Rant #3,735: Nowhere Else To Go

My son had the next part of his assessment yesterday, so we will see how that goes.

The rest of the day ... well, just let's say that I could have lived without.

I am not going to tell you everything, but I will let you in on some of it.

Here goes ...

When we went to that job fair at Farmingdale College a few weeks ago, we met up with more double talkers than a professional tongue twister could ever possibly muster.

One was from an popular pharmacy chain, a company we have applied to several times in the past.

We went up to them, told them that we have applied to them online, and gave in my son's resume to them in person at previous job fairs, but nothing has transpired.

They said that they might have an opening my son could fill in one of their stores in central Nassau County, and they wouid get back to me on it.

I will give them credit, they did get back to us via a phone call more than a week later, but for a store that is so far away from us--a different store than they mentioned at the job fair--that it simply wouldn't pay, especially for a part-time position.

I asked the caller about the other position that was mentioned to us, at the closer store, and she said that she would have to see about it.

Well, the store manager of the closer store finally called back yesterday, and when he heard where we lived, he hemmed and hawed, finally telling me that even though it was closer than the other store, he needed somebody local.

I asked him if he knew any store directors of outlets that were closer, and he said thst he didn't know these people out of his territory, and continued to hem and haw until I finally said--

"Fuggedaboudit" and hung up the phone.

I was so angry at this point that I called another group that we met at the job fair, for the third time, the New York State Department of Labor, Suffolk County.

They gave us two people to call, both of whom I had contacted in the past and who I told them that would never call us--

And they never did.

So I called up again, and surprise, surprise, I got the supervisor on the phone, related again to her that these people were totally useless--one we had actually called as far back as January, and he never called back--and she apologized to me up and down, and told me that she would see to it that one of the gentlemen would call us back. 

I asked that they call back tomorrow, meaning today, because I already had one foot out the door for yesterday's assessment and had little time to talk.

So, of course, one of the gentlemen called about a minute before we were about to leave, and he decided the assessment was useless, stating that my son would need a different assessment before he should be placed anywhere to work--even though he has worked at various positions for about 15 years!

This guy said he wanted to meet with my son, and he said he would call me back later in the day to arrange a day and time next week ...

And I am still waiting for that call.

Let's see what transpired at yesterday's assessment.

We always seem to take one step forward and then take two steps back, and honestly, if we keep taking two steps back, we will soon have our backs against the walk, and there will be no other place to go.

Rant #3,734: Let's Get It On

Today is a big day for my son.

In the middle of the afternoon, he meets face-to-face, live and in-person with a counselor for the latest part of his long-awaited assessment.

This assessment is critical, because it will help determine what direction we will go to related to his future enlmployment, as well as some other areas of his quality of life.

I pushed for this assessment for months, but, for whatever reason, no organization that is set up and designed to do these things wanted to take him on.

In fact, the organization that finally decided to do this apologized for taking their time in getting this ball rolling!

Go figure ... I certainly can't.

He had the first part of the assessment a couple of days ago, a Zoom meeting that I thought went well.

I was there for that one, but this time, I cannot be there.

It is taking place at the local library, and it takes about two hours, during which time I am going to make myself scarce.

I can be in the library, but not part of the meeting, so I will most probably stay there, and maybe i will bring my laptop computer with me so I can do some work while this thing goes on.

I know that the counselor is going to ask my son a lot of questions in order to determine his aptitude to do certain tasks related to working and to his overall quality of life.

When we spoke to the counselor via Zoom, the organization that set this meeting up did so without providing the counselor with my son's resume, which hindered the counselor in knowing much about my son and his work background.

When I found this out, I immediately sent the resume over to the counselor, who now has it, and can work from it if necessary.

Look, my son and I have done everything during the past six months to get him further employed.

We have visited every store and supermarket to try to find him work, and we have been rebuffed, with most of them telling us to apply online, which we have done, to absolutely no avail.

We have spoken to many organizations whose express purpose is to help people like my son, and they generally haven't.

We have been to job fairs, both real and virtual, and quite frankly, we have found that people talk the talk, but they don't walk the walk, if you know what I mean.

We have looked at volunteer organizations, but quite frankly, my son has been there, done that early in his career, and now is the time to get a paying job for his efforts--and one very prominent one even turned him down because they didn't believe he could pass their volunteer test.

We have even contacted Jewish organizations, and that has, I'm sorry to say, yielded absolutely nothing.

