25 years ago today.......

 I can remember where I was in 2001.

I was at work. I had gone to the break room, and someone had left the TV on. Like everyone else, I was stunned to see the World Trade Center destroyed.

We all know what's happened since, even though Pecos Donald (Donald Trump) is changing the story of his experience, largely because of his advanced age.

Following is a video from National Geographic's YouTube channel:

We will never forget.....

Notes from around town

 A few months back, we reported that 420 Bliss, a cannabis dispensary at Brunswick Plaza, had changed its name to Just a Little Higher. That didn't last.

As much as a month or two ago, 420 Bliss reverted to that name, likely due to a falling out with the Higher chain owners in New York.

As long as cannabis remains big business in the 518, 420 Bliss will gain more competition. Stay tuned.

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Seems someone doesn't like the city government and their signs suggesting that "It's OK to say no to panhandlers".

Riding a bus to Walmart this morning, I noticed that such a sign at the Collar City Bridge had been wiped in white spray paint, and some genius scribbled an f-bomb in black ink over the white paint. While people have the option to give these folks a buck or two, there has to be the understanding that not all panhandlers are legitimately poor or homeless. That's all there is, and if there's some jobroni that doesn't like it, well, suffice to say, absent a likely visit from the police, their opportunities could be fewer & further between going forward. Just sayin'.

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One issue CDTA hasn't addressed that has been around for years is the fact that some drivers have friends and/or family members that will ride along------and stand in front of the yellow line, which is still federally prohibited.

I had friends who drove for CDTA in the past. I saw two options. One, stand behind the line close enough to the driver to conduct a conversation. Two, sit in a front seat across the aisle. I used option 2 more often than not.

Today, one driver had her friend not only staying in front of the yellow line the entire trip from Walmart to downtown, but said friend did a solid by helping passengers when needed, particularly a couple who needed help getting a baby stroller on & off the bus. Maybe the driver should petition to get her friend a job application......!

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Black Friday was a weird day at WROW.

Morning co-host Jaime Roberts had the day off, leaving co-host Ben Patten to go solo. Evening host Bill Williams handled traffic and Patten's mid-day shift, so, you figure, weekend host "Brother" Lou Roberts, who usually has the gig on such days, would fill Williams' shift. Nope. Jaime was called in to cover for Williams. Sunday evening host/promotions director Candace Curby apparently wasn't available.

Something to watch for next month, come the day after Christmas, when this could happen again.

Notes from around town

 It's been almost a week since CDTA began posting "fare required" on their buses, but results have been kind of mixed the last couple of days, and I can bear witness to this.

On Monday, for example, as I waited to pay my fare to go to work, a gentleman in front of me had to U-turn off the bus when the driver denied him a free ride. Apparently, some people aren't paying attention to the signs, or the recorded announcement that ask riders to pay their fares.

Later that same day, on the ride home, a young rider was allowed aboard after he audibly told the driver he had a (school-issued) pass, but didn't have it with him. Tuesday, two more young people were allowed on, likely for the same reason, or due to a sympathetic driver.

Another issue I've run across is how some riders struggle just to pull up the CDTA app to access a QR code to pay their fare. If you access the code before boarding, you should be okay.

Proof that you're never too old to go back to school.

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WROW morning co-host Jaime Roberts will return from the "injured list", if you will, September 15 after taking 2 plus weeks off to recover from knee replacement surgery. She'd recorded an all purpose promo ad for her show before leaving for surgery, and, come Monday, everything will be back to normal. Co-host Ben Patten has filled in for Roberts on Sundays the last couple of weeks, and will so again this Sunday. Weekend host "Brother" Lou Roberts has been doing morning traffic, and filling Patten's midday space, though evening host Bill Williams was reading traffic reports today.

Best wishes & prayers for Jaime.

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Ever since schools opened last week, it's become imperative that students leave their cell phones in their lockers so they can pay closer attention in class. The Albany Times-Union reported last week that some kids were looking for alternative means, since up until this season, internet access could help them with obtaining important information for their classes. Teachers & administrators are more concerned about kids being distracted not so much with social media gossip, but, rather video games.

Life in the 21st century, y'all.

