Rant #3,722: Roll With the Flow

Today is the day that i have the divine pleasure of seeing two--count 'em two--doctors about my lingering physical problems related to that procedure that I had seven--count 'em seven--months ago.

Maybe the one new doctor I am seeing can come to some sort of consensus, abd hopefully, he will listen to me.

So I should be out a good part of the morning and afternoon, and hopefully, it will be a good day, something that has been in short supply in my life in recent times.

Otherwise, as usual, I am looking forward to the weekend. 

Tonight is my son's final week in the spring session of basketball.

He really enjoys this, and I find it to be a nice respite from the rigors of the week.

The good news is that although they weren't going to have a summer basketball program, they decided to have it, so, after a two-week break, summer basketball begins again after July 4.

And in Saturday, my son has his final bowling of the 2024-2025 season.

His team did pretty well, considering that they were without one of their members for about half the season due to a variety of ailments.

They won't win it all this season, but they ended up in the top tier of the league, so they did just fine.

The league won't begin again until the fall, so the bowling ball will be put away for awhile.

Both basketball and bowling acted as a salve for my son, whose ego has been really hurt as he looks for a new job.

Each activity gave him time to forget about all of this, at least for a few moments a week, and thank goodness, he still has basketball to look forward to.

And on Sunday, my wife, my son and I will have a small barbecue, just for us.

I tried the barbecue a few weeks ago, it worked well, but this will be a good prep for some larger barbecues we will have during the summer.

It would be nice to have a good, and healthy, summer--both mentally and physically--and that is my goal.

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

Rant #3,721: I'll Go Crazy

Yesterday was an extremely frustrating day.

Dealing with Walmart and Verizon over the phone is never an easy task--

But dealing with them back to back is a thrill that no one should experience 

This saga began on Tuesday, when my son told me that his watch wasn't working anymore.

It was an inexpensive watch, so I figured we might as well get him a new watch.

He likes the watch, so I thought that he might as well get something similar--

Which I found within seconds on rhe Walmart site, so we quickly ordered it, opting to pick it up ourselves on Wednesday, because the delivery option was not free, and it would have added to the cost if the watch.

I woke up yesterday morning, looked at my email, and I received a message saying it could not be picked up, because it was not available, but I could get it delivered.

I contacted Walmart by phone, got somebody from India on the phone, and during the hour-long call, they admitted that their site was not working correctly, so i could either cancel the order completely or cancel the order, reorder the item, and I could get it delivered, without extra cost ... and they would take an extra $5 off my order.

I agreed with the latter, but why did it take an hour to admit that their site was not working correctly?

And the watch was supposed to be delivered yesterday, and it finally arrived at about 6:30 p.m.

Case closed.

Then right after all this early morning nonsense, I called Verizon.

As I was looking through my email, I found that Verizon sent me a message telling me that my bonus option had kicked in, and that i was due that option, simply by clicking a couple of buttons.

This is legit, because when we renewed with Verizon when we moved, they told me that they would contact me about 60 days later with these bonuses.

So i did my clicking, and there was no option available for these bonuses.

This led to a two-hour phone call--first speaking to someone in India and then to someone who i assume was in the United States--where they never admitted that the site wasn't working, but told me that even though I received the email that morning, it can take 72 business hours to kick in, and that i should wait before trying to access my bonus.

Heck, they even took $30 off my monthly bill for the next year, and gave me a special number to call, so even though I knew their site wasn't working, and their explanation was bogus, I went with it, and after all this time on the phone, I finally put the phone down at about 11 a.m. and went about my day--

But I received another email at about 4 p.m. once again telling me to cash in my rewards, so I figured that they, perhaps, fixed the problem, so I did my clicking again--

Only to find that one click led me to a page thst literally said it was not working to another click that led me to a page that constantly asked for my password and email but then would not let me proceed.

So I called Verizon again, using the special number they gave me, and this time they told me that one part of the bonuses they could manually process, but the other, I would have to wait until.next week, when one of their associates would call me with a code I can use to access the other bonus.

By the way, these are not scams perpetuated by hackers. These sites are legitimate, these phone numbers are legitimate, and those I spoke with are legitimate.

All inept, but legitimate.

I did some research, and Verizon is having a major problem fulfilling these types of orders.

I told the person that I spoke with that if I do not receive my bonuses by next Wednesday, I will call the Better Business Bureau and the New York State Attorney General and register complaints with them.

And in the middle of everything, I received another email telling me thst my son was rejected for a position with another supermarket--and I promptly applied online to another such chain, which I don't like to do--applying online is a one-way abyss--but these chains require Us to do that to qualify for employment.

(We have gone in person to many of them, and i may as well be speaking to a piece of wood with the response store managers have given to us.)

So yesterday was as frustrating as it could possibly be.

The pain continues.

This is NOT the world I was born into.

I could say more, but i am done, at least for now.

 

Rant #3,720: Listen, People

There were some good responses to yesterday's Rant, but when you leave no stone unturned, there really isn't much more you can do.

One suggestion was to volunteer ... that was a good thing to do 15 years ago, but my son needs a paying job now.

He applied to one such company in recent times, and they didn't think he could pass the training.

Use Artificial Intelligence ... I did, and while my own intelligence isn't artificial, the AI bot came up with the exact same organizations that have failed my son.

Use LinkedIn ... I did that, but not one response. I had forgotten I did that several months ago, also with nothing generated.

Call an organization back ... I did, and they still haven't responded to me.

Advertise in the newspaper ... we did that--in not one, but two newspapers--and came up empty handed.

So we are back to square one, which is very upsetting.

We have a job fair to go to on a couple of days, but since I have no idea what companies will be there, i don't know if the fair will be right for my son.

He is going to be 30 years old in August. He has worked literally half his life.

He has a high school education, and has worked in both retail and office environments, as well as in summer camps.

Why is he having such a difficult time?

Well, the major problem is that the minimum wage was increased, and that is why his work hours were decreased by 75 percent.

And believe me, it isn't just my son; I have heard other special needs people who had their hours greatly reduced, or even lost their jobs.

Thus, companies may be hiring, but they are not hiring special needs workers; if anything, they are cutting these workers.

The organizations that are supposed to help special needs people have been cut themselves, so their manpower and resources have been reduced.

But they don't get a "bye" from me, because even in good times, they never helped my son.

And, even though companies get tax breaks for employing special needs workers, many companies simply won't hire these workers, for a variety of reasons ... some legitimate, some not.

And also, i am sorry to say, there are discrepancies between those who are "handicapped" and those who are "special needs" and those who are "challenged"--they share many of the same challenges and frustrations, but just as many of their challenges are quite different.

