Rant #3,953: Written On the Wind

I am back at one of my doctors today, basically to see if the operation I had two weeks ago did what it was supposed to do.

I have a printout of my followup catscan, I think it looks OK, but since I am not a doctor, I don't know for sure--

I await what the doctor says, and hopefully, it will be all good news.

That will lead toward my goal, which is good health.

Since I had to be into the doctor's office for an early appointment, I am writing this particular Rant blindly, because I was forced to write it a bit earlier than normal due to this appointment.

On Thursday, I was told that I was going to have something printed in the local Newsday newspaper, and that it could actually run in the Friday edition--today's newspaper--but since I am writing this particular entry early, I have no idea whether it will wind up in that edition or maybe over the weekend or into next week.

It all relates to a scaled-back story that I sent them related to my oft-told true story about my bar mitzvah in 1970 and how it relates to the Knicks winning their first NBA championship the day before I read my haftorah.

I wrote about it here just a few Rants back, but since the Knicks are in the NBA championship round this year for the first time since 1999, I felt I should strike while the iron was hot, and put out something for the masses, not just those who read this blog.

It is a quite interesting story, all true, no filler, and I figured that people would enjoy reading about it.

I edited my thoughts quite a bit, sent it in, and lo and behold, Newsday called me back on it during Thursday afternoon.

They said they would re-edit the piece--they gave me a final look at the finished product, and I could make some minor changes if I saw it fit to do so--they asked for some bar mitzvah and current photos--

And VOILA!, I was told to look for the piece in the newspaper as early as today.

But since I am writing this Rant earlier than today, I have absolutely no idea if it went into today's newspaper or not.

Suffice it to say, when recalling the incident here at the Blog, you guys got the full story, which had to be edited for Newsday and was further edited by their staff.

Just so you know,  for the record, here is what I originally sent them, and again, they re-edited what I sent them--which is their right--for publication.

"The current success of the New York Knicks has brought me back to another time ...

Roughly 56 years ago, to my bar mitzvah.

I remember the whole thing like it was yesterday, and that period stands out to me as among the most important times of my life.

Leading up to my bar mitzvah on May 9, when I had my ceremony, I had had a really tough time. I was sick for about a week to 10 days prior to my bar mitzvah day, all from a case of nerves.

I had anywhere from a mild to a high fever, and I was as sick as could be.

I watched every minute of the NBA championship series between the Knicks and the Lakers that I could. It was difficult because in those days, games were blacked out in the home city, so our local ABC outlet didn't carry a lot of the games live, but on tape delay.

But I had a secret weapon--my TV picked up Channel 8 very well, from the ABC affiliate in Connecticut, and they carried the games live, so I was able to watch the games on that channel.

On May 8, I was really sick as a dog, and the pressure was on, because my bar mitzvah was on May 9.

There was no way out of this.

On the evening of May 8, I decided to watch the Knicks game, the biggest NBA game that the team ever played up to that point.

I turned on Channel 8, and the game changed my life.

Team Captain Willis Reed, who was injured earlier in the series, decided that nothing was going to stop him from taking the court in deciding Game 7.

The rest of the Knicks had come out for their shoot-around, as had the Lakers, but when Reed came out of the locker room apart and after his teammates, the Lakers were so stunned that they all stopped whatever they were doing and watched what was unfolding as the crowd cheered their hero, and they never really recovered.

Reed limped along on a bad leg, made his first two shots of the game, Walt Frazier had one of the greatest clutch games ever played by a Knick or any NBA player, and the Knicks won 113-99.

When I saw Reed limp out, I got goosebumps myself.

I thought to myself, if this guy can do what he is supposed to do on one leg, then what am I doing in the bed here as sick as I was--I can do it too!

When that game was over, I felt like a burden had been taken off my back.

I woke up on May 9, all ready to go. Sure, I still had a fever, but I felt like I could take on the world.

All told, I barely made it through the ceremony in our synagogue, and I nearly passed out toward the end. But I did it. And later in the day, I felt fine--100 percent fine, no fever, no nothing.

Those two days--May 8 and May 9--were certainly the most important days of my young life, and over 50 years later, still stand out as two of the most important days of my existence.

I see today's Knicks team, and it simply conjures up all of those memories from that time in my life.

I am older now, have some major ailments to address, but like it was in 1970, when Willis Reed limped onto the court, if they can do it in 2026, I can do it, too.

We are both out to win, and we are both going to do it."

If it is in the newspaper today, you can see how they edited it for publication, much like I edited it to send out to them. 

If it is not in the newspaper today, it will be, so I will keep you alerted when it finally gets in there.

