OH SHIT - I MAY NEVER FLY AGAIN!

This morning I heard the disgusting sound of Trump’s voice saying and explaining why he was privatizing Air Traffic Control in the United States. Holy shit!  Does he have any idea of what he may be doing? Does this idiot have any idea of the consequences of this move? This was not a campaign promise, so why is he being so reckless with our lives?

The United State government is in business for one reason: to keep the population safe. Even from ourselves. The US government is not a profit making venture nor was it ever intended to be one. That is why it CANNOT be run as a business. (Has anyone counted Trump’s failure in business? I need to have a drink but won’t drink Trump Vodka – it is bankrupt). It is there to provide for the general welfare and in that effort to keep planes from hitting the ground.

By privatizing he will violate the principle that keeping planes flying safe is not based on a profit motive. Here is what I see: Trump Traffic Control, Inc. (no such entity, yet) takes over the obligation to keep airplanes flying.

He says we will be safer: How if there is no control of the hiring process? No control of the training process. Private businesses are “for profit.” So, the quicker that trainee is “ready” to assume the responsibility of the job the better for the company. So, they took a few training short cuts.  But, there is a body on front of the screen. The TTCI is in compliance with their contract. The bodies are there. They may be under qualified, less than bright, but they are “trained“ and they are on the job. How will TTTCI vent their applicants? Which agency will do the background checks – not the FBI.  He doesn’t trust the FBI and they do not trust him.

OK, the privately hired controllers are in place and there is a snow storm. TTCI get rated on the number of aircraft they let take off. Not so much how many land safely. In spite of the storm the TTCI people allow planes to take off. But because of the weather, the let more than the usual number  of them head into the wild blue blunder. Oy!

According to his comments he believes planes are late and are grounded because the rules and regulations are not what he thinks they need to be. These TTCI controllers will let the planes crash on time.  By the way, Trump airlines failed miserably..

I am also confident that he will indemnify the TTCI, so if you lost a loved one in a crash due to TTCI’s poor performance, TTCI will be in the clear and will continue to protect profits or non-profits as the case may be. It is supposed to be a joint effort with the government and the airlines.

If it is a joint effort who is in charge? The CEO of the airline you happen to be flying or Trump? This is a formula for disaster. Put your thumb and index finger together with palms out and say “dizzazztah!” You heard it here first.

There is no doubt that the air traffic control system needs to be updated. It is my understanding that this is being done, albeit slowly. Who will pay for the upgrades? If the airlines are not going profit from this then the government will have to step in. Has Trump redlined this yet?

Six years ago (April 11, 2011) I wrote a blog entitled WHO SAYS GOVERNMENT CAN’ T DO A GOOD JOB, THAT PRIVATE COMPANIES CAN DO IT BETTER? Try privatizing police, fire, emergency services, army, navy, air force, coast guard, IRS, FBI, CIA, NSA, FEMA, FDIC, etc.

I am not aware that the air traffic controllers are not doing their best to get you to the destination of your choice.

Our government is becoming understaffed and blatantly incompetent. Do we want to give our air safety to people like that? Not I, said me.

We just elected a member of the business sector. Look what we got in just four months: International intrigue like we never had before, a president who may be brought up on criminal charges for obstruction of justice, legislation that at best, is also “criminal,” a family run government who doesn’t have the skills or experience to run a nation, the most incompetent cabinet ever, I mean ever, a laughing stock among nations that no longer see the US as a leader. Should I go on?

Be sure that when you fly to pray. When you land kiss the ground and if you need some medical attention, well that will be problematic, too.

This is our new United States of America.

That is my take, you decide.

 

WHERE DO I START – AND WHERE DOES THIS THING END?

I haven’t written anything in more than two months. Why? I didn’t know where to start and on what subject to write? These are the questions I asked myself. Yes, I am concernded, Yes, I am afraid.  We have a president that likes to play “Who Has  Got The Bigger Dick.” And every day, in some way, he whips it out. Comey firing.  Sending an aIrcraft carrier the wrong way, at first. Fifty nine missiles to create pot holes on a Syrian runway. A Seal attack in Yemen that got us no Intel but did get a Seal killed. He has been whipping it out repeatedly but it is so limp as to be ineffective. But he does brag about his accomplishments. He knows how to open a can, but it is a can of worms.

You fire a missile, I will send an aircraft carrier. You got spies, I got better spies. You got intel, look at the intel I got! You got generals , I got more generals and they blindly obey me. You got oppressive laws, wait till you see what I do.

What is this “teenager” trying to prove? Even his wife will not be by his side. She probably does not want to be part of the threesome. Donald, Ivanka and Melania. She has distanced herself from Donald as many GOP lawmakers have. She is in New York,, the lawmakers are just down the 95. He is too far away to do to Melania  what he does to his GOP legislators and his team..

Putin gets on the phone and tells Donny to get Labrov and the ambassador into the oval office. So, the Tas photographer can take photos and /or plant bugs. No problem for Donny. He just kissed the ass of his biggest adversary.

It is still all about him. He is pissed that the three million illegals (that never voted and don’t exist) didn’t vote for him.

(Please note that the ties he wears always point to his biggest dick).

The biggest dick now belongs to Mueller.  Trump is the biggest dick, Mueller has the biggest dick. So, when the testimony starts, the papers come in –Trump will be toast. The best cottage industry right now is securing lawyers for the Trump team for a percentage.