Whatever the case, during the past six months, my son and I have left no stone unturned, and we will continue to look the traditional ways, which simply have proven not to work for special needs people.

So sometimes you have to go outside the box, and I am ready, and willing, to do that.

This is my son, and I will do anything for him, and I think the time has just about come.

Nothing else works, non one is helping us, so you gotta do what you gotta do.

Rant #3,719: Mission: Impossible

Yes, I got hit bad at my local car service station.

Not only did I get my car inspection and an oil change, but I needed tires and an alignment.

In a blink of an eye, nearly $700 is down the drain.

And right after hearing this bad news, I received a message in my email, which kind of references my blog entry from yesterday.

I posted the following on Facebook, and it bears worth posting again:

"Zip Recruiter, Indeed and other job search sites are all unregulated scams.

They post jobs that don't exist, to get companies to take out contracts with them.

It happened at my last job, when an opening was posted ... while we were about two weeks away from going out of business.

My son applied for a recently posted position, and in what has happened countless times before, although the job site communicated that his resume was "looked at" three times, this is the message that we just received:

'I wanted to let you know that xxx has closed or temporarily put the xxx position on hold.

Meanwhile, we can focus our energy on getting you other opportunities. Check out these similar jobs I think you’d be a good fit for:'

THE JOB NEVER EXISTED IN THE FIRST PLACE. IT IS JUST A PLOY TO GET A COMPANY TO TAKE OUT A JOB CONTRACT WITH THEM.

And the same job site advertised another job for a local business that I know has been closed at least six months ... in the dead Sunrise Mall, no less.

Beware these sites. They are nothing but scams.

My son has done everything he can do to get a job, but as a special needs person, and with these bogus sites, IT HAS BECOME IMPOSSIBLE."

"Impossible" is the operative word here.

Nobody helps, nobody cares, and we are getting nowhere with his job search.

And then, you have these companies which abuse unwitting job seekers with bogus offers.

Applying via the Internet is a negative to begin with, but when you have companies advertising jobs that don't not exist ...

IMPOSSIBLE.

So you wonder why I might go to my high school reunion ... not to meet up with people I never knew to begin with, but to use the occasion as an avenue to get my son's resume out to those who might be able to help him.

IMPOSSIBLE.

IMPOSSIBLE.

IMPOSSIBLE.

Again I ask, can anybody out there help my son?

He desperately needs a guardian angel, and for people like him, they seem to be in very short supply.

Rant #3,718: Daddy's Song

I received some nice gifts for Father's Day, but i have to tell you, the cards were the best!

Maybe i am a bit sensitive because of my health situation, but the words really hit home.

Also, I saw my daughter on Father's Day, the first time I saw her in a year, since last Father's Day.

Her fiance was not there--he was visiting his father for the day--but my wife, my son and I had a nice three-hour visit, the first time we had ever been over there to her apartment.

But now, the work week starts--

And as you read this, I am in the local car shop for my inspection and an oil change.

I just hope that I don't get hit with any extra expenses related to the inspection; that will certainly ruin my day and week.

Things were going good with my medical action, but I had a relapse this past weekend, so it is back to square one--i have two doctors' appointments on Friday, so Plan B (or is it Plan C, D, E, F ... ?) will have to wait.

I have one further dilemma I have to face this week. Maybe you can help me make a decision.

My 50-year high school reunion is coming up in September, and if one is going, payment has to be in by the end of this month 

I hated every moment I spent at Massapequa High School from 1971 to 1975, and I do mean every moment.

We moved from Queens to Long Island just prior to my beginning of high school, and for the four years I was there, I never fit in.

I wasn't an athlete, I wasn't a brain, I wasn't a druggie or a smoker, I didn't know anyone, and I tried to make friends in high school, trying to break through ironclad cliques that both repelled and repulsed me at the same time.

My grades suffered, I was made fun of, and many tiffs were settled by old fashioned fights.

I kind of was not there while being there, a real man without a country--

So much so that I spent many weekends back in my old neighborhood with my true friends. People thought I still lived there!

Anyway, things got a smidgen better by senior year, but I never felt I fit in, and I stood out like a sore thumb.

And back then, Massapequa High School was more "Hollywood East," with so many future stars--many famous and infamous--walking in the same halls that i did, including Joey Buttufucco, Jessica Hahn, Brian Setzer and Jerry Seinfeld.

Going into college and then grad school, I never had such socialization problems again, my grades improved, and I never looked back.

We already had one reunion, a year after we graduated in 1976, and I was the first one there and the first one to leave.

Nothing had changed.

So with all of this baggage, why even consider going to the 50-year reunion?

i figure if i can use my presence at the reunion in a positive way, it will be worth it.

As you know, my son is looking for a new job, and there are so many obstacles in his way, that it is really taking the life out of both him and me.

It is very depressing. Special needs people are simply not being hired.

We have touched every store, every organization and every group, and no one can help him.

We have been banging our brains out on this since the beginning of the year, and things are getting worse--

And I believe it is greatly impacting my son. He often seems to be so far away.

Anyway, I figured that if I showed up at the reunion, I might be able to make a few contacts and hand out a few of his resumes there--just another avenue for us to trod in, with the goal of finding him a job.

Look, if this was six years ago, i would have gone to this reunion without thinking twice about it--where I could pass out my own resume looking for full-time work.

This is a little different ... I would be talking him up with many people I didn't even talk to or know 50 years ago!

And by the way, my son also graduated from the same high school, 39 years later.

I spoke to the organizer about this, and she was noncommittal, stating that most people would be coming from out of town, people will be coming to relive their memories, so it might not be the right venue for this--

But she didn't tell me not to.

My feeling is that I have nothing to lose, and if I get one or two people to listen to me and take my son's resume, it will all be worth it--

Even though I might be the first one there and the first one out again.

What do you think?

Should I go and carry out my plan, or should I take a (hall) pass on this?

Please let me know ... .

Rant #3,717: I Want To Take You Higher

I completed everything that I had to do, and i thought Thursday would be a quiet day--

But it wasn't.

I was on the phone for about three hours, with my aunt, my sister, and with my dental insurer, which, over the months my son and I have have been covered by them, has given us nothing but trouble related to bill payment (don't ask).

But at least i had the normal flow of work and other things to do, so I wouid rather have the time to touch base with my sister and aunt than to do hours and hours of typing.

(The stuff with the dental insurer I can completely live without.)

And I texted with my daughter--

Will wonders never cease!