Things that make MAGA go, "duh"

 James Gunn's rebooted "Superman" officially opens Friday. In the run-up to the release, including a Hollywood premiere on Monday, conservative idiots are whining about Gunn's remarks about the Man of Steel, describing Superman as an "immigrant", because, well, technically, he is.

Fox No News' Kellyanne Conway led the complaints there, branding the hero as "Superwoke". As per usual, conservatives use "woke" as a buzzword without offering any definition or context as to why. It's just an excuse to have something to complain about to rile up their low information viewer base.

Look, if you're basing your argument on just the filmmaker's remarks, having not screened the movie yourselves, then you've got nothing, as usual. Take the time to see the film, then whine. It's that simple.

True story. A friend relayed to me the tale of how the late Doug DeLisle, long time film critic for El Cheapo Media, gave the first "Star Wars" movie a bad review when it came out. After DeLisle showed up at the grocery where the friend worked after school, and got excoriated for his perceived ignorance, DeLisle went back and took a 2nd look at what is now an iconic franchise, and changed his tune.

The furor over "Superman" will not have died down fast enough for conservatives to latch onto something else to complain about, involving another iconic franchise.

2nd generation model Lila Moss, daughter of Kate Moss, created a variation on Mattel's iconic Barbie, one diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, which the younger Moss has. 

Already, there are goobers posting on Yahoo!, complaining about the new doll, exposing their ignorance. As a type 2 diabetic myself, I look at "Diabetic Barbie" as a teaching tool, and, parents, you should, too. As they used to say in the commercials back in the day, the doll "comes with everything you see here", referring to the image above.

It's just a matter of time before we hear some whining on Fox No News, Newsnacks, et al. Just sayin'.

Scenes from Victorian Stroll 2024

 Time to get personal.

After last year's Victorian Stroll was, for the most part, a washout because of rain killing the vibe, it was back to the streets on Sunday.

As was the case in 2022, the first stop was St. Paul's Church on 3rd Street, where we were treated to some carolers, and we even sang along in some cases. "We" being ye scribe and a pair of classmates from Troy High, whom you'll see in a bit.

We sat 4 rows deep in front, so this was the best we could do.

And, then, there was this:

Our party increased by one as we left the church. Our next stop was the Hart-Cluett Mansion on 2nd Street, and the Holiday Greens Show.

I think Sylvester Stallone said it best in "The Expendables". It's good to have friends.

And, there's one of the displays at the show:

Former Albany Times-Union & Albany Business Review reporter Claire Hughes met us as we were finishing the tour:

Our final stop was Stacks' Espresso Bar, where Maurizio played 2 1/2 hours, virtually without a break. Here he is with moi after the show:

Dude, I'll admit we should've been side by side.

This was a trip and a half, and it was worth the time.

Does the Bible fit in with American or world history? Oklahoma thinks it does

 I spent two seasons attending a Christian school, long since closed, which was sitting on the Troy-Lansingburgh border, from 1977-9. Could've stayed longer, but my late parents couldn't afford the rising cost of tuition, so I transferred to Troy High, and the rest, of course, is history.

But, enough about my history. Let's talk about a decision by a school superintendent in Oklahoma that mandates that the Bible be taught in public schools.

What Oklahoma superintendent Ryan Walters wants is to link the Bible with different points in world or American history. In an interview on The PBS News Hour, shown below, Walters cites the Pilgrims arriving in 1620, and the civil rights movement of the 60's, led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as examples of his rationale.

Ah, yes, the dreaded Christian Nationalism, once again being shoved down the throats of average citizens by a Republican with an agenda. Some colleges offer courses in theology. What Walters is aiming for is to teach children about the Bible and its rich history well before college, much less high school. Notice how Walters dodged the question about Christian Nationalism, as it made him feel uncomfortable.

Here's my take. I would not start in elementary schools with Bible lessons. Save that for Sunday School. I would consider the prospect of making a course on the Bible and its relation to American or World history an elective, not a mandatory course, which is what Walters seems to be pushing. How can children between the ages of 5 to, say, about 8 or 9, grasp the story of, for example, Daniel in the lion's den without being scared? This is the part that Walters doesn't get.

