Thoughts of a Common Man

The Stones have a great upbeat song called - you guessed it - Sad, Sad, Sad. I was listening to it this morning when it occurred to me that sadness is something I never really did very well. Obsessive Compulsive? Certainly. Anger? Got that down. Happy? Spent most every day really happy with life. Silly? Sure. Depressed? once in awhile, but I never really had to deal with sad for an extended length of time. So, there I was, in the parking lot at Wilson Farms, thinking of getting a coffee, listening to Mick, and wondering why I never was able to handle being sad. I thought it through - considered that it was okay to be sad, but that it was okay to be happy too. Send me a sign that I'm thinking the right way , I thought. The song ended. I dug around for loose change for the coffee, and the van beside me moved, leaving me with the above glimpse of happiness. Don't need to tell you who loved Heineken Light now, do I?

The University @ Buffalo Center for the Arts is an unbelievable place to see a concert. I didn't know that until last night. My love affair with all music performed by Mark Knopfler has continued for the past 35 years or so. It started with Dire Straits, continued on through every single one of his great solo albums. It peaked last night. For one reason or another I felt weird entering the hall last night. Knopfler was the last act that I really wanted to see in concert, but on a Wednesday night, feeling beat down, with a crowd of people who all had grey in their hair? How good could it be? Well, as Knopfler himself might say you get lucky now and then. The first song that ever captured me as a fan of Dire Straits was Romeo & Juliet . Knopfler, sitting on a stool, because he can barely move after a motorcycle accident of a few years ago, sang it out. And I can't do the talks, like they talk on the tv And I can't do the love songs like the way their meant to be I can...

Howard Stern is playing a recent interview conducted by Larry King. Seems the old man was interviewing a woman who was raped and her story went like this: "We stopped at a fast-food place and grabbed some food, and we were in the car, eating it when he slammed my face off the dashboard, and then violently raped me." The woman was crying and gasping as she told the story. Know what Larry King asked? This is priceless. "What happened to the food?" I can't even look at the man now without laughing. I've also heard him interview Paul and Ringo and get their names wrong. How many people don't know Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney? Yet that's not even the best part. The man is on his seventh marriage. Seven! Don't you figure you'd eventually quit? Why in the hell would you break back into Shawshank that many times? And the 7th marriage is in trouble. Seems his wife has been sleeping with their kids little league coach, while he has been stepping out ...

On a day when Ryan Howard of the Phillies signed a $125 million contract to hit a ball for the next five years; and the Boston Red Sox gave $5 to a Cuban defector; the Yankees visited the White House to celebrate last year's championship; and the Sabres were eliminated from the playoffs for the 41st time - much to the chagrin of a passionate fan base. George Steinbrenner once said that there are two kinds of owners in professional sports - those who want to win and those who want to make money. Unfortunately in Buffalo the owners of the sports teams are about mind-control and money-grabbing. And people wonder why I've become cynical about the march of our teams. Think of it - here in Buffalo, a hard-working town, the Sabres and Bills have sold nearly every seat to every event for the past twenty or so years. There has never been a championship. Yet each year the fan base does the 'little train that could dance' and complains about money spent by others. "We spent t...

My wife is doing dat, der learning thing, and as she learns, she educates us along the way. It is actually quite interesting, but never one to let things pass quietly, I thought I would share some of my knowledge too. "Did you know that America is the only country where they have tornadoes?" I asked. My statement was greeted with looks of skepticism by Kathy and the smarty-pants principal that were listening. "It's true. I read about it while ago." At the golf course, the guy collecting the money started talking about Cliff Clavin from Cheers for some reason. Perhaps due to my name, I'm thinking. "Did you know that America is the only country where they have tornadoes?" I asked. Another buddy looked shocked. "That is true," the old man behind the counter said. "Only in the United States." Feeling pretty good about things and ready to shock the world with my tidbit of knowledge, I settled in front of the television as my wife pre...

My wife invited a visitor over for a sleepover and at just about seven o'clock on Friday night our newborn great niece, Layla, was dropped by the house with a bag filled with extra diapers. Despite the fact that she was there and I was there she had a better chance of changing my diaper than I did hers. Not that I'm not happy for my niece and nephew, who now have two small children, and need a night of peace every now and then, but I've officially closed the door on all things baby. "Oh, I want one," Kathy cooed as she held the baby out for my inspection. "Isn't she beautiful? Can we have another one? Do you want to hold her?" "First of all, she's beautiful; secondly, you're spade, we can't have another one, thirdly if by some miracle you did become pregnant, I'd be in the garage looking for a low-hanging beam; and lastly, I don't want to hold her because babies scare me." Together with my buddy John we began a discussio...

There's no mistaking the fact that I've been at a crossroads for a long time now, trying to figure out which direction I'd like to run off in. I've done the lions share of the work on the next book, and have been sort of holding off jumping into the one after that, sure that I don't want to go through it again. Yet the thing is: a department head with the local police asked if I would help tell the story about officers who lost their lives in the line of duty - it would be a sort of House of Miracles type non-fiction book that could really help the families of the victims. Right in the wheelhouse so to speak, and a story that could really get me moving forward again. But the work involved! Do I really want to work more again? I've had a job since I was 14. Started on a farm, graduated to a grocery store, spent four years at drink camp at Gannon University, got a job, and have not had a longer than 5 day stretch off since, fitting in the ten books in between. (N...