THAR HE BLOWS

I have had enough of the blowhard Trump. He has no grasp on reality. He sees himself as the savior, the best of everything rolled up behind one big mouth that when he talks he sounds like what comes out a behind. He speaks in bullet points without any thing to back up what he says.

“They are gonna love me.” Who? Has any world leader come forth to say they like Trump? None yet. None ever! Any member of Congress said they love Trump? None yet! Putin says “Nyet.” The president of Mexico is setting aside millions to pay for Trump’s wall – NOT!

What the Donald doesn’t understand is that the United States in not a business. It is a country. Ask Mousolini – oh, he was thrown out. I want a diplomat to run this country. The diplomat that gets to run the U.S. can surround themselves with the best and the brightest business people. You cannot lose sight that this is a country not a corporation. I refer to 2008. Look what the “business geniuses” did. Granted we did not see or we failed to grasp the impact that NAFTA and other trade agreements would have, but the business geniuses did and pushed hard for them.

They shout that China took our jobs, Mexico took our jobs, India took our jobs. No one took anything, they were sent over by the business geniuses that say we have to bring back our jobs. All talk – no action except to keep exporting the jobs.

Trump says he has millions of dollar overseas that he would like to bring back to the U.S.  A few years ago the U.S. created an amnesty so that overseas money could come back and the money would be used for investment and jobs. BUT, the rich got richer as the money was used, not for jobs, not for investment but for dividends. So, ask the Donald how he would channel all that money. Probably back to the three stooges – oh, those are his kids.

He says that he will have the biggest and strongest military in the world. Don’t tell him that it already exists. Our defense spending is more than the next nine super powers combined. Yes, there is waste – and a lot of it. Reign that in. Every time we cut the defense budget or reduce the number of bodies in uniform the our leaders are branded as weakening our security. How many nuclear powered subs do we need? Or aircraft carriers? Or fighters, even ones we don’t need (F22) or want?

The Donald, to use his description, is a disaster waiting to happen. He will get rid of the ACA and replace it with what? No, not a single payer system, but the “best the world has ever seen.” according to him.

Thank you Mr. President for not killing any more of our kids in battles we don’t need to be in. He says we don’t have good leadership. I might agree with that but who is he speaking about. The President, the cabinet, the members of Congress, the Supreme Court, our Joint Chiefs of Staff our military commanders, who?

After hearing his announcement speech I envisioned  the Mexican government at the airports in Mexico asking all drug dealers to step forward and gave them first class tickets to the U.S. Rapists and murders next in line to be sent here with special visas requiring them to only perform the tasks that they were set here for – rape and murder. The Donald is a schmuck.

The best and brightest immigrants are already here. But he wants to round them up and send them back just like they did in Europe in the 30s and 40s. He says he visited the border and saw drugs pouring in. There is an entry lane, ask him, he saw it,  just for drug smugglers. Wow, I have been to the border and never seen that. That doesn’t mean that drugs do not cross the border, it means that he has no idea of what he is talking about. That is also true of all of his positions.

He wants to tear up the Iran agreement. The U.S., China, Russia, Germany and France negotiated this. Ask him. He is a better negotiator than all of them. (The Donald is a schmuck). He wants to have a war because if you don’t there is no market for bombs, bullets, grenades and other tools for killing. No war would be a disaster – for his friends.

I have Muslims, Mexican and other ethnicities working for me. Sounds like the statement, “Me prejudiced, some of my best friends are ________!” Fill in the blank.

The Donald has the best brightest people ready and willing to work for him when he becomes the president. Name one. When I was a child and didn’t eat my dinner my other said that there are kids in Europe that are starving, and one day I asked, “name one.”

The Declaration Of independence claims that we are nation of the people for the people and by the people. We are not a nation for profit, dividends and to enrich the few from the sweat of the many. I want a statesman as a president.

To be a great leader you have to have some humility. Look at Lincoln, look at Kennedy, Eisenhower, Clinton and others that when they made a mistake they owned up to it. The Donald, though he does not have a big papal hat, (big head, maybe) is infallible. Pope Donald. Just ask him.

