So, we’ve now completed week one of the Trumpian Era, and there hasn’t been a nuclear war yet, so I guess that’s good. And it looks like we’re gonna get that shiny new fence across our Southern border. To paraphrase Saint Ronald Reagan, “Señor Peña Nieto, put up that wall!” Unfortunately, along with all this good stuff comes some bad, and people have been dropping like flies this week – Butch Trucks, Mary Tyler Moore, and now Mannix himself, Mike “Don’t Call Me Chuck” Connors. So many of the great TV detectives of my youth are dead now – Rockford, Columbo, Paladin (both John Dehner on the radio, and Richard Boone on the teevee – does Paladin count as a detective?), Banacek, Hec Ramsey (speaking of Richard Boone), Amos Burke (Gene Barry in Burke’s Law, remember that one?), Kolchak, McMillan, McCloud…. At least we still have Andy Sipowicz.
Seeing the people I grew up with croak always makes me feel old. Not quite as old as I felt this morning, though, as I walked up with my wife to her office to kill some time before the shuttle came. We followed a gaggle of student nurses, and either you only need to be about 12 years old to go to nursing school these days, or I’m getting really fucking old.
Unfortunately, based on how I feel trying to get out of bed in the morning (and by morning, I mean what I used to think of as the middle of the night – another sign of age, keeping old man hours), I’m pretty sure I know which one it is.
I guess I probably don’t need to tell anybody here, but this getting old stuff kinda sucks. It’s strange to look in the mirror (which I frankly try to avoid as much as possible) and see that I’ve got that old man chicken neck thing going on and crow’s feet around my eyes when I smile (which, as my wife will be happy to tell you, I rarely do – she seems to think it makes me look “surly,” but I tell her it’s just that I’m not some brain-damaged grinning moron – not that there’s anything wrong with that).
And of course my hair is grey and thinning (not as bad as it could be, of course, and maybe not even all that noticeable – the thinning part; I’m reluctantly forced to admit the grey part is eminently noticeable – but compared to the way it used to be I certainly notice).
Hard to believe that my time is winding down now. I mean, I’m not quite ready cash in my chips just yet, but the roller coaster is on the down side, and it’s definitely picking up speed.
When you’re ten years old, one year is a pretty substantial percentage of your life experience. Now, though, one year is all but indistinguishable from another – unless something bad happens, but even that fades a bit with time – which I guess is a good thing.
And your brain decides it’s gonna remember whatever the hell it feels like remembering, not what you want it to remember. Middle school locker combination? 18-37-29. What you went out to the garage for? Sorry, you’re on your own with that one, pal.
On the bright side, at least it’s Friday. And if there aren’t any late-in-the-day crises that arise, I’m hoping to skip out ahead of my normal quittin’ time and take the early bus home. The earlier the better, because Monday will be here before you know it.
Emmy-winner Barbara Hale, who played Perry Mason’s secretary, has died at 94
I remember watching Perry Mason every week (well, Dad was a lawyer) Della Street as portrayed by Barbara Hale broke a few precedences.
And now the War Doctor, John Hurt. Way too soon.
Fortunately, this isn’t my bus (even made the BBC).
Some word of encouragement from Mikhail Gorbachev.
Happy Whistlepig Day. Six more months of winter. Or something.
Getting old certainly sucks. Now I have to get B12 shots. I don’t mind them and they seem to give me some energy but they’re another thing I have to do because I’m old. And, speaking of old, my little cat Rosie, Clifford’s sister, is acting as if she;s had a stroke, though the vet doesn;t think so. Tomorrow I have to take her for a sonogram which will cost $800 +. If I thought it would do any good I wouldn’t complain but as a realist, and lifelong cat lady, I know these things usually end badly. But, I’ll see what the sonogram says and then I’ll make decisions I really don’t want to make.
In the meantime I will spread the news of the Bowling Green Massacre since the news media (even Breitbart) didn’t do is job by making up a story and then spreading the lie. Now that we have Trump I’m sure we will have a lot less of that real reporting stuff.
Good luck with Rosie. This is the stuff that I hate about having critters. But life without them is hard to imagine, too. Sunday will be 5 years since Siggy has been gone. That was Super Bowl Sunday, too.
