Rant #2,907: Lazy Day (Sort Of)

How was your Memorial Day weekend and holiday?
 
Mine was pretty good, pretty relaxing, but now, it is time to get back to work, even for this semi-retired old fogey.
 
Yesterday, my family pretty much did nothing, which was fine with me.
 
We had a nice Saturday involving a lot of driving, so yesterday, I just petered out.
 
But I am getting ahead of myself …
 
After a kind of blasé Saturday, on Sunday, we drove out east on Long Island to Peconic—right before the northern end, Greenport—to go to a brewery my wife enjoys and hang out with one of her brothers and his wife.
 
It was a pretty long drive, but it was a nice day, and we spent a few hours there taking in the sun and the sights.
 
Then we drove to my wife’s other brother’s home, and we had a barbecue, so it was a nice, complete day.
 
By the time we got home, I had driven about 150 miles or so during the day, and I personally was pooped.
 
But we had one more thing to do when we got home, or at least my son and I had one more thing to do—
 
And that was watch an All Elite Wrestling pay per view live wrestling show called “Double or Nothing” from Las Vegas.
 
We weren’t able to watch the show until we came home at about 8:30 p.m., but with the pre-show, this spectacle began at 7 p.m.
 
I fell asleep twice during the show, but honestly, every time I thought it was over, another match came on, and the whole thing lasted until about 1 a.m., which means except for the two naps, I had been up and about since 6 a.m. in the morning, and let me admit to you that this 65-year-old body has a tough time doing things like that anymore.
 
I guess 19-hour days are not part of my chemistry anymore …when I was younger, there were days that I literally did not sleep at all, and I was fresh as a daisy—
 
Not anymore.
 
So yesterday, my family and I did nothing, or at least my wife and I did nothing.
 
I took my son to see his friend, a few towns over from us, and before that, I brought in all of our empty recyclable bottles to get my 5 cents for each one. I also went to the supermarket with my wife, so it’s not like I sat on the bed and watched TV all day—
 
Which I also did, watching a movie I had never heard of called “Cop Out,” a British film from 1967 starring James Mason and (get this!) Bobby Darin!
 
You can’t make this up, Mason and Darin together in one movie!
 
It was a sort of hip (for 1967) drama about a drunken lawyer (Mason) who tries to find out the real killer of a nasty drifter (Darin) who riles up a bunch of young adults (including Geraldine Chaplin) to do things they probably wouldn’t normally do, including murder.
 
It kept me going, Mason actually was quite good, and it killed 90 minutes—that to me made it at least a decent film, one that I discovered on YouTube.
 
In between it all, I found the holiday weekend and day a good time to pick up on the digitizing of my records, and for me, the past four days have been Tommy James, all day and all night.
 
The whole thing was precipitated by what my family and I did two Saturdays ago, which was to see James perform live at Westbury, a show that had been postponed four or five times during the past three years due to COVID and some other things.

 
It finally came to be that Saturday evening, and James put on his usual stellar show, pretty much the same show he has put on for years, playing as many hits as he can get into this time on stage, talking about the book about him being made into a movie (when?), and hobnobbing with the crowd.
 
He looked and sounded good, and after you hear him play live nearly two dozen songs that were all hits big and small back in the day, some of which later became hits for other people, it almost makes you re-examine what you have in your own collection, which is what it made me do.
 
I also realized that of the many records I have of his, I had not digitized a thing, less a few singles, so I took it upon myself to do just that over the past four days.
 
I have a few LPs to go, and after digitizing all of this, I have one question to ask: Why isn’t this guy in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
 
I will get the full measure of all of this when I get to listen to his music in my car, but the question remains.
 
And yes, through it all, I did think of those who perished in fighting for what this country stands for, and also, all who have served who have been lucky enough to come home.
 
I thought of my father, the old Marine, who, in his later years, would salute every flag displayed in front of houses and businesses as we passed them in the car.
 
He never went directly to war, but he served the Marines proudly, and once a Marine, always a Marine.
 
For him, and my father in law—another old Marine who has passed—and for one of my brothers in law—who served in the Navy—we all saluted you during this Memorial Day weekend and holiday, and we salute you every day for allowing us to live the American way, which remains the best way mankind knows.
 