As you know, I have been in Newsday dozens of times over the past more than 50 years, the last time being just a few months ago, as a letter I wrote about late night talk shows was reprinted as one of the top reader letters of the past year.

I have always loved seeing my name in print, and heck, being a writer and an editor has put food on my table for decades, from then to the current time.

So this is just another fun moment for me, seeing my thoughts in print in Newsday, pretty much the only game in town on Long Island for daily printed news, sports and entertainment items.

Bully for me, I guess.

With that all being said, have a great weekend, and I will speak to you again on Monday--

When my goal of good health extends to my car, as I have to bring it into the shop for an oil change and its yearly inspection.

Please keep me--and my car--in your thoughts.

(P.S.: My story is in today's Newsday, on page A21!)

Rant #3,952: Red Rubber Ball

When the New York Knicks are good, it truly galvanizes the region.

In the other sports, you have Yankees/Mets, Rangers/Islanders, and Giants/Jets.

But when you have the Knicks, you don't really have anybody else to split loyalties.

Yes, you have the Brooklyn Nets, but quite honestly, it was a huge mistake for Nets ownership to move the team to Brooklyn, where they are going to be overshadowed by the Knicks no matter how successful they might be.

And right now, they aren't successful at all, nothing but a last place, rebuilding team.

Nobody proclaims themselves a real Nets fan. 

Fans go to Barclays Center to see NBA basketball because the ticket prices are cheaper than at Madison Square Garden, and when the Knicks visit, it is like being at the Garden, anyway.

The Nets should have moved to ... I don't know ... maybe Kansas City, where they would have a solid fan base, but locating in Brooklyn, however nice the nostalgia was, was a great mistake.

So no divided loyalties here--

When the Knicks are good, nothing else matters.

Here is what I wrote on Facebook about what is going on with the NBA championship round-bound Knicks.

"As a Knicks fan since 1965, I am just so happy that this time they finally may have gotten through the curse that has been on this team since at least 1999, but probably since 1973, their last championship.

They pretty much bull-dozed through their opponents, and find themselves four wins away from the NBA championship.

But with all of that comes the realization that whoever their opponents are--the San Antonio or Oklahoma City--it won't be a cakewalk this time around.

These two teams are probably the two best teams in the NBA, top to bottom, unlike the teams the Knicks played to get here, who were good but very flawed teams.

That being said, I do believe this Knicks team has the potential to win it all--

And the great thing is that some of the greats of those two championship teams--including Walt Frazier and Bill Bradley--are still with us to take it all in.

With Willis Reed among those watching this team from the basketball courts in the sky, I do believe that this team is finally going to break that curse.

And you still have plenty of fans around like me--the real superfans of this team--who have gone through the ups and downs of this team, first as a child, then a teenager, then as adults, and now as veteran fans who have seen it all.

I wish I could be at Madison Square Garden to see it all, but that is another story for another time.

Whoever the Knicks play in the finals, I predict the Knicks in six."

My father took me to my first Knicks game in 1965.

It was part of the old NBA doubleheaders that the league used to have, and I think the Warriors--then known as the San Francisco Warriors--played the first game against the Philadelphia 76ers, and while we came in late to that game, that was technically my first NBA game.

Then the Knicks played the Los Angeles Lakers, the Knicks lost the game, but I was hooked.

I went to dozens of NBA--and ABA--games after that, with my dad and at other times with friends, and I have continued the tradition, as my son and I have also seen several games in person.

I still marvel at the talents of these athletes, even though it is through the lens of the TV, as I haven't been to a game in several years.

The prices are exorbitant, and it is simply out of my current price range.

But with the Knicks knocking on the door of the NBA championship, the so-called "City Game" is all anyone is talking about, and all anyone in this area seems to care about.

That is what sports is all about, taking us away from our daily worries.

That is the best thing about sports, it brings people together from divergent communities and beliefs and unites them in watching their team excel.

Quite frankly, the success that the Knicks have had galvanizes this area--New York City, Long Island, Westchester, and probably New Jersey too--to have one focus, and one focus only.

Sure, it is still a kid's game, but even at age 69, it is fun to watch--if I can stay up long enough to actually do that.

The team debuted in 1946, so it is 80 years old.

I am 69 years old--11 years younger than this franchise--so I have to tell myself that there is no reason that someone of my age can't stay up and watch a team that is older than I am compete in the championship round. 

Easier said than done, like going to the line and shooting a foul shot.

That is how the ball bounces ...

And I hope that it bounces the Knicks way when the championship round begins on June 3.

Rant #3,951: Get Back

Well, mission accomplished, at least for right now.

Yesterday, I got that KUB test done, and hopefully, it will come up clean.