Anyway, as you are reading this, it is Friday the 13th, i am at the doctor for yet another examination, and all the fun continues next week, when I have to bring my car in for an oil change and yearly inspection ... and then later in the week, I have to go to yet another doctor.

But during this past week, we lost Sly Stone first, and then Brian Wilson.

I am going to talk about Wilson first.

Personally, I don't think I truly got the Beach Boys until I was older.

I thought a lot of their music was wimpy, but as I got older, i understood the lyrics and themes a bit more, and I became a fan.

Those songs evoke summer, but if you got Wilson's music, you know that he was writing these songs almost in third person.

He wasnt a surfer, wasnt popular with California girls, and this all forced him to look elsewhere, "God Only Knows."

But if you were looking for a soundtrack of the 1960s, you must at least include, if not fully turn to, Wilson's Beach Boys songs as a template for that era.

And whether as a participant or in third person, he "got" summer--

As did Sylvester Stewart, who i think was the complete opppsite of Wilson; as he actually lived the summer, and it showed in his music--

Such as "Hot Fun in the Summertime," one of the great seasonal anthems.

But Sly was more than that.

He mixed rock, soul, rhythm and blues, jazz and gospel and created funk, and during their short period of prominence, Sly and the Family Stone were "IT"--nobody looked like them or sounded like them.

I have a personal recollection related to Sly ... or was it Walt?

The story is that both Sly's girlfriend at the time, and Walt Frazier's girlfriend, lived in my old neighborhood,  Rochdale Village, South Jamaica, Queens, New York, about 1969-1970 or so. 

I remember that word got around quickly that one of them would be picking up his girlfriend in Rochdale in his Rolls Royce. 

We went over to Section 5, I think it was, the Rolls Royce came, the girl was picked up, and the car drove away, with a bunch of us stupid kids running behind the car until it took off. 

Again, I don't know if it was Sly or Walt, but I was one of those stupid kids. 

Great memory.

Both were troubled souls, wasting their gifts on drugs and later, mental illness.

But i would rather think of the good times 

Brian and Sly are now creating new masterworks in heaven, but what they left behind ...

WOW!

Have a great weekend, and i will speak to you again on Monday--

And Happy Father's Day!

Rant #3,716: All I Can Take

Sorry, I am just so busy with my work obligations that we are going to have to go the "reading Rant" way again.

Thanks for bearing with me through this horror show.

30

With his new-found confidence and exuberance, Abraham Lincoln Panim decided to take a walk that evening, a walk like he had taken many times before. But with his physical change, this was going to be a walk like no other.

He got up from his bed, put on his jacket, and wrapped his scarf around his neck, but not on his face. He also stuffed the mirror into his pocket, and then he walked to his mother’s bedroom.

“Mom, I’m taking a walk,” he yelled through his mother’s still-closed bedroom door. “I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.”

Mrs. Panim heard her son this time, and said, “Take that walk, and maybe it will help you think!” she screamed back.

He walked outside the house, letting the door close by itself behind him. He entered the fresh air with a big smile on his face, and he began to walk with a cadence that he hadn’t ever remembered that he had in previous walks with himself and his mother.

It was turning to evening, and there was barely enough natural light to use as the street lights popped on, illuminating the area of his walk, which led to the nearby park, as his walks always did.

“Why aren’t people stopping and admiring me?” he said, but while it wasn’t completely dark, it wasn’t as light as it was during the day. “I guess it is too dark for people to admire me,” he thought.

Abraham Lincoln Panim walked his usual walk, and he went by a few other people walking in the park, and a few did, in fact, stop to look at him, some young girls and some older women. He knew they were looking at him, and almost instinctively moved his scarf even further down his neck so it would expose more of his face to everyone.

He reached the point where he normally stopped, sat on the same bench that he had sat on many times before, and took in the night air as people passed him going both ways. Some stopped to look at him, and he sat up when he knew they were staring.

“I have to give them a full look at my features, so I better sit up straight,” he thought to himself as he moved up on the bench.

Abraham Lincoln Panim sat on the bench for some time, and then he saw in the distance a woman jogging with her dog, and as the woman came closer to him, he saw that it was Ariel and her dog Snuff.

“Ariel, Arilel … it’s Abraham Lincoln Panim … please take a rest,” he said as she came closer to him. “Please … .”

Ariel approached, and guided by her seeing-eye dog, sat down on the bench.

“Hi, Abraham Lincoln Panim,” she said, still taking in her breath from her run. “I am really, really glad to see you.”

“And I am too,” he said, thinking to himself, “If she could really actually see me now!”

“Look, Abraham Lincoln Panim, I really want to apologize for the way you were treated the other day. I am sorry that Brandon screamed at you like that. He told me who you were, and what he was so upset about.”

“So he told you about my rat face?”

“Yes, and I really don’t care about that,” Ariel said. “I mean, I can’t really see anything anyway, and you have a nice speaking voice and you are so kind, that well … look, I am blind. Who am I to say anything about how you look, when I can’t even see you?”

“Well, Ariel, things have changed—“

“Yes, they have changed. After Brandon did what he did, I had a long talk with him, and we are no longer a … a … couple, let’s say. He didn’t take it very well, but we aren’t together anymore.”

A big smile crossed Abraham Lincoln Panim’s face, and he tugged at his scarf. “You mean, he is out of your life?” he asked.

“Yes, we are not together anymore,” Ariel said. “He showed what a big jerk he was when he yelled at you like that. I don’t care if you have a rat face, you seem to be a nice guy. Brandon and I were going together for a short time, and it went both good and bad, but I guess you can say that this was the straw that broke the camel’s back. There was no need for what he did, because all we were doing was talking.”

Abraham Lincoln Panim pushed himself up in the bench. “Look, things have changed—“

“Yes, they sure have,” Ariel said.

“Listen, I am not trying to hit on you or anything, but if you aren’t with Brandon anymore … might you like to … well might you like to go out for coffee maybe … things have changed—“

“Yes, I was hoping that you would say that,” Ariel said. “If you hadn’t asked me, I am pretty sure I would have asked you!”

The two laughed, and the conversation stopped, as Abraham Lincoln Panim sat with a broad smile on his face in the moonlight, and Ariel sat back for a few moments.

Some young girls walked past the bench, and each time, Abraham Lincoln Panim sat up straighter in the bench, as he knew he was being stared at without Ariel even realizing it.

“Boy, a lot of people are walking in the park today,” she said, as she finally got up from the bench and was ready to continue her evening jog.

“Wait, before you go, when can I—“

“How about tomorrow, we meet right here at this exact time? It is where we finally met and spoke anyway, and we can take it from there.”

