Rant #3,539: More Than I Can Say

Today begins an interesting couple of days for myself and my family.

Later tonight, my son continues his basketball program. 

There are about 40 participants in this program--all with special needs, and that doesn't even count the program prior to the one my son is in, which features much younger special needs kids, probably 30 or 40 of them, too.

This is something my son really enjoys, and it leads into what he us doing on Saturday morning--

His bowling season begins.

This season is going to be a little bit different than other seasons, as they have moved up the start time to 11 a.m. from where it has traditionally started, at 1 p.m.

This league grows each and every year. I think last year, there were 14 teams made up of around 50 or so special needs bowlers.

Like with basketball, there is another group of bowlers who bowl separately as part of this program.

Although the starting time is different, it will still be an extremely competitive season, and it is another activity that my son really looks forward to.

And in both basketball and bowling, there are some exceptional athletes in both programs.

Basketball and bowling are two nice things to look forward to, but Sunday is something else altogether.

On Sunday, we will put my mother to her eternal rest, as we have her unveiling.

It will feature a short ceremony honoring her legacy, and there will be a handful.of friends and family who will attend.

The stone is a nice one, and the verbiage on it is not that much different than what is on my father's stone.

They were excellent parents to my sister and I, and terrific grandparents to their five grandkids.

Like my dad, my mother lived a full life, packing a lot into her 92 years on this earth.

The unveiling will serve as the culmination of that life, and while it is something that I am not looking forward to, it is something that needs to be done.

So all told, it is going to be an up-and-down weekend for my family and I.

There really isn't any more to say about it.

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

Rant #3,538: She Blinded Me With Science

Tupperware.

I am sure that just about every Baby Boomer remembers what that word represented--

Those handy plastic containers, where you could store just about anything.

And I am sure many of us also remember those ubiquitous Tupperware parties, which every friend of your mother--or your mother herself--tried to hawk these wares to friends and family, while making a few bucks on the side.

And we all remember the sound that the Tupperware storage containers--which were supposedly air tight--made when you opened them--

BLMMPH!

Every family--or so it sermed--used Tupperware to store everything from chips to cookies to cold cuts.

The company actually began in the 1940s, but reached its zenith of popularity in the 1960s. And I believe all of its products were American made up until recently.

I hadn't heard too much about Tupperware in recent years.

I know that they started to move away from their standard business model some time ago, and you could get Tupperware products at some department stores, including Target.

But what was once a hot thing isn't anymore, and I just heard on the news that Tupperware has filed for bankrupcy.

The company said that it isn't going out of business, it is just resetting its strategy  to a more digital-first, technology driven mode.

My family had plenty of Tupperware products that we used to store things--

Round and square, tall and short.

When I was a kid, I used to eat potato chips that my mom poured into a big, round Tupoerware container with a big cover that made that famous sound when you opened it.

I guess my mother figured that since Tupperware was supposedly air tight, it was better than keeping the chips in the open bag, where  unwelcome visitors could get into the bag since it wasn't air tight.

Honestly, I really don't know if Tupperware was actually so air tight, in particular when I opened and closed that container seemingly several times a day for a period of years.

Anyway, Tupperware opened the door for a rash of cheaper imitations, and later, sometimes even better imitations, and the uniqueness of the product didn't last.

I don't know what they mean about their new business mode.

I guess the product will be available wholly online, but what do they mean by "technology driven."

I guess they were "technology driven," in a 1960s way, because there was nothing like it on the market.

But that was then, this is now ... I don't see how what amounts to plastic containers and other such kitchenware can be "technology driven," but what do i know?

I still can visualize that big, plastic container where we stored the chips, and opening the top, ready to stuff my face.

BLMMPH!

Rant #3,537: I'm a Believer

In just less than two months, we will vote to elect a new president of our country.

Will it be Kamala Harris, our current vice president, or will it be Donald Trump, our former president?

Whoever wins, I think they will be victorious by a whisker.

And how are you voting--cssting your ballot at the polling place, or mailing in your ballot?

However you are planning to do it, I really hope that the winner wins gracefully and the loser loses gracefully, too.

The last time around, we all know that the validity of the vote was questioned, and that just can't be.

Personally, I don't think that the election was stolen, but yes, there were some irregularities--

But I don't think enough to overturn an election.

Nothing is perfect, and the voting process isn't, either.

But is it so out of whack that the results can be taken into question?

I don't think so, but let me tell you what happened to me two years ago.

As usual, I went early in the morning to my actual polling place to vote.

I went to the same table that I went to in the polling place since the first time I voted, in 1975.

The people there changed, but the place where I had to sign in was exactly the same as it had been for nearly 50 years.

