” all day long on Thursday. I asked almost everyone if they were going to the game. Some talked about being priced out. A few others mentioned that the game started at 8:15 and that it wouldn’t be over until late, and there is work on Friday. Those who were going were excited, and they should be. We spent a lot of years thinking that they were going to move. They’re here to stay for another generation, and the Bills are good. I knew that I wouldn’t be staying up late to watch it. I go to bed the same time every night unless the Yankees are in the playoffs. “Easy enough, I took tomorrow off,” one guy mentioned. So, I’m imagining that I might be the only guy out and about tomorrow. A win brings a lot of happy people. When they lose a game, everyone is pissed and quiet. A brand new $2 billion palace. A happy community… …and one rested safety guy!

We have a wooded area and a ravine directly behind our fenced in backyard. Every now and again the deer will hang out in the space between the fence and the ravine. Every morning they hang around the side yard and the neighbor’s home across the street. One day, the biggest of the deer was inside our fenced in area and I spotted him laying beside the cat! Neither the deer nor my cat cared the other one was there. And of course, the deer will hang out and watch as Oliver soars through the air catching the football. Sounds like a Disney movie! Yet, on Sunday morning, on the way to play golf, my heart skipped a beat when I saw a deer, on the side of the road. The big deer had been struck by a car! “No!” I yelled out. Now, I’m not sure that it was OUR deer, but it bugged me nonetheless. I’m hoping that in the next few days we see our deer with his little ones… …just hanging out with my cat.

Cory Booker absolutely went off on FBI Director Kash Patel at a congressional hearing. There’s no doubt about it. Patel would not answer any questions. It was also noted that every FBI agent who was involved in the missing documents case has been dismissed. So, Booker explained that the hearing, and the entire Patel tenure has been a ‘mockery and a sham.’ I’d go further. This entire government is a mockery and a sham. Just this week: 1). Russian oligarchs paid for Don Jr.’s lavish wedding. They were worried about Hunter Biden selling paintings, but the entire GOP is good with Putin buying his way into the government (that he seems to be running). 2). There was a trip to Ireland - important trip - to watch golf. The cost estimate for the romantic getaway ran to about $50 million, 3). Mitch showed up for work. He has absolutely no idea where he is, who he is, or why he’s here. Doesn’t the man have a family that cares? It’s a mockery. And a sham. 4). The Kennedy Center is closing its door...

So, after taking 92 paid days off of work, it appears that Mitch McConnell isn’t completely dead. The 84-year old man was wheeled into the Senate. Reporters were shouting questions that he didn’t appear to hear, and even if he heard them, he wouldn’t be able to respond because last we saw of him, he was staring blankly into the camera. Term limits anyone? Diane Feinstein was completely around the bend as she occupied her seat, and Thurmond was pushing a hundred, They aren’t doing any work, Sleepy Joe???? The sitting president was sound asleep at the 9/11 memorial. It’s a story that’s received a lot of ink through the years. I think that citizens who are republicans or democrats would agree one this one thing: Being elected should not be a lifetime gig. Going into office as a private citizen and coming out as a multimillionaire because you’ve sold your votes shouldn’t be a thing. As for Mitch? He was/is a nasty man. He voted against family leave time and was certainly not a fan of healt...

Football is back which means baseball season is winding down. I have to accept the lull between November and April. “Halfway through September,” I thought when I felt the chill in the air. I wondered how many more rounds left in WNY. I was about 5’ away from an ace yesterday. Was just 58 degrees at 7 AM. I’m not putting that damn hoodie on until 10/01. Speaking of October, I’ll be eligible to collect social security until they steal the rest of that to wrap themselves in gold. But I’ll hold a proof copy of the new book today which is exciting, and I booked a long Florida weekend for more golf in early November. So I got that going for me. Speaking in Vegas in January too… …Kathy likes that one. Yankees are playoff bound. City is Bills crazy. But that chill in the air scares me.

