Many, many years ago when science and schooling was not for everyone Mothers had their own version of the scientific approach that would cure you or at least stop you from destroying yourself. Now I appreciate the fact that today's Mother or Father for that matter might scoff at some of the remedies offered by the Moms of my generation or before but in some cases they still hold up as cures or stoppage of compulsive, destructive behavior. Here a few I remember and I better commit them to paper before I forget.
Feed a cold and starve a fever. So when I got a cold or a chill my Mom would make such things as Egg Nogs, soup and plenty of bread. Bread was considered a staple of life back in the day. Of course if I had a fever then the fluids, primarily water and coco, would be fed into me. Now if I had a cold and fever at the same time she just fed me and had me wash it down with plenty of water.
I really liked butter. One day my Mom found me eating butter with a spoon. She instinctively felt this was wrong so she told me that if I continued doing that I'd get the mumps. I reminded her that I already had the mumps but she said that didn't matter if I continued to eat butter like that.
I really liked sugar. One day she caught me eating a tablespoon of sugar and she told me if I continued to eat sugar like that worms would enter my mouth and eat holes in my teeth and travel to my brain. Naturally I stopped eating sugar by the spoonful.
One day as my Mother was kneading dough for some pie she caught me eating the raw dough. She told me if I ate raw dough it would grow in my stomach into a big ball of dough and block my bowels causing great pain until it was corrected. You got it right, I stopped eating raw dough.
When she was making meat balls one day she saw me eating pieces of raw chop meat. She told me that could lead to tape worms that could grow to great lengths in my stomach. I stopped purloining pieces of raw chop meat after that. Much later I paid a pretty price for Steak tartare in a pricey French restaurant. However today many warn against eating raw meat. I guess Mom knew what she was talking about.
Now this may be classified as an old wives tale and I may have heard this from a Nun, Priest or maybe Mom. If you don't leave that thing alone it'll fall off, you'll have hair on the palms of your hands and you'll go blind. They were all wrong.
The Stork brought you. This was hard for me to take Mom's word on this, sort of like Santa Claus, they both had to come in through the chimney and we only had a fake fireplace. When I was about twelve or so my Mom asked me one day if she had to explain about the Stork or did I know already. I let her know I knew about the Stork AND Santa Claus. She looked relieved that we didn't have to explore this conversation any further.
I used to complain about going to bed before the rest of the family since I was convinced there was a green monster under my bed. Mom kept saying there wasn't but how could I believe a woman who kept threatening that the Boogie Man was going to get me if I wasn't a good boy.
The biggest threat Mom could give me was that she was going to tell my Father. My Father was a gentle man who hit me only once when I was about four and while I never consciously remembered it, it must have stuck in my sub-conscious since all he ever had to do was look at me in that certain way and I'd stop doing whatever I was doing or saying. But as I got older it became obvious to me that his idea of a grown man and my Mother's were two different things. One weekday night I arrived home around three-thirty in the morning. As I opened the door my Mom met me, all five foot one of her and she was steaming, and I was a little drunk. She gave me a few slaps and threatened that when we got upstairs "Your Father would be waiting and he was steaming since he had to get up in a few hours.". As I ascended the stairs with her banging me in the back threatening what my Father was going to do to me and we reach the second landing I could hear a noise that sounded like snoring. You got it right my Father was in a deep sleep and the next day when we saw each other he never brought it up. However my Mother, when he was out of ear shot, reiterated the threat that my Father was ready to kill me. After that I gave my Mother the respect of listening to the threat but unless I saw "that look" from my Father I continued doing whatever I wanted much to Mom's regret.
There are many more things Mom told me that worked for the good such as "You should marry that girl even though she's Puerto Rican and not Italian", "Give it some thought before you give up the Trumpet, you may regret it if you do.", "Another child? Are you crazy? Are you trying to kill her?", "A half a loaf is better than none", spoken like a true Great Depression survivor. She really was a great Mom, always made sure we had on clean underwear and we had plenty to eat and a clean house and lots of laughs. She really enjoyed laughing. She is missed even if some of her sayings were outlandish.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Television In Its Infancy
Back in the day when Television was very young so was I. Very few had seen TV outside of the New York World's Fair of 1939-1940. But after WWII TV was out on the market. We didn't get our first TV until 1950, a RCA 16 inch screen. The size was the biggest at that time except for projections. Around 1948 I was invited to see a Yankee baseball game on a 10 or 12 inch screen. It goes without saying everything was in black and white. We were used to listening to baseball games on the radio where the announcers were very descriptive but on TV the announcers said very little. They let the pictures speak for themselves. I remember being invited to see Willie Pep fight Sandy saddler for the Featherweight championship. A terrific fight which Pep won although his face looked as though it went through a meat grinder after 15 rounds.
