Nostalgia

When I was a young lad, living in Hungary I never liked gypsy music. It was not cool to listen to it. Even though the regime tried to force feed it to us we still didn't like it. In those days the radio was filled with gypsy music but just like whiskey I never developed a liking to it.

As it turned out this dislike was temporary. After I came to the US I gradually started to like it. Here in this country it was very hard to come up with good gypsy music. While in Hungary every other beer garden had its own gypsy orchestra. 

Every time I visited Hungary I made sure I went to a restaurant that had a gypsy group playing music. Thanks to the Internet I can always find some site where such music is being played.

I think this is nostalgia. The older one gets the more he is apt to think of the old days. Just recently a friend of mine sent me a recording of a well known gypsy musician/singer. I listened to it and I admit I was moved. Their songs are mostly sad love songs and clearly understandable. Not like the songs sang here which sound more like barkings than singings.

Gypsies in Hungary are a minority who live in self imposed squalor. People are avoiding them and are afraid of them. In the old days, like before the war they moved around in the country side and usually stole whatever they wanted.

To break out of this kind of lifestyle was not easy but some did it. Primarily musicians. They were very talented, good and enjoyed popularity. Their music was special, very catchy and provided easy listening.

Unfortunately, the rest of them do not contribute much to society, and today the government is having a difficult time dealing with them.

https://www..com/watch?v=ihQLwU1jUUM

Glenfiddich

I am not a whiskey drinker. In all these years in this country I never developed a taste for whiskey. I don't know the difference between rye whiskey and bourbon. Expensive whiskey would be wasted on me, just like wine.

Today we went in to a kind of alcohol warehouse. Very large and a tremendous variety of all kinds of alcohol and naturally at all prices.

There was a glass cabinet, locked which drew my attention. In it were several bottles of whiskeys ranging from $200 up to over $8,000. The expensive ones were mostly Glenfiddich whiskeys.

I don't know who the Glenfiddich people are and what do they do to make their stuff so expensive. Most of their costly ones are 40 years old, that is around the 1980s. Well, I am twice that old so I should worth a lot more.

What happened in the 80s that this drink is so valuable? I just wonder how many bottles of the $5,000 to $8,000 range they sell in a week? Does anybody come in and buys a case of the $8,000 bottles?

And lastly, what kind of people drink this expensive stuff?  

Films

I am sitting here thinking what the heck should I wright about. The daily events are not that interesting that I should waste my energy on those even though the local political life is buzzing with cotnroversies.

But, you know what, I lean back and watch the show.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Something else.

Lately when we finish our daily chores (and there is a lot of those) my wife and I relax with Robin in our midst and watch tv. Since there is absolutely nothin g interesting in programming we turned to watch Netflix, Youtube and Amazon Prime. 

We love to see horse movies where there is a lot of horse riding (not cowboy movies) and also some tearjerker story behind those.

Another type of movies are Israeli films, and there are plenty of those. Most of them are in Hebrew with English subtitles (obviously these are the ones we watch) but they are very interesting. The subjects vary. War, love, religion and in between. 

Most of them we find very interesting but there are some that are plainwaste of time. Watching movies filmes in Israel also intruduce us to the local landscape, local neighborhoods. We see places that tourist ads don't show.

Once we run out of Israeli movies we'll probably pick another nationality. There are plenty listed. Interstingly, recently we saw a few films that were listed under Israel but were filmed in South America. The only connection was that the story was Jewish. Regardless, they were fairly good.

One noteworthy show was a TV series that ran for two seasons about an orthodox family. It was called: Shtisel. It ran for two seasons because its popularity they made third season. It was already released in Israel, we are waiting for the US release.

I just thought this would be an interesting programming note.

Weather-vane

I always knew that politicians have no backbone, no commitment and they are not believable. In recent times and further back if one fraction said white the other one said black and vica versa.

One fractions suggestions, proposals were very rarely accepted by the other side just bcause! If they rarely came up with a bipartisan proposal they made sure everybody knew how good they were.