Heck, I am going to my high school reunion not to reminisce, but to try to connect with people I didn't even know from 50 years ago with the hope that maybe one of them can help my son in his job quest.

The Class of 1975 maybe helping a member of the Class of 2014!

And while well-meaning people suggest a variety of different ideas, when i tell them we have already explored these avenues, they get upset, without understanding the situation at hand.

This is not a situation where my son is simply looking for a job.

He is a special needs person, and we have found that since the minimum wage was raised earlier this year, companies are simply not hiring these workers.

Thst is why the job that he has cut his hours by 75 percent due to this increase--no matter what they say--which has put my son in this unenviable situation.

The odds are against him. There are so many people in his situation that are out of work and don't even bother looking anymore.

And there are others, my son included, who have had their hours cut by a substantial amount since the beginning of the year.

Even his counselor from the organization which finally got him this assessment--someone whose very job is to help and assist people like my son to reach their full potential--told me over the phone that my son "will never work full time" after I questioned her about the snail's pace that it was taking to find another organization to do the assessment--

This is even though, at one point a few years back, my son worked two jobs at once and was working hours that amounted to "full time."

So yes, the odds are against him, but you know what?

I have every belief that he is going to make the doubters eat their words, and he is going to succeed, as he always has, beyond the expectations of the so-called experts, who don't know very much of anything.

The first step is this assessment, so yes, today is a big day for my son--

And I know he is going to do well.

Rant #3,733: Nothing From Nothing (?)

OK, so now we have the so-called "Big Beautiful Bill" to deal with.

The bill will impact numerous facets of our lives, but I am going to focus on just one of these facets.

I am not entirely sure what the BBB means as far as taxation of Social Security is concerned.

I think it means that SS will still be taxed, but based on your income, you can take it off as a tax writeoff when you do your taxes, both individuals and married couples.

It only lasts for two years, so I guess many of us will get a break for those years, and then it reverts back to the old way again.

Anybody have a better focus on this than I do?

President Trump originally promised that he would remove the taxes on Social Security entirely, but that isn't happening here.

It also doesn't impact high-wage earners, because they are making too much money per year while on SS to qualify.

It doesn't impact lower-wage earners, because they don't pay any taxes on this money to begin with.

And some say it will hasten when SS money will dry up by about a year.

After reading numerous articles on this change, I am still confused at how it impacts myself and my family.

I dont believe that my son, who gets SS disability, is impacted by this at all--

I just hope his Medicaid is not impacted, as the BBB includes changes to Medicaid.

Happily, he is under a Medicare plan for his health care, so he is covered, at least health wise.

But he is eligible for certain other benefits from Medicaid, so he might not be as out of the woods as I hope he is.

I guess we will see the impact of the BBB in the coming days, weeks and months.

I just, personally, find this all very confusing, and I don't believe that I am alone in being wary of the BBB.

It seems to be a lot of political gobbledegook, very un-understandable and wordy, but I can only hope that it lives up to its name.

I want this bill to be an "AAA" all around, but "BBB" might not be good enough.

For once, I hope I am wrong.

Rant #3,732: Independence

It is finally July 4th, and happy 249th birthday to the great United States of America on this wonderful, celebratory day.

As we swim, barbecue, vacation, or go to or watch baseball at the stadium or on TV, let's all remember that we are doing all of this in the greatest country in the world.

This is no fringe anniversary celebration; this is a day all Americans can savor, not just some of us.

Americans gave their lives for us to be able to have this great celebration, and we cannot forget that.

And for those people who hate this country ...

Well, you are just jealous of what we have accomplished, which is proven by the fact that these people hate us, but they still come here in droves.

Why is that?

Because we are truly part of the most free, most inclusive country on the face of the planet, and while these infidels won't admit it, they enjoy the freedom they have here, in particular compared to where many of these carpetbaggers come from.

My family and I are going to have a barbecue for just the three of us.

First, we have to do our weekly shopping, but by the afternoon, the grill will begin to heat up and be primed for cooking.

I just love to barbecue--

And bring on the hot dogs and hamburgers, because i do plan on eating plenty.

For some reason, I usually eat more when I barbecue, and I am sure I will do the same today.

Today should be a great day, as we lead up to next year, when we are going to celebrate our country's 250th birthday.

I cant even remember what I did 50 years ago during our 200th birthday, but I am almost sure that my family and I had a barbecue that day as we always do on July 4th.