Walters' proposal has gotten pushback from representatives of other religious groups (i.e. Muslims), which is not surprising. If I'm Walters, I would set an example for the children by inviting them and their families to a special service at his church, assuming he actually attends one, given how some high profile Republicans pretend to be full-on Christians, but don't practice what they, ah, preach. If it happens that he's not a regular at church, well, it'll seem like he's another GOPer talking through his hat.

Notes from around town

 WROW AM (Magic 100.5 FM/AM 590) is having issues with Albany Street again.

The long running Sunday public affairs show has run the same episode with Amsterdam, NY Mayor Mike Cinquanti for the 6th consecutive week. Despite this, host Brian Cady is still doing his Sunday morning drive show, now reduced to 2 hours (7-9 am ET), with Madison Wealth Managers' Saturday show getting a Sunday berth at 9 am a few weeks back. You'll recall that the Jon Reilly experiment in the summer of 2022 went nowhere, and his lone episode ran for 2 months straight before Cady was brought in as the new host, and Reilly was let go.

Cady, also the PA voice of the Amsterdam Mohawks of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, does not have an e-mail address at WROW, so we have no way of knowing what the issue is. Stay tuned.

Update, 2:45 pm (ET): It appears Cady could very well be gone, as John Gabriel manned the 7-9 am shift this morning following the Albany Street rerun. He didn't say he was filling in for Cady, and we' re trying to obtain some information.

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Saturday afternoon's sudden snowstorm caused some issues for commuters in Troy & Albany.

On a personal note, my brother & I were visiting his erstwhile roommate at a rehab center in South Troy. It rained when we got there, and when we left at 4:30 pm, it was snowing. It took a while to realize that CDTA called an audible, and took the #85 line on one single route. In other words, as often happens during winter storms, the secondary route through the Cottage Street Apartments complex was detoured to the main route. My brother & I hiked from the CSA complex, and nearly reached the bus shelter in front of Hudson Valley Community College before flagging down the #85.

Once aboard, we could not help but overhear a conversation between the bus driver and a very loud, obnoxious young man, presumably a HVCC student, who was spewing out conspiracy theories, one right after the other. Of course, amongst ourselves, we questioned the young man's sanity, or lack thereof.

Tree branches had already fallen along our trail to HVCC, by the way, but that was tame compared to what my bro encountered when he returned to Albany. Traffic was snarled along State Street as one of the new UAlbany-centric express buses was stuck in a snowbank.

Suffice to say, Mother Nature caught everyone off-guard.

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For those that wonder, La Victoria on Congress Street in Troy is still open, but they've been notified by the city that some work needs to be done on the space. No, not cleaning up the graffiti on the outside, but some work has to be done inside. Stay tuned.

Notes from around town

 Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is leading a push for WW1 veteran Henry Johnson, for whom a street in Albany is named, to be featured on a postage stamp. Johnson was previously awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor, again thanks to Schumer, and, next month, Fort Polk in Louisiana is being renamed Fort Johnson in memory of Johnson's heroics in World War 1.

A movie biography is almost inevitable at this point.

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Personal note: Since 2017, my brother, along with an aunt & cousin, would spend Thanksgiving at Denny's in Latham. The last two years, Denny's was short-staffed on Thanksgiving, and would close shortly after we had left.

The tradition has ended.

Denny's quietly closed its Latham location along Route 7 and it Wolf Road eatery in Colonie. No explanation has been offered by the chain as of press time, but one must assume that this is another outgrowth of the COVID pandemic.

What's left of the Colonie Denny's. Courtesy of the Albany Times-Union.

This fall, my brother & I will be making reservations at another restaurant for Thanksgiving.

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An Albany summer tradition returns June 15 as Alive at 5 begins its 2023 season. This year's series has expanded in terms of time. In past years, the show would start roughly around 5 pm, ending around 8 or so.

This year, the start time at Jennings Landing has been pushed up to 4:30 pm, and now, the shows figure to end around 9. Now, the 4:30 start is a bit of a problem for working stiffs like ye scribe, as in transit from work to the show, you're missing at least the 1st half hour or better. The Office of General Services didn't take that into account, you see.

The lineup:

June 8: Hawthorne Heights w/Bad Luck (Emo Pride Night).