“OK, Ariel, I will meet you here tomorrow at this exact time.”

“Yes, and don’t forget, Ruff, will also be here, so it will be a threesome!” she said as she started to run away from the bench.

“See you then,” Abraham Lincoln Panim said as Ariel ran off into the distance.

He continued to sit on the bench for a few moments, with his arms stretched out from one side of the bench to the other, and a big smile on his face.

At least this time, when people passed him by and stared at him and giggled, he didn’t respond at all. He had other things on his mind.

Once again, he looked over a few benches, and the older woman was sitting on a bench.

He blinked, and once again, she was gone.

“I must be seeing things,” he said, as he walked home with a happy jaunt that he had never experienced before.

Rant #3,715: Read It and Weep

Well, in addition to everything else I am going through right now, I am smack dab in the middle of writing up these two all-day meetings for work.

And i am already pooped.

So today is going to have to be a "reading Rant," and here is the next chapter of my novel.

Thanks for bearing with me through all this turmoil.

29

Mrs. Panim came home some time after her son had arrived home. She opened the door after reaching into the mailbox to get the mail, just a few  letters, which she put under her arm as she entered her home. 

As Mrs. Panim came in, she put her things on the couch in the living room, and she moved toward the kitchen. She took a drinking glass out of the cupboard and filled it with water from the sink tap and sat down, looking very tired and worn out.

“Abraham Lincoln Panim, where are you?” she said in a loud voice. “Come into the kitchen, please.”

Her son was in his room, admiring his features with a hand mirror he found stashed away under the bathroom sink.

“Just a minute,” he said, taking one last look of himself in the mirror before leaving the bathroom and tossing the hand mirror on his bed. He also took his scarf and put it around his face as he had done before, sometimes in his house but not every time.

As he walked out of the room, he put on his scarf, tightening it around his face as he had when he was a rat face.

As he was doing that, he looked at the picture of the smiling Mrs. Stottle that was there. He looked at it, almost seeking approval for what had happened to him.

Abraham Lincoln Panim stared at the picture for a second. “I don’t know, it doesn’t look like her smile is as wide as it was the last time I looked at the picture,” he thought to himself. “I must be so happy that I didn’t see it before.”

He thought nothing more of it, and walked into the kitchen. His mother motioned for him to sit down at the kitchen table.

“I have had a very stressful day, lots of things going on where I was, and I hear that a lot of things were going on at school while I wasn’t there,” Mrs. Panim said to her son.

“What happened—“ said her son, but he could barely get the words out before his mother interrupted him.

“I want to focus on what is happening in school, the other stuff is important, but what is happening in school is what I want to speak to you about,” she said.

“Mom, what is it? I am a little busy—“

“Look, I have some good news for you, so you better listen. When I got back to the school late in the day, I found out that the teacher you are subbing for is going to be out indefinitely, so you are going to lead that class for the foreseeable future. You have done well, and you really earned the spot.”

Abraham Lincoln Panim smiled a broad smile, that could even almost be seen behind the scarf, which was still pulled tightly to his face.

“I am really proud of you, Abraham Lincoln Panim. But as proud of you as I am about this, you are not going to use the school as your personal model runway and show everyone how handsome you are now.”

“How did you find out?” Abraham Lincoln Panim said to his mother as he slowly took off his scarf.

“Look, I knew this was inevitable,” she said to him. “I just did not know when it would come. These things happen in our family, or sometimes they do not happen, with others. Remember Mrs. Stottle when she passed away? Remember her aching feet? Remember when we saw her, and her feet had never changed?”

Abraham Lincoln Panim nodded in agreement.

And when it happens, if it happens, it happens,” she said. “And we certainly don’t strut around like a peacock, showing ourselves off as if we are some type of Adonis, somebody above everyone else.”

“But mom—“

“Look, when this happens, if it happens, we are humble. We do not draw attention to ourselves. We simply go about our business, and we don’t forget when people made fun of us.”

“But mom, I never told anybody to stare at me, I never told anybody to ogle my good looks, I never told anyone to adore me—“

“Listen to yourself. Listen to the words you are using—ogle, adore—just a few days ago, you were upset at how you looked and would never want anyone to stare at you like they did. Today, you are so different!”

“Mom—“

“Listen, I know when this happens, it puts you in a place that you cannot believe that you are in. Think of those that this never happens to, like Mrs. Stottle. What would Mrs. Stottle think of your behavior right now?

“And the thing that gets me the most is that you never told me. You wrapped yourself up like you always do in the morning with your scarf, and you knew the change had happened. You went to school, making people—and your own students—very uncomfortable around you. And you never let me know—you even came in here a few minutes ago with your scarf on, and you rarely wear the scarf in the house.

“You could have told me. I mean, Abraham Lincoln Panim, don’t get me wrong, I am happy that you went through the change. Like I said, not everyone does. Mrs. Stottle never did, she had to live with that for her entire life.

“But to milk the whole thing like you have done, and to push people’s face right in it, I mean, do you truly understand my mixed emotions here? We don’t judge people by how they look. We judge them by how they act. Remember what Mrs. Stottle used to say, ‘Do unto others—“

“But mom—“

“Listen, we have always been truthful about things, but this time, at one of the most important times of your life, you never told me, never let on to anybody, and then, you made your “debut” at school and made people feel uncomfortable as you strutted around the school like Superman.

“That will not ever happen again, do you understand? Never again.”

Mrs. Panim got up from the table, and went into her bedroom, loudly closing the door behind her. Abraham Lincoln Panim said, “I’m sorry,” but he doubted he heard her.

He picked up his scarf as he left the kitchen, and he went back into his bedroom, laying on the bed where his hand mirror was. He again looked in the mirror, but put it down quickly on the bed.

“Is she so upset that I am now the most handsome man in the world, or is she upset that I didn’t tell her what had happened to me?” he thought to himself as he once again picked up the mirror, admiring his features as he continued to think about what his mother was thinking about him.

“I think Mrs. Stottle would be proud of me,” he thought, as he glanced over to her photo. He saw that her smile was now gone, replaced by something of a blank look on her face.

“I must be tired … I must be seeing things,” as he turned away from the picture, and stared into the hand mirror again and again and again.

Rant #3,714: I Can't Stand Up For Fallong Down

Monday was simply one of the most frustrating and nerve-wracking days of my life.

I had my first medical appointment of the week, and at this point, I don't know if it went well or not.

I told the doctor about my prostate ills--he was the one who directed me to the urologist I have been using--and to make a long story short, he believes my continued woes seven months after the fact is that I have--

An infection, and he prescribed me pills to combat that, if that is what I have.