Come 1950 my parents brought the brand new, large screen, RCA into the house. We had CBS, NBC, Dumont, ABC, Channels 2,4,5,and 7. I think we had the New York Daily news local station on Channel 11. Channel 13 was a new jersey station that we received with a lot of snow in the picture. There wasn't public TV in those days and the privately owned station had a weak signal. Channel 13 broadcast a lot of kid shows. Broadcasting didn't start until 8 or 9 in the morning. Before the broadcasting day started there was just a test pattern on the screen and a loud noise. The day started and ended with a rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner". The Broadcasting day was over about midnight.
Wrestling was a very popular thing back then with Antonino Rocca, Gene (Mr. America) Stanley, Lord Leslie Carlton from New York during the middle of the week with the weekend, Saturday, broadcasting from Chicago featuring, Buddy Rodgers and Chief Don Eagle who by the way sported a Mohawk coiffure.
Tuesday evening belonged to Mr. Television, Milton Berle. Channel 5, Dumont, was a network owned by a maker of TV sets. Some of their early programming featured Jackie Gleason, Morey Amsterdam and Art Carney but eventually they went out of the business of broadcasting and eventually manufacturing. Dumont lost out to the giants in both fields but for a while they put up a good fight. John Cameron Swayze was a news-broadcaster of some fame until he gave it up to become the spokesperson of Timex watches. He had the early evening news around 6PM. By 11PM the main part of the broadcasting day was over but they had a fifteen minute wrap-up with a news program which I remember being anchored by John K. M. McCaffery on CBS. Then a few days a week there was program called "The Continental" voiced over by an Italian character actor with a very sexy contintental voice, this ran for fifteen minutes. The Contintental was never seen and the view point was his as he opened the door to his apartment greeting a very sexy looking young woman. They have a glass of Champagne and he'd light her cigarrete and they would kiss and then I think she would leave, without being explicit it was very sexy, in fact I used some of his lines on some dates I went out with. Eventually CBS installed a late night movie with Leroy Anderson's "The Syncopated Clock" as the theme song and called the show "The Late Show". NBC under the tutelage of Pat Weaver tried something very new, a variety, comedy show called "Broadway Open House" that had comedian Jerry Lester hosting it for three nights a week and Morey Amsterdam for two. I think the show was on from 11PM to 1AM. Morey left and Jerry Lester took over for five nights. Andy Williams got his start on the Amsterdam segments (I think) and Morey wowed them with his cello and his "Yuk A Puck" humor. Lester had a dumb (really not so dumb) blonde called Dagmar, a gimmick with bean bags and a nerdy looking conductor called Milton Delugg, who wrote among other things "Orange Colored Sky" which was recorded by Nat King Cole among many. This was really the start of "The Tonight Show", Steve Allen came a few years later but "Broadway Open House" was the brainchild and it started in 1950.
It was a slower time back then. No cable new on 24 hours a day seven days a week. The newspapers were still our main source for news and details of the world's happennings. We didn't have computers or iPods, or Tablets or Kindles but we survived very nicely, thank you. Our music was sweeter and I think more poetic and slightly askew with the thought of romance and love. We don't live in the past but we shouldn't forget it because the past is the foundation of where we are at today. Sometimes it is good to reflect. By the way, cable was started so that those who lived on the out-skirts of major towns could receive the regular TV programming of the day. The regular signal couldn't service them.
I want to end with the lyrcs of Orange Colored Sky" and suggest you Utube Nat King Cole's rendition and maybe Broadway Open House for some good entertainment and music.
I was walking along, minding my business,
When out of an orange-colored sky,
Flash! Bam! Alakazam!
Wonderful you came by.
I was humming a tune, drinking in sunshine,
When out of that orange-colored view
Flash! Bam! Alakazam!
I got a look at you.
One look and I yelled "Timber"
"Watch out for flying glass"
Cause the ceiling fell in and the bottom fell out,
I went into a spin and I started to shout,
"I've been hit, This is it, This is it,I've been hit!"
I was walking along, minding my business,
When love came and hit me in the eye,
Flash! Bam! Alakazam!
Out of an orange-colored sky.
One look and I yelled "Timber"
"Watch out for flying glass"
Cause the ceiling fell in and the bottom fell out,
I went into a spin and I started to shout,
"I've been hit, this is it, this is it,I've been hit!"
I was walking along, minding my business,
When love came and hit me in the eye
Flash! Bam! Alakazam!
Out of an orange-colored, purple-striped, pretty green polka-dot sky
Flash! Bam! Alakazam! and goodbye
Young Love, Ageless & Pure
All one has to do is read history books, the Bible, or any chronology of the world to find out there were injustices abounding, people suffering and the rich and powerful taking advantage of those that didn't have the means of power. There were wars and to the victors went the spoils. The wealth of the defeated nation was plundered, the women raped and many of the young and healthy taken into slavery. All of this persisted and still persists today but there was a time when this didn't exist for me. The time was as I was emerging from my feeling of captivity of being a young child completely depended upon my parents into an emerging adult. I had gone through it all, elementary and high school. I had my first job. I was meeting different people outside of my neighborhood cocoon and they included beautiful young women. It was a time when youth did spring eternal. It was a time when things were a bit easier, smoother and much gentler. Everything was for the first time and it all tasted sweeter. One never gave thought of what might happen ten or twenty years from "now" because we all had many years ahead of us. The experience was for today and what might follow we would deal with as the events led us to the happenings.