I found the following essay on Facebook and I believe that is worth sharing – even with those supporters that say give him a chance. I would normally do that except for a few things:

I don’t know , it’s hard for me to see any U.S. ties to Russia…except for the Flynn thing and the Manafort thing
and the Tillerson thing
and the Sessions thing
and the Kushner thing
and the Carter Page thing
and the Roger Stone thing
and the Felix Sater thing
and the Boris Ephsteyn thing
and the Rosneft thing
and the Gazprom thing
and the Sergey Gorkov banker thing
and the Azerbajain thing
and the “I love Putin” thing
and the Donald Trump, Jr. thing
and the Sergey Kislyak thing
and the Russian Affiliated Interests thing
and the Russian Business Interests thing
and the Emoluments Clause thing
and the Alex Schnaider thing
and the hack of the DNC thing
and the Guccifer 2.0 thing
and the Mike Pence “I don’t know anything” thing
and the Russians mysteriously dying thing
and Trump’s public request to Russia to hack Hillary’s email thing
and the Trump house sale for $100 million at the bottom of the housing bust to the Russian fertilizer king thing
and the Russian fertilizer king’s plane showing up in Concord, NC during Trump rally campaign thing
and the Nunes sudden flight to the White House in the night thing
and the Nunes personal investments in the Russian winery thing
and the Cyprus bank thing
and Trump not releasing his tax returns thing
and the Republican Party’s rejection of an amendment to require Trump to show his taxes thing
and the election hacking thing
and the GOP platform change to the Ukraine thing
and the Steele Dossier thing
and the Leninist Bannon thing
and the Sally Yates can’t testify thing
and the intelligence community’s investigative reports thing
and the Trump reassurance that the Russian connection is all “fake news” thing
and the Spicer’s Russian Dressing “nothing’s wrong” thing
and the Chaffetz not willing to start an investigation thing
and the Chaffetz suddenly deciding to go back to private life in the middle of an investigation thing
and the The Lead DOJ Investigator Mary McCord SUDDENLY in the middle of the investigation decides to resign thing
and the appointment of Pam Bondi who was bribed by Trump in the Trump university scandal appointed to head the investigation thing
and the The White House going into full-on cover-up mode, refusing to turn over the documents related to the hiring and subsequent firing of Flynn thing
and the Chaffetz and White House blaming the poor vetting of Flynn on Obama thing
and the Poland and British intelligence gave information regarding the hacking back in 2015 to Paul Ryan and he didn't do anything thing
and the Agent M16 following the money thing
and the Trump team KNOWING about Flynn's involvement but hired him anyway thing
and The Corey Lewendowski thing
and the Preet Bharara firing thing but before he left he transferred evidence against Trump to a state level Schneiderman thing
and the Betsy Devos' Brother thing
and the Sebastian Gorka thing
and the Greg Gianforte from Montana thing
and the Pence actually was warned about Flynn before he was hired thing
and the Pence and Manafort connection thing
and the 7 Allies coming forward with audio of Trump's associates in an incidental wire tapping thing
and the Carter Page defying the Senate's order to hand over his Russian contact list
and the Trump wants to VETO Sally Yates' testimony thing
and the Trump trying to discredit Yates thing
and the Obama told Trump personally about Flynn thing
and the COMEY thing
and the meeting with Russian foreign minister upon the order of Putin thing
and the sharing of highly classified top secret information to Russian Foreign minister thing
and the invitation and hosting of Turkey's dictator thing
SO yeah there’s probably nothing there!

This is a copy and paste that says it all. The Donald is in big trouble and his ego is eating him up. He'll resign before he "looses". Only took 120 days to destroy his place in American History!


That is my take - you decide.

 

 

FACEBOOK: A NEW WAY TO CRY WOLF - AND OTHER NEEDY THINGS!

Last week I got a call from my dentist.  She was really pissed off. Someone posted on Facebook, “Share if you love your dentist.” I didn’t share. She thinks I don’t love her. I guess showing up for appointments in time, paying my bill on time and not asking for parking stamps is not a display of love. While my dentist is a lovely looking lady with great skills, I do not love her. I am sure her husband feels secure in that knowledge.

I get a lot of information on Facebook but also so much crap. It is filled with GINGO.  Garbage In and Garbage Out. Here is a list of things I did not share:

Love my son
Love my daughter
Love my dog (I don’t have one)
Love my refrigerator (That one I have)
Love my son-in-law
Love my daughter-in-law
Love my grandchildren, both sexes
Love my synagogue/church

Also share if you agree with:

Weekend voting
Abortion rights
No abortion rights
You have the greatest bakery
You have the best grocery store
The best plastic surgeon.
The worst plastic surgeon

. . .  and on and on.

Facebook is a good idea but some people need it to fulfill their need to be loved or admired. I had one ex-friend that filled my screen with how her elderly father is wonderful. He had two whole bowel movements today – the best father in the world. How do I know, she posted more than100 times before I shut her off. How about the posting about a favorite grandchild just peed in the toilet. (He is 20) Then you get to comment on the posting. Depending on the number and tone of the comments, you will know if you are loved, believed, admired or people will think you are full of shit.

Then you get, “Agree if you support . . .”  that is playing to your emotions. If you don’t agree then you support child beating, breast  cancer, colon cancer, skin cancer and any other malady that some one has and wants you to know they have it so you can feel bad for them. I do feel bad for them, even if I don’t know them. They do not have to advertise or get “likes.” What about that is there to like?

Last week I got  a blurb from a lifelong friend about having cancer. I just read the first sentence and I was on the phone looking for her. She told me to read the whole thing. I don’t want to read the whole thing, the first sentence was enough. She was passing on a note someone else wrote, who, by the way did not have cancer to encourage people to have empathy for those that have breast cancer. I do and I don’t need to be alarmed and scared to acquire that empathy. This crying wolf crap got to stop. Stop sharing the bull shit. No, you are not a good friend when you do that.