I went to the table, told them where I lived, and they checked me off. They told me to take the paper ballot they handed to me and go to a designated spot to cast my vote, which I did.

But as I walked over to that spot, I realized that I did not sign the book that they had, the book that I previously signed every year that I had voted.

I didn't say anything, cast my vote, put it through the machine, and that was that.

I really didn't give it a second thought, until.i brought my mother and son to the same place to vote later in the day.

We all went to that same table, and they had my son and my wife sign in, as per normal.

One of the women at the table said to me, "What about you?"

I then told her that I had already voted, and she said to me that they did not have my signature, which, of course, I knew about already.

I don't remember if I ended up signing the book or not, but the fact of the matter is that if I hadn't said anything about already having voted, I could have voted in that particular election TWICE.

Again, I am sure that situations like this happen, but not enough to alter the outcome of an election.

Just sayin'.

Rant #3,536: What I Want

I personally have a love-hate relationship with modern technology.

When it works the way it is supposed to work, I love it.

When it doesn't work or doesn't do what I want it to do, I hate it with a passion.

And I have to say, when I have a problem with modern technology, and I refuse to back down, and stubbornly believe that the problem I have can be fixed, and then I fix it, I have to give myself a pat on the back.

And that is what just happened to me and a problem i was having with my family's living room television.

Since our television provider dropped the AXS network, for whatever reason, we have been scrambling to be able to watch TNA Wrestling each week.

My son loves pro wrestling, and I have watched TNA Wrestling for years with him every Thursday night.

But without access to the AXS channel--a very good channel on its own with several shows I liked--we have been up the creek without a paddle when we wanted to watch TNA wrestling.

We were forced to download its app, and pay each month to watch the show on YouTube.

Recently, TNA Wrestling dropped that option, so we had to join up again, at an elevated level and price, and view the weekly show directly through the app.

I thought it would be easier to download the app directly to the television and watch the show through the app on the TV, but without going into too much detail, the model we have is one of those smart TVs that unbeknownst to me, doesn't allow for the download of apps through third-party providers.

I watched every tutorial that I could find, and the end result is that not only can't you download the TNA app on this TV, you can't download any app that isn't already provided.

You can watch content on the multitude of apps that are provided, but if the app you want is not among those apps, you are out of luck.

Before I learned about this, I was sure I was doing something wrong, but I wasn't ... it simply doesn't accept certain third-party apps.

I was frustrated during the past two or three weeks, but I still wanted to watch this show through the TV, and not through our phone or tablet.

In the meantime, I did find a way to watch the show on the TV, by watching it through the Internet connection on the TV, but the picture kept freezing, making it a chore to watch.

I figured the next step would be to try to cast the show onto the TV through the phone, but even though i watched several tutorials on doing this a certain way, it always defaulted to the actual Chromecast unit on our TV in the master bedroom, so that did not solve the problem at all.

I felt that there had to be a way to successfully cast the show on the proper TV, but I could not find a way to do it 

Then on Sunday afternoon, I got an idea, what turned out to be the solution to this problem.

"Mirroring" is very similar to casting, as when you mirror on the TV, you are pretty much melding your cellphone to the TV and making them one.

You are taking what is on the screen of your phone and replicating that image to the television screen.

"Casting" also hooks your phone to the TV, but it gives you freedom to continue to use your phone once the cast is successful.

When you "mirror" your phone to the TV, whatever is on your phone screen is what you will have on your TV screen, so there is no flexibility to use your phone while the TV is mirroring it.

Anyway, I looked up how to mirror my phone screen to the television, and it appears that most smart TVs have this function already built in.

I found it on the TV, followed the instructions, and VOILA,! it worked!

So when I mirror my phone to the TV, anything on the screen of the phone is on the screen of the TV.

I just go to the TNA app, and whatever I click on that app--or any app on my phone, for that matter--can be seamlessly watched on the TV.

One word of warning: I believe you can only mirror your phone in this way if it is an android phone, not an iPhone. I could be wrong about this, but I think you need an android phone, at least to do it the way I did it.

For someone who has a bit of a middling knowledge of new technology, I am kind of proud of myself for finally figuring this all out.

It is a neat way to watch your phone apps--or anything else--on your TV, and it makes everything just so much fun--

Which is what the use of  modern technology should be to begin with.

Maybe everyone knew how to fo this, but I didn't, and I am happy I stuck with it and didn't give up.

Anyone out there have a similar experience with modern technology? 

Rant #3,535: Why?

"We live in dangerous times."

That is what was said at a press conference about what apparently was another assassination attempt directed at former President Donald Trump, this time while he was playing golf near his compound in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Happily, the bullets shot out never reached their intended target, and Trump is fine.

An assault-style rifle was used to shoot at Trump, who was on the fifth hole, and reports are it was from about 400 to 500 yards away.