It was an accepted way to run the country. Not liked but accepted. Now, a new monster is raising its head. The esteemed former majority leader Mitch McConnell announced it today that he was going to vote for the Attorney General designate. This guy was inetrviewed by senators yesterday and most of the republicans gave negative comment about him. The way I ineterpret that is that they will not vote for him.

But here is the minority leader, the voice of the opposition who announced that he would vote for him. This is very interesting, to say the least! Some dark interests must have paid him a visit at the dead of night and that is why he got his tail between his legs.

This is one hell of a leader! A real politician who is a living a weather-vane!

  

Dog

 Our dog has a personality complex. Let's call him Robin. Actually that is his name. When we got him from the shelter his official name was Rocco. Now this dog does not look anything like a Rocco, does he?

Rocco applies to big hairy and nasty beings and no matter how "angry" he wants to look he is anything but. By the way, he is in his favorite pj ready to go to sleep.

Back to the personality complex. he of his size which is a little bigger than a teecup he is convinced that he has the size of a german sheperd or larger. He attacks everybody and anything on the streets. Barks and jumps at any dog regardless of the size.

I love to watch when he goes up against a dog ten times of his size. But give him credit, the little guy does not give up. I just hope he doesn't bring home a girlfriend that is a lot bigger than he. 

At home he is the sweetest thing one can imagine. Sits on my lap, sits whith my wife and Abigail. But loves to bite me. Very protective of my wife and if I make a wrong move he bites. I have more scratches and bites than a professional dog trainer. But still at the next turn he snuggles up to me like nothing ever happened. I guess he lacks conscience. Maybe he is a politician!

Horizon

Today is Monday, at least at the time when I am writing this. Time is slowly but surely is moving ahead. The only problem is ahead and towards what?

I am convinced there is a future even for us oldiest goodies), but nobody knows what is it holding. Politically, financially and healtwise.

When I worked we had deadlines. We had to deliver stuff to our clients and these deadlines were our futures. In good times once we delivered there was another deadline with a horizon, then another and another.

Now things are different. There is a horizon but nobody knows what is awaiting for us once we get there.

This horizon is at different distances, and those distances depend on one's age. I am sure that my horizon is a lot closer than Abigail's horizon. But as the Brits say no matter what we still have to "keep a stiff upper lip". Or something like this. 

Our world is changing fast. There is a new normal that is nothing like the normal we were used to. But us humans are a very adaptive race (at least speaking for myself). If it is necessary we can adapt to anything. Speaking of myself, I went through ups and downs and ups and downs in my life and I am still here and hope to be for a while.

So, I am trying to stay as optimistic as I can be because my motto is that "no matter what happens, tomorrow the sun will come up and there will be another day".

$160

I will try to make a long story short. I don't guarantee that it will work but trying is half success.

In 1960 I got my first reasonably good job at a construction site asn assistant to the field engineer. My title was rodman. We took measurements, laid out things for the many subcontractors working on the site. It was good work, I liked the job and the environment. I think I got the job through a placement sevice.

I seem to remember my weekly pay fror 40 hours  of work was about $80-$100. My wife worked, our needs were minimal at that time and so were or expenses. Even with this low pay were able to save.

I worked with a young man by the name of Al at he site, Al was my immediate boss. He was married, he had a car, a house and a child. His pay was $160 a week. This amount burnt into my memory because at that time I thought if I ever make this much I will have it made.

Slowly, as I changed employments my pay increased but never reached the magic $160. Finally, in 1967 I went to work for this engineering company, where I stayed for 40 years. At the time of my hire they asked me to fill out a bunch of papers and one of them was how much was I asking.

You guessed right, I put down $160 a week! You can imagine my great surprise when not only they agreed but they increased it to something like $170. I was stunned by their generosity but it was explained that according to my classification this was the rate I was getting.

I didn't care green is green. I felt my dream had been achieved, I arrived at the gates of total happiness, I made it in this country.

Naturally, 40 years later my salary was a little bit more than the magic 160.