Salute!

Rant #2,906: Oh Girl, I'll Take You There, The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face

How has your Memorial Day weekend gone thus far?
 
You can’t really say “Happy Memorial Day,” because the day has to do with honoring our war dead throughout all the conflicts our country has been involved in.
 
They died so we could continue the lives we have in this country, so we honor them on this day.
 
This is also sort of the unofficial start of summer, so I know many of you have spent at least part of your holiday at the beach or in the pool.
 
And what better way to spend a day at the beach or in the pool than to listen to your favorite music there while you dart in and out of the waves and the water?
 
I know I said I was not going to do these types of entries anymore, but every once in a while, it isn’t that terrible to look back to what we were listening to on the radio in days gone past.
 
The kids today have no idea how much fun it was to listen to your favorite stations, DJs and music on the radio, and when you heard something that you liked, you turned up the radio a bit … while you were baking in the sun.
 
So here, for the first time in a while, we are going to go back 50 years, to the week of May 27, 1972, and see exactly what the top hits of the day were way back when, music we were certainly listening to at the local beach—or pool—as the summer unofficially began.
 
At #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 of the top-selling singles was “Hot Rod Lincoln” by Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen. This throwback to the 1950s was the biggest hit for this act.
 
At #9 was “Sylvia’s Mother” by Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show This tongue-in-cheek tune was by an act that  had numerous hits through the 1970s, and later shortened their name to simply “Dr. Hook.”
 
Coming in at #8 was “I Gotcha” by Joe Tex. His music was often tongue-in-cheek, too, but Tax’s mix of rock, pop and soul made him one of the top solo acts of the era.
 
The Rolling Stones were ubiquitous on the radio during this period, and one of their biggest hits during that time period was “Tumbling Dice,” which was at #7 this week, the highest ranking it would garner.
 
Cat Stevens became one of the top singer/songwriters of this time period, and his “Morning Has Broken” was at #6 on the chart this week. It would be the highest this song would rise to on the chart.
 
At #5 on the Hot 100 for the week was one of the hottest songs of the period, “The Candy Man” by Sammy Davis Jr. The song from the film “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” would rise to the top spot in two weeks, where it remained for a total of three weeks.
 
Al Green’s smooth soul hits continued with “Look What You Done For Me” which hit #4 on this week’s listing. Green became one of the top soul singers of the era with numerous Adult Contemporary soul hits.
 
One of the biggest hits of the 1970s was “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” by Roberta Flack, which hit the #3 spot this week. It had fallen from the top spot after spending six weeks there.
 
"’ll Take You There” by the Staples Singers was at #2 this week. The family act’s gospel-tinged soul led to a number of Top 10 tunes for the act during this era, and this song would hit #1 the very nest week for s single week.
 
And topping this week’s chart as the #1 song in the country 50 years ago was …
 
“Oh Girl” by the Chi-Lites, another smooth soul ballad that spent one week at the top spot.
 
Even though still a teenager, Michel Jackson was hot as a pistol both with his family group the Jackson 5 and as a solo artist, and his “I Want to Be Where You Are” was the highest debuting record on the Hot 100, coming in at #59 for the week. It would eventually get as high as #16 a few weeks later.
 
The Biggest Mover on the chart, the song that moved up the most places from the previous week to this week, was an "out-of-leftfield” hit, Amazing Grace“ by the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, something of a novelty tune that went from #59 last week to #31 this week. The song, one of the few if not the only Hot 100 hit ever to have the bagpipers as its primary musical instrument, rose to #11 during its run.
 
So there you have it, the top 10 tunes of 50 years ago heading into 1972’s Memorial Day.
 
Again, I said I would never do such a Rant again, but I guess one can “never say never” when it cones to such a column.
 
And it was fun doing it again, a perfect antidote to our current world and what is going on in it.
 
I hope you had as much fun reminiscing as I did with these songs.
 
And I also hope that your holiday was as good as it could be. 

Rant #2,905: Hope and Deliverance

Well, it is finally summer now!
 
No it really isn’t—we officially have about a month or so before summer is here—but at least the summer “season” begins when we hit Memorial Day on Monday.
 