I repeat, the Donald is a schmuck! But he is just one of them in a narrowing field as they drop off the Bozo Bus.

That is my take – you decide.

I WONDER WHAT . . .

Did you ever wonder what had happened to people from your past.  Some you hope they had good lives, prosperous and healthy lives. Of course, everyone has some bad stuff happen but the bad stuff for those people you hope would have been not too bad.


I got a message through Facebook some months ago that kind of floored me – someone out of my past asked if I was the guy she was trying to contact ( right out of the Lily Tomlin act – is this the person to whom I am speaking?) I was and I was also delighted to get that communication.

There were guys I grew up with that I would love to meet them, even today, in dark alley with a bat in my hand. But every time I meet someone like that it turns out that I hope they had a rubber ball for stick ball and the bat was for play. How long can you hold a grudge even if the last memory of them was them kicking the crap out of you? Getting even is always the goal. When given the opportunity, getting even is not what it is cracked up to be.

For example, I had a business partner that stole from me. He was also planning to leave me high and dry with a lot of debt. He didn’t but he did steal and that left the venture in jeopardy that we partnered in. I was pissed and hurt. Fast forward about 15 years I had occasion to track him down. He moved from a nice town back east to a lesser town.  He was divorced and remarried. When I got to him I had a thriving business had a very good reputation in my industry. Still do! I was travelling

I got a message through Facebook some months ago that kind of floored me – someone out of my past asked if I was the guy she was trying to contact ( right out of the Lily Tomlin act – is this the person to whom I am speaking?) I was and I was also delighted to get that communication.

Someone once said that living well is the best revenge. I didn’t have to say a word, I got even.

Over the years I often wondered what happened to ______________ (insert a name). Girls I met in Maine or in college. Guys that I met in school and were in the same club and later the same fraternity.  A few guys that I did basic training with or did my combat training with in Missouri. Not all but a few, I wonder where they are and how they are. And for the most part, if they are still on this planet I hope that life is treating them well (there are some exceptions, but it pays not to dwell on the negative).

Recently I had an opportunity to visit someone out my past – way past, 59 years past.  She found me on Facebook. I got a communication from her and over the next month or two we e-mailed, texted and talked on the phone. Trying to get caught up on six decades is not easy, it is nearly impossible. She invited me to come to her city on the eastern part of Canada. While, for many reasons it did not seem like a good idea at the time, the idea grew on me. I needed a change of scenery, a positive experience (see my article on the “Not (so very) Merry Month of May.)

What could it hurt? We can catch up on each other’s life. Compare notes, eat some good food, drink some good wine – for five days. I called her then sent my flight information and it was nearly midnight she was at the airport to pick me up. I knew immediately who she was as I have a recent photo that she sent. Sixty years can change a person, her as well as me.  The smile and the hair was almost the same as it was in 1956.

That beautiful young teenager is now a beautiful older woman with sixty years of life lived since the day at the beach.

For the next five days we talked and we talked and we talked as we toured her beautiful city that she knew so well. I told her about my wins and losses in life. My children, grandchildren, daughters in law and the sons in law. Where I live and how I live, were subjects that we explored thoroughly and she did the same. I learned about her section of the city and the beautiful ethnicity of the neighborhood that is reminiscent of eastern cities. I almost felt at home.

I learned about her children and their accomplishments. Her son that decided that he wanted to save children’s lives and became a successful pediatric oncologist. He  even practiced in Southern California before going to Atlanta. The pride in her eyes was so evident  and the pride in her voice was electric. The sadness came through as she described the one di ease that he battled in children he could not win – he died of cancer in the prime of his life.

I learned about her daughter and the granddaughter that brought major smiles to her face. There are so many personal details that I cannot or would not share here. Suffice to say, that six decades comes with so many emotional events, so many highs and so many lows and we are the result of that process of living with that reflects in our eyes. It makes us who we are today not who we were then.

What happened to ________________ and where is _______________ now?  Great questions that when you get the answers you realize one thing. You were born to live your life, not other’s lives.

 That is my take - you decide!