Off Day

 I really don't want people to be spoiled by my regularity (this is not anatomic) so I will skip this one day and try to enjoy my off time.  

Snow 2

Second day in the row and it is still snowing. Our sidewalks are kind of cleaned but my wife said they were very slippery. Because of my age and "sensitive" physic I am forbidden to go outside and chance falling down.

Beiung as lazy as I am I have no problem with that!

Unfortunately I am not as steady on my feet as I used to be. Regardless if I feel invincible, I am not. That is the cursde of old age. I (we) think we can still do whatever we desire but reality is that we can not. ER

I don't know if I ever mentioned it but on last December 19, right after an earlier snowfall I took a tumble on the street. We took the dog out for a walk and I fell. The result was a night at the ER of a nearby hospital because I got pretty banged up. So ever since then I am a little leery of icy sidewalks or anything icey, except my drinks.

Naturally, my lovely wife is my protector. Wenever I lack brain or clear thinking which is frequently happening she steps in and reads the riot act to me.

So, now the second day in a row I am a shut in. She does go out alone but I am forbidden to even think of it. But you know, I don't feel bad. I have my computer, TV and my family, including the dog. So, I  am never alone.

I think back when I was working and weather was bad how rarely I stayed home. I walked down the street to the subway station, skidding and sliding and without a second thought about falling which incidentally never happened.

Once it happens you can not get the feeling and consequences (possible and real) out of  your mind.

I used to be sorry when winter was over, now I am looking forward to spring. Hey, that's life!

Snow

This time the weatherman or weathermen were right on. Today, at this writing we are in the middle of a humongeous snowstorm. It has been snowing very intensely at about 2" per hour. If I knew how to attach a foto I would do it to show what this area looks like.

There is very limited traffic, no cars. My brave wife took the dog out for a pee break, the poor thing (the dog) almost got lost in the white stuff. Good thing he had the leash on.

On February second the ground hog went back to bed signifying six more weeks of winter. Too bad I don't ski amymore because I would be in seventh heaven now. There are a lots of things I don't do anymore but one gets used to it. At least breathing I still do!

In New york City the law says that landlords must provide heat if the temperature dips below 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Lot of the landlord skirt this resulting in uncomfortable apartments. Fortunately our building is nice and cozily warm.

I used to wear short sleeve shirts and shorts at home because we were so warm ( and I am young and hot blooded!), but because our dog likes how I taste I had to start wearing long sleeves and long warmup pants. He still bites me! 

I'm so proud of myself!

Brexit and Me

 Annoying is not strong enough!

Here is a long version of a short story. But then this is my blog right?

My wife and I just recently sent some surprise presents to some family members in Hungary. Shipping was handled by the people we bought the gifts from. They said, no problem, UPS delivers to Hungary, don't worry. For some mysterious reason they added a 6% Netherlands tax to the shipping charge.

Yesterday, we found out that the family member for whom the package was intended to, received a call from UPS Hungary requesting tax id numbers and other personal information, because the package is currently being held at Budapest Airport and will not be released until duty is being paid. What's more, if not released UPS will charge a storing fee. There goes the element of surprise.

Did you ever hear anything like this? Apparently what's behind this is that the package was routed through England and since the UK left the European Union, duty must be paid on everything from there. 

This is dirty business to say the least. Why UPS didn't tell us beforehand they accepted the assignment? They claim to be the experts. on international shipping'

My wife and I were in contact with UPS, UPS Hungary and everybody else trying to solve this but so far with no result. They all claim that this is a Brexit restriction. 

If the UK stayed in the EU nothing like this would have happened.

Thank you, Elizabeth!

Coke

I never really liked Coca-Cola. From the earliest days that I am in this country I was a Pepsi man. Somehow that was more sympathetic to me than Coke.

There were exceptions though. At soda counters, diners one was able to get a Coke with cherry syrup, called cherry soda. And, this was good stuff.

My being a Pepsi fan lasted quite a while but then a switched over to Tab. Tab was good soda but I don't think its popularity lasted long. So, we parted company.