Stop helping bad dudes who want to steal your stuff. There has been a marked increase of burglaries due to the increasing need to tell people where you are. Especially if you are not home. “I am sitting at Moscow International Airport waiting for Uber.”

The bad dudes go to Bing and get your address. That is all it takes. You can be cleaned out. They scroll down your page and read about your new Audi. You use Uber so the car should be at home. Got my drift? If your spouse and your kids are at home they are also in jeopardy thanks to your ego.

“Friending” and old friend you hadn’t seen since the 4th grade. Then you go to their page and discover that nothing has changed. They are still idiots. And still fat. There are stories of people reuniting and it changed their lives. That does happen and that is good.

Yes, Facebook is great for disseminating some important information. This blog and other news items are posted there. During the last election cycle many, no, most people got their news on line. I learn about new products. New government programs and I get to enjoy the fact that my friend is also growing older. And I get to mourn their loss. That is what the FB is all about.

Actually, I will share articles that are time sensitive and socially sensitive because I do believe that healthcare is a right and not a privilege. I do believe that the ability to vote is also a right. Yes, Facebook can be a great asset in our lives, just use it as it was intended, a means of communication not a tool of self -promotion.  Or self- aggrandizement, or a  tool to make me guilty for not sharing your guilt.

Share if you agree.

That is my take – you decide.

 

HOW YOU START IS HOW YOU FINISH

We are in for a very rough ride for the next four years because of the rough start that the Trump administration generated. WOW! Who could have predicted that he would throw the world and our country into chaos in just seven days?  The Donald is just another, bigger version of Dennis the Menace.

He bans people from countries that have done us no harm and welcomes people from the countries that did do us harm. They are countries where Trump has large business interests. No conflict there, right?

He sees himself as a “strong man” in the images of Stalin, Putin, Batista, Castro, and some of the Eastern European leaders and Central and South American leaders of yesteryear. He is Nixon with much less sophistication.  All that is wrong and all that is bad in a leader resides in that orange cocoon.  I see him as a virus with no antibiotic that can neutralize it. He truly believes in doubling down – make it bad now and worse later.

He thrives on incompetence. Look at the cabinet appointments. They are all inept at running the agency to which they are appointed. One such example is Rick Perry. OK, another is Betsy diVoss.  Out of 14 appointments not one is capable of running their agency.  NOT ONE. This come from the top as Trump is inept at running the country.

Like Nixon, he is a crook. Steals from his sub-contractors, pays no taxes. When George W. Bush said running the country would be easier if he was a dictator, Trump heard him. So, the Constitution be damned, executive orders are the law of the land now.

Will our elected representatives speak up – hell no, if they are on the right. They want a white America. Trump is helping them get there. They want an oligarchy, Trump is helping get that – just look at the Cabinet  - Goldman Sachs is well represented.  Women’s rights are in jeopardy. Check the Supreme Court nominees. Look at his advisors, hate is well represented.  How do we keep America safe – from Trump? I am not sure that we can right now.

In just one week, OK, ten days, he has showed us the way an American dictator works. That is how he is starting. How will it be in four years when he finishes? Tyranny comes to mind.

He thinks he has a mandate. His mandate is a kiss with O’Bannon. The three million votes he didn’t get really irks him.  The lack of a decent crowd at the inauguration also irks him. No A list celebrities also just stuck in his craw. He will try to find a way to get even.

World leaders are nice to him now (except for Pena). Wait! They will turn him inside out. I believe that even Putin at some point, will do him some bad turns. Trump is scared Sh---tless of Putin and will try to macho up to him. Putin, I believe, like others thinks he is a fool.

NATO and other alliances are in jeopardy. NATO is weak, Trump is strong. According to Trump. The countries have to pay up like he does with his taxes! Oh, I forgot, he pays no taxes.

So, domestic policy is a weak point as is Foreign Policy. That is how he is starting. How will he finish? Will he get us into a war? He could and probably will. Will he create an economic meltdown, he could and probably will. The people who created the 2008 recession are back in charge. Eliminate the regulatory safeguards is their mantra and they have a Howdy Doody (also a red head) in the White House. Who will be pulling Trump’s strings?

Extreme vetting! What we should have done with him. Not one of the Syrian refugees has been involved with any act of terrorism. The countries that have produced domestic terrorists are not on his list. He is targeting a religious group rather people of a national origins that we know did perpetrate domestic terror. So, he is a bigot, too.

It appears that he also got another message from Nixon. “If the President does it, it is not illegal.” We know Trump’s penchant for Nixonian actions and ideas. The only questions are which ideas, which actions, which one will get him impeached or jailed? Do we have the guts to follow through and insist that Congress take action?  I am not confident that they do have the guts.

 

That is my take – you decide!

THE DONALD WAS RIGHT

The election was rigged. But how was it rigged? Not sure, but there is no way he won. I have asked so many people, did you vote for Trump? The answer was always ,”NO!” So who did cast their vote for him? Actually more people voted for Hillary than Trump. She won the popular vote.

Why did those people who ignored the 70% of lies he told vote for him? Why did they ignore the misogyny , even those that had wives, sisters and daughters? Why did they ignore the antisemitism? Why did they ignore the xenophobia about Hispanics and Asians? Why did they ignore the anti- black sentiments (even African-Americans)? Why was his failures, and there were many, ignored? Why was his dubious business practices ignored? He pays no taxes and is proud of it.