June 15: Mihali w/Side B (Jam Night).

June 22: Matt Stell w/local favorites Skeeter Creek (Country Night).

July 6: Plush w/hometown stars Super 400 (Rock Night).

July 13: The Sweet w/Sly Fox & The Hustlers (Classic Rock Night). Fellow blogger Chuck Miller reminds that this version of The Sweet isn't the same as the group that had hits like "Little Willy", "Ballroom Blitz", & "Fox on The Run" in the 70's. Like most nostalgia acts, someone co-opted the copyright to the band name, and, well......!

July 20: The Skatalites w/Dr. Jah & The Love Prophets (Reggae Night). Dr. Jah's been around since at least the 90's, and the Skatalites are no strangers to the 518, either.

July 27: Rakim (as in late 80's-early 90's rap duo Eric B. & Rakim) w/DJ J-Ronin & Camtron5000 (Hip-Hop Night).

August 3: 90's star Montell Jordan, last seen recording gospel records, with DJ TGIF opening (R & B Night).

The expanded 4 1/2 hour time frame suggests extra acts will be inserted at the last minute, but we'll see.

Notes from around town

 Cyber-bullying remains a problem in schools. At least one school district in the 518 is looking to do something about it.

The Albany Times-Union reports today that Bethlehem High will require students to lock their phones during the school day, starting in September.

The stated objective is to enable students to focus more on schoolwork (of course) and save their social media needs for after school. There's bound to be some pushback, of course, but if this works out, other schools in the area will follow suit. It's also meant to be a deterrent against bullying, so we'll see how it goes.

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A few months ago, Midtown Grocery, aka Lucky Stop, on the corner of Congress & 3rd streets, was shut down by the city. Improvements were made, and the store reopened. However, it's gone dark again, and this time, there is no indication that city officials had anything to do with it, which suggests the store may be permanently closed this time.

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Glenville realtor John Bevilacqua has been in business for over 20 years, but until last fall, flew under the radar.

WROW morning host Ben Patten did something about it.

Patten brokered a deal with Bevilacqua for a new home in the area, and, impressed with Bevilacqua's efficiency and business sense, Patten put in a good word with his bosses at Albany Broadcasting, WROW's parent, and, right before the holidays, he began recording commercials on the air for Bevilacqua's business, Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty, sometimes with Bevilacqua. Last month, Bevilacqua joined the WROW roster with a half hour talk show, moderated by John Gabriel. Listeners are encouraged to call in during the 30 minute show.

Let's just say Bevilacqua is finally getting his just due.

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I have to share this last item.

Saturday, I was on a bus en-route to Walmart in Brunswick. A fellow boarded at Samaritan Hospital, looking rather shabby. By the time he came off the bus, other passengers were happy to see him leave. He told the bus driver he'd lost his pass, so she let him on. Others were moving to the back because of an odor on the fellow. You'd swear he was Pepe LePew in human form, but the truth is, as he pulled up his pants (wasn't wearing a belt), he had one giant poop stain on the back of his briefs. I'm not making this up. The sweatshirt he was wearing didn't reach his waist because he didn't pull it all the way down. An orange bracelet suggested he was a patient at the hospital (one guess), but that could not be confirmed.

It's safe to say once the bus reached the garage, though, that they had to fumigate it with Lysol........

Victorian Stroll 2022, and a meeting with old classmates

 Time to get personal.

I've never really been one to toot my own horn, but Sunday's Victorian Stroll affords me the opportunity to do just that.

See, the plan was, I would be in a party of four, the other three being classmates from Troy High, class of 1981.  However, half the group was unavailable due to other commitments.

I'm in the center of this picture. On the left is Claire Hughes, formerly of the Albany Times-Union & Albany Business Review (formerly the Capital District Business Review). On the right is Ornella Quinn (nee Russomanno), who was our Homecoming Queen. Today, she's happily married with two sons, and otherwise lives & works in Massachusetts. Claire was raised in South Troy, Ornella in Sycaway, and moi? My folks started on the Troy-Lansingburgh border, 2nd Avenue side, then North Central, to my current HQ in downtown. The three of us studied journalism together at THS.

Ornella & I caught up with Claire at Artcentric, where the picture was taken.