I switched my allegiance to Fresca. I thin it was a lemon flavored drink, and I happen to like anything with lemon flavor.

After my Fresca days were over I think I went to the Coca-Cola camp but only as a Diet coke consumer. Its taste is different from the Coca-Cola and I like it. It also has no calories and no sugar content.

Being in this country a long time I was never able to develop a taste for root beer and whiskey or baseball and football (american). I hope this will not make me a bad person!

Back to the drinks.

Lately we switched over to seltzer. Supermarkets sell flavored seltzers in all fruity flavors. Very pleasant, with no caffeine, calories and sugar but pleasant taste.

I may have missed a few drinks and I am sorry but my memory is not as it used to be.

Tarp

 As I said before, the best and most unresponsible job in the world is being a weatherman. For days now in New York they were predicting a snowstorm that never materialized, Result of this prediction was that they salted the streets, suspended alternate parking and put snow clearing crews on alert.

This last move made sure that they get overtime pay for sitting in their trucks and drinking coffee. The money is my tax money. So anyway the snow never came. I wonder if they make the weather people responsible for these bad forecasts.

Now we are in a new cycle. They are predicting 5"-8" snow for Thursday. Seeing is believing.

We are parking our car in an outdoor lot behind our building. My wife decided that the poor car should not be exposed to the wintry elements so, we bought a tarp to cover it up whenever snow is predicted. So far it worked pretty well. At the last snowstorm the car was clean only the cover had about 10" of snow.

When we want to go out we remove it then at the first sign of bad weather we put it back on. On an off, on and off. Like a yo-yo. I tried to explain to my better half that cars are not that sensitive but to no avail. What is the difference between 10 inches of snow on the tarp or 10 inches of snow on the car?

Oh, the tarp. It is tailored for our car, was not cheap, yet it is tearing at the seams whenever we put it on. Probably it was made in China!

Mr. Valentine

 The year has 365 days (366). Every single day - save one - we can be mean, vulgar, disrespectful, dishonorable, lying and cheating to our wives, mothers and fathers.

That day is either Valentine's day, Mother's day or Father's day. These are the days when we supposed to be nice! All other days we can be ourselves. This is what the law says as written on the numerous Hallmark cards.

If one can not be nice to his or her loved one every day of the year then what will one day do? This is just like confession in the church. Someone commits something bad then confesses it to a priest who in turn absolves him or her. Then the cycle begins!

I believe that Hallmark is behind k  so called holidays. They need reasons to sell their cards. In my time I never heard of Valentine's Day, Fathers Day or Halloween. The only remembrence we used to have was Mother's Day and it was (and still is) the first Sunday in May. 

All this means that we only have to buy flowers, candies etc. one time a year? Pretty stupid if you ask me.

As you might have guessed, today is Valentine's Day. Abigail got up early, took the dog for a walk then went to our nearby flower shop and bought flowers for her mom. I think it was pretty nice of her.

But then tomorrow, it will be tomorrow, by then all bets are off. Everything is back to normal! This is what I meant. 

End of a Circus

Like Barnum & Bailey the DC circus is also closed. Finally this useless sharade is over and the politicians have nothing else to do than go back and try to fix the country (or screw up). That until that madwomen will not find something else to blame on the former president and thus create another circus.

Today I watched the events for a while. I don't know how these attendees stay awake, I fell asleep a few times. Just for the sake of talking all the impeachment managers kept repeating the same thing over and over again. Nothing interesting, nothing convincing, everything political bullshit on a grand scale. The leaders of Congress should be proud of themselves!

They managed to make America the laughing stock of the world. The Ugly American raised its head. Everywhere in the world they are laughing at us, nobody takes us seriously. Is this what they were aiming at? Because if it is they achieved their goal.

But it was funny how scared these politicians were when they were affronted with the demonstrators. They were running for their lives as scared chickens. They were afraid of the people they claim to represent. Or rather to exploit.

  

Old cars

There is a car auction site on one of the sport channels (I told you I watch sports!) and it is called Mecum Auctions.  They broadcast from different parts of the country mainly from Kissemee, Florida.

