Rant #3,424: Police and Thieves

Thankfully, this is the end of a very tumultuous week for myself and my family.

I would like to put this week totally behind me, and one way of doing that leading into the Labor Day weekend and holiday was for me to go back to physical therapy on Thursday.

And I am happy to say that I didn't miss a beat there, although I went there just this one time during this crazy week, not the usual two times that I normally do.

I did everything I had to do, and while I was a bit winded, it felt good going there, using all the machines, and working out as I did.

I told some people a very truncated version of what I went through the past few days, and nobody can believe it.

But I am OK, and that is what counts.

What made this incident even worse was that I actually had a car stolen more than 30 years ago--two days before I was to be married.

On the evening of June 4, 1993, I drove to a friend's apartment, a building that was parallel to the Van Wyck Expressway in Queens.

He was taking me out to a restaurant in Manhattan--I don't remember which one, but I think it featured Tex-Mex fare--and I found a parking spot right in front of the building next door to where my friend and his spouse lived.

We had a nice evening, and we returned back to his apartment, and it was time for me to go.

I went to where I had parked my car, and it was gone.

I walked up and down the block, thinking that perhaps I hadn't parked it where I said I parked it, but I walked up and down the street several times, and it was gone.

The building that I parked in front of had a doorman, and I questioned if he had seen anything, and, of course, in broken English, he said to me something akin to the "I know nothing" response by Sgt. Schultz from "Hogan's Heroes."

So my car was gone, I went back to my friend's apartment, and I called the police.

About 20 minutes later, there is a knock at the door, and two policemen were there to hear my story--

And they seemed to be sent from central casting, not from "Hill Street Blues" or even from "Adam-12," but my luck--

From "Car 54, Where Are You."

Yes, two carbon copies of Toody and Muldoon, one short and heavy and one tall and skinny.

About the only thing differentiating them from Joe E. Ross and Fred Gwynne were that they were black.

The Toody lookalike was coughing and sneezing all over the place during the time I was giving them my information, while the.tall Muldoon lookalike didn't look.like he had much of a clue about what I was describing to them.

After I gave them the information and they left, my friend drove me home at about one or two in the morning.

Suffice it to say, I never got my car back--

And one of the local channel's news shows, subsequently, just a few weeks later, did a story about the increase of cars being stolen from that area, and the focus of those that were doing the stealing, the Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, the exact car of mine that had been stolen.

My car was at least 10 years old, I bought it when it was about seven or eight years old, and the report said that these cars were being targeted, not to drive, but for parts.

These cars were hot wired, stolen and driven to any number of Brooklyn chop shops, where they were dismantled.

And yes, the police were looking into doormen being involved, getting paid to scope out the Olds and some other cars ripe for stealing.

But the police theorized this, had no solid proof that these doormen--including the one I questioned--were directly involved.

But that was the way it worked.

So looking back to what happened to me more than 30 years ago, you can see why I reacted the way I did when I didn't see my car this past weekend.

It was deja vu all over again ... it was not really a panic attack, but it was more an attack of.panic.

And if you remember, about a year ago, I caught somebody preparing to steal my car's catalytic converter right in front of my old residence.

If this idiot didn't see me peer out our old front window, he would have done this.

It happened to my sister's car, and it could happen to anyone's vehicle.

So when I didn't see my car the other morning--and then found out how absolutely ridiculous this whole situation was--you can understand why I had to speak to management the way I did--

And again, funny, I have had no problem finding a "Visitors" parking space since I let it be known to management that this situation can never happen again.

Anyway, have a great weekend, and I will speak to you again on Monday--

Have car, will travel.

Rant #3,423: Cover Me

Nothing new on the car parking situation where I live.

Suffice it to say that once again, yesterday I had absolutely no problem finding a "Visitors" space, and once again, I parked in such a space a couple of steps from my front door.

Curious, isn't it?

To move onto something else, I notice that Nassau County's mask mandate notched its first culprit, some teenaged imbecile walking the streets of nearby Levittown who just happened to be carrying a 14-inch knife concealed on his person as he sauntered through the streets with a face covering disguising his features.

When asked what he was doing there, he said he was sent to "rob someone" by another party. Police did not elaborate on who that other party was.

So chalk.up one on the plus side of the new masking law, a law that has gotten some people into a major kerfuffle.

The law says that someone can be arrested if that person uses a mask to hide his or her identity.

It allows for people to wear masks for health reasons, for religious reasons, and for reasons having to do with celebrations, such as on Halloween.

So why are people getting their pants so twisted over this?

Because those against the law are providing false information to those who choose to wear masks in public.

This is a tempest in a teapot. No.police officer will come up to you on the street asking you to present a doctor's note about why you are wearing a mask.

This law is to generally prevent large gatherings of people who are masked--such as those pro-Hamas protests that will continue once the school.year begins again--from not being easily identified if they are breaking the law. 

It also gives police another reason to stop someone if they look like they are up to no good, such as that idiot packing a knife looking to rob someone.

It is OK to protest, but when you verbally attack certain people, you deface property, and you assemble in areas that are prohibited, you are breaking the law, and the police need to have a clearer picture of these people, who generally wear masks and other facial coverings to make it more difficult to identify them.

This has absolutely nothing to do with wearing a mask for your health, something that opponents of this law purposely confuse people with to make them suspicious of the law's intentions.

Wear a mask for health, but if you are wearing a mask to hide your identity as you terrorize people, you will now be breaking the law.

And what is wrong with that?

Heaven knows what that thug with the knife could have done if he were not stopped.

My son wears a mask when he goes to work and plays sports--he has done it since the pandemic--and it is his choice to do so.

I seriously doubt a police officer will stop him for wearing his mask.

And by the way, say what you want, but my.son, thank God, never got COVID, even though everyone around him did--including family members like his mom and I--and he was around all of us.

No, he won't get stopped, nor will your elderly friend or relative, who wears the mask entirely for health reasons.

Hamas groupies in large assemblages will get stopped, and that is among the population that this new law is targeted to.

So all the cries of "foul" are completely unfounded, a total misinformation campaign perpetrated by those who are bending the meaning of the law to satisfy their own agendas.

Even the mayor of New York City has applauded this new law, and is looking into it being enacted in New York City--specifically targeting the same miscreants that the Nassau County law is aimed at.

The law is a good one, and should be enacted without the misinformation campaign hounding it.

You want to be stupid by your idiotic actions ... let everyone see who you really are.

Rant #3,422: Curious

I spoke to the manager of the community we live in on Tuesday morning, again about the parking situation here.

I apologized to him for the way I left his office on Monday, and he said he understood my frustration.

I said that my anger was misplaced; it should have been directed at the community's owners ... and with pen and pad in hand, I asked him who the owners of the development are.

"I can't give you that information because it isn't one owner, it is many owners," he said.