I was 19 years old, in college, but I simply cannot pinpoint what I did on that extra special July 4th.

That being said, let's not put the cart before the horse.

Let's all celebrate and party like it's July 4, 2025, to take a spin on that old Prince song--

But most importantly, let's all be safe!

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

Rant #3,731: Hanging On the Telephone

Yesterday, I received probably the strangest phone call I have ever gotten.

And I received it when I was waiting for my appointment at the doctor's office.

It was from an investigative lawyer, who was gathering information for a case he was working on.

The lawyer asked me if I went to a specific school in the 1960s, and I said I did.

It was one of my grammar schools that I attended all those years ago.

He asked me if one of my teachers was so and so (i won't reveal the teacher's name) who I had in fifth grade, I believe. She left after half a year to retire, and her job was taken over by another teacher.

He knew all of this stuff because he did the research, and found that I was, in fact, in that class.

He asked me how I got to school each day, and I said that I had walked there, as everyone from inside my community did.

I told him kids from the outside were bussed in, and that is evidently what the problem he was investigating centered on.

Evidently, back in 1968 or 1969, there was some type of abuse of a child on a school bus going to this particular school, and somehow, it is tied into this teacher, I can't figure out how and he did not tell me much about that.

Or perhaps this teacher was not involved in any way, but he thought I might know something about the incident, since he found out that I went to the school at this time.

But he harped on the teacher, asking me if I remembered anything about her.

I know that she retired mid-year, and that is why we were assigned the next teacher.

I seem to remember that she was of Jamaican descent--in the Caribbean--and that I guess she might have been in her mid 50s to early 60s when she left.

This is all legit. I looked up the firm, and they are well-known for handling abuse cases.

I looked up the lawyer, and he is also legit.

I do wonder why they contacted me like they did, through a phone call rather than a certified letter, but maybe that is how they do things like this nowadays.

Yes, a very strange phone call indeed.

It piqued my interest, but you know what?

I really don't care to hear about this ever again.

I wished the attorney well, but that is that.

I know that for certain cases of abuse, there is no statute of limitations, so I suspect that the person claiming abuse is still alive.

Nearly 60 years ago, and now, there is some type of legal action being launched?

I won't even pretend to know how the human mind works ... but 60 years is a very, very long time.

And even though I have a very good memory, that is eons ago, and even to remember the teacher's name was a great stretch.

Well, that was something, wasn't it?

I mean, if he asked me other questions about 60 years ago--who my favorite baseball player was, what my favorite ice cream was, things like that, I could definitely answer, but the questions he asked me--

FUGGEDABOUDIT!

Rant #3,730: STOP

I put this up on Facebook yesterday morning.

It bears worth repeating, because I do not believe that people--and especially my fellow Jews--are getting the message about what is happening in New York City.

Please read this, and if you have already read this, show it to others, both Jew and non-Jew alike.

There is something dastardly going on in New York City, and IT MUST STOP NOW.

It obviously has spread to the suburbs, and IT MUST STOP NOW.

And what's worse, many Jews are buying into this--in particular, younger people of the Jewish faith--and IT MUST STOP NOW.

"If you can get a hold of Long Island's Newsday newspaper today, get it for the Letters section.

It was filled with praise for that garbage running for New York City mayor, with barely a mention of his blatant anti-Semitism.

He was praised for his "progressive" values, for his social media tactics and his youthful exuberance, but only one letter writer even delicately touched on his well-known disdain for Jews and Israel.

I guess the letter writers are choosing to miss a very important issue here.

To my Jewish friends and others, you simply cannot have a mayor of the most important city in the world, with the largest Jewish population outside of Israel itself, who backs Hamas terrorists, is anti-Israel, and has a proven past of blatant anti-Semitism.

It simply is unfathomable that this garbage has even gotten this far, but when people choose to turn their heads the other way, this is what happens.

And that includes many Jews themselves ... I have said time and time and time again that if Hitler ran on the Democratic ticket, Jews, and others, would vote him in because they vote the party, not the person.

And that is proven by the rise of this garbage.

Further, any union that supports this candidate is simply showing, and doing it very proudly, its own anti-Semitism.

I know it is very "chic" and "fashionable" to be anti-Semitic today.

However, we all know that if this garbage showed the same obvious disdain for specific ethnic groups, he would have been tossed out on his rear end a long time ago.

Why isn't this happening now?

It is pretty obvious, isn't it?"

