Rant #3,611: I Could Write a Book

You might have noticed that I haven't put up any succeeding chapters of my fledgling novel lately.

I haven't put anything up, not purposely, but one thing or another has gotten me in the way of making these chapters available.

Well, I am going to fix that today, by presenting not one, but two chapters for your reading pleasure.

Again, this is a novel geared to young adults, and I really need some feedback as to whether I should pursue this and put it into book form one way or the other.

There are a number of ways I can do this, but it is probably going to cost me some money if I do decide to publish it.

Self-publishing isn't cheap, but that might just be the way fir me to go with this.

So without further ado, here are the next two chapters of my novel.

Please let me know whst you think.

14

Abraham Lincoln Panim kept his scarf on for the first few weeks of classes, and when asked why he continued to wear his scarf, he said that he had a cold, or that he was cold, or he gave any other excuse he could provide so that the inquirer was at least somewhat satisfied with the answer.

He pretty much kept to himself, so the inquiries weren’t that many, and that made it easier for him to wear his scarf during classes.

He was also doing very well in his classes, getting mainly A’s on all of his work.

In between classes, Abraham Lincoln Panim went where most of his fellow students went, to the cafeteria to take a break and to maybe have a cup of coffee or eat a sandwich.

As was his norm, Abraham Lincoln Panim went to the cafeteria, ordered a cup of coffee, and sat alone at a table in the back of the massive room. He took out his books and studied them, and there generally was no one around him, as most students on their break sat with others further up in the room.

One day, Abraham Lincoln Panim followed the same protocol, but for the first time, he saw a group of fellow students, both male and female, pulling up some chairs to a nearby table and sitting directly opposite him.

“Hey, Abie, why don’t you sit with us?” one boy yelled out to him.

Not ever remembering when he was ever called “Abie”—and not liking it one bit--Abraham Lincoln Panim briefly looked up from his book.

“Well … I am into studying for that test we have in English tomorrow … I would like to, but I need to bone up on a few things,” he replied.

“We’ll give you a couple of things to bone up on!” the boy replied, pointing to a girl who was sitting with him at the table, who Abraham Lincoln Panim recognized as being the blind girl who spoke with him while he waited on line during his first day at school. “You can bone up on her!”

The girl pushed the boy away, but he continued what he had to say.

“Hey Abie, why do you wear that scarf all the time? You cannot possibly be sick anymore. I am sure you are a very handsome guy, and I am sure the girls will love you if you just get rid of the scarf.”

Abraham Lincoln Panim briefly looked up, but he did not respond.

Then the boy asking all the questions came over to him, and directly addressed him.

“C’mon, Abie, let everyone look at you and see what you look like!”

Before Abraham Lincoln Panim could do anything, the boy grabbed his scarf, and began to pull it. Abraham Lincoln Panim tried to hold back the pulling, but in a few seconds, the scarf was off, and all eyes in the cafeteria were on him.

“Ha! ‘Eddie Munster’ is back!” the boy yelled, as everyone saw Abraham Lincoln Panim without his scarf, with his rat face in view. “Remember me, Abie?”

In horror and trying to cover his face, Abraham Lincoln Panim looked up at the boy, and who he was came into clear focus to him—it was the same boy who taunted him in school years earlier, Brandon Hartung, the boy who years earlier had poured Cheez Whiz all over him to make fun of his rat face. And he still wore a glove on his right hand.

As seemingly everyone in the cafeteria was laughing at him, Brandon Hartung ran back to his table, took a slice of pizza with his left hand, and rubbed it--including both the sauce and cheese--all over Abraham Lincoln Panim’s head.

Abraham Lincoln Panim, with laughs cascading from one end of the cafeteria to another, got his things, picked up his scarf from the floor, and ran out of the cafeteria as quickly as he could. He ran all the way home.

Abraham Lincoln Panim never attended college again in person.

15

When he explained to his mother what had happened, Mrs. Panim tried to console her son.