Earlier, Ornella & I checked out some carolers at St. Paul's Church on 3rd Street. The original plan was for the chime concert at St. John's, further out on 1st Street, and----my bad---I had the two events mixed up.

St. Paul's is one of Troy's oldest churches, and its Tiffany stained glass windows are an attraction for tourists. To wit:

After St. Paul's, it was on to do some shopping, before reaching the Arts Center of The Capital Region, and Dinner With Will, which we discussed yesterday. Then, Artcentric was next.

Like, we packed a lot of stuff into nearly four hours. The encore should be next year.

Mounting a talent show 101 (Room 222, 1969)

 When I was a senior in high school, I had an opportunity to be a part of the annual senior class talent show, but I didn't take that chance. Couldn't sing. Couldn't do a dance routine if my life depended on it (two trick knees). I could do stand up comedy, but didn't have any material prepared, nor did I think of anything prior to the show.

More than a decade earlier, Room 222 took viewers behind the scenes, if you will, as the students of Walt Whitman High prepped for a talent show, under the direction of student-teacher Alice Johnson (Karen Valentine). One of the highlights of the show is shy, reluctant Helen (Judy Strangis) doing an a capella cover of the Rolling Stones' "As Tears Roll By". The Los Angeles High choir appears as the vocal chorale, the Magnitudes.

Some of the students wanted to, given that "Hair" had been adapted into a feature film that year, do a bit where they would strip naked on stage, hence the title, "Naked Came We Into The World".

One YouTube commentator couldn't remember Judy's name, referencing her by her later role as DynaGirl (Electra Woman & DynaGirl, 1976), but was impressed with her singing.

Rating: A.

Musical Interlude: Wasn't That a Party (1980-1)

 From season 1 of Solid Gold:

The (Irish) Rovers tried to go country with 1980's "Wasn't That a Party", but barely cracked the top 40 on the country chart. Still, it was enough to land them on Solid Gold as an opening act, interrupted briefly by then-host Dionne Warwick.

This song comes to mind after I had reconnected with some old high school mates last night for a little wing-ding. There's still hope for a full-on 40th anniversary class reunion, as our organizer targeted Thanksgiving weekend, just like the first two reunions in 1991 & 2001. Unfortunately, there isn't an official video of "Party" to be had, but if this doesn't get ye up dancing 'til sundown, I don't know what will. Begorrah!

The shame of the city, 2020

In the course of current events globally & nationally in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, we hear and read about the woes being faced by small businesses.

Living in downtown Troy, I'm surrounded by businesses big & small. This is about one of those small businesses.

There is a mom & pop grocery on Washington Street that also functions as a bottle redemption center. The signs of change are evident on the front door. Revised weekday hours. New rules regarding bottle & can returns. But, as one of the owners shared, for some customers, habits aren't just hard to break, they're impossible, and it's causing hardships.

One customer refused to abide by the new rules, which include ensuring that bottles & cans being brought in for deposit are rinsed and cleaned at home before delivery, such that he spewed racial slurs at the owner, then slashed two tires on her car. Another dissenting regular customer threw her bottles at the owner, used obscenities, and was subsequently arrested by police on disorderly conduct charges.

How hard is it for people to adapt & adjust to what has been the "new normal" for the last couple of months? Seems to me they don't read the paper, don't watch the news, and, as noted, won't change their habits.

Long story short, I shan't be surprised if some of these dissenters were Trump supporters. He thrives on fear and distrust among the populace. However, I doubt you'd be able to vote from a jail cell.

The effect of COVID-19 on the home front

I've been working from home since March 23. Since then, I've had the opportunity to see first-hand the effects the COVID-19 pandemic and the "shelter-in-place" mandates have had in the hometown.

Some restaurants, but not all, are open for take-outs and deliveries. The dining halls are all closed. Unagi Sushi, directly below my apartment, has been closed. A Chinese restaurant that has been around for years, just a block to the south, appears to have closed its doors for good after trimming their schedule a year ago. Troy Kitchen, the incubator on Congress Street, is now closed on Sundays, since it's their "short day", open just four hours on Sundays otherwise (Noon-4 pm). Troy Kitchen otherwise is doing take-outs Monday-Saturday. The lounge on the other side of the space is closed.