It should not take that long to get the results back, and I am wishing for the best.

Nothing else is new on the horizon beyond that, but I do have a followup doctor's appointment on Friday morning, so I should be told where I stand on that morning.

I don't want to even think about the "I can't stand up for falling down" thing, so I hope my standing comes out good.

Then we--my doctors and I--can attack the obvious thing that is wrong with me, and really start me on the road to good heath.

Nothing much else is going on here, although it looks like the weather is, finally, getting better.

In my neck of the woods, the sun is out, the temperature is up, and the gloom and doom for the past few days is over.

But I have to take into consideration my son's work schedule.

Let me explain.

It seems that every time he works, he runs into horrid weather.

He worked the entire past weekend, and where we were, it rained, and rained and rained some more.

Just prior to that, when we actually reached 98 degrees on the thermometer, he also worked, and he needed constant gulps of water to keep going--

I even gave him a bottle of water when I came to pick him up, and he had to buy water at work to keep himself hydrated.

I mean, he works outside all day, you would think that they would give him water, but I guess not.

Anyway, that is the nature of his job, he enjoys it, so I can't really complain, not after all he went through to get this job.

Me, I just don't have the energy I once had.

Heck, on Monday night, I think I fell asleep at 9 p.m., so I missed the New York Knicks game, where they beat the Cavaliers and are going into the NBA championship series for the first time in 27 years--

And vying for their first NBA championship since 1973.

I was just too pooped.

I felt it the entire day, and it did not let up in the evening, it just knocked me out.

During all of these processes, procedures and surgeries, I have not been able to take any vitamins, because they are considered to be blood thinners, so I think I might be overly fatigued because I can't take these vitamins.

I go through spurts where I feel strong, and then I feel like I fell off a cliff.

I am hoping that once I can get my vitamins back in my system, I can get back to where I should be.

Thus, I am still not 100 percent, maybe 85 percent or so.

But hopefully, I am getting better.

I have too much on my plate to slow down, but my body is telling me that I am slowing down whether I like it or not.

So for now, all I can say is--

"Let's Go Knicks"--

And we will leave it at that.

Rant #3,950: She's Gone

Memorial Day was pretty good for myself and my family.

We had a slight change of plans.

I had planned on having a barbecue for myself, my wife and our son, but instead, we met up with family at my sister's house, which is always fun.

I will put off our first barbecue of the season for a week, so we will still have it, but just a little later than I had planned.

This week is a big week for me, health-wise.

I have to go for what is known as a KUB--kidney, ureter and bladder--scan today, which will ascertain whether my most recent operation did what it was supposed to do.

I sure hope it did.

And then on Friday, I have to go to the urologist for a post-operation checkup, where I will further learn whether the operation was a success and what my next move for good health in that area entails.

I really hate all of this, as it seems never-ending, but it is all part of the plan to get me back to where I should be.

The past three years or so have been horrid for me health-wise, and I just need to get back to some semblance of normalcy, because I have been in something of a holding pattern for quite a while now with all these operations and procedures hopefully pointing me in the right direction.

I heard a sad bit of news this past weekend.

My friend's mother passed away about a week or so ago.

She lived a long life--nearly to 100 years of age--but finally succumbed to what ailed her.

I was told that her last few years were very poor, but she somehow persevered, and nearly hit the century mark.

She was my mom's best friend, the wife of my father's best friend, my childhood best friend's mom, and I have so many memories of her, pretty much all good.

She was like my second mother during those early years, and her passing hit me a bit hard.

During those early years, if my mother did not know where I was, she certainly did--

Your community was your parent, and that community never let you get out of line or into too much trouble.

I just know that she is in a better place now, and I hope it brings piece to my old. life-long friend and his sister, who I know have struggled with their mom's care for the past several years.

I wish them all well.

So another, real part of my childhood is gone, but the good memories of this lady will be with me for the rest of my life.

I was looking for a photo of her, but for some reason, I cannot find my bar mitzvah album.

I know that there was one photo of her in that album, with all my parents' friends at the time--many of them life-long friends who they still got together with through their 80s and beyond.

I am sure it is here, but in our move, it is probably sitting in some box of books or other things that we do not have displayed.

It will turn up one day, but right now, I simply cannot find it.

But I don't really need actual photos to remember this lady--

She will live on in my memories forever.

Rant #3,949: Remember

Happy Memorial Day to all of us!

Today, we are all out and about, having barbecues, attending ball games, and pretty much having a day off on the unofficial first day of summer.

But honestly, that is not what the holiday is about--

It is a byproduct of the holiday, because without the ultimate sacrifices of so many of our men and women through all the wars and through all the altercations we have been in, we wouldn't be having barbecues, ballgames or the day off to take it a bit easy.

