Rant #2,938: Get a Job

Yesterday, I did something that I had not done in about two years.
 
I did something that I thought I would never do again, due to my circumstances.
 
But I did what I did because I felt that I had to, wanted to, and most importantly, I wanted to see if I get any reaction at all.
 
I APPLIED FOR A JOB.
 
I put that in bold, uppercase letters because I cannot believe that I actually did this.
 
The last time I applied for a job was sometime in September 2020, and it was a full-time job, right before I officially went on Social Security and retired, against my will, because I couldn’t even get arrested during this period of time.
 
The last time I updated my resume was almost two years to yesterday, July 22, 2020.
 
Why did I apply for a job—a freelance one—when I already have a freelance job?
 
Because I fit the job to a “T,” as they say.
 
Everything that they ask for that you need for this job I have—the right degree, the right experience, the knowledge of AP style, the right background, and the right skills.
 
Just look at the ad, and I qualify 100 percent.
 
But I have to wonder about some things, too.
 
One of the major things that I have to wonder about with this job opening is this: do my qualifications go out the window because of my age?
 
I sent them my resume, and anyone can pretty much figure out how old I am by the information that I have given them.
 
And even if somehow that doesn’t raise their eyebrows about age, it is pretty obvious, because I went from a full-time job to a freelance job, so that should tell them something.
 
Honestly, since I match up so well with the job requirements, if they don’t hire me, it is clear age discrimination … but go prove it.
 
And then we have my current job, the job that I got just about two years ago, when I was ready to pack it all in and live on Social Security, which, of course, is pretty near impossible to do right now.
 
I make the maximum I can make from that job, and not get penalized by Social Security for making too much … but as you know, that calculation was recently thrown out the window when I made the whopping sum of $248 more than I was supposed to make in 2021, and I have to pay it back, 50 cents on the dollar.
 
I have no idea what the salary is for this new job—they probably pay by submission—but that would totally throw off my Social Security payments if I had the job, because those who take Social Security early, like I was forced to do, have a cap on their annual earnings, which is as stupid as it sounds, but the rules are the rules.
 
So if I get this job, do I just enjoy this extra income and worry about it when I have to pay taxes next year and, subsequently, when Social Security finds out about it?
 
Heck, I know how the extra income from my current freelance job has helped my family and I out, but how about adding on the income from still another job? That would help us out immensely, especially in these inflationary times, the worst inflation we have experienced in 40 years.
 
The perfect case scenario is to get some type of deferred payment, but that is only used when rich people don’t want to pay taxes on their full salaries, so they hold off for a bigger payday later on, when they will worry about it then.
 
It doesn’t happen to huskers like me.
 
So what do I do?
 
Will they even call me due to my age that they can easily figure out?
 
What will happen?
 
Stay tuned.
 
Same Bat time.
 
Same Bat channel.
 
But unlike holding your breath for Batman and Robin in whatever peril they were in, I am not holding my breath on this job prospect at all.
 
But I can’t not look a gift horse in the mouth, and when I saw this ad, I thought I owed it to myself and my family to at least give it a shot.
 
As you well know by now, I hate being retired, I hate having been told at basically 62 and a half years of age that I was too old to fill a regular job anymore.
 
Now at 65 years of age, I am simply looking at the future, the near and the long-term, and I feel that I still have a lot to give if given the chance.
 
Wish me well on my quest, but yes, at this point, I do feel like Don Quixote fighting those windmills.
 
Have a great weekend, and I will speak to you again on Monday. 

Rant #2.937: F Troop

I know that it is late, late, late, but I want to mention Larry Storch’s passing.
 
It wasn’t just me who seemed to jump over this story; not that it makes what I am doing OK, but the local Newsday newspaper didn’t have his obituary in its pages until several days after his death last week, in this week's Tuesday edition, I believe.
 
Storch did so many things in show business—he was a movie actor, a Broadway actor, a voice and recording actor, and he appeared on seemingly dozens and dozens of TV shows of every ilk—but let’s be honest about it, he was defined and best remembered for his role on ABC’s mid-1960s satire on the old West, “F Troop.”
 
As Corporal Randolph Agarn, he was the partner of Sgt. Morgan O’Rourke—played by another great actor, Forrest Tucker—in all the plans and subplots involving “O’Rourke Enterprises,” which was a front for the dealings between the sergeant and the Hekawis, the ersatz American Indian tribe that was more Jewish than Indian in its makeup.
 
And they operated all behind and beyond and above the level of Col. Wilton Parmenter—again, played by another great actor, Ken Berry—who was named to lead this troop of misfits almost out of pity that his father was such a great leader of men, and his son was just a … failure.
 