The Uncle Sam Atrium, home to state offices and a few non-essential businesses, is closed to the public, save for CVS Pharmacy, and customers enter there on the 3rd Street side. Other non-essential businesses, such as barber shops, tattoo parlors, and jewelry shops, are all closed.

Thankfully, we don't have a bunch of frustrated, shut-in workers yearning to return to their jobs resorting to protesting, like they're doing in Michigan, Colorado, Arizona, Minnesota, etc.. New York isn't like that. Yet.
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Across the river in Albany, however, there might be something stirring if the Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) doesn't get a collective clue regarding one of Albany's busiest thoroughfares, Central Avenue.

My brother, who was cut by El Cheapo Media one year ago, changed careers and jobs when he took a job in Colonie last summer. He tells me that an unexpected side effect of CDTA's scheduling changes sees overcrowding on the #1 (Central Avenue) line on weekdays, because the BusPlus (#905-Albany-Schenectady) doesn't have its first run until after 7 am, this after using the Saturday schedule on a six-day-a-week basis since last month. Increasing the frequency of the #1, which runs every half hour for the first 90 minutes or so, would do the trick, but CDTA suits haven't thought of it. While passengers now board the bus from the rear instead of the front, and everyone's required to wear facial covering of some kind, be they scarves, bandanas, or face masks, upon boarding. The overcrowding cancels out the protective measures. Not a good way for CDTA to mark its 50th anniversary.
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As has been documented over at Tri-City SportsBeat, Governor Andrew Cuomo has expanded the "shelter-in-place" mandates to May 15, effectively eliminating spring sports in high schools for this season. Next up would be summer activities, such as the Troy Fighting Irish of the Northeastern Football Alliance, a semi-pro league that gets minimal attention from El Cheapo, the Tri-City Valleycats and the NY-Penn League, the Albany Dutchmen and the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, and, of course, horse racing in Saratoga. Harness racing was suspended last month at Saratoga, and you have to believe there are concerns that the flat track season, set to start in mid-July, might not start on time, absent a truncated Belmont meet. Off Track Betting's television channel is doing their part in carrying Cuomo's daily briefings, which look out of place otherwise.
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We don't know for sure exactly when New York will "reopen", but never has it been truer than now that patience is a vital virtue.

A little of this and a little of that

Some of the sports world's rites of spring have fallen victim to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Masters, golf's biggest event of the season, scheduled for Easter weekend (April 9-12), was postponed late last week, with no makeup date set. Along with it, the women's amateur tournament at Augusta National has also been pushed back to an unspecified date.

Horse racing fans will have to wait until after Labor Day for the Kentucky Derby.

Reports out of Louisville say that the first leg of the Triple Crown, set for May 2, is being pushed back to September 5. Now, the question remains as to whether or not the other two legs of the Crown, the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes, would also be moved. For tradition, they'd have to be. Belmont reopens right after Saratoga finishes its season on September 2, so they'd be on course for the Stakes to take place on October 5 or 12.

Finally, WWE capitulated, and bowed to the wishes of the city of Tampa to move this year's Wrestlemania, set for April 5, to the company's Performance Center in Orlando. The Hall of Fame induction ceremony, scheduled for April 3, and NXT's Takeover: Tampa, set for April 4, have been postponed, with no makeup dates set as yet, though the belief is they'll do something on video and patch it into broadcasts of Monday Night Raw & Friday Night Smackdown.
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Time to hand out some Weasel ears to some self-serving Tennessee Twerps for trying to profit off COVID-19.

Noah & Matt Colvin went on a shopping spree in Kentucky and their home state of Tennessee, buying up entire supplies of hand sanitizer, with the intention of selling the product over the internet for $70 per bottle. That is, until the DA's office in Tennessee shut them down, and forced them to donate their merchandise to a local church and first responders. Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slattery III, according to the New York Post, ordered the Colvins to stop buying and selling hand sanitizer and other medical supplies for the purpose of price gouging for personal gain.

Apparently, these two idiots don't live in Knox County, where Mayor Glenn "Kane" Jacobs might take a more personal hand in things. And I mean that.
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Fans in New England are going to be suffering more than just the effects of COVID-19 over this next item.