Chris Johnson was a great running back not too long ago. His career was to be celebrated this weekend, but the ceremony was cancelled because, as a young man, he was discovered to have ALS and his body is rapidly deteriorating. Another Bears player from the 1985 Super Bowl team died young. A whole bunch of members of that team died early. Who’s ready for some football????? Not me. It’s a barbaric game, and the people who have chosen to cut decades off their lives, need someone to sound off on their behalf. I’ve been a safety guy for 35 years. That’s not a safe game. There will be about 50 lost time injuries on Sunday. Construction companies have their insurance cancelled if they have 3 lost time injuries in a year. Bills fever???? This was the conversation I had with Kathy yesterday. “Do the Bills play tomorrow?” I asked. “Yes!” She exclaimed. “Here?” “No. In Houston. They play here on Thursday.” “Ahh.” “Come on, you knew they are opening the season tomorrow,” she said. “I truly lost t...

So, there has always been a law against trying to buy votes in our Democracy. You knew that law had zero chance once you saw the poll numbers. The GOP has seen the numbers, and there has been talk of a massive blue tidal wave. Pedo Pig will claim they were cheated after the loss, but before votes are cast, he decided to try and cheat right out in the open. If the Republicans retain control of the House and Senate he will give every adult $5,000. It’s criminal to even try, but you think he’s afraid of breaking a law? What’s sad is that so many people out there are excited. They believe that the check is on the way. Don’t make plans, people… …it ain’t happening. $5 grand apiece amounts to $1.3 trillion dollars. There’s no way. And remember the Doge check you didn’t get? This is the third or fourth time that he has mentioned sending money for nothing to people. Now, I don’t know how to break this to everyone, but… …HE LIES! About everything. I laughed when I heard it because it’s an absol...

Got hit hard in the heart. Saw a photo of a Dad and his sons at Yankee Stadium on the night of 09/10/01. The game was rained out, but Dad made sure he got a great photo with his boys. The next day, Dad died in the Tower. I stared at that photo for a long while. His life ended mere hours after that photo was snapped. Thought of his boys… …now men. Grew up without their Dad. His boys were about the same age as my boys. Thousands of people lost their lives that day. As Americans we all lost something that day. A quarter of a century already. That time flew by for a lot of us… … but it went a lot slower and a lot more painful for thousands of others. “Don’t Return Hatred” was the letter I wrote that was published in the USA Today and at least 5 other major newspapers on 09/12/01. I say the same thing now. The Land of Hate and Rage isn’t what we’ve needed since that horrible day… …but somehow that’s where we ended up. Those poor families would’ve been a lot better off had we ended up in a L...

So, you want to write a book. I received the layout and cover art for the new book - “Perfect World” and I knew that I had one more task. I needed to read the freaking thing again! To make sure that there weren’t any errors. It’s likely the twentieth time I have read it, and is likely to happen when you read something so many times, you start thinking: “Does this suck?” I truly don’t believe that it does - I said what I wanted to say, and the plot tips along with interesting characters in place. But it’s a lot of work. I did my job, and sent it back. Now I wait, but I should have a couple of copies in hand fairly soon. And I thought, “Man, twenty books!” And then I thought: “Wait! This is only 19.” I tested myself. Could I remember them all? The first 5 were easy to recall: ‘Money Changes Everything’, Eye in the Sky’, Waldorf & Juli’, ‘Desperation’ and ‘In Real Life’. Then what? ‘Nobody’s Home and ‘Blind Spot’ before three non-fiction efforts, ‘Counting On A Miracle’, ‘House of Mir...

The playbook of a narcissist is to keep their name in the news. Every day there is a fresh pile of crap to deal with. September 11, 2001 was a day that none of us who were here will ever forget. I remember the entire morning, and the feelings of dread. I recall the drive home, and keeping the kids away from the television. Every minute of that day is unforgettable. The huge, orange pile of lies doesn’t seem to have quite my sense of recall because yesterday, for the first time ever, he told the world that he was down at ground zero on that day… …just to see if he could help. (Such a great guy, right?) While he was down there a dramatic shift happened and two big, burly, handsome firemen had to lift him up and carry him through the rubble, saying, “Sir, it’s not safe.” I listened to him say it. Because I really wanted to grasp how someone could make up such a story. He is trying to insert himself as a hero and a victim in the center of the country’s most horrific day. It’s flat-out disg...