They show antique cars, rare cars, everyday cars and other four wheelers. It is very interesting to see how much money some of these cars are worth and how much people are willing to pay for them.

A little while back an ordinary 1968 Ford Mustang GT was sold for $3.4 million. It's claim to fame was that Steve McQueen drove it in the movie Bullit. Its owner bought it 40 years ago for $3,500. Now this was a hefty profit.

I see cars I used to walk by on the street many many years ago now being sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Cars I used to own now seem to worth a lot more than they did way back then. It seems the older they are the more they are worth. These are real old cars, but they are cleaned up pretty weel and their engines are still working.

This brings me to a question.

Me and my cohorts are fairly old. We are all nicely cleaned up and our engines are still functioning!? Are we also worth a fortune? I mean, I saw cars from the 40s and 50s being sold for half a million and up. What would our worth be? Because the way I see it the older it is the more it is worth!

I always believed we are not getting older, we are getting better.

Circus

 Why watch any comedy show on tv when there is this impeachment trial being broadcasted? This is better than anything on right now.

I never knew that this country was in such a good shape that Congress can spend my tax money and their time so excessively and unproductively as they do with this nonsense.

These so called impeachment managers from the Representative side all have their five minutes of fame and they make use of every second of it. They talk and talk. They repeat each other just for the sake of talking and being on TV.

I am not even sure they believe what they are saying but they must say it because that madwoman Pelosi is running the show. This woman has a Trump fixation. She won't rest until she finds something against Donald Trump. She is so obsessed she even had Schumer dancing to her tunes. Isn't time for this grandmother to retire and give up the gavel? Even her dentures seem to give up when she speaks. She is certainly not representing the American people!

They said that this farce will go on until Saturday. Then they will vote and hopefully the whole thing will be over. Then what? They spent millions of dollars of taxpayer money for what?

I recently wrote an email to Senator Schumer that instead of this idiocy and waste of time why not to do something for us the people, Currently the postal service is so bad that it is unbelievable. A plain letter from New York to Florida takes more than ten days. So, Mr. Schumer why not to do something about this?

Do you think I got a response? Right, the answer is no! And I voted for him. Never again!    

Travel

Traveling. as far as I can see from my couch is nothing but hassle. To go anywhere is more problem that is is worth. I am not even talking about catching the virus. I am talking about what the airlines and the authorities put the traveling parties through.

Wear a mask or get arrested; sit three across inches apart; all kinds of documents proving one's health at the arrival point, and also at the return.

Now, if I am naive enough to go on vacation I will find that there are no eateries open except for take out. Wahat kind of vacation is that where I have to eat in my room and practically recook the food?

No wonder that resorts are struggling because of the lack of people. I for one. love to go to St. Maarten and Hawaii, oh and Las Vegas, too. At each of these places eating out is part of the joy being there. Not cooking in the room.

In Hawaii we went to Luaus where there was good eatings. That was part of the program. Las Vegas is famuous for its variety of resturants. The French part of St. Maarten is world famuous for it french cuisine. Now, if none of these places are available why should I spend my money to go there.

But, here is the proof that we are not living in an equal society. In the old Soviet Union in Moscow there were special traffic lanes for the party elite, there were special stores for the party elite.

In this country where we, the ordinary people are living with all the restrictions the higher ups, the wealthy, the celebrities don't feel the pinch. They travel, they vacation, they party. Every week in the supermarket magazines there are photos of these people vacationing in Hawaii, St. Barth, Tahiti and God know where else. 

How do they get to be so lucky that the rules do not apply to them?

Grumpy

Old people are grumpy. And, they have every right to be grumpy. They lived long, they saw a lot and nothing ever is the same as it used to be. So, what do we do? We get grumpy, we criticize.

In today's world we are in paradise. It is easy to find things to complain about. Mainly because everything is different compared to what we were used to and nothing is as good as it used to be.

That apply to politics, the economy, culture, entertainement and the general everyday life. So what can we do? Not much else than complain. But many times complaining makes us feel good.