So he told me to cancel the invasive procedure I was going to have on Thursday, and to stop taking whatever pills the urologist prescribed to me.

He also made an appointment for me with another urologist, for a week from Friday.

So is an infection what is ailing me?

At this point, your guess is as good as mine ... and I don't yet know if canceling the procedure was the right thing to do.

I was sworn by my doctor to secrecy, and my urologist's office did call to find out why I canceled, but I didn't breathe a word. I let them figure it out for themselves.

Also at the doctor's office, tests found that I have--

An extra heartbeat.

Look, I knew my heart was ticking pretty well, but it never knew that it was ticking too much.

So to watch this, I am now wearing a device on my chest to monitor all of this, which I have to wear through Friday morning.

They had to shave part of my chest so the unit would affix to me, and they gave me a cut that bled for about a half hour.

So now, while I don't have to go to the procedure on Thursday, I do have to go back to my regular doctor on Friday--the 13th, naturally--and I have a new urologist to go to next week.

As you could imagine, after I picked up my new prescription--which of course, wasn't ready when I went to pick it up--I went home, ate lunch, did any work that I had to do, and then crawled into bed and slept for two solid hours.

This is all very depressing, perplexing and frustrating to me, and I guess my mind and body simply crashed.

And this is all prior to the fun I have the next two days, covering eight-hour conferences for work.

So, with everything going on, I will be in and out of the Blog for the remainder of the week--

If I survive all of this, which right now, is somewhat questionable.

No, not really, but to me, this is not living, and this certainly isn't retirement.

I ask myself, and i ask myself constantly, the following question:

"What did I do to anyone to deserve this?"

And you know, i don't have an answer to that question.

(I will, however, have much more to say about the passing of Sly Stone when I have a chance.)

Rant #3,713: Easy To Be Hard

Have you ever had a day where, in spite of your best efforts, everything you do goes wrong?

I had such a day on this past Saturday, and it was very frustrating.

It all began early, literally right off the bat 

I woke up, and took a shower, which, for some reason was ice cold.

It didn't get even lukewarm until I was done and ready to shut the shower off.

Then I got dressed, looked for the Saturday newspaper, and it wasn't there.

I looked several subsequent times, and there was no newspaper.

It was past 8 a.m., and since the paper never came, I contacted Newsday for a refund--by that point, I had read the paper online.

Saturday is my son's bowling league day, so we went to the alley, and he began bowling--

Only to be stopped when the lanes malfunctioned, to the point that the two teams had to move to another two lanes--

Where my son and his team had a bad off week and lost both games.

Later in the day, while my wife was at work, i do what I always do, which is to go out for fast food, as it gives my wife a break from cooking.

She texted me whst she wanted, and I went out to get it, and get something else for myself and our son.

I brought everything home, only to discover that they left out part of my son's order, and that I was given the wrong type of salad for my wife.

And later, the Yankees lost to the Red Sox, so that served as the "cherry on top" fir a lousy day 

Sunday started off poorly.

My electric razor may have broken, as it took forever to shave thst morning.

But happily, the rest of Sunday went a little better, and my wife, my son and I went out to a local Italian restaurant to celebrate our 32nd anniversary, and everything went well--

Which i hope is a good omen for this week, as starting today, I have one of the busiest weeks i have ever had.

As you are reading this Rant, I am in my doctor's office, where I begin my yearly physical.

I feel fine, I am not expecting any major surprises, but more on that later.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, I have back-to-back eight-hour meetings to cover for work, and they already told me thst they want the coverages back ASAP.

I replied that I will do the best I can, but I have a major appointment with my urologist on Thursday.

As I said, I feel fine--

Except for one thing: the after effects of the procedure that I had more than six months ago.

My body should have healed, but I appear to be one in a million--

It hasn't healed, and on Thursday, I need to go through another procedure so the doctor can find out why.

After the first procedure, believe me, I am hesitant to go through another one, but perhaps the doctor can help me this time, rather than tell me that what I am going through is "normal," which it isn't.

And I still have these stories to write!

Thus, I might be in and out here at the Blog this week.

Please bear with me, and please keep me in your thoughts.

Happily, I don't have cancer, but why I continue to suffer is something we hopefully can find out later this week--

My week from hell, but maybe the devil will spare me this time around.

It would make for a great Father's Day gift, wouldn't it now?

Rant #3,712: Shout

Yes, we are finally in June, and the warmer weather is right around the corner.

That is reason itself to cherish the coming of this month, in addition to the fact that today, 32 years ago, my wife and I were married, certainly the best thing I did in my entire life.

And i want to shout that message from the roof tops!

That is the happy part of this Rant.

Now, for the not-so happy part, a part i dont like talking about, but i feel that i must.

Please just hear me out.

The past few years, when June knocks at the door, I kind of cringe, because I know that what has become a major event held during the month is going to be foisted on us, whether we like it or not.

i am talking about the all-encompassing Pride Month, which stretches across the entirety of June while it also stretches any sane person's patience.

The media picks up on this "celebration" of LGBTQ pride like a bee to honey, and we are barraged with over-coverage of this event, with parades and other events highlighting those in this community.

I respectfully have to comment on this.

When you define yourself solely by your sexuality, you are never going to be fully accepted.

And the way the media covers this ... funny, I don't remember the local New York CBS outlet having a float in the St. Patrick's Day Parade, the Columbus Day Parade, or the Israel Day Parade, yet they annually have one in the Pride Parade. 

Why is that?

If you are gay, that is fine. But don't continually hit us all over the head with your sexuality. Nobody really cares, but you are forcing us to care, and you are forcing people like me to speak our mind about this.

A news organization is never supposed to be the story. Here, they have made themselves the story by wholly participating in this parade. 

Can anyone answer my question about a major media outlet's participation in this parade over the others?

And i am sure CBS is not the only such participant.

All that they have done is helped to make this nothing but a political engagement, and that is wrong. 

We accept too much as being "normal" today, and if you base your existence wholly on your sexuality, I am afraid you are never going to be fully accepted by the greater breadth of society.

And we devote a full month to this ... what about other groups, like our veterans? We have ONE DAY devoted to those who have served in the military ... two days if you count Memorial Day, where we honor those who have given their lives so our society can continue to thrive, and that includes the LGBTQ community, too.

We give two days to our war heroes, and an entire month to the LGBTQ community?

Please.

The month of June has been fully hijacked by an entirely political celebration that many in the general populace do not truly care about, and respectfully, holidays should not be political like this event has turned out to be. 