There’s a lot of chatter about Melanoma and Pedo Pig splitting up. Yep. Hard to believe because they’ve always looked so lovey-dovey, and they battled through that typical marriage problem where the man gets caught having an encounter with a porn star whilst the woman is home nursing the next family tragedy. They battled through that, and now? Pedo Pig was out on the golf course with his constant companion, Natalie, clapping when he miraculously found his ball in the middle of the fairway after he hit it in the woods. Hilarious. His golf cart is faster than everyone else’s and he races down the fairway and puts his ball wherever he wants to on his way to another club championship. Yet, I’m getting off the topic here. The Internets are alive with speculation about the fact that Melanoma is done and will no longer stand there with a sour look on her puss as he tries to hold her hand. There are so many out there who compare Melanoma to Jackie O. “She’s the classiest First Lady ever!” MAGA...

At the 8th hole, as we waited for the annoying guys ahead of us leave the fairway (every golfer hates the group playing in front of them). I turned and asked: “What’s going to happen with the election?” Everyone had a response. “They’re trying to rig it.” “They lose and they’ll call it rigged.” “It’s already being rigged.” We’ve had free and fair elections for 250 years. There was no proof that 2020 wasn’t free and fair. It appears that 2024 was manipulated by Musk because it was a mathematical impossibility that it turned out as it did. Yet, not wanting to appear to be whiny assholes, the results were accepted. If the results are questioned again - without any proof - just a fat, orange dude bitching: Timeout: Did you see that he’s now a brunette??? Looks absolutely ridiculous. Anywhoha… …more than 60% of the country is truly hanging their hats on the fact that the Oompa Loompa agenda will be destroyed. “They refuse to accept the results we are going to have to do something,” one of t...

I watched a clip of a game between the Rays and Padres. The game itself was crazy as the Rays were down to their final out in a 3-1 game with a runner on first.  The Padres have the best closer in the game, but he gave up a long fly to left that the outfielder made a fine running catch on… .,.except he hit the wall and dropped the ball on the other side - a 2-run homer to tie it. That was dramatic enough, but the camera stayed out there and the man who retrieved the ball on the other side of the wall went absolutely bat shit crazy. I can tell you, I have never been that excited about anything in my life. I watched children being born and I wasn’t as fired up as the guy out there who was celebrating in the Tampa night. He jumped and screamed and ran and then leapt onto a table out there. All the while raising his arms and absolutely screaming. I once got a ball at a Blue Jays-Yankees game. I must confess that it was a rush even though it was hit by Dave Berg, a journeyman infielder ...

The Buffalo Bills new stadium opened up about a month ago. They’ve had a practice and a couple of games, and are currently replacing the grass field because it didn’t go so well, Clumps of grass were coming up. There’s a risk of injury. How does that happen? Now, I don’t know a whole hell of a lot about grass given how my backyard looks. I spent a lot of money on grass seed. I can’t imagine how much money the new field is costing the Bills. Of course, there are a lot of people who are offering their opinion about the situation. Telling the world what they’d do different if they were in charge of the world. It’ll work out eventually, and we won’t ever know the full price tag. The thing that can’t happen is that people start tearing up their knees. If Josh Allen goes down for the year because the grass gave way we are going to hear a lot more about it. As it is now, the home opener is less than two weeks away. Took me a hell of a lot longer than that to cover up the patch of grass in my ...

It’s always weird to me how the entire tide seems to shift once we get past the Labor Day weekend. The air is crisper. School buses are slowing down the daily commute, and I start getting antsy about: The end of baseball season, and the end of golf for the year. I don’t want to shovel anything ever again so I’m keeping an eye on the weather forecasts that show: “It’s going to be a mild winter.” Seriously, that’s what I’ve heard. I pray that’s true, but September is a transition month regardless. And of course, we have to get beyond September 11th. Each year that memory steps up and smacks us all between the eyes. Hard to believe it’s been 25 years.  I was just 36 years old! Hardly seems possible, but on such a date, the memory is vivid. Work wise I was doing exactly what I do now. Sites and reports, with the same clients that I have now. I recall the news reports and making sure that the young kids running around here didn’t see much of the devastation. Seems silly now. As crazy as...

There was a panel of talking heads speaking about the ‘booming’ economy on Fox News (which is not a news show by any stretch). Basically one of them stated that anyone not making bank in this ‘booming economy’ is just a malcontent and an under-earner. Ridiculous. “People need to pull themselves up by the bootstraps,” is a wonderful thought, but it no longer applies as the deck is stacked. Jay Thomas had a great talk show (may he rest in peace) and he mentioned: “We used to take care of the less fortunate. There will always be lazy people. When they were building the pyramids there were people sitting on the sidelines saying, ‘What the hell are they doing?’ We still have those people but we also have a lot of people who are working their asses off to try and make ends meet. Working a few jobs, and side jobs, and not having much of a life at all. Malcontent? Under-earner? I’m sure the people busting their ass to keep their heads above water enjoy being made fun of, or looked down upon. T...

