Legalize Prostitution?... Hell, we all pay for it one way or the other!

They call it the oldest profession in the world, prostitution, yet as of today it is illegal in forty nine of the fifty states. We have people who consider themselves as professionals in all sorts of fields, then why not the sex industry? If a woman is good with numbers, she may enter the world of finance. If a guy is a good debater, he might go into the field of law. What if a man or woman's talent is more suited for the bedroom? It is a service just like the others, is it not? And let us be honest, I am sure that in your life time you looked for great sex more than you did a great lawyer or accountant.
In my opinion prostitution should be legal in all fifty states the same way that they do it in Nevada. As long as it is taxed and regulated, it is a win-win situation for all parties involved. The state will make a killing on the taxes and those who provide the service will make a hell of a better living utilizing the goods that God gave them than they ever would have bussing tables or pumping gas.
It would be a hell of a lot safer too. It is not as if prostitution is going on anyway. If performed in a legal, sterile and regulated environment, men and women would no longer have to walk the streets at night subjecting themselves to the threats of murder, rape, etc... It would also practically remove the risks of disease, as each patron would be forced to use protection. It would also free up countless man power hours spent by the police in ridiculous prostitution stings that could be better utilized chasing down real criminals.
The perfect example of how this could work is The Bunny Ranch in Nevada! Here is an establishment that has been in business for over fifty years and has made a lot of women very wealthy. It is safe, it is taxed and it is off the beaten path so kids would not have to walk past it on the way to school or the mall. The employees are screened often for any diseases and are free to come and go as they please. No pimp with the big fedora ever needs to raise his bitch hand to keep a hoe in line!!! The girls who work there make an amazing living.
Seriously, we all pay for sex one way or the other. Some of us buy engagement rings, houses, fancy cars or dinner if she/he is easy. The good thing about legalizing prostitution is that everyone still gets what they want they are just more direct about it.
Is it hot in here or am I Crazy?

New Format!!!

As much as I enjoy writing this blog and getting all of the great responses, I will only be posting four time a week now due to the research that I have started for a new novel in the works. Until this book is finished, new articles will be posted Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Thank you and make sure you continue to enjoy the insanity!

So Poor... Can't Even Pay Attention!!!

Gas is up. Milk is up. Bread... you get the point. The only thing that has not gone up is the poverty level. Right now in the United States a family of four has to be making less than $22,350 to be considered poor. Seriously? That is a disgrace! What the hell can a family of four do with that small amount of money. Even if every individual decides to sleep on the couch and they rent a studio apartment you would still be looking at close to half of the yearly income spent on housing alone regardless of what state they live in.
At this level you are not living, f**k you are not even surviving! This is why so many people just opt out of trying to better themselves, stay at home, collect unemployment and this way they will be entitled to all the benefits that the skells of the world get. It is a sad state of affairs when a man who is busting his a**, working two jobs on four hours sleep, paying his taxes, and cannot get a little assistance because he makes a couple dollars over the poverty level. On the other hand, while he is trying to steer his car through bloodshot squinted eyes he passes the house of that one lady on the block who decides to pop out a kid every twelve months or so. Of course, she still sleeping in, but she does not have to worry about getting up like you and me! S**t, she does not even have to shower today. It is not like she has any plans to go job searching, why would she? By staying home and not working she is already way ahead of the poor schlep who is out there trying to provide for his family.
His kids are getting messed with in school because of their outdated clothes and crooked teeth while her army of children are sporting the latest threads and top of the line braces. His poor wife attempts to put together a healthy lunch from leftovers for the kids to take to school every day at the same time that the spawns of our lady friend are entitled to "free" breakfast and lunch!
It is easy to see how some people can become defeated. There is only so much someone can take before they throw in the towel. After a while, you feel like a hamster in one of those wheels while a bunch of freeloaders reap the benefits. When our country gives a helping hand to the ones who sit on their a** all day smoking weed and watching Jerry Springer but welcome the struggling worker with a slammed door in his face, it is time to take a step back and evaluate the direction we are going.  Or, you can just pop open a can of warm Schlitz Ice, get comfortable on the couch and wait for your government check to arrive. Me, I have to go to sleep soon, people on welfare depend on me...
Is it hot in here or am I Crazy?

You Can't Make This S**t Up!!!

It appears that the zombie apocolypse has indeed begun my friends. Police in Miami Florida are confirming that they were forced to fatally shoot a naked man who just happened to be gnawing on the face of another naked man underneath a bridge in an otherwise sunny Saturday afternoon. The accused attacker,31 year old Rudy Eugene, continued to tear apart the face of his victim even after bing shot once by the police. Seriously, you have got to be on some pretty strong stuff to a) feel the urge to eat someone's face & b) continue to do so after taking a bullet. The victim, Ronald Poppo, is in grave condition with one witness saying that his face was "just a blob of blood".
Really? What the f**k is going on people? As if we do not have enough stuff to worry about with letting our children out to play or just going for a casual stroll, now we have to add naked zombie like guy trying to eat my face off on to the list! And now some are blaming it on a LSD like narcotic that they are referring to as "bath salts", which have shown to make its users aggressive and have a tendency to attack with their jaws??? With all the recreational drugs and alcohol that mankind has available why do they keep trying to invent another one? At what point do they just say, "You know what... I am going to draw the line with crack"?
As usual a former neighbor of Rudy Eugene when he was a child has come forth and said that he was a "quiet boy".... Isn't it always the same line? "quiet boy", "kept to himself". If your kid is sitting alone in his bedroom shooting at things all day on the computer and ripping the wings off of flies... seek help.
I have to say, I have been reading three to four newspapers a day for the last ten or so years and this has got to be one of the most craziest things that I have ever come across. Maybe J.D. Salinger was on to something, write one great book and then spend the rest of your life as a recluse...
Is it hot in here or am I Crazy?

Students to be tracked via their school passes... big brother is watching!!

Northside Independent School District in San Antonio Texas has decided to keep track of their students by placing a Radio Frequency Identification tag inside the student's I.D. badge. This is a horrible idea! If the school district cannot keep track of where these children are, maybe they should not be left in charge of these young people. When you drop your child off in the morning you should feel confident that the district can account for their whereabouts until you pick them up, without the help of a homing device as if they were runaway cattle! The school says that the main purpose is for revenue as per state funding is largely based on attendance. What ever happened to taking attendance at the beginning of the day and keeping track of your students?
This is wrong on many levels. First, it is telling the children that we do not trust them to follow orders. How can we expect the future of our country to grow and take on more responsibilities as the enter adulthood if we cannot even believe in them enough to follow a class schedule? This is not supposed to be a prison, it is supposed to be an institution of learning. But if you begin to treat them like criminals that is exactly as they will start to behave. Second, this is big brother watching over us at its worst! This is the beginning of Orwell's 1984 for God's Sake. Many people will brush this under the rug because they are just children and it is only a school district that is doing the tracking, but where does it end?  Would you want your boss to know every step that you made throughout your workday? Would it not be an invasion of your privacy if they were able to track how long you spent in the toilet, at the water cooler or talking to the lady in the cubicle next to you?If we brainwash our children that it is okay for an authority to keep track of every move they make, what is going to happen to them when they enter the workforce in a few years? You can laugh at this, you can think that I am blowing something out of proportion as usual :) but I think that this is not laughing matter. Orwell wrote that book in 1949, over sixty years ago!!!, but even then he saw the writing on the wall. The more freedoms that you give up the more you are at risk to becoming a slave. Maybe not a slave in the conventional sense, but a slave nonetheless. A slave to the punch clock, a slave to the school desk or a slave to the computer. A slave and this time the whip is going to be in the hand of big brother...
Is it hot in here or am I Crazy?

First Chapter of My New Novel "God Quit" Warning: Profanity

Are you a good person? I know that you probably tell people you are and that you might actually think you are but if you were to look deep down inside yourself would you really find someone that you would be proud of? Are you the type of person that you wish your son or daughter would bring home to marry? Or deep down are you a piece of shit in the cloak of a saint?  We will get to that later on…

 How far apart is the one who thinks about murder compared to the one who actually commits it? It is a simple question but one that I doubt you have ever thought of before.  Is their soul already in hell the moment that the thought lasts more than a split second running around in their confused heads?  Who do you think is worse, the guy who spends all of his free time thinking about showing up to work one day armed with an assault rifle and turning the place into a fucking meat factory  but gets side tracked somewhere along the way or the poor schlep who just finished up a sixty hour work week, at some job that he never really wanted in the first place but took so he can provide for his loving family, to come home and find the love of his life wife bouncing up and down on the gardener’s cock, loses his cool for a split second and kicks the gardener in just the right spot on the temple only to find himself facing twenty five years to life in a cute little cell somewhere upstate? He thought he was doing something nice coming home early to surprise the mother of his children with a nice bouquet to start the weekend and the next thing he sees is tiger lilies and baby breaths covered in blood and spittle. You may say it is an act of jealous rage but can we really refer to it as murder?