Police have the weapon and they have the suspect in custody.

I really don't know what to say about this nonsense, but it seems we have turned into something of a third world country, where they often settle political differences with violence.

Honestly, I don't know how to put full protection on Trump when he is golfing.

I am sure that he has Secret Service people around him at the golf course, but the wide-open nature of these courses seem to make them impossible to fully have a blanket of protection around its acreage.

But beyond that, how did this perpetrator get on the course, in particular with such artillery?

I just don't get it.

The prior shooter in Pennsylvania and this latest imbecile are--or was--mentally ill, we can talk about the availability of guns until we are blue in the face ... but why are guns becoming the judge, jury and executioner all in one for these deranged individuals?

It certainly goes back to their own mental illness, but something absolutely must be done to ensure that innocent people--whether on a golf course or a political rally, or in a school--are protected, period.

Again, some say it is a mental health issue, others say it is a gun availability issue, and still others say it is a mix of all of the above.

What is most irritating to me is that most of the guns used in these incidents have been legally purchased.

That means that stricter laws must be put into place right at the get-go so that guns do not get into the wrong hands.

I believe that there absolutely must be an extended waiting period for purchasing a firearm, perhaps even as long as two years or so, even for experienced, licensed firearm.users.

This way, perhaps, provides a cooling off period, giving even the mentally ill time to think about what they are doing.

Honestly, we can hem and haw about the availability of firearms--I certainly have done this--but this has become almost a problem of epidemic proportions.

And I will say this again: I do not know why any regular citizen like myself needs to own a gun, especially a military type assault rifle.

I just don't get it, I really don't, and st this point, I won't ever understand what our fascination with guns is all about.

Maybe somebody can explain this to me.

Rant #3,534: Harry Truman

Since the most recent debate took place, I want to focus not on politics, not presidents--

As they relate to the music we listen to, of course.

And that brings us to Harry Truman, or "Harry Truman."

No, I am not going to immerse you in an entry about our 33rd president of the United States.

I am going to focus this Rant on one of the most obscure hit singles during the rock era, the aptly titled "Harry Truman."

You say you never heard of this song, which reached the appropriate (for today, Friday the 13th) number 13 spot on Billboard's Hot 100 in February 1975?

Well, join the crowd, because up until.a few years ago, I had never heard of this single, either.

And who sung this most obscure of hits?

Probably one of the top rock acts at the time, already with a bushelful of hit singles and LPs--

Chicago.

This 45 was sandwiched between huge hits "Wishing You Were Here" and "Old Days," tunes that gained extensive airplay during this period, but I have to say, I have never heard "Harry Truman" on the radio, then or now.

I discovered the record a few years back.

I was at a local record store, and peaking from inside a cavernous bin of 45s was Truman's face, which is on the picture sleeve (see above).

I originally thought that this was one of those promo 45s they put out on just about all the modern presidents during this time oeriod--mainly on John F. Kennedy but also including other commanders in chief, including Richard Nixon--but when I saw it was by Chicago, well, my curiosity got the best of me, and I bought it.

I listened to it a couple of years ago, and honestly, it didn't ring a bell.

I listened to.it again earlier this week, and I still don't remember it.

It leads me to believe that it reached number 13 on the charts because of heavy sales--I mean, Chicago was red hot then--and not by much airplay.

The song was written by band member Robert Lamm right after Nixon resigned in the Watergate scandal.

It is a tribute, a paean to presidents we could trust, one of them being Harry Truman ... the president who agreed to drop the Atomic bomb on Japan to end World War Ii, and even today, stands as one of our more popular leaders.

The song, incredibly, was the first single released from the "Chicago VIII" album, but at least in New York, I don't think it got much airplay.

It has kind of an old-timey.feel to.it, and the lyrics speak of a simpler time ... a theme which I think the song "Old Days" and "Saturday In the Park" did a much better job on.

But Harry Truman was both a president and a song, and I think it might still be the only song ever to make the Billboard Hot 100 featuring an American president's name as its full title.

I checked up on the song, and to this day, the band rarely plays it in concert, and it doesn't show up on too many greatest hits compendiums ... so even Chicago, the band itself, pretty much ignores its existence.

In fact, the one time I saw Chicago in concert, they didn't play this song.

As we move.into the weekend, and get closer to Election Day, give a listen to this song, and absorb its sentiments ...

Even nearly 50 years after the song made the charts, I think the sentiment It talks about is still there.

Can you imagine such a song about Kamala Harris, Donald Trump.or Joe Biden?

Like the Little Rascals' Buckwheat used to say,

"Me neither too, humph!"

