Rant #3,403: Que Sera, Sera

Nonsense!

This is my response--the only response I could possibly have--upon having my post to the general Facebook populace about my overall health being taken down.

Yes, just in case you might not know, my overall post about my health that I made testerday--not the full post that I put up at my two Rochdale Village sites--was taken down by the Facebook police, as according to them, it went against Facebook standards.

Yes, Facebook allows pictures of three-quarters-undressed starlets and as much political drivel as one can imagine, but my little old G-rated post about my health was scuttled.

Whst exactly are Facebook's "community standards?"

I have no idea, none at all.

According to Facebook, this went against their community standards:

In between coughing and wheezing episodes, I am actually doing pretty well from a physical standpoint. But I will really be doing better when I can get rid of these minor ills I have. Read all about it at The Ranting and Raving Blog, https://rantingraving2.blogspot.com.

Please explain this to me exactly: how does this upset Facebook community standards?

According to Facebook:

It looks like you tried to get likes, follows, shares, or video views in a misleading way.

Really?

How so?

All I was talking about was my overall health today compared to where it was several weeks ago--

This goes against "community standards?"

I don't really understand why.

Can anyone explain this to me? 

How am I trying to get likes, follows, shares or video views (?) by posting something as innocent as this message?

Sure, I hope somebody who I don't know about sees this and maybe clicks on it to read about what I am talking about, but certainly my intention nothing out of the ordinary.

The video part I absolutely don't get at all, since no video was offered as part of this post.

Maybe I should have posted a video of me coughing or blowing my nose, but I didn't do that.

So, as this idiocy has happened before, I just have to wonder if someone reported me to the Facebook Police about some unrelated utter nonsense, and it led to what happened yesterday?

I probably won't ever find this out for sure, but it sure is curious, isn't it?

Remember, i had a six-month ban last year for having the audacity to post about my mother's passing, so nothing on Facebook surprises me anymore.

The more they try to police, the more they miss, and what they miss really is astonishing versus what they get, like my G-rated posts.

Like I said, I truly don't get it, but it is what it is, and I will just move on from it.

It isn't going to stop me from saying what I want to say, in any way, shape or form.

So there! Try to police that!

Rant #3,402: Let's Get Physical

My blood test as part of my recent physical went fine.

Just as I had suspected, my original blood test a couple of months ago showed an elevated sugar level because I was inactive due to my surgeries and lack of movement every day.

When the blood test was retaken a couple of days ago, the sugar level reverted back to where it should be and has been for years--

And it all had to do with an increase in activity now that I am able to move about freely.

Look, I am watching myself more than ever before with my sugar intake.

I have cut down on my intake of things like soda and cookies ... I really cut it down tremendously.

I am also exercising each and every day, so that is helping me too.

My father had diabetes in his later years, and I hope that with the incorporation of these tweeks in my diet and my routine, I can avoid that altogether.

So I am pretty healthy, even with everything I have been through during the past few months.

All in all, I am doing pretty well.

In the middle if everything, I do have a slight cold. I thought it was allergies, and it could be a mix of a cold and allergies, but whatever it is, it is on the wane, and I hope to be done with it this week.

It hasn't slowed me down at all, but I do have a little bit of a cough now and then, which, of course, picks up at night when I am lying down, so it has thrown my sleep into a tizzy.

I sleep for a couple of hours, and then I start wheezing, wake myself up, and then can't get back to sleep so quickly.

I am just taking over the counter Tylenol Cold and Flu for that, and it does seem to work, but if this thing is not gone this week, I might have to be checked out and get something stronger.

I get these allergy/cold things once or twice a year, so I just happened to get it now.

No worries ... it just has to work its way out of my system.

I can taste everything, I am not stuffed up, and a lot of it is in my throat.

I actually feel fine, so it will be gone in a matter of days.

Yesterday, I had one more thing to take care of, and that is my teeth.

For the first time in probably decades, I had more than one cavity to get filled, with two cavities that I didn't even know about in my mouth.

The dentist told me that they were very small, and it took no time to get them filled.

So all in all, nine months after my first accident, I am doing pretty well ...

And then I woke up the other day and my right leg--my good leg--was hurting for the first time.

Maybe I rolled over the wrong way in my sleep, maybe I did it doing my exercises and it didn't hit me until later, but it definitely feels like I have a "crick" in my right leg.

Exercising kind of makes it feel a little bit better, but last night, it was bothering me, so between this little cold and this pain, it took me a while to find a spot to sleep in, although when I did finally do that, I must have slept for at least seven hours.

It doesn't stop me from doing anything, it is just a bit annoying.

Hopefully, it will go away as quickly as it came, but I will bring it up at physical therapy today.

I often think that I might be over-exercising at home, and I actually did do just that several months ago, my bad left leg seized for a few minutes, and I was told to go a bit slower when working out at home, which I did and have had no problems with since.

And again, this is in my good leg, so it has me a bit perplexed.

But overall, I am doing pretty well, and I hope to continue doing well into perpetuity.

Where I am now versus where I was ... no comparison at all ...

In between the coughs and the wheezing.

Rant #3,401: More Than I Can Say

I just find it so interesting--as well as disheartening--that seemingly smart people will do completely idiotic things when it comes to our upcoming presidential election.

The latest imbecility that I have seen is that people are putting up the office address of J.D. Vance, the Republican vice presidential candidate, as a place to send kitty litter, related to his silly remarks from some years back about cat women running Washington.

First of all, whoever dug up this ridiculous clip needs to find something better to do with their time.

Second, it really is against even the Wild West environment that engulfs  the Internet and social media to put up one's address for everyone to see ...

And it goes beyond kitty litter.

There are enough nuts out there who could potentially do more than just send kitty litter to Vance's office.

The posters I saw were by two women who I thought had way more sense than they exhibited by putting up such a post.

Yes, I know it was an office address, not his home address, but do they realize who they could be putting in danger by posting this address?

Staffers, others working in the building or in the vicinity, and even passers by.

Would the posters like their own address plastered across social media ... an open invitation to every nut out there?

And with the recent assassination attempt on Donald Trump, this is nothing to take lightly.

You don't have to like Vance, or Trump, but during the recent assassination attempt, an innocent individual died, and others were hurt.

Do we need another nut to have this posted address at his easy disposal?

I mean, this election has just reached depths below stupidity ever since President Joe Biden stepped aside and gave his support to Vice President Kamala Harris.

And a lot of this craziness is coming from women, who I have thought were the smarter sex, but now, I'm not too sure about.

Anyway, I doubt these posts will be taken down, because the posters are completely blinded by their lack of civility.

It just completely reaffirms my vow to not vote for either Harris or Trump come November, and I am happy to report that a couple of people have contacted me to tell me that they are doing the same.