The guys would talk about the girls but they would keep the discussion on a very high level for the ones who were considered to be "good" girls. There was always mystery connected with the female gender. What they did in preparation for the workweek necessitated them staying home on Sunday nights. Every month there was a reason they didn't feel well or had cramps or whatever. The guys would make crude jokes about this but down deep they didn't want to know any details. Down deep the guys wanted to keep the feminine mystique as something to be discovered as one unraveled any mystery, a step at a time.
Love in this time was as romantic as love could be starting out with loving from afar but melting under the close association of two healthy young bodies. This love was never brought down to the level of the streets. This love was held in high regard and romanticized to the utmost in popular song by the singing artists of the day as they either listened or danced the slow touching dances of the day such as the Fox Trot. Some of the love songs of the day were "Suddenly Its Spring", "I'd Love To Get You On A Slow Boat To China",
Moonlight Becomes You" among many that had the right words of suddenly falling in love or forlorn love sung by the crooners such as Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Perry Como and Dick Haymes.
Nat (King) Cole was a jazz pianist turned singer that epitomizes the smooth, gentle style of the day for us young lovers. His smooth voice offered such hits as "Mona Lisa", "Unforgettable", "My Funny Valentine" among hundreds of hits but the one I think could give you an idea of the time and frame of mind I am referring to is "Its Only A Paper Moon". It is about a guy (not a girl not back then) who is trying to tell his girl how much she means to him. The guy uses many metaphors but what he is saying in the mushiest, craziest of terms is that if anything is make believe it would stop being so if only she'd believe in him. His plea is without her love, everything would be worthless even the whole world and it is implied he would be devastated. There is nothing in this song pleading for her love that says he wants to bed her down or he holds her in disdain. This song is about everything love should be about in a romantic way, which somehow in today's world the idea seems lost which is a pity.
I invite you to read the following lyrics of "Paper Moon" and then go to UTube to listen to Nat (King) Cole's rendition of it and close your eyes and step back into a time when the world was younger, romantic and in many ways nicer.
Say it's only a paper moon
Sailing over a cardboard sea,
But it wouldn't be make believe
If you believed in me.
Say it is only a canvas sky
Hanging over a muslin tree,
But it wouldn't be make believe
If you believed in me.
Without your love,
It's a honky-tonk parade.
Without your love,
It's a melody played in a penny arcade.
It's a barnum and bailey world,
Just as phony as it can be,
But it wouldn't be make believe
If you believed in me.
Without your love,
It's a honky-tonk parade.
Without your love,
It's a melody played in a penny arcade.
It's a barnum and bailey world
Just as phony as it can be,
But it wouldn't be make believe
If you believed in me.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Blind Dates (The Seeing Kind)
The other day I was thinking about the times I went on what is called "Blind Dates". For the uninitiated a "Blind Date" isn't about going on a social outing with an unseeing person, rather it is about going out with a person you've never met before because a friend of yours is going out with someone he or she knows that has someone that for one reason or another can't, at the moment, get a date of their own and has to be fixed up with a person of the opposite or same sex to experience a social evening. The hope of those who arrange such things are varied. The person who already has a date and is asked to fix up a date's friend wants to be in a position that makes his date vulnerable to their desires, be it sexual or sexually connected. The person who accepts this offer to go out with someone they have never met before also has varied reasons but is treading upon very dangerous grounds. There have been times when "Blind Dates" have been good and even developed into lasting relationships. However the chances of something not so good happening is far greater. Many times the one who accepts this invitation ends up asking themselves, "What the hell was I thinking? I swear to God I thought the evening would never end!".
I was sixteen when my friend Jimmie told me he asked a girl out from our class but she had a sister who was a couple of years younger that had to accompany her by the requests of their parents. I figured what the hell, I knew Jimmies date and if her sister was as nice as she was what could go wrong, so I said OK, even though I felt uncomfortable about the whole thing since this was my first real date. We went to the movies. Since we didn't have a driver's license we took a bus. After the movie we went to Jahn's an ice-cream shoppe and had Sundaes. We took them home and didn't even get a kiss goodnight which I can understand since after we left their house we didn't say a word to each other other than would you like to stop at Jahn's(?). The four of us barely uttered a word the whole night. Funny but in school there was no feeling of being up-tight but on this Friday night the four of us were tongue tied. I can only speak for me but I imagine we all felt a great relief when the evening finally came to an end. I swore I would never do this again.
