What?

What?  Hope I can stop using the phrase. For several years now I’ve been trying the patience of both friends and family by making them repeat themselves nearly every time they say something to me.  Obviously I was suffering from a great amount of hearing loss but doing nothing about it, aren’t all men supposed to be stubborn?  Recently, however, I relented and went to the doctor and audiologist and placed my order.

I’m beginning my second week wearing my new ears and I probably should say why did I wait so long?   Technology is certainly something, even merely filling the sink with water or flushing the toilet sounds like the Niagara Falls I heard sixty three years ago.  The other day I watched a whole night of television without once resorting to closed caption.\

I don’t know what I’m going to do with all the new information I will gain now that I actually understand what my granddaughters say to me.  My granddaughter Erica is an occupational therapist assistant and since working with so many older patients she had begun to almost holler at me when communicating with me.  I have to be very careful when she finally gets to talk to me, she will probably short circuit the unit..lol.  I do look forward to finally hear my Pastor’s sermons. There might be one negative, maybe won’t want to hear things that I’m now able to.

My thanks to very one for putting up with me for so long.  Please accept my apology for waiting so long.

OK for now till the next part wears out…..hope a replacements available.

A wandering mind.

Being retired and not having any daily obligations provides the mind with a great deal of free time.  During one of my mental wanderings I began to think about my upbringing as a young Catholic in the forties.  In those days we spent a lot of time at the church being taught by the nuns stationed there at that time.  It has been said that faith is what holds our religion together.  I say it was FEAR.  Those nuns used to give us nightmares.  Teaching example:  We were told that if we did not adhere to the rigid fasting requirements our tongues would turn black and probably fall off if we dared take communion during this non-fasted period. 

We were also told that since eating meat of Friday resulted in a MORTAL SIN, if we should happen to die after breaking this commandment and not going to confession we were damned to the eternal fires of hell.  Tell me these things wouldn’t warp the little minds taught by these “evil” nuns.  It was wrong obviously, but we certainly learned to behave ourselves and follow the rules.  We know that a few good Catholics ate a nice steak by “mistake” and probably ended up dying before getting the required absolution.  They are doomed in hell for eternity, but wait, since that time we’ve been told that it’s ok to eat meat on Friday instead of suffering with baked stuffed lobsters and grilled scallops wrapped in bacon….oops I digress.  Anyway, what do we do with all those banished souls who had that Friday Chili dog?

This type of conundrum begets other similar situations.  For most on my life the growing, sale or use of Marijuana, was not only frowned upon but illegal and punishable by periods of prison time if caught.  For decades millions of our hard earned tax dollars were spent in attempts to apprehend those violating laws against marijuana usage.  Besides the few states where recreational marijuana I saw that many others are considering making it legal. What sort of answers do you have for the people currently serving time for what now is a legal act.

One of the biggest hypocrisy I can think of is our lottery programs.  Are any of you old enough to remember the numbers game that existed years ago?  I don’t remember all the details myself, but I think you were able to buy a small folded paper ticket that had a number which hopefully matched the daily U.S.Treasury balance (I think).  I believe the cost was 25 cents.  Now this was the “NUMBERS GAME” and people selling the numbers could be arrested. Today almost every State is running a numbers game legally, with millions of dollars at stake.

Well, I think my mind has wandered enough to day……till the next time, Bill

Happy New Year I hope.

No headache, upset stomach, absolutely no evidence of a hangover.  Are you wondering why?  Well, I’m going to tell you anyway.  Marge and I had a senior citizen New Year’s Eve celebration:   Filet and Lobster tail dinners with a couple of glasses of Malbec at 4:00 with friends, a visit to an under the weather friend at 6:00, home for some TV watching at 8:00, and cozy in bed at 9:30.  You say it doesn’t sound exciting. Well it beats the hell out of standing in Times Square in zero temperature.  Besides, how exciting can you get after watching the ball drop over eighty times, well, maybe a little less?

Ok, now what do I do, a little too early to try to sleep. After tossing around a bit I began to think about starting the year off with a great Blog.  Fat chance of that you say, guy hasn’t had a great one for years and writing about 2017 wasn’t going to do it.  Sorry to report, but 2017 was a lousy year.  Friends and family suffered through a great deal of illness, operations, and lengthy recoveries. It would not be difficult to fill many paragraphs bitching about the crap we’ve been subjected to all year.  Reliving the 2016 election over and over, having Russia in the news every day, but I’m going to stop now before the Blog becomes political, we get enough of that from other sources.  You certainly don’t need my opinion.  After thinking about all that stuff, it was easy to say goodbye to 2017 especially after being able to close the year out with some good company and good food.

I hope this coming year 2018 is a great one of for all of us, so long as it provides me with enough to bitch about.  In fact I’ve already got a bitch…..it’s so damn cold down here in the office, I can’t even think straight.  I’m going upstairs.