Rant #3,046: The Letter

To start off, yesterday was a bit better day than the previous days have been for myself and my family.

Most importantly, I was able to resolve my mom’s credit card situation.

The credit card company took the errant charge off of her account, referred it to their fraud division. and will be sending us a new card within the next several days.

And then, kind of unbeknownst to me, but kind of not, I had a letter to the editor published in the local Newsday newspaper.

I have had many letters, and made many appearances, in the pages of Newsday since the early 1970s.

I used to be mentioned in the late Marvin Kitman’s TV column here and there during the 1970s, and I wrote several letters that were published over the past 50 years or so.

And as you know, I have been profiled a couple of times by the newspaper related to my work situation.

But this letter that was published was something a little bit different, and short and to the point.

It dealt with recent talk that the matter of “stress” among students should be accepted as a valid excuse for a day off from school, which I think is a ludicrous proposal, opening up a virtual Pandora’s Box of trouble if this measure is accepted.

Parents already have the latitude to keep their kids out of school for a variety of reasons, legitimate and otherwise … as long as “Johnny doesn’t feel good, so he won’t be in school today” is accepted as a valid reason for not attending school, then parents really can write anything they want to keep their kids out of school, and nobody would know the better of it.

But once a kid is allowed to say, “I can’t go to school because I am stressed out,” and that is accepted as a viable absence, you are really not helping the kid, and you are also putting the parent in a very awkward position.

Yes, stress is handled differently by everyone, but what an excuse that would have been if it had been available during my own school days!

And it also sets a very bad precedent for the future.

School is one thing, but the work world is another.

If such an excuse is accepted in school, would the same excuse be accepted by an employer?

“I can’t come in to work today because I am stressed out” somehow seems to be a hollow excuse when you are an employee being paid to work at your job.

I am sure that the employer would bend over backwards to accommodate such an excuse, but time is money, and what might be OK in school is not OK in the workplace.

We coddle our kids too much as it is, which only serves to smother their development..

We have all gone to school, and to work, when we were not at the top of our game, but somehow, we got over it and moved on.

My son has an acknowledged mental disability, yet during his schooling and his work experience, he has missed a scant amount of days due to sickness.

What excuse does a disability-less, but lazy, teenager have to miss school using the “stress” reasoning?

It is insipid that people are even considering this move on Long Island, and it is an idea that should be put in the wastepaper basket, where handwritten notes attesting to a “stress” reasoning for Johnny being out of school should also be tossed.

If this measure goes through, we are setting a very bad precedent … will the next acceptable excuse finally be “my dog ate my homework?” Will that finally be an accepted excuse for laziness?

Getting back to whether I knew my letter was going to be published or not, I kind of figured my letter would be published because I was called a few nights back and told that the newspaper was considering using my letter—which I emailed to Newsday—and they wanted to know what town I lived in, which I verbally provided them during that call.

So it took a few days, but I became a star for a day with this letter, one that honestly, few see because newspaper readership is not where it once was.

It is also online, but I know it’s not the same as getting a letter published in the 1970s, when just about every family and person read the newspaper.

But I will take it for what it was, a lifter of my spirits for a few moments in time.

Now, again, I have to return to the real world, and I have a lot to do to lift my spirits with everything going on around me.

Like we were taught in school on days we were stressed and not stressed, “The pen is mightier than the sword,” and in this case, I certainly proved that to be true, as my writing once again helped to lift me up, even if for only a scant moment.

Rant #3,045: Don't Let the Rain Fall Down On Me

 

My family and I just cannot get out of the way of this black cloud that we are under.

We have been under it for so long that it has become our “normal,” which is not a good thing.

There is nothing that I am going to talk about here that is insurmountable, but it just adds another brick to this steady load that we are weathering, and I simply cannot see light at the end of the dark tunnel.

If it isn’t one thing, it’s another.

Yesterday, we found out that my son is going to need a tooth pulled.

He has a cavity way back in his mouth … so far back on the left side that the dentist told me that it is unsalvageable, and needs to be removed.