“Look, it was my fault,” she said to him that night. “I … I thought that people in college would be a little more open to everybody, no matter who they were, where they came from—“

“But not for a rat-faced boy like me,” Abraham Lincoln Panim said. “Mom, please don’t blame yourself. I guess that I am … I guess too different, with my rat face. That has nothing to do with you.”

No walks were taken that night. Abraham Lincoln Panim was devastated. He went into his bed, shut off his light, and tossed and turned as he tried to sleep.

Once he did finally fall asleep, he had some terrible dreams that night, experiencing what had happened to him over and over and over, until he woke up in a cold sweat.

Abraham Lincoln Panim thought to himself, “Let me go to the bathroom. Let me put some cold water on my face, and then maybe I can get back to sleep.”

This happened for days, if not weeks. Abraham Lincoln Panim never slept through the night, hounded by his nightmares.

In the meantime, Mrs. Panim arranged with the school to have her son take his classes at home. Class work was sent to his house via special delivery, he would do the work, and then whatever he did was sent back to the teacher for grading.

He took all his tests at home, and was able to complete his coursework in about two years. Mrs. Stottle helped him with some things, but he generally did all the coursework himself.

At age 20, Abraham Lincoln Panim received his bachelor of arts degree in the mail. He did not attend any ceremonies, although his mother and Mrs. Stottle arranged a little party for him when he received his diploma.

“Son, you have done a great job getting that diploma,” Mrs. Panim said. “And you really earned it, studied hard, and you have made me so, so proud.”

She then brought out a big ice cream cake with the inscription “Congratulations to the Graduate!” and placed it on a table in the living room, and Mrs. Stottle began to cut the cake.

“You have done a great job,” Mrs. Stottle said, but she looked wobbly as she cut the cake.

She fell backward on the floor, and with his mom trying to revive the older woman, Abraham Lincoln Panim called 911.

The EMTs came and put Mrs. Stottle on a stretcher as his ice cream graduation cake melted off the table and dripped onto the floor.

Rant #3,610: Rally 'Round the Flag

The Jimmy Carter farewell tour to the nation is in full swing now.

This will go on for a few days, culminating on January 9, which is a national holiday of sorts, a day of remembrance, a day to reflect on his life, career, and his time as our 39th president.

As I have previously mentioned, I did not think he was a good president; in fact, I think he was probably the worst president that we have had during my 67 years of life, from Dwight Eusenhower through the second presidency of Donald Trump.

But he was our president, through good and bad, and he deserves the respect that the passing of a commander in chief should receive.

That includes a relatively simple gesture of respect: flying our American flag at half staff for a specified amount of time.

Flags in New York State were ordered to be flown at half staff since December 28, and stay that way until Jan. 28, pretty much mirroring what the national flag mandate is.

Pretty much every municipality in the nation is following these flag guidelines, except on Long island, where Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman at first did not lower the county's flags at all, but then slightly reneged, agreeing to lower the flags for just three days.

He has given absolutely no reasons at all for his decision, but it is pretty easy to see what his thinking is.

Although President-Elect Trump did show remorse at the death of Carter--he actually wrote a pretty straight-forward message, saying while he didn't agree with Carter politically, he respected him--Trump also stated that he was upset that the flags will be at half-staff during his inauguration, which is on January 15.

Thus, you can bet that Blakeman, a Republican, is reacting to what Trump said, and thus, the flags aren't being displayed as they are everywhere else.

Personally, even though I also was not a fan of Carter, I am a fan of the presidency, and when we have a commander in chief pass on, no matter what party he has represented, the flag must fly at half-staff.

It is a show of respect for both the person AND the position.

Each of our living presidents will one day leave us, and each and every one of them will deserve this same gesture of respect when their time comes--

And that includes Trump.

So his jabbering is just that, and why Blakeman is taking seriously what the president-elect said is beyond me.

Is Blakeman trying to make some type of statement?