Rant #3,729: Hot, Hot, Hot

July 4th is coming up, and what would the holiday be without fireworks?

Fireworks have been part of the festivities for as long as i can remember, and lots of people really get into the pops and explosions in the sky.

I am not one of those people.

I never got into fireworks, even as a kid, and as an adult, I can really and truly live without them.

Growing up in Rochdale Village, South Jamica, Queens in the mid-1960s and early 1970s, fireworks were all over the place--

Illegally, of course, but we all knew who to get those M80s and ashcans from if we wanted them, and I guess i simply didn't want them.

I wasn't even into sparklers and punks, the milder forms of fireworks.

I just never got what all the fuss was about.

But what is the holiday without fireworks?

I guess it wouldn't be the same.

The problem is that a lot of people don't leave it to the experts when it comes to fireworks, and each and every year, you hear about people suffering horrible injuries from their mishandling of firecrackers.

But again, what would July 4th be without all of this noise?

And what would July 4th be without barbecues?

Well, my family and I didn't have any July 4th barbecues during the past few years due to a variety of unfortunate circumstances 

But this year--in a new apartment with a terrace--my son, my wife and I are going to have a small barbecue.

Hot dogs and hamburgers, chicken for my wife, and whatever else we decide to cook will be on our electric grill, and I know it is going to be great!

I just love to barbecue, and now that I have used the electric grill three or four times, I am getting into the groove, learning more about barbecuing on an electric grill each and every time.

So I will be grilling on Independence Day, our nation's 249th birthday.

I can live without fireworks, but there is nothing like a great hot dog off the grill on the holiday.

I can't wait!

Rant #3,728: Old Days

Continuing the high school reunion story that I told you about on Friday ...

When I put up on the Class of 1975 Facebook site that I was going to the event, I got a couple of likes, from people whose names I absolutely don't recognize at all.

But I did get a Facebook message from another person whose name I also did not recognize at all, and what he said took me for a loop.

He said that he remembered that I told him that my father was a New York City medallion cab driver!

I still did not recognize the guy's name, but his memory literally propelled me to try to find my yearbook online.

I went to several sites--all trying to entice me to buy my long-lost yearbook for anywhere from about $50 to $100--but I finally found one that I could at least access page by page, on the Classmates site.

So for the first time in many years, I went through the yearbook page by page, and I remembered how this yearbook infuriated me to no end when it came out, as I was barely mentioned in its pages, as if I didn't exist.

I remember questioning the editor of the book--I think he was in my Social Studies class--about my conspicuous absence from the yearbook--other than my mandatory head shot in the graduates section--and i remember he told me that they used mainly photos of his and his yearbook group's friends in the book, and that is why other than that photo, I had been pretty much left out.

I was even left out of the Senior Variety Show section, an event that I stole. He admitted that I should have definitely been included in that section, but ...

That one photo I had in the graduates' section pretty much said it all.

I remember that the photo was taken during a very windy summer day leading up to my senior year, my hair--yes, I had plenty of hair then--was a complete mess, and, well, looking back, it pretty much demonstrated how I felt about my high school "experience."

Anyway, I found the picture of the fellow who remembered that my dad was a cab driver, and it rung kind of a very muted bell, as I kind of remember him, but I simply don't remember having any dealings with him--

But I must have, because he remembered that my father was a cabbie!

I continued to look through the book, and I did see that there was a picture of the debating team, and yes, I am in the photo. In the back row, and the photo is very dark and you can barely see me.

There is plenty else wrong with the yearbook--there is an embarrassing placement of a photo of a girl who died during senior year in a car accident ... preceded by just a single page of the other senior class member who was directly involved in the accident that killed her--and suffice it to say that I won't be spending $100 to obtain a copy of this tome.

Again, I am not going to this reunion for myself; I am going with the hope that by going outside the box, I can help my son find a job.

I know that that is a job in itself, but if it takes returning to an era of my life that I completely despise, I will do it.

Heck, after an hour or two or three it will be over, and I can return to the life that I am most proud of, and that is today, right now, in 2025.

High school ...

Just four years of my 68 years of life.

Those high school years ...

Best forgotten.

Rant #3,727: Doing What Needs To Be Done

Going completely against what many people have said to me, i have decided to go to my high school reunion.

But I am going with a purpose.

Honestly, I reviewed the list of those who have already sent in their money for this event, and believe me, I wasn't floored.