Apparently, Mitch McConnell is still dead and drawing a paycheck. Pedo Pig dropped more bombs on Iran even though the mission was accomplished. This was in response to Iran bombing U.S. embassies. Yeah.  Sounds like the war is over. The new bombings that Pete Kegbreath is overseeing is just a little bit of bombing before they drop the nukes. Our food supply is contaminated. Measles are back. And the project 2025 end game talks about thinning of the population. But at let we have artificial intelligence so we can look at fake photos that sell their idiotic agenda. I saw a photo that Fat Hitler put out that showed soldiers eating great meals because he was trying to counter the fact that they aren’t being fed properly. The soldier in the photo, eating a huge hamburger, (Argentina spoiled meat?), had six fingers. But football season is starting soon and America’s attentions will go in that direction. We may not even notice when they cancel the elections, or use that creepy bastard Mus...

The Good-Callaway ad problem makes one wonder what the hell goes on when it comes to making commercials or coming up with an advertising campaign. Must be a team of idiots sitting around brainstorming stupid shit. Not only didn’t someone stop the Good/Callaway garbage, but someone also greenlit such garbage as. Lemu emu And  Liberty Biberty. Seriously. Biberty? And they came up with this little stuffed animal that makes noises and says, “Biberty”. Makes my skin crawl every time. It’s an insurance commercial, right? Don’t you feel soft and fuzzy about insurance companies? When they deny the claim do they have the stuffed animal yelling “Biberty” at you? Of course, the thing about commercials is that they bet you over the head with them. Hearing, “Biberty-Biberty” thirteen times as you try to watch an hour episode of a show is kinda infuriating. Let’s not be all negative, though… …I do like the ad campaign that talks about not turning into your father. Those ads are funny. Probably c...

Rosalie, Carolyn, Mary Lou, John, Francis and James. My Dad’s family. They’re together again, in heaven, if all we’ve learned is true. My Aunt Franny passed away early on Sunday morning, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that the door has been closed here on Earth for that side of my family. That fact, hits hard for some reason, and of course, they’re all sadly missed, and they’re here for a long while yet as they’ll all be kept alive by those of us who are still here, remembering them and missing them, and laughing at their antics. I often tried to ask some of the old-timers what my Dad was like as a kid, or young man. “About what you’d expect,” one old buddy said. “Hell on wheels.” Those names I mentioned above were all characters in their own right, so it’s hard to imagine what their dinners were like. Grandpa ruled the roost, but Grandma didn’t take any shit. They were all wonderful cooks. They all were hardworking and funny. They’re all missed for sure. The thought that Dad’s famil...

This is a 4-game series in late August between the Yankees and Red Sox. The Yankees entered the series with a 2-game lead on Boston, which seemed crazy because the Sux were so bad early on. I thought they were dead and buried, and at that point, Judge was hitting and the Yankees were rolling. It’s a long season. The injuries to their hitters turned the Yankees into a pitching first team, which is weird because they’re the Bronx Bombers. Anyway, I’m not all psyched up for it anyway. Both teams will make the playoffs and with the idiotic seeding they’ll probably meet in the wild card round. Dumb. I thought back to the old days. A-Rod fighting Varitek. Pedro throwing old man Zimmer to the ground. Aaron Boone. Bucky Dent. And once the steroid-laden Sux broke through and broke the curse of Babe Ruth… …a lot of the craziness has been stripped away. But don’t get me wrong. Go Yankees! Boston sucks.

There’s a viral video that was posted by a former Duke basketball star, Kyle Singler. The man also played in the NBA for a few years, and it’s reported that he earned more than $21 million dollars. The man is in some serious trouble. A commenter likened the video to Heath Ledger as the Joker. Singler posted the almost ten-minute video. He was walking around his home, sweating, and pontificating about the people who were coming after him and his money. His rant was nonsensical to the point that a day after seeing it I’m still thinking about it because he’s in a dire situation. Either drugs or a severe mental disorder. In the video, Singler asks, about 30 times, where Coach K is. Now, as ludicrous as the man’s request for help seemed, and as much as he seemed to be angry at his former coach for turning his back to him… …I found myself hoping that Coach K would be able to see the video because the man who recorded it isn’t long for the world. He’s in bad shape. A few things happened after...