Is he trying to get in Trump's good graces?

Does he have a personal reason for his actions?

Maybe this will all eventually come out in the wash, but right now, it is befuddling at best.

Jimmy Carter was our nation's president. 

Even though he was our commander in chief for just one four-year term, he was our president.

He has left us, and he must be shown respect in his passing.

What more needs to be said?

Rant #3,609: The Way It Is

Well, for the first time in my life, I was scammed.

My son bought me an Ebay gift card for Chanukah, and I finally wanted to use it late yesterday afternoon.

I opened up the packaging the card was secured in, and i noticed that the code was not covered, as it normally is, with a dark strip that has to be rubbed off.

In fact, the code was fully exposed, but part of the code was rubbed off, looking like it was rubbed off with a fingernail or a coin.

Evidently, this is part of a scam where the card is stolen, the crook records the bar code and the number scheme, and then puts back the card where he originally got it.

Then, he periodically checks to see if the card has been purchased and how much money it has on it, and uses it for his own needs.

Anyway, when I discovered that the code had been partially rubbed out, and thus, I could not use the card, I brought it back to the place of purchase.

I was immediately rebuffed, with store management stating that I had to contact eBay, and not them, about this problem.

There was an email address on the back of the card, so when I got home, I immediately went to the site, explained what happened, and I received a phone call back, alerting me to what I had to do to prove my case.

I was given a link, and I had to send several documents to them as photos, including an ID, a receipt for the card, and a picture of the damaged card.

Happily, I had the receipt, which I would expect most people in this situation don't have--even the attached gift receipt--because I would assume that usually, these cards are given as gifts, and the receipt is thrown away by the purchaser.

I received word back that it would take several business days for action to be taken--

But incredibly, within about two hours, I received word that the card could now be used at the original price it was purchased at, and I was given the part of the code that had been scratched out.

I assume that the problem was such an obvious one--yes, the card had been appropriated by somebody well before it was purchased by my son--that it was a no-brainer to restore it for my use--and the material I sent them was exactly what they needed to fix the problem.

For now on, when I purchase a gift card, I will have to open the casing, and make sure the protective strip is in place, as it should have been on this card. 

And that goes for when my wife and son purchase such cards, too.

Also, save all receipts, just in case.

Finally, I will never buy a gift card in this store again, because I know the store has been targeted.

I know thst I am not the only person who has ever run into trouble like this, but it still hits me hard.

My son bought this card for me as a gift, using his hard-earned money to pay for it, and some thief thinks he has the right to steal it from under our noses.

Not a good feeling, but a least it all worked out so my son wouldn't be out the money he spent on the card.

To the thief, I hope you get caught, but I know that in all likelihood, this isn't going to happen.

This is the world that we live in today, and there is very little one can do about it.

Rant #3,608: Pay the Devil

Congestion pricing started in New York City--Manhattan--yesterday, on a Sunday of all days of the week.

The plan impacts drivers beginning at 60th street to the southern tip.of Manhattan.

This is another nail in the coffin for a city that is on life support at this point.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authirity said it is necessary to pare down the number of vehicles moving around Manhattan, and it will open up the city, and make it nit only safer, but less polluted.

It will also force more people to use mass transit, and good luck if you use the unsafe subway.

Many others believe that this is nothing more than a political move, an extra tax that drivers have to pay on top of other driving fees they need to pay, and it is being used to cover up the financial inequities of the MTA.

The plan was put on hold by New York Governor Kathy "The Yokel" Hochul prior to the presidential election, because it was so linked to New York Democrats, it would hurt Kamala Harris in the race against Donald Trump.

The problem was that Harris ran such an inept campaign that it really had no impact on the outcome.

Now that the plan has been reinstated, it really is just another tax that drivers are going to have to pay.

But it has a ripple effect on so many directions ...

I guarantee that if my father were alive, and still driving his cab, he would retire immediately once this was put on place, because cab fares being what they are, customers have to pay the additional tax, and thus, their total fare would impact the tips that he received, and impact those tips in a downward way.