I thought that there must be an umbrella title for the ownership group, but he simply would not give me the name or any other information on them.

I thought that was odd, and I guess that if I need that information in the future, I can get it at Town Hall.

But on the plus side, the manager did tell me that my discussion with him must have had an impact, because he has spoken with the ownership group via email about freeing up some of the parking spots that are not being used by residents without a car and making them available specifically for multi-car residents like myself.

He could not give me a timetable, or any other information on this, but it is a start.

I realize he may just be giving me lip service, but I do believe--I want to believe--what he told me.

I drove my son back and forth to work today, and I found it funny--and curious--at the number of "Visitors" spaces that were open.

Even at 2:30 p.m. in the afternoon, I often have trouble finding a "Visitors" space to park in, and today, I could have 10 cars and find a "legal" spot for each one.

Very curious indeed--

Have workers at the complex been taking up all of these spots for their cars during their workday, and now are being told to only park in "worker-designated" areas, which we also have here?--

And when they leave, are desperate residents who need these spots to park in jumping into these spots like bees moving onto flowers to pollinate?

I am just speculating here, but I did find that to be plenty odd--

Let's see how this all plays out during the next days, weeks and months.

And yes, with a plethora of spots for me to choose from, my car is parked in a "Visitors" spot, one which just so happens to be a hop, skip and a jump away from my front door.

Very curious indeed.

I have found that sometimes you almost have to be forced to open up your mouth and say something, or absolutely nothing will get done.

Maybe this was one such instance.

But yes, all of this is very curious indeed.

Rant #3,421: No Way Out

Related to my previous post, Monday was a horribly busy day for me.

Under these bizarre circumstances, there is no way I could have gone through the prostate procedure yesterday.

I was simply too busy trying to work out a solution to the problem I was faced with on the weekend.

Let me count the ways.

1) A little after 9 a.m., I went to the management office, and presented my case to the manager, pretty much stating that the towing of my car in the middle of Friday night can never happen again.

He again said that while he understands the problem, there is nothing he can do about it.

There is one parking space for each of the 200-plus apartments here, and within the last year, they added some extra "Visitor" spaces, and they are simply out of space.

He gave me no solution about where I could safely park, even though there are dozens of "Legal" spaces open each day and night, but they cannot be used by those residents without a parking permit, so anyone in a two-or-more car family is out of luck.

I asked him about a reserved spot--I have seen dozens of them on the premises--and he said that having such a spot does not mean you get an additional spot, that is your one "legal" spot.

He also told me that some residents give their parking permits to health aides, who come from out of the development ... so there are people who don't even live here who are parking in "legal" spaces where someone like me, who lives here, has to park in a "Visitors" parking spot, or risk getting towed away.

Further, some residents without cars give their permit to friends and relatives, who then have a spot to park in when they visit--

So again, non-residents are using the "legal" prlsrking no matter how frequently or infrequently they come here, and i, a resident, can't use that parking.

Something tells me that a rule about transferring the ownership of a spot to non-residents is desperately needed here, wouldn't you say?.

There is an unsecured shopping center across the street with plenty of parking spots, and while the manager said I could park there, "If you parked there and something happened, you would have no recourse," and I would also have to cross a major multi-lane roadway, which is hard enough to maneuver when you are in your car ... can you imagine how difficult it would be on foot?

"So, what am I supposed to do if I come home, drive around and around here, and I simply cannot find a 'Visitors' parking spot?" I asked.

"I don't know," he said. "This problem has come up in the past, and I can't help you."

"So whenever I leave here using my car, I have to prepare for anxiety, as whatever time I come back here--morning, day or night--if I can't find a 'Visitors' space, I risk the possibility of being towed," I said to him.

"I am sorry, but I don't have a solution for you ... there is nothing I can do about it."

I got up, and never raising my voice during this half-hour discussion, I said to him the following:

"If I ever come home here during any part of the day, and I am forced to park in a regular spot after driving around and not being able to find a 'Visitors' spot, and if I am towed away again, I will sue you."

2) After this debacle, I drove around trying to find what I thought was a precinct annex near where I live. 

I simply wanted to ask the county police if this parking scenario was legal, and also to do another thing, which was a bright idea I had which I will tell you about in a moment.

I used Google Maps, which pointed me to such an annex, but lo and behold, the annex does not exist, the directions I had been given by Google Maps was wrong, and I ended up in a part of the surrounding community that i had never previously been in, but somehow found my way home.

3) I got home, ate a quick early lunch, and found a non-emergency county police number where I could ask where the local precinct was--a couple of towns east of where I live.

I finished eating, and I went to the precinct.

4) I got to the precinct, and asked about the legalities, from their end, of the parking situation where I live.

It took the desk cop about 10 minutes to ascertain that I live in Suffolk and not Nassau County, as the development where I live straddles both counties--again leading me to believe that redistricting has shifted where I live from Nassau to Suffolk.County.

When the desk cop told me that every community can make their own rules about parking, I directly dove into my bright idea that I told you about a few sentences back.

"How do I apply for a handicapped parking pass?" I asked.

Look, I do not consider myself "handicapped" in any way. Due to an excellent surgeon, supetb physical therapy, and my own attitude, including the exercises I do at home, I can move around as good as I can, under the circumstances--

But let's be honest about it; I was critically injured not once, but twice, and I am not yet a year removed from that horror.

And also, walking isn't as free and easy as I would like it to be.

So I went that route, and yes, there are several handicapped spaces set up in my community that I can use to park my car safely.

I asked about the use of the handicapped parking permit in Nassau and Suffolk counties, and the policeman told me that the pass is valid across the counties, and in New York City too.

She gave me the paperwork, and I drove home.

5) I got home, and started to fill out the form for the pass and get some other documents together, including a copy of my driver's license and other documents that I had to scan and print out.

But I found that I also needed my surgeon's OK to get the pass--I needed his signature and some other information only he could provide before mailing this all out.

I called up his office, and they told me that I could bring in the form for the doctor to sign, but he would not sign it right then and there, and that I would have to wait about seven to 10 days for the office to get the signed form back to me.

I thought that this was ridiculous, but after all the craziness I had already been through, this was kind of par for the course.

I drove to the surgeon's office--again, several towns away from me, even past the police precinct--and figured that even getting the material seven to 10 days from now would be worth the wait if I actually received the.permit.

So I galloped over to the office, gave them the material to sign ... and the doctor signed it on the spot.

6) I came back to my community, bought some larger envelopes to put all of this material in, affixed stamps to the envelope, and went to the local post office to mail this very important parcel.

I did not finish this entire thing until 3:30 p.m. ... and would you believe I even fit in some work in this more than six-hour fiasco?

I was really worn out, but I hope that it will all have a happy ending ...

And the craziness that I went through today justified putting off that elective procedure, at least for now.