Maybe there is actually some brain matter being used in these days leading up to the election after all.

Rant #3,400: Forget

Wow!

To close the week, we have reached another milestone.

I can't believe that we have reached Rant #3,400 today.

I never realized I had that much to talk about five days a week, but I guess that I do.

Writing to me is very relaxing ... when I have trouble sleeping, I do some writing, it relaxes me, and I am able to go to sleep right after.

Writing is part of my very being.

My best school subject was always English, I taught myself to read with comic books, and I always enjoyed putting pen to paper ... and now, fingers to the keyboard.

And I am happy that this thing that I created to expand my writing horizons beyond what I do for work--and still do as a freelancer--has also become part of your day.

It is fun, but within the fun, there is a lot of serious stuff here, like what I have written about recently, revolving around the Presidency.

Not everything is fun and games, and I feel that I have to give my opinions, which you are free to agree or disagree with.

I am going to give an opinion here, and again, you can agree or disagree with what I have to say.

I am not the least bit interested in the Olympics, and you just know we are going to hear about the games almost non-stop for the next two weeks.

I was a big Olympics fan when I was younger, but the events that happened at the 1972 Olympics both opened up my eyes about what the Olympics are really all about and turned me off at the same time.

The Israeli athletes who were slaughtered at those games by terrorists--and the intervening years, where up until recently, these horrid events were not put into the perspective that they should have been and were pretty much ignored and forgotten about--completely turned me off of the games.

And then we have Adidas--which will never learn from these horrors, accentuating their Nazi past--which had the nerve to put out a sneaker commemorating the 1972 Olympics.

Not only that, the spokesman for these sneakers was Bella Hadid, the Palestinian-American who has repeatedly voiced anti-Semitic and anti-Israel rhetoric.

Nope, Adidas hasn't learned yet that any mention of the 1972 Olympics needs to include that terrorist attack--

And to glorify it with a special sneaker ... do they actually think that people don't remember and don't care?

And to do this when there is a war going on in the Middle East related to Israel's very existence ... well, this is just plain stupid marketing, insulting to the memory of those whose lives were taken from them 52 years ago.

Under pressure, the ad campaign was pulled, Hadid was apologized to--no apologies to Israel or to Jews worldwide--but the residue of Adidas even contemplating this insulting marketing maneuver demonstrates not only their insensitivity, but that their Nazi past is never far behind them.

So you roll this all together, and I don't really care about the Olympics, which I find is a two-week cavalcade of phoniness and politics, and has little or nothing to do with sports.

People profess to be so enraptured with the athletes and the events.

They can spout out names faster than you can say Simone Biles.

But a month, six weeks, two months from now, those names will be completely forgotten.

But nobody forgot about 1972.

We might not remember the names of the Isrselis who were murdered, but no one can forget those heinous events ... and sportscaster Jim McKay's description of them.

And I mean no one ... Adidas aside.

Have a great weekend, and I will speak to you again on Monday.

Rant #3,399: Maybe

Two disparate topics in one single Rant!

Let's go!

I just want to say one more thing about politics this week.

I put this up on Facebook, and it is, unfortunately, very, very true.

Here is what I posted late yesterday afternoon:

'Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed our legislators in Washington, and Republicans showed him the maximum respect, if for nothing else than making sure that they were present to hear what he had to say.

But many legislators were absent--many Democrats skipped the address, including our vice president.

If you are Jewish and you vote Democrat ... ?

I don't even have words about how stupid, ignorant and imbecilic you are.

Trump is no bargain, but the Republicans clearly support Israel in its war against terrorism.

The Democrats? 

Shameful behavior.'

Sorry, the Democrats' behavior is simply horrid, and they--and their presumptive presidential candidate, who said she had "a previous engagement"--should be taken to task for their behavior.

Me, I know that by not voting for either Harris or Trump, I am doing the right thing.

You must make your own decisions; I have clearly made mine.

And as for those Hamas groupies protesting outside ... as the Prime Minister said, "They should be ashamed of themselves."

Now, onto other matters ...

With all the hubbub of the past two weeks, I neglected to tell you that I finally got into the water at a local.pool in my town.

I went with my wife there this past Sunday, and while the weather wasn't great--it ended up raining--I did get a chance to do my exercises in the pool, or at least the exercises I could do in the water.

It was kind if weird; the natural resistance of the water made my left leg feel a little bit heavier, but all told, I think I did pretty good there.

We got there early, and there weren't many people there, so I could really take my time in doing my exercises.

But when the place began to fill up--mainly with families with young children--I wasn't as comfortable in doing what I was doing, but I still managed to go full steam ahead.

Hopefully, I will be able to get back to the pool again several more times this summer, so I can do my exercises in the water again--and get more comfortable doing them there.

Maybe we can get there this coming weekend, but we will see.

To bring this all together--

Another "maybe" ...

Maybe we can have peace in the Middle East this coming weekend, but we shall see.

I did it!

Two very different topics, but I hope that this coming weekend, we can have nothing but good news to report, unlike the last two weekends, which were pretty much unfortunate, at best.

We can hope, can't we?

Rant #3,398: My Prerogative

I posted the main body of this on Facebook the other day, and I think that it is worth reposting here.

I used Google to look up hot topics on voters' minds as we approach Election Day, and this information came up randomly, although it did not surprise me one bit.

According to the Statista Research Department, in a survey conducted in February 2024, the most important topics on voters' minds as we get closer to the November 2024 presidential election are inflation and prices, followed by healthcare; immigration; jobs and the economy; climate and the environment; national security; and taxes and government spending.

Way down at number eight on the list is abortion.

So why does it get so much play as we approach Election Day?

Because it is a flashpoint topic, a topic that certain legislators from both sides can hang their hat on, and create outrage--

Even though, in all honesty, abortion directly impacts a miniscule amount of the population.

I am not talking about states where it is legal versus states where it isnt; I am talking about the number of American citizens who are really and truly impacted by abortion

How many women are there who are actually confronted with this choice?

I would say very few, yet it is a topic thst is among the most incendiary ones in the United States.

According to the March of Dimes, in 2022, there were approximately 65.5 million women between the ages of 15 and 44, which they consider to be childbearing age.

According to other sources, there are about 939,000 abortions per year in our country, so that works out to a slightly above 1 percent rate of those of childbearing age who had abortions for that year.

Of course, not every woman of childbearing age became pregnant that year, so the actual percentage of women becoming pregnant and giving birth versus those deciding to abort is probably a smidgen different.

But let's go with the number I originally reported.

Repeat--a little more than a 1 percent rate--

And that us why it is so far down on the list of concerns as we approach Election Day.

Yet, this topic is only going to ramp up with the situation at hand.