Now what really becomes of our little friend while he festers in the minuscule concrete cubicle with barely enough room to sweat?  We will get back to him later because while he is in there staring at the bars the hostile employee will continue to dream about his day of reckoning. He starts out small beginning to think about what exits he might have to end up using in case his melee does not go as it was planned.  He laughs at these ideas at first just telling himself that it is nothing more than silly fantasy. But his mind continues with this game and he takes it a little further with each of their offenses. It does not really matter why he wants to do this heinous act. Overlooked for that big promotion?. Too many ribbings at the water cooler? He starts to size up his fellow employees at the office, thinking about which one of them might actually be a threat to him.  Who out of this group of fucking weakling derelicts actually would have the nerve to stand up to a gun wielding psychopath with nothing but a bloody rampage on his mind?  There is Steve to consider, the onetime jock who spends every morning in the gym staying in shape and doing all that martial arts and kickboxing shit, nothing a bullet could not distinguish, he is the only true obstacle in his way.  In a perfect scenario he must be disposed of first before anyone really knows what is going on.  Not only is he a pretty big guy but there is a chance he has the balls to back it up and the last thing that he wants is for his spree to be stifled before he even gets a chance to put an exclamation point on his opus.  Blake, Bill and the big guy “Timbo” are a bunch of two beer queers who will most likely curl up into ball underneath their desks. They are all talk in front of the women of the office, spewing shit about being tough when they go out bar hopping and not taking crap from anyone.   Hell, if everything was to go as planned “Timbo” might actually blow chunks or empty out his bladder right there in the office on the coffee stained floor.  Which even I think is quite fitting, any asshole who adds the suffix “bo” to the end of his name deserves to throw up and embarrass himself in front of his co-workers just once so they have something to fuck with him for the rest of his life if he miraculously survives the rampage. Maybe he will spare him just to leave him with a life of ridicule…

Our other friend who just happened to have the unfortunate fate of marrying a putana with a taste for El Salvadorian landscapers experiences some culture shock at first but begins settling nicely in his new surroundings and the day to day routines that go along with being incarcerated. For a while he retraced all the wrongs that he did in his life, wondering what he could have possibly done wrong to warrant this payback. But those thoughts like most just seem to fade away. He learns the hard way and real fast that the currency in a place like this is much different than it is outside in the real world.  When you are serving hard time the normal five or ten dollars have now been conveniently replaced by hand jobs, cigarettes, anal and oral sex and everyone’s all time favorite, junk food purchased at the commissary.  This honest man with only one blemish on the behavior record of his soul is an alien in this environment; the worst crime that he has ever willingly committed was letting his inspection sticker on his sedan run out. He would get up for an elderly woman on the train and always lent a hand to a friend in need but he is quick to learn that these attributes mean shit inside the big house. The longer he sits there surrounded by these animals he begins to ponder maybe just how mundane and boring his old life used to be.  Fuck, this jump suit is soft and comfortable and besides, it used to take him two or three times to get his tie right in the morning anyway.  Oh you would be surprised that there are some benefits to serving this type of time;  it is nice to know that you no longer have to worry about your credit report, when is the next time that the tires on that piece of shit car of yours need to be rotated or being sure that you tip the neighbor’s irate ugly kid  the correct amount before your daily paper starts ending up three inches from the curb covered in dog piss instead of the welcome mat in front of  your door. The things that you thought would force the world to tilt on one side should they become uneven. These petty little things that one time not too long ago ruled your whole world, these miniscule little laughing matters that you assumed the galaxy was based on have now been replaced by trying to avoid getting anally raped, keeping an eye out for that violent someone who just might be trying to shank you and figuring out just how many Twinkies you are going to need for another week’s worth of protection without putting your muscle man into a fucking diabetic coma.

While our honest husband hardens a little bit more with each day, our distraught employee takes some more baby steps toward his life’s greatest achievement.  He goes on line and visits gun shop as he researches all different types of side arms, which ones reload the quickest, how many bullets can certain guns hold if you go ahead and purchase the extra clip which also happens to add comfort, sweet bonus!!! And which ones are known to have the least amount of problems with jamming because the last thing that he needs is starting his rampage only to have the kibosh put on it because of a faulty gun.  He spends his nights online investigating the quickest way he can acquire a permit and his weekends visiting all of the local trade shows seeking the perfect solutions for his problems.  He does not purchase the death machine just yet but goes ahead and picks up all the little attachments and doo-hickies first.  He buys that really cool extra big freaky looking survival knife, the same one that you see Rambo use to kill a small country of brown skinned people with.  He makes sure to even buy some sturdy rope to tie up those who treated him alright so they can still watch the slaughter of the scum bags but be out of harm’s way.  He even wanders over to the local flea market and picks up a pair of handcuffs for the portly guy who might break the rope; what the fuck is his name… who cares? It took him a little while to find a pair that did not have pink ruffles and glitter on them.

The skin of our once happy go lucky husband has now thickened to that of sun baked clay.  All those scenes and images that had once repulsed him to the point of actually vomiting, he has now learned to stomach without so much of looking away or a blink.  Then after some more time passes by he begins to actually enjoy witnessing some of these scenes and finally when enough time has passed he becomes the aggressor, he becomes the one who is inflicting the pain. He becomes the feared, the man that others seek for protection because he no longer cares anymore and nothing is more dangerous than a man with nothing to lose. When he first arrived at this concrete cube his days moved as slow as molasses pouring from a Bell jar in January but that will all change too.  Time is no longer an object for him, it doesn’t exist in here. Quickly with a blink of an eye his weeks will blend into months and he begins to forget more and more of the outside world that he was so much a part of before entering this new realm of insanity.  There were countless things that he once found quite enjoyable; like the sound of a train applying its brakes slowing down to come into the station, a sun shower with the rain cooling you off in the summer when absolutely nothing else will and of course one of his favorites being the sight and screams of countless children running after an ice cream truck… the memories which now elude him. All that he knows now is pain and hate, how much is needed to get what he wanted and just how much he can inflict without getting in trouble and that is what he begins to thrive off of.

After the years have passed and all is said and done, and this now jaded ugly man serves his allotted time to society he is let loose only to be released into the world which no longer recognizes him and one in which he doesn’t recognize any longer because it differs so much from what he has become accustomed to.  It is also a society that has no space for him and no acceptance of him due to the fact that he is a convicted felon, a society which no longer welcomes him to be a member. They consider him a threat and a loser; he is dangerous to the social well being of their society regardless of what actually went down in that master bedroom with the huge maroon flowers on the shams so many years ago.  He will find countless doors being shut in his face and work near impossible to find because he will wear the tattoo of shame that comes with being an incarcerated man. Nobody cares that he served his time and paid his so-called debt to society, no one even cares about the truth or his side of the story. In their opinion of him, once a criminal always a criminal.  All they see is some thug who they do not want as an employee, neighbor or in-law.

When the frustration is too much for him to take anymore and he does act up and break parole, everyone is so surprised as if this is coming from nowhere.  They blame the penal system for failing, they get mad that the prison system does not rehabilitate but instead creates a stronger and smarter criminal. And this once loving family man is now quickly becoming a statistic that will continue to bounce to and from institutions until he is a harmless old man, no longer a threat to anyone. He will be a life wasted, potential thrown away.  You will pity him when you see him eating the daily chef’s special all by himself at the counter in some grungy diner and you’ll quietly question aloud ‘how did this man end up in this predicament’?  Then you will get a little frightened when you start to wonder if maybe someday you can be that guy sitting at the diner counter all by yourself silently hoping that someone strikes up a conversation with you because it has been so long that you have spoke to anyone besides the voice in your head you fear that you might have lost use of you vocal chords. Men like this will not live to a ripe old age, collecting his pension and rocking back and forth in their favorite chair, the parole system does not have much of a health care program and could give two fucks if this guy sees another day as long as he does not commit anymore crimes.  He will pass away alone someday in a filthy apartment located in the shittiest part of town. No one will be out there pounding the pavement looking for him and after weeks have passed by the only reason that he is even found is because the guy in the apartment upstairs could not withstand the smell of rotting flesh any longer. Of course, there was no article in the paper remembering his life.

Our disgruntled employee has a much different fate than are incarcerated friend.  He does go ahead and purchase that gun. When his wife takes the kids food shopping he pounces around his house with his new toy and plays quick draw with the man in the mirror as if he was Gary Cooper. He was upset about being forced to wait the mandatory background check period but after that he was excited about getting down to work.  He loads up his shiny Bill Blass suitcase, the one his wife was so happy to put his son’s name on the tag when she gave it to him for his first day at the new position,  with all the ammunition that it can carry without being too heavy. He wants to make sure that he has enough fire power to take out as many people as he needs to but at the same time he cannot be slowed down by anything that is bulky. He is so proud of himself for thinking of this and at one point even thanks God for putting the thought into his head.  He wraps the knife around his leg like the muscle bound freaks in movies do as if he is about to go into the Congo and then continues to walk out the front day just as he has every weekday for the last seven years and five months.  The drive in to the office is just as normal as any other day except his mind is running through his plan over and over like a quarterback trying to memorize a new play book.

 Except his destiny now takes an unexpected turn, one that he never counted on, one that will affect the lives of many… his piece of shit car gets a blow out. With all of his planning and time spent on this the last thing that he thought of was his ride to work, fuck, in all the years that he has worked there he does not remember ever being late due to car trouble.  He is fumbling and nervous and this doubles when he notices the donut he kept in the trunk was taken out last year to fit beach chairs for his aunt’s annual barbecue and he never bothered to put it back.  He tells himself everything will still go to plan as he waits for the tow truck but deep down he knows the dream has died; he has completely lost his nerve and is damn well convinced that it will never come back.  He begins to laugh a little bit and then he finds himself disgusted by the thought of what he was prepared to do to his co-workers only minutes before and is downright frightened with himself for how far he let this crazy fantasy go. Tears roll down his face uncontrollably as he contemplates what he was moments away from doing. He decides to call in sick that day and after the repair of the tire he freaks out a little more about his plan and tosses his arsenal into the lake he has passed on his way to work every day for the last seven years. He stops at a strip mall and picks up some take out on the way home and spends the rest of the day watching Twilight Zone episodes that he has already seen a thousand times but never grow old.