And, by the way, I parked in the one "Visitors" spot I could find when I was finished with what I did today--

All's well that ends well ... I hope.

Rant #3,420: All Strung Out

I was not supposed to be here today--

But circumstances beyond my control have allowed me to put off my treatment, and as a result, take care of other business.

Let me tell you what happened.

I was all prepared to go through with this prostate thing as scheduled for today.

I have all the medicine, and my mindset was a go.

But on Friday night, I had one of the scares of my life.

I was watching TV in our living room with my son after a great birthday dinner we had for him at a local restaurant.

I fell asleep on the couch at about 9 p.m., maybe even earlier, and I woke up at about 11:15 p.m. or so.

I got up from the couch, shut off the living room air conditioner, and went over to the front window in the kitchen to open it and let some fresh air in.

I then crawled into my bed, and slept until about 1:30 a.m.

I woke up, went to the bathroom, and then decided to go into the kitchen ...

Half asleep, with one eye open, I looked out the window--

And my car was gone.

Yes, gone.

I yelped, and my wife and son woke up, and that was literally the beginning of an about three-hour panic attack that I had, as I went about trying to find where my car was.

To make a long story short, I finally located the car at an auto body shop a few towns away from where we live.

My family and I enjoy where we live, but there are a bushel of negatives, one being that the parking situation here is terrible.

Every family that lives here is eligible for a single parking pass, whether they have zero cars or five cars, so since my family and I have two cars, one can "legally" park anywhere on the premises, while the other car can only "legally" park in Visitors parking here.

There are very few "Visitors" spaces spotted around the development, and I looked, and could not find any of these spaces that were open near our apartment, so I had the audacity to park in what was a non-legal space for my car--

And my car was towed away, probably between 9 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. or so.

(Suffice it to say that I have had to do this before, and never had a problem--and yes, 99 percent of the time, I park in a "Visitors" space.)

I was able to find out what towing company did the job, called them probably around 2 a.m., and got what was called "the answering service," which I later found out was not a separate service, but part of the towing company.

They told me that I would have to "make an appointment" to pick up my car if they, in fact, had it, a point that they never made clear to me.

The person also told me that the business was closed for the weekend.

I told them that I needed the car, not on Monday, but on Saturday, as I prepared for this Monday morning medical procedure.

They could not guarantee anything, and they still had not told me about having the car or not ...

But why would they engage with me like this if they didn't?

Clearly frustrated, my wife and son somehow went back to sleep, but I couldn't... or at least I couldn't until about 4:30 a.m., when somehow, I conked out in spite of myself.

I slept about two hours, shaved, showered and got dressed, and I called the company back at about 7 a.m.

Again the "answering service" went back and forth with me, but using my skills as an interviewer, I was able to weasel out of them thst they did, in fact, have my car, and I later found out through Facebook--don't ask--thst someone would call me at about 8 a.m. to arrange for pickup--

They did at about 8:15 a.m., my wife took me over there, and I had my car--

After paying $260 in cash, which included the towing fee and "overnight" storage fee--and yes, to demonstrate how sleazy this was, they would only take cash.

How this impacted what I was supposed to partake in today is that I was nervous enough about having this procedure done, and this new incident pushed me over the edge.

I canceled the procedure for this morning, because I believe in omens.

I believe this car thing was God's way of telling me to hold off on this procedure, which was elective to begin with.

I have been told that all the prior tests I have taken have shown nothing amiss with my prostate, so I am sure that this extra test is not needed, at least not right now--

A thought bolstered by the fact that I have another blood test scheduled with my regular doctor in about two weeks ... we will see what my numbers related to my prostate are then, and will act accordingly if they are, once again, of concern.

I know, this sounds like a "dog eating my homework" scenario, but my stomach and psyche continue to be in tight knots--

And this is not the right time to do this procedure ... and based on the numbers, we will see if I need to reschedule that test.

My regular doctor even told me to hold off on seeing the urologist in the first place, and so, my rush to get this over with helped put me into this pickle I found myself in.

So it is all on me, at least until.mid-September.

And again, I have not told you the full story, which is much worse--if it possibly can be--than the one I described.

I will use my now-free Monday to speak to management here where my family and i live about what i went through.

Call me chicken, call me negligent, call me a procrastinator or what you like, but under these horrid circumstances, I believe I am doing exactly the right thing.

I am just too stressed out right now to have this procedure done today.

And my prostate, my car, and my head agree with me entirely.

Rant #3,419: i Remember

I am going to end this week with a nice entry.

Today is my son's 29th birthday.

I literally cannot believe that he is 29, and I have to say, the time has gone fast.

I remember the moment he was born, I remember him as a baby, I remember him as a little kid, and I remember his school years.

It is incredible watching.somebody grow up right before your eyes, but I have had that experience with my son.

It is not an experience to be taken lightly.

I remember all of his trials and tribulations as he was growing up, all the positives and all the negatives, and all of the challenges, the trials, the tribulations, and the triumphs.

I remember when we were told that he would amount to nothing, and I remember when he received his high school diploma.

I remember his first job when he was 15 years old, and I member going with him when he was hired for his current job.

I remember him in Little League, and I remember when he actually pitched and saved one of our team's wins, which just happened to be the last game I coached.

I remember him bowling two games of over 200, and all of the good--and bad--games he has bowled.

I remember all the ballgames, concerts and wrestling shows we have gone to, and all the vacations we have had.

And I remember how much he helped me--and continues to help me--as I battle my injuries.

And with all of these remembrances, my wife and I are just so proud of this guy who, I will repeat, we were told would amount to nothing.

Personally, i could not have asked for a better son, and the sky really is the limit for him.

I wish him the happiest of birthdays, and many, many more.

And I know he will help me in any way he can as I go through this procedure on Monday morning.

I am sure I am going to be OK, but I can't yet tell you when I will be back at my perch here.

So have a great weekend, and I will speak to you again sometime next week.

Please keep me in your thoughts.

Rant #3,418: Get Ready

Yesterday was a quieter, less frustrating day for me than Tuesday was.

The most important thing that I did was to purchase the medicine I need for the procedure I am going through on Monday.

I really don't want to think about it, as I am more petrified of this procedure than I ever was about my two leg operations.

I just have to look at it as "personal maintenance," I guess, and something I really need to do.

I know the prep is much worse than the procedure, and I guess that I will be ready when the bell rings and it is time to have this done.

I wish that there was a better way, but there simply isn't.

I keep on telling myself that I will be fine, and I do believe that--

But honestly, I have to keep telling myself that I will be fine, which isn't the best way of looking at it, but it is the only way I can do it.

I.lived through a similar procedure with my colon when I was in my 40s--they found nothing amiss--and I am sure thst the same thing will happen this time around.

I have a busy weekend coming up, so that will certainly take my mind off of this, at least temporarily.

I will manage.

