Thoughts of a Common Man

It's weird, but from the time when you're a little kid you get these mental images about a state that you've never actually visited. When I used to think about Kansas, I first thought of basketball because that was where Wilt went to school, and then I thought about fields of nothing. A couple of years ago I began to visit the state for work...one of the projects is in Olathe. It's a quiet place. Schools, restaurants, and decent homes. The people seem nice, and the guys on the job are good workers. Yet this past week I checked into my hotel in Kansas City and I was watching Modern Family when there was a BREAKING NEWS alert. I was thinking that perhaps Agent Orange declared war on Canada, or something, but it was all about a shooting. In Olathe. About 20 blocks from the job site. Details were sketchy. It appeared that the Kansas basketball game was on at the tavern, and 3 guys got into some sort of argument and one of them pulled a gun. The usual way...

Pretty crazy the way that the half-brother of Kim Jong Un bought it, huh? Two women killers came up behind him and wiped a poison on his face that caused him to drop. One of them got pretty sick just because she had it on her gloved hands. Crazy shit. They devised a poison so deadly that if it makes contact with your skin: Curtains! That's the stuff of spy movies. I'm sure that Kim Jong Dong, (or whatever his name was) didn't actually believe that such a thing was possible. A few things come to mind: 1). North Korea doesn't play around. 2). The weapons of map destruction angle of it is disconcerting. They killed him by wiping their hands on his face. What if that weapon was sent out in a cloud where a whole bunch of people are gathered? 3). What's Dennis Rodman doing? You think he could make some time in his schedule to go back over there and make sure that North Korea is all good with the enormous Orange one? What is going to happen when the...

MLB is working on trying to "speed" up my game. Stop it!!! Last year a team tried to intentionally walk Yankees stud rookie Gary Sanchez. One of the intentional bad pitches got too close and Sanchez hit it for a 2-run double. That won't happen this year. MLB is saving 30 seconds by changing something that happens every third or fourth game by making the intentional walk automatic. Seriously? The commish is also looking to put in a clock so pitchers throw a pitch every 20 seconds. There's discussions going on to limit the number of pitching changes. Cut it out!!! What will be the net result? Cutting games from 3 hours to 2:56? Does anyone mention it when it comes to football? That game has 11 minutes of action in a 4 hour presentation. The bells and whistles amuse their fans. Baseball fans don't need to be artificially stimulated. Check it: Football games that begin at 1 pm are ending at 4:30. No pace of their play has been discussed. ...

I took one of those online quizzes. They ask 10 questions or so and you give the best answer you can. "What time do you get up?" "How do you drink your coffee?" "Do you frequent bars or clubs?" "Do you read the newspaper?" I answered: Between 5 & 6 a.m., black, no and yes. There were a few more questions...nothing mind-boggling. I waited a few seconds and it said: "You're at least 70." AT LEAST!!! Now, I must admit that I've slowed way down over the last 5 years... ...I also admit that I have a lot of aches and pains. But I still go to work every day and I still can work circles around people 25 years younger. Does it matter that I now like long television series on Netflix? Does anyone understand that I'd much rather stay home on the weekends, cooking, hanging with my dogs, maybe golfing a little? Does that mean I'm old before my time? Okay, now that I read all the information tha...

Way back in 1988 I worked with a construction company that employed a full crew of men from Mexico. They all worked hard. Their foreman, Carlos, was a good man who mostly spoke Spanish, but took our kidding about speaking English when he was in the progress meetings. He would struggle with the nuances of the language and we would laugh. He would laugh along with us... ...most of the time. One day, I was out with the owner of the company and as we drove by the tavern we saw Carlos duck in for a mid-afternoon drink. I decided to have some fun. "Carlos, where are you?" I asked over the Walkie-Talkie we all carried. "Upstairs," he lied. "What're you doing?" I asked. "I'm watching my mens," he said. We parked at the front entrance of the tavern and Carlos came running out. He almost ran smack dab into us. "Your mens?" The big boss said. I thought of Carlos during this week. I also thought of Jose, who I know...

Milo is in the news. Big long last name... ...OK don't feel like looking it up to get the spelling right... ...He ain't worth it. Milo is the big shot at Breitbart. He said a lot about whether or not children... ...FREAKING CHILDREN!!! ...are decent sex partners for adults. I couldn't even get through the reading of the statement. Milo was talking about it being okay if the 13-year-old appeared to be sexually mature enough as opposed to one who isn't. The thing about it is that Milo was going to speak at Stanford. Remember that? Those damn, filthy liberals protested it and Milo didn't get to speak. The Tangerine threatened to cut off the Federal funding to the school. Now this. The book deal that Milo had was canceled. Everyone and their brother spoke out against his vile comments and Milo came back with this: "I'm not going anywhere!" Well, here's hoping that Milo doesn't get anymore time anywhere. There a...

The sun has been shining in Buffalo. Maybe there is a climate change problem coming like all the scientists say (it's just a theory I've been told, by non-scientists) but if it calls in the sun in February...even for a few days...I'll take it at this point. My Mom and my beautiful wife decided to do Bingo so my day would center around getting the pasta ready. Perfect. The hip is bothering me again. So, lot of time off my feet, hang with the dogs, read a little. I stayed away from any stories that dealt with the news and especially politics. Checked out every baseball story I could find. Ordered a new book for the phone. A little paperwork...a movie...a new series on television. Easy. Sunday has always had a special feel. When we were kids it all centered around dinner. We'd all play ball...everyone was home. At night we'd all gather in the same room and watch the same shows... ...I keep thinking about The Jeffersons... ...I know they were...