Now let me ask you a question my friend; who do you think God was really with on that fateful day? Did he decide to shine his grace on our angry employee who was stopped before sending his soul towards eternal damnation?  Or his co-workers from the blood bath that awaited them at their cubicles?  Then there is the bigger question; was this disturbed man’s soul sent to hell immediately following the moment that he decided to go on through with this heinous act?

Here we are shown two separate men.  Both of them received different fates. Does one deserve to spend eternity in hell anymore than the other? Hasn’t one of them already been through hell wasting away in that jail cell?  This is my journal, it will be the first entry of many that are part of a rehabilitation designed to help me get back and these are the thoughts that go through my head.  Is it hot in here or am I crazy?

The week in Craziness!!!

As usual, at the end of the week I like to spend a little bit of time discussing some of the crazy, funny or just out right wrong things that I saw this week. Here goes...

1) A sign outside a plastic surgeon advertising gift certificates: Really? Is that the type of gift that you can honestly purchase someone without insulting them? What are you telling someone if you hand them a gift certificate to a plastic surgeon? Basically you are telling them that their hideousness is too much for you too handle and you would much rather that they change their appearance by way of extreme reconstructive surgery. I also heard a laser hair removal place advertising gift certificates... almost as insulting! If you hand your wife a gift certificate for hair removal you might as well just castrate yourself because you will not be using your genitalia for a while. A gift like that says; "I find the hair on your body so repulsive that it is beyond the help of a razor's blade." You know what... buy a gift basket.

2) You know those cut out clings of family members on people's rear windows? I saw one with just one lady and three cats: How sad can you get? If you do not have at least one other human being on your family then avoid the family cut out cling, The last thing that I need when I should be focused on driving is worrying about this lady going home to a house with nothing there to greet her except cats.

3) Rev. Charles Worley of North Carolina was filmed preaching that 'homosexuals should be put in an electrified fence until they die off': So much for love thy neighbor!!! It kills me how often one of these houses of worship goes on and promotes so much hate. I do not know what was scarier, his insane comment or the fact that the people in his congregation all shouted "Amen". How can a man stand up there one second telling people to go forth and spread love and then in the next breath talk about killing homosexuals? And they wonder why attendance in the church is dropping...

Is it hot in here or am I Crazy?

My Favorite Hangout... The Barbershop!

A lot of people choose a bar to sit and relax. Others might hit some golf balls or go to a day spa. Me, I am old school, I prefer to shoot  the s**t at my local barber shop, Rockabilly Barbers!!! It is a real barbershop, not some poser salon, with neon on the wall and a guy with leather pants, frosted hair and a shirt opened at the waste.
After going there once, they know your name. Twice, they know your name and what hair cut you want. There is nothing like enjoying a hot shave while listening to Johnny Cash and Elvis. Don't waste your money on an expensive therapist, at the barbershop you can get off whatever is on your chest. Hell, you do not even have to be getting a hair cut and you are still welcomed to hang out there.
So if you are in the Stony Brook area and want to take a step back in time, stop by Rockabilly Barbers and spend some time with Blaine, Laurie, Vincent and Nick. I guarantee you'll laugh your a** off!

Fate Of Mankind Hangs in Balance...

The fate of the human race, and the planet for that matter, literally is being held together by an already damaged concrete wall... Does that not scare anyone else? Though it has been a year since the earthquake that caused a tsunami resulting in the partial collapse of the Fukushiam Daiichi Nuclear Plant, the threat of a global disaster on a level that has never been seen before is more likely than most will acknowledge.
As am I sitting here typing this reactor number four has structurally unsound. It is literally on the verge of collapse and radiation continues to leak out. Japan itself is also in huge trouble both financially and politically from the effects of the tragedy at the plant. Thousand of people have already perished and there is a real threat that millions, yes millions, of people will die from the radioactive fallout in the coming years. Why are we not talking about this? Why has this topic not been mentioned on a newscast for month now? Why aren't the best scientists in the world working endlessly attempting to figure out a solution for what just may be the end of mankind? The paper yesterday mentioned that Snooki was having a baby boy and Miley was all grown up because she went out wearing a shirt showing side boob... Really? This information takes precedence over what many are calling the worst nuclear accident in the history of the wold, something that will make Chernobyl look like a fireworks display in comparison?
You do not have to be a genius to see the threat here people. It is simple food chain science. The water is extremely contaminated and radioactive. The fish live in the water, obviously. We eat the fish.... That is the best case scenario!!! The worst case is a complete collapse of reactor four resulting in airborne particles capable of traveling as fast as the wind can take it. This is not some stupid play to make people worry about nothing. It is not another y2k or Mayan calendar prediction. This is science, plain and simple. But don't waste your time concerning that... they are just about to announce who Khloe K's real dad is!!! Yeah, much more important.
Is it hot in here or am I Crazy?

Don't Forget the Real Meaning of Memorial Day!!!

This weekend most of the country will have three days off in celebration of Memorial Day. My problem is... do people even know what they are celebrating anymore? Do they even remember that Memorial Day is meant to be a time of grieving? The purpose of Memorial Day is to honor those who have died in service to this country. As time goes on the true meaning of this somber day gets blurred with each passing generation... but do not worry. I am here to remind you.
On Monday when your fat kid is double fisting ball park hot dogs like he hasn't eaten in years and your spouse is pounding beers like he is a roadie for The Rolling Stones remind them of those who have given the greatest sacrifice. May they never forget those who stormed the beach at Normandy. Tattoo in their brain the image of the men who raised the flag at Iwo Jima. And though it is most recent, continue to tell of the men who turned Osama Bin Laden's head into a canoe. You must ensure that our future never, ever forgets those men and women who have dedicated their lives to carry a cross that most of us could not bear.
And though it is not Veterans Day. Be sure to get off your lazy a** and thank those who have served who are still with us. When you are out taking advantage of the holiday sales take two minutes of your time if you see a man or woman wearing their uniform, extend your hand like a man and thank them. Thank them for the sacrifices that they made so that the rest of us are allowed to continue to live free.
During this time I think of man like my father, an eighteen year old kid from Queens N.Y. parachuting over Okinawa half a world away. I remember my good and departed friend Craig B telling of being drafted and a twenty four hour flight to Vietnam to go land down in the "s**t" as he called it and the tragic images that he carried with him to his death bed. I think back with a huge smile on my face as a recall Jim M, a.k.a Pop, a man who literally bled Red, White and Blue. A true American who after serving his country as a Marine in Korea was honorably discharged and went on to work at the Pentagon the next four decades!!! I cannot even fathom the knowledge of what went on behind closed doors that man had to lay down with each night, a knowledge kept from the public to avoid hysteria, a knowledge most of us could not handle knowing.
So I close this post by thanking these men the best way I know how, words. I thank them for giving me the opportunity to choose whatever path I wanted in this free country. I thank them for keeping us safe. And I thank them for the liberty to write this post...

Sneak Peek on Sunday

I would like to thank everyone who has been following the blog. We are averaging over a hundred visitors a day from all over the world! We have faithful readers in the United Kingdom, Russia, India and many more places. For those of you who like what you have been reading, on Sunday I will be posting the first chapter of my soon to be released first novel "God Quit". Thank You again for visiting, I hope that you continue to return daily and keep those comments coming.

The 2nd Amendment Does Not Allow You To Be Dirty Harry

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

This is the wording of the second Amendment and anyone with average intelligence could decipher that its purpose is much different than what many today believe. It is basically stating that the people of the United States have the right to bear arms in case an army needs to be assembled against tyranny. Let us not forget that this amendment was added in 1791, over two hundred and twenty years ago! This was written into law at a time when our country was still very unstable and the need for a militia was possibly something that would be needed.
Unfortunately, this law has not evolved with the rest of the country and its very vague writing leaves it open to too much interpretation. Crazy wanna be G.I. Joes dressed in camouflage, wearing Oakleys and "Gun control is aiming with both hands!"  have stretched this law to allow them to purchase, trade, stockpile and use some very destructive weapons. They play shoot 'em up in the backwoods and gun ranges all the while fantasizing about the real deal. Everything from semi-automatic rifles and hand guns are available to anyone with enough money and a clean record. Rifles are even scarier, all you need is a license and a ride to Wal-Mart! There is no mental test? Just because you have never been convicted of a crime does not mean that you should be allowed to own a gun. I can safely say that everyone reading this blog knows somebody who really should not be a gun owner but in the eyes of the law is allowed to own one. Is it not a little frightening how easily someone can acquire a weapon capable of killing many people in a very short time from a distance?
And please do not give me that bulls**t that you should be allowed to hunt. We have a supermarket every mile and a half, it is not like anyone will be starving to death if we took away their so called "right" to hunt. And I am also sure that the deer, bear, elk, etc... population will be fine without your itchy finger help. It is called natural selection, believe me, it works much better without your influence anyway.
Treyvon Martin is just one of many victims who perish each day because a weapon ended up in the hands of someone not able to handle the responsibility of owning a gun. George Zimmerman was not a constable. Nope. He was not a security guard. Nope. For God's sake the man was a member of the community watch!!! There was absolutely no reason for him to be carrying a sidearm. Was he forming a militia against a hostile government? Was he protecting his rightful property from invaders? Was he standing post from an outside threat to the country? No. He was pissed there was a minority walking through his neighborhood and damn it he just had to do something about it. He was going to play "vigilante" and live out all those Charles Bronson movies. What he did instead was cut a life short and remind us once again how this law needs to be tweaked before another tragedy like this happens again.
Is it hot in here or am I Crazy?