Here is what I put up on Facebook. Agree, disagree ... but this is the way I truly feel about this subject:

'Now that the topic of abortion is going to be put in the forefront with Vice President Kamala Harris being the likely Democratic candidate for president of the United States ... here is what I have to say about this topic.

You have a choice, right at the get go. 

You choose one way, you are completely safe.

You choose another way, no matter how much safety you exhibit, there is still a chance that things can turn out in a way you did not expect.

You have a choice, whether you acknowledge it or not, and do you really want the government in your bedroom?

I happen to be pro-abortion, but not when it is used as birth control.

If the pregnancy imperils the woman or her child, or both, then abortion is absolutely necessary.

If the pregnancy is due to rape or incest, an abortion is absolutely necessary, without question.

Those states that say that it isn't in these instances are completely off base.

But those situations aside, women--and men--do have a choice.

The choice of responsibility for your own body, and for your own future.

Use that choice wisely, and stop blaming the government for your lack of common sense.'

There, I have said it.

We all have our own opinions on this volatile subject.

What are yours?

Actually, I am way more concerned about cereal costing $9 a box than I am about abortion.

And I don't think that I am alone in that feeling.

Rant # 3,397: Young At Heart

One of the problems that I have about President Biden stopping his campaign is that it will have a cascading effect on people who are of a certain age.

With the president pretty much acknowledging that he was too old for the job--whether he did it on his own, was pushed into that decision, or was coerced to do what he did--it will reflect on all older workers and the thought that they are too old to do their jobs.

It happened to me at age 62. Biden is 81. Quite a difference.

But it did happen. I couldn't get arrested when I was looking for a full-time position, and I was forced to retire at age 63.

With Biden's decision, everyone looking for a job who is over the age of 60 is greatly impacted in a wholly negative way.

Hiring executives are sometimes half the age of people who are applying for jobs, and let's be honest about it: they weren't hiring "grandma" and "grandpa" before the Biden decision, and they certainly won't change now.

This is so wrong--the background and experience older workers bring to the job is invaluable and a real benefit--but those doing the hiring didn't see it prior to this debacle, and now, they definitely aren't going to change their ways.

I went through this looking for an executive position, and even my wife--who was looking for a part-time job--experienced this 

The telltale sign is when the interviewer changes the job description right in the middle of the interview without warning.

I experienced this, and so did my wife.

Look, ageism in the workplace is the most difficult workplace infraction to prove, unless the prejudice is so obvious, but unlike days past, hiring directors are very careful in what they say to you during a hiring interview.

My father worked into his 80s.

He stopped working only because he was losing his hearing due to what we later found out to be work- and environmental-related causes.

He loved his job as a New York City cab driver, and I know that in the years after his retirement, he told me time and time again that if he could, he would go back to work.

Me, I guess I am still not over the rejection, but I know that I never had a chance because of my ripe old age of 62.

If you are 30, 62 seems to be ancient, so 63, 64, 65, 66, and 67--what I am now--is looked at as being totally decrepit.

So Biden's departure has terrible ripple effects which the applause by some at what he did simply cannot drown out.

You are only too old when you decide you are too old, and no one should make that decision for you--

Whether you are a dog catcher or the president of the United States.

Rant #3,396: Gone, Gone, Gone

Well, he done did it, and that is why I am here with a blog post today when I originally said I wouldn't be here.

I warned you!

Anyway, President Joe Biden dropped out of the Presidential race on early Sunday afternoon, and has endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris, as his choice to succeed him.

All the delegates that Biden had are not necessarily directly given to Harris during the upcoming Democratic convention.

They are pretty much free agents, but I am sure that if the party wants Harris, they will go with her.

All of this adds more intrigue to this process--will Harris go unchallenged as the nominee?

Who will she name as her running mate?

What a mess!

All of this makes for an incredible day in U.S. history.

All the TV news anchors were rushed onto their respective networks' out-of-nowhere Sunday afternoon news broadcasts, and a lazy summer Sunday afternoon suddenly became tumultuous.

Was Biden pushed and forced to make this decision against his will? Word is that he is kind of bitter about it.

Was he forced to bow out because he was losing badly?

If so, who forced him into this decision?

You kind of think that former Presidents Obama and Clinton probably had plenty to do with this, but who knows?

Personally, I always thought the plan was for Biden to be a placeholder for Harris, and when he was unable to be president, Harris would be able to slide right into the role seamlessly.

Biden just so happened to survive during his first term as president, so now, it just took a little longer for that to happen. 

And you just know that race is going to be a major facet of this race, and it has already been so, as almost immediately, Hariis was quickly endorsed by several black organizations, as well as female organizations, obviously simply because of her race and gender, and nothing else.

That is just so wrong, but this type of racist and gender-biased thinking is passed off as OK today.

And let me posit this question--

If Biden is unable to run for another term, is he even fit to be our commander in chief right now and for the next six months?

My next question:

Will age still.play a role in the campaign, but this time, used against the Republican nominee?

Now that I have posited these two questions, the next question is an obvious one:

How does this impact the other side?

I really don't know.

I don't think it will change their platform or what former President Trump stands for, but his focus will now certainly be changed to Harris.

We will see exactly what that means during the next few months.

And as for me, I am not voting for Trump, I was not going to vote for Biden, and I am not going to vote for Harris.

In a funny way, they are all cut from the same cloth--politicians thst are not to be fully trusted-- and I won't cast a ballot for any of them.

And you know, there are independents that either agree with me or can go either way--

And Trump and Harris will need to court these voters ...

And the one that does the best doing so will win the election in November.

It's as simple--and as complex--as that.

Rant #3,395: Right and Wrong

I am the lucky recipient of 24 more physical therapy sessions, courtesy of my insurer.

This will bring me through October, which is the one-year anniversary of my first accident.

The extra time will allow me to get myself as good as I can be, and mixed in with all the work I have been doing at home, I think I can get back to about as close as i was prior to the first accident during the next three months.

I don't really think I will ever be the same--as if nothing ever happened--but I am going to get as close as possible.

I feel quite good right now, and I hope that I continue to feel good in perpetuity.

A life-changing experience like the two nightmares I went through does change you, not only physically, but mentally and emotionally, too.

I have learned to be less angry--what's the point, what happened happened and I can't over-analyze it anymore--and I have more patience--quite honestly, because I have to.

Everything takes a little longer to do now, and that probably will continue for the rest of my life.

But I can do everything, which is incredible, because a few short months ago, I was pretty much chained to my bed.

Yes, a life changing experience--in my case, two of them--changed my life, and I am sure I am not the only person who can say that after undergoing such horrors.

I bet our former president, Donald Trump, can attest to this.

He came within a whisker of losing his life via an assassin's bullet, and beyond his ear--which will certainly need some type of surgery to repair it--this incident certainly changed his life.