THE BOZO BUS HAS ARRIVED

I am watching the Bozo Bus and it is hilarious. There are 17 clowns on the bus and each one has a different make up. But they are all unique and not so unique at the same time. We have the youngster just out of knee pants in Rubio. We have the sinister hit man with that I am gonna kill ya look in Cruz. But to look nice he is having everyone over for tea. Should be a nice party. We got two east coast bullies: one New Jersey style carrying more pizza than a pizza delivery kid but it is all internal and the other has the same amount of wind speed as hurricane Sandy - that was huuuuuge! Can’t wait till he gets to Carly.




The cowboy from Texas who cannot pay his staff because he paid too much for the glasses that are supposed to make him look intelligent - they fail. Then there is the other cowboy's brother who should have listened to his mother. The little guy with the cute curls who has no idea as to where he stands on any issue. The chubby pastor from Arkansas who seems to be getting bigger daily – maybe he is carrying too many bibles in this belt. Or, too many dinners with Christie.


 Then there is Lindsey. He can’t make even the other shoe drop. He wants war but he wants other people’s kids to fight it. He never had any of his own – hmmmm! California cookiness cannot be ignored. We have a tall lady with that telephone operator look and attitude.  She has the distinction of taking a very successful company and ,making it less so. Oh, Carly, you lost so many elections and a major business, being snarky now won’t get you the next one. Trump is looking for you.


It is Howdy Doody time. Mr. Jindal wants to do to the US what he has done to Louisiana. Keep it near the bottom. Then there is the “good”  doctor who is out of his mind. He is a neurosurgeon and no one told him that he is nuts. There are 38 declared candidates for the nomination. The bus holds just 40. That is what it said on the bus that took Piper to Linchfield. (none of these people were on that bus, too bad!)


The last guy is a Koch candidate – from Wisconsin. Real cheese head. He has more holes in his head than swiss cheese. Kasich from Ohio is a good guy with common sense but not enough to get out of that club.


They have no idea as to what they want to do. They have one thing in common – they don’t like the two term president. They can’t stand the successes that their party had so little to do with.  Here’s what they have said:

                Economy – they can do better. But no specifics.

                Foreign policy – let’s have a war (That is the Lindsey hop). But with who?

                Healthcare – destroy it because it works – but no other plan
                Environment – What is that

   Defense – Bigger without reason

  Women’s rights – They have none

  Taxes – Less for us more for them

  Abortion – Their mothers had no choice (too bad) and neither should anyone else.

  Constitution – Replace it with the Bible

I know I left off some of the other candidates. They do not deserve my attention. None of these
deserve yours but they are there. The 24 hour news cycle is in heaven. Never have they had so much to say about so little.


I was in Cuba less than two years ago. What an amazing place with some of the most amazing people. Now our flag flies in Havana and proudly so. The Cuban people are ecstatic about the new relationship that is beginning with the U.S. We , as Americans, have little appreciation of what it takes to survive in Cuba today, yet the Cuban people survive and survive well.

Today Marco Rubio got off the Bozo Bus with enough time to say he would stop the normalization with Cuba and return Cuba to the list of states that sponsor terrorism. With that I believe that Marco, himself, should be added to that list. Rubio also he would dismantle the AHCA. That is also terrorism because he would take way the treatment that so many people are getting as a result of not having to worry about preexisting conditions.  He appears to be in lock step with many of the other candidates. So, it begs the next question, what are they all for?

 
In a few words – nothing good. War yes! Environment – no! Taxes – less for their friends and more from you and me. Infrastructure  - no! Education – no, except if it is from the oligarchy. Healthcare – hell no! Women’s rights – What, a woman wants rights? 


For  me this is the simplest of the election cycles I have experienced. The 38 candidates are in cadence and have no ideas at all. Maybe just one – BOMB IRAN! That would really be good for
business.


On the left we have some ideas. Bernie is looking good because his ideas are resonating with the
under 55 crowd. If he doesn’t make it then Hillary will be in a position to adopt the ideas, some of which have entered into added to her rhetoric. Benghazi, Benghazi, Benghazi. OK, that has been covered, let’s move on.