The cat is out of the bag, this celebration is certainly not going away, but not everyone is enthralled with Pride Month and its existence.

I might be the only one to shout out about it, but so be it.

All that I ask is for you to respect my opinion, and yes, I truly respect yours.

Have a good weekend, and i will speak to you again on Monday, the beginning of perhaps one of the busiest weeks of my adult life.

Rant #3,711: Picking Up the Pieces

Records ...

Records ...

Records ...

Records to the left of me, records to the right of me ...

And here I am ...

Stuck in the middle--

With boxes.

Yes, I am at it again, with the final boxes I have to empty, which contain my wife's records.

Yes, her collection is not as prolific as mine, but she still has a good 300-400 12-inch records--

And it is my job to alphabetize them, just like I did with my own collection.

If my records were a mess, her records are a cataclysm.

So many of the records are mixed up, in no order at all, and I have a sneaking suspicion that these vinyl disks haven't been in order for decades, or even ever.

That, alone, makes it difficult enough to put them in order.

But what makes it even worse is that many of her 12-inch records are 12-inch singles, which were very popular in the 1970s and into the 1980s.

Most of these are dance/disco recordings, and you can't really see who the artist is because the singers usually aren't prominently featured on the sleeves.

Some are, but for every Madonna, there are Stevie B, Flaspoint, Cerrone and dozens of others who I have to look at the record label to try to find out who the performers on the records are.

And since I never heard of most of them--this is a genre of music I never got into and really didn't like to begin with--it makes it all the more difficult to figure out who is who.

I have all today to get these things in order, as we have another piece of furniture that will be up and ready to go by the end of the day.

I have already filled two boxes full of records in alphabetical order, with about a box to go before everything is in the proper order.

Then once the furniture is ready to go, I can put these away, get rid of the boxes, and finally move on.

I honestly did not realize that my wife had so many records, but she does, and the care I put on getting my own records in order is a mandate I have to follow with my wife's records.

And her 45s ...

Don't get me started ... .

Rant #3,710: Nothing's Changed

I tried out the barbecue yesterday.

I did it because I had to get my frustrations out.

Among other things, I had an MRI appointment postponed until today, which fouls up my entire week, preventing me from doing what I wanted to do related to my son's employment possibilities.

And that is just a tip of the iceberg at what is frustrating me right now, but I will leave it at that for now.

Anyway, I vented my frustration on the used grill I recently purchased--

And I have to say, everything came up--

Cooked to perfection.

I tried it by letting it warm up for 20 minutes to a half hour, and doing some work I had to do while it warmed up.

I edited a story, which took about about a half hour, and I discovered thst the grill was ready to go--as I checked here and there, it actually took about 10 to 15 minutes to heat up.

I put on two hot dogs and a knish,  and within about 10 minutes, the food was ready.

I breathed a sigh of relief, and ate my food with glee.

I always enjoyed barbecuing, and I really missed it when we moved from the house.

But now, with the terrace in our new apartment, we are allowed to barbecue, albeit electrically, and not by coal.

Electric barbecuing IS NOT as good as coal barbecuing, but I really don't mind the change.

Now, someone who was really raked over the coals was New York Knicks Head Coach Tom Thibodeau, who was fired yesterday from his post.

I don't get it.

The guy took them to the NBA's Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 25 years, and the players and fans loved him.

After years of dysfunction, he helped make the Knicks credible again--

But the dysfunction is evidently still there, as proven by this idiotic move.

Who will become coach is anyone's guess, as is why Thibs was fired in the first place, as he was the team's most successful coach this century.

He was no Red Holzman, but he was a terrific coach.

With the NBA Finals ready to begin--and the off-season trades and draft right around the corner--it would behoove the Knicks to name a new coach ASAP.

I like my new old electric grill, but Thibideau has got to believe he was charred by this move.

I don't get it--

Do you?

Rant #3,709: What's Going On

That completely despicable incident in Boulder, Colorado--where an idiot Hamas sympathizer threw Molatov cocktails at innocent Jewish marchers, manybif them elderly, and setting them ablaze--was yet another incident demonstrating that the intifada is here, and all of us--Jew and non-Jew alike--must be fully aware of this situation.

The perpetrator came from Egypt, let his visa lapse, and was here illegally for the past three months or so.

He decided to set ablaze Jews marching for the release of the remaing histages--and dead bodies--still in the possession of the terrorist Hamas group.

And while throwing one explosive device after another at this peaceful crowd, he yelled "Free Palestine" as he mercilessly carried out his devious plan--

And told police that he didn't regret anything he did, and, in fact, would do it again.

And most of the world had little or no comment about this horrid incident.

It is easy to say that this has to stop, but how can it be stopped?

I really don't know, to be honest with you.

The media continues to spread horrid lies about Israel, the latest of which is that Isrselis were shooting at Palestnians as they strove to get food.

CNN, among others, picked up on this lie, without any fact checking, which would have shown that Israelis were not doing the shooting, if there was any shooting done at all.

When the media reports total falsehoods, it is difficult to combat what they say, even if it is wrong.

The word gets out, and like the game of telephone, it gets out in one form and grows tentacles as the word moves on.

And we need to fully acknowledge that Hamas are terrorists, not militants as the media would have us believe.

They constantly paint themselves as the victim against Israel, and it is truly amazing how many people buy into this.

Funny how people forget that Hamas started this war by their subhuman actions on October 7, 2023.

The world should have condemned that action right then and there, and they did not. Heck, the United Nations have never officially condemned the actions of Hamas, but they, of course, and the world at large, has plenty to say when Israel takes actions to defend itself 

Back to Hamas ... they have had hostages since they started this war--even dead bodies--they use their own people as human shields, and they steal food intended for supposedly innocent Palestinians.

But back to our own country--

How do we stop the intifada from encroaching on the American way of life?

First, we must admit that Islam is not a peaceful religion.

It has been proven time and time again what an idiotic assessment this is.

What other religion treats others like they do?

We must also strengthen the vetting system for visas, students or otherwise.

There should be a pause on issuing these visas to anyone on a specific list of Arab countries, simply because people coming here from those countries simply cannot be trusted to behave when they come to America.

We cannot undue what was done via the visa process in the past, but we can stop it from festering to a level even worse than it is today.

And the media must change its ways, which might be the most difficult thing of all to do.

I do not know specially what ails the media, but its anti-Jewish and anti-Israel rhetoric is appalling--and it has spread like wildfire. 

We have young people who have no idea what the Holpcaust is. May was Jewish Anerican Heritage Month, and this celebration was completely ignored by the media.

Why?

Jews must not be afraid in their own communities.