He has admitted to it.

I will bet that like me, he has had time to look at himself, and how lucky he is to be alive.

I am sure he has a bit more patience now, and is a bit more open to others' needs and wants.

He actually took a call from President Joe Biden, someone he detests, when Biden called to find out how he was doing.

And they both agreed to turn the temperature down on their campaigns.

Will this have any long-term effect on Trump?

It might, because he came thisclose to losing his life, and something like this kind of grounds you.

But he is who he is, and you cannot totally change your personality, but you can tone it down a bit.

And being that Trump is running for commander in chief, maybe it will have a residual effect on those who look at him as some type of god.

Incredibly, this is going to be a more difficult task, because those who believe this way have not had such a life-changing experience themselves.

Take, for example, the widow of the firefighter who was murdered by another bullet shot by that imbecile who was trying to hit Trump.

When President Biden called in his condolences, she refused to take the call, the very fiber of her being insulted by the effort.

It was the right thing for Biden to do, but the woman is so shell-shocked now that she showed absolutely no respect to the man or more importantly, to the office he holds 

Yet, Donald Trump--the very person who she believes will save the country from the evils of Biden--took a call from the President, someone he abhors and is, in fact, running against .

I'll give her a bye now, because she is at the beginning of her own life-changing experience, but she showed no manners, no respect, and no decorum in rejecting the call.

Trump could have done the same exact thing, but he rose above that ... and to that, he should be commended.

Yes, it will take some time for the woman--and others--to understand just how right Trump was to take the call, but this might be a new Trump--

And possibly even a new Biden.

We are talking about human life here--not a Republican's life, not a Democrat's life, but a HUMAN  life--

One that is way more important than politics 

This gesture is not going to make me vote for Biden or Trump, but it is something that we all should try to understand as best we can.

No, I am not comparing what I have been going through since last October with what Trump went through in that millisecond, but things that change your life like this not only change your body, but they can change your emotions and your mind.l and your soul.

Please, take it from me--

I don't want anyone reading this to have to go through such a situation firsthand to fully understand what I am talking about.

Just take it from me, and leave it at that.

I have an early doctor's appointment on Monday, so I won't be at my usual perch on that day.

I won't speak to you again on Monday--

But again, I told you that same thing last week, and with the latest events, there is no way I could stay away ...

And with more events possibly coming this weekend that need to be spoken about, I might have to again jump back on the horse and not take that day off.

We shall see what we shall see.

Have a good weekend, and I will speak to you again on Tuesday--

UNLESS ... 

I will let you figure out what that means.

Rant #3,394: i'm a Believer

Yesterday was a bit cooler than the day before.

It was only 93 yesterday, so it remained too hot for me, but somehow, the seven-degree downturn didn't do too much for me--

I was still hot as could be.

But I hear the temperature is going to continue to fall into the mid-80s beginning today, so that is a good thing.

I will find out later today about my future--or lack thereof--related to my physical therapy, but in the meantime, I did something that put me one step closer to normal, or to my "new" normal.

I actually purchased concert tickets for my family and I, but there is a story behind my decision to do so.

I saw this particular concert advertised late last week, and I thought about it, but I initially decided that I would sit this one out.

I simply do not know if I am ready to sit for a few hours watching a concert, so I crossed it off the list.

I then spoke with both a friend on the phone, as well as the head of the special-needs sports league that my son belongs to, and they both encouraged me to change my mind, for a variety of reasons.

The concert will take place at a smaller venue, one which is not too fa away from where I live.

It also has a minimum of steps, and that is what scares me the most--going up and down steps, even though I haven't had much trouble with steps, navigating them in my home several times a day--

But that is at home.

We are talking about concert venues, where there are normally staircases to navigate and people who want to get to their seats or leave when the concert is over ASAP.

Well, this place has a minimum of stairs, so it should not be a problem.

And the concert stars an artist who has been part of my life for nearly 60 years, one who i interviewed more than 30 years ago, and whose music I really like.

So, after speaking to my friend, it kind of got stuck in my mind, and then I spoke to the head of the league, and I decided right then and there to take the plunge.

The sports league guy has one good leg and one metal leg--not the correct term, but I can't think of the exact term to describe it--so if this guy is urging me to do it, he certainly knows what he is taking about.

Anyway, my first concert after my accident will be at Westbury Music Fair, or whatever they call it now, and we will be seeing Micky Dolenz, the last surviving Monkee, in what might be one of his final Monkees-related concerts.

I, of course, have seen him many times before, and he puts on a great show--

And if this guy, who is in his late 70s, can move around like he does with the energy of someone half his age, then I can manage to sit there for two or more hours watching him do his thing.

I noticed that ticket prices have increased since I last went to a concert there--two years ago to see the equally electric Tommy James--and now, you have to pay extra for an aisle seat, which I refused to do.

My family and I will sit in the middle of a row, and if I am uncomfortable, I can excuse myself and go into the lobby to stretch myself out.

And the date of the concert also made me feel better about the whole thing.

It is being held on December 14, which gives me a full five more months to get even better than I am now.

So the last-standing Monkee will help the still-sitting Larry, and I just know that everything is going to work out just fine.

If you are going, please let me know. It should be a nice evening, and I know I will be OK.

Honestly, if the concert was right now, I think.i would pass on it--

But with a five-month window to work with, I honestly believe I can pass the test and make it through, even if my leg tightens up a bit.

And I do feel that I am up to the task.

Hey hey!

Rant #3,393: Too Hot

Boy, yesterday was hot!

It was actually too hot to go swimming, at least according to my wife.

How hot was it on Tuesday in my neck of the woods?

Well, I was in my car driving to pick up my son from work, and at about 1:15 p.m., it hit 100 degrees.

And the humidity was also unbearable.

The reading was on my car dashboard, so I am going to go with it.

I actually was going to pull over and take a photo of the reading with my camera--since it was the first time I hit triple digits while driving this car--but I decided it wasn't worth the effort.

In my previous car, while driving home from a vacation, on I95 in Maryland, we hit 106, so while yesterday's reading fell a bit short of that, it is still significant.

In the morning, I did a couple of chores after I took my son to work, came home, ate lunch, did my exercises, did some work, and I then passed out on my bed for a quick nap.

After picking my son up from work, the temperature fell to about 98 degrees as we drove to get a haircut.

Finally driving home, the temperature fell as low as 93 degrees as we drove behind an ice cream truck for a good part of the way back.

And yes, I had my car air conditioning on while I was in the car, and yes, I had my bedroom air conditioning on when I was at home.

I simply cannot take the heat, and I was perspiring pretty well no matter what I did yesterday, whether driving my car or doing my physical therapy exercises.

And yes, I had a bottle of iced-up seltzer in my car, which helped keep me as cool and as hydrated as possible as it itself melted down from ice to liquid.