The election is more than a year away. We have to go through the primaries, the talking heads trying to create possible outcomes but are at a loss to do so, as always. Then there is the election and CNN’s big board. That at 8pm PST on election night will declare a winner, I just hope that we, the American people are not the losers.


That is my take , you decide!

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

Here we are critiquing the president of the United States because he doesn’t want to kill any more kids. He got us out of Afghanistan and Iraq and he is about to negotiate a treaty with a rogue nation that can prevent nuclear war.

Some just said I am naive and stupid for saying this. OK, we sent more than 250,000 men and women into combat in Iraq and what did we get for that? A couple of inept governments and a very cowardly military. We bought a pot full of military equipment which made some Americans very wealthy and some bad people quite powerful  - namely ISIS.

We went to Iraq to get rid of the WMDs so what did we do we equipped an army that is a WMD. Now we are being urged to fight them with American assets. I say “NO.”

ISIS is their fight not ours. ISIS is their problem not ours. If you listen to Lindsey Graham, John McCain and the other right wing morons, they want to send troops, send American treasure, American equipment to save the yellow government of Iraq, the cruel government of Syria, the ambivalent government of Turkey, the fledgling governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

This is their fight. Why won’t they fight it? Why should they when Halliburton and other military contractor will get the United States to do it for them. Are we crazy?

My biggest concern is that this president will cave to appear “strong.” His strength comes from holding steady in his assessment of the situations and the lessons of the past 12 years.  Give Graham and AK47 and give McCain an AK47 and let them stand their ground.

ISIS has not attacked the US in any form. Could they? Yes, will they, I don’t know but until I see planes from the ISIS Air force, or battle ships from the ISIS Navy crossing our shores I am not willing to send Americans to fight other people’s wars.

Here is why this is a loser for the United States. Iran is an enemy but they are fighting ISIS so are they really an ally? We are trying to oust the Syrian regime but they are fighting ISIS. So are they also an enemy as well as an ally?

This is a puzzle that cannot be completed on the dining room table. We would be better served if we let that puzzle stay in the box. Let’s play scrabble and see if the Middle East can figure this out for themselves.

What about all that oil? Since the US has become the largest oil producing country in the world, it appears we need their oil only to export it to other nations. Before we invaded Iraq we were told that the oil we get from Iraq would pay for the war. More than several trillion dollars and counting and not one dime from oil to offset that cost. We are about to replay this song if the right wing has anything to say about the play list.

What about Israel? I don’t see ISIS banging on Jerusalem’s door. We have been hearing abo0uit the one year till atomic bomb in Iran - for the past twelve years. If they create one who are they going to drop It on? Israel? Before you could count to three Iran would be reduced to rubble. Understand that nuclear weapons are defensive not offensive.

What if ISIS gets a bomb? They would have to form a diplomatic government to negotiate with other atomic powers.

Yes, the Islamic extremist movement is ferocious and cunning and deadly without regard for anyone but themselves. The ISIS fighters are taught that they must only love Mohammed. They must shed any love for family and especially mothers.

It would take their air force to send bombers to the U.S. and other European countries. Here is the rub, they don’t have an air force. Their enemies are our enemies and also some of our friends. I say let them duke it out among themselves. That could eliminate Hamas, Hezbollah, the Taliban, and all the other terrorist groups. Let them spend their treasure on their fight – we just watch and give our support where it makes sense. I am not sure where that would be because none of this makes sense.

Here is my solution – a simplistic one – the US supplies no weaponry to the warring countries and factions unless they pay retail for every bullet, rifle, etc. Same for medical supplies, whoever has the money or an ILC to back up a PO, we ship to them.  We do the same for food. The U.S. takes no sides in this regional war. Those who want to put boots on the ground put middle eastern feet in those boots and sell them to the fighters on- line at retail. (No return policy). Whoever is left standing is our ally. Keep your friends close and your enemies even closer – this policy will do that. The American war profiteers will profit without one American kid getting killed.