We have seen it already, with people putting away the long pants and breaking out the shorts and ladies starting to show a bit more skin in what they wear (yes, I am an old fogey, but my eyes continue to work fairly well, and you cannot doubt what I say if you still have your vision).
 
Yes, Memorial Day is just about here, and the living is easy … or at least, it should be easy.
 
The real meaning of Memorial Day is to honor our war dead, those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, but this year, even that has been tainted by the atrocities we have witnessed just in the past several days.
 
Unfortunately, as we honor our soldiers, we have to think about those people who died by gunmen’s rages, who died for absolutely no reason.
 
There has to be a better way, and perhaps Memorial Day can be the next step in finding that better way.
 
Here is an edited version of what I wrote about the holiday in Rant #970, May 24, 2013:
 
“Coming up on Monday is Memorial Day, the day we honor those who have served, and gave their lives, for our country in the numerous wars we have fought leading up to our country's creation in 1776 and beyond.
 
Once known as Decoration Day, the holiday falls every year on the last Monday in May.
 
In recent years--or for as long as I can remember--Memorial Day has taken on a different meaning.
 
Not to knock our service men and women--who continue to protect our country from unimaginable peril each and every day--the holiday means so many other things now.
 
First of all, many of us have off on that day.
 
Memorial Day also signals the beginning of the summer season.
 
Notice I say "the summer season," because summer actually doesn't come for several weeks after, in late June. But it signals warmth, hot nights and days, and so the holiday is thought of as sort of a gateway to summer and all the fun that that season brings.
 
And finally, Memorial Day generally signifies the day when many of us have our very first barbecue of the year.
 
Honestly, I can taste those hot dogs right now!
 
Many parades are held during this holiday, and most of them are seemingly precursors to barbecues, so even if we honor our war dead--and again, this is not a knock against any of our service people--we gradually move toward family oriented events during the holiday.
 
This makes Memorial Day one of the most family oriented holidays on the calendar, and a day we can all look forward to.”
 
So that is Memorial Day, what the day actually represents and what the day has taken on to mean over the years.
 
But this year, no matter how you do it, it has to be a bit somber, with all that it going on around us.
 
We are still supposedly in a pandemic, prices are through the roof on everything, gas is at a completely ridiculous price, and those hot dogs you are grilling are going to cost you plenty more than you spent for them way back when I wrote that piece in 2013.
 
And first and foremost, we have all of those people who will not be celebrating Memorial Day this year, and won’t ever celebrate this holiday again.
 
It just puts a damper on everything, but we have to push on, if for nothing else than we have to think that these people would want us to do so.
 
That is kind of a Pollyanna-ish way of looking at these tragedies, but it is something that we have to do, and is certainly part of the healing process.
 
As for me, sometimes I take off from this Blog on Monday, sometimes I don’t, but on this Memorial Day, I will be here, and I will do something that I swore I would never do again, but I am going to do it anyway.
 
Nothing major, nothing earth shattering, but I think it will encapsulate that holiday in the perfect way, and .lighten things up a bit in the process.
 
So have a great weekend, a great holiday weekend, and I will speak to you again on Monday, right on Memorial Day.
 
And with everything that has happened, I hope that you and your family can have a great holiday! 

Rant #2,904: See

“Has anyone realized that these mass shootings are being committed by the govt? They want to pass their agenda to disarm all AMERICAN citizens and rile up the masses, and according to some these comments, they are doing just that! Realize that MSM is part of the problem, because they are lying to you! Most of these shootings are FAKE! I didn’t say all!!! They DO NOT care about us or our children, and if some are hurt OR KILLED, THEY DO NOT CARE! Do some research (not on Google) and you will find out that they have a depopulation agenda! YES, THEY DO! Children are their main target. People are being manipulated. How many mass shootings occurred from 2017 to 2020? Let me know, as I’ll be awaiting your honest response. WAKE UP!”
 