I am complaining now, in mid-July, and you just know that I, like everyone else, will be complaining this winter when it is bitter cold.

It is human nature to complain about the weather, and I am no different from anyone else.

And, at the very least, it is a subject that cuts across all of us, and it is something that we can all agree upon--

Unless we really like this kind of weather, but I can't imagine anyone really enjoying triple-digit weather ...

Although I know that humans being humans, some of my fellow New Yorkers just love this heat.

But like they say, "If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen," and I will be staying out of that part of my residence as much as possible while this heat wave continues.

I admit it; I simply can't take the heat.

Rant #3,392: I Feel Good

The Republicans began their convention yesterday, under the highest level of security.

There are protesters outside, and the reporter covering the convention for NBC noted that many of the protesters were carrying anti-Semitic and anti-Israel signs.

They are protesting against the Republicans and Donald Trump, so I assume they are voting for Joe Biden ...

And if my assumption is correct, then the Democrats have to be very, very worried.

This type of person is voting for Biden ... this is the description of who you want voting for the Democratic Party's candidate fir president?

Totally disgraceful.

I will give Trump one kudo--he and his fellow Republicans appear to be very pro-Israel, and fully back Israel in their fight against Hamas.

Somehow, I don't get the same impression of the Democrats.

Sure, these protesters may just be your everyday garden variety Hamas groupies, but is this the impression that the Democrats want to get out there?

If this is true, will the Jewish community abandon the Democrats and vote for Trump?

Lots of questions here, questions that need to be answered.

I also see thst Trump has chosen J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) as his running mate.

I admit that I know very little about Vance, other than the fact thst at one time, he was a very vocal critic of the former president, but his views have evidently changed.

And you just know that Vance is going to be grilled about this turnaround, so stay tuned ... and I hope that Vance knows exactly what he is getting into.

I guess all he has to do is speak with Mike Pence, Trump's first vice president, who his boss took through the shredder when he lost to Biden and he had his crybaby fit.

No crybaby fit for me, but I might be coming to the end of my physical therapy sessions.

In fact, my two-hour session yesterday might be my next-to-last session, unless my heath care company gives the OK for more sessions.

I spoke with my physical therapist.about this, and she said that although I have improved substantially since I began my sessions after the second mishap, there is only so much I can realistically improve.

My left leg is never going to be 100 percent the same as it was--believe me, there is a tremendous difference--and physical therapy brought me to a very good point, but I can't really expect that this thing that I have is going to entirely go away.

There are a whole group of exercises that I do at home that I will continue to do in perpetuity, and if I have to live with that, then I will.

Physical therapy has helped me immeasurably, and I am really grateful for the people who worked with me to get to the point I am at.

And my skin doctor told me that my scalp is just about healed from that cancerous lesion that he removed from it a few weeks back, so I am out of the woods with that.

So yesterday was a good day for me, and let's just hope that we, as a society, can tone things down a bit with all the political stuff.

When you have been where I have been during the past many months, you learn first-hand what really is important, and let me tell you, politics might be important, but your health, state of mind and personal well-being are even more important.

I hope it doesn't take what I have been through for people to open up their eyes, but it certainly did the trick for me--

And let me tell you, there is NOTHING more important than your health.

Trump? Biden?

Republicans? Democrats?

A mere bag of shells.

Rant #3,391: One Hit (To the Body)

I know I said that I would not be here today, but based on what transpired this weekend, I felt it was important for me to say something about this terrible tragedy we are all so aware of now.

We are learning more all the time about the attempted assassination of former Preident Donald Trump as he was campaigning in Pennsylvania.

This absolutely disgraceful episode demonstrates once again that our gun laws need strengthening.

It also demonstrates what a sick country--and world--we live in right now.

One more inch, and Trump might have been fatally hit.

Thank God, although shaken, Trump appears to be OK.

And what of the member of the audience who was killed, and the other audience members who were injured because a madman decided he would be judge, jury and executioner with his firearm?

Some say that Trump did not have the proper protection he should have been afforded as not only a presidential candidate, but as a former president.

Some say that only a major security breach could allow the shooter to get so close to the former president.

Some say that this attempted assassination will actually help Trump in his run against President Biden, and that his instinctive raising of a clenched fist will be used as a rallying cry for Republicans to retake the White House.

And the authorities are stating that since this incident occured, there has been an uptick in violent postings on social media.

What I am hoping is that Republicans and Democrats and all Americans come together for once, collectively looking at this incident as an attack against democracy.

We need unity now, not divisiveness.

And then, what about the weapon that was used?

It was purchased legally, but not by the shooter--

But by the shooter's father.

Again, why our society has a collective fascination with firearms is beyond my comprehension.

The political rhetoric has gone way too far on the gun issue.

The laws for owning guns need to be strengthened.

The shooter was not the gun owner, so how and why was he in the possession of his father's firearm?

Possessing a firearm that is not legally yours is something that needs to be looked fully into, and as far as I am concerned, the shooter's father is liable for this chaos his deranged son caused.

It is his gun, so he should be held fully responsible for how it is used.

And that statement does not abridge the rights of legal gun owners who take great care in the handling of their firearm(s).

We have an unfortunate history of gun-related violence, and going back to Lincoln, we have a horrid history of gun violence against presidents and presidential candidates.

Both the president and former president do agree on one thing: we all need to tone things down through November, and come together as Americans.

This "agreement" is a good first step.

Let's heed their call.

Things need to change, and they need to change right away.

Rant #3,390: Pay the Piper

It's finally Friday!

Now that I am back to my active self, the weeks go by quickly, and Friday, of course, always leads into the weekend.

When I worked full time, I always said that I was "working fir the weekend," and even as a remote worker, that goal still holds true.

In today's Rant, I want to talk about something I really don't like, and that is TV commercials.

Look, I know that they exist to pay the bills, but they are generally forgettable and boring, and they proliferate and pollute the airwaves.

But every once in a while, there is a TV commercial thst catches my fancy, usually due to its cleverness in setting out to do what it is supposed to do, which is, of course, to sell a product.

And I think that one currently running does just that in a funny and amusing way.

What I am referring to is that Hyundai Tuscon commercial, which I think is the best, and most tolerable, commercial on TV right now.

I am sure you have seen it.

Two people are involved in what quickly becomes a misbegotten blind date, when the guy knocks his date for her stature, and then talks all about himself--and then he admits he forgot his wallet, so his date will have to pay the bill.

The girl catches on pretty quickly that this isn't going to work, takes out her car key fob while the guy keeps on going, and then excuses herself, jumps into the car, and is done with it.

I know that the ad was created to show just how much the car can do as it prepares itself to be driven, but the commercial is kind of funny.