Mix in all the others in the troop, and the hot to trot “Wrangler” Jane—Melody Paterson, who in real life, was just 15 years old, unbeknownst to anyone, when she played the role—and you had a two-season adventure that has lasted in reruns for the past half century.
 
Storch took to the role like butter to bread, with his over-the-top emotion on display in just about every episode.
 
Today, you absolutely could not get away with a show such as this, which lampooned everything from the military, American Indians, over-aggressive women, and other themes in a way which would get it attacked from all sides.
 
The show was clever, perhaps even too clever for its time, and it lasted just those two seasons, but Storch WAS the Agarn character, and unlike many actors who shun and browbeat the fact that they are best known for that one character, Storch embraced Agarn to his last days, wearing the hat that he wore during the “F Troop” days whenever he made public appearances … and he continued to make these appearances up until the end of his life.
 
Like Betty White, Storch just missed his 100th birthday at age 99 and a half, but his fame will live on in those reruns until the end of time.
 
I guess his Agarn character was my favorite one on “F Troop,” and I guess I gravitated to him to begin with because he and I shared the same first name—as well as background, as he was Jewish and the son of a New York City cab driver, just like I was.
 
But Storch was really an excellent character actor, and his appearances on everything from “Love, American Style” to “The Partridge Family” really do stick out in my mind.
 
He always looked a bit too old to be wearing those mod clothes and the longer hair that he did on these shows, but somehow, you got past all that with his acting and impeccable comedic timing.
 
Yes, he was that good at what he did.
 
But at least for me, it all reverted back to Agarn, where he chewed the scenery as well as Tucker, Berry and Patterson and the rest of the actors on the show did.
 
Storch’s signature line on the show was “Oh Sarge,” where he would break down, ready to cry, at some antics that had just happened or were soon to come.
 
And I would laugh, laugh and laugh some more at what I was watching—at nine years old, and later, in my 60s.
 
The show was true satire and slapstick rolled into one, and Storch was really one of the pistons of that engine.
 
“The end of the Civil War was near
When quite accidentally,
A hero who sneezed abruptly seized
Retreat and reversed it to victory.
 
His medal of honor pleased and thrilled
his proud little family group.
While pinning it on some blood was spilled
And so it was planned he'd command F Troop.
 
Where Indian fights are colorful sights
and nobody takes a lickin'
Where pale face and redskin
Both turn chicken.
 
When drilling and fighting get them down,
They know their morale can't droop.
As long as they all relax in town
Before they resume with a bang and a boom
F Troop.”
 
Larry Storch, R.I.P.

Rant #2.936: One Day At a Time

Well,, it finally done did it.
 
It appears that my computer has bitten the dust.
 
I am typing this on my other computer, which is also not long for this earth, but right now, it appears that my main computer has gone over to the other side.
 
I have been both babying it and overusing it lately—programming it to start up earlier, giving it ample time to boot up, and then, keeping it on for hours at a time, so I could both do my work and get things off of the computer that I need and onto thumb drives and DVDs.
 
It has worked for about two weeks, but it appears to have all crashed down today.
 
The computer won’t fully boot up, and I have tried resetting it and giving it time to start correctly, but to no avail.
 
Honestly, I really can’t complain.
 
I bought this computer as a refurbished unit off of eBay about six or seven years ago.
 
I wanted something like the computer I used at work,, but back then—and like now—I simply did not have the money to buy anything brand new.
 
And this computer did everything I wanted it to do, and I even learned some things from trying various applications on the computer, so it was also a learning tool for me.
 
It did everything I wanted it to do for all these years, and now, it appears to be done.
 
I am not a computer technician, so I have no idea if this is a minor blip that can be fixed or something that is not worth repairing. Maybe I should take it into my local computer shop to see if it can be fixed.
 
But what do I do now if the computer cannot be repaired?
 
I am going to have to buy another computer, because the one I am typing this Rant on is also not long for this world.
 
And I do believe I am going to have to go the refurbished route again, simply because I don’t have the money to buy a brand new iMac, which as you probably know, can run you into the lower four figures in price as a new item, and even as a used unit, can now fetch several hundred dollars.
 
Funny, you giveth from one, and you taketh from the other with my current problems.
 
While the computer was in its last throes of life, we finally got our pool going, and we actually used it this past weekend.
 
It felt so good on a number of levels … we finally got all the problems solved with the pool, and boy, did it feel good to be in a big bathtub under the hot sun!
 
Evidently, I gained back the use of my pool, but in the deal, I lost the use of my computer ...
 
Or did I?
 
I just walked by the room that the computer sits in—my daughter’s old bedroom—and lo and behold, the computer, after about 10 tries, finally booted up!
 