The next year my best friend Wuzzy, first name Eddie but no one ever called him that, was madly in love with this girl we had met at Kissena Park. He was granted his first date only if he could provide her friend with a date. What could I do? I put aside my first inclination to tell Wuzzy to shove it and said OK. After all, he was my best friend, wasn't he? So we went to a movie in Jamaica called The Valencia, a great old movie house which was showing the hit horror movie, "The Thing", with James Arness in the starring role. It was crowded and we sat in the second or third row in the orchestra which had us real up close for all the scary scenes. Before I go any further I should tell you I was surprised when I picked my date up. This was the first time we met. This was the first time, and I believe the only time I ever went out with an Albino. She had, I don't know, ash blond hair, blue eyes, the whitest skin I ever saw and the lips that were pink and luscious. Today I think girls pay to have lips like that. I was tempted to ask questions like, "What do you do when you get sunburned?", but I managed to contain myself and not stare. The four of us seemed to be having a good time. Anyhow, back to the movie. The picture was getting scary and Wuzzy was making out. I kept thinking of her luscious lips while at the same time afraid to make a move for fear of bruising her. She kept moving closer so I put my arm around her which prompted her to turn her head to me and her lips were parted and luscious so I did what I felt I must do, kissed her and made out. I remember very little about the movie, "The Thing". However, Wuzzy didn't need my presence anymore for he and his girl to get comfortable so I never saw my Albino with the luscious lips again.
A few years later my friend Jimmie entered my life again. He once more needed someone to go out with his date's sister. We were going to see "The House of Wax" at the Meadows, a three D horror movie with Vincent Price and Charles Bronson, another scary movie. Jimmie did say this would be a big favor and I figured she was not so good looking or something, but what the hell, he was my friend, wasn't he? We picked up the girls and right away I noticed she had a slight disfigurement, a hare-lip. It wasn't really bad but it wasn't really good. Again, I had questions which I had to restrain from asking. Again I had to restrain myself from staring. I stared to perspire since I felt bad but in no way was I going to kiss this girl or ask her out again. I have very little recollection of the movie or how the date ended but I swore I would never do this thing again!
A little while later a friend of mine at the place I worked told me that he was madly in love with a girl who wouldn't go out with him unless her girl friend would be there so he was asking me to go out with Stella. The Blind Dates I had were still imprinted in my memory banks and I stoutly refused until he pulled the friend card so what could I do (?), so I said OK, he was my friend wasn't he? This time we went to a nice little cabaret called The Holiday Inn on Northern Boulevard for some dancing and drinks The girls were to meet us there. As they walked in I saw a statuesque black haired good looking girl come into the place with a short dumpy, shall I say fat, girl along with her. My friend got up to greet them. I was hoping against hope but when he kissed the good looking girl I knew I had again won the prize. As Stella got closer it became apparent that she also had a bit of fuzz on her upper lip. We settled down into the booth and ordered drinks and danced some. The more I drank the better Stella looked because I noticed two enormous good points about her which I really couldn't overlook which I had a weakness for and which I blame this weakness on my mother breast feeding me. The night was over early and I did kiss Stella goodnight but when I woke the next day with the largest headache I ever had, I swore no more of this type of thing!
The last "Blind Date" I had came when my friend Tony told me He had this beautiful girl he wanted to date who had a sister who was also beautiful and their parents wouldn't let them out on dates by themselves. I had come full circle. We got to their house and met the parents who let us know they expected us to be gentlemen. Tony was correct both girls were beautiful. My girl's name was Triny, short for Trinidad. She was perfect in all respects, intelligent, witty, laughed at my jokes, easy to talk to. We were going to a nice night spot called The Riviera in Port Washington. There was only a slight glitch, remember this was about 1954 and times were a bit different. Her family was from Trinidad and they were Black. The question was how would she be greeted at the club, would there be any problems with any patrons? Remember in 1954 there was a lot of racism not so well hidden and we were in a lily white neighborhood. So I made up my mind, anybody says or does anything to hurt this beautiful young lady I'd beat the s**t out of them. We arrived at the club and was greeted with no incident. Some people stared as we danced and I explained to Triny that was because she was so beautiful. We ate, drank danced and had the time of our lives. Tony made out furiously with his girl but I restrained myself because I felt she had to be treated with respect.
Unfortunately, I never saw Triny again as I got involved with a girl named Georgette but soon after fell in love with Sarita, my hot little Puerto Ricana so I couldn't return to my beautiful Black Blind Date. Sarita did cause me to fix up my friend Tommy with one of her girl friends and that turned out to be a disaster. That's another story for another time.
Anyway, for those of you out there who may have an offer of a "Blind Date" I would suggest to you to try it and maybe you'll like it. While my "Blind Dates" were adventurous they have given me memories. The last one even helped me over what-ever prejudice I may have had due to my environment and remember so fondly a girl named Trinidad.
I was sixteen when my friend Jimmie told me he asked a girl out from our class but she had a sister who was a couple of years younger that had to accompany her by the requests of their parents. I figured what the hell, I knew Jimmies date and if her sister was as nice as she was what could go wrong, so I said OK, even though I felt uncomfortable about the whole thing since this was my first real date. We went to the movies. Since we didn't have a driver's license we took a bus. After the movie we went to Jahn's an ice-cream shoppe and had Sundaes. We took them home and didn't even get a kiss goodnight which I can understand since after we left their house we didn't say a word to each other other than would you like to stop at Jahn's(?). The four of us barely uttered a word the whole night. Funny but in school there was no feeling of being up-tight but on this Friday night the four of us were tongue tied. I can only speak for me but I imagine we all felt a great relief when the evening finally came to an end. I swore I would never do this again.