Memorial Day is the day where we remember our war dead, through all the wars we have been in, and this year, it takes on an extra significance for two reasons:

1) We are currently in a war with Iran.

2) This year's holiday is right before our country's 250th anniversary celebration on July 4.

Put aside all the politics, and this is what Memorial Day 2026 is all about.

In some ways, it is a stepping stone for the bigger celebration in July, but it really does stand on its own, because without the sacrifices of so many, we wouldn't be celebrating our country's 250th birthday.

My father was in the Marines during the Korean War conflict, as was my father-in-law.

My dad never went to Korea, although he was supposed to go ... two sets of papers, one having him going, the other having him staying, were issued at the same time, and to make a long story short, he never went over there.

My father-in-law was not so lucky. He fought in Korea, was injured, but he made it out alive.

There are thousands of others who weren't so lucky.

And today, with our war efforts directed at the terrorist regime in Iran, we are still losing brave people.

That is war, I guess.

And whether you are for our experience there or against it, you have to support our war fighters who are fighting the good fight in doing what they are doing, which is ridding the world--or at least trying to--of the capacity for this terrorist nation to launch a nuclear strike against others.

And while we are barbecuing and having fun, that work goes on without stop, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

We honor our war dead today, but let's not forget about those who are currently serving in our armed forces, whose one collective goal is to protect us from harm, so we can have days like this.

There really isn't any more to say about Memorial Day, other than during the day, take a moment and understand what the holiday actually signifies.

Think about it for a moment, and then go back to the barbecuing and the ball games.

That is exactly what those who have made the ultimate sacrifice would want you to do ...

So do it.

Rant #3,948: Love Hangover Silly Love Songs Fooled Around and Fell In Love

After more than 3,900 entries, it is nice to have something to fall back on with today's Rant.

I have not done such a Rant in quite a while, but with summer coming, I felt that it was time to bring it back.

Summer does not begin on Memorial Day, but in a society that loves to rush things, the holiday this Monday, May 25, is the unofficial beginning of summer, although in my neck of the woods, it isn't supposed to be very nice outside.

Personally, if it doesn't rain, I hope to have a barbecue for myself and my family, and that is pretty much it.

I will work that day, but I know that I probably won't have that much to do, as the government usually takes that day off.

The 25th of the month is more important to me as the day that I pay my over-priced car loan bill, so while I will be writing at least one check that day, it is, hopefully, the only time during the day that I will have to look at my checkbook, and sigh with disgust like the rest of us.

So without further ado, let's look back at the Top 10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 for 50 years ago, the week of May 29, 1976--what we were listening to on the radio during Memorial Day 1976, which was on May 31 that year.

Coming in at #10 was "Tryin' To Get the Feeling Again" by Barry Manilow, one of his least remembered of all of his big hits during this period.

At #9 was "Sara Smile" by Daryl Hall and John Oates, one of the earliest hits from this duo, who would have many more in the years to come.

Coming in at #8 was "Shannon" by Henry Gross. This one-hit wonder was once a member of Sha Na Na.

The next two songs on the chart were themes to popular ABC television sitcoms. Coming in at #7 was "Welcome Back," the theme to "Welcome Back, Kotter," by ex-Lovin' Spoonful member John Sebastian, and "Happy Days" by Pratt and McClain, was the sixth most popular song on this chart.

"Misty Blue" by Dorothy Moore came it at #5, while "Get Up and Boogie (That's Right)" by Silver Convention charted at #4 and Elvin Bishop came in at #3 with "Fooled Around and Fell In Love."

The next two songs bounced back and forth between the two top spots for several weeks. 

This week, "Silly Love Songs" by Paul McCartney and Wings charted at #2, and topping the chart was--

"Love Hangover"--originally recorded by the 5th Dimension--by Diana Ross, spending the first of two weeks at #1.

The song by the ex-Beatle had been the #1 song a week earlier, was leapfrogged by the ex-Supremes member's tune, and finally leapfrogged Ross' tune, spending four weeks at the top spot, but on the chart covering Memorial Day, "Love Hangover" was the top single in the country.

The highest debuting single for the week was "Young Hearts Run Free" by Candi Staton, which came in at #73 on the Hot 100, reaching #20 later in June.

The biggest mover, the single that jumped the most places from last week's chart to this week's chart, was "Afternoon Delight" by the Starland Vocal Band, which moved up 22 places on the May 29 chart, from 66 to 44. It eventually supplanted "Silly Love Songs" as the #1 song in the country by mid-July.