I bow down to the computer gods, who are evidently giving me one extra day to do what I have to do with this unit and then put it to rest.
 
And I will use this computer today literally for all that it is worth, because quite finally, as I have outlined here, I don’t have much of a choice.
 
I have owned several computers over the years, and this one is by far the best of the lot.
 
I am happy that I have at least a one-day reprieve, and let me get to it to see what I can do on it today.
 
I guess that it might be down for the count, at 1-2, but not at 3 yet ... maybe at 2 3/4.
 
Let’s hope I can continue to use this computer today and for the foreseeable future, although that might be asking a lot.

One day at a time … .

Rant #2,935: Mr. Roboto

I’m back!
 
And boy, there really isn’t any better place to be than my regular perch after yesterday morning’s drudgery at the car service station, especially after the door jamb fiasco of late last week.
 
I spent a good three-and-a-half hours at the service station yesterday, and I ended up spending roughly $271 an hour there, so you can imagine what a grind it was.
 
Now the car is ready for the long drive we have planned for our vacation, but at what cost?
 
It literally took all my cash on hand, and then some, but at least the car is ready to go, and it will be a safe drive.
 
Better to get this stuff done here in the neighborhood than in “God’s country” somewhere in the middle of nowhere.
 
And other than cringe during my three-and-a-half hour trek, what else did I do with my time at the service station on Monday?
 
I read the newspaper, looked at my phone, did work that I could do there …
 
And I watched television, or what they call television in today’s world.
 
I was kind of a captive audience watching what was on, because I was there and the TV was on in the waiting area, so what else was I supposed to do?
 
The TV is there to help you get through the long wait, but all it did was make me more infuriated.
 
Why?
 
Well, both on Friday and Monday, the car places had on the morning news shows, if you want to call these shows N-E-W-S, but the stuff that I watched was nothing but pap for people who have lost the ability to think for themselves.
 
I know that a lot of the allure of these shows is their mixing of news and entertainment, but let me tell you, there was way more entertainment stuff on these shows than the news stuff, and even the news coverage was really geared to people without a brain in their heads.
 
And that is what infuriates me the most … that for millions of Americans, this is their only news source of the day, so they are not getting anything that allows them to think and make their own decisions.
 
The major news story surrounding that moron of a basketball player who is now in detention in Russia for packing away drug products in her valise is case in point.
 
Watching “Good Morning America,” you would think that this woman is a conquering hero, taking it on the chin from the so-bad Russians, and while they are bad, didn’t this insipid human being ever learn that when you travel, you “do as the Romans do” and follow every rule and law that the host country has—yes, even the so-bad Russians—when you are in that country?
 
But no, ABC broadcasts WNBA games—nobody watches these games, but it is an extension of their NBA contract, so they have to carry these games—and being that ABC, Disney, the NBA and WNBA are all in bed together, GMA just had to give a positive spin on this idiot’s plight, by presenting viewers with about half a story related to her detention in Russia.
 
They showed how gallant the league was in backing her plight, by announcing during the league’s All-Star Game that her name would be placed in the starting lineup by proxy, and that all players would wear her number 42 on their backs in solidarity … which was a slap to a true sports pioneer that these fools have probably never heard of, baseball’s Jackie Robinson, who wore the same number 42 for the Brooklyn Dodgers when he broke the color barrier in sports in the 1940s.
 
And again, this WNBA player brought drug paraphernalia into a country that has less than zero tolerance for such things … not too bright, but that was never mentioned during the supposed newscast.
 
After watching this and some other supposed news reports, I wrote this on Facebook out of total frustration—and I was happy to see that a lot of people agreed with me about the content of these morning “news” shows:
 
“I have been forced to watch the morning "news" shows since I have had my car in the shop the past two weekday mornings, and I have waited for the car to get fixed.
 
Let me say right off the bat that I can't believe people actually watch these shows ... and I assume actually get their news off of these shows. Nothing but one-sided nonsense--much worse than the nightly news shows--but perfect for those who have completely lost the ability or the desire to think and use their own brains.

And the guests on these shows ... I have never seen more vacuous, self absorbed, mentally ill, personal problem inventing people in my entire life. How anybody can give any credence to these people really shows where "news" has fallen to.
 
It is sad that this tripe is being sold to the American public, but you get what you pay for, and what you are willing to accept, I guess.”
 
We are in a time period that personal thinking is clearly at a premium. We are told what to do and when to do it, and we follow these “rules” like obedient puppets.
 
Have we lost our critical thinking ability?
 
I think we have, and that is sadder than the pricey bill I had to pay yesterday.
 
Once you lose the power of personal thought, you become a robot … and that is not what the human experience is supposed to be all about.