Have any of you had this prostste procedure done? Anything to say about it?

Please let me know.

I guess misery does love company.

But right now, I still have plenty to do before I begin the prep, so I am going to go ahead and do what I have to do.

Thank goodness that overall, I feel pretty darn good, so this is only going to be a hiccup, nothing more--

I hope.

And if anything is found, let's get it taken care of ASAP.

I am ready ...

I think.

Onward and upward!

Rant #3,417: Frustration

I had a bit of a frustrating day yesterday.

Everything I did was a bit of a chore ... nothing to do with me, directly, but nothing went too smoothly yesterday.

Without going into every nook and cranny about why the day was so frustrating, I will just tell you about one incident, or some similar problems that led to one frustrating incident after the other.

On the way home from my son's work and then, both of us getting haircuts, I decided to get gas, because my family and I have several things to do leading up to, and including, this weekend, where I will be doing a bit of driving.

So I pull into a local gas station, and a Prius--a fully electric car--pulls ahead of me and parks right along side a pump in a gas station where every pump was taken. except the one that the Prius was at.

Happily, another car pulled away and i got the one right behind the Prius, where I parked my car to get gas.

Why an electric Prius is parked next to a gas pump is beyond my comprehension, but my gas-propelled car needed gas, so I was happy to find an open pump.

I decided to pay with my debit card, but for some reason, the pump would not take the card, even after trying more than once.

I then tried another card--a card attached to an account I use only to pay rent and for nothing else--and again it would not take my card--

But get this: it also wouldn't give my card back to me, and it was seemingly stuck in the pump's card reader.

So I went into the gas station's building, and the attendant behind the window told me that my cards were no good, and the pump keeps such a card until prompted from inside to release it. I guess that is a safety measure.

So he sets the prompt to release the card, I go out to retrieve the card, and I go back inside, try to use the two cards there, and they still won't work.

I ended up giving the attendant whatever cash I had on me, and filled up my car.

I drove away--the Prius had already left, with its driver maybe finally figuring out that the pump he pulled along side of is only for gas--dropped my son off at home, and went to the two banks the cards emanate from.

I went to the first bank, and they have a new rule that if you are waiting to speak with someone on the floor, you have to check in with your phone by scanning a QR code and filling in a questionnaire with your name and what you want to speak to the associate about.

To make a long story short, i refused to check in like this, and simply told the associate that their cards are not working, and she let me slide without doing this nonsense.

The bank associate told me that the chip.on the card was no good, and gave me another card--even though I use the sheath given out to protect the card so this won't happen.

I left to my car, but one of those Brinks trucks--the one with all the money, and with guards with guns--pulled up directly right behind me.

You just can't go over to them when they are handling money and ask them to move, so I had to somehow squirrel myself out of my spot, holding up other bank car traffic in both directions while doing so.

Then I went to the second bank, with the same complaint about their card--

And they told me that the bank's card system was going through an upgrade, and people trying to use their card could not use the card until the update was complete.

"When is this upgrade going to be completed?" I asked.

"I really don't know," said the bank associate. "We haven't been told anything at the bank. Maybe tomorrow, maybe not."

Just for kicks, I tried to use my card to get my status at the bank's ATM, and lo and behold, it sent a message to me that I had used up the number of times I could use my pin number, so it would not give me my account status!

(By the way, both banks told me that my account status was fine.)

Why the bank did not put out a warning to all customers that they might have trouble with their cards is beyond me.

And why they don't know when this problem will be rectified ... ?

Technology is wonderful, except when it doesn't work, and I think I proved that belief today, without a shadow of doubt.

We--me too--rely too much on this technology, and when it doesn't work, we are stuck like a duck in quicksand.

And I am only telling you the half of it ...

Yesterday was as frustrating a day as I have had in quite a while, and we are only at Wednesday now--

What more can add to my frustration as the week goes on?

Rant #3,416: Dark Eyes

My eye examination went well.

No problems at all, I received a clean bill.of health from my doctor, and I don't have to go to the retinologist for another year.

Of course, I really couldn't see very clearly with my eyes being dilated as they were, so it was a pretty much wasted day for me.

It took hours for the solution to wear off--i even managed to take a nap to try and wash the stuff out of my eyes--and through it all, I thought that there has to be a better way of doing this--

Which, of course, there isn't.

I am hoping in the future, they come up with something ...

Just like for that next test I have to go through, which I am completely dreading.

But you gotta do what you gotta do.

Back to the eye exam ...

I did ask the doctor about driving at night, and the problem I was having driving when it is dark.

I can drive, but I find that my vision simply isn't what it once was at night, particularly on highways where the lighting is non-existent or at best, terrible.

The doctor told me that this was pretty much a by-product of the macular degeneration that I have, and it has nothing to do with the glasses that I am wearing, something I kind of figured.

He basically told me to limit my night driving, and honestly, I drive at night maybe once a week, and I am really careful when I do drive in the evening, never speeding, tailgating, or getting crazy when the lights are out.

I don't drive crazy during the day, why drive crazy at night?

Basically, all I have to do is continue to do what I normally do, and I shouldn't have any problems.

Happily, my night driving is very limited, but my night vision does concern me; I just have to drive like I normally do in the evening and I will be OK.

And if the highways that I use were better lit, I don't think we would even be talking about this aspect of my eyesight.

I have said for eons that certain roadways here are poorly lit, and I was saying.this when I didn't have any problem driving at night.

The technology is there to make it not only better, but right up there with normal daytime illumination, but the cost would be high, and I think that most people don't consider driving in the pitch black as a top-of-mind problem.

So I will learn to live with what I have, limit my night driving, and move on from it.

And most importantly, I will continue to drive conservatively and carefully at all times of the day.

Driving is a wonderful way to get around, but it can also be deadly when people abuse this privilege.

Don't tailgate me when I am driving the proper rate of speed--

I am not going to go 90 MPH for your convenience.

Rant #3,415: Weird Science

More good news, but somehow, I am not as happy as I was about the previous good news that I described to you last week.

I will get to the good news in a moment.

First off, today begins a really busy period for me.

A little later this morning, my wife has to take me to my retinologist, to get my yearly examination on my eyes--

Particularly my left eye, where I had a couple of procedures over the years to preserve it and keep it in working order.

I also have macular degeneration in both my eyes, but the concern is the left eye, because of these past procedures.

The doctor will see if everything is in working order, and I will have to have both eyes dilated so he can see how I am doing.

I am one of those people who don't take to the dilation all that well.

It pretty much wipes me out for the day, as it takes me many hours for the eye to wash itself out and get back to normal.

They used to use the heavy-duty dilation solution on me, which didn't really go away until.the next day.

Now, they use the regular stuff, which is bad enough.

So today, I will pretty much be incapacitated the entire day.

More importantly, I hope the doctor doesn't find anything untoward in my eyes when he does his examination.