The next year my best friend Wuzzy, first name Eddie but no one ever called him that, was madly in love with this girl we had met at Kissena Park. He was granted his first date only if he could provide her friend with a date. What could I do? I put aside my first inclination to tell Wuzzy to shove it and said OK. After all, he was my best friend, wasn't he? So we went to a movie in Jamaica called The Valencia, a great old movie house which was showing the hit horror movie, "The Thing", with James Arness in the starring role. It was crowded and we sat in the second or third row in the orchestra which had us real up close for all the scary scenes. Before I go any further I should tell you I was surprised when I picked my date up. This was the first time we met. This was the first time, and I believe the only time I ever went out with an Albino. She had, I don't know, ash blond hair, blue eyes, the whitest skin I ever saw and the lips that were pink and luscious. Today I think girls pay to have lips like that. I was tempted to ask questions like, "What do you do when you get sunburned?", but I managed to contain myself and not stare. The four of us seemed to be having a good time. Anyhow, back to the movie. The picture was getting scary and Wuzzy was making out. I kept thinking of her luscious lips while at the same time afraid to make a move for fear of bruising her. She kept moving closer so I put my arm around her which prompted her to turn her head to me and her lips were parted and luscious so I did what I felt I must do, kissed her and made out. I remember very little about the movie, "The Thing". However, Wuzzy didn't need my presence anymore for he and his girl to get comfortable so I never saw my Albino with the luscious lips again.
A few years later my friend Jimmie entered my life again. He once more needed someone to go out with his date's sister. We were going to see "The House of Wax" at the Meadows, a three D horror movie with Vincent Price and Charles Bronson, another scary movie. Jimmie did say this would be a big favor and I figured she was not so good looking or something, but what the hell, he was my friend, wasn't he? We picked up the girls and right away I noticed she had a slight disfigurement, a hare-lip. It wasn't really bad but it wasn't really good. Again, I had questions which I had to restrain from asking. Again I had to restrain myself from staring. I stared to perspire since I felt bad but in no way was I going to kiss this girl or ask her out again. I have very little recollection of the movie or how the date ended but I swore I would never do this thing again!
A little while later a friend of mine at the place I worked told me that he was madly in love with a girl who wouldn't go out with him unless her girl friend would be there so he was asking me to go out with Stella. The Blind Dates I had were still imprinted in my memory banks and I stoutly refused until he pulled the friend card so what could I do (?), so I said OK, he was my friend wasn't he? This time we went to a nice little cabaret called The Holiday Inn on Northern Boulevard for some dancing and drinks The girls were to meet us there. As they walked in I saw a statuesque black haired good looking girl come into the place with a short dumpy, shall I say fat, girl along with her. My friend got up to greet them. I was hoping against hope but when he kissed the good looking girl I knew I had again won the prize. As Stella got closer it became apparent that she also had a bit of fuzz on her upper lip. We settled down into the booth and ordered drinks and danced some. The more I drank the better Stella looked because I noticed two enormous good points about her which I really couldn't overlook which I had a weakness for and which I blame this weakness on my mother breast feeding me. The night was over early and I did kiss Stella goodnight but when I woke the next day with the largest headache I ever had, I swore no more of this type of thing!
The last "Blind Date" I had came when my friend Tony told me He had this beautiful girl he wanted to date who had a sister who was also beautiful and their parents wouldn't let them out on dates by themselves. I had come full circle. We got to their house and met the parents who let us know they expected us to be gentlemen. Tony was correct both girls were beautiful. My girl's name was Triny, short for Trinidad. She was perfect in all respects, intelligent, witty, laughed at my jokes, easy to talk to. We were going to a nice night spot called The Riviera in Port Washington. There was only a slight glitch, remember this was about 1954 and times were a bit different. Her family was from Trinidad and they were Black. The question was how would she be greeted at the club, would there be any problems with any patrons? Remember in 1954 there was a lot of racism not so well hidden and we were in a lily white neighborhood. So I made up my mind, anybody says or does anything to hurt this beautiful young lady I'd beat the s**t out of them. We arrived at the club and was greeted with no incident. Some people stared as we danced and I explained to Triny that was because she was so beautiful. We ate, drank danced and had the time of our lives. Tony made out furiously with his girl but I restrained myself because I felt she had to be treated with respect.
Unfortunately, I never saw Triny again as I got involved with a girl named Georgette but soon after fell in love with Sarita, my hot little Puerto Ricana so I couldn't return to my beautiful Black Blind Date. Sarita did cause me to fix up my friend Tommy with one of her girl friends and that turned out to be a disaster. That's another story for another time.