After two decades with the Patriots, and six Super Bowl titles in nine appearances, Tom Brady has decided to seek his fortunes elsewhere. Whomever signs him will be immediately deemed a Super Bowl contender, but let's remember, too, that Brady didn't win any national titles in college while with Michigan, so he's not automatic. Maybe if he wins one without a greedy owner like Robert Kraft as his final boss, he'll finally get the respect accorded to him by all the detractors, who believe Kraft used his influence on NFL committees to fix things in the Patriots' favor for years.

Now, the question for coach Bill Belichick, who has a total of 8 rings (2 as an assistant under Bill Parcells with the Giants), is if his system can work with another quarterback. Stay tuned.
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Nothing to me says Chicken Little Syndrome more than shoppers going completely cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs at the checkout.

Take for example a Walmart in the hometown.

I went shopping on Saturday, looking to pick up some new sneakers. I got that and a few other items, but when I reached the checkout, there were people with full carts in every checkout aisle, acting like the world was coming to an end over COVID-19, as Governor Cuomo is requesting businesses to either scale back hours or close for the duration, in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Far as I know, New York doesn't have a real hoarder problem like the two jabronies in Tennessee. However, hand sanitizer is hard to find because you have people who are driven first by fear, then greed and selfishness, going all survivalist to hoard the necessary goods for themselves. To paraphrase an old expression, fools and brain cells are soon parted.
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The NFL will soon expand its season to 17 games and add to the playoff field. Why? The owners aren't satisfied with the money they're making now.

If this keeps up, they'll bleed the season into baseball's preseason. Pray that never happens.

Do you want some cheese with your Whine?

Ever since the hometown paper began making changes 2 months ago, their op-ed section's Sound Off feature has been filled with people complaining about the changes. They can't find a weekly column by a local news anchor. The print's too light. The paper's too big (!) and they have to spread it out on the kitchen table.

I wasn't too fond of the change in printing locations, but I got over it. I don't usually toot my own horn, but ye scribe decided the best course of action was to address these folks in a letter that appeared in the op-ed section yesterday.

To accentuate the point I was making, I referenced a sketch from Saturday Night Live back in the 80's that describes the disenchanted among the readership very nicely. If you're an SNL fan from way back, you might remember Doug & Wendy Whiner. Today, there's plenty of those kind of people to go around. In case you forgot about them (Joe Piscopo is Doug), here's a sample skit.

Now, complainers, would you like some cheese with your Whine?

A little of this 'n' a little of that

I fail to see the logic in the New York Jets trading away their best defensive player, Darrelle Revis, who missed virtually the entire 2012 season due to injury, even if it's for draft picks. I'm sorry, but even though Revis could be a free agent after the 2013 season, the Jets would be better served if they don't trade him before the draft, which starts on Thursday. If they do, regardless of how it pans out, it will come back and haunt them for a while to come.

Meanwhile, while most of us expected the Mets to be a second division team in the National League East, they're playing like anything but pretenders three weeks in. They recovered from a dismal sweep at the hands of the red-hot Colorado Rockies in chilly Denver to win 2 of 3 from the defending division champion Washington Nationals. All the media hype surrounds second year pitcher Matt Harvey, who outdueled Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg on Friday, but beyond Harvey & Jonathan Niese, the Mets' de-facto #1 starter with Johan Santana gone for the season, there are questions. Aaron Laffey wasn't an answer, and he was designated for assignment today. Jeremy Hefner isn't a starting pitcher, but management hasn't yet figured it out. He can only go so far before he falls apart, and lasted just 4 innings on Saturday. Shaun Marcum is expected to come off the DL next weekend to face the Phillies, but the Mets need another quality arm. Period.