It is just like cursing somebody out through the car window for something stupid that person did. What can be achieved by the cursing? Nothing except it makes us feel good. The same applies to complaining.

At home I do complain or criticize frequently. But that is different. I have a lifetime of experience, I know a lot and I am extremely smart! No wonder my family thinks I am nuts.

Nowadays life as we know it, is extremely difficult and uncomfortable. Because of the virus we are faced with numerous incoveniences many of which are here to stay for the unseeable future. People are working from home if they are working, many people don't work because their workplaces ceased to exist and they are also home.

I don't think the family homes, may those be houses or apartments were ever designed to support 24/7 full family occupancy including performing certain job functions. But people have to deal with these inconveniances if they want to survive. 

I didn't hear any statistics about the increased birth rate since the restrictions were introduced. Nine months after the 1965 November blackout there was a considerable increase in the number of babies born.  

Testing

Travel used to be easy. We bought our plane tickets, went to the airport, got on the plane arrived at the destination then days or weeks later did the same in reverse. And that was it!

Now, this is only a memory. Now we have a new normal. Before even getting on the plane we have to prove that we are healthy and before returning home we again have to prove our health status. This is all ok and acceptable if it serves any purpose and if it is being uniformly enforced. 

As far as I know here in the US one needs to have a not older than three day certificate proving that the traveler tested negative on a Covid test both before leaving and upon returning. Ok, the before leaving certificate can easily be obtained.

But what if the person travels to a foreign country that is not very well equipped to provide such a document. Then what? What is the alternative? I don't think airlines permit boarding without such a proof of health. If airports are equipped to do the testing and provide the acceptable proof what whould that cost? I don't think American medical insurers pay for such a thing.

Just for the heck of it if such a test cost $125 per person, a family of four have to shell out $500 for a one-way trip. Not a cheap little excursion. 

Face Covering

This pendemic situation is "forcing" me tp watch on TV I normally would not watch. It is forcing me to watch everything from stamp collecting to football, from bass fishing to curling. Watching them does not make me fall in love with them but what the heck.

I became such a sports fan than I am impatiently waiting for the baseball spring season to start. 

Anyway I have an observation. I was watching (semi intently) the Super Bowl and I noticed something that I could not understand. Actually, this is something I noticed on previous football games that I semi intently watched.

Coaches talk into their microphones. I have no idea with whom they are communicating but I can understand that these communications are not for the opposition teams. And, I can also understand why they covered their mouths when they spoke. As it turned out in the baseball world these teams had professional lip readers.

So back to my inquiry. The football people talk into their microphones, probably giving play instructions to their players. This is understandable. They also don't want the opposing team know what they are saying and that is why they cover their mouths.

But for crying out loud, they are wearing face masks! We can see their faces much less their mouths. So, why is this covering up when they talk? Just a force of habit or paranoia?

Takeouts

 There is nothing wrong with a good homecooked meal. I love it and I am willing to eat it as long as it is available. Thank God my wife is a great cook. I think, she loves to cook and what is more important she cooks Hungarian.

Hungarian food is important to me. There are two things in life I want to be able to do; speak Hungarian and eat Hungarian food. Restaurant Hungarian food is good but it doesn't come near to a good homecooked meal.

As everybody is aware of  I came from Hungary and I don't want to lose my basic identity.My wife and I speak Hungarian to each other while Abigail and I communicate mostly in English. Since I no longer work I don't have too much opportunity to use English. I am desperately trying not to lose my vocabulary but then with old age creeping up it is not easy peeing against the wind!

This, obviously has nothing to do with homecooked meals.

Back to my original thought. Even though I love homecooked food I still yearn an occasional restaurant meal. May that be a good steak, shrimp, oysters, clams, escargot etc. These are some of my favorites.

But because of this virus thing we haven't been to a restaurant for almost a year now. Yes, we did do take outs but they are just not the same. Eating out of a cardboard or plastic container is not my idea of eating "out". 