Here is the good news, if that is what you want to call it.

On Tuesday, I have to provide a urine sample to my urologist, in preparation for a nasty procedure I have to go through a week from today.

Happily--and this is the good news--the battery of tests that I took, including the MRI i took last week, showed absolutely no problems with my prostate.

However, as part of the entire procedure, I have to through an invasive procedure where they get a better view of my prostate.

So beginning next Sunday, I basically have to have my entire rectum flushed out, which I do at home prior to this procedure.

I am sure many of you have had this done on your prostate and/or your colon.

I had it done on my colon several years ago, and happily, they found no problems then, and hopefully they will find no problems in my prostate now.

If you have not had this done, the prep is worse than the actual procedure, and it kind of wipes you out for a couple of days.

I was kind of blindsided by all of this, as the urologist said thst every indication is that my prostate is in good shape, but going through all of this will make sure thst there is nothing going on there that shouldn't be there.

So I will just have to grin and bear it, but I remember when i had this done on the colon, I was not a happy camper.

So this is going to be a weird period for me.

As it is, my family and I are busy with a lot of activities this coming week, and I guess this will be the proverbial "cherry on top" of it all.

I guess even if everything appears to be A-OK on the surface, it has to be checked, just in case.

I have known people who have had prostate cancer, and the quicker they find something, the better, so it can be treated and taken care of.

If these people with cancer can go through everything thst they are going through to get better, then I can certainly go through this thing.

That is the way I have to look at it.

I have been through such hell already during the past several months, I think I can manage this, too.

Rant #3,414: Dancing In the Street

I welcome myself back here, with some very good news to report.

I visited my doctor/surgeon who did the work on my left quad muscle, and he not only gave me a passing grade, but I aced the test!

He said that second procedures like I had often don't come out as well as mine did, and while my left leg has pretty much reached its zenith as far as performance, my situation was better than expected.

I thanked him for his surgical work on my left knee, and told him about all of the work i have been doing in physical therapy and at home to get better, months and months of it behind me and more to come in the future.

We agreed that while where I am now is about as good as it will probably be, I should still work on getting better, as it takes a year for the tendon that was placed in me to fully adapt to its new "surroundings" in my leg ... 

So there is still plenty of work for me to do.

He also told me that he could, actually, perform another procedure on me to try to make things even better, but based on my age and where I am in my life, he would not recommend it.

So I turned that down, which he agreed with, I shook his hand as I thanked him again, and that was the end of that.

No followup appointments with him are scheduled, unless I find that I need to see him again--

So that part if this nightmare is over and done with.

I am pretty happy about this, proving once and for all that the hard work I have put into rehab has paid definite dividends.

I am not Superman--I am more like Ckark Kent--but my super powers revolve around the way I approached this mess from the get-go, took it by the horns, and wrestled it into near submission.

And unless you know what I went through, you would never know just how bad off I was around Christmas time.

Speed is my kryptonite. I just have to do things a bit slower than I once did.

If I take it down a notch or two, I can do almost anything I want and need to do.

Yes, I am proud of myself, and I am proud to tell you all about it.

Heck, after what I have been through ...

Why not?

Have a great weekend, and I will speak to you again on Monday ... when I have yet another doctor to see--literally.

Onward and upward!

Rant #3,413: I Can See For Miles

Lucky Rant #3,413!

You just knew, as my week of hell takes full form today, that an unlucky "13" would somehow be part of the equation.

Later today, I have to go fir a standard MRI as part of my overall physical, which I am happy to say went quite well.

This is an MRI on my prostate, a procedure which my doctor said is necessary, not because I have a problem, necessarily--which I don't, thank God--but should be part of my yearly physical "just to be on the safe side."

So I went to a urologist, who did a few tests on me, and found nothing awry, but insists I get the MRI anyway, just to possibly catch something at the get go.

My blood test came out that my numbers related to my prostate are up--which both my doctor and urologist said are not unusual for someone of my age--so I figured I might as well go along with the plan.

So I called the group where I have to get the MRI, and make the appointment, and they ask me where I want to take it--

And both points are each more than 40 miles one way from where I live, both east and west.

I ask if they have a closer facility to take the MRI, and I am told thst it is either one place or the other.

I chose the out east one, which will take me at least an hour to get to, as would the one west of me, especially at that time in the morning.

As you know, I went through this craziness for months when getting my allergy shots, having to drive in right before the Queens border from where I lived in Eastern Nassau County--

When I lived five miles away from where I could have gotten my shots, but my insurance, at the time, did not allow me to go to that office.

Thank goodness that nightmare is over, but now, residing at the borderline of Eastern Nassau County/Western Suffolk County, the same problem has emerged.

Thete are MRI facilities within a few miles of where I am, but i am forced to drive more than 40 miles to the one they want me to go to.

Happily, I don't have to rely on anybody to get me there, as I can drive myself to the facility, but it is just a pain in the butt to have to do this.

it pretty much gets my mind--and my prostate--in a kerfuffle trying to make logic put of all of this, but I figure if the MRI comes out OK, it will be worth the aggravation.

So let's see how this all turns out. 

I am sure my aggravation will be only a momentary--or one morning--thing when I am told that my prostate is as good as gold.

But you know, at least right now, this is a big pain in the butt.

Tomorrow, I have to go to my doctor/surgeon, the physician who performed my two surgeries.

That visit is the one I am most concerned with right now--

Maybe "concerned" is not the correct word to use, but I have worked very, very hard to reach a certain point in my rehabilitation, and I hope the doctor sees this when he checks my left leg over.

Sure, I am "concerned" with the MRI, but let's just say I am "most interested" in what the doctor/surgeon has to say at this point in time.

At least right now, that is uppermost in my mind.

So I won't be posting a new Rant on Thursday, skipping that day but coming back strong on Friday.

I will fill you in on everything on that day.

So have a good Thursday, and I will speak to you again on Friday.

Rant #3,412: Radio, Radio

When I was a teenager, when I wanted to hear the news on the radio, I turned to WCBS 880, the all-news station that was around with some type of news format since 1967.

I also listened to WINS 1010, but WCBS was my go-to station for news for me, and millions of others in the Metropolitan New York area.

Things change ... the Internet is king now, and while the stations on AM amd FN radio still continue to have plenty to offer to listeners, I think a lot of people--and a lot of younger people, the latter of which is where the money is--have turned to the Internet to get their news.

I personally don't think this is a good thing, but that is not the point of this Rant.

The point is that in something of a surprise announcement, WCBS 880 will soon be no more, with its station position--and strong signal--taken over by ESPN.

There are a lot of politics involved with this major change to the New York radio airwaves, but let's just say that WCBS and WINS are owned by the same company, so it was felt that it was redundant to have two all-news stations under one umbrella, so one was sacrificed to make the other somewhat unique.