I don’t really have any answers for any of these questions. It defies logic and common sense. I do believe that some people actually had faith in his message. But they were so few and far between, that I have to believe that his messages pierced their psyches where idiotic reasoning resided. He tapped into their hates and prejudices and made it alright to have them. That is scary – frightening, in fact. These are my suppositions, not answers because these suppositions add some terrible thoughts to my mind regarding some people I had admired and respected.

“I could not vote for Hillary!” That was I heard so you voted for the devil incarnate instead? He just tweets, no e-mails. She had 30 more years of experience and understood how the word worked. But you wanted “change” so you replaced her with an idiot. Not even an idiot savant, just plain idiot. Actually, that begs the question, who is the idiot here? Thanks, now he is my idiot president!

I cannot figure this out and I am not alone in that quandary.  He had nothing positive to say – about anything – except himself. I guess people like gloom and doom. When the fact checkers checked he failed at veracity and his lack of any was ignored. “I can’t trust Hillary!” “She lied about her e-mails.” Trump lied about everything! The only time he wasn’t lying is when his mouth was not moving. Or his when his hands were in his pocket!

The military is not depleted. I know he doesn’t know more about ISIS than the generals. I know he does not know all of the trade treaties. I know he has no knowledge of the Iran nuclear deal. Some said he is a voracious reader . How is that possible when he just tweets? And after reading his tweets I see how he has little command of the English language.

It has been reported that 49 million people did not vote.  I always admonish people that did not vote, “Didn’t vote, don’t complain!’ I did vote and I am complaining. It will get worse as time goes on. Based on what I hear about his nominees for positions in his administration, we are in for a rough ride.

With the entire government swaying to the right, they don’t have to rig it, it already is rigged. With a campaign like that who would want to run except for people in need of adoration, power and attention – the wrong people will run as we have seen on the Right.

When Trump reported many years ago, that is he ever ran he would run as a Republican. Why? Because of Fox News. They say anything, lie, distort and demean and their audience eats it up. They believe anything. He got that right, too. He is the world’s biggest and greatest con man. He did a magnificent job conning his supporters.  It was something to behold and it continues on. The establishment he railed against is in the Transition Team. So much for outsiders! Ok, you trump supporters check your wallets and your brains, you have just been picked clean. The Donald was right!

In the words of Vincente Fox , “I am not going to pay for that f----king wall.” The deportation squads reminiscent of Nazi Germany are waiting to be formed. Replacing the AFHCA with something “terrific” is a reality check. For more than 70 years the Republicans offered no health care reforms of their own and now suddenly Trump has something terrific.  He said he knows more about Isis than the Generals. WOW, that is chutzpah. If he is so good at military solutions why was ISIS celebrating his election?

He wants to unite America.  With Steve Bannon? The Alt Right demagogue? The anti -everyone except whites? Ivanka should invite him for Passover, not.

Yes, Trump got it right! They say you can’t bet against him after defeating so many candidates and the former Secretary of State.  I truly believe that the Donald has reached his level of incompetence and the country will pay a price for that. As a relative of mine reminded me recently, you cannot believe anything that he says or his people say.  He is so right. Just today Trump said the transition is going smoothly when the world knows the transition is in chaos.

Hopefully, we will not be screwed over by the Con Man in Chief. Lets’ wait and see but also be vigilant. The person he deports could be you.

That is my take – you decide.

 

Please note that this is my 100^th blog. I would have really loved to write something positive, but the world is becoming a scarier place. He wants to give his kids TOP SECRET clearances. So much for blind trusts. The only trust that was blind was that of his supporters.

 

MUCH ADO ABOUT SOME THINGS - MY BLOGS

This is the 99^th blog that I am publishing. That number astonishes me as a while ago I wrote a blog entitled “CTOS” which stood for I Can’t Think of Shit. Since this is the 99^th offering, I guess there is no Imodium for the brain.

Yesterday, a friend with whom I often, regularly do not agree with, especially when it comes to politics, said to me that he doesn’t read my blog because it is too political. True, I express my thoughts very succinctly and with some basis for why I do think that way. It is OK to disagree with me. In fact at the end of each bog I say “That I My Take You decide.”

One thing comes to mind is that if you don’t agree find out why. I just saw Michael Moore’s “In Trumpland.” That film is a great expression and illustration of divergent views. (Even Trump loved it – not for the content, because his name was in the title). So many times in my life people who knew more than me about an issue convinced me to look at an issue in another way – or re-enforced my reasoning.

I started writing this blog to vent, to get stuff off of my chest.  The fact that this is number 99 blows my mind as I didn’t think I had that much stuff on my chest. So, I tried to categorize my blogs to what I really write about. I put them in three categories although there could be more. I simplified the categories into three areas:

1. Political
2. Personal
3. Travel

In the past 16 years we have had two presidents. One of no ability and one of amazing intellect and a great communicator.  There was and is so much fodder to write about how could I not write about the political scene. Frankly, the election that we are involved in now is ripe for writing. However, of the 99 blogs, only 27% were political.

Daily events generate some much news that it is hard to decide what is worth writing about. Today’s issue evaporates as another open mike recording presents itself. Or an e-mail that has you reading between the lines. So, what is good content? I am at a point now that I cannot listen to the pundits. Kelleyanne is the ultimate blond joke. Mayor Gulliani is the ultimate Italian joke. Are there idiots on the left, sure but they are kept quiet. Ok, so now I have written about them!

However, more fulfilling is the Personal Category. That is 53% of the bogs that I wrote. In the Personal category I could have broken the blogs down even more to Religion, Memories, Family, etc. All of that is included in that Personal blogs.

I wrote one blog of how telephone numbers from the past generate wonderful memories. I actually remembered the numbers and that  too, blows my mind. One of the most read blogs was, “Hi I Am Peggy.”

