Thoughts of a Common Man

Was chatting with my mother on Saturday morning and while we never really discussed politics much as I was growing up the conversation swung around to Donald Trump. "Maybe I'm an old lady," Mom said, "But it seems like everyone is just plain mean now." I laughed. Trump has always been a little mean, that's for sure, but I like the fact that it's not lost on some people. Calling someone names isn't 'telling it like it is'... ...but it wasn't a political discussion by any means. Just an observation. And it brings me back to common professional courtesy. I was sort of blown away this week by a purely selfish act by a co-worker. But the conversation with Mom sort of reverberated. 'It seems like everyone is just plain mean now.' And perhaps it's always been that way. The business world is cut-throat. There's a lot of greed out there. It's a me-me-me world. I suggested as much to my mother. ...

My beautiful niece, Paige came up to me during her recent visit and let me know that she had finished reading Waldorf & Juli as her summer reading assignment. The one thing she said was: "Write a Waldorf & Juli II, please." And it is really weird. It was a book that I wrote while I was writing another book, Desperation . Desperation had a really heavy feel to it and I decided to play around with Waldorf & Juli . I actually ended up finishing and publishing Waldorf & Juli first because once I started writing it I couldn't stop...because it was fun. But reading Paige's review I grew a little sad...because I had forgotten the plot. I forgot what it was about! Paige also included a couple of quotes in her review and as I read them through I thought, 'Damn, that's pretty good.' But what is really great is Paige's effort here! A book I wrote before she was born! And now she's asking for a sequel! Thank you, Paige...l...

S pent the week really scrambling. Some work adjustments that need to be made. Lingering back pain and travel. Watching and reading about shootings that have now gone live. Listening to people fight for the gun that was used in the shooting. And in the middle of it all I was on an airplane when the voice of the unbelievable Annie Lennox filled my ear. I had bought her Naked record and placed it on my i-pod and instead of listening to the guy across the aisle on the plane slurp a plate of noodles...I heard Annie. A Thousand Beautiful Things. Every day I write the list Of reasons why I still believe they do exist (a thousand beautiful things) And even though it's hard to see The glass is full and not half empty (a thousand beautiful things) So, light me up like the sun To cool down with your rain I never want to close my eyes again Never close my eyes Never close my eyes I thank you for the air to breathe The heart to beat The eyes to see again (a thous...

My boy Sam set me up. I knew that I'd be making a trip to Kansas City for work and I asked Sam to find me a seat at the Royals-Orioles game. He put me in the front row - mid-way between first base and the left field foul pole. The first seat! Now being that I was traveling alone some might wonder if I'd feel comfortable seated by myself at a ballgame. I love baseball. If there was an MLB team in my town I'd be at every game. The pace is perfect. People are smiling. The sun is shining. I watched every single pitch...mostly because I didn't want to take a line drive off my melon. I love the stadium and the people in Kansas City. I remembered Reggie hammering one into the fountain off Al Hrabosky. I sat beside a Dad and his three daughters. They were really well-behaved and the Dad knew his baseball. He wasn't thrilled that I'm a Yankee fan, but who the hell is? A great night. The bonus being that the Royals pounded the Orioles 8 to...

Is this family going to go away now? Or will they continue to apologize... ...and preach? Poor misguided Josh. First the pesky 'molesting his sisters' revelations... ...then the Ashley Madison account and the 'unfortunate' cheating that he did on his wife. All the while telling the world about the sins of others. Anna is gonna' hang with him, by the way. After all...love is about forgiveness. Perhaps they can all teach us something. D.B.'s of the Week. The thing is: Josh is obviously a bit of a mess, right? But I feel a certain amount of true sadness with this story because... ...there are going to be people out there screaming about the path of redemption that the family will now take their followers on. Word is that they're 'praying around the clock' to get through the crisis. Good for them. They're such an inspiration! (sarcasm alert). Yet it's all just gossip... ...and I'm not really interested...

I received the email exactly one minute before the woman at the counter broke the bad news: "The plane that we'll be taking is still on the ground in Buffalo." The guy seated beside me actually groaned. "Every damn time I take this flight they delay it," he said. We were scheduled to leave in a timely manner. Enough time for me to actually make it home in time to see the 27-Time World Champion New York Yankees strive for number 28. Now I'd be listening to the start of the game on my phone...in a hard seat...next to an angry, heavyset man who suddenly wanted to talk. "The thing that gets me is that they never say their sorry," I said. "Cause they ain't," he answered. "They don't care." Despite the groans at the announcement everyone at the gate went back to their phones, their paperbacks and their silent rage. "I gotta' move around," I said. "My back is in knots." I tried stretchi...

I had an absolutely infuriating discussion about the poor in this country...with someone who is of the opinion that: Anyone who is struggling financially in this country is just plain lazy. There are more than 50 million people in this country who are considered poor. Fifty Million! They're all just plain lazy? Let's consider what has gone up in cost this country...steadily over the past thirty years: The price of food. The price of housing. College costs. Medical costs. Transportation costs. In some cases, the cost of certain things has increased dramatically . Want to better yourself and head off to college? Pay $600 for a book. Yet...to be fair...let's consider what has remained stagnant: Wages. Yet what really got to me as I discussed these items with a guy who is a friend was that I was simply unable to understand how he can: 1). Be against raising wages for a guy who is doing menial labor... and 2). Be for absurd wages for CEO...