We have all been in situations like this, and how did we get out of them?

Hyundai provides a solution, and I think the ad is pretty clever in the way it approaches this situation.

So finally, there is a watchable TV commercial on the air right now!

And you can bet that today, tomorrow and on Sunday, whether I am busy or not, I will see this commercial sometime while watching TV.

"Sugar Mama" indeed!

If for some reason you haven't seen the commercial yet, you can view it at https://youtu.be/LtN_umrTBSI?si=lZgatHtMV42vG4xh.

Now once the weekend is over, I have a very busy Monday--

Highlighted, if that is what you want to call it, by a very early morning visit to the dermatologist.

It relates to that cancerous lesion that the doctor removed from my scalp a few weeks back.

I am hoping everything works out well there.

I also have another physical therapy session, and some other things to do, so I won't be at my usual perch on Monday.

Have a great weekend, and I will speak to you again on Tuesday.

Rant #3,389: Pipe Dream

Yesterday morning, I moved past another hurdle in my road to recovery.

I actually took a shower in the morning without any help.

This is the first time I have bathed myself since the end of October 2023, or when I first hurt myself.

Since then, my wife has helped me to take a shower, as I wasn't very stable in the bathtub due to my dodgy left leg.

But I have become more stable with my injured leg during the past few weeks, and it was time to see if I could do it all by myself--

And I could, so I can check thst off of my post-injury to-do list.

This was a major hurdle for me to overcome, and I was very careful as I got into the tub, put the shower on, and then shut the shower off and exited.

And it felt good to do it all by myself; this is an action that is second nature to all of us as we move on from being a toddler, but when you sustain an injury like I did, you have to learn how to do it all over again, and to put your fears in the rear-view mirror.

So I now can do everything I did prior to my mishaps, but I don't do them the same way or with the rapidly that I used to do these things.

But I can do them all, so I am 99 and 9/10 percent back to where I should be.

Look, I am never going to be as flexible as I once was, but I can certainly live with the way I feel right now.

I have come a long way, and I continue to work hard at both physical therapy and at home to get as close as I can to 100 percent, but even if I can't reach that level, I have impressed myself that I got--and am still getting--so close.

This latest success was a huge one for me, and yes, I am kind of proud of myself.

Looking back months ago, I had a lot of doubts about my condition and where it would take me, so I went from being bedridden to being fully mobile in just a couple of months.

Again, I was told my recovery would take seven-to-12 months, so now, about nine months into this, I am right on schedule--

And the next three months should be quite interesting.

I feel that I can do just about anything, and I fully expect to be able to do everything in the coming months.

Why not?

Rant #3,388: I'm Only Sleeping

My wife and I had our mattress delivered yesterday morning--

And what a difference a new mattress makes!

After sleeping on the same mattress for more than 30 years, we finally have a new one to sleep on.

This one is about one-and-a-half times as thick as what we had, so we are a bit higher in the bed than we were.

In fact, I was laying on the bed yesterday afternoon, decided to get up off of it, and I mismeasured my landing point. 

I stumbled a little bit, but I quickly realized what I had done, so I didn't fall.

But it is something to be aware of, especially in the middle of the night, when I need to go to the bathroom, and I am doing this while I am half asleep to begin with.

I just have to be very careful that I get my feet on the ground and don't stumble.

And what happened to our old mattress?

We had it carted away by the deliverers, for a price, of course.

We live in a world where nothing is free, so why should we get this service for nothing?

I never really realized how important your mattress is until I virtually lived in my bed for several months after my accident.

Spending so much time in my bed brought out the fact that my wife and I had gone way too long without a new mattress, and when we finally got a chance to change it, we did.

The mattress is a little stiff right now, but the two of us will break it in during the next few days and weeks.

I didn't sleep that great lsst night, but I don't know if it had to do with the stiffness of the new mattress or not.

I fell asleep right away, but I woke up after a short sleep and was wide awake for a while until I conked out again.

Did this have to do with the new mattress, or just my own restlessness, which comes and goes?

Who knows--I am leaning towards the latter--but the fact of the matter is that we needed a new mattress pretty badly, so I will just have to see how it goes during the next few days.

This might not be the only mattress we purchase in the near future.

My son's mattress is getting up there in age, too--it is probably about 26 or 27 years old--so if he needs a new mattress in the near future, we know where to go to get him what he needs.

What is next on our bucket list of things we need to do in our apartment?

I have no idea.

Let me sleep on it.

Rant #3,387: Heat Wave

New Yorkers complain about everything, and we certainly complain about the weather.

During the winter, we complain about how cold it is, completely missing the point that it is supposed to be cold during the winter months.

Now that it is the summer, I have heard nothing but complaints at how very hot it is--again, forgetting about the fact that it is supposed to be hot during the summer.

The heat we have now--mixed with the humidity--pretty much hits you right in the face, and it did so again today, where it hit 95 in my neck of the woods.

The actual temperature is supposed to come down a bit, but with the humidity mixed in, it simply is uncomfirtable--

And health wise for people like me, it is pretty bad.

New York State is talking about making all of the state's schools air conditioned, at least in part because it is getting uncomfortably warm earlier in the year, like this year when the heat came in June, or when kids were still in school.

This is an argument that has been around fir generations; I remember talk about air conditioning classrooms when I went to New York City schools in the 1960s and 1970s, and even when we moved to Long Island, there was talk about air conditioning the high school in the mid-1970s.

I never went to an air conditioned school in grade school, junior high school, or high school, only enjoying air conditioned classrooms when I reached college and grad school levels.

To air condition schools will cost millions, especially for older facilities which might have to be reconfigured to an extent to allow for air conditioning.

I do remember that some teachers I had, probably in high school, had fans in their classrooms, but I remember that the bulk of the classrooms that I had my classes in used those long rods to open and close the windows, and when it got warm, yes, it was quite uncomfortable.

And the heat is getting to everyone.

One local TV reporter is pushing the envelope a bit on what she is wearing when she does a location report.

Last week, I saw the reporter wear a top that showed a glimpse of a bare midriff, and the next day, she wore a top so low cut that she got away with only because she is as thin as a rail.

Look, I like looking at beautiful women as much as the next guy, but what she wore was totally inappropriate.

Many of the TV reporters wear light jackets over what they wear, and I am sure the jackets come off when they are not on camera, but you can bet that this particular reporter--a nice looking lady who is probably in her mid-20s--was spoken to, because she hasn't worn anything like this during the last couple of days of broadcasts.

Male reporters' attire is also changing, and if they are in the field, the jackets and ties are off, but if they are in the studio, the jackets and ties remain on them as they have been traditionally.

Attire is not what it once was on TV or in our regular lives, but there is a time and a place for everything, and reporting the news is not the place for the ladies to be showing too much.