I just heard that someone in Manhattan was punched in the face simply because he was Jewish. Again, the perpetrators shouted "Free Palestine. "

Anti-Jewish hate crimes represent 56 percent of all hate crimes registered in New York City.

Those two young Isrseli diplomats were gunned down by another "Free Palestine" Hamas groupie.

These horrid incidents have to stop here in our country, but the fact of the matter is that they are happening not just here, but in just about every supposedly civilized country of the world. 

Yes, the intifada has come to those countries, too.

It has to stop.

And why do some people not understand what "Never Again" means?

It is, after all, not just a slogan.

Things must change. 

Anti-semitism must be rooted out.

Why does it exist to begin with?

Jealously, pure jealously, at what the Jewish people have been able to do in spite of all the hurdles.

Rant #3,708: Something's Cooking

June has finally arrived!

Although the entire month has been hijacked by one "celebration" that I am not going to talk about now--not the time or the place--the coming of the month signifies that summer is right around the corner.

In less than three weeks, we will officially be in the summer season, and that means warm weather and everything that revolves around that.

It has been fairly cool lately in my neck of the woods, but forecasters have assured us that by the end of this week, we will finally be in the 80s, and next week we could actually see 90.

So with our new apartment and our new terrace, it is just about time for barbecuing season, so what did I do this past weekend?

I bought a barbecue.

We are only allowed an electric one in our development, so I looked around, and they are kind of pricey, well over $200 brand new.

So I did something i had never done before ...

I actually bought a used barbecue, and I did it off of Facebook Marketplace 

Look, I knew I wasn't going to get a brand new barbecue off of there, but I figured that I could get something decent there for a fraction of the price, and on Saturday afternoon, my son and I went to a neighboring community to look it over and ultimately, pay for it and pick it up and bring it home.

It is a well-used barbecue, and it needs a thorough cleaning.

My wife cleaned part of it as best she could, and if I have time today, I will do some more cleaning.

My parents had an electric barbecue for decades, and while nothing is as good as a real barbecue using coals, we can't barbecue in our development using coal, so this will have to do.

We tested it before we purchased it, it does heat up, but I know from my parents' electric barbecue thst it can take about 20 minutes to a half hour to really get it going.

I will try it later this week, and I hope it does what it is supposed to do.

Since we moved from the house, one of things I missed most was barbecuing during the summer.

But now, with our move, I can get into it again, and honestly, i can't wait.

My wife doesn't like real barbecuing--she doesnt like the smokey taste--but she prefers barbecuing electrically, so this is all fine with her.

And if for some reason this thing doesn't work, there is still time to get another one as we prepare for the summer and July 4, our country's 249th birthday.

So I will let you know how this all turns out.

I can almost taste it!

Rant #3,707: Fever

Well, I am glad that's over!

I finished the final meeting recap that I had to do for work, and now i get a little breather next week--

Before it all starts up again the following week.

This last one was, to me, was the most difficult, because the speakers pretty much read their presentations, so it was very bland and boring.

It was so obvious with one of the speakers, as, evidently unaware to him, he put up the stapled pages he was reading from in front of his face, and thus, in front of his computer's camera.

At least it was audibly listenable pretty much the entire way through, which always makes the job a bit easier.

But it is done, before I can get a "fever" about it.

And when i use the word "fever," it is the only segue way I could think of to talk about the life of guitarist Rick Derringer, who passed away the other day.

You might not recognize the name, but you have heard his guitar playing and production on dozens of recordings, everyone from Cyndi Lauper to "Weird Al" Yankovic to Barbra Streisand to Edgar Winter.

One of the most prolific session guitarists of all time began his life as Rick Zehringer--later Derringer--and he first rose to prominence with his band The McCoys, which had one of the biggest hits of the 1960s in "Hang On Sloopy."

(He is on the far left in the photo above.)

The McCoys had one other big hit--the "Sloopy" sound alike "Fever"--that is where my reference came from--tried to change into a harder rocking band, but by the late 1960s, they were done.

Derringer then morphed into a popular session and backing musician, played in the bands backing up Lauper and Yankovic, and had an interesting solo career, with his best-known solo tune being "Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo."

Derringer had quite an interesting career, and he will certainly be missed--

Unlike those meeting write-ups that I had to do, which I won't miss at all.

Notice how I back segued into that.

Now I will try to hang on ...

Oh, enough of that already!

Have a good weekend, and i will speak to you again on Monday.

Rant #3,706: Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah

Well, here i am again, and I am smack dab in the middle of that story i have to finish.

So today's Rant is going to be another "story" Rant, but i should be back tomorrow in full force.

One week of normalcy, followed up by one week of horror--two major doctor's appointments, and two eight-hour meetings to cover--but let's not put the cart before the horse ... let me take one week at a time.

So here is today's entry. 

Please let me know what you think.

28

The school day ended, and on this day, since his mother was not at work and was at a conference, Abraham Lincoln Panim had to walk home all by his lonesome.

After his class filed out of the room, he got together whatever work he needed to take home, put his scarf around his neck—not around his face--and made his own way down the hall to the exit.

As he did this, he noticed both male and female teachers, school workers and aides, lunch room ladies and whatever students were still in school, almost moving to the sides of the hall, to the left and to the right, parting the hall in half and clearing the way to him to proceed to the exit.

Teachers, students, aides and whoever else was there—both male and female--stared at him as he walked past them, and he had a slight smile on his face as he moved past them, knowing that he was being stared at—and liking the feeling.

Some people whispered, not thinking that he could hear them.

“He is the most handsome man I have ever seen,” said one female teacher to another as “Mr. Abraham” walked past them.

“Rat face? That is the face of an Adonis,” said another.

“Now we have competition,” said a male teacher. “What chance do I have against this guy?”

“My goodness. He is just so handsome,” said one lunch lady to another. “I wish he was my son.”

“I wish I had him as a teacher,” said one of the female students who stood near the exit. “He is so … I mean so—

“Oh dry up,” said a male student standing nearby. “He is way out of your league!”

“Mr. Abraham” opened the door and left the school for the day, walking on the same streets he and his mother regularly passed when they drove by car to and from the school.

And if Abraham Lincoln Panim got a great reaction when he walked down the school hall to the exit, that reaction continued as he walked up and down the streets to his home, from people who did not know him.

“My, what a good-looking young man,” said and elderly lady to her friend, who had just come out of the local supermarket.

“Yes, wouldn’t we all love to have him as our grandchild,” said her friend.

‘No, dear, I want him as my … husband!” the other woman said, and both chuckled but never lost their gaze of him.