Of the 70 or more people on this list, I would say that not a single one can I place by face after reading their names.

Nothing comes up in my memory, and I have a very good memory.

A couple of the names sound familiar, but without a yearbook--I think my ex-wife gobbled it up when she ransacked my house and left me all those years ago--I can't look anyone up.

So familiarity--and the need to meet up with people I haven't seen in 50 years and probably had absolutely no discourse with when we were all in Massapequa High School at the same time--does not exist.

The reason that I believe that this Class of 1975 graduate is going has to do with a Class of 2014 graduate that I know pretty well--

My son.

Yes he graduated the same high school as i did, but what he faced was way worse than what I faced, no matter how bad what i faced was.

Being a special needs kid from kindergarten all the way through 12th grade, he and others like him are looked at and handled differently, and even though a lot of times they are integrated in the overall student community, their experience is measurably different than almost all of their classmates.

And when he graduated high school, things got worse, in particular in the employment area.

And right now, he is having a really tough time finding a job, and it is because of his disability.

We have tried everything, groups that exist to help people like him don't, and I believe it is time to think outside the box.

I figure if I can go to this reunion, even if I get maybe even one or two people who can help a fellow alum, it will all be worth going to.

Maybe someone owns a business, has a child that owns a business, or knows someone who can point my son in the right direction.

Why not take a chance?

Look, as you well know, I know all about reunions, helping to carry out the 2014 Rochdale Village Reunion.

We had twice as many people as this one is having, and we worked around many obstacles to make it an overwhelming success.

If one of the attendees would have come up to me with a child in a similar situation, I would have had absolutely no problem with thst attendee passing around a few resumes--

And that is exactly what I plan to do at this reunion.

I have absolutely no memories to relive with these people--i already had my "Janis Joplin" moment late in my senior year--a situation where little old me stole our Senior Variety Show right from under others' feet--I am not there to see them; rather, to see what they can do for my son, and this way, my son and I can leave no stone unturned in our quest.

The money has to be in soon, so I plan on writing a check ASAP.

Look, if nothing works out, I can, once again, be the first one there and the first to leave.

But I do believe it is worth a shot.

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

P.S. Janis Joplin was a very unpopular girl at her Texas high school, actually being voted "The Ugliest Boy in Class."

Years later, about the time when she reached stardom, like her other classmates, she was invited to her high school reunion.

The reunion organizers were flabbergasted that she said she would be there, as she had become a star by that time in 1969 or so.

She did go to the reunion, but continued to be treated poorly by her now very jealous former classmates.

They still looked at her as the "frump" that they had decided she was all these years earlier, and she left the reunion seeing just how phony--and jealous--people were of her.

Whether any of this actually happened has morphed into an old wives' tale, but I do believe something did happen in one way or another.

My "Janis Joplin" moment was much more subtle.

At my class' Senior Variety Show, I outdid everyone that Friday night, breaking the then Guiness Book of World Records eating record of downing 23 donuts in 10 minutes.

My brief notoriety suddenly made me everyone's best friend, and on the following Monday, this guy that no one cared about for nearly four years became a school celebrity.

I signed lots of autographs, people who had never, ever spoken to me became my best buddies, and it gave me occasion to see just how phony the whole thing was.

After a short while, maybe by that Monday afternoon, I realized all the phoniness, and I just had to laugh it off.

My momentary notoriety basically served me perfectly, as it "gave the finger" to the school and how I was treated there for the entirety of my time in high school.

And, the fact of the matter was that someone in England actually topped my record the next day or so, so I never actually got into the record books. 

But I had my "Janis Joplin" moment, and no one could ever take that moment away from me.

In fact, it is the only good moment that I had in my four years of high school.

So take that!

"I got the Mercedes Benz ... ."

Rant #3,726: Dear God

And looking at the New York City mayoral race a little bit closer ...

Zohran Mamdani has not gotten the nomination yet, because he did not get 50 percent of the vote, and not all votes have been counted.

Andrew Cuomo dropped out of the race, like the coward that he is.

Or did he? Only he knows for sure. He might run as an independent.

Onto the next round.

That being said (and I said a lot of this on Facebook yesterday)--

New York City voters deserve who they vote for ... and can you imagine this anti-Semite as mayor of a city with the second largest Jewish population in the world, behind only Israel?

His popularity demonstrates both where New York City residents stand on Jews and Israel--becoming the most anti-Semitic big city in the country--and just how truly ignorant these voters really are.