It is the same tooth—on the other side of his mouth—that he had taken out a couple of years ago, so it seems less from lack of maintenance than simply a naturally bad tooth.

It is a tooth right near an impacted molar, so we may just have the whole thing removed before it becomes a major, life-long problem for him.

He has done well without the opposite tooth, so we have no doubt that he won’t miss this tooth, either.

But it has to be done, and it will be removed in a few months.

And then the dentist tells me that as far as my account, my dental insurance has not paid them in about a year … and it is now up to me to contact the insurance company and find out why that is.

Late yesterday, I discovered that my mother’s credit card account has been abused by someone, and that there are charges on that account that were unauthorized.

I found this out last night, as we received our mail late yesterday—the one day we needed to receive the mail on time so I could have gotten this all taken care of right away.

With my mother’s mental state, I have taken over the administration of her finances, and I noticed that there was a charge on her credit card that was errant, and certainly not made by her, since she doesn’t have the cards anymore—they are in my possession—and wouldn’t know how to order online anyway.

It was for a few hundred dollars, and was made on Christmas Day, of all days.

I called the credit card company, but they would not speak to me without my mother’s permission, but I could not get my mother on the phone because it was too late and she was sleeping.

So I will have to call back today, and get this mess all taken care of.

And as this happens, my mother’s mental state isn’t getting any better.

It gets worse by the day.

So, as I kind of figured, 2023 is simply an extension of 2022, not a beginning point to wash the slate clean of the stench of the prior year but a transparent one, where things remain the same, and things have not changed in my household or for my family at all at the dawn of this new year.

In fact, for the first time in several days, I had some trouble sleeping last night, as there were too many things playing on my mind … just like it was during the latter stages of 2022.

When it rains, it pours, and in my situation, it seems to be coming down in buckets.

I don’t know why that is, but it is what it is, and I just have to deal with it, because there is really nothing else that I can do about it but take care of these individual situations and than move on.

I have often asked myself why this is happening, and I have no answer.

Did I do anything bad in the past, and this is simply payback time?

Is God testing me for some reason?

And the eternal question … “Why’s everybody always picking on me?”

And no, the answer to that question is definitely not “Charlie Brown.”

I just don’t get it, don’t get it at all.

I really do feel that there is a dark cloud over me and over us, and I cannot figure out why that is so.

I am trying to laugh it all off—laughter is the best medicine—but it really doesn’t work.

At least my own dentist appointment went well, so maybe I should look on the bright side of things, but there is too much negativity around me, so much that it cancels any good that does happen.

Writing this Blog every day is therapy for what ails me. I am able to get off my chest my feelings, and that does make me feel good.

But it should be a joyous time in my life now, and it really has been just the opposite.

I continue to look for silver linings in all of this, but quite frankly, I don’t see any.

The only good thing is that I know my family and I will eventually persevere … but to get to that point is and has been nothing but torture.

Rant #3,044: Start!

 

Now, I know that at least for myself, 2023 has started.

I know that for sure because my son and I have dental appointments scheduled for later today.

These were among the many postponements we had at the end of 2022, when I had COVID and since he was in the same house with me, they wouldn’t look at him for fear that the disease would spread.

So today after he finishes work, my son and I have to visit the dentist.

Mine is for a cleaning, his is for some pain that he had in his mouth that was bothering him right before we went away on our cruise, but has since subsided.

And these appointments lead off a veritable slew of doctors’ appointments that my family and I have this month, with just about every one of them being postponements from when we all had COVID here, except my son … who because he lived in the same house, was sort of guilty by association.

I see that 2023 has also begun for others too, including already disgraced Congressman-elect George Santos, who refuses to resign his upcoming position even though he lied and told stories about so many things on this resume.

He gets sworn in to office today, and let me tell you, this is must-watch TV to see this liar put his hand on the bible and wear to do his duty.

Nobody even knows who this guy is, yet we have to put this trust in him?

The hope is that his term is a short one, as he is being investigated by the feds and other entities for his lies, and if they find anything substantial—like where he got the money to run for this position—that he will be forced to resign, or will be removed flat on his face.