And cabs pick up passengers by cruising through the city, so he would have to pay $9 each time he entered the pricing zone ... multiple times a day.

And thpse bringing goods into Manhattan ... don't you think they will.pass down their extra costs to consumers?

Sure, there are discounts for certain drivers, but the way Hochul explained this is that the current plan "only" charges $9 for regular passenger cars, the original plan was $15, so she opined thst drivers are actually "saving" $6 on each trip.

That is like saying that you are "saving" money when you are buying something thst you wouldn't necessarily buy without a sale price; thus, what money are you saving if you are making a purchase on something you wouldn't necessarily buy?

And, of course, not only will that $9 price escalate over time, but right at the get go, drivers of other types of vehicles--trucks--are already paying more than that.

Completely insane logic, but New Yorkers voted for this fool for governor--and voted fir her predecessor, Andrew Cuomo, who originally came up with this money grab, and has since come out against the plan--so they are getting what they deserve.

But what about those from New Jersey, who are being taxed for their driving no matter which way they turn?

All legislative proposals to further put a hold on congestion pricing have failed, so the plan, at least for the immediate future, is a go.

I haven't had to drive into Manhattan in probably about 10 years, and happily, I haven't worked in Manhattan for probably 40 years or so, so this plan really doesn't affect me at all.

But I think about those people who must drive into Manhattan, and to have another tax thrown at them is just plain wrong.

Wait until today, when drivers will really feel the pinch, and you just know that there will be reverberations of this plan in the coming days and months.

Even President-elect Trump has come out against the plan, although I don't really know what he can do about it.

But again, New York voters knew about this plan years ago, yet they still voted Hochul into office.

Perhaps the only way to stop this assault on the public's pocketbook is simple--

Just vote her out the next time around ... I can almost guarantee that her opponents will all be against congestion pricing, as a major selling point to their campaigns.

But are New York State voters smart enough to make this obvious fix?

At this point, I wouldn't bet on it.

Rant #3,607: Try Too Hard

Well, I did the best I could do.

I told you the other day that somebody near and dear to me wished me a "Happy New Year" via text, and I had high hopes that the door was at least slightly ajar with possibilities.

I contacted this person back via text, I even tried to call the person, but this person simply makes no effort at all to reconnect with me.

On Wednesday, after texting this person earlier in the day, I simply decided to call her, because I did not want to have a conversation via text.

I could not even leave a voicemail.message, as the message I received simply said the person was not available, and I "should call back later."

I texted this person that response, and the person claimed, via text, that since she is on vacation, the person had turned her phone off.

The person said, "I will call you in two weeks" when the person's vacation was over, kind of a strange response to someone I have not heard from or seen in six months ... and it definitely shows that that person really has no intention of changing their ways.

I have already waited six months to hear or see this person, and now I have to wait two more weeks?

Sorry, that does not compute, and more importantly, I do believe that this person is simply putting me off and really has absolutely no intention of speaking to me.

I texted the person again, and the person continues to be impossible to deal with, refusing to tell me where she is vacationing--I thought that perhaps the person's voicemail was not working correctly if the person was vacationing abroad ... but the reason was simply that the person's phone was supposedly turned off.

Late yesterday afternoon, I called the person, and again, the person did not answer my call.

I then texted the person, saying thst I had called.

This person is 36 going on 12, has absolutely no common sense, and has some idiotic idea thst I will be willingly strung along like this, waiting with baited breath for two weeks for a call that I don't believe will ever come.

Nope, I have been around the block, so to speak, and I am not thst stupid.

As I said, I tried, but my efforts were for naught.

One day, maybe, that person will learn thst this is not the way to act, but right now, this person is someone I wish I knew better, but I am being prevented from knowing by this person's behavior toward me.

And what's worse, I have absolutely, positively and completely no idea why the person is treating me this way ... NONE.

I tried ... .