Abraham Lincoln Panim could see out of the corner of his eyes that male and female, young and old, were staring at him as he walked home, and staring at him with awe.

He thought to himself, “I like it, I really do,” as he tugged on his scarf. And why shouldn’t I like it … I have been through hell all through my life because of that … that … rat face that I have, err, had, so why shouldn’t I like all the attention I am getting now?”

Abraham Lincoln Panim came to the front door of his home, took out his key, and put it into the keyhole as two young girls stopped in their tracks to look at him. The key was already in the keyhole, but he purposely took extra time to turn the key and let himself in as the young girls giggled when he turned around and winked at him.

“Yes, I can get used to this, I can get used to this every day,” he thought to himself. “I can never tire of this … and I deserve it, anyway.”

Rant #3,705: I Can't Take It

This morning is the calm before the storm, as this afternoon, I have to cover another meeting for work.

That makes it five weeks in a row of this, and for my great performance, I get a week off to breathe--

And then the following week, I get the pleasure of covering two additional meetings, each eight hours apiece.

I am kind of getting slightly burnt out with all of this, but because I am good at what I do, I know that I will get through it all in grand style.

I can complain all that I want, but it is my job to cover these things ...

It's just that it seems I haven't had much of a break.

But whatever, I will get it done.

One of the things I do to relax is that when I can, I watch old Our Gang/Little Rascals short features that are available on YouTube.

And I am talking about "old" shorts from the series--

The silent ones.

The series featured more than 220 episodes, but somewhere around 90 of them were done during the mid to late 1920s, during the silent era, and those who think that the series' most popular characters were Spanky, Alfalfa, Darla and Buckwheat, these shorts are a revelation.

They not only set the foundation for what was to come, but their cast of characters was equally popular during their time, including Joe, Jackie, Mary and Farina.

These shorts--most of which i haven't seen before--are well done and quite inventive, and without them, there would certainly not have been Spanky or the others, and the series would not have lasted 20 years in its original form.

And to watch these short features 100 years or more after they premiered in theaters is something truly incredible.

The shorts are in pretty good condition--some of the shorts have been lost or are in truncated form--but most are in good-to-excellent shape.

And to have them on YouTube makes them readily accessible, and let me tell you, they are quite funny and inventive.

So if you have never seen these before, I wholeheartedly recommend them.

Anything that helps me to relax is a real plus, and even though some of these 15-30 minute episodes were made before my parents were born, seeing them for the first time makes them brand new, at least to me.

Below is a link to one of these shorts. 

Go with it, and you won't be disappointed.

Now, my horror show is lurking, so let me go.

The Blog will be back tomorrow, in one form or another.

But let me laugh first.

https://youtu.be/XuVnmwrVBPQ?si=s91ucfh74ZZPWN4J

Rant #3,704: A Penny For Your Thoughts

My wife and I didn't do very much on Memorial Day.

With our son seeing a friend of his, all that my wife and I did was sit on our terrace for an hour or so.

I also digitized some records, but really, that was about it.

I could kick myself, though.

It is great to have all of my records all together for the first time in many months, but if I had to do it all over again, I would have held off for a while and used that money to purchase a grill.

As the only apartment dwellers with a terrace in this entire development we are living in, we are allowed an electric grill ... no charcoal or gas.

I should have purchased a grill, and we could have used it on Memorial Day.

Now, I have vowed to buy a grill by July 4.

I better save my pennies ....

Let me rephrase that ... I better save the pennies that I already have, because once the current allotment of blanks run out, the federal government announced that it won't be minting any new pennies.

The reason?

It simply costs too much to make a single penny, three or four cents versus what the penny is worth, which is one cent.

I have seen people throw pennies on the ground when they receive the coins in change, and sometimes, people simply leave them at the register or tell the cashier that they don't want them.

Me, when I get a penny in change, I keep it.

I have a sandwich bag in my car, and I put my pennies--and all change--in the bag, and i use the coins to give exact change when I am paying for things or to get rid of when I am at the self-checkout lane in the supermarket.

I like pennies, but evidently, they aren't just costly, but they are becoming increasingly unnecessary.

So many people use their debit and credit cards to pay for things in person or online that using pennies--or any actual money--is becoming something of a thing of the past.

And psychologically, when you pay for something with a ".99" at the end of the dollar cost, you think you are getting a bargain, that it is "less than" the next dollar amount up, but i guess people have wised up on that nonsense.

But I still like to keep pennies so I can pay exact change, but I guess i am in the minority at this point in time.

Pennies won't really ever disappear; these coins will be in circulation for many years to come.

It is just that no new pennies will be made, so all the pennies that are available will be of older vintage.

I guess you cant be "penny-wise and pound foolish" anymore ...

But that won't stop me.

I will still relish my pennies, and if I see one on the ground, I will pick it up--

Hopefully with heads up.

Rant #3,703: Time To Remember

Happy Memorial Day!

I know many of us will be going to barbecues, going to the beach, and pretty much having a nice day off, but while you are having this fun, think about the reason that you are able to enjoy yourselves--

The sacrifices of our service members, and those that made "the ultimate sacrifice" to allow us the freedom to do whatever we want.

My late father served in the Marine Corps during the Korean War, as did my late father in law. 

My brother in law served in the Navy.

Happily, they made it home in one piece, but thousands of others didn't.

That is what today really is all about, to honor those in all the wars and conflicts our country has been in who didn't come home.

I think that fact is often forgotten about as we celebrate this day.

Memorial Day has almost become more well known as "the beginning of summer " even though summer doesn't actually begin until slightly less than a month from now.

But whatever the case, today is a day off for many of us--

But not me.

I gave in some things that I had completed to my work, which I am sure is closed today, but I handed it in anyway, just to get it out of the way.

I will see if there is anything else to do, and if there is, I may as well do it, but I think things will be pretty quiet.

Later in the week, I have another conference to cover, so I will take today in stride, and hope things are a little slow.

That is something our service members can't do, as they are on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

My father often said that every young person should participate in mandatory military service, because he felt that this type of service could point our younger citizens in the right direction, and prepare them for the future.

I, personally, had no inclination to go into the military, but I did understand his point.

Now that I cover the military--hard to believe that I have been doing this for nearly 30 years--I do see the sacrifices made by our military members, and by their families.

It is not an easy job, a job that maybe 1 percent of the population partakes in.

And God forbid there is a conflict to participate in ...

You have to hand it to those facing such a possibility first hand.

So, when you bite into your hot dog or hamburger today, at least think, for a moment, about those who make such a happy time possible--

And those who have perished to ensure that you can have that happy time.