It just keeps getting dumber, doesn’t it? Now we’re supposed to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America and Lake Ontario is now Lake America? Dumb. Idiotic. Petty. Stupid. Changing names like a 10-year old. How about we change a few more names: The Oval Office is now to be known as The Rotundo. The Epstein Files are now The Trump Files starring Jeffrey Epstein. Mar a Lago will forever be known as Mar-A-Lardo. Melania will forever be decreed as Melanoma. And it is no longer the United States of America… …it is now… …Obama Land! Of course, I’m just being a tad juvenile here, but can you seriously believe this crap? He’s fighting with Canada! They’re the nicest people in the world, and the trade agreement he so hates????? Yeah. It was HIS agreement. The stupidity of this term is astounding. How many childish names has he come up with? It’s a rhetorical question and one that should never have to be answered. Yesterday he sent out about 100 social media posts. I saw the “Mission Accompl...

A group of safety guys meet for breakfast every now and again. It’s a fun way to battle through the daily grind. We’ve all known one another for about 30 years. Grey hair all around. A little while ago, one guy mentioned a specific company, but he couldn’t quite recall the name. We all knew who he was referring to, but NONE of us could think of the name. “It’s going to bother me until we figure it out,” I mentioned. “I’ll think of it.” But no one thought of it. That conversation took place about a month ago. We sat down at breakfast this morning and the first topic of conversation was about another contractor. “Who am I thinking of?” The guy asked. “We starting this shit again?” I asked. And perhaps, it’s the thirty years of wandering around sites, and seeing hundreds of companies that makes it difficult to remember every detail, but we have a lot of common ground, and the conversation is easy. Around and around. Like in any good group, we all have our roles. We poke fun at each other....

Dolly Parton will receive a lot of love in the coming days, and man, does she ever deserve it. A life well-lived. Now, Dolly became a superstar because she was an ultra-talented singer and songwriter. I have a number of her songs on my playlist, and Jolene is simply great. Not sure how Dolly lost that battle to Jolene because she was also beautiful. She had a huge wig. Always dressed wildly, and brought a smile and sunshine to every room. She was in a lot of rooms because we all saw her on television. And yet, the celebrity thing was just a means to an end. She gave her money away to righteous causes. She helped fund the Moderna vaccine during Covid. There isn’t any human being alive who has taught more children to read. Just an amazing example of how to go about living. We’ve made a turn to rage and hate in this nation. People have forgotten how to show empathy. If you’re homeless, you’re also hated by a portion of the population. If you’re fleeing a war torn country to save your fami...

I’ve purposely stayed clear of mentioning Pedo Pig here as I’ve tried to enjoy the beautiful summer days, but now and again, one has to check the news. First off, we aren’t great again. The fight with Canada while giving North Korea a break is straight out of the Putin playbook. I think that history will show that the pig was never working in America’s interest. He’s been a Russian asset for decades. The Mueller report showed that, but they did a bang up job of hiding that. History will bring it to light. No doubt in my mind. Mitch McConnell is still drawing a paycheck. There hasn’t been proof that he’s alive. Hard to believe that no one seems to care. The midterm election doesn’t look good for Pedo or his pals, and yet, there’s a true fear that they will try to declare the election null. What else? Callaway is in trouble with the world as they ran an ad campaign that was idiotic and implied that a man was beating a woman. Truly. They pulled the ad and apologized, but come on! That’s t...

My son, Jake, and his longtime girlfriend, Maggie, got engaged on Saturday, and man, that seems wild to me. Of course we are thrilled with it because they’re a great couple, and Maggie is coming to our family from a wonderful family. Her Mom and Dad were so happy, and her Dad made a point of telling me how great it was that Jake went to him first to ask for his daughter’s hand. What’s wild to me is that Jake has reached the point in his life where he’s doing such a thing. I guess it’s because we spend every day of our lives with our children. We don’t clearly see them as fully grown, functional adults, but they’re there! “Your life is now,” I mentioned to Jake, and it’s a thought I recall thinking when I was heading toward marriage. This isn’t a dress rehearsal. We’re living our days. My sister and brother in law (Jake’s Godparents) hung out with them for a long while. Jake’s brothers and friends, and Maggie’s siblings partied for a few hours. It was great to see all the smiles. And Ja...