That was fun to write. I had occasion to talk to “Peggy” yesterday. No, the issue wasn’t resolved he told me to talk to another “Peggy.”

I got nostalgic one February as I pondered the upcoming baseball season and why I always feel good about that. As that was coming to fruition, I wrote about the Pitchers and Catchers starting their Spring Training as that is when it actually kicks in.

I even wrote about the time I felt I had nothing to write about. I used to have friend that told that I like to talk. He was half right. I like to listen, too. I get feed back from around the world. I have been read in more than 30 countries – some are surprising. My second largest audience is in Russia. I guess there is an ego factor at work here.

Within the Personal Category I discuss religion. I have come to conclude that Religion is wonderful for many reasons, but G-d (I am still careful, just in case) I am not so sure of. Some of the traditions within my religion are going away and that disturbs me – so I wrote about it. I vented and pissed some people off. It was on my mind and still is but I have come to realize that my generation did similar things of which my parent’s generation was disturbed by. A woman on the bema – Nooooo. But Dad, that is your daughter-in-law up there! “She looks good up there,” he replied. End of controversy.

I wrote about seeing a psychic. I was very doubtful but indirectly it saved my life. It was very moving, strange and weird at the same time. I am keeping an open (slightly) mind. It was another experience that I had that I wanted to share, so I did.

I wrote about returning home to my old neighborhood. The street, the schools, the Synogogue the people there now.

The last Category is Travel. Travel amounts to about 20% of my writing. That could also be lumped into Personal  but I have been lucky enough to travel to so many countries all over the world. Egypt and Israel in the Middle East.  More than 20 countries in Europe, India, China and several other far eastern countries. Thailand is one that I really like and enjoy going to so I have spent some time typing about Thailand.

I even rode the train over the Bridge at the River Kwai. The movie does not do that event of building the bridge justice. It was gruesome.

After spending time in Eastern Europe I wrote a blog about that experience – especially about the  Concentration Camps. No matter how it is presented now, Eastern Europe is a living memorial to the Holocaust.

The bottom line of this blog is to explain that in my writing  that I am trying to share my opinions, my experiences and my emotions. My opinions are mine – if you share them, fine, if not let me know why not. My emotions are also mine. This blog lets me deal with them. My travel experiences are made even more wonderful sharing them and reliving them as I write.

Those are my reasons – you decide

MY DIAMOND YEAR

 

Ok, so you all know how old I am! It is hard to fathom that I am this old. It does get you thinking: It gets you pondering about all you missed all you did and all you wish you did better. The latter is everything, except maybe my kids. I could not have done any better. Lucky, I guess but I will take some credit.

What other things could I have done better? Planning a career, but time is the navigator and what happens in time dictates your path. There are so many influences along the way. My late wife really fought me on one career move and she was so right.  I did better, I followed her loud but precise direction. Without her support I would have not taken advantage of other opportunities. We moved to the east coast because she said we should (and I wanted the promotion). Was it a great move? No, but I did get some great learning experiences which helped later in my career path.

It may not have been great but my wife and I got take our first trip to Europe and North Africa I got to travel to Japan for the first time. All as a result of the move to the east. My kids got to go to Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park. They got the Christmas Experience of New York City. They got closer to east coast relatives on my side and my late wife’s side. These relationships now span two generations and are still strong.  Bottom line, in retrospect, it was a great move.

There is a lesson here: If you make the best of the situation you get good outcomes. So, for the first 75 years I tried to make the best of all situations. It is not always easy. Basic Training and Combat Engineer Training was hard and different but I grew up and became self- sufficient. I even learned to sew. Good decision, I guess.

College was also interesting. My kids all had better college experiences than I did. But I did get through my senior year with my sweetheart that I married after six years. So, my senior year in college was outstanding as I had an amazing support system and a good typist at home.

That was the first 21 years of the first 75 years. What did I miss? Can’t think of a thing.
Next came kids - all good decisions.

While living on the east coast, my wife and I made the decision to return to California. It took 10 months to sell our home. My eldest daughter declared her life to be over. It was a temporary situation as in 2 .5 years she had a Sweet Sixteen Party with 200 of her closest friends. The high school basketball team were the bouncers that kept order. – life rejuvenated .

All three had school trips to Washington DC. Yes, it was a good decision but one nerve wracking trip till they get home.

Moving on in the 75 year journey got all three kids educated by the time I was 52 years old. All of us were really educated. My wife got sick two months after my 48^th birthday. The journey of a life time begins. Until just after my 52^nd birthday the journey was intense. I could not have done any better than the friends we had during that time. The support the love the attention, the emotions, the laughter and The tears were also quite intense.  No, there were no better people anywhere. Having all those people in our life at that time was a great decision or circumstance. I look back with pride and with warm feelings.

At my 50^th birthday party, one that I did not want because of the health ramifications with my wife, but she made it anyway, many of the people who were there are no longer with us. There are no regrets just happiness that I fought her wishes and I let her win – a good decision on my part. I look at the photo of that party and there are so many stories emanating from the friends and family that were there.

The good news for me  is that I am still here pondering the past 75 years, the bad news is that I am doing  It alone. The good news is that many of the people in the photo are still with us today. I still have the  Dodger Cap and jacket that were my birthday gifts from the Screwpals (and I still have the T shirt, too).

From 48 to 52 life was a major rollercoaster ride. My eldest got married and I was so worried about my wife’s condition in making the wedding, but I don’t regret letting her do it. During that time my younger daughter graduated from her college, my son went to the University of Arizona and my eldest started her career in the medical field. The graduation at San Francisco State was a giant memory that generates smiles and great feelings from the breakfasts at the Marriott where the Myers and the Freedmans drove the staff crazy to the ceremony at the stadium where my daughter was honored.