By the time you get home the food gets cold, it is needed to be reheated and then it looses its charm. Yes, it can be delivered hot but I will be damned if I pay some Uber delivery person $20 extra for bringing out the food.

I love IHOP pancakes and the about six different syrups. Now, how in the heck can I eat that at home? If I order takeout, by the time I get the stuff it will taste like rubber. Homemade pancakes are not bad but I don't think anybody keep five or six different syrups at home.

Here is the flip side of my thinking. In New York there is no inside seating in restaurants only takeout. How do I know how healthy the kitchen staff is? Just because they say they are?

$3 Bill

What is the similarity between the three dollar bill and the current president?

Nothing. They are both phoney.

The current president slipped through the electoral system by garnering votes on lies. He made promises just to get the votes and once he was sworn in he became a Mr. Hyde.

With a stroke of pen he created tens of thousands of unemployed who will have great difficulty finding other employments. With a stroke of pen he opened the floodgates to illegal south americans by stopping the construction of the wall. Arizona, Texas, California all with southern borders will be overrun by these people trying to get inside this country. Crime and unemployment will soar. Did this president ever considered the consequences of his politically motivated acts? I don't think he ever did.

But if he did it just shows that he really doesn't care about the American people. Because he claims to be a democrat that party is now in the majority in Washington. Their first item in their program is to crucify everything republican including the former president. The republicans are spending so much of their effort  to impeach an ex-president that it is ridiculous.

74 million people voted for Donald Trump and about 80 million for this one. Not an overwhelming majority but the republicans still claim they represent the entire country. Maybe yes, if they only count this country's 80 million citizens. 

Leave Me Alone

 I'm sure that one time or another I expressed how I hate outside influences in my decision making process. Well, if I did I will just repeat it again, or update it.

Actors are paid to act. For money, and good money they become other personalities for the sake of the public. Just becausde one plays a doctor for years does not mean that he is a doctor, or one plays a scientist does not mean that he has the basic knowledge of science. All that means is that these people are good at playing different characters.

Watching a lot of TV or movies we are prone to come up with character surprises. Somebody we know for years for playing a heavy will suddenly shows up playing the gentlest character possible (adopting kittens, bunnies  and baby deers).

This will again prove that they just go where the money is.

So, why should I believe Tom Selleck when he advertises a reverse mortgage company, or why should I believe Joe Namath when his Medicare commercial is on non-stop on all channels or Pat Boone's  advertisement about step in bathtub?

I don't believe any one of them. They say what the written script says. This former singer, good old Pat Boone has a net worth of about $50 million, and that means he can afford a much better bathtub than the one he is advertising. So why should I believe him?

Joe Namath has a net worth of about $25 million. Am I supposed to believe that he carries this simple Medicare insurance he claims is the best?

Tom Selleck lives with his family on a 60 acre avocado ranch in California, has a net worth of about $45 million, gets $200,000 per episode of his TV show. Would anybody believe that he would take a reversed mortgage plan? So, what right he has to tell me that in his opinion this is a great company with a great opportunity?

Under the same hat show people's political affiliations have absolutely no meaning for me. Their credibility is zero. 

When Donald Trump was elected President Robert De Niro announced he was moving to Canada. I was watching the border but didn't see his moving truck crossing. Words are cheap!

Just don't tell me what I should do! Let me make my own decisions and make my own mistakes. A man learnes from his mistakes was and is the old and current adage. 

Just leave me alone! 

Terrible!

On Tuesday night we had a terrible experience. An experience that can not be described in plain words. An experience that will leave such impressions on us that we will never be able to forget it. An experience that I couldn't care less about but it made Abigail very upset.

What happened last night, you ask?

We lost internet connection around midnight! Now normally people don't get concerned about what happens at that hour. But not in our house. As it turns out teenagers, at least Abigail's friends are up until the wee hours of the morning communicatig, playing games etc. (then sleep 'till noon).

Every night from around 11 pm until about 2 am she and her boyfriend play on their Playstation wiping out the earth population, or watch a movie together on their laptops. When the internet went down, suddenly there was nothing to do. And, that was a tragedy. These kids never heard of conversation!