Also, the 880 dial position is a good one, and ESPN will now be in that position for its sports radio presentations, still a very lucrative part of the radio business.

And what's more, the "W-C-B-S" call letters will be retired with this change.

It os pretty sad, but changing listening patterns have changed New York City radio, and radio in general.

WCBS was changing itself before today's announcement.

To be honest with you, it began changing years ago when it started carrying New York Yankees games on its schedule, and this has.lasted into the present, as the New York Mets succeeded the Yankees there ... and from what I hear, the team will stay put there when it changes over to ESPN.

Again to be honest with you, I haven't listened to the station in years, and I am sure millions of others can say the same thing.

The entire AM radio format has been questioned for its continued viability in recent years.

There was an uproar when some car manufacturers were not including AM radio in their new cars, but I believe there is legislation in place, or at least pending, requiring car makers to include the format, because it is better for emergency announcements than FM radio is, with a much wider range of coverage.

Whatever the case, another classic radio station is about to bite the dust. 

There really isn't much more to say about this, but even though I haven't listened to the station in years, its passing kind of hit me hard when I heard about it.

Another one bites the dust ... and which station is next to go?

Radio was the most reliable place to get the latest and most up-to-date news, but I don't think it is anymore.

And the Internet isn't either ... so there is a news void that certainly needs to be filled.

What will, or can, fill it is anyone's guess.

Rant #3,411: No Matter What

Well, Facebook likes me again, so I had absolutely no problem in posting my thoughts on Friday.

Maybe you can explain this to me: my post about my eyesight goes against their "community standards" and is removed, 

But ...

My post knocking the social networking platform is deemed to be OK and I am able to post my thoughts without any problems.

Go figure--

I know that I can't.

Anyway, today begins my "Week of Hell" with a whole slate of medical appointments coming up, but I expect thst everything is going to go well.

I am feeling fine--my bad leg has been a bit stiff lately--but I have been feeling pretty good otherwise, even though my sleep pattern is different each and every night.

I am sleeping six to 10 hours each evening, but I don't sleep them consecutively.

When I wake up, it is like my sleep is over, but within time, I doze off again fir a couple of hours.

So if you add up my sleep each night, I am getting my Zzzzzzs, but in a strange way.

So be it, and I am not taking any sleep aids ... as I have said before, several other people I know are having similar sleep experiences, and I do believe it has to do with the crazy weather we have had this summer.

I will get through it like I have gotten through everything else I have encountered in recent times.

Otherwise, to prepare for this busy week I am going to have, I really took.it easy on Sunday, doing a little food shopping with my wife and watching a nail-biting win by the Yankees.

I never got a chance to digitize my records, something else I do to slow down and relax a bit, but maybe in between everything--including work--i can do some of that this week.

I get on music "kicks," where I focus on a single artist, and a few weeks ago, it was Pat Benatar, then the Bee Gees, and now, it is Badfinger.

I have just about everything they released from the late 1960s through the early 1980s, and it is really relaxing to me to go through these old records once again.

So it is physical therapy today ... tomorrow is really my only free day of the week ... and then Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are super busy.

So I will definitely come up with another blog entry tomorrow, but beyond that ... let's see how the week goes.

Hopefully, I can miss just maybe one day this week, but we will see how things work out.

The most important thing is if these doctor appointments come out well.

Really, if you have your health, you have everything, and I hope to be in that position by the end of this very busy week.

Rant #3,410: You Don't Own Me

Well, Facebook is at it again.

They banned yesterday's blog post ... more to the point, they banned the link I put up to direct you to this site.

They said it violated "community standards" ... again, only they know what those "standards" are.

I have seen virulently sexual and political posts allowed, but my G-rated posts ... how can such posts violate any definition they might have about "community standards?"

Yesterday's post was health-related, mainly about my eyesight.

How could this violate any rules and regulations that they could possibly have?

I don't see it.

Yes, that is a pun, but it is not very funny.

I, myself, have put up more pointed posts, and those have been OK, but my post was about my eyesight this time around ... how could such a subject violate any rules at all?

Maybe it was the link itself.

Funny thing, I have seen links to sexually expressive sites that somehow are OK by Facebook "standards," but I put up a link to a G-rated site, and it is no good, according to them.

Makes absolutely no sense at all.

But what it does do is decrease traffic to this site, which is not good.

Thanks for those who have found the link themselves and have gone to the site to read what I wrote.

I have complained to Facebook, but I doubt they will get back to me with a satisfactory answer, or any answer at all, for that matter--even though they profess that they will.

As you know, I have been in this situation a couple of times before, most prominently when I was in Facebook jail for several months after I had the nerve, audacity and absolute gaul to post about my mother's passing.

But as you know, I will not be stopped.

I will say what I want to say, need to say, and most importantly, HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO SAY.

I do not post porn, I have never used a curse word in any of the thousands upon thousands of posts that I have made, and while I do, often, wear my opinions on my sleeve, there has never been anything salacious in any post I have ever made.

We will see what happens, because I have lodged my complaints, and let's see if Facebook has the chutzpah to reply to me and try to make sense of all of this.

Anyway, I have an extremely busy week coming up, with several important visits to a variety of my doctors--

Including the surgeon who performed the two operations on my left leg.

So yes, I will speak to you again on Monday, but I will have to give you a day-by-day summation of what I can do and what I can't. 

So have a great weekend, I will definitely speak to you again on Monday, and hopefully, this entire mess will be cleared up, and we can all go on our merry way.

Speak to you then.

Rant #3,409: Doctor My Eyes

(This post was banned by Facebook. Perhaps someone can explain this to me, because it appears only Facebook knows why they banned this post.)

I am currently having one of those eye migraines that I have on occasion.

What happens is that they pop up intermittently, here and there, and I just happened to get one when I began typing this Rant out.

What happens is that I get some floaters in my eye, and they eventually reach the outer edge of my eye, and this goes on for anywhere from five to 20 minutes or so.

This time, it is in my right eye, and I just have to wait it out, and then it goes away as quickly as it came.

I usually get these in my left eye, and they just come ... I can go six months without having one, and I can get an eye migraine on two straight days.

Very unpredictable.

It is kind of weird, but at least I am home now.

I have had this thing happen when I am driving, and while it does not impede my sight, it is simply annoying.

Does anybody else out there get these things as I do?

I started getting them a couple of years ago, and since I have macular degeneration to begin with, it just adds more bricks to the load.

I have worn glasses nearly all of my life ... I was the little kid who wore those Coke-bottle glasses--but once I got used to them, it never bothered me that I had to wear them.

When kids were getting contacts, I never even tried wearing them, as I was comfortable with my glasses.

But my eyes have aged with the rest of my body, and like the rest of my body, my eyes are showing some wear after all of these years of use.

I take those Areds pills that you see advertised on TV, and while I don't see any recognizable difference in my eyes since I have been taking them, I have been told they are good to take for my eyes' upkeep.