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

https://youtu.be/GHx_IgH4y5Q?si=t2STKPSu3XReYPhf

Rant #3,433: Every One's a Winner

Well, I was able to get a smidgen of the problem I am having with my son's Medicaid taken care of, but honestly, it doesn't help when his paperwork has the name of the wrong caseworker on it, as well as the wrong phone number.

And did i mention that our last name is spelled incorrectly on the very same paperwork?

These people are gainfully employed, and I am sitting here.

Go figure.

I now have another meeting to report on--this coming Tuesday afternoon--and I am dreading it, but I will get it done, as I always do--

But my Tuesday is pretty much in the crapper because of it.

No, I did not watch the debate ... why should I ... I'm definitely not voting for either candidate, so why waste my time?

The economy is the top concern of voters, and once again, consumer prices went up this past month.

The way economists look at it, it went up less than it has in recent times, so it was good news.

Yes, the usual double talk that only means something to those who say it.

To me, if it goes up, even less than the previous month, it still takes money out of my wallet.

So blame who you like; I guess it is pretty easy to blame the current administration, because all of this is going on under their watch.

All i know, one supermarket near where I live is charging $6 for a bottle of salad dressing.

I won't pay that price; I would rather make my own.

But with all the hubbub about other topics, like illegal immigrants and abortion--the latter the most overrated "concern" of all of them--people most care about their pocketbook, and I do feel that the candidate with the better plan will win this thing.

Will there be another debate leading up to Election Day?

Remember, this is Trump's second debate, the first being the one he had with President Biden.

Yes, the Trump-Harris debate was the first one between the two, and based on most things I have read, it pretty much came out that if you are a Democrat, you believe Hsrris won, and conversely, if you are a Republican, Trump won.

So really, is there a true need for another debate?

I don't really think so.

Democrats will vote for Harris, Republicans will vote for Trump.

The undecideds--the truly independent voters--will decide this race.

They were really the only block.of voters who needed a debate, especially the ones truly sitting on the fence about who to vote for.

So, I don't really think there is a need for another go-around.

Each candidate has said what they believe in--Trump twice--so another debate really isn't necessary.

I have made up my.mind who I am voting for, and I will write in my choice's name on the ballot.

Somewhere down the line, I will let you know who I am voting for.

I don't think I will change my mind during the next 50 days or so before Election Day.

I am dissatisfied with both Harris and Trump, so I won't vote for them.

The latest poll I saw had Trump slightly ahead, but the two previous polls i saw showed that Harris was ahead.

It seems to change day by day, week by week.

Whoever wins, it is going to be an extremely close race.

And I hope there is no carping about "election fraud" and "stealing the election" and the like.

Take your victory or your loss as an adult.

Enough of the crybaby nonsense.

The one who wins will win fair and square.

And yes, I am talking directly about Trump here, but whatever the case--

May the best candidate win!

Rant #3,432: Let Freedom Ring

Today is a very solemn day.

I don't think that I have to go into everything that happened on September 11, 2001 ...

We all know it too well.

It is a day that changed our lives forever, a day that none of us can ever forget.

What I want to do in my entry today is to fast forward from that horrid day to today, 23 years later, and tie in what is being discussed today as it relates to that day more than two decades ago.

It has been discussed in the past, and has picked up steam, to make September 11 a national holiday, a national day of mourning 

The day has already been named Patriots Day, signifying those of us who somehow made it through that day and believe in our country as the greatest in the world.

It also honors those who made the ultimate sacrifice on that day to preserve the lives and freedoms of all of us.

But some lawmakers on both sides of the aisle believe we must go one step further--

We must make Patriots Day a national holiday, so we can give the proper respect to this day as a day of mourning.

I have mixed feelings about making this a national holiday--what amounts to a day off--for many of us.

The day should be given its proper respect, a day that changed our world--and perhaps the entire world--forever.

But do we need a day off to do this?

A day off--to do what those perpetrators did not want us to do, to enjoy our lives in a democracy, where we can basically do what we want in our pursuit of the American Dream, where anything is possible.

That is good, but I fear if we actually have a day off if this becomes a national holiday, the intent and meaning of Patriots Day will be diluted.

It will become a pleasure day, a barbecue day, a day where some of us might even go to the beach 

Yes, all of these things are what the perpetrators wanted to obliterate with their actions, but what would make this day different and unique from other holidays like July 4 and Labor Day?

I feel that in particular, schools should be open and in session on September 11.

Kids are now going to school who weren't alive when this act was perpetrated, and not just little kids, but high school and college students ... they weren't around on Septemberv 11, 2011.

Our oldest students in undergraduate colleges and universities will turn 22 years of age this year, so they were born in 2002--after that horrid day.

I think a lot of our students look at what happened during that fateful day as ancient history, as they weren't born yet when it all happened.