What highs!

More highs, I took my wife along with my cousin and his wife to Hong Kong where we had a great Experience. Shopping in crazy places. Touring Macau and SzenSzen, Stanley Market and out of the way places that the concierge suggested, looking for bargains.

More highs.

A month later – real lows! 

1989 was the start of the four year ordeal where decisions would be made, questioned, re-evaluated, second guessed all in the hope of a positive outcome – not knowing when and how that will happen.

I don’t know how we would have made better decisions. Our principal doctor who my wife did not like, at first, became her best friend and nurtured here through this ordeal. Most of the time I just nodded in agreement because the path was clear. The goal was simple – life! It was a complicated and intense process that spanned four years. The outcome was not what we hoped for but I cannot look back and say what I might have done different.

After ten years I remarried. That I can look back say that I should have done it differently. Or, not done it at all.

There were clues. I watched how my new wife and her mother treated and talked about her step sister and step brother and their kids. That was a revelation that I did not pay close attention to, till it was too late. So, I ended up on a very uncomfortable sofa bed that was designed to discourage her step sister from staying at our house. What I did better was not spending my nights on the sofa bed without an air mattress.

Free from that entanglement, my life got so much better.

That was up until age 70. In the meantime, my kids made me a 60^th birthday party where my late daughter-in-law was the bartender who mixed a great martini. Like my 50^th, there were so many people there that was important in my life. So many that are not here now. I have grandchildren named for so many:

Myles Parker and Cate. Spencer Logan, Jacob Samuel. What would I have done different?  Not tried to sing like Sinatra.

Since the 65th surprise party many have left us. All the memories are still there. Those people that are still here bring happiness and provide for new and exciting times. For twenty four years, with the exception of that nine year mistake, my life has been so much better. Traveling to far away places, experiencing new things, meeting new people, making new friends in countries I only dreamed of visiting has added so much color and so many new tchotchkes for my bar.

Yes, there were close calls. My son-in-law and I shared hospitals while he had brain surgery then I had heart surgery. We made good decisions as we are both doing quite well. We are all  celebrating his Golden Birthday as we celebrate my Diamond Birthday. 

As I look back, I have no regrets. Oh, there are moments on that time span that I wish I had dealt with better. There is a cure for that – time. As I hit 75 I am looking ahead to my next destination, to my next tennis match. My next bar or bat mitzvah of  a grandchild and may be I will get to see a granddaughter get married. Those events have nothing to do with decision making. The decisions that got to this point have been made years ago. I just want to lean back and kvell.

See you in eight years at my next Bar Mitzvah.

That is my life – you decide.

 

 

I AM ONCE AGAIN, I AM SCARED

 

Wednesday I had a meeting on the west side of Los Angeles.  I left the meeting at 6:25 pm and turned on CNN on my cable radio in my car while enduring late afternoon traffic on Wilshire Blvd., the 405 and then the 101. If you are not from the west coast, that is commuter hell at that hour. My personal hell got even hotter when I started to listen to Donald Trump and his immigration “policy” speech. 

It is hard to listen to him as he doesn’t talk, he yells. Then punctuates the point with a normal voice and often repeats what he says. Like it didn’t nauseate me the first time. It was not easy to listen to this speech as it contrasted with what he said in Mexico that day. Even the Mexican president gave a different report from what Trump had said. I’ll bet he says he now knows more about Mexico that all the generals, oh, that was ISIS.  There was a major protest in Mexico over his visit. That was in spite of his idea that they love him in Mexico – not.

That Mexican trip was a photo op, nothing more. He brought some play-dough toys to Louisiana so that makes him a hero to the people of the US Gulf – a photo op. Trump is a psycho opportunist. He panders to other psychos. His supporters can argue they are not psychos. OK, they are just bigots who look crazy.

Ignore history and you will then repeat it. I recall all the films after WWII about the Nazi rise to power. These films scared me then and still do. I recall seeing Hitler’s rants that went on for more than an hour and often longer. He, too, did not talk – he yelled. He repeated themes over and over again. He got his audience riled up so much that they went out and killed people without mercy. ( Guess they thought that they had second amendment rights). I heard the same frenzy during Trump’s rant. “Lock her up.” “Kill her.”

During the “speech” he cited some statistics and ignored so many other facts. He is the savior. “I alone can do this,” he has said. So his facts are his alone, too.

His “idealology” test is also frightening. How do you determine who loves you? Consider that at the Wannsee Conference in Potsdam, the Nazis were trying to accomplish the same thing. Loyalty, heritage and other attributes that would determine whether you lived or died. I am I sensitive to this manner of interrogation? You bet your ass I am and you should be, too.

Trump wants to weed out the “bad” guys. His selective interrogation could be transferred to the populous. He can get all the “bad” guys or those he thinks are bad. Your neighbor suspects that you are a Muslim and turns you in to Trump’s deportation corps. I don’t think it will go that far, but that is what some thought back in 1939 – more than six million people later they found out they were wrong.

This is what demagogues do and we cannot in way see that Trump is anything but a raving demagogue.

His ten point plan is just about five points as they are very similar but it allowed him to rant on and yell  

He looked presidential according to some of the brainless media and his supporters. You don’t look “presidential.” You have the look of being a leader. He signs so many paychecks that his subjects are afraid to criticize him. That is not leadership that is fear. I fear him and he signs nothing for me. His ego and his money  are his license and authority – as he stated, “I alone can do this.”