Anyway, for those of you out there who may have an offer of a "Blind Date" I would suggest to you to try it and maybe you'll like it. While my "Blind Dates" were adventurous they have given me memories. The last one even helped me over what-ever prejudice I may have had due to my environment and remember so fondly a girl named Trinidad.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Success Is How You Define It!
They were sitting at a bar having an after work drink. Dan was telling Al, his closest friend that he was at wits end. He seemed to hit the ceiling in his quest for a better position at B&A. His work performance was excellent but for some reason that didn't matter anymore. "The real movers and shakers in the place all seemed to have a very active social life" Dan was saying. Al asked him what that meant, "After all Dan, if it means that you and your wife have to socialize a little more what's so hard about that?".
"The socialization that they are talking about doesn't include their wives. They go out together and screw around without their wives. Those who are invited go with them and they all end up as cheaters", Dan explained. "On top of all that it is expected that you join in the wine, women and song games or you are a wuss and no one wants a wuss on their team. The thinking is a stick in the mud type of guy won't take care of the big spenders that the Corporation has and needs. They spend big bucks and are expected to be taken care of'. That means you have to go out to big restaurants, strip clubs and employ big time prostitutes. You are also expected to take part in the festivities. When you don't do that sort of thing the big time customers shun you and you are considered a drag on the business."
Even though Al and Dan were the closest of friends their friendship was only a few years old. They shared a lot of time together but that involved sports, going to Broadway shows with their wives and such but they never shared thoughts about things of this nature that they we discussing now. Al asked, "Have you ever thought about going along with the prevailing thought in order to get ahead?".
"I just couldn't do that sort of thing. I am so against it I have thought about resigning but this type of behavior is rampant in the business I'm in."
"You have to pardon me but I know it isn't your religious morals that are holding you back. Just what is it that keeps you from joining the crowd and becoming successful while you are having a good time?", Al asked.
"You don't have to be religious to be moral.", Dan countered. "Besides more than morals and the question of whether the practice of debauchery is good or bad business isn't the ruling factor in my decision to avoid this whole thing." Al asked, "Then what is it that's holding you back?". Dan responded:
"Strange as it may seem, I am in love with my wife and I have no desire to cheat on her as I would hope she has no desire to cheat on me. I have no intention on becoming a monk but I do have the intention on living a life with the woman I love until death parts us and in that lifetime there will be no lies or playing around. I want to be able to have children and look them in the eye and let them know that their father loved their mother and them. That it was that love that drove him to make decisions that hopefully led to a good family and a life with no regrets.".
Al, looked at his watch and noted that his train would be leaving the station in ten minutes. He drained his drink and said, "Dan, it appears to me that you really have no problems. You're a guy who is in love with his wife. That is a good thing. You are making a fairly good salary. Maybe you'll never be a Senior Vice President but so what? What you have is more solid than that. You can build a lifetime on what you have What you seek in business can tumble down like a house of cards. Hold on to your love and forget about what they call, "success" since "success" is what you define your as your goals and whether or not you've obtained them.Look buddy, I've got to catch a train. Talk to you later.".
Dan looked at Al rushing off to catch his train. He finished his drink slowly and left the bar. He thought about their conversation on the ride to his station. He got off in Hicksville, got into his car and drove home. As he walked into his home he chuckled as he yelled out, as they do in situation comedies, "Hey Honey I'm home.". His wife was home from her job already and met in the foyer where he grabbed her in his arms and gave her the greatest kiss she ever got from him. He said "Let's eat later. She answered, "Why, what are we going to do now?" To which he replied, as he led her to their bedroom, "Just come with me and let me surprise you.".
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
What Matters Most?
One could say his life resembled the day which was going through a nor'easter, dark, dank and very wet. A day better spent indoors out of the elements. The winds were high and blustery shaking many of the leaves from the trees. The trees themselves seemed to be fighting the wind. The wind battling to make them bare while the trees wanted to hold on to their Autumnal glory. The time was approaching very quickly when the trees would no longer have the strength to hold on and all the leaves would fall to the ground leaving them bare. Then they would fall into their winter slumber which would include the earth being blanketed by snow. Above the blanket of snow would be cold and frosty while below the snow would be a protective warmth allowing slumber until the Summer's sun would call the earth to wake up and bloom again.
She had left him after a bitter battle which he never wanted. It seemed as if she provoked the situation. They were just talking and going over their life together when she asked him, "If you had to do it all over again, would you?". He laughed and tried to change the subject but she persisted and demanded that he respond seriously to her question. She told him she wouldn't be angry or hurt if he said something not to her liking but she just wanted to know how he felt about their life together. She knew that he would have lived a completely different life if they hadn't hooked up. He certainly didn't want responsibility and didn't have any trouble getting female companionship. He liked to party, a lot! He wanted to pursue a career in music but knew that it wouldn't really sustain a true relationship. She knew he had buckled down, went to school, got a real job and lived a life which he liked to refer to contemptuously as "respectful". He kept trying to get her off the subject but she started to get angry and he finally said, "YES, I would have done it differently. I would have had fun and lived a life I loved!". This led to an exchange of very bitter words and she stormed out of the house in tears saying they were going to split up never to see each other again.