…
 
“FINALLY someone who knows EXACTLY what is going on!  People really do need to wake up, pay attention and really do their research Not just listen to everything that is broadcasted on the FAKE NEWS.  Let's see there is no infant formula???? How is that?  You can't feed your baby!!! This is America for god sakes!  We need to get formula flown in from another Country?  Hmm does that make any sense to anyone?  God bless all the parents who have infant and school aged children in today's day and age.  It is an atrocity what is going on.  However, my prayers are with those poor children that were gunned down in this massacar.  Lastly, I don't normally voice my opinion so much on any social media but I see what is going on and I know what is going on.  I just wish every one else would really do the same.  And I am sorry - politics aside because the truth is the front runner is only as good as the puppeteer who are pulling their strings regardless of Left Wing, Right Wing.  This is really only the beginning people wait till you see what we are in for in the next year and a half..”.
 
…
 
Yes, I broke the rules for Journalism 101, where you are never to use a quote to begin a story.

And I used two of them yet!
 
But these were strong quotes, so I decided to begin today’s Rant with them … warts and misspellings and all
 
And yes, there are people out there in my community and yours, and in communities across the country and maybe even the world, that actually believe this tripe.
 
And that is scary as all hell.
 
I picked this up from a social media board that I belong to, and I cannot believe that people not only believe this imbecility, but take the time to put this up on the board … and have people agree with them yet.
 
All I can say is that humanity is not about politics, but I don’t think these people will truly understand that.
 
The rule of thumb on social media is to not put up anything that you would not say directly to someone’s face.
 
Would these people say these horrible things to the faces of the parents who will be burying their children in the coming days after they were not just shot at, but obliterated, by a gunman using not just a gun, but an AR-15, a weapon used in warfare?
 
Would they have the nerve to say that this is simply “fake news” as the bodies of these innocent children are put in caskets and lowered into the ground for burial?
 
Would they actually tell these parents that “they know what’s going on” and that they should “wake up” as they walk past their children’s bedrooms and not see their kids in their rooms?
 
I simply do not understand people like this, people who believe that everything is not only political, but is a conspiracy created by the government.
 
I replied to one of these bozos, and the response was that they wanted my address, because I would be a prime candidate to be the next “victim.”
 
That person’s post has since been deleted—or at least I cannot find it—but you can clearly see that these types of people, paranoid and crazy as they are, are among us, and not everyone thinks that they are paranoid and crazy, which makes things worse.
 
Whether these lunatics believe it or not, children are dead, teachers are dead, people were injured, and for those kids who somehow survived this, their childhoods have been forever taken front them.
 
A community has been broken, and it will take a long time for that community to heal.
 
We need tougher gun laws in this country. We need expanded background checks, expanded wait times to be able to get these weapons, and we need these things to be put in place right now.
 
It isn’t even funny to say that I can only get my cholesterol medicine once per month,, because its ingredients are on a restricted list.
 
Yet, I can go into my local gun store, which is just a few blocks away from where I live, and get a gun or other artillery in just about two days.
 
This makes absolutely no sense, none at all, and this must change.
 
And strop with the nonsense that guns don’t kill people, that people kill people. I am sick of that stupid saying, sick of it up to here.
 
I am equally sick of those who mix into one issue both illegal guns and legal guns. Yes, illegal weapons are a horrible problem, but we are talking about legally bought weapons here.
 
Remember, that AR-15 and all the ammunition and the body armor were all bought legally. If these things were able to be purchased legally, our government has some jurisdiction about legal purchases of firearms; this is something the government can regulate … why don’t they do just that?
 
And I think the next step is that when something like this happens, we must not only hold the shooter liable, but also the venue that the shooter purchases these items from, so if this guy bought the weapons, the ammunition, and the body armor from an outlet, or two outlets or perhaps more than that, wherever he made the purchases must be held up as an accessory to murder.
 
That would make these stores a bit more hesitant to allow such purchases, and it will allow for a checks and balances right at the register, which might even be more effective than whatever regulations the government might put in place.
 
Whatever the case, how can these naysayers, these doubters, these non-believers be so crude, be so repugnant, be so arrogant, be so horrid in their staunch beliefs that this is some type of fantasy and conspiracy?
 
Like I said earlier, humanity has nothing to do with politics … nothing at all.
 
I guess that they simply don’t get that, or they refuse to get that.
 
This is not the “X-Files.” This is the real deal, and it is time for these people to see that, and to see that very clearly.