As it is, even if nothing untoward is found, he is going to be nothing but a paper congressman anyway, because there is no way that he will be appointed to any committees, the groups where the real work is done in Congress.

So if he actually serves his full term, his updated resume will show that he did absolutely nothing as an elected legislator, other than cause havoc because of his “embellishments.”

And I see that on a lighter note, 2023 has commenced on my Yahoo News feed, with such top-of-the line hard news items as the following:

• Jessica Simpson Shocks Fans After She Shows Off Puffy Lips In Latest Instagram Post: ‘That’s Not Jessica’

• Heidi Klum Wore a Completely See-Through Lace Outfit That Caused Everyone to Gawk

• Selena Gomez Flashes Her Legs In Sheer Tights And A Tweed Mini Dress—She's Unreal!

• 'Buffy' Star Sarah Michelle Gellar Stuns in New Swimsuit Photo

You want me to go on?

And sorry, no Elizabeth Hurley sightings yet this year … her last sighting was actually on December 31, when this news item turned up in my Yahoo News feed:

• YOU GO HURL! Elizabeth Hurley, 54, Looks Incredible in Plunging Swimsuit as She Shares Behind the Scenes Pecs of Shoot

So if you want to be exact about it, 2023 has not really started until we get an Elizabeth Hurley news item during the new year; December 31 doesn’t count.

Somehow, someway, I think we will get one in my Yahoo News feed any day now, so as far as I am concerned, 2023 has started, Elizabeth Hurley or no Elizabeth Hurley.

And funny, more importantly, I and millions of other people received our first Social Security payment of the new year, including the 8-percent increase due to a standard-of-living adjustment …

But the weird thing is that we got it on December 31, so that begs the question: Does that count as 2022 income, since Social Security is taxable, or 2023 income?

I have no idea, and I probably won’t know until my family and I get our taxes done late this month or in early February.

I was kind of surprised to see that we received the payment in 2022, and on a Saturday yet, and it really just boggles the mind how the government handles such things. and really all things (see above mention of George Santos).

I guess you know that the new year has started with these governmental actions, which make absolutely no sense whatsoever.

But do such actions ever make the least bit of sense whether it is 2022, 2023, 2024 … heck, how about 2057 when I am 100 years old? Will things ever change?

Yup, nothing makes sense at all, and that is why I know, for sure, that the year 2023 has started …

Whether anyone is ready for it, or not, is another question.

Rant #3,043: Long Ago Tomorrow

How was your New Year’s Eve and Day?

Mine was pretty dull, which is exactly the way I like it.

Nothing crazy, stayed at home, and that was that for my family and I.

We ordered in food from a local restaurant, we ate at home, watched a little TV, saw the ball drop, and went to sleep.

That was pretty much it for New Year’s Eve.

On New Year’s Day, I watched a lot of TV, took a nap, ordered in our dinner, we ate at home, and we went to bed pretty early.

That was it.

Period.

And what did I watch a lot of this weekend on TV?

“The Honeymooners” and “The Twilight Zone,” of course.

You can say whet you want about what is offered on TV today, but sorry, this current fare cannot match the creativity of these two series, each of which was created and new more than 60 years ago.

“The Honeymooners” remains the most spot-on, funniest show ever created, driven by the fact that no matter how many times you watch these episodes, you still laugh and laugh and laugh some more.

And with “The Twilight Zone,” you get a similar experience: no matter how many times you see these episodes, they make you think, think and think some more.

I’m just not glued to the past, as I did one thing that moved me into the future during these two days.

My nephew came in from California, as he usually does during this holiday break.

We touched base again when he came over to visit his grandmother, and he brought me his latest recordings.

He is a musician and is a member of a thrash-metal group, Cancer Christ, which is very popular on the west coast.

I listened to some of what he gave to me, and honestly, I can’t figure it out.

It seems like a lot of yelling and screaming and anti-social music, if you even want to call it music, but I guess you can say that his band must be on to something, although what that is completely eludes me.

You can check up on his band at https://www.sweatbandrecords.com/cancer-christ#:~:text=Cancer%20Christ%20is%20the%20imperfect,searing%20and%20powerful%20holy%20light.