The city is dead, has been dead for generations--that is why our parents moved us out in the early 1970s--and again, you get exactly who you vote for.

Thinking back, the city was starting to deteriorate 70 years ago, under Mayor Wagner, where the Dodgers and Giants called his bluff and moved to California.

That was the beginning, and it continued through Lindsay, Beame, Koch, Dinkins, Bloomberg, deBlasio and the current Mayor Adam's.

Giuliani--when he was a sane person--stemmed the tide, but it was brief and temporary.

There were some who called us every name in the book when my family, and thousands of others, moved out of New York City in the early 1970s.

The movement out of New York City was called "white flight," but more to the point, our parents saw the handwriting on the wall.

The city was teetering, and they wanted no part of it.

Now, New York City is dead, absolutely dead.

If this clown actually becomes mayor, you might as well hold the official funeral, because the people of New York City voted in the funeral director--yet are too ignorant, and quite frankly, too stupid, to know it.

Even at this stage of the race, for him to get this far, it should call out the alarm.

But it is almost like a falling tree in the forest; no one will hear the crash, not because they aren't there, but in this case, they refuse to listen.

Rant #3,725: Superman

Lots to tell everyone on a variety of subjects.

The Heat: It was 104 out there when i was in my car in Bethpage, Long Island... too hot for me, with my bad allergies. 

I spent the entire day in air conditioning in one place or another, and that is the only place for me with this heat.

The Body: I went to the urologist to have another procedure. This one was as invasive as it possibly could be. That is all I am going to say about it.

No disease found ... but I have two stones in my left kidney, and they must be obliterated before they can grow and do further damage.

So I have to get them "blasted" out ... no surgery, but I am waiting for a surgeon to contact me to make a date where this can be done.

I must be "Superman," because, in the past, I have taken a needle in my eye and now, a needle in my (fill in the blank), and I lived to talk about it.

Let's get this done; the sooner the better.

The Job Situation: Right after I came home from the urologist, there was no time to waste, and I took my son to a job fair at nearby Farmingdale College.

He gave out some resumes, received plenty of the usual doubletalk, but we received some names and numbers we can access.

Hopefully, our efforts will lead somewhere, and I have to say this: in some situations, it pays to open up your mouth, constructively, and I can truly say that my son and I did just that at this job fair.

The Job Situation, Part 2: After months of waiting, we finally were contacted for an assessment, where my son will be tested related to what he supposedly can and cannot do 

The first part of this is a Zoom call this Friday morning, so at least we have the ball rolling on that, finally.

Cuomo Concedes To Mamdani in NYC Mayotal Vote: All of am going to say about this right now is that if anyone ever doubted that New York City is dead, here is proof.

A very sad state of affairs, but onto the next round.

Bobby Sherman R.I.P.: What can I say about his passing? He put out some of the best pure pop records of the late 1960s and early 1970s, and I was a big fan of his, as I thought even his earlier records were quite good.

And his hair ... he had the best hair ever, and I should know, because I have no hair (on my head, at least).

And he left show biz on his own terms, did what he wanted to do, and never looked back.

I saw him in concert once, and while his hair had turned an older shade, his voice was still there, and he seemed to be having a lot of fun, as everyone in the audience did.

Another icon of my youth is gone, but his legacy are those incredible 45s he put out.

So yes, yesterday was a day for the ages ... and yes, I feel better already.

Rant #3,724: I Need You

Today, I have to go through that procedure I told you about yesterday.

Not fun, but hopefully, it will reveal what the problem is.

Keep me in your thoughts today.

Meanwhile, here is the next chapter of my novel.

 31

The day leading up to Abraham Lincoln Panim’s meeting with Ariel went quickly.

As was the norm now, he chose to walk to school rather than ride in the car with his mother. Not only was the walk good exercise, physically, but also was good exercise for his ego, as people continued to stare at him and his new good looks.

He didn’t stare back, but he knew what people were staring at.

Abraham Lincoln Panim arrived at school, was still being stared at by teachers and students alike, taught his class, was mooned over by several of his fellow teachers during lunch, and got through the day without a hitch.

He did not see his mother at the school that day, and he thought that maybe he was better off not seeing her, because of what had happened before.

“If she can’t handle my handsomeness, I guess that is her problem,” he thought to himself.

After his workday ended, Abraham Lincoln Panim walked home again, and prepared for his meeting with Ariel. As he lay on his bed, he continued to admire himself in the mirror when his mother came home in the early evening.