So, two rounds of golf with my Syracuse buddies at the Militi-Raulli Open. I love playing with that group of guys and we had a lot of laughs, and some pasta. The golf courses are good ones and I put on a putting clinic the first day (sarcasm). It’s not often that your first putt is a birdie putt and the last putt of the hole is to save a triple bogey. But the fun was this morning. We were on a long hole, and we waited for the group in front to clear the green, and slowly walk to their carts. They pulled away, and I lined up my shot from about 210 yards out. I yanked it left. “That’s near them,” my buddy Rick said, and seconds later we saw a short, heavy guy with a club in his hand running up the fairway. It was 200 yards. Poor guy didn’t anticipate how long a run like that would take. He started walking. When he got within 20 yards or so, he started screaming that I hit him. I apologized. He didn’t hear me because he was too busy yelling. I thought about explaining that I was aiming fo...

Way back in the 1980’s there weren’t a lot of ways to get a message to your girl. You were forced to put pen to paper, and then you’d have to carry the note around until you spotted her. I was a hell of a note writer, and I often think about some of the cringe things I wrote. Yet, back then my main focus also wrote a lot of notes so we passed the slips of paper back and forth all through the year. One afternoon I bent to get a drink from the water fountain and my friend, Dan, ripped the note, I hadn’t passed, from my back pocket. To my utter disappointment and embarrassment, he started reading the note aloud to the dozen others gathered in the hallway. It’s been 44 years and I recall how pathetic my words, meant only for her, were made public. Thankfully, Butzer saw my distress and he stopped reading it and returned the note. I thought of that when I saw the wild declarations of love from Natale Harp to the Pedo Pig. Now that’s cringe worthy! And what the F? He’s a happily married man!...

Sometimes it feels that we live to work. You see it on social media. People discussing how they don’t feel as if they’re living a life. Especially in the winter months - it’s dark when they get up and dark when they get home. Those who have long commutes truly suffer. And we do it for decades! It’s a little insane. They call it the grind. I hit a job site this week and the woman in the office stocked the trailer with bowls of candy and there was a huge barrel of pretzel rods. I grabbed two and laughed. “When my middle son was about five years old, I took him to my office on a Saturday. The receptionist there loved these pretzel rods.” The woman was looking at me as if I’d lost my mind. “Well, when Jake saw the pretzel rods his eyes grew big.” “You get free pretzels at work?” He said. He was as excited as one could be. “No wonder you like going to work.” Yep. We all do it for the free pretzel rods.

Was on my way to the first site this morning when I spotted a woman by the side of the road. It was spitting rain. She held an umbrella over her head. My mind did that trick it does… …flipped me back in time. To San Francisco in 1983 when I rode with my Dad to work. Across the Golden Gate Bridge each way. For a little while we had another commuter with us. Theresa was a secretary in the office of the general contractor.  She didn’t own a car, and for some reason, Dad offered her a ride. She was right on the way. Was only a couple of miles after we got near the city. “It’ll be all right,” he said. “She’s a kid. She needs a break.” Which sounds wonderful and the Christian thing to do, but Theresa was a freaking mess! She was late some mornings. She was ALWAYS miserable. The end of our ride in was her bitching about how unfair everything was. And to be truthful, she often smelled of sweat. I wasn’t a fan of the arrangement, but Dad went with it. “I feel sorry for her.” We laid down a ...

There’s an old Eagles line in a great song, written by Jackson Browne, ironically enough. “Don’t let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy.” I spoke to a couple of friends, via text, and essentially, I was talking them down about the state of the country. Both friends were on the edge, feeling that there wasn’t a way out of this mess. “The Epstein files don’t matter. The stealing of money means nothing. No one says a word about tearing down the White House.” That sort of thing. And neither of these friends are doing very well financially. They’re around my age, and instead of thinking about retiring, they feel that they may need to get another job. “I’m going to work until I die.” That brings tremendous despair, of course, and the fact that they were sending me the worried texts on a Sunday morning, struck me as more than sad. It’s tragic. Instead of enjoying life as we enter the back 9, they’re driving themselves crazy as they wait for the world to go back to what we knew befor...

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 ...