As I drove through the traffic I was shaking. Not for myself, but for my children and their children. For my generation this is a repeat of history. For the next generations this is new stuff, they hadn’t dealt with it before. They see a TV star trying to be a dictator – a reality show.

What if the Toronto Blue Jays are playing the Yankees and I root for the Toronto team am I being disloyal to the U.S.? ( I always root for the team playing the Yankees). Is that his idealology test? That is what it sounded like in his rant about Extreme Vetting. Can we trust that is not what he means when he changes what he means hourly?

So, after more than an hour listening to this and dealing with traffic to get home I was shaken. The traffic is expected and experienced but his Hitlerian rant was not. I ran in to my house from the garage, poured some Canadian whiskey ( is that going to be part of his test)?  Sat down and calmed down. But, yes, I am scared.

That is my take, you (have a drink) and you decide.

 

 

A DIME IS MORE THAN TEN CENTS

Last week I dreamt about my late wife as I often do. She has been gone for more than two decades but it still seems like it was yesterday when she instructed me to make sure I bring her mirror. I was told that when I do have dreams of her she is visiting me. As I outlined in an earlier piece I am skeptical but somewhat open to the idea that people who were close to you and are now gone are not  really “gone” but are here in some form of spirit or energy or mental manifestation.

I do get some comfort in the dreams. I relive some of our best moments over the nearly 36 years we were important to each other. There were other moments that are not worth reliving so I don’t. Selective good memories. There is no doubt that we laughed a lot during those years. When I was selling our dining room table the lady that was considering buying it said to me I can feel laughter in this table. The story of how and when we bought is also funny. Edited version: I was banished from the store while she negotiated the purchase. I was having a very irreverent day. She was giving me hell and I couldn’t stop laughing.

One of my fondest memories was the impromptu Labor Day weekend trip to Santa Barbara. All five of us just driving from the Valley to Ojai to Santa Barbara. We were enjoying the scenery and the day. The “hotel” where we got  a “suite”  was also a source of laughter. But we had a place to stay and it was not the Ritz it was more like to Rotz. It was a weekend of laughter even after we were almost lost at sea. (what does the dime have to do with this – I will tell you later, read on).

After almost being lost at sea my sailing skills were assailed by my family as being poor if no- existent. During our sea odyssey I learned what a jib is. I am still not sure what it is but someone yelled, “pull on the jib.” I asked the four experts on the boat what the f%#&k is a jib? Things went downhill from there. I guess we had no idea how much trouble we were in because we all hysterical with laughter. We finally made it to the dock – alive.

Each of us was recalling the events of the day and the belly laughs did not stop. On this beautiful street we had to navigate back to the Hotel Rotz, my wife, who had a notoriously weak bladder, went . Yes, she went. We still laugh at that moment, I still see her almost bent over from laughing so hard. In fact, we are all still laughing at that fun moment when we recall that day to this day.

Most of my dreams that include her are like this one. I still recall her thinking that the lever to self-clean the oven was for making sure the door doesn’t open. After the fire department left we had a great laugh over this, but not right away. It took a few weeks. We had to get past the fire department’s fans to get rid of the smoke, the smoke on the walls and the very shriveled up steak that was the ultimate victim. We actually got to meet our new neighbors.

So, after reading the reports that my daughter and son wrote about their experience with a psychic I was curious. (See my blog of January 25, 2015 “I AM (WAS)A SKEPTIC”). In that session Susan came through and implored me to get the GERD I was experiencing checked out. I knew it was GERD as I know people at that time also experiencing it. TUMS seemed to work. Some events were not as troubling as others. I went through Vietnam from Hanoi to Saigon and many stops in between popping TUMs or TUMs like discs. Yes, I told my fellow adventurers, I will get this checked out again after I get home. There was a little whisper in my head and the notes that my daughter took at the psychic's session reflecting her mother’s advice to me also tweeked the idea of another endoscopy.

A week or so after I got back I had the endoscopy as I promised in the session, as I promised my fellow adventurers and my family. Two days later I was admitted to the cardiac unit at the hospital and a week later I got by-pass surgery. Susan came through and substantiated the need for attention to my heart, the heart she owned since she was 14 years old.

What about the dime? As I said I often have dreams of Susan and when I do, I feel better as the dreams are of fun filled and light hearted moments of our lives together. We had some not so great moments but who can remember them, who wants to?

My kids tell me that their significant people who come to them in dreams also have some form of physical manifestation to let them know they are there. Flicking lights, door sounds, etc. Last week I had a great series of dreams in one night that when I woke, I had a smile on my face and felt really good.

As I walked down the stairs to have breakfast I looked down and there was a shiny new dime centered on the second from last step. Smack dab in the middle. I could not miss that shiny new dime. I picked it up and put it in my pocket. I didn’t give it much thought but all day I kept feeling for the dime. When I felt it there I got a good feeling and smiled.

Last night I played in my tennis league and after winning my service game we changed sides. As I walked to the other side of the court, I looked down and smack dab in the middle of the service box was a shiny new dime. It wasn’t there when we warmed up. No one spotted it during the game. It was just there as I walked to other side of the net. I picked it up and put it in my pocket and I smiled. Susan was there with me. I smiled as I won my service three other times. It was nice to have a family member come and see me play, finally.

That was my experience – you decide.

ONE PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS ... OR MORE

Most of my blogs are from 900 to 1400 words. This blog will be a little shorter.  One of my fellow travelers to India took a great photo,  upon review actually reflects what is happening in our country. This photo is great metaphor. I asked if I could use it in this blog. Mauge Wevar de Rosenberg said yes, and I thank her for the use and for getting this photo.