And as we are talking, those floaters have reached the outer edges of my right eye, so I have a few more minutes of this situation to peter out.

At least the non-stop rain has made the weather a bit cooler, so while my allergies--which do have an effect on my eyes and the rest of my body--are still bothering me, I am not sweating through my shirt.

Such are the problems of aging.

I tell people in my age group that they are getting older, they are NOT old ... unless that is the way they want to feel.

To me, being old is being decrepit, and while, as I said, I have aged, I am NOT old.

Am I 25 years of age anymore?

No, I am not.

I am very proud to be 67 years of age, and I will be happy when I reach 68 years of age by the end of April of next year.

I look at what I have experienced in my life, and I have had quite a full time here on this earth--

I hope to be here many more years.

And as I write this, my eye migraine is over, like I said, leaving as quickly as it came.

I have physical therapy later today, and I will have to concentrate on that, as next week is a busy one, as I have one doctor after another to see.

No, one of those doctors is not my eye doctor, but so far, all things have checked off well with me, and I hope that continues.

I can see the light ... the eyes have it.

Rant #3,408: Black and White

I admit, I don't know that much about Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who Vice President Kamala Harris chose as her running mate in the November election.

Here is what I do know: Minnesota has a large Palestinian population, so I guarantee this will be brought up by the opposition as it relates to her, and his, overall position on Israel.

And you just kind of knew she would not pick Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, because of his Jewish background. Lots of people would hold that against her, and she did not want to get into any tangles related to her campaign being "too Jewish."

Yes, there are still people who believe Jews are emissaries of the devil, and with the rise of anti-Semitism in this country, she didn't want to have to deal with any possibility of that into November and if she won, for the next four years.

I am interested in finding out why Harris chose Walz over Shapiro ... was it to kind of pacify the far left of her party, was it Shapiro's religion, or was it some other reason?

Like a true politician, she probably won't say the truth, but will break it down so no one is offended.

(And as an aside, this is the first presidential combo thst are both younger than me--Harris is 58 years of age, and while her running mate looks a lot older, he is only 60 years of age.)

Funny, we have already had a Jewish president ... well, sort of.

Dwight D. Eisenhower's father was Jewish of, i believe, German descent, while his mother was of mixed heritage, including, from what I have read, black.

About Eisenhower's Jewish background, he pretty much ignored it entirely.

He promoted himself through his mother's background, but not the black part of it.

His mother was also Swedish, so he went with that, and she was a Mennonite and a Lutheran as far as religion, so he pretty much went with that, too.

During his military career, there were some questions about his "loyalty" to America, because of his Jewish background, however much he ignored it.

So decades before President Barack Obama, we have had a President with at least some black heritage, and as far as a Jewish president, he probably is the closest we ever came to having one ... and who knows if we will ever have one?

But funny, I will bet that if modern genealogy tests could be done on all the presidents we have had, we would probably find several more with some black heritage, and probably several with Eastern European background, perhaps even some Jewishness in there.

Even though it is more prevalent in current times, there was always intermingling, if you know what I mean, between the races and religions in this country, and I will bet that our presidents reflected this as much as the general population did 

We all know about Thomas Jefferson, who himself was not black, but propagated generations of blacks through his relationships with black slaves that he owned.

One of his slaves, Sally Hemings, had at least a half dozen children with him--that we know--but did he have other children with his female slaves?

We are all Americans, but there are some of us who want to break it down to the nub, using it to define ourselves granularity.

It is wrong to do this, but the media, in particular, loves to do this.

There really is nothing you can do about it, but I try to ignore it, especially when it comes to politics.

In college, I had a friend who told me flat out, that I was the first Jewish person he had ever been friendly with.

He was Italian, and, of course, he was not the first Italian that I had been friendly with.

But neither one of us harped on any of this.

We were good friends during those four years of my life, we were in the same boat as students, and that was all that was important.

Again, I wish the real world was like that, but it simply isn't.

Too bad that it isn't that way, don't you agree?

Rant #3,407: America

This whole flap about former President Trump and his  reactions to questions at the Black Journalists' convention ...

His reactions might be taken as odd, but he was being honest about things.

First off, from what I have seen, he was not greeted properly as a former President of the United States by those moderating his segment of the convention..

He was pretty much attacked from the get-go, and I think he was blindsided a bit by it, turning the whole incident into a dumpster-fire moment.

There is no way that Vice President Harris would be welcomed to the podium like that, so you can call that lack of respect whatever you like, but it was demeaning.

He was taken aback by that, and that threw him directly into the loop that he found himself in.

On the other matters that he tied himself into a tight knot with, let's be fair about it.

I am no fan of Trump, but ...

In all fairness, I, personally, had no idea that Vice President Harris was Indian. And at one time, Jamaicans and others of Caribbean descent who lived in the United States did not consider themselves "black," per se, as in "African American." 

Further, in some circles, I have read that Harris is also "Jewish," as she is married to a Jew and some say will put a mezzuzah up on a door of the White House if elected, which of course would be a first.

Am I Czechoslovokian-Latvian-Russian-Polish and Caucasian and Jewish and American too?

That might be my ethnic background, but I am American first, and I really wish that people would start thinking that way again.

And as an aside, I have rarely--and I mean maybe once or twice during his entire vice presidential/presidential run--heard President Biden referred to as an "Irish American," even on St. Patrick's Day.

So why is it so terribly important that we know Harris' ethnic background?

Because it is all political nonsense, looking to compartmentalize all of us down to the very nubs of our existence.

And yes, ethnicity is run out by some as a tool to grab voters ... which it does ... people who vote for those by race and ethnicity and not the more important things, like how they stand on the issues.

I have heard several people being interviewed flatly, proudly and ignorantly state that they will vote for Harris only because she is black ... which is as wrong as stating that one will vote for Trump only because he is white, which is something I honestly haven't heard, but I am sure is on some peoples' minds.

It is wrong on both sides, yet those professing to vote for Harris simply because she is black are heralded and trumpeted and honored for their choice, and are so proud to say it by the media.

This is racist thinking, of course, just like it is if you vote for Trump only because he is white ... something which would be dismissed by the media as what it is.

Why is it OK for the goose, and not the gander?

It is all media nonsense, a media that again, is so obviously anti-Trump that it cannot contain itself.

People should vote on the issues, and what each candidate brings to the table, and not vote on the race of the candidate as the sole guiding force in their choice.

My eventual choice will have nothing to do with race at all, and as an independent voter, I have the real power to elect the right person ...

Which I don't believe is either Harris or Trump.

And again, the media must cease this race-mongering, which is what they are so clearly promoting.

We are ALL Americans, and that should be more important than anything else.

Rant #3,406: Two For the Price of One

Well, CBS was pretty quick in naming the successor to Norah O'Donnell at its forever-failing "CBS Evening News" franchise.