I read that there was a memorial held for the victims of the Bowling Green Massacre at the Bowling Green subway station in Manhattan
Hope Rosie is ok, sp. These old ones….. Gigi is 13 and holding her own, but I realize she is on borrowed time. She is a large dog and I feel very fortunate to have her.
I’m speechless about this new era we’ve found ourselves.
I recently watched Juana Ines on Netflix (excellent, by the way) and I found these words apropos, “…that not speaking is not the same as having nothing to say, but rather being unable to express the many things there are to say.”
Have you heard of Friends of Abe? I had not.
Wiki:
The Friends of Abe, Inc. (FOA) is a support and networking group for politically conservative members of the Hollywood elite. The organization was formed in 2004 by actor Gary Sinise. Screenwriter Lionel Chetwynd helped organize the group. “Friends of Abe” is a reference to “Friends of Bill”, which is how members of Alcoholics Anonymous sometimes identify themselves, while “Abe” refers to Abraham Lincoln. As of January 2012, the organization had more than 1800 members. In addition to Sinise, Pat Boone, Jon Voight, Kelsey Grammer, Kevin Sorbo, and Scott Baio[2] have stated that they are members of the organization.[3][4] The organization fiercely protects its list of members for whom it maintains a secure private website, abespal.com. Sinise later withdrew from the leadership and Hollywood producer Jeremy Boreing became executive director.[5]
The group meets monthly to hear guest speakers.[6] It has hosted a number of Republican politicians at its events, including Herman Cain, Michele Bachmann, Paul Ryan, Rick Santorum, John Boehner, and Thaddeus McCotter. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia received reimbursement for giving a speech at a FOA fundraiser in 2012.[7][8] Glenn Beck, Ann Coulter, Michael Steele and Mark Levin have also met with Friends of Abe, as have political operatives Frank Luntz and Karl Rove.[5][9]
Friends of Abe spent three years trying to get tax-exempt 501(c)(3) status for their organization. The tax status is reserved for organizations that do not engage in any partisan activity. IRS officials have questioned whether the organization’s promotion of presidential candidates during its events constituted political campaign support, an activity forbidden for tax-exempt organizations.[5] During the application process, FOA refused IRS demands to provide it with access to the part of its website that includes its list of members since such access is not required by federal law.[9] The tax-exempt status was granted in March 2014.[10]
I hadn’t heard of them either. But I’m glad to hear they have a support group, because I feel their pain. Especially Scott Baio – the other guys probably make him bring coffee and doughnuts to the meetings.
But I guess it’s Kirk Cameron I really feel bad for – apparently he’s not even in the club. No room fake Kristians allowed?
Glad to see they got their tax exempt status. I’m always happy to subsidize millionaires and organized religion with my tax dollars. I only hope our glorious president continues to allow me to continue my contributions in the weeks, months, and years ahead.
Why don’t you start your own religion ahead of Trump letting the churches go full-throttle on political involvement? From what I understand, they are a legal ponzi scheme and a legal way to launder money. You just need a good sci-fi novel to give you the theology. Shoot, the Scientologists don’t even publish their full beliefs and they’re tax exempt. Plus, you’re good at websites. I think you’re a natural, pj!
I think that’s a great idea and I will gladly become a member of the PJ religion. That would be a first for me. Then when all these religious zealots on Shelter Island think I should accompany them to church I can tell them I go to church on line.
My idea has always been to start a church, and then kick back 90% of the “charitable donations” the church receives to the person or corporation that donated. That way, they get the tax deduction, and I get to be exempt from income and property taxes. A win-win.
As you said, it would also be a good way to launder money from criminal activities, though I’m guessing before too long, there will no longer be any criminal activities where making money is concerned.
Well, on the bright side, I think that attempting to expunge Coretta Scott King’s words from the Senate record has only served to make them more well known.
On the not so bright side, “Attorney General Jefferson Beuregard Session III.”
Oh, and three cheers for Joe Manchin, doing WV proud (I can’t wait to read Jill Stein’s tweets blaming the Democrats for that one the way she blamed them for the Devos tie).
Harvard bookstore commemorates the BG Massacre with a special section.
Mikey’s Brother Bob texted this message to me re the Bowling Green Massacre:
Now he’s going to ban bowling until he can figure out what the hell is going on.
That’s a good one!