Thoughts of a Common Man

I laughed. Guilty on all 34 counts and he stands up and calls himself a very innocent man. He calls the trial a rigged disgrace. I have a few questions. How does a convicted felon run for president when you aren’t even allowed to vote? The media I was watching immediately started to frame it that it will still be a close election because while the orange thing is a convicted felon, Joe is old. That’s an equal sin, right? It’s obvious that the only successful move he ever made was to sell red hats to cult members. It was also quickly said that being found guilty on 34 felony counts wouldn’t necessarily result in jail time… …which is insane. There are men in jail for decades for pot violations. Others went away for stealing food from a grocery store. Regardless… …its a good day for the rule of law. Break the law… …be held to account. Nothing rigged about any of it.

Robert DeNiro has stepped up and just destroyed the orange traitor saying that he’s an ‘absolute monster’. Of course, DeNiro is - and has become an enemy of MAGA. Springsteen has also been outspoken in interviews (although people think he speaks out at his shows and I’ve never heard such a thing at the 34 shows I’ve seen). In the buildup to the election I feel that anyone with a voice and a conscience should say something about how highly unqualified that the Republican candidate is. After his criminal case went to the jury he stood out in front of the courthouse and cried about how unfair it was because the prosecution didn’t call any witnesses that he liked. “Those witnesses should’ve been called, but they weren’t. It’s not fair!” How dumb does he think the general public is? We’ve all watched enough court television to know that the prosecution doesn’t have to call the witnesses that the criminal wants! You know who should have called witnesses that might have helped him? Yeah. His ...

MLB umpire Angel Hernandez retired suddenly yesterday. I received about 7 texts congratulating me because like all baseball fans, I was not a fan of how Hernandez called a baseball game. He was incompetent, at best, and intentionally confrontational at his worst. When the umpires were announced as the game started I would scream if Hernandez was behind the plate, or at first base, or at second base or at third base. He was equally bad… …no matter where he umped. Angel behind home plate was an absolute adventure and if you have a chance to watch the worst of his calls you’ll see him throwing out Bryce Harper or Kyle Schwarber on two of the most horrendous of calls. That’s the thing about Angel… …not only was he often wrong… …he behaved as if he were the meanest man who ever stepped on a baseball field (except for maybe Ty Cobb). Yet, a funny thing happened as I celebrated Angel being sent out to pasture… …I started feeling sorry for him! All of social media was celebrating! I imagined h...

Most of life is a grind. When there’s a huge event like a wedding it all seems to slow down for a little while, right? Eventually we need to return to the grind. No matter how exciting it was. So, what happened in the real world? Memorial Day is always a great day to recall the sacrifices made so that we remain free, but there’s been so much unrest and it’s hard to comprehend where we are as a country. Those thoughts can wait. Bill Walton passed away yesterday. He was a terrific basketball player back in the 70’s and was a funny, crazy commentator. I was all over that Portland Trailblazers team that won the championship in 1977. As a 12-year old I used to play the games of that championship series - Blazers over the Sixers. My boys only remember Walton as the crazy announcer. I told them all about how great a player he was. He was a hippie, a red head and one of the greatest big men of all-time - I have his autograph kicking around here somewhere. We’ve been watching a lot of the NBA p...

The dance floor was full, and I turned to my brother and remarked: “All these kids listen to is hip-hop, but have you noticed that all the songs they’re playing and singing along with are rock and roll?” Goo-Goo Dolls, Bruce, Journey, AC/DC, Rod Stewart. “Great music will always have a place,” John said. The photos are being passed around - my nephew John has to be in about 700 photos - I shared this one because it’s the one I could find where he wasn’t making a funny face. (That was one of his Dad’s favorite pastimes). Then there are all the conversations shared. Kathy and I met when Matt was just a year old, and life could’ve been dramatic. I was walking into the venue when I spotted Matt’s Dad. We shook hands and he turned and said: “I was thinking. We did all right. Some thirty years and neither of us said a cross word about one another in front of Matt.” It was something I’d also been thinking about. “We should do a shot to that,” I said. “And you’re right. It just would’ve been a...

At the rehearsal on Thursday, Matt was adamant that he would most definitely NOT cry as he read his vows. Of course, his groomsmen were giving it to him pretty good, and I was fairly sure there wouldn’t be any tears. There was rain coming down, but it was more an inconvenience than anything else. They got to the vows right after having a moment of silence for all those we wished were also there. Matt did a good job talking about his love, and his voice cracked and then he stopped. He was crying! He yelled at himself, “Focus!”, which brought a big laugh…and he almost got through it before his voice cracked again. I was stunned. Not that he was so emotional, but that I was too!  I don’t cry!! I knew Kathy was weeping, but I didn’t turn to her because my wave of emotion was truly surprising me. Yet I was considering almost a full 30 years… …so many memories ricocheting through my mind at a rapid pace. Of course, life is all about such great moments, and I spent the rest of the evening...

There was a lot happening here at Camp Clifford just 24 hours before the wedding. When I pulled into the driveway after work, I was shocked to see Jake and Sam and my nephew, John playing catch. I was well aware that an innocent game of catch probably wasn’t all they were going to be up to. “You could mow the lawn,” I said. “We could,” they admitted. “We probably won’t.” Half an hour later they were getting ready to leave. “What’s going on?” I asked. “Going to get wings.” That eventually led to bowling, a trip to a bar, and finally, another game of catch. All good stuff unless you’re an uptight man who is used to routine. “I wish they’d just let me know what their plans are,” I said. “They don’t have plans,” Kathy said. That made me think of the night before my brother’s wedding. We were up all night, and a game of billiards turned into a game of pool hockey. Here were the rules: Two brothers stood on one side of the table and armed with 5 pool balls… …they threw the balls on the table...