Yes, there is a difference between the physique of men and women, and sorry, ladies, you still cannot--and should not--show too much when covering an on-location news story or when you are in the studio.

Back to the schools ...

Look, it would be easy for me to say, "Heck, I lived without air conditioning in my classrooms throughout my school years, so why can't today's kids be like I was--they don't need it to be educated."

But then I think back, and again, I remember how unbearable it was in the classroom when it got to the last month of the school year in June.

And during my brief teaching career, I remember the sweat pouring down from me during those hot June days.

The schools have heat for the colder months--would we want teachers and students to go without that?

But then again, is it worth the expense to cool down a school for just a month each year during the school year?

I just don't know ... but I won't sweat it--

I am not school age anymore, and I just paid a pretty penny of my own money to air condition my new residence's bedrooms.

And I am still hot!

Is it December yet?

Rant #3,386: That Was Then, This Is Now

My family and I had a pretty quiet weekend.

We were invited to a barbecue on Saturday, and we had a good time there.

As for me, I ate so much there, and it reminded me how much I miss the entire experience of barbecuing.

We can't really do it now, but when we lived in a house, it was part of every summer we lived there ...

But that was then, this is now--

And now, I can report that my ability to put on my socks was not a fluke, as I have done it a couple of days in a row with little problem.

I have to do it a bit differently now, and also a bit slower.

But I can do it, which means that I am one step closer to normalcy.

Or, at least, my own version of my personal "new normal."

It is certainly not what I projected a few years ago for myself, but I can live with it--

And what a difference to where I was!

I hardly use my cane anymore, and I pretty much just carry it in my car for walking support where needed.

I couldn't imagine having to walk with a cane even a year ago, but again, that was then, this is now.

One thing that hasn't changed through this entire ordeal is that my sense of humor has pretty much remained intact, and I still.laugh at the same things that I did 20, 30, 40, 50 ... even 60 years ago.

I know that to be true because in the evening, when there is little to watch during the summer, I have gone back to one of my all-time favorite TV shows to watch, and even though I have seen each episode probably 100 or more times, I still laugh at this show the same way I did when I was seven years old.

"The Abbott and Costello Show" has stood the test of time during the past 70 years, and it is one of the funniest sitcoms ever.

You must completely suspend belief during this show, and go with the storyline no matter how preposterous it may be--and preposterous it is.

The show follows the antics of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, who, in real life, were among the most popular and successful comedy teams of all time, but here, under their own names, play two constantly out of work actors living in a rooming house whose landlord is Sidney Fields.

The boys' neighbors include gorgeous Hillary Brooke, who Costello is smitten with; Mike the Cop, played by Gordon Jones, who is the most inept policeman this side of Toody and Muldoon of "Car 54, Where Are You"; Mr. Baccigalupe, the very ethnic grocer, baker, and whatever job fits the situation, played by Costello's real life brother in law at the time, Joe Kirk; and Stinky, the man child in the Little Lord Fauntleroy suit, portrayed by Joe Besser.

Fields plays a gaggle of different characters on the show, often within the very same episode.

The show is really about the trials and tribulations of Bud and Lou within their own alternate reality world of Los Angeles, who are constantly out of work, and all the messes the two get in and out of on each show.

Each episode incorporates various routines that Bud and Lou made famous--including "Who's On First"--and the show was a major influence on Jerry Seinfeld and his own show.

Carol Burnett also cites it as a major influence on her mode of comedy.

And if you are a Baby Boomer who lived in the New York Metropolitan Area in the 1960s, you invariably watched the show at all hours of the day and night on WPIX Channel 11, a station that "The Abbott and Costello Show" called home for probably 30 years or so.

Last week, I was watching the episode where "Bingo the Chimp" was introduced, and I was laughing so hard that I was crying--just like I did 60 years ago while watching the same exact show.

In real life, Bingo was supposed to be a regular member of the cast, but he bit Costello, so the Chimp only appeared on a few episodes, but they are all hilarious.

Back to the show in general ...

The great thing is that the show is available on numerous streaming channels, everywhere from YouTube to Tubi.

But I warn you, the openings and closings of the show are often cut on these channels, but you can find episodes with these parts of the show left in at the Internet Archive, which also allows you to download each episode on your devices.

You can find the show there at https://archive.org/details/abbott_costello_the_vacation

Just so much fun on hot summer nights.

So while some things truly are "that was then, this is now," some things are "that was then, and things stay the same now."

Truly, comfort food for the mind, and for your funny bone.

Rant #3,385: Twist and Shout

How was your Fourth of July?

Ours was OK; a little bit different, but OK.

Replacing the usual stuff--a barbecue and swimming--were getting on my socks and mattress-buying.

Let me explain.

After getting our TV reception fixed by Verizon--a coaxial cable did it, replacing WiFi, which wasn't working for us--we had an uncommon July 4.

The first interesting thing that happened yesterday was that I was able to get dressed all by myself, something I had not been able to do since my first accident at the end of October.

The last stumbling block to doing this was getting my socks on all by myself, and somehow--I must admit that i.am not exactly sure exactly what I did--I was able to get my left sock on yesterday morning with absolutely no help.

That, to me, is a major accomplishment. The left sock has been my stumbling block, but yesterday, I actually did it!

Was it a fluke?

I am out to.prove that it wasn't, but we will know in a couple of minutes from now whether I can do it again.

Of course, I did this while sitting on my bed, and that bed will be changing going into next week.

One of the things on my and my wife's to-do list was to get another mattress.

We have been sleeping on the same mattress for more than 30 years, and it is pretty much shot.

The mattress is uncomfortable, even more so since I injured myself.

Some of the springs have broken through the mattress' outer covering, so every once in a while, I roll over and feel a little pinch.

So finally, we just decided to replace the old with the new, and we even purchased a new mattress that was on sale.

It still is going to cost us plenty, but the time had come, and early next week, we will have a new mattress to sleep on.

After all of this that happened in the morning, we had the quietest July 4 imaginable, and when it came to dinnertime, we celebrated the holiday by going out to eat.

We went to a local eatery that we hadn't been to in ages, the food was good, and we had a nice time.

Today, it is back to business, but I am sure it is going to be fairly quiet.

We actually have a barbecue to.go to this weekend. 

On Sunday, if the weather holds up, I will finally get to a local pool, and relax before the coming work week.

So, it wasn't really that bad replacing swimming and a barbecue with putting on my socks and buying a new mattress.

Not the typical July 4 for myself and my family, but what has been typical for us for the past nine months or so?

Have a great weekend, and I will speak to you again on Monday.

Rant #3,384: Celebrate

We are right at the cusp of another great celebration.

Indepedence Day is tomorrow on July 4, and it should be another great holiday, as our nation celebtrates its 248th birthday.