They need not to have a day off from school, but a day in school, with instructors teaching them that this day wasn't ancient history, wasn't so much in the rear view mirror, as they might think, and is relevant in their own lives, and all of our lives, today.

Students having the day off won't ever fully understand what happened that day, and why the day is so sacred and important, so having a day off will only dilute the meaning of that day for our student population.

It might take years for the day to become a national holiday, and thus, students will be even further removed from the actions of that day if and when that happens.

The Tik Tok generation--and future and succeeding generations--need to fully understand what happened on September 11, 2001, fully grasp what was at stake, and fully see how our country was able to rebound from this horrible tragedy--

In fact, we all do ...

So giving us a day off only gives us a day off from understanding the gravity of September 11, 2001, and I don't think that that would be beneficial to any of us.

Rant #3,431: Wonderful World

Yesterday was kind of a strange day for me--

Super busy in the morning, super slow in the afternoon.

In the morning, before I went to the doctor for blood work, I was on the phone for about an hour trying to clean up a bit of a mess that my son is going through related to his Medicaid.

I have called his supposed Medicaid counselor several times, but my calls have not been returned.

I spoke with another one of his counselors, and I was told to keep on calling.

A total waste of time.

Then I went to the doctor, told I was in good health, gave blood, made a few more future appointments ...

I was told that the blood work will be used to see if my prostate numbers are good, and I was told that they had risen, but were actually OK, the last time.

Then why was I told to take all.of the tests I went through, and were supposed to go through--but had to postpone when my car was supposedly stolen?

I never received much of an answer.

Why go through needless procedures that, thank God, I evidently don't need?

Let's see how my numbers are ... as I said when my car was towed, God works in strange ways.

I came home after my doctor's appointment, did what work I had to do, and then--

Nothing.

It is kind of unusual for me to have no writing and/or editing to do on  Monday, but that is how it was yesterday.

So I took advantage of the day, doing all.of that digitizing of records that I wanted to do--

And although it took me nearly three hours to do it all, it was relaxing and a lot of fun.

I guess that is how retirement is supposed to be, but that thing with my son's Medicaid is concerning me to no end--

Especially when I can't get anyone on the phone to speak to me.

I cannot tell you the countless hours I have spent--and wasted--making phone calls to a variety of government agencies during the past nearly five years of unemployment/inactivity/supposed retirement.

There were days I literally wasted, in entirety, making phone calls to these agencies, and to other entities that I needed to to get things in my family's lives on the straight and narrow.

But I often found that to get to the straight and narrow, you have to get through lots of zigs and zags.

And I have also, unfortunately, learned the bard way that you have to be able to convincingly say, "If you do not do what I am asking you to do, I will sue you."

People jump when you say that.

I hate to pull out that "rabbit in my hat," but if I have to, I have to.

Even the stupidest, most ignorant people I have dealt with during the past five years unsderstand what that means.

And when I waste all.of this time on the phone, yes, I do continue to wonder what retirement is.

That is why yesterday, at least for a few hours, I actually had some fun.

I haven't had much fun the past nearly five years, so I really enjoyed it--

Realizing that today is another day, and I might not have that experience again for a long, long time.

And as I end this Rant, let me say an "R.I.P." to one of our great actors James Earl Jones, who passed away at age 93.

He was popular and prolific, and I will always best remember him in "Field of Dreams" as Terence Mann.

And what a voice! To think that as a child, he stuttered so badly ... incredible.

One of the true greats ... he will certainly be missed--

As will Ed Kranepool, one of the New York Mets whose career spanned generations, who died at age 79. 

I was not a Mets fan, but this guy stood out as a decent baseball player and an even better representative of the national pastime.

He was at a few of the Rochdale Village Athletic League award breakfasts that we had in those early days of my old community of Rochdale Village.

He and temmate Ron Swoboda attended those breakfasts, so I am sure that I shook hands with both of them.

Funny how baseball runs through both Jones and Kranepool.

Maybe they will run into each other on the basepaths in heaven.

Rant #3,430: There's a Kind of Hush (All Over the World)

Let's get this out of the way first.

The unveiling ceremony for my mother's gravestone will be held Sunday, September 22.

We are just going to have a small gathering there, mainly family, and the ceremony will be a short one.

We aren't having anything afterwards, and I think that it will be a good, short and to-the-point end-point for my mom and her wonderful legacy on our family.

That was really the big news of the weekend, a fairly relaxing one before the work week starts up again today.

I watched a lot of baseball, watched a pay-per-view wrestling show with my son--it went on for six hours, and yes, I conked out with about 90 minutes left to go--and I had a few good nights' sleep.

Today, we get back to the week's business, including some medical stuff.