As it turned out the cable provider was performing scheduled maintenance and by morning everything was ok. 

What puzzles me is how was I able to survive my teenage years without these gadgets? Some of my friend didn't even have telephones. If we wanted to see each other we went over to their houses. My girlfriend lived on the third floor, had no telephone. If I wanted to see her I stood at the curb and whistled to her. We had a special tune and that way she knew it was me (and could pretend she didn't hear it).

The lack of all the things today's kids have left a gaping hole in my life. Maybe that is why I turned out the way I did. No internet, no playstation, no laptop, no cell phone. What a terrible childhood!

Old and Snow

On Monday we had a gigantic snowstorm in New York City. Pretty much everything in the City came to a standstill. I didn't leave the house. My poor wife and Abigail had to take the dog out. He wasn't too happy with all this snow.

I can understand him. The snow is about a foot high and so is he. It is a good thing he has a long leash because more than once he sunk into the snow and if it weren't for the leash it would had been good bye doggie (by the way in this house he is the only one with a long leash).

Lately I developed a genuine fear of falling down. Maybe because on certain occasions I do fall. This winter I fell once at the previous snow in the middle of December. I slipped on some ice. Since then I am really not looking forward to going out in the snow. My wife informed me that until Spring I am staying home. Unless the snow melts before.

This is one of the curses of old(er) age. There are more but I don't feel like listing them here. However one of the intersting symptoms is that many times I see things to get done on tv, physical things that don't look difficult and I always tell myself that I could do that also.

Then I get off the couch and almost trip over my big toe.

Clean House

I love my wife, what's more I adore her. She is a very strong willed lady. She knows what she wants and how to get it. She takes care of our family and makes sure we all are well kept. She also cooks to our desires.

The dog also adopted her as his mommy because Abigail who is the titular owner takes care of him kind of so-so.

My wife makes mi life easier because she took a lot of responsibility off my shoulders. This way I have more time left to do nothing.

My darling wife has one if I may call it flaw. She is extremely clean. Now, there is nothing wrong with this. We are all clean and we all wash behind our ears even if nobody tells us to do it, right?

But in this house there are different rules. We clean from top to bottom every day. Cleaning means full dusting, vacuuming and wash all floor surfaces.

Dusting and vacuuming are my responsibilities, cleaning the kitchen surfaces are Abigail's chores while supervising us, cooking, cleaning the bathrooms and laundry are my wife's.

I naturally do all my chores voluntarily (if I want to eat). This means I dust everything and vacuum the entire apartment. Mind you, we have a large apartment and there is a lot to vacuum. But that is my daily exercise. It is exercise because there is a lot of bending and kneeling down involved. (Actually, the bending and kneeling are front of my wife!) 

Snow

 The best job in the world is weatherman. Probably pays well and it is totally without any responsibility.

Early last week they predicted a good snowfall for Tuesday and Wednesday for New York. My wife and I covered our car and the City suspended alternate side parking for these two days.

Do you know how much snow we got? Zilch! The sanitation people made extra money sitting in their trucks, drinking coffee all day and waiting for the snow. And all this because the weathermen misread their signs.

Now they are telling us that a considerable snowstorm is coming towards New York for Sunday-Monday-Tuesday with at least 10" accumulation. Do we believe it or not?

The hard part is that I have a doctor's appointment in Manhattan and according the City driving will not be very easy. So should I cancel or should I not? 

Well, I did cancel because the forecast is very bad. Actually at this writing, about 9 pm Sunday it is snowing pretty good. So far this winter we only had snow twice so far. I mean actual snow not just useless forecast. Anyhow, we will see what we will wake up to.

Now that I don't have to go see the doctor, I really don't care. My wife and I covered our car and we have no plans to leave our home tomorrow. The fridge is full, Abigail's school sorry, college starts tomorrow but it is online so weather has no effect on it at all.

If the snow gets deep we have to watch for our dog because he is small and white and can easily get lost in the depths.