AND so he was left on this cold, dark, dank and very wet day alone looking out the window at the starkness of the day feeling like his life was over. No matter what was said in the heat of the battle he loved her more than life itself and he never would have done it any differently because life without her wasn't worth living. She was gone over three hours without a word. The day remained dark and his life as well. At least it stopped raining. The clouds were breaking up a bit and the sun was starting to peak through shedding its life giving light onto the earth. He heard the door opening and she stood in the doorway with the Sun shining behind her. Her eyes were red from crying. He rose and they just stared at each other for a moment. He put his finger to her lips as he spoke, "Baby, I wouldn't change a thing. You are my life, without you I am nothing.". She removed his finger from her lips and said "I love you.". Then the sun broke out in the heavens and they embraced with their mouths hungrily meeting. The front door was closed as they headed for the bedroom.
She had left him after a bitter battle which he never wanted. It seemed as if she provoked the situation. They were just talking and going over their life together when she asked him, "If you had to do it all over again, would you?". He laughed and tried to change the subject but she persisted and demanded that he respond seriously to her question. She told him she wouldn't be angry or hurt if he said something not to her liking but she just wanted to know how he felt about their life together. She knew that he would have lived a completely different life if they hadn't hooked up. He certainly didn't want responsibility and didn't have any trouble getting female companionship. He liked to party, a lot! He wanted to pursue a career in music but knew that it wouldn't really sustain a true relationship. She knew he had buckled down, went to school, got a real job and lived a life which he liked to refer to contemptuously as "respectful". He kept trying to get her off the subject but she started to get angry and he finally said, "YES, I would have done it differently. I would have had fun and lived a life I loved!". This led to an exchange of very bitter words and she stormed out of the house in tears saying they were going to split up never to see each other again.
AND so he was left on this cold, dark, dank and very wet day alone looking out the window at the starkness of the day feeling like his life was over. No matter what was said in the heat of the battle he loved her more than life itself and he never would have done it any differently because life without her wasn't worth living. She was gone over three hours without a word. The day remained dark and his life as well. At least it stopped raining. The clouds were breaking up a bit and the sun was starting to peak through shedding its life giving light onto the earth. He heard the door opening and she stood in the doorway with the Sun shining behind her. Her eyes were red from crying. He rose and they just stared at each other for a moment. He put his finger to her lips as he spoke, "Baby, I wouldn't change a thing. You are my life, without you I am nothing.". She removed his finger from her lips and said "I love you.". Then the sun broke out in the heavens and they embraced with their mouths hungrily meeting. The front door was closed as they headed for the bedroom.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Let Me Vent Part II
I just don't get it. I know quite a few guys who depend on their Social Security along with a small pension who really like Eric Cantor and his ilk. Yet they complain that with the rise in the cost of Medicare Part B to a premium of $96 and change and a deductible of $162 things are getting tougher and tougher from a financial viewpoint. Yet Eric doesn't want to bring taxes on the most wealthy back up 3 percentage points while at the same time he wants to cut more from Federal spending and guess what (?) the cuts are going to come from places like Medicare, Medicaid and any other place he can find that the poorest among us live. No cuts for the military industrial complex or the oil companies either. What the hell do they like about this guy? I think they are masochists and like to vote against themselves because they enjoy pain.
The members of Congress, Senators and Representatives alike keep talking about "THE AMERICAN PEOPLE", what they want and what they think. How the hell can a guy who represents only his State or District have the audacity to speak for all of us? All he knows is what the American people in his area say because they elected him but there is more to the American People than what a guy like John Boehner or Eric Cantor represent. By the way the Democrats are guilty of this also. This I am sure of "THE AMERICAN PEOPLE" would like to eat three square meals a day, have a house they won't lose to foreclosure and a Congress full of people who truly care about them who will try to make things better without first putting their priorities ahead of "THE AMERICAN PEOPLE"!
I think it is about time to realize it takes more than getting any college degree to insure getting a job. For too long the colleges have been grinding out meaningless degrees that have no place in today's society. There are many jobs that are going unfilled in the scientific areas, technical areas and in the arts. Yet our colleges allow the students to float through with a Sociology degree even though demand for social workers are falling and low paying. The colleges do this so they can satisfy Momma & Daddy that their children are getting an education, albeit a useless one because they learn nothing of value. The graduates have no intention of using what they learned in the real world they just wanted a degree even if it took 6 or 7 years for a four year one. The length of time is also because the colleges allow the students to take truncated terms of 13 credits instead of 18 per term while allowing them to promiscuously change majors causing them to need courses they haven't taken. The colleges really don't care that the student is building up a massive burden of college loans they may never really be able to pay. However, these loans can't be discharged even through bankruptcy. Our colleges are like a mob who extorts money and doesn't really care about those who will call it my Alma Mater.