“Abraham Lincoln Panim, I’m home!” she said as she opened the door and it closed behind her.

“I’m in my room, mom,” he said. “But not for long, I have somewhere to go soon.”

“Abraham Lincoln Panim, I have something to tell you. That’s why I came home later than I normally do.”

“Sorry mom, I have to go,” he said, as he hurriedly moved past her and moved toward the door.

“We can speak later, I don’t have time now,” he said, as he rushed out the door, leaving his mother standing and shaking her head as the door closed behind him.

Abraham Lincoln Panim went to the park and to the very spot on the bench that he said he would be when he and Ariel last got together. He was a little early, but it gave him extra time to reflect on what he hoped would be a great time with her.

It also gave him extra time to preen and let people look at him, and people did just what he expected them to do.

Finally, after some time, he saw a figure in the distance, and as she came closer, he saw it was Ariel and Snuff.

She sat down next to Abraham Lincoln Panim, with her dog dutifully at her feet.

“Hi! I hope you didn’t wait too long for me?” she said.

“No, I have only been here a few minutes,” Abraham Lincoln Panim said, clenching his teeth at the white lie he just made. “Where might you like to go tonight?”

“I usually go to the corner diner on my street, right outside the park,” she replied. “The food is good there and not expensive, and they are very pet friendly with Snuff. I’ve gone there since I was a little kid, and they know what Snuff is there for. We can go there if you like.”

Abraham Lincoln Panim didn’t know where the diner was, but he said, “OK, just let me know where it is—“

“How about you follow me. I’m not that great on directions, anyway, so it would just be easier for you to follow me.”

“Sounds good to me—“

“I will take you there as part of my daily run. Do you jog yourself?”

“Well … I … don’t worry, I am sure I can keep up with you.”

“OK, you want to go now?”

“Why not?”

Abraham Lincoln Panim and Ariel got up from the bench, and Snuff also sat up on the ground, and Ariel began to run.

“Just follow me,” she said, as Abraham Lincoln Panim started to follow her. He realized that she meant what she said—she was running—and that he would have to run, too, to keep up with her.

He was not used to running, but he kept up with her, somewhat, as he moved into the near distance from him. As he followed her lead, he was running in the direction of the older woman who he had seen many times sitting on one of the benches. He saw her again in the distance, but as he approached, once again, she vanished from sight.

“Maybe I’ve been seeing things,” he thought to himself as he passed the bench where he thought he saw the older woman.

The run continued. Not only did he feel a bit fatigued, but the running was making him perspire, and it moved his hair out of place, so he kept moving his hair back where it should have been, which slowed him down as compared to Ariel and Snuff, who were way ahead of him, but still in sight.

After a few minutes, Ariel and Snuff reached the end of the park, and stopped on the pavement.

“Where are you?” she yelled, and Snuff turned around, pointing in the direction of Abraham Lincoln Panim, who finally caught up with her.

“I thought you said you could run?” she asked, laughing as she asked the question.

“Well, I can run, but I guess I can’t run as well as you can,” he replied, as he fixed his clothes and pushed his hair back to where it should be through huffs and puffs.

“I don’t look my best. I am sweaty and my hair is probably a mess. I won’t get too many looks looking like this,” he thought to himself.

The diner was across the street from the park, and he and Ariel and Snuff proceeded to prepare to cross the street.

“Do you need help crossing the street?” he asked Ariel, extending his arm before he answered.

“No, not me,” she replied. “Snuff takes real good care of me,” and as she said this, Abraham Lincoln Panim pulled his arm back to his side, and then used his hand to push his hair up on his head as he, Ariel and Snuff crossed the busy street and walked into the diner.

“Hi Ariel. How are you doing?” said a man at the front of the diner by the cash register.

“Charley, I am doing fine, and Snuff is doing fine too,” she said. “Oh, and I want you to meet Abraham Lincoln Panim. This is Charley, the owner of the diner. I have known him since I was a little kid.”

“Nice to meet you Charley,” Abraham Lincoln Panim said, extending his hand, the one that had been pushing back his hair after the run, to the man, who was about 70 and had white, balding hair.

The two shook hands, and Charley led them and Snuff to a table near the back of the full diner. As they walked to the table, Abraham Lincoln Panim could see out of the corner of his eyes that people were stopping their eating and their conversations and were staring at him as he walked to his destination.