And we exchanged records, as I gave him a copy of “The Rascals Greatest Hits” that I had.

I told him that more than a generation ago, the Rascals pretty much did what his band did, playing small clubs before they got their big break.

The music is totally different, of course, but I told my nephew that maybe if he listened to the LP, he might find something in there that he can use in his own band’s repertoire.

You never know …

Really, nothing else of any consequence transpired during New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day and that was good, for me personally.

I actually had some work to do for my remote job and sent that in, and will do the same today.

Since today is going to be the day that office workers are being given off to celebrate New Year’s Day this year, I know that no one will be in the office, but it shows that I am dedicated to my work and hope to keep things going through the new year.

That is that.

The New Year celebrations came and went, we are just about back to whatever we call normal nowadays, and we have another year to experience.

I know I sound blasé about the whole thing, but in a couple of months I will turn 66, and let’s just say that I have been around the block a bit during my life, and it is just the same thing over and over and over.

But please, dear God, no surprises this year.

I had enough last year to last me a lifetime, and I know that I can live out a long lifetime without the surprises thrown in, because they always seem to be bad surprises, not good ones.

A happy and healthy new year to all of you, and I will continue on tomorrow post haste!

Rant #3,042: Just Can't Wait

Goodness, this has been another questionable year on my end, and I am glad that 2022 is just about over and done with.

I wish that I personally could look back at 2022 with glee, but I simply can’t.

I think from here on in and into the future, I am going to have to scope out my years differently than I have in the past, trying to balance the good with the bad.

I could say that my family had generally good health this year, but the last three or four months have been truly horrific for us.

My mother’s mental condition concerns me greatly, and it has forced a change of lifestyle on all of us here that we never foresaw.

And then we topped it off with all the turmoil that we had getting COVID—except for my son, thank God—and I really cannot say that we had our good health for the entire year.

When one scrambles to find good things to say about a year that is just about over, the first thing that comes to mind is good health, and my wife and I had good health for about 11 and a half months, and then we got bit.

Happily, we recovered quickly, so I have to look at things from that perspective … it could have been worse.

We are all working, but I will never get over being told that at age 62, I would never work full time again.

I applied for full-time work this year, three years after that fact, but nothing came of it, still leading me to believe that no matter what anyone says, we still discriminate against people who are considered to be older … and I am living proof of that fact.

I am older, but far from over the hill, but go tell that to those doing the hiring that are probably half my age.

Again, thank goodness I have my remote job. It is what it is, but why was I ever put into the position that I am in, having to settle for such a position because I could not get something better?

This is a question that will follow me for the rest of my life, but I have pretty much accepted the fact that this is where I am and will be … sort of.

I mean, 2022 was really another up and down year, but can I say it was one of my best years?

No, not by a long shot.

Nothing really went right for me during the past year.

I tried to do the right thing, but it just never clicked like it has in past years.

Everything was a struggle, and dealing with others to help you do the right thing became increasingly difficult.

Were there any good things that happened this year?

Yes, there were.

Our son continues to amaze us with his resiliency and his maturity.

He is able to do things that he wasn’t supposed to be doing, or at least we were told by supposed experts that he wasn’t supposed to be doing.

And I just know that for 2023 and beyond, he will continue to amaze us, because at this point, we expect it.

And my daughter is doing well personally and professionally, so that is good, too.

I celebrated my 65th birthday this past year, and my family threw me a great party.

But the highlight of the party, for me at least, was that I was able to replace my wife’s diamond ring, a promise I made to her years ago to do.

The ring had fallen out during a prior cruise, we ere never able to find it, and I vowed that one day, I would replace it, and I presented her the ring during my party.

It was an experience the two of us will never forget.

We had two decent vacations this year.

The first vacation was the best road trip vacation we ever took, traveling south and doing everything that we planned to do, satisfying each of our needs and desires of things to do on a family vacation.

It was a very relaxing time, even though I did work during that week away.

And I worked on the few days we had away on our cruise, and we had a fine time visiting Bermuda.