I know Herman Cain was a good business man who made his mark in this world. BUT how can anyone believe this guy could be the President of this good old USA? I don't know if he came from humble beginnings but if he did he certainly forgot what it was like because everything he says seems to want to step on the neck of the poor while giving breaks to the rich under the guise that this is what creates jobs. He is among the few (I hope) who believe the poor should pay more taxes because they don't pay enough. He seemed to indicate that without health insurance a person should die. Money does come into play when one is sick Do you think Steve Jobs could've made four more years after his diagnoses of pancreatic cancer if he didn't have the money to afford the medial treatments available to him? Even with heath insurance you and I have couldn't get what he got in medical attention. But Herman Cain seems to think it is tough luck for those who have not. He also didn't want to comment on the brouhaha the Mormon thing about Romney not being a Christian caused. So why should this be something we should concern ourselves with anyway? Every leader should have said that it doesn't matter if you are an atheist or believer all that matters is if you can be a good President with good policies. Mr. Cain along with the other panel members of the Republican debate never spoke up when the audience booed the gay solider. Doesn't all this say something about Herman Cain, about all of them?
It is about time the Yankees recognize the fact that their major stars like A-Rod, Tiexeria, Jeter are getting old, real old. The bodies are breaking down and the reflexes are slower. The contracts are horrendous but they hierarchy have to make some important decisions about replacing them rather than just hoping they will show flashes of glories past. Back in the 1990s Gene Michael and Bucky Showater were brought in to run the Yanks while the Boss sat his suspension out. They laid the foundation for the great teams of the '90s into the early 2000s. The Steinbrenner boys better bring in some good sound baseball men to run the show again. I think Brian Cashman needs help especially to keep the Boys who own the team away from making horrendous decisions like the A-Rod and Rafel Soriono ones.
The members of Congress, Senators and Representatives alike keep talking about "THE AMERICAN PEOPLE", what they want and what they think. How the hell can a guy who represents only his State or District have the audacity to speak for all of us? All he knows is what the American people in his area say because they elected him but there is more to the American People than what a guy like John Boehner or Eric Cantor represent. By the way the Democrats are guilty of this also. This I am sure of "THE AMERICAN PEOPLE" would like to eat three square meals a day, have a house they won't lose to foreclosure and a Congress full of people who truly care about them who will try to make things better without first putting their priorities ahead of "THE AMERICAN PEOPLE"!
I think it is about time to realize it takes more than getting any college degree to insure getting a job. For too long the colleges have been grinding out meaningless degrees that have no place in today's society. There are many jobs that are going unfilled in the scientific areas, technical areas and in the arts. Yet our colleges allow the students to float through with a Sociology degree even though demand for social workers are falling and low paying. The colleges do this so they can satisfy Momma & Daddy that their children are getting an education, albeit a useless one because they learn nothing of value. The graduates have no intention of using what they learned in the real world they just wanted a degree even if it took 6 or 7 years for a four year one. The length of time is also because the colleges allow the students to take truncated terms of 13 credits instead of 18 per term while allowing them to promiscuously change majors causing them to need courses they haven't taken. The colleges really don't care that the student is building up a massive burden of college loans they may never really be able to pay. However, these loans can't be discharged even through bankruptcy. Our colleges are like a mob who extorts money and doesn't really care about those who will call it my Alma Mater.
I know Herman Cain was a good business man who made his mark in this world. BUT how can anyone believe this guy could be the President of this good old USA? I don't know if he came from humble beginnings but if he did he certainly forgot what it was like because everything he says seems to want to step on the neck of the poor while giving breaks to the rich under the guise that this is what creates jobs. He is among the few (I hope) who believe the poor should pay more taxes because they don't pay enough. He seemed to indicate that without health insurance a person should die. Money does come into play when one is sick Do you think Steve Jobs could've made four more years after his diagnoses of pancreatic cancer if he didn't have the money to afford the medial treatments available to him? Even with heath insurance you and I have couldn't get what he got in medical attention. But Herman Cain seems to think it is tough luck for those who have not. He also didn't want to comment on the brouhaha the Mormon thing about Romney not being a Christian caused. So why should this be something we should concern ourselves with anyway? Every leader should have said that it doesn't matter if you are an atheist or believer all that matters is if you can be a good President with good policies. Mr. Cain along with the other panel members of the Republican debate never spoke up when the audience booed the gay solider. Doesn't all this say something about Herman Cain, about all of them?
It is about time the Yankees recognize the fact that their major stars like A-Rod, Tiexeria, Jeter are getting old, real old. The bodies are breaking down and the reflexes are slower. The contracts are horrendous but they hierarchy have to make some important decisions about replacing them rather than just hoping they will show flashes of glories past. Back in the 1990s Gene Michael and Bucky Showater were brought in to run the Yanks while the Boss sat his suspension out. They laid the foundation for the great teams of the '90s into the early 2000s. The Steinbrenner boys better bring in some good sound baseball men to run the show again. I think Brian Cashman needs help especially to keep the Boys who own the team away from making horrendous decisions like the A-Rod and Rafel Soriono ones.
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