Thoughts of a Common Man

On Saturday afternoon I settled in to watch the Yankees 2nd game of the year. I mentioned to Kathy that it was odd that I could just sit on my ass and watch a game on a Saturday afternoon, but there aren’t any kids around anymore. There’s time to relax! And I was looking for the Yankees to win and play well, but my God! They hit homers on the first three pitches of the game. Three different guys homered in the first pitch they saw. A fourth player homered in the first inning. “They hit like that and they’re going to score 20,” I said. They did. Judge hit 3 homers. They won 20 to 9. During the broadcast, Michael Kay noted that a couple of guys on the team were using a new style of bat that pushed the barrel down towards the label. The bat was a little odd looking, but as Kay mentioned, it is within the rules and other players on other teams were using it last year. Well. The story blew up!!! “The Yankees are cheating!” MLB reiterated on Sunday that the bats had been reviewed and that th...

Watching the Yankees (or any other sports team, for that matter) makes you feel as though you know the players a little bit. Brett Gardner was a Yankee for more than a decade and was on a World Series winning team, so I got attached. Gardner wasn’t the biggest or most talented guy, but man, he played hard every day, and fans appreciate that. He retired a few years ago, but hasn’t been back around the team because he wanted another year, I suppose. But retiring in your mid-30’s, financially set for life seems like a good deal. Brett has a wife and a couple of boys so he was available to hang out as a Dad. Good stuff. The family was in Costa Rica on vacation at a resort.  It seems they went out to dinner, and for one reason or another, they all got sick - gastrointestinal stuff - nightmare when you’re on vacation. Away from home. Everyone throwing up. Not sure how to treat it. Well, the nightmare turned horrifically tragic The Gardner’s 14-year old son, Miller, died overnight. The fa...

Spoke to a farmer who voted for the orange blob. The farmer is worried because, “most of my employees are immigrants here on work visas. They’re good, hardworking people. They’re scared. I’m scared. Will he throw them out?” Also spoke to another guy who definitely is an outspoken fan of Shitler. “I applied for social security because even though I’m not ready to retire, I want to be on the docket in case he rips it away.” Read an article about food being kept from food banks in big cities. The article stating that it won’t be given to the poor. It will, instead, be thrown out. Saw another bill from Florida as they try and strip away protections for child labor. They need children - as young as 14 to work as many hours as they can because (see above) they’re booting immigrants. Speaking of which, the Supreme Court will soon decide whether or not due process will be required, or will this administration, headed by the bloated golfer, be able to throw out anyone who doesn’t look right to ...

I can’t lie. Opening Day is one of the best days of the year, and I got a few texts from my good buddies early on.  I have always loved baseball and of course, the only sports team that I’ll ever be emotionally attached to are the Yankees. Yet, it was 28 degrees when I got in the car this morning. Not exactly opening day weather! I busted my hump to make my site visits and get to the computer (and the television) by first pitch. Good thing I did too because the Yankees first AB of the year was a homer to right by Austin Wells. There was a sweaty moment in the 9th as the new closer - with a beard!!! - almost coughed up the lead. The game ended with a Yankees win and I had enough time to flip over to watch Juan Soto (the traitor) come up with 2 on and 2 out in the 9th. He struck out. 😂 😝 😆 😂  $765 million doesn’t buy you anything these days. And Soto struck out in time for me to flip over to the NCAA Tournament… …but wait! There’s more!! I have a baseball draft to tend to th...

So, they put out plans about a strike on an APP that included a journalist. There were boxes of classified documents stored in a bathroom. They’re all using their personal cell phones and still they chant: “Lock her up!” every chance they get. The hypocrisy is astounding. Greenland printed hats that spell out MAGA with a couple of changes: “Make America Go Away.” Canada is not amused by the 51st state garbage. Yet the real trouble is the tariffs. 25% tariffs on cars that aren’t made in America. Tariffs on lumber and steel. It all sounds like great fun, and there are wild claims about swimming in a pool of money… …that money is coming from only one place: The American consumer. It’s a flawed plan and is conceived by a bunch of truly dopey bastards. I spoke with an owner of a company who uses immigrant labor to run their company “I’m getting worried that we aren’t going to have any employees.” Another man told me that he applied for social security because he’s afraid it won’t be there w...

It’s already started. Musk called social security a Ponzi scheme. DOGE has identified it as wasteful and they are cutting the staff. They’re telling people that if you want to apply for social security it will be a matter or months before you can get through. People who want to collect the money that they paid into for decades will have to report in person. Imagine the elderly trying to log into a system that is basically shut down… …and then having to shuffle off to an understaffed office. There are also reports that SS checks will be missed by some. The most vulnerable of all citizens are now being threatened. People collecting social security aren’t living high on the hog… …they have a fixed amount of income in a world where inflation threatens their ability to even eat three square meals a day. Skip a check or two??? And how about someone who is 60 years old, with weak legs and a sore back who is tho long about not climbing ladders ten years from now? Will SS be there for those of ...

On Sunday I felt a twinge in my back. Despite rest and exercise and a dose of the massage gun, it didn’t clear up. By the time I headed for bed on Sunday night, I had a full on backache. “Hopefully it’ll be better in the morning.” Turned into: “Ah, damn, I can hardly stand up.” “Stay home,” Kathy said. “And lay around? Nah, it’ll be better if I move around.” It wasn’t. And I kept thinking, all day long, that it’ll come around. Then I had a stray thought: “What if it doesn’t come back?” There will come a day when what ails me doesn’t just come around. Now, I’m not thinking that this back ache will last forever. I have a massage scheduled and that usually does the trick, but I’ve been lucky. There are people who suffer with things that don’t ever go away. I have a couple of weeks to go before I have to swing a golf club, but I’ll be ready to go. Hope so anyway!