April we visited some iconic places in India. The location where Ghandi was assassinated, Rathambore National Park to observe animals in the jungle and hopefully see some tigers, Agra Fort, float along the Ganges Rivers and of course the Taj Mahal. All of these places and others were breathtaking. Say what you want about India, you see and experience things like no other place on earth. The strings that the Hindu priest tied on my wrist are still there. The little container of Gange water is still on my book shelf, the other container I brought back, according to a friend and professional caretaker, helped a dying woman in need of some pain free moments.

One of the shocking things we experienced was the SheRoes Café where we met, talked with, danced with young women who were the victims of acid attacks. SheRoes is an example of surviving and rising above adversity and pain. Needless to say, it was quite an emotional experience.

What we saw on the street upon leaving SheRoes really lightened the mood.

When I saw Mauge Wevar-Rosenberg's photo I bust out laughing.  saw a depiction and representation of what was happening in the U.S. There was a big blond bull trying to defile an innocent cow that happened to be of darker hide. A big blond guy wants to defile the U.S.  Got the picture? Mauge did get it and we all thank her for it.

That is my take – you decide

 Note:  Mauge Wevar de Rosenberg became a U.S. Citizen just after returning from India

I AM HAVING A HARD TIME RECONCILING WHAT I HEAR WITH WHAT I SEE

According to Trump, the economy stinks. It is rigged (for people like him). It is not what the Obama administration promised. Again, according to Trump, the unemployment rate is 10 percent, maybe 20 percent and he even heard up 42%. We know he is nuts but the people are starting to believe this crap. It comes down to an old joke where a wife comes home and finds her husband in bed with another woman, as he steps away from the bed he asks, “Are you going to believe me or are you going to believe your eyes?”

In this case, the economy, I am opting for what I see. Not what I am hearing. Yes, you can make the argument that there are people hurting, there are always people hurting. The reasons are not always of their own making, but many are because they won’t “flip burgers.” There are so many people who are under qualified and won’t take the job that is there – hence migrant workers, braceros on the street looking for manual labor, handymen and women without green cards. They get jobs.

If Trump deports the 11 million “illegals” I am confident that the people who are out of work, will still be looking for a job. That is not the answer.

So, if this economy is so bad why are the 38 million people going on a trip this Memorial Day weekend? Why are the security lines so long at the airport? People without money don’t travel. The planes are full. They don’t go Disney Land or World. They don’t go camping. They don’t spend billions at the movie box office. This is not the top 10% is the “middle class” that is being destroyed in s systematic way by the Right. They, the Right, are trying hard but 20 million more people are enjoying health insurance for the first time in spite of the Right.

Is the economy a state of mind or is it really bad? Make your own analysis.  Next time that you are stopped at a traffic light look at the ten cars around you? (Remember, many of the foreign brands are built on the US by us). How many cars are three years old or younger? I will bet that you will be astonished at what you see. I had a guy tell me yes, but they are all leased and the payments are lower. There are two things wrong with that argument: 1. There are still payments to be made 2. The lessee needs a better credit score to lease than to buy. You get a better score by paying your bills.

Trump and others tell you how bad it is so often you almost have to believe it. Believe nothing of what you hear and half of what you see. Maybe then you won’t let the politicians on the left and right depress you.

Go to a major league ball park and see how many people, not in the 10%, are there. With their kids, buying six dollar water (I have written about this), wearing logo shirts and having fun. They are the working class that the pundits says are angry. Really! Angry? May be pissed at $15 parking, but angry they are not.

I often hear that college kids that are graduating can’t get jobs. True, they can’t get the jobs that pay what they are expecting. I am not saying we don’t have problems within the economy, but we are better prepared to deal with them. We must not let the Right increase interest rates on student loans or prevent them from adjusting them as the economy may dictate. We, the people, are aware of the solutions but look at who are stepping in front of the way to solve the problems. There is the Tea Party, the ultra-right, our right wing congress members who won’t raise the minimum wage but give themselves enormous raises to do nothing and they appear to do nothing quite well. They have created the appearance of a negative economy so they can install their solutions – privatize it.

Take the TSA for example. They, the right (they are in control of Congress) cut the TSA budget. So, we get longer lines and poorer security. What did they suggest? Yep, privatize it.

The US Postal Service is doing well, well enough to drop the rate of a first class stamp. No one is going “postal” these days. That is killing the right that imposed major financial regulations that required the USPS to prefund all pensions. So, even with one hand tied behind their back,  to the Right’s chagrin, there is no need to privatize.

Social Security is not broke, it could be better if the cap was lifted. The Right and some lefties, won’t do that either. The Social Security program is one of insurance not investment. Since its inception, not one Social Security check has ever bounced or been missed.

Will Hillary, Bernie or the Donald fix any of that? For sure, the Donald won’t. Our best bet is with someone from the left. That is for you to decide, but they and us, feel that America is great now, but it could be greater. Listen to the issues not the propaganda.

What makes America great is the fact that I can write this blog, you can read it,  and you can agree or not agree.

I want a leader to lead us, not a conniving business man with a record of distortion, a record of deceit. Not someone with a record of cheering for our misfortunes so he can make a larger fortune. Not a bully that wants to dominate other world leaders. That is a recipe for disaster and Trump, using that word to describe everything but his ideas, will be the largest, and biggest creator of disasters. They will be “huuuuge.”

I just drove down a major thoroughfare here in the San Fernando Valley. There are several large “Now Hiring” signs displayed. Go the mall and see the “Hiring Now” signs in the windows. Need a job, you can get a job. Don’t blame the other guy for your situation. Take charge of yourself and change it. The guy with the different color skin is not causing your problem, you are.

That is my take, you decide