I am slated to take another blood test, and I hope all my levels are where they should be.

I have taken so many blood tests in my life that I almost feel like a pin cushion.

Couple that with the allergy shots that I received on Saturday, and the poking just continues unabated.

It is all for my continued good health, so I can't really argue with any of this.

My left leg is what it is, and my right leg still bothers me, but not as bad as it has been during the past couple of weeks or so.

I have a few more physical therapy appointments before I am done in October, and then it is up to me to continue my exercise regimen, so that my legs can be as strong as possible.

I have to say that I am doing pretty well, overall, as we move from summer to the fall.

I think my body likes the cooler temperatures, in particular in the evening.

I can't take the heat at all, and when it was in the 90s, I just wasn't sleeping very well.

Now, things are better in that regard.

And to round out this past weekend, I did some digitizing with my records, focusing on my Herman's Hermits collection.

I thought I digitized all of their singles over the years, but I recently found some holes in those digital files, so I started to fill in those gaps this weekend.

I am not done yet, so if I get some time, maybe I can finish it all up.

So the past weekend was pretty quiet, other than that unveiling announcement.

Kind of just the way I like it.

Now, the work week is in front of me ... and everything that goes with it--

Enough for me to be already looking forward to the next weekend.

It can't come too fast.

Rant #3,429: I Love You

As I had predicted, yesterday was about as busy a day as I have had in a long time.

I had to cover that conference I mentioned about to you, and I not only had to write it up and send it in, but I had three other work-oriented things to do, two of which I finished and at 7:30 p.m., I decided to hold off doing the last one until this morning.

There was also a Social Services matter that came out of the blue, and while I called transporting my son back and forth to work, I never connected with anyone there--so I will have to try again a little later today.

I also had physical therapy, and my body hurt from head to toe.

I am sort of between two anniversaries that I wish didn't exist--one of the passing of my mother on September 5 and the other, of the passing of my father on September 7.

Since I don't have time to do much of anything today--I have to pick up on the work I missed yesterday and do all my normal chores--I thought I would keep today's Rant very short and to the point.

My sister and I had the absolute greatest parents in the world.

We could not have chosen better parents if we were given the opportunity to do so.

They were both in their 20s when they had us, so I think the youthful verve that they had really rubbed off on us.

We were always busy, always doing something, and when you are always busy, you seem to stay young forever.

They both worked hard, and they enjoyed their later years, being grandparents of four boys and one girl--while still looking over my sister and I as our parents.

They loved the spouses of my sister and I, and they loved being the elder statesmen of our small family.

Then--and it seemed to happen almost out of nowhere--they got sick, or more to the point, unwell.

They had a variety if ailments as they went into their 80s, including dementia--

But they both still had their presence of mind, to a certain respect, until the days they died.

When they saw their children and grandchildren, they became young again.

Their final days were not good ones, but they left a legacy within our family--and to others who knew them and loved them--that will be passed down to the next generation, if there is one.

No great grandchildren are imminent, but if they do eventually come, you can bet they will know everything there is to know about Grandma and Zaidey.

As I go into this sad period, I cannot be unhappy.

How can I be that way with the parents I had?

They were great people, and my sister and I were their kids.

Other than wishing they were still with us, what do I have to be unhappy about?

We have memories that you cannot put a price on, and I hope my sister and I made them proud.

I love you, mom and dad.

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

Rant #3,428: School Days

School ...

All the public schools open this week if they haven't already opened.

And the colleges and universities are also opening, so our academic landscape is pretty much in full swing for the 2024-2025 school year.

And here comes the problems.

Where the beginning of the school year used to be a relatively happy time--at least for parents--it now signifies the beginning of protest season--

And how will colleges, universities, and yes, even some public schools, handle the coming of the Hamas groupies?

They had better do a better job than they did last school year.

Students and their sympathizers--including instructors and professors--took over campuses, spouting their anti-Semitic and anti-Israel rhetoric, intimidating not just Jewish students, but all students, who were there for the right reason--to be educated.

But the wrath was mainly directed at Jewish students, who had to bear the hatred of these groupies while administrators sat with their hands folded and did little or next to nothing to quell these disturbances.

On Tuesday, Columbia University had its first protests, and a campus statue was defaced. Two of the Hamas groupies were arrested.

Around the country, there have been other altercations, and more arrests.

Of course, these Hamas groupies ignore the reality of the situation, and what made these recent protests even more wretched was thst they came a few days after it was announced that six Israeli hostages--including one with American citizenship--had been murdered by Hamas terrorists.

One Columbia student who was interviewed by the local press here said that the atmosphere at the school was horrid, as anybody entering the campus had to go through a gauntlet of security simply to get on the campus.

"This is not the way to protest," the student said, adding that you are not getting your points across by upending the university.