There will be parades, picnics, barbecues, swimming, baseball, and plenty of fireworks, and yes, people who will never learn will be literally playing with fire by setting off their own fireworks.

Just the other day, some imbecile in my neck of the woods blew off one hand, and a few fingers on his other hand, by setting off fireworks.

Personally, I never got the fanaticism we have for fireworks, but if we have to have them, leave them to the professionals.

But back to the day itself--

This is our country's birthday, and it is a day that we all can collectively participate in and celebrate.

This not not one of those "faux" independence days, days which do not unite us at all.

This is the REAL DEAL.

A few years ago, in Rant #2,173, dated July 3, 2018, I spoke about the resiliency of our nation as we were about to celebrate another July 4.

Here is what I said, in edited form:

"Tomorrow is July 4, a big day in our country, recognized as our country's birthday.

So if I did my math correctly, tomorrow, this country is 248 years old.

And for a 248 year old, we are holding up pretty well, although there are people out there who want to divide us, who want to destroy what we have here.

Let them try.

As a nation, we have the resolve to quash any attempt to put us down, whether internally or externally.

We still have lots to learn about what motivates some people to despise this country so, but for every person who hates this country, we have thousands who want to come here, settle here, and live their own versions of the American dream.

So this country can't be that bad; in fact, it remains the greatest country in the world, where your dreams can come true.

Sure, luck plays a big hand in all of this, but the thought is that this is the country where we are most likely to reach our goals, to live, like my father used to say, "the good life."

And with all that is going on now, what I said six years ago continues to resonate.

This is the greatest country on this planet, and tomorrow, we can celebrate as one, as a country.

Let the haters hate. They can never break our spirit as we get one year closer to our 250th birthday.

Are you doing anything special.for the holiday?

Again, this July 4 will be quite different for myself and my family this time around, for obvious reasons 

We don't have a backyard anymore, we don't have a pool anymore, and we can't barbecue anymore.

If the weather holds up, maybe my family and I can get to one of the town pools.

We will also celebrate the holiday by eating out at a local restaurant.

And all of this will be set in motion today, when the Verizon technician is scheduled to visit our residence, and fix, once and for all, our TV reception.

Oy, I just can't wait.

Heck, if this thing isn't fixed, there might be fireworks coming from my residence that will rival the holiday fireworks.

Let's hope we don't get to that point.

Have a great and safe July 4, and I will speak to you again on Friday.

Rant #3,383: Keep the Ball Rolling

First the good--

Everything is going pretty well now for myself and my family.

I had another productive physical therapy session--

In spite of the fact thst my left leg was a bit stiff yesterday, continuing a trend that has spanned about a week or so.

In the middle of physical therapy, my wife received a call, and she was told that she was hired by a local retailer.

It is only a part-time job, just a few hours a week, but it will keep her occupied, put some money in her pocket, and I hope it all works out.

She begins on Monday, so let's all keep our fingers crossed that this job is a good fit for her.

Now the bad--

These are bad times for others, and I just heard that Redbox's parent company filed for bankruptcy.

Redbox was a nice, easy way to watch the newest movies, but with streaming dominating the home video market, Redbox became nothing but an afterthought.

My family occasionally rented videos from the Redbox operating at a local 7-11, but we haven't rented anything from them in a couple of years.

The company is in arrears for over $1 billion, and many people don't end up paying for their rentals, so the company is in quite a bit of trouble.

I think that Redbox could go the way of Blockbuster and other video stores--

There is simply no need for such a service at this point in time.

Streaming has simply taken over how we view and listen to our entertainment nowadays, and until something else comes along, the need to use and own and rent an actual piece of software is next to nil.

A good idea for the time, but unless Redbox somehow changes its business model--like Netflix did--it is doomed.

And then we have COVID, which will never go away.

It will continue to reinvent itself, and people are still going to get it, shots or no shots.

We now have a new version of the virus, and I know at least two people who have it.

I just found out that they had it yesterday, after one of them texted me that her husband had it--

And just a few minutes later, that she had it, too.

I have heard that several states have been inundated by this reformatted virus, so like the flu, the common cold, and countless other maladies, it isn't going away anytime soon, or ever.

So COVID is still around ... what more can one say about it that hasn't already been said?

Stay vigilant, but don't ever panic, like some still would want you to do.

Me, I am just going to work hard and be diligent about what I have to do to continue to improve the mobility of my left leg.

Just go about my business, and hopefully, the good times for my family and I will continue.

Right now, we are on something of a roll, and I don't want that ever to stop!

Rant #3,382: Enough Is Enough

My family and I had a very quiet weekend.

We had hoped to go to one of the local town pools to cool off, but the weather wasn't that great, so we stayed away.

I did have another scrap with Verizon on Saturday, as the TV picture was freezing constantly for hours.

I got fed up earlier, as I was watching the Yankees game, and the screen froze up right in the middle of one of Aaron Judge's epic swings.

A few hours later, I had just about had enough, and the associate I spoke with did an end around against his own employer, so while a technician will be coming to our residence to look over the situation--and hopefully fix the problem for good--we won't have to pay for it, as the technician classified it as a "full outage," even though it wasn't.

Don't ask. 

Let's see what, if anything, happens.

And I am pretty much telling you only about half of the full story about what Verizon put me through late Saturday; take it from me, you don't want to know.

And by the way, I ordered a wrestling pay per view event for my son ...

Let's see if we are charged double for it, as has been the norm during the past few months.

As I said time and time again, Verizon's service does not work correctly, and we are paying enough for it so it should work without glitches.

Since I found out that others on Long Island and in other parts of the country are experiencing the same exact problem as we are, I wonder if a class action lawsuit might be in order here.

Something to ponder, if this thing isn't fixed, as we move into July 4 ... our country's true Independence Day.

With talk about other Independence Days happening in June, now thst we are in July, there is only one independence Day, and that is on this coming Thursday.

More about that later in the week--

As there will undoubtedly be more talk about President Jie Biden bowing out of the Presidential race.

As I previously told you, I fell asleep too early to watch the debate, but evidently from what I have read and seen on the news, the President appeared to be almost completely out of it--

So much so that many people are questioning his ability to be the Commander In Chief for another four years.

Look, I am.no fan of his, but everyone can hem and haw about his debate performance, but he isn't going anywhere, and he isn't bowing out.

To begin with, I do believe he is a placeholder for Vice President Kamala Harris to ease into the Presidency if her boss can't do it anymore--

And that plan holds true for the remainder of Biden's current term and throughout another term should he beat former President Donald Trump.

So he won't bow out, because it would upset the Democratic Party's master plan.

Get used to it, and rather than complain, when you step into the voting booth in November, make the right choice--

And no, it isn't Biden, nor is it Trump.