Taking over for O'Donnell, who is bailing out of this sinking ship after the presidential election in November  is not one, but two new anchors.

John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois will co-anchor the show, with Margaret Brennan as chief political correspondent and Lonnie Quinn as chief weather correspondent.

I read that the show will also go more heavily on interviews, sort of a "60 Minutes"-lite style format.

And the show will move back to its base in New York from Washington.

These are interesting moves and choices, to say the least, but it demonstrates that CBS has pretty much bailed out on the show.

Dickerson and DuBois are exceedingly good journalists, but the co-anchor format rarely works.

The only time I can remember it working was when Chet Huntley and David Brinkley co-anchored the nightly NBC News, but there are plenty of times it didn't work:

Harry Reasoner and Barbra Walters.

Dan Rather and Connie Chung.

And the change in format is kind of odd, more interviews and less immediate coverage of news.

I guess the CBS honchos will throw everything against the wall, see what sticks, and go with that.

The more-traditional newscast was not working, and hadn't worked for the network in decades, so why go with it again?

DuBois and Quinn are long-time New York personalities on the local CBS affiliate, and they know their business top to bottom.

Dickerson and Brennan are more well known on the national stage, and like the other two, know whst they are doing.

So yes, it is a dice roll by CBS.

When you are perpetually an also-ran, you will try anything to gain an audience, and this seems to be it.

I really like DuBois and Quinn in particular, as they have been quite good on the local CBS News on Channel 2 for years.

If they can bring the verve they have had on thst local broadcast to this new national venture, it might be an interesting daily watch.

I also like Brennan, is a top-notch journalist who moderates "Face the Nation." 

And in my eye, yes, she is a bit of eye candy that this show, as it is set up, greatly needs, but she is really so much more than that.

To me, Dickerson is the wild card.

He is kind of bland, kind of vanilla, but he is also quite talented, and might resonate with middle America.

Even though O'Donnell failed to bring this show out of the doldrums, she remains a strong presence at CBS, so the show will have to emerge out of her shadow.

Perhaps that is why CBS went this radical route, but as a long-time viewer, I am willing to give it a try.

I just wonder if the "Double D" anchors can work, but we will find out later this year if this is mere folly or something sustainable.

Rant #3,405: Hot Child In the City

Yesterday was another day, another physical therapy session, and another day where I sweated my toukis off to do the best that I could do to get better.

It is darn hot out, I can't stand it, and I live for air conditioning, whether at home or in my car.

According to my car temperature reading, it was 98 degrees in my neck of the woods at about 1:20 p.m. on Thursday.

Officially, I think it got up to 92 degrees on Long Island, but I go by my car thermometer, and it got to just two ticks under 100 degrees.

And the humidity ... fugedaboudit!

And it is pretty warm already on Friday morning, and the weatherman says it is actually going to be hotter today than it was yesterday.

Fugedaboudit!

I cannot take the heat at all, and it is getting worse as I am getting older, especially as it relates to my allergies.

I cannot take the heat, and the humidity makes it all the more worse.

I know some people enjoy this type of weather, but not me.

I would love it to be in the 60s or 70s, but heck. It is August ... it is supposed to be hot!

I remember as a kid in my old neighborhood of Rochdale Village, South Jamaica, Queens, the heat never stopped us from doing anything; we even opened the fire hydrants to get cool.

And when the ice cream truck(s) came to the neighborhood--

There was a seemingly endless line of kids getting ices, ice cream and drinks.

Good Humor, Mister Softee, Bungalow Bar, Hood ... we had them all, and sometimes, three or four of them came at once.

And we also had fountains, which we could barely feel when we played ball, but even a soft touch of that water felt so good.

And yes, the apartments there had air conditioning, so when the day was done, we could cool down in the evening with the air conditioner pumping out that cool air while we slept.

At Rochdale Village Day Camp, we went to the beach--Jones Beach, Rockaway Beach, Riis Park, Rye Beach--and to the pool--Walcliff and Casino pools, both in Western Long Island--and we had fun at these watering holes.

And on the weekend, we played in the Rochdale Vilkage Athletic League, and we sweated through whatever sport we played.

It is just so different when you are a kid.

The heat affects you, but somehow, you manage to get through it.

But when you become an adult, the heat just means something different ... much like with snow in the winter.

Personally, I can't take either one.

But with all my complaining, and with all my reminiscences, there are those who have had to put up with extreme heat well into the 100s, tornadoes, hurricanes, flooding and other weather disturbances that are not just nuisances, they are life changing.

They lose their homes, their livelihoods and their lives.

So what am I complaining about?

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

And please stay cool!

Rant #3,404: Goodbye

I had no problems with Facebook yesterday, none at all.

I found this kind of funny, because they got me for having the nerve to talk about my health, but when I spoke about the numbskull actions of Facebook the next day, they let it go.

I can't make heads or tails of this, and i don't think they can either.

There are absolutely no steadfast rules on Facebook; it is like they make "rules" up as they go along.

You wonder why they are so scrutized, because nothing they do makes the least bit of sense.

But like I said yesterday, "Que Sera, Sera" ... whatever will be will be.

Otherwise, things are pretty quiet over here right now.

I have physical therapy later today, my allergy problems, cold or whatever it is, are still there, but seems to get better each day.

Something not getting better is the "CBS Evening News."

I read in the newspaper that Norah O'Donnell, the anchor of the "CBS Evening News," will be leaving her duties after the November presidential election.

Honestly, her five years in that position did not lift the show out of third place, behind ABC and NBC, and I think she just simply got bored as the captain of a ship that has been sinking for years.

As a regular watcher of the show, I was a little disappointed at the uneven coverage the show gave to various topics, most recently the Israel/Hamas conflict and the upcoming presidential election.

Her overuse of the term "breaking news" deadened the impact of what the term actually means, and although she did lessen its use in recent times, when she does use it now, it doesn't have any meaning, based on her past actions.

It is sort of like the proverbial "boy who cries wolf;" does what she is saying really need and deserve that description, or is she "crying wolf" again?

Yes, she was eye candy, for sure, but the shows leanings were so obvious.

Maybe the other network news shows camouflage their leanings better than her show did, but as the anchor, it is her responsibility to be even handed, and I think she wore her heart on her sleeve too much, leaning toward "Inside Edition" journalism more than stories that reporters could really sink their teeth into.

She was kind if blah, to be honest with you.

And the move to Washington from New York really did not help the show at all. She wanted to be closer to her family, which is admirable, but when your news division is based in New York, it didn't make sense to be that far away from it.

So she will take her multi-million-dollar salary and do what she wants to do at this point in her career, one-on-one interviews.

Sounds like "60 Minutes" territory is in her future.

She gave it a good try, but the perpetually sinking ship needs a new captain.