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

Rant #3,606: My "Quiet Village"

I watched TV all day about that horrific incident in New Orleans in the early hours of New Year's Day.

What happened is truly sickening--15 people dead and many more injured when a pickup truck drove through a crowd on Bourbon Street a 3 a.m. in the morning--and I am sure the FBI will get down to the bottom of this.

And they had better do it quickly, because two major sporting events being held in New Orleans--the Sugar Bowl and the Super Bowl--and people need to be protected from such insanity.

And Mardis Gras is coming up too.

The Sugar Bowl was postponed from yesterday to today, and it might have to be postponed again, because possible accomplices to the driver of the truck remain on the loose.

It all spells out to a terroristic attack, and a very bad way to begin 2025.

Let's move on to something a bit lighter ...

Chanukah 2025 is over, and I had a much better holiday this year as compared to last year.

I was able to really participate, able to walk over to the menorah to say the prayer and light the candles, and able to enjoy the holiday to its fullest.

Among the gifts I received from my family for Chanukah were a couple of gift cards, and I have started using them to fortify, and add to, my record collection.

One of the records I purchased using the gift cards was a single by someone who just about everyone knows--

But knows as a child, not for what she did as an adult.

The single is by Darla Hood, the lead female in the middle Little Rascals/Our Gang group of movie shorts.

Once she was too old for the series and left it in the late 1930s, she was in a few movies, got married and raised a family, and pretty much became a lounge singer, releasing nine singles in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

I had heard that one of these singles, "My 'Quiet Village,'" was a strange, yet interesting record, so I figured that using the gift card on it was a no-brainer.

I found the 1959 recording for a good price, purchased it, and it came in the mail earlier this week.

Yes, it is a strange song, what they call "exotica" or "lounge" music, but if nothing else, it is one of the most atmospheric records I have ever heard.

Here it is on YouTube ... tell me what you think. 

https://youtu.be/GxHn7DppYME?si=El8Q7A2z0RlwBPgZ

The B side, "Red Dress," actually sounds like Hood is channeling one of her contemporaries as a child and as an adult, Judy Garland.

Hood died at an early age from complications stemming from surgery, but she lives on in those wonderful shorts.

(And as an aside, no, Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer, the off-tone singer of the troupe, never released a record under his own name.)

Anyway, I sure hope that things get back to normal in New Orleans.

My wife and I honeymooned there in 1993, and we have great memories of that city and the people there.

Here is my personal wish for a quick rebound!

Rant #3,605: It's the Same Old Song

How was your New Year's Eve?

Ours was pretty quiet.

We had Italian food from a local pizzeria--pizza, shrimp parmigiana sandwich and salad--and that was pretty much it.

The three of us worked on the last day of the year--in fact, I had to rewrite a story I had already handed in with an update, which due to its timeliness, I did at 7 a.m. in the morning--and other then having to slam on my brakes when a car moved into my lane but never saw me, it was a pretty nothing day.

I don't even remember if I watched the ball drop ushering in 2024--remember, I was only a few days out if my second leg surgery when we went into 2025--and once again, I did not watch the ball drop going into 2025, either.

In fact, I fell asleep at 8:45 p.m. ... yes, I am getting older, and I just can't stay up anymore.

I did get a text message from my daughter wishing me a happy new year, but I was fast asleep when it came. 

I answered it this morning ... maybe that is a good sign. We shall see ... .

I noticed thst we were given our Social Security payment on the last day of 2024, and i also noticed that my big cost of living increase won't even buy me a tank of gas each month.

Let's hope the new president keeps to his word of removing the taxes from Social Security--it will mean a lot to people who really depend on that money each month.

But otherwise, the final day of 2024 was pretty much like the 50th day of the year, the 209th day of the year, and just about any other day of the past year: pretty much the same old, same old.

I hope 2025 is a great year, but it will probably be, again, the same old, same old.

After what my family and I have been through lately, I will settle for that.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!