                                                              

Speaking of media hype, everyone seems convinced that the NBA title is pre-ordained for the Miami Heat. Uh, wait a second. Atlantic division champion New York beat Miami 3 of 4 in the regular season. Carmelo Anthony is playing his best since coming to the Knicks, and wants to prove he's not the forgotten man in the 2003 draft that also produced Miami's big 3 (LeBron James, Chris Bosh, & Dwyane Wade). Winning the first NBA title for the Knicks in 40 years would go a long way towards accomplishing that goal, but if you believe certain sportscasters on a national or regional level, it's almost as if David Stern is conducting the playoffs like Vince McMahon runs the WWE, if you know what I mean and I think you do. (Apologies to Joe Bob Briggs for cribbing his tag line)

Time to get personal. While there've been many instances over the years of certain individuals escaping a tragic fate due to good fortune, fate, or coincidental happenstance, the most famous of which might be future country music legend Waylon Jennings giving up his seat on the fatal flight that claimed the life of his mentor, Buddy Holly, along with Ritchie Valens & J. P. (Big Bopper) Richardson more than 50 years ago, the Boston Marathon bombings last Monday might've hit close to home for folks in my home district.

An ex-classmate of mine----we'll call her Angel for the purposes of this piece---lives in the Boston suburbs with her husband and sons. After the bombings, I felt the need to send her an e-mail Monday night to see if she was okay, perhaps fearing the worst. Four nights later, she responded and said she'd gotten a bargain on an airline package that allowed her to take the family on vacation last week, so she missed the whole thing. I said a silent prayer of thanks when I read the message yesterday, knowing that Angel was safe and sound.

While the media now attempts to paint the usual picture of the bombing suspects, I would rather they tried to be original and dealt in facts and not stereotypes. Period.

Crackpots walk among us

Last night, I walked out to the bus stop to wait for a bus to take me to church for a mid-week service. Normally, everything's fine, but this time was different.

I'd run into this guy before, a year ago, at the same bus shelter, posting up the same, tired, useless fliers and advertisements promoting a catalogue of garbage being put out by radio talk show host Alex Jones on his website. Jones is one of a zillion idiots out there who has a standing beef not so much with President Obama, but with the present structure of government. This local zealot, whom we'll call "John Doe" because I don't know his name, is also trying to debunk, for lack of a better term, the mental health system. Oh, please! Give me a break! 

Let me quote for you what "John Doe", a middle-aged fellow, wrote on one of his fliers:

Under the heading of "Sickness Symptoms":

To watch all you ever worked for and had wars for....to be played...given no voice....to be only given: spots & shots & parroting like tots.....always stay asleep forever.....

Incomprehensible? You bet. The Bible warns us, in the Gospel According to Matthew, to watch for false prophets & teachers. "John Doe" fits. He wants us to get rid of credit & debit cards and pay cash only. That's only fine if you're paranoid about identity theft such that you don't want to use the plastic. Gas & store cards fall into this line as well. He wants to put the world's banks out of business, but in the next sentence he demands that only Americans should be employed. Oh? Where? 

His whole problem is that he doesn't complete any of his thoughts. He stops and moves on to the next point. He's irrational, and, based on the fact he was writing on hospital stationery, a hospital he likely used to work for, I might add, I'd guess he's spent some time in a psychiatric ward, but as soon as he gets out, he's back putting up his fliers. A year ago, when I first met him, he tried to sell me on his crackpot theories and non-truths, and at the time I suggested to him that maybe he should take his case to a wider forum, and talk to the local newspapers. He didn't, and apparently doesn't trust the press, period. His loss.

The United Negro College Fund's long standing slogan, "a mind is a terrible thing to waste", applies to this clown, as well as Alex Jones and the rest of his followers. If they don't get it, well........!

An odd encounter

This morning, I was returning to my apartment with the morning papers when a guy, appearing to be in his late 20's by best guess, sidled up to me. Him: "Do you have a cigarette?" Me: "No. I don't smoke." Him: "Do you have 75 cents?" Me: "No." Him: "Can I pee on you?" Thankfully, he walked away before even trying that. The last I saw of this goof, he sat down for a moment on the doorstep of the pizzeria two doors away as I entered my building. When I ventured out again 2 minutes later to go to work, he was gone, perhaps to ply the same routine on some other unsuspecting citizen. Just what I didn't need to start my day.

Reaching out to a brother in blogging

It has come to my attention that Ivan Shreve, the genius behind the Thrilling Days of Yesteryear blog, has taken ill and is in the hospital. Right now, I cannot stress enough that Ivan needs your support and prayers for a speedy recovery.

Get well soon, Ivan. We all miss you.