Let's Drop Some Bombs!!!

"... the influential classes, and those who take upon themselves to be leaders of the people, are fully liable to all passionate error that has ever characterized the maddest mob."
                                                                                    Nathanial Hawthorne

About a year ago during that skirmish going on over in Libya, a co-worker mentioned how we should just go over there, bomb them back to the stone ages and pillage the oil. At which point another gentlemen who rarely gets involved in such conversations asked the most simplest of questions; "Have you ever seen a bomb? Have you ever seen the damage that it brings?" It is a simple question, one that most of the people reading this blog would most likely answer no... Yet, this fellow had indeed seen the damage of war first hand. Having grown up in Grenada he was subjected to an awful scene of warfare where he saw many of his family and friens die in what we now like to call "Collateral Damage".
It is a cute term is it not? Very safe, very politically correct when you are being interviewed on television or making a statement. Two people are mostly known for using the term. The first, and the most popular would be General "Storming" Norman Schwarzkopf. After the first war in the gulf he used the term as an excuse when asked to justify the killing of innocent lives during the battles.
I could not imagine a loved one of mine being reduced to the term "Collateral Damage"! I am a huge supporter of the troops and my prayers are with them but if you have been reading this post, then you are well aware that I am against any unnecessary military action. Considering that most wars are either fought over religion or money, NO ONE ever truly wins. You see it all starts out the same, everyone is gung-ho and everyone is a patriot at the onset of the war. Everyone rushes out to buy the yellow ribbons and put out Old Glory to wave in the wind. They stay like that until the first  young American boys and girls start coming back home in flag draped coffins. Then the tune starts to change.
Support for the war is dropping faster than you can count the number of young starlets getting photograhed coming out of a limo without undies! (... an about that, how come when they do it, everyone laughs but when the old guy who spends too much time at the playground even though he does not have any grandchildren shows his junk... he's a pervert?) A recent report shows that support for the war in Afghanistan has reached a new low, with only 27% of Americans say that they continue to back the effort.When was the last time you even saw one of those ribbons that weren't faded? Most have already been replaced with some other cause; autism awareness, transvestite awareness, etc...
 It is time to bring our soldiers home. This war has lasted long enough and too many innocent people have perished and too many soldiers have given the greatest sacrifice. War is draining, at first everyone loves to rush to the television to see what s**t we blew up that day and which area is now in our control. But as time passes, so does interest, and as the death toll of America's sons and daughters increases... so does anger.
By the way, the other guy who is famous for the term "Collateral Damage"... Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City terrorist.
Is it hot in here or am I Crazy?

"Call it peace or call it treason,
call it love or call it reason
but I ain't marching anymore."
                        Phil Ochs

School Budgets... How can they not pass?

All across the country this week people hit the polls to vote on their perspective school budgets. And as usual many of the schools did not pass. Really people? How is that possible? Are our children not worth the few extra dollars that would have been tacked on to our taxes? Are we content with letting the children of this country fall further and further behind in education?
Let us look at this from a handful of different angles...
1) Special Education - Special Education has changed drastically in the last decade. When I went to school these poor children were given some crayons and left in room for seven hours. The field of Special Ed has advanced by leaps and bounds since then. These teachers do everything from getting these kids to read and write, proper situational behavior all the way to prepare them for life after school. Some of these teachers play the role of instructor, parent and doctor. If these cuts are made... what is to happpen to these children?
2) Electives - When budgets fail, the arts will also suffer. So I ask you; what about the students who do not excel in accademics and athletics? Some of these children receive little to no praise in any other aspect of thier life but may be gifted when it comes to music or painting. It is their one chance to shine, to be seen as special. It is also a chance for some of these students to get scholorships that otherwise would not be available to them. You start taking these options away from our children and you are stifling them, you are limiting their chances for success in a field that they may have otherwise been great at.
3) Those whose children have already graduated - Many people feel like they do not have to continue paying into the district because they no longer have children in the school system. So, it was fine when your child had all of these resources available to them but you could care less if it is there for your neighbors child? School districts should go only one way... forward.
I was an awful student and did not utilize one tenth of the resources that were avaiable to me... my loss. I had many classmates who took full advantage of these opportunites and ran with it, and good for them, that is why it was there. I am just forced to laugh at the people who have money when it comes to that extra six pack or that pack of smokes at ten dollars a day but close their wallet when asked to pitch in for the future of this country. Just think about this the next time those ballots are being cast... a generation ago we would never have imagined buying our cars and electronics from another country. We would never have guessed that our kids would be second to any. Keep this up and soon we will be adopting teenage children from other countries just because they are smarter than ours.
Is it hot in here or am I Crazy?

Week in Review...

As you might know by now I like to re-cap the week on Saturday and talk about some of the more crazy stories that occurred in the last week.  I would also like to thank all of the people who have been coming to the site every day and those commenting!!! We are averaging about 100 viewers a day and this is only our third week!!! So tell your friends... Join the insanity!

1) Virginia is for lovers... Unless you're Gay:  After a honorable 20 year career in the Navy and a quick rise to being one of the top prosecutors in the state of Virginia, Tracy Thorne-Begland was a shoo in for the position of judge in the General District Court. But just before he could achieve his goal, Virginia delegate Bob Marshall  had him removed because he was gay!!! Marshall had the balls to say that "I don't think it's proper to put his name forward because of his behavior," and that he is "..a homosexual activist". "This behavior"???? Is he a crack addict? Did he rape someone? Did I miss something here? How can people still possibly feel this way? Isn't there enough discrimination in the world to begin with? Besides, does it really matter in the courtroom who this guy is banging in the bedroom? I respect the fact that he was honest about it. Would Marshall rather he sit on a chair of lies while holding court? Hooray Virginia!!! Set your state even further back in time.

2) Here is a recent statement written by Penn. Republican representative Joe Pitts in a response to a question regarding the Israeli-Palestinian peace process,"with the growing war on terrorism, it is now incumbent on Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority chairman Yasser Arafat to clamp down on Palestinian extremists that have perpetual violence and to restart a peace process that has collapsed." huh...? Is that guy for real? Is that not some sort of I.Q. test to get elected? All Joe Pitts really needed was a wi-fi connection to realize that Ariel Sharon suffered a stroke on January 4, 2006 and has been in a vegetative state ever since. I doubt that he could be of much help in settling the peace talks. This is just an utter embarrassment, not just for an elected official but for literate adult! Well, is he at least half right? Can Arafat be of some help in the peace talks? God No!!! Fucking guy has been dead since November 11, 2004! If this clown gets re-elected...I am running for office.

3)J.P. Morgan Chase... Really? Again? It has been reported that they have lost $2 Billion dollars! That is a lot of zeros people. My wife freaks out when I misplace my keys or the R.S.V.P card to a wedding! How much longer is this going to go on? Can we really afford for these banks to continue to take such risks? Even if this was supposedly their own money, would you fell safe now letting them control your assets? You know what... do fret over it. Unlike you and me they could afford to lose all the money they have, big brother is always there to bail them out.
Is it hot in here or am I Crazy?

Do They Give Any One A Record Contract?

Have you heard some of the shit that they are actually calling music on the radio nowadays? To say that it is unlistenable is being polite. Half of the songs today would not have even been a radio jingle years ago and now every poser thinks it is musical gold. I think that Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood and the Lady Antebellum chick is the same girl for God's sake! I cannot tell one of their songs apart. Do you know why? Because it all sounds like shit.
I would rather pass a kidney stone the size of Webster than even attempt to watch the twelve minutes of music videos that they play on television. Majority of these bands do not even last long enough to learn their name, bad enough the words to their songs. It is sad that this young generation is going to grow up without any real rock stars. Where are the Beatles of our generation? The Doors? The Temptations? Elvis? The so-called experts had the balls to compare Kurt Cobain to John Lennon... Huh? John was the walrus people. Kurt didn't even die like a real rock star. He quit! Why could he not overdose like a real rock star? Hendrix, Morrison and Joplin... now that is the way to go baby. It is better to burn out than fade away, and these three didn't even get a chance to hit the big 3-0. Good for them,
Even if a real original band does come along, most of them end up selling out in a matter of weeks. Just when there is a song out there that you like, you hear it two weeks later as the background to a video game. Even the Woodstock reunion was a sell out!!! The original attacked commercialism and promoted peace. The 30th anniversary was sponsored by Pepsi and had more violence than the Casey Anthony Day School.
Bands do not even live the cool rock and roll lifestyle anymore. Instead of trashing hotels and doing the perp walk on the news for beating the shit out of a groupie, they are busy taking on global causes. Years ago you could not walk 10 feet at a concert without being offered alcohol, weed or hash brownies. Now people are selling gluten free bran muffins and wheat grass shots... are you fucking serious. I would have so much more respect for Justin Bieber if there was a video surfacing of him doing crystal meth while bare backing a Ukrainian  call girl. If he did that, I would be forced to call into work because I would be sick in bed with Bieber fever!!! There are still real bands out there, recording and playing in bars all across the country. They still have the love of music in them. Bands like my buddy Blaine's "Heartless Devils" and "Social Distortion". Bands that play instruments and write their own songs, playing the music that they want, regardless who is in the crowd.
Years ago there were anthems like "Free Bird" and "Stairway to Heaven". You have never heard someone say "Turn that off... it's played out." Those songs have been on the radio for over four decades!!! Yet,  it has been only three weeks but if I hear that "Somebody that I used to know" song one more time I am going to follow Kurt Cobain's lead and go down for the long nap.
Is it hot in here or am I Crazy?