I am not saying that protests should not be permitted.

But what is going on at many college campuses are NOT protests; they are vicious pep rallies supporting terrorists and targeting Jewish students on campus.

Vicious language, barbarian behavior, and destruction are part of the plan, and it is very intimidating.

It is also very wrong, period.

But these schools simply have no idea how to handle these uproars, which are fueled by people who generally get their news off of Tik Tok.

They are completely uninformed, but what they do know what to do is create anarchy on campus.

It has got to stop, and if there is blood on anyone's hands here, it is on the hands of college administrators, who haven't a clue about how to run what is supposed to be an educational institution.

Shame on them, shame on the Hamas groupies, shame on the biased press, and shame on all of us for letting this hatred and anti-social behavior simmer to this boiling point.

(And now we have the new school.year's first mass shooting, in Georgia. Another story for another time.)

And who used to prepare me for school, waking me up, making my lunch and helping me get ready for my and my sister's school day?

My mother, of course.

My mom passed away a year ago today.

She was a great mother, was always in our corner when we needed her, and she loved our father to pieces.

I miss her greatly, and I hope she is with my father now, having a good time in heaven.

So as the school year begins, and every year that the school year begins into perpetuity, I will think about my mother.

She did a GREAT job, and my sister and I couldn't have chosen a better mom--and dad--on our own.

So today is a bit of a sad day for me, but then I think of everything my mother did for me, and even through the sadness, I have to smile, at least a little bit.

Rant #3,427: Gimme Dat Ding

Related to yesterday's Rant, the pain continued for another day, and only recently subsided.

Late yesterday, I was finally paid by my place of work for the month of August.

But getting my money was not easy.

As I told you yesterday, the president of the association I work for just so happened to ask me if I could cover a conference on Thursday, and I said I would ...

But with the caveat that I had to be paid first before I would fully commit to cover this meeting.

Well, I heard absolutely nothing about being paid for several hours after that.

Finally, as I was finishing up my physical therapy appointment, as my legs were being iced, I decided to do something about this.

Again, I contacted the comptroller for the company, the employee who I always send my monthly invoices to, and explained, nicely, that I need to be paid, that my pay is supposed to be in my account on the first of the month, I have to pay rent, etc.

I sent out this email a little bit after 12 noon as my legs continued to be iced.

A little later, I received a return email from the comptroller.

He said that I would be paid today, and that the reason I was not paid was that my invoice could not be processed because it was sent in too late on Friday.

I knew that that explanation was a bunch of hooey, but for fun, I checked when I sent in the imvoice email.

I sent it out at exactly 8:13 a.m. ... using their inane explanation, I guess I should have sent it out at 4 a.m. in the morning, early enough so it could be processed.

And I let them know in a subsequent email that I sent out my monthly invoice pretty early indeed.

Of course their explanation is utter nonsense, they simply forgot to, or neglected to, send me my pay, and their explanation was beyond lame, especially since I actually had to ask them where my pay was.

This whole thing threw me for a loop, especially since it has happened several times before--

And what's worse, there is absolutely, completely and totally nothing I can do about it.

Many remote workers are considered/treated as second- or perhaps even third-class workers, and that is the way it is, whether anyone likes it or not, or whether that assessment is fair or not.

I think that I finally was paid late on Tuesday because of my second email alerting them to the time I actually sent my invoice in.

Maybe it set a fire under someone's tuckis about how lame--and wrong--their explanation was--

And it proves, once again, that if something has gone awry, you must open up your mouth--or in my case, voice your dissatisfaction in an email--or you simply will not get heard.

But the indignity of me having to bring this up to them--and their extremely lame tale about why i was not paid--simply leaves a very bitter taste in my mouth.

This is all compounded by my having to cover this meeting on Thursday, a write-up that takes time to do and completely kills my day.

The president of the association obviously saw my return message to him, yet nothing was done to make everything right until late in the day, leaving me needlessly simmering for hours.

Again, I had to contact the association and ask for my pay, which is totally embarrassing.

And it isn't like it hasn't happened before.

Yes, I wish I really could be fully retired, and not have to worry about such nonsense, but that simply isn't the case.

I envy those who can really, fully retire and do exactly what they want to do after decades of hard work.

That scenario will clearly never be one that I will experience, that's for sure.

I am happy that this story had a happy ending, but I know that this probably won't be the last time I have to ask for my pay, money that I earned fair and square.

This is retirement?

It can't be, it just can't be--

But it is, at least for me.

Rant #3,426: Money Honey

I hope you had a great Labor Day, a holiday where we celebrate workers' contributions to our society.

And being that as it is, that celebration evidently does not extend to me, or many other remote workers.