The only problem with that vacation was that I do believe we picked up the COVID bug from that voyage, but we will never know for sure.

Looking over the year, we laughed a lot, we cried a lot, we threw up our hands in disgust a lot … much like any other year.

But somehow, I won’t ever look at 2022 with much fondness.

My mother’s fate was sealed this year, and who knows what 2023 will bring?

So for my new year’s resolutions … I really don’t have any.

My family and I will continue to do the best that we can in the face of terrible adversity.

I told my wife last night that I do believe that 2023 will be a difficult year for us, and I truly believe that personally.

But I watch our son further mature, and it gives me a lot of hope for the new year, too.

How will he amaze us in 2023?

That really keeps me going, because I simply can’t wait!

Have a wonderful new year, a great weekend, and I will speak to you again with my first Rant of the new year on Monday.

Tally-ho and away we go!

Rant #3,041: Lies

What do you make of this George Santos character?

Federal and county prosecutors are looking into the Congressman-elect after the Long Island Republican lied on his resume—and later admitted to it.

The New York Times brought out that after its own investigation, it found that Santos lied about his educational background, his work experience, even his religion and his family background.

He might have also lied about his place of residence, and the fact of the matter is that the legislator—who also claims that he is gay—evidently won his election based on this pack of lies, of which he has finally admitted to, calling them “embellishments.”

The problem here is that even though members of his own party have urged him to step down, if Santos does not resign, nothing stands in the way of him being sworn in as scheduled on January 3 … all based on a cataclysm of one untruth after another.

If Santos does step down, the seat would remain empty, and New York State governor Kathy Hochul would have to call a special election, which could include a primary race in the spring.

But Santos is adamant that he will, in fact, take the oath of office on January 3, an oath that will be as hollow as he is if he does what he says he is going to do.

Due to the lies he told, Santos’ very existence is being questioned—is he artfully “George Santos” or someone else—what are his money sources, is he actually an agent of a foreign country, and is he even a citizen of this country—the latter being a necessity for a congressional position.

Look, let’s be honest about it, this is not the first time that a legislator has lied about his background.

Some years ago, Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut claimed that he was a Vietnam war veteran, which he was not, In fact, an earlier New York Times investigation found that he actually got five deferments so he would not have to serve during the war.

And there are dozens of others who have lied, told untruths, and generally told the public stories that were as phony as a $3 bill.

But Santos’ story is perhaps the worst example of this type of behavior, because what he called “embellishments” camouflaged the fact that he not only lied, but lied about EVERYTHING.

He claimed that his educational background includes college attendance at some of the top universities in the country … the truth is that his education might be at the high school level at best, and that is it.

He claimed that his work background included working at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup ... but the truth is that they have no record of his ever being an employee at either organization.

He claimed he had Jewish grandparents that fled Europe during World War II … but more on that later.

He claimed to be gay, and ran against a gay opponent, but he was married at one time … perhaps this is the only one you can give him a pass to, because that does happen, but with his entire pack of lies, who can believe him when he talks about his sexuality?

He claimed that the criminality that the New York Times found in his background—using a stolen credit card when he was a youth in South America—was a lie … but the truth is that this criminal act has not yet been resolved, and might never be resolved, due to the lax court system overseas.

I mean, you could go on and on and on about this guy without ever finding an end.

And what might be the whopper of this whole thing is that he said that his family was a victim of the Holocaust, and that he is Jewish, although The New York Times found that his grandparents were from South America, with absolutely no link to the Holocaust or Judaism.

He later joked that while it is true that he is not Jewish, he was “Jew-ish,” one of the great explanations for a lie I have ever heard. It will certainly go down in the record books as one of the stupidest explanations for justifying a lie in modern recorded history.

OK, the guy lied through his teeth, but the question that I have is how was this guy not properly vetted by the Republicans?

He ran for Congress twice, losing once and being victorious this time around, so he was their choice for this vacant seat.

How could he pull the wool over the eyes of his own party like he has?

I don’t get that at all, and it just feeds into my belief that I will never vote for a Republican or Democrat again, because they are all irresponsible individuals who are out for one thing, and it has nothing to do with the constituents that they are supposed to be representing.

Santos’ story is a sad one, and I feel that the full story has yet to come out.

There is way more to this story than meets the eye, and when the extent of this story finally comes out, we are going to find that the axiom “a sucker is born every minute” will be amplified by this case.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of suckers out there, including those who voted this storyteller into office.

Once again, you get what you pay for.

Rant #3,040: Rockabye Baby ...

OK, this is a no-COVID zone today.

Just let me say that my sister is getting better, and might be done with this—for now—as we speak.

Today is December 28, so I should have been completely done with this sickness protocol as of yesterday, as my 10-day cautionary period—having it, getting rid of it, and then taking precautions for five days—finally ended.

But I am taking extra caution, and I am still going to sleep on the Castro Convertible tonight, just to make sure—

Then, it is back into my own bed, and hopefully, that will help my sleep pattern to improve from what it is now: some sleep in the Castro Convertible, move to the living room to sleep, then move back into the Castro Convertible for my remaining sleep of the night—and this can happen a few times over until I finally get up and begin my day.

What with the cruise we had in November and moving into this month, I think that over the past month, I have slept in my own bed three times, but that streak will end on Thursday night.

And the Castro Convertible sure came in handy, but it is good for maybe a night or two, not nearly a month.

That being said, I am happy we had it to use, because I don’t know where I would sleep if we didn’t have it.

Castro Convertibles have been around since the early 1930s, and is a real New York point in history, as the company began in the Big Apple by Bernard Castro right in the middle of the Depression.

The company grew the brand as an “extra bed, but also a piece of furniture” for families looking to temporarily house other family members who were out of work or who had just come to this country from elsewhere.

The company continued to be popular through the 1940s and 1950s, and it was one of the first major companies to advertise regularly on this new gadget called television, where, in 1946, it demonstrated the ease of opening the sofa into a bed by using young, four-year-old Bernadette Castro as the model, opening the bed with ease.

If this young girl could do it, then anyone could!

And it was a perfect device for service members coming home from the war and needing temporary sleeping quarters, and years before Annette became the focus of attention on “The Mickey Mouse Club” as the country watched her grow from a child to a woman, Bernadette Castro was a similar focus of attention.

In fact, the younger Castro became one of television’s first commercial celebrities, and she had a long career as an ad pitchman, an actor, a singer and as a politician in New York City, where she held a number of positions in city government through numerous mayoralty administrations.

In 1993, around the time the elder Castro died, Castro Convertible was sold to Krause Furniture, but 15 years later, the Castro family started a campaign to get back control of the company and its intellectual property

In 2012, the younger Castro and her siblings got back that control of the company, but relocated it to South Florida, where I believe it operates today.

My family had one of the original Castro Convertibles in our house from the 1930s. It was originally owned by my grandparents, but we inherited it, and 50 years ago or more, I used to sleep on it when my grandparents were visiting and my bed was not available—six people in a two-bedroom apartment was a bit tight!

The mattress then was at least a few inches thick, and it was highly sleepable.

That sofa bed lasted until the 1980s, I believe, when the mechanism kind of died, and we got a newer model around that time, the one I have been sleeping on for the past three weeks.

The mattress is about an inch thick, and every time you turn over, you feel the metal mechanism from underneath grind into your body.

It is nowhere near as comfortable as the original model, but it has served its purpose over the past 40 years or so … so you can say that we are a Castro Convertible family, going back to the 1930s.

That being said, I will be so glad to get into my regular bed on Thursday evening.

We could use a new mattress, but whatever we have in there is just so much better than that poor Castro Convertible that I have been trying to sleep on.

And yes, you have to say that for what it was, it was one of the great inventions of the 20th century, as it expanded whatever quarters it was used in, so kudos to the Castro family for creating something that I have used off an on for so many years of my life.

On the other hand, I just cannot wait to get into my actual bed, and put this entire episode behind me—

And the operative word there is “behind” … as my behind might still be sore from sleeping in the Castro Convertible.

One more night!

I simply cannot wait!