This was an interesting chart, featuring one-hit wonders mixed with established hit makers, but whatever the case, that is what we were listening to 50 years ago during Memorial Day.

I have absolutely no idea what the top songs are today, nor do I really care, because they don't have the influence that songs 50 years ago had on all of us, whether we listened to Top 40 radio or not.

It just isn't the same today, not with streaming taking the pleasure away that we had when we went to our local record store, found these singles, and purchased them with glee.

Have a great weekend, a great Memorial Day, and I will speak to you again on Monday--which begins another interesting week for me with my maladies.

More on that next week.

Rant #3,947: Shopping From A-Z

I have been covering the shopping industry--both here and abroad--for the past 30 years or so, and whether writing or editing stories about the military retail industry or the overall shopping industry, I think I have a pretty good read at what is right and what is wrong with this industry, encompassing supermarkets, convenience stores, and the like. 

So when I get involved in something that irks me at the local supermarket ...

Well, it irks me.

Yesterday morning, we had a couple of bags of empty water bottles in our pantry, so to keep moving--that is the way I am recovering from my recent surgery--I decided to go to my local supermarket to cash the bottles in.

So that is where I was at 9 a.m. yesterday morning, putting the bottles in the recycling machines--something I have been doing religiously since this was instituted more than 40 years ago in New ¥ork State--and when done, I got my receipts and looked to cash them.

I went to the customer service area, and it was closed.

I saw the woman who usually mans the area, who was sitting near the bathroom talking and using her phone, and she told me, "You have to wait on line to cash those receipts. We are open until 10 p.m."

There was one line open with a cashier, and there were about five people ahead of me, all with large amounts of groceries in their shopping baskets.

I went to the woman again, and she reiterated, "You have to wait on line to cash those receipts," as she was talking on her phone.

"Look at the line," I said. "I am not going to wait on such a line to just cash these things."

"Well, I am sorry, the reason I am not at the customer service desk is that we don't have enough people working this morning."

(What she should have done is go to the one cashier, and tell her, "When you are done with this order, cash these receipts," which would be the common sense thing to do, and by the way, you cannot use the receipts on any of the self-checkouts, areas which are plentiful in the store.)

"Let me speak to the manager," I replied.

Once I said that, it pretty much has the same, exact response as when I tell people over the phone "I will get a lawyer and sue you," which appear to be the magic words to get some action and get people moving to do what they are supposed to do.

She went into the back, and I know she didn't speak with anyone, and then she came back out.

"There is no one here ... give me the receipts."

I handed her the receipts, she took them from me, grumbling the entire time.

She went to a register, and proceeded to give me my money, all of about $6.

"This is very bad customer service," I told her amidst her grumbling. "You don't turn a customer away for something like this. This store has the worst customer service I have ever seen."

This woman has an attitude. I am in this store with my wife a couple of times a month, and I have complained to her several times about various things, including people abusing their rights at the bottle return, where New York State law prohibits people from cashing in hundreds of bottles in one visit.

She replied, "Sir, we don't have people working here today."

"That is no excuse," I said. "All I wanted to do was to cash in two bottle receipts. That should have been done very easily by you. That is very poor customer service."

She replied, "Sir, I have been working in this business for 23 years--"

I cut her right off.

"Look, I have been covering this business for 30 years, and this is not the way to run a supermarket."

After I got my big $6 for my troubles, I decided to do some shopping ...

Minor things like seltzer and a bag of chips.

I got my stuff, went on the line again--it was not as bad now, just a few people ahead of me with only a few items in their carts--and she called me over.

"Go to line three," she said, which I did, and I came across a cashier who was about as happy as I was about the situation at hand.

Evidently, he had wanted to wipe down the scanning area as he began hus duties for the day, and this same woman who was giving me an argument about cashing in two bottle return receipts was giving him trouble by initially not allowing hime to wipe down that area.

She finally acquiesced to his request, but he was none too happy.

"This is the worst supermarket I have ever worked for," he said.

"Yes, the customer service here is really bad," I replied.

"All I wanted was some paper towel to wipe this area down ... and you are right, the customer service here is terrible--

"And it seems to be only the women who work here who have an attitude."

I didn't pursue that line of thinking, but if the woman I dealt with represented how other women who work there act to customers, maybe he was on to something.

Anyway, I checked out, wished him a good day, and I left the supermarket.

I won't tell you the name of the supermarket--only that it has three words in its name and is the biggest supermarket on Long Island related to the number of stores under its banner--but I have had some problems with it before, as a customer--

And now one of its employees is backing up what I said!

I think I need to bathe in that seltzer I bought to completely wipe off the stench of this experience.

Hubble bubble, toil and trouble!