With the advent of COVID just about four years ago, many companies were pretty much forced to go the remote route for at least some of their employees, if for no other reason than to keep themselves solvent.

The scourge was at its height, so many people had it, there was no vaccine to at least mitigate it, and people confined themselves to their homes so as not to spread the disease.

This created something of a new facet of our workforce, those who used modern technology to keep their jobs and get work done.

Although the scourge has kind of faded--we have a vaccine and many of us have been innoculated--the need for remote workers might have lessened, but it remains a valued part of the workforce.

Me, I won't go into, for the 100th time, the whys and wherefores of why I found myself as a remote worker, but I have found that it has good and bad points, with pretty much the good canceling out the bad and the bad canceling out the good.

So it's a wash, at least for me.

But the fact remains that remote workers simply do not get treated as other workers do.

Let me count the ways ...

I am still waiting for my August work pay. This is not the first time this has happened to me, and based on past history, it will not be the last.

I know it was holiday weekend, but I sent in my invoice early Friday morning. It should have been processed, since I am supposed to be paid the first of every month.

Rent is due on the first of the month. Happily, I can cover that with my finances at hand, but not being paid on time makes things more difficult.

I have brought this fact up to my employer in the past, but evidently to no avail.

Hopefully, I will get my money today, but having to remind them of this transgression on their point is embarrassing, and I should not have to go through this--ever.

Add to this nonsense is that not even a half hour ago, the president of the c9mpany I work for asked me if I coukd cover a conference on Thursday.

I don't think he knows that I haven't been paid yet, but I replied to his request as follows:

"I can cover it, but i have to get paid for my work in August before I commit to anything.

I don't know any nicer way to say it."

And I don't.

(I have also not had a raise in four years, but that is another story for another time.)

I am going to repeat something I have said here about 1,000 times, and I might say it 1,000 times more.

What I have been going through since I lost my job nearly five years ago cannot possibly be what retirement is all about.

Although I am officially considered to be retired by the federal government, I have never actually retired--

And I probably never will.

What I have gone through the past several years cannot possibly be what retirement is all about.

I have been a guest at a couple of retirement parties in recent times, and those people will have real retirements, where they made their own decision to retire, and can slow down a bit and take it all in after decades of hard work.

They deserve it!

Me, I got "bubkis" after decades of hard work, and unlike Superman, I cannot make coal into diamonds.

My "retirement" has been completely non-existent, and will continue in that direction, certainly for the foreseeable future.

And this latest transgression on the part of my employer simply makes the total, complete negative that I have been through even more toxic.

This simply cannot be what retirement is all about.

I don't know what retirement is, and at this point, I may never know.

Rant #3,425: The Way It Is

Happy Labor Day!

My family and I might go out to dinner later today, but that is pretty much it.

We can't barbecue anymore, so this is what we are left with.

We are entering a little bit of a rough period for my family now, so this is a period of subdued remembrance for us, and not a lot else.

My father died on Labor Day 2020, which was on September 7 of that year, so Labor Day--whenever it is each year--will always be a bit of a somber day for my family and I from here on in.

The holiday is five days earlier on the calendar than it was four years ago, so we will have a nice dinner, but I know my father will be on my mind.

And on September 5, it will be one year since my mother passed, so again, that will be a bit of a somber day for us.

And next month, it will.mark the fifth anniversary of me losing my job--

But let's not push it ... the Jewish High Holy Days are also coming up, so I would like to take it a little slower ... as is the anniversary of my first injury--

These are.things I would like to put off thinking about until they actually come.

And you know what came in the mail on Saturday?

My handicapped parking space permit!

As I have said, I do not feel handicapped in the least, but when push comes to shove, if I cannot find a "Visitors" space in my housing development even though dozens of spots are unused, well, I will simply have to use thst pass to park in a handicapped spot.

I am not going to be the least bit vindictive about it.

I will first look for a "Visitors" spot, where I park 99 percent of the time to begin with.

But if I drive from one end of the development to the other--and back again--and there are no.open "Visitors" spots, then I will park.in the handicapped spot.

As I described to you last week, I simply will not have a choice.

I have spoken to.the Suffolk County Police and a lawyer friend who is very knowledgeable on disability cases, and they both agree that I cannot get towed for parking "iegally" in a handicapped parking spot, as long as the pass is visible in my car's front window.

Sorry, I was pushed into getting this pass, because as a resident of this development, I should not have to worry, each time I leave the premises and then come back, and can't find a space--even though there are dozens of empty spaces.

Since managment agrees with me but has no clue how to rectify this predicament, well, sometimes, you have to.do what you have to do.

I was pretty amazed that I received the permit so quickly, but now that I have it, I will use it--but only when necessary.

That is the way it is.

Have a nice holiday.