“Even though I’m a mess, they still stare at me. Man, even the way I look, people still think I am so handsome … I love it!” he thought to himself.

“Here is your usual table, Ariel,” Charley said, as he pulled out the chair where Ariel was going to sit, with Snuff at her feet and Abraham Lincoln Panim sitting in the other chair.

“My, what a nice-looking boy your new boy friend is,” Charley said to Ariel as the two were seated. This made Abraham Lincoln Panim smile, and he primped a bit more as

“No, he is not my boyfriend,” Ariel replied.

“What happened to that other guy, what was his name, Brandon? What happened to him?

Ariel did not reply, and she hurriedly picked up the menu from behind the napkin holder. Abraham Lincoln Panim thought this was kind of odd, since Ariel could not see what was on the menu.

“Charley, let me have a cup of coffee, and Abraham Lincoln Panim, would I be able to get a cheese Danish too?

“You can get whatever you want,” Abraham Lincoln Panim said as he quickly looked over the menu, realizing that Ariel had asked for a cheese Danish and almost defiantly said, “The same for me too.”

“OK, and the usual for Snuff, I presume,” Charley said. Abraham Lincoln Panim looked up, not knowing what that meant as Charley walked away after the two placed their order.

“Listen, I’m sorry that what’s his name … Charley … brought up Brandon,” Abraham Lincoln Panim said to Ariel.

“No need to be sorry,” Ariel replied, fidgeting with the salt shaker as she spoke. “Charley has known me for ages. He was almost like a second father to me. He kind of took me under my wing, even more so than my parents did.

“He told me that I could do whatever I wanted to do in life, that blindness could allow me to see things in a different way than most people. I know he really cares for me, and I guess he wondered about Brandon, because we came here so often for a good amount of time. Forget it.”

Abraham Lincoln Panim heard what she said, but even being in the back of the diner did not stop people from looking up from what they were doing and staring at him. He knew he was being stared at, and while Ariel was talking, he continued to primp himself up.

“Abraham Lincoln Panim,” did you hear what I said?”

“Uh … yes … I did,” he replied as he had his fingers in his hair, continuing to put it back into place as people turned around and stared at him.

“I still can’t believe that people think I am so handsome, even when I don’t look my best,” he thought to himself. “Wow, if only they knew that just a few days ago, I was the boy with the rat face. Now, I am the most handsome man on the planet!”

Rant #3,723: Stand and Deliver

My son's bowling season ended this past Saturday, but more on that later.

He got a reprieve with his Friday night basketball, as they added an extra date, which will be this coming Friday.

Then one week off, and he goes right back to basketball on the next Friday, which is July 11.

Back to bowling.

My son's team ended up in fifth place, actually fourth place because there was a tie for second.

His team did quite well, since they didn't have one of their members for an extended time, due to a number of maladies.

That being the case, the team did well, with all of their players increasing their averages, my son by seven pins to 145, the eighth highest average in the league.

All told, he tied with seven others for the most games bowled (62).had the fourth highest pin total (9,006); was tied with two others for the eighth highest game bowled (201); and had the 10th highest two-game series (348).

He also had five turkeys, or three strikes in a row--once bowling four strikes in a row--which i believe was tied for the third highest total in the league.

He led his team in all the categories except high two-game series and high game (tied), so i would have to say that my son had a good season--

Capped by a nice 170 game in the last bowling game of the season.

The Nassau County Special Needs Unit of the Police Activity League offers a variety of activities for youngsters and younger adult special needs people, and the bowling and basketball groups that my son belongs to are under its aegis.

All skill levels are welcomed to these activities, all mental levels, too, and I have to tell you, you would be completely amazed at what the participants can do--a lot of them are quite athletic, and even those that aren't give it 1,000 percent each time out.

And a lot of the participants have been part of this program since they were children, so you can see their progression--athletically and socially--as many of them are in their late 20s through their 30s ... and even some in their 40s.

Honestly, I don't know what he would be doing if he didn't have these activities.

It gives him something to look forward to each and every week.

So all told, it was a good season, and we look forward to the 2025-2026 season, which will begin in September.

I am looking forward to that, but I am not looking forward to Tuesday, when I have to go through an early morning urological procedure to try to find out what is ailing me.

I hope the urologist can pinpoint exactly what it is, I really do.

So tomorrow's Rant will probably be a reading Rant.

Please keep me in your thoughts.

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.