Priest Giving the Word Father Another Meaning...

It seems that Thomas Williams, a priest in the Legion of Christ, really likes to be called father. Not only is he the most prominent priest of the catholic order founded in 1941, a popular television personality and the author of the book; Knowing Right From Wrong: A Christian Guide to Conscience, he has also recently admitted to fathering a child. What's wrong with that? In my eyes... absolutely nothing. In the eyes of the church... a lot.

But you see, they do not like their priest marrying and having kids for the most bizarre reasons. It has nothing to do with being "pure". It has less to do with being "righteous". Like most things, it comes down to money. 

Where in the Bible does it mention banning priests from marrying? From having children? It doesn't...

In 1095 at the Council of Clermont Pope Urban II decided to put an end to clerical marriages. Not because of any moral reasons but because of the continuous act of primogeniture, the descending of land and wealth to the eldest son. You see, Pope Urban II was getting angry that the church continued to lose land and riches to the eldest sons of priests. The Catholic church is and has always been a very wealthy institution and the thought of losing some of that wealth just didn't sit right with the Papacy.
Boy, is that a really sh***y reason to deny these men the world's greatest pleasure!!! And to be honest with you, as I always am, I would much rather give confession to a man that can truly relate to me. How can you possibly discuss what a pain in the a** your wife or kid is to a man who supposedly is not in any relationship? That is like complaining about a leg cramp to a quadriplegic... the point is moot. Give me a real priest!! Give me a guy who drank until he blacked out at least once in his life. Give me a man who knows what it feels like to have his heart broken. I would much rather talk to a man who has had to make decisions in life, to a man who has had to struggle with his faith than a man who gets to judge while protected under the umbrella of the church.   It is just not natural for a man or woman to be celibate! They should know the touch of another human being. Wouldn't God have wanted it that way? Why else would he have made intimacy so enjoyable?
Also think about the number of men who would enter the priesthood if they were allowed to marry and bring children into the world. For someone who is a devout Catholic and enjoys the study of theology, it is a great calling.
With that said, I ask you this; if you had a chance to be absolved of all you done wrong, who would you feel more comfortable telling your sick and twisted story to? Some pale faced sheltered virgin or a man who has been around the block a few times? You can keep the kid... I'll take the screw up.
Is it hot in here or am I Crazy?

History does not = TRUTH

"Dear President Bush. Please send your assistance in freeing our small nation from occupation. This foreign force occupied our lands to steal our rich resources. They used biological warfare and deceit, killing thousands of elders, children and women in the process. As they overwhelmed our land, they deposed our leaders and people of our own government, and in its place, they installed their own government systems that yet today control our daily lives in many ways. As in your own words, the occupation and overthrowing of one small nation...is too many. Sincerely, an American Indian"
(Letter written to then President Bush in 1991 by a group of Native Americans in Oregon. Featured in Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States.)

I bet that they never showed you a letter like that in your history class! Why not? Why do we year after year continue to lie to the youth of our country about its history? Why are the schools so afraid to teach the truth? Are we not doing our children a diservice by continuing to teach the same old bulls**t that we have been spoon feeding them for years?
Your first history lesson probably started something like this, "In 1492 Columbus...." You know what that cute little rhyme does not teach children (Besides the fact that Columbus did not find America)? No where in that sweet memory device does it mention him raping and pillaging. It forgets how he wrote passionately about enslaving the Hispanics. It seems to leave out the fact that he tried to steal as much gold as possible. Also along the way the writers of the song omitted the facts that he hung a large portion of his own crew for disagreeing with him, that he was removed from the position of governor, accused of tyranny and incompetence and at one point was sent back to Spain in shackles.
What is wrong with that story? How come they never mention it during the parade? Why do we still celebrate this man with a national holiday? What will be next? Ted Kazynski holiday softball games? It is a blemish on this great country but it is still the truth. It is a cliche sentence but it still rings true; if we do not learn from our history we will be doomed to repeat it.
Another American icon whose past has been blurred by the history books is Thomas Jefferson. Not only did he own hundreds of slaves, he is stated as viewing them racially inferior. He is also guilty of forcibly moving Cherokee and Shawnee tribes off of the land that was rightfully theirs.
Malcom X, no doubt an important figure in the history of this country, prior to becoming a leader in the fight for African American rights was involved in narcotics, gambling and prostitution. The Kennedy brothers...do not get me started.
The short synopsis of the Vietnam war that they teach kids will barely scratch the surface. Talking about the Viet Cong invading the south and the attrocities that they brought with them. The text books mention nothing of the sort about setting up a paper government in as early as the forties when it was still Frech-Indo China and then knocking that same government out.
The problem is we teach history from the eyes of the victor. Ask the Saracen what he thought about the crusades. Teach our chidren from some books written by the Native American regarding the arrival of Europeans. Ask the British their point of view about the revolutionary war. I have a feeling they might substitute the word revolution with terrorist but that is just me. Ask the south how they felt after the civil war, etc...You get the picture.
I love this country and I could not be prouder to be an American. I know that I could not even have the right to write this blog in many parts of the world and that is what makes us so great. With that said, we must face up to the point that we are not and have not always been perfect. You don't believe me? Ask a Native American...but good luck finding one, they are kind of scarce nowadays.  Is it hot in here or am I Crazy?

Does it really matter who is sitting in that oval office?

Unless you are extremely wealthy or find yourself eating bologna off hand (because you cannot afford the bread) it really doesn't matter to you who is holding the position of commander in chief. For the majority of us middle class working stiffs, absolutely nothing will change regardless of who wins in November. We can put all the bumper stickers on our cars that we can find and adorn our lawns with signs supporting our candidate, it is all for naught...
You see, you may have one president who rolls up his sleeves and takes off the tie to try and achieve that regular guy look while another president may keep his jacket on at all times and that top button on his shirt secure until he puts his jammies on in the Lincoln bedroom. Do you know what they both have in common? Neither of them can relate to you and I!!! They have never had to decide between putting gas in the car and buying lunch. The thought of taking a semester off from school due to financial stress never troubled them. They have attended different schools than the rest of us, they vacation in different places and hang out in much different circles all before they ever even took the oath of office. So why would any sane person think that any standing president feels their pain? Knows their struggle?
Every single person who has ever had the honor of being the President of the United States was a wealthy man. From George Washington to Barack Obama most of them were in fact millionaires!!! They are not troubled by the housing crisis and could give two s**ts about the rising price of gas so why would they go and do anything about it?
Their supporters, and I mean real supporters, are their sole concern. You know that guy who plops down five thousand dollars per plate at a benefit dinner for the president? I would bet that the president is a little bit more concerned about his happiness and well being than you and your 2012 sticker, no offense.
Do you remember the inauguration? It was an incredible night, I cannot argue that. But one thing stuck out in my mind. There was a girl there saying that if she cannot pay her electic bill, the president would be there for her. Really? Was that part of his campaign? At no point in all of the jetsetting around the country did I ever hear him mention taking care of my utilities bill... It is safe to say that if that girl didn't wise up fast she is currently reading this on her i-phone, in the dark by candle light.
Think about the insane amount of money that one spends to run for president. On average, candidates will spend roughly 1/4 of a billion dollars!!! Yes, 250 million dollars... for a job that supposedly only pays 400k a year? For a job that no matter what you do, half of your country usually disagrees with you? I am sure that there are some other perks provided by those whom the president is a little bit more concerend about than you and me.
This is not a jab at the President. In fact, I like Barack Obama. But the fact of the matter remains, no matter who wins on that fateful Tuesday, come Wednesday moring my fat a** is back to the grind trying to make a living and the man sitting in that oval office really could not care less. If you think otherwise, maybe you're crazy...
Is it hot in here or am I Crazy?

Lock ' em up???

We love to imrison people. Just last week we were discussing the opportunities available to those who are currently serving time in out nation's correctional facilities. Today's big question, do they all deserve to be there? Are our laws outdated? Is every crime committed really defined in the law books as black and white or is there a gray area in there somewhere too? Now, before everyone gets all crazy on me about letting all the criminals roam free in a free for all melee, let me state that is not what I am saying!!! I may be crazy but I am sane enough to realize that the hard core, never to be rehabilitated murdered, rapist, pedophile deserves to spend every minute of their sentence behind bars. But what about those that weren't that bad?
For a wealthy country The United States have some of the harshest laws in the world. We are prison happy baby! Roughly one out of every 100 adults is behind bars. The federal prison system population is maxed out, it is stuffed to the brim with petty criminals and two bit thieves. People you would probably hang out with if you didn't know ay better. It is almost at the point where they are inventing laws just to have something to prosecute people with, to give others jobs in tracking them down.
Think about the so-called "war on drugs" that has been raging on now for over four decades. It is a losing battle people, a war that we have no chance of winning and to be honest with you it is a war that I feel we never had any intention of winning. Too many people are employed and too much money is exchanged in this war against drugs. Wouldn't it make more sense to stage a war against alcohol or cigarettes? Many more people die each year fromlung cancer and alcohol related accidents and violent drunken rages than weed.
Part of the problem is that no politician is brave enough to stand against these laws, even if they don't agree with some of them. They are so afraid of being labled as "soft" on crime that they continue to push for harsher and harsher mandatory sentances, These completely takes the power away from the judges. Not every case is the same but that does not matter because mandatory means mandatory, no leeway in sentencing at all.
A great example of this broken system was written in The Economist, it is the story of Mr. Norris, a 65 year old Texas man who deals in selling Orchids, yes, the flower. After months and months of a very costly stakeout, on the taxpayers dime of course, his home was raided because of the inconsistancies of his paperwork. They tried to get him for five years for selling an orchid to an undercover agent without the proper paperwork. The charge; making a false statement to a government official!!! Are they f**king serious? There are murderers and rapist out there lurking in the shadows and this is the best way that they could think of to exhaust our police force?
The petty drug laws are insane. Even in a liberal state like Mass. you are better off being a violet offender than carrying some pain pills on you. They treat Percocet as if it was hard core narcotics, where possessing 1/2 - 1 ounce will get you a MINIMUM of three years. Three years!!! I am not saying the painkiller epidemic isn't serious but three years is nuts. Larger amounts can get you a comfy cell for the next fifteen years of your life. This is more than the minimum for armed rape!!! Yes, that is correct. If one man holds a gun to a woman's head and takes the mose precious thing from her the same day some kid gets caught with 200 grams of pain killers, the rapist will be back on the prowl before the drug dealer. The laugher is that the drugs do not have to even be pure. Mix it with flour and it does not matter, they go by total weight.
The "three strikes your out" rule is another failure in the penal system. Throughout the country there are thousands of people set to spend the rest of their lives behind bars for minor stuff. These people have never committed what the LAW says is a serious or violent crime but they will waste their remaining days in a prison, while you and I will be paying for them.
Often innocent people will take a plea deal and serve a short sentence just to avoid the risk of some insane prison term threatened by the prosecutor. What ever happened to ...and justice for all?
Listen, I am not in favor of people doing drugs but I am also not in favor of our armed forces and policemen spending more time and more money putting petty criminals behind bars for long sentences where we end up supporting them anyway. All the while that they are going after the small time crooks, there are still murderers, rapists and robbers out there sizing up their next victim. Let's get our priorities straight people and prosecute the real criminals. I would much rather be living next to some guy who sells a little hashish on the side than a guy who puts on his suit every morning, waves on his way to work and comes home to his wife and kid all the while have some brutally raped and murdered prostitute decaying in his trunk.
Is is hot in here or am I Crazy?

Worst Mother Awards!!!

As most of you might know, today is Mother's Day. And while most people will be celebrating nice ladies who raised them properly and did their best, I would like to take a moment to spotlight the ones who dropped the ball in the world of parenting.

1) Kris Jenner: This is the one that I refer to as the puppeteer. She pimps her kids out an in extravagantly planned scheme of things. Plotting television shows and photo shoots, calling the media ahead of time before her kids do everything from going to the mall or wiping their a**! The attempts to dress younger than her kids and spends more time setting up their portfolio than actually attempting to parent them. The only saving grace here is a husband who truly appears concerned with the overall health and mental well being of his family and now just how much cash he can pocket from their work. She is most likely spending today thinking about the next move with the younger sisters because the older three are running out of basketball players to marry and their fifteen minutes are paused at 14:59...

2) Michelle Duggar: Wow, the things that we say we do all in the name of God. She as 19 kids and keeps trying to have more, why? Because the show is getting boring and is being threatened of getting cancelled? What scares me the most about this group is that anyone who has one child knows how hard it is to raise them up properly, how in God's name can you even attempt to raise 19? They use what they call a "buddy system" in which the older children help raise the younger ones. Really? Can this Idea get any worse? The younger ones are not getting the proper attention that a child needs to grow and the older ones are being denied a childhood because they spend all their time raising the younger ones. And how much can they possibly teach their siblings when they themselves are still babies...?

3) Dina Lohan:Failed dancer/ singer who now attempts to live vicariously through her two daughters. While she was so busy spending her time promoting her kids and trying to manage their careers, she overlooked the whole parenting things and stood by and watched her daughter fall into a downward spiral of drugs and alcohol. Good job Mom! She is another one who attempted some failed reality show that would have allowed some camera crew to show strangers every move of your personal life. The scary part is that she is now attempting to do the same thing with the younger daughter. She I call Child Protective Services or will some one else...?

4) Kate Gosselin : She has been guilty of pretty much everything that Jenner and Lohan is guilty of with the exception that she has the nerve to write books about parenting when the children are being raised by bodyguards and nannies. Now, she is stating that she is nervous about the future of her children since her show was cancelled.  Really? Didn't you think about this before you had eight kids? Did you just assume that they were going to give you a show because you got knocked up? Hell, I know a slew of women who live in  east new york with five or six kids who cannot even afford a television bad enough have their own show on it. You don't see them trying to sell another show that no one cared about to begin with.

5) Octomom -Nadya Suleman: This woman is all banged up. She might just be one of the worst on the panel. She was already blessed with six children when she went ahead with the medical procedure to have multiple babies... mmmm. Did I mention that when she opted for this surgery she was unemployed and on public assistance. Since the birth of these kids she tried to sell her story, unsuccessfully to every television outlet in the world, has posed nude. pondered pornography and filed bankruptcy. Good job lady, maybe you could take in some foster kids and make more money that way... that is a joke people.

As you know their are many more women out there with children who do not deserve the title of "MOM" and believe me we can continue to add to this list every year. If I have overlooked so one that you feel needs to be on the list, (The hot dog truck hooker lady on Long Island, or the new jersey tanning mom) please join in and comment. If your mom is not on this list... be thankful.
Is it hot in here or am I Crazy?

This is the end of the world as we know it...

I am not one of those "the sky will come crashing down soon and the world is coming to an end." type of guys but I must say that with the ever expanding world of up to the minute news that is available to us, we are now privy to some scary stories that in the past might have flew under the radar. Here is just a handful of stories that surfaced this week which are worthy of the first of what will be a weekly post titled "The End of the World...?"

1)Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney apologizes for what he calls high school high jinx but what the rest of America would consider assault. It seems the latter day saint (insert halo) decided to lead a bunch of rich classmates in his prep school to chase down a classmate, restrain him and cut off his bleach blond hair. Really? Now I was a cut up in school and had quite the sharp tongue but to me this is quite disturbing behavior. Is this the kind of temperament that we would like representing the free world? Would you really want the strongest standing army in the control of a man with a bully machismo personality? And is this really the best candidate that the G.O.P can come up with? What is a matter, Dan Quayle couldn't seem to clear up his schedule for the next for years? I was a jerk as a kid and if I could go back in time I would change a lot of the things that I said and did but there are two huge differences. I have never bullied anyone nor am I running for the presidency of the United States of America. As I have become older one thing has become abundantly clear to me and that is that one of the best ways to judge a man is how he treats those who cannot defend themselves.

2) A New Jersey woman has been accused of bringing her then five year old daughter into the tanning booth to give the kid a little color. Yep, there is nothing like getting a jump start to melanoma! And exactly why did the kid need a tan? Was she afraid the her daughter was going to be the palest kid in the erotic pole dancing class that she planned on bringing her to later on that day? Listen, motherhood is not for everyone but why do they allow so many people to continue to reproduce? You need a license to fish, to drive and to operate a business then how come there is not even a basic skills test required to bring children into this world? If you do not see the problem with endangering the welfare of a child by subjecting them to known harmful rays... them maybe, just maybe, you are not cut out for motherhood.

3) A Queens, New York man is going to trial this week for allegedly beating a woman into a coma over a parking space. Wow, that must have been some spot. My question is, exactly what route does the defense attorney plan on taking in this case? Is there ever really any justification for pummeling a woman? I am going to have to go out on a limb here and say no. And I think that if you are healthy enough to beat a woman into a coma, I am quite sure you would have been able to walk the few extra feet from the next available spot. The good news he doesn't have to worry about finding a parking spot anymore. The bad news is that if he does not give his much larger new cell mate his pudding at lunch time, he will be used as a personal sex doll for the length of his sentence. That is why I take mass transit...

4) The trial against the police officers who are accused of beating mentally handicapped homeless man Kelly Thomas to death began this week. Ahhh, to serve and protect. I don't know about you, but I feel much safer. I guess George Zimmerman couldn't get there in time. This is another horrible case of people abusing the power that has been entrusted in them. The video has to be one of the most disgusting things that I have ever seen in my life, no exaggeration. These cops must of out weighed him by a hundred pounds each and they were swinging their night sticks like they were taking batting practice at Candlestick Park. The picture of him clinging to life, unrecognizable of even being a human face, is heartbreaking. So I ask you this, why are we surprised? The only reason why this is even going to trial is because someone near the incident had the means of recording the whole thing. If that video was never shot, not only would these poor excuses for men be free, they would probably be making some money working overtime searching for the "criminal" out there somewhere who did this to a mentally unbalanced homeless man, all the while laughing in their patrol car. Police brutality is not on the rise, smart phones with video recorder ownership is on the rise. Police have been abusing their power ever since the first bully had a badge pinned on his chest. The only difference is now a days is anger might be played out on the five o'clock news for the whole world to see.

J.D. Salinger spent the better part of his life as a recluse, shut off from the outside world. Maybe he was on to something. Ignorance is bliss...
Is it hot in here or am I Crazy?

Why should only heterosexuals get to be punished anyway?

I applaud President Obama for his support of gay and lesbian marriage! My problem is, why was it ever an issue to begin with? Let us think about this; in the eyes of the LAW a marriage is nothing more than a binding contract between two people, a business contract if you will. Now, as we all know a business venture could be between two men or even a man and two women (Hey now!!). Seriously, that is all it is. So, if we are okay with two women going into business together than how can we oppose them confessing their love openly in a lawful business contract referred to as a marriage certificate.
Let me cut off the first person that mentions "God's Will" or the Bible before they even crack their knuckles to get ready to type. This country was founded on the notion of a separation between church and state, it is one of the rights that make America what it is. With that said, how can we possibly boast being such a great nation when we would still deny our people the joy of marrying who they love? Right now there are only six states in the union that allow same sex marriage... that is pitiful. How can these states possibly tell their citizens that they support them 100% if they want to grab a rifle and stand a post in the military but when they come back from defending their country in some foreign land they will try to stop them from marrying their sweetheart if they are of the same sex?
Think about how many people were forced to live a lie their whole life because of the fear that would come with being who they really were on the inside. Imagine the amount of people who had to endure a passionless marriage to keep up appearances just because they could not be with the one they truly wanted to be with.
As far as the political aspect to this move, it is brilliant!!! V4vendetta says is best, by Obama making this declaration, anyone who now comes out to oppose him will be considered a bigot...
Besides, why should I be the only one to get chastised for not matching my socks in the draw?
Is it hot in here or am I crazy?

College? Army?.... Prison!

Do you want job security? Would you like to be guaranteed three healthy, nutritious balanced meals a day? How does free health care sound? Or a roof over your head every night! Even job placement! College can be fun and educational of course but it cannot promise you any of these things. The military is a nice life for some but even they cannot promise these vital needs after you are discharged. But do you know who can?... Our Prison System!!! That is correct, the way things are at this moment in time, you have more opportunities and probably a better chance at success if you were a released felon compared to a college graduate or honorably discharged soldier. Am I the only one who sees the insanity in this?
The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans report that on any given night there are 67,000 homeless veterans. That is correct, 67,000 men and women, who were deployed all over the world in everything from peace keeping missions to full on military conflict, find themselves sleeping on park benches and sidewalks every night. Only 8% of the general population are veterans yet when it comes to the homeless population, veterans make up an astounding 23%. These were men and women who were entrusted to carry out life threatening missions and now cannot even get an interview for a job flipping burgers. Another number they do not tell you about at the enlistment is that 18 veterans commit suicide every day... that is a staggering number. Young men coming home with less limbs than they left with, suffering from all sorts of physical and mental ailments and no one is there to comfort them.
College Graduates do not have it much better. Ten percent of recent college graduates are unemployed. Let's not even get into the numbers of those who are underemployed or the ones who just completely gave up looking for work. Recent reports now say that between 50-80% of college grads were forced to live with their parents. There is no job placements for them, no light at the end of the tunnel in the near future.
Now how about our little inmates? I would say that they have it a little easier. While incarcerated, inmates receive incredible health care that many Americans could only dream of, three square meals a day and a roof over their head. But oh no, the perks for being a piece of s**t criminal does not stop there! With recent changes in the prison system, inmates are now able to get high school diplomas and college degrees. But there is more! Commit a heinous crime today and you will also have access to a number of vocational programs. That is right, today you may be a thief or rapist but if you play your cards right and get caught you will have the opportunity that many could only dream of, free training in fields like carpentry, construction, computers, plumbing, etc... If you behave you might actually be placed in one of the Industry Work Programs. Yes, these opportunities will allow prisoners to earn some cash, learn a skill and network, NETWORK!!!, to land a job after their release. This is a damn internship for criminals!!!!
And what about the respect aspect? Years ago you would go up to a man or woman in uniform and thank you for serving, regardless if you are for the war or not. You would get up and offer them your seat on a crowded bus. When someone finished school you would give them a firm handshake and congratulate them. Nowadays, a lot of people mock an education and don't feel a degree is worth the frame that holds it or the time spent trying to get it even on the wall. But, when some perp brags to his friends about just doing a nickel at Sing Sing, you would think that he just found the cure for Lupus!! He gets the fist pump, the chest bounce... instant respect from his peers. He has the nerve to wear it like a badge of honor.
It is a sad state of affairs when convicts get more chances and more respect than our veterans and college grads...
Is it hot in here or am I Crazy?

1000 views in 11 days !!! Thank You!!!

I started this blog a little over a week ago and am happy to report that it has been visited over a thousand times already. I want to thank everyone who has been coming back and those who have been commenting. I especially like to thank the small following that has been growing in Russia, yes Russia!!! You know who you are and thank you. T-Shirts and bumper stickers will be available very soon. There will also be contests coming soon to win shirts and stickers... so be sure to visit everyday!

Why do people lie?

"If you are going to lie, you better have a good memory."
                                                    Grandma Cabrera

My father's mother would say this quite often to her husband, he wasn't really in honest guy. Psychology Today magazine says that most people will tell several lies over the course of each day. In my opinion, lying can be considered the very glue that holds society together. The question is, how far do you allow people to go? Some people tell small little fibs, while others tell huge whoppers. Some you cannot even consider real lies, like nodding your head when someone is talking even though you are not listening.
It is amazing what people will lie about from the mundane to the extravagant. We all know a handful of the different types of liars. You have the amorous liar, who just has to tell you all about his latest bedroom conquest. They usually lie about how often they are intimate, what their partner looked like and if they are really brave, how many they bedded at one time. The most interesting part about these people is that you never meet these so-called lovers!!! They usually will attend every event solo with the comment that they go alone because they are on the prowl for their next hook up... they always go home alone too.
You also have the guy that I call "Well that's like..." You know this person; you are almost at the end of your story and they have to start in with their own tale, regardless how interesting your story might even be. Whatever job you had, they had at one time. Whatever place you may have visited, they have also been there. What is funny about these people, if you really listen to them, there is no way that they could have possible done all of the stuff they said they did unless they were like 150 years old!!!
Then there is my favorite liar, he is a very close cousin to "Well that's like...", he is the "One Upper". All of us have been forced to endure the One Upper at some point in our life. There is no end to the tales that they will tell and usually they are so outlandish that the one telling them is actually embarrassing themselves. If you went to Florida, they slept in the Disney Castle. If you said you slept in the Disney Castle then they banged Minnie in Cinderella's bed. They have partied with celebrities, have an unlimited amount of funds and know everything about every single subject.
So I ask this question again, how much of this bulls**t are you forced to endure before you call someone on it? Is there a secret code of decorum that states you must listen to "x" amount of B.S before you are actually allowed to call someone on it? Is it in the Geneva convention? At what point are they testing your intelligence or do they just simply think that you are a fool? Is the liar measured by the amount of lies told or the size of the lie? All I can say is that I am tired of listening to compulsive liars, tired of nodding my head and flexing my eyebrows as if I am believing this line of crap being spewed from some fool's mouth. I am 33 years old, my patience is at an all time low and I can almost guarantee that the next person who tells me about the imaginary girl that he hooked up with last weekend or about how their favorite celebrity just happened to buy them a drink, will fell my thunder. Ah, who am I to lie. I will probably just keep my mouth shut, smile and play the fool.
Is it hot in here or am I crazy?

Review Time

As you might know by now, I like to spend one or two posts a week reviewing either books, movies, shows, etc...

Cowboys and Aliens - As the title tells you, this isn't going to be some thought provoking moving drama. However, it is a fun movie. The action is good and the aliens are different looking from what you are used to; faster, bigger and stronger. Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford are always good in action flicks and of course Olivia Wilde is not too hard to look at either. My one complaint, it could have been about half an hour shorter, seemed to drag in the end.

Midnight in Paris - I will begin this by saying that I am not a Woody Allen fan in the least and I could take or leave Owen Wilson. With that said, I LOVED this movie. Owen Wilson is hilarious as he hangs out with some of the greatest minds in the history of the world. Between a macho Hemingway  and crazy Picasso, the supporting cast is great.The movie is original and keeps you laughing through out. Fast paced with a great ending, this movie is a must for anyone who loves history, literature or the arts.

Final Destination 5 - If you have seen any of these movies then you know that the beginning and the end are predictable. The stars avoid death in the start by one of the character's premonition only to all die throughout the movie in the sequence that they were to die in the original accident. The only reason to watch is to see the manner in which the survivors are killed off. This movie is boring and the concept has become tired. With the exception of a few laughs, there is no reason to watch this film. It is not even that you know the ending, you wont even care how the characters get there.

Small list of Crazy Stuff I've Seen Recently...

We all come in contact with an array of strange individuals in our daily life. Working in transportation, I have the pleasure of seeing these people very often. Some we just walk past and chalk it up to just a bizarre person on the street which we usually forget about within an hour or two... others stay with us for a longer time.
1) A woman finishing up hitting the crack pipe and throwing it on the platform behind a garbage pail. Aahhh... where to begin. How many laws are actually being broken here. You have the smoking on M.T.A property, which you should know is prohibited. You have littering, I mean come on people, there are trash receptacles strategically placed within a short distance of one another just for this reason. And let us not forget the actual crime of smoking crack... still frowned upon.
2) A woman peeing in the tunnel while brushing her teeth. Wow, now I am a huge fan of multi-tasking but since she was peeing in a tunnel and wearing Hello Kitty pajama pants, I really doubt time is much of an issue in her life. It is safe to say that she was not in a rush so she could get to that big board meeting for which she is the C.E.O of. I still do not know what disturbed me more, the tooth brushing, the pajama pants or the public urination. I think the pjs bother me the most... the other two we will just chalk up to proper oral hygiene and normal bodily functions. The pajamas were an intentional act.

South Korea Seizes Capsules Containing Flesh of Dead Babies...

South Korea has seized capsules which contain the powdered up flesh of dead babies. Who..... WHAT? Supposedly these capsules were made in China and are being marketed as a stamina booster... TAKE THAT 5 HOUR ENERGY BOOST! What is the world coming to people? Really, I do not want to jump on the whole Mayan calendar bandwagon but after hearing a story like this huh.... maybe they are onto something. First, can you imagine the individual who has such a job? I know that they are severely overpopulated but there has got to be a better line of work to find yourself in. The dead babies are baked on a stove top and pulverized into powder... this almost sounds like a satire piece for overpopulation or something. Second, try explaining this job to a lady on your first date; "Oh, you're an event planner... that sounds interesting. Me, I grind up the corpses of dead babies to be capsulized and marketed as a stamina booster." mmm, sounds like a deal breaker to me, you're better off just saying your in between jobs. Three, and now here is the best part of the story, no arrest can be made because they say that there were only trace amounts of human remains found in the capsules. For real...? What are the actual amounts of human remains that are needed for a crime to be committed?
This is a really disturbing story people and just another example of how far away we have become as a species from where we really should be. how much more crazy can things possibly become? For years now when ever I heard someone say how bad man has become I would argue that there has always been bad in the world. From the battles at the coliseums of Rome, to the Crusades up to concentration camps, man has done some pretty awful things, has inflicted tons of pain on his fellow man. But this, this just might be some of the most f**ked up stuff that I have ever heard of in my life.
Is it hot in here or am I Crazy?

Correspondents dinner or Friars Roast?

I would like to begin this post by saying that I have nothing but respect for the commander in chief and whoever holds that post. I feel that the leader of the free world deserves that respect. With that said, what the hell is going on in the white house? Last week was the annual white house correspondents dinner and with each passing year it gets further away from its initial purpose and gets closer to becoming a post Oscars like party.
Originally founded almost a century ago, the White House Correspondents Association (WHCA) consists of the journalists who cover the white house and the president of the United States of America. Its initial purpose was to make sure that the white house could not pick and choose which journalist would be covering its actions, thereby not allowing it to opt for those only portraying it in a positive light. And we are not talking about hack websites, or blogs (including this one, ha); the members are from the most revered media outlets in the world; The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, etc...
History lesson behind us, how did this once important annual event become a mockery of political journalism? I am all for a president who can crack a joke at himself but should we not be focusing more on the financial and housing crisis that we now find ourself in than what dress Rosario Dawson wore and if she showed too much cleavage? Let us just look at some of the names who attended this years event. Lindsay Lohan, Kim Kardashian and the puppeteer, ahem I mean her mom, Martha Stewart, Mary J. Blige and the dog from the film "The Artist". Could someone explain to me why this is even called a correspondents dinner any more? Did anyone in attendance have a degree in journalism? Is this really the list of people that we want the rest of the world to see corresponding at the white house?
Lindsay Lohan has been convicted of DUI on more than one occasion, possession of cocaine, misdemeanor theft and probation violation. She has been incarcerated and served house arrest. In 2008 when she attempted to strike up votes for Obama, an unnamed source within his own campaign told the Chicago Sun Times that she  was; "not exactly the kind of high profile start who would be a positive for us". Really? Now she is sitting there rubbing elbows with the most powerful men and women in the country... go figure.
Martha Stewart??? I admit that this is a brilliant woman and a titan of industry but let us not forget that she is a convicted felon people!!! Securities fraud and obstruction of justice!! She served time for crying out loud. Now, I am not saying that she got a tear drop tattoo and was doing push ups in San Quentin but she was in prison.
Kim Kardashian... Sex tape, enough said.
Her Mom... child exploiting money hungry leach.
The dog from "The Artist"... actually, he is respectable, he could stay.
All kidding aside, this started off as an important event and should be held in high regard. I know these people were not hand picked by the President and that they were invited by others. But these invitations should mean something. Possibly given to journalist students as a reward, or political science majors. It should not be seen as a celebrity event where the question is "Who are you wearing?" and not "Who do you write for?".
I think if they time it just right, maybe Charles Manson will be paroled in time for the next dinner.
Is it hot in here or am I crazy?

Little short story for Sunday, "He Always Comes Home to Me."

“He always comes home to me.”  I cannot even count how many times I have heard my aunt Anna say that, and each time it angered me more and more.  I must have overheard my aunt say that thousands of times while I was growing up. When one of the gaccarones who cloistered around my mother’s table for too strong coffee and biscotti would say how they saw my uncle Patsy enjoying the company of another woman or spending the day at the track while his own children did without, her comment was always the same… “As long as he comes home to me.”

This was a comment that I could not understand and one that I knew I would never say.  I loved my aunt, my mother too of course, but I was on another path.  It was a path that would take me far from here, far from this kitchenette and out of this neighborhood.  I am not saying that I am any better than them; in fact my aunt is a beautiful woman, stunning to be honest. Stories go that when she was a younger woman walking down Mulberry Street men would practically break their neck to get an eye of her beauty, young boys newly driving had to swerve as half their body was sprawled out of the car window just to catch a glimpse of the beautiful Anna. But like most of the girls at her time she did not know a life off of Mulberry Street, she did not know that the world offered a lot more than just marriage, children and going to church each Sunday regardless of whether you believed your prayers or the God that that they were supposed to be going to.

She married young, young even for her day’s standards, and never once thought of a life down a different path. Three children, two girls and a boy, came in quick succession and the title of housewife now also incorporated mother. She spent most of her mornings on her hands and knees scrubbing the floor and walls of the two bedroom flat that they lived in above my parents. The afternoon was spent preparing the gravy and pasta for dinner and everyday like clockwork, an hour before her husband was expected to come home from whatever job he was able to find that day, she would transform herself into something radiant.  One would never imagine by looking at her that most of her day was spent in a worn housecoat, her hands wrought with the smell of pine and bleach and her hair perfumed with the scents of garlic and oil, with a baby on her hip and a wooden spoon in her hand in front of a stove making sure that the gravy doesn’t stick because uncle Patsy would hit the roof if his dinner tasted burnt.

 The tragic part of her day was that after all that cleaning, all of that cooking and all that pampering to look beautiful for her husband, the majority of the time he never came home anyway. The thought of her sitting at that table with three doe eyed kids looking at a bowl of pasta getting cold because she wouldn’t let them eat until their dad got home used to bring me to tears almost every night. Finally after the sun would begin to descend and the hunger pangs were more than enough to keep the youngest from crying she would give in and just tell them to eat and that there father would surely be home any moment.  On the rare occasion that he did find his way home within a reasonable hour he usually was not sober enough to notice that his house was spotless, dinner was sitting on the table or that his wife managed to do all this and still look stunning.

I will never forget when Uncle Patsy died and the sickness in my stomach as I watched my Aunt Anna crying by his coffin in the funeral home.  People throughout all of little Italy said that you could hear her sobs of “Mio Pasquale, Mio Amor” for blocks and blocks. I could not grasp how all these people could let her mourn this man. Everyone in that room knew that he could be heavy with his hands on her from time to time and how he usually preferred the company of other women.  They were all well aware that his three kids often relied on the generosity of the neighborhood to eat and be shoed because what Patsy didn’t spend on women, booze and the horses, he spent on himself.  Yet, they still let her canonized him like a saint and throw herself at the coffin that my parents bought because God knows that Uncle Patsy didn’t even leave her with the food in their cabinets… it was bought on credit. Every one saw this honest display of emotion, everyone knew that the cold lifeless body in the coffin did not deserve it, and all that I could think was that even after his death he is still making a fool out of her.

She mourned the man as if he was as pure as the driven snow.  She did everything that the elders on Mulberry Street claimed she needed to do to be a proper widowed woman. I don’t know where you grew up or wear you hang your hat now but this may surprise you, there are certain areas even in this day and age, in this great country of ours, which the rules and etiquette set by a bunch of old ladies carries more weight than the law itself. In proper mourning protocol Aunt Anna wore black after that day for as long as I remember and went one full year not celebrating a single joyous event; even missing out on Christmas and Thanksgiving. You must remember that she was a young widow, not even forty years of age when she buried her husband and though she was still quite an attractive woman she never once accepted the advances of any gentlemen callers, not one single date, not even a harmless cup of coffee.  She viewed any such wrongdoing as a slap in the face to the man she called her husband for two decades.  Within two months of my Uncle Patty’s death my Aunt Anna and the kids moved in with us.  She aged practically overnight after that. No longer dressing as nice as she once did and not even bothering dying the strands of grey as the crept into what was once her jet black mane of hair.  She continued to speak of her Pasquale as if he did no wrong while he walked the earth and God forbid anyone would question the accuracy of her memory of him for they would more than likely feel her wrath. Aunt Anna did not follow her husband into the next life for almost another thirty years after he left this world but all of us who knew her felt that she might as well have been lowered down into the grave with him that very same