I know the next question is “what about Israel?” Israel will survive because they have used this policy for years. We just don’t hear about their business dealings. The Israelis know more about the psyche of the Middle East than anyone else in the western world. The Israelis also have the best technology and weaponry in the Middle East. After all the RPGs and IED have been used Israel may be the last guy standing.

That is my take – you decide.

The (not so very) Merry Month of May

One month can change your life in so many ways that it is mind boggling? That month was my “merry month of May!” The first day of the month of May is known as “May Day.” That is also a universal distress call and had I known what was to come I would have shouted “May day, "may day" at the top of my lungs, but you never know what is coming. Maybe that is a good thing. Have you seen the commercial that shows a postcard that says  "your heart attack will happen on  . . . ?" My card got lost in the mail as I had a series of them, but I called them GERD.

First up in May my son-in-law was due to have brain surgery on the fifth. The fact that he was having that kind of surgery freaked me out and made me and everyone in the family and friends quite nervous and somewhat scared. He has been part of my life for more than 35 years. We have been through much together and in that time we have created a bond that is strong and a love that is very much of my emotional make up.

He and my daughter did their homework and spent a great deal of time with the doctors to insure the best possible outcome. Still, it is brain surgery!

May fourth I have an appointment for a test that is like an endoscopy but there are another 16 letters in the name of the procedure. We are going to get to the bottom of my stomach and mystery of the intense GERD that I have been suffering from and  to see what is causing this malady.

While the attacks of my GERD could be intense they did not stop me from my Vietnam tour. It included much walking through different areas including many villages. Also the sights of Hanoi (including the infamous “Hilton). Visited battle sights such as the Citadel in Hue, the area of the Cou Chi tunnels outside of Saigon along with military cemeteries and memorials. I climbed the caves at Ha Long Bay, floated in the boat baskets near Da Nang and climbed through the Champa Ruins.

On the second of May I participated in a day long tennis event at the club. About four hours on the courts and another four hours at the party later that evening. And  yes, the GERD was with me and Tums took care of it, so I thought. In Vietnam I found Carboblast, Tums with charcoal. They worked, too, or so I thought.

Meanwhile, back to my May odyssey. The doctor that did the procedure on the 4^th of May gave me good news and a suggestion.  The good news was that my esophagus was clear and that was a good thing, however, he did ask me if it was OK to refer me to a cardiologist. That kind of threw me for a loop but I said OK, if you think so. Can’t be too sure of anything these days.

May 5^th I am in the hospital supporting my daughter and her family as my son-in-law is undergoing his brain surgery which seems to be taking longer than advertised. In our family no one goes through this kind of stuff alone. So, in addition to my son-in-law’s father and his significant other, his two sisters, one of his sons, two of his brothers-in-law and me. There was a crowd of loving and concerned family.

Cinqo de Maio is also the anniversary of the first of two heart transplants that my wife underwent in 1992. (That is another story for another time). So with that fact popping into my mind I was more nervous but kept this to myself. While waiting for the surgeon to report on my son-in-law’s surgery, I got a call from the cardiologist’s office offering two appointment times the next day.

I took the 3pm appointment as I figured I could leave there and then go to grandson’s baseball game right after that. WRONG!!!

The good news is that after a very long and tortuous wait, we got good news regarding the brain surgery. All went well. The surgeons accomplished what they set out to do and now prescribed a course to enhance the recovery process. We all let out a collective sigh of relief and shed a tear or two for joy. My job was then to get my eldest grandson from his high school baseball game. His younger brother came with me. When we finally found the field we took another sigh of relief.

Many of you may know that you DO NOT communicate with players during the game. Screw that. I yelled out my grandson’s name, got his attention gave him the thumbs up – the smile I got was priceless.

May 6^th. I go to meet the cardiologist. He checks me out, does an EKG and then tells me I have an appointment in the morning, May 7th at 11 am for an Echo Cardiogram at the Hollywood Medical Center. However, my situation is such that I have been admitted to the hospital now, while I was sitting there. I cannot leave. I will be transported by ambulance the medical center downtown. SHIIIIITTTT!

May 7^th (also my daughter’s birthday) I get to ride in the ambulance – no lights or sirens, very boring drive. I am whisked into the prep area to prepare for an angiogram. At 1pm they take me into the room where I am put out and the procedure to wind a wire with cameras through my body to my heart commenced. I was woken up and the cardiologists gave me the news. NO STINT – SHIIITTT, again.

I was taken back to the prep area while they find a room for me. Remember this is the day after the brain surgery. Recall all the people that were there yesterday, they all congregated at the foot of my gurney today. Needless to say, I was in a funk mood thinking about facing open heart surgery. Not a happy camper. Then my son-in-law rolled up in his wheel chair. He had big cover on his head reminiscent of what ugly Russian ladies wear. He had a large smile on his face. That was all the medicine that I needed.

May 8^th  then May 9^th and now we come to, May 10^th: Mother’s Day and my late wife’s birthday. We had a planned celebration of both her birthday and Mother’s Day. Our family was to open the treasure chest we created in her memory some 22 years before. Having both Mother’s Day and her birthday coincide, it seemed like a fortuna moment to remember her and  the best she represented. However, we were celebrating my son-in-law’s good outcome from his surgery and waiting for my day in the OR instead. Can't go home to have this little party. This was a confusing time for us all.

May 11^th – waiting for the surgeon to tell me when it will be my turn. I just want to put this behind me. In the interim I changed rooms three times. The first was a double room with a gentleman who had his wife there as his advocate. The second that a single room that was a “pressure room.” That was like trying to sleep under a 747 about to take off.  The third room was a charm. Quiet, private and near the nurse’s station.

May 13^th. Yes, the 13^th! They told me that is date for my surgery and the time will be 11 am. I tell my kids. Then they tell me that the time will be 7 am. If they want to see me before they need to be in Hollywood by 5 am. I am not getting up at that hour to see me, but they were there. Taking my cues from my late wife, I smiled to them and said “see you later.” I did.

Five days after the surgery I made it home and here we are in June. We all survived May. In June we all celebrated the graduation of my eldest grandchild. She is off to college but first a trip to Maui for her. My son-in-law has a unique look with his caps and special sweat pants and sporting a full beard.   The beard is now a medical necessity.


We are all on good track with much to look forward to. Friends have called, some brought food because they think I am losing too much weight, I even made it to the movies.  My grandkids want to see the scar – why, I don’t know! I don’t even want to see the scar.

That was the MERRY MONTH OF MAY. We are all looking forward to the coming months where the celebrations are all positive – Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, new schools, new adventures.

That is my experience - nothing to decide -- done!

 

TORN BETWEEN TWO LOYALTIES

Every so often I log onto my own blog to see what I wrote and when I wrote it. I also check, for purposes of ego, the number of hits that the blog has gotten. If my blog was a book it definitely would not be a best seller, but seeing 6666 hits to date – that is an ego builder. Then I recalled that I am just three months shy of doing this for five years. Still, I am flattered by the attention.

The bug to write something comes the night before I sit down to write as a result of the bug in my ear. I have passed up on the opportunities to write about specific subjects of the day because I felt that I could not so them any justice – I didn’t know enough to write about them. Some subjects, even though I was lacking, I still wrote about the as I was emotionally charged with the matter.

ISIL comes to mind. They are horrifying beings. They are not human. Not since the Holocaust has any group been so terrifying, so cold, so uncaring so, inhuman, so off the track of compassion as these miserable creatures and the people they inspire to do like acts in different places. They seem to be winning a war but losing the sympathy for their program, whatever that is. Maybe the Middle Eastern countries will get mad enough to take this cancer out of existence. So far they only react when it becomes local to them. For example, Egypt just got angry over the beheading of their people in Libya. Jordan reacted when a Jordanian pilot was executed by fire. When will the Saudis step up? When will Lebanon step up – this is their fight. But most of these governments support the terrorism. They claim it is private money that supports them.

Now we have the problem of Iran. I watched Jon Stewart react to the speech given by the Israeli Prime Minister. He illustrated, through archived videos, that the PM is always crying wolf. Every year for the past nine years or more, Iran “is just one year away from getting the bomb.” Yes, Iran has threatened the State of Israel and the United States. Is it true intention or bloviating? The Israeli Prime Minister also called for us to invade Iraq. When Saddam is gone the Middle East will change. AND DID IT CHANGE!

We had no good reason to go to Iraq and get more than 5000 young Americans killed and even more maimed or psychologically injured. Even in retrospect there is still no good reason for our Iraqi invasion. In a few days I am leaving for Vietnam. Vietnam, where 56,000 plus young Americans lost their lives and even more maimed or psychologically injured. What does the Israeli PM want? Another 50,000 or more young Americans to lose their lives over something that has not been proven. Remember the WMDs?

History told us he and ‘W” were wrong on Iraq. I believe that Bibi believes what he is saying. Israel is in the middle of a very hostile area. They live with the possibility of death and annihilation every day.  I love Israel and have visited the county many times. The Israeli people are unique in the way they handle the day to day threat. They are strong and the PM wants to preserve the state and protect his people. I get that. How many times can you cry they are a year away from the bomb?

In his speech he gave no new ideas as to work with this problem. He slapped my president in the face, poked him in the eye and doing so tried to diminish the strength of our Commander in Chief. He belittled the effort to work with Iran. As I said when George Bush stood on the rubble of the World Trade Center on 9-12-91, “he is not my guy, but he is my president.”  Bibi has no political standing in MY country.  He is scared but he has been consistently wrong.

I am an American Jew – in that order. Were I a citizen of another country I am not sure that I could express my self regarding Israel the way I do. I love Israel and want to preserve it, nurture the country, support the country, protect the country, but I cannot put the jeopardy of the U.S. in harms way to do that.

Having my grandchildren become Bah or Bat Mitzvah in Israel would be a blessing beyond words. But to have them face being in a war just a few short years later because of the fear of Iran by Bibi, that would break my heart.

I have a blue pushke in my house as I have had since I can recall – even before the State of Israel was born. But I live here. To have a foreign leader come to my country, insult my president is too much. And he did it knowing that the invitation was a political maneuver by a weak Speaker of the House. The weakest I have ever seen. He is no leader, a good haircut and strange tan does not a leader make.

What is the answer? I have no idea. I do now that I have seen enough body bags as a result of bad decisions of our leadership. Iraq and Vietnam come to mind. Do we need another bad decision because Bibi says so? Or because McCain wants to go to war? Or because the ultra right wing wants to go to war? Thank powers to be that we have a civilian as our Commander In Chief. The right is always talking about what the Founding Fathers wanted. Why can’t they wrap their head around that the CIC is not a general?

I just read a rhetorical question in the Jewish Journal “are you still happy with Obama?” Yes, the body bag count is way down, the market is way up and the U.S.is the economic leader of the world. 

That is my take, you decide.

I AM (WAS) A SKEPTIC

So, after many years and reading the transcripts of the sessions my son and daughters had with their medium, I decided to go with my younger daughter. Not a special trip, but if she was going I would go with her. I am curious. My daughter has reported to me many events that have to be paranormal. Not only her experiences but also my grandson’s experiences.

Here is how it started:  A cousin of ours through marriage passed away at an very young age but not as young as my late wife. Her daughter went to the psychic and got a lot of information that made her feel more comfortable with the loss of her mother. The psychic bug hit the family big time. Both of my daughters went and my son with them. They even did a TV show with a psychic. They have reported paranormal events in their homes. They are convinced that their mother and other departed family members are with them from time to time. The people that are with them all had very strong personalities in life especially my late wife. She had some kind of psychic talent that she was frankly, in fear of. She predicted that the Dodgers would win ten games and go into first place one summer. The Dodgers did win ten games. No, we did not bet on her prediction.

On the day she died I suspect she saw her imminent death as she said to me, “ I don’t want to die today.” Knowing that she had some psychic ability, that comment shook me up. There was nothing I could do to change the events of that day. As the day progressed she looked and felt better so the event of several hours later did come as a shock. If in fact, if that is what she saw, I wish she had told me more.

Of all the children and grandchildren just two have displayed their psychic ability, to my knowledge. Most, including me have some paranormal experience. Mine came when my oldest daughter was going into labor and I tried to get up out of the seat. As I was about leave the room a hand on my shoulder held me down, twice. I asked if I could stay in the room and they said yes.

Then there was the photos from my younger daughter’s wedding. We put out disposable cameras (before digital) and had the guests take photos of their table mates and other activities going on. There  were light streaks on many of the photos. Those streaks could not come from light leaks in the cameras as part of the image would be blackened or whited out. Not these, they were curvy streaks as the light source was recorded on the film. The photo of me making a toast was not a good photo as there was a great deal of light from behind me. As a photographer, I know never to shoot into a mirror with a flash. There was no mirror behind me and I asked the photographer what happened. He was at loss for words as he never experienced that kind of light in a photo.

OK, so we all had more than one event that is spooky. Even during the wedding ceremony that was held outdoors, there were recorded sound s “from the wind” that almost sounded like words.

The cousin I had talked about earlier, gave birth to a little boy. At the circumcision ceremony the baby’s uncle and I were standing near the front door to get some needed fresh air. While observing the ceremony, the doorbell rang. All we had to do to see who rang the bell was to turn our head slightly. We did. There was no one there – that we could see. The rear door of the house had no doorbell. The doorbell  rang twice. I am sort of a skeptic.  So, later today I will experience the psychic and all that it entails. The next paragraph you will read will be a report of that experience. I am a skeptic, a nervous  skeptic.

THE SESSION

It was an interesting  70 minutes. When I walked in the door the medium said to me you have longevity. That was great to hear and I am hoping that she is right. She even said that I will be a great-grandfather, but she didn’t say when and I didn’t ask. That would be wonderful in the proper time element. The first thing she said was that there were many people that wanted to get through to me that the room was filled of those that passed and wanted to connect with me. I was flattered, but still skeptical.

My mother was the first to get to “communicate.”  That would be typical of her. Other people important in my life were there and passing their messages through. As I mentioned earlier, my late wife had psychic ability but was fearful of it. In death she is using it to get through to me. She had appeared in some dreams – very real dreams. According to the psychic, my late wife is with my mother, father and my aunt. My mother and my wife also shared two skills – one had it and the other needed it – baking. So, I said I said to my daughter, bake some of grandma’s great brownies while she “visits” you in the kitchen.

The medium knew that my father’s parents came to the US through Canada – Montreal to be exact.

My grandmother, Rose was there and I have hardly ever mentioned her in my lifetime. But the medium knew about Rose.

I am not going to talk about the entire session - my daughter typed up three pages of notes. She revealed some very interesting and accurate information about me and my life, about my children and grandchildren.

Am I still skeptical?  Yes, to a degree but not as much as before. I don’t recall my past lives, fighting at the battle of Shiloh, being a politician and other things over the years and centuries. It appears that I have a connection to China. We did have an ancestor that was Mongolian.

There were an abundance of facts that she could not know and many escaped the memory cells in my mind. My late wife was there with her (our) dog, Marshmallow (she didn’t have the dog’s name but did have the description right on).

Then I asked what is it like in “heaven.” It appears to be a parallel world with people taking on the appearance that they liked during their life time on earth. What year would you choose? My late wife chose about 27 and she was really beautiful then as she was her whole life.

In heaven they have communities, hair dressers, home with gardens, health centers – a working world. It sounds wonderful as these are the things we would want for our families and family members that passed on. My late wife would not think of dying without having a hairdresser and manicurist waiting for her there!

Is it an infinite afterlife? Her are my thoughts on this if it does exist and I believe that it may. All these facts are buried in our minds and revealed in such way to create an afterlife. That afterlife lives in us as long as we live. When we are no longer living we no longer have the memories and they die with us. The key here is that the connection is between a living person and one who has passed.

I did feel better after having that session. I learned that what I would want for my deceased family members I what I want for them in life: health, tranquility and happiness. It appears they have it in their “heaven.”

Would I go again? Probably not because I got want I wanted this time. To know that my loved ones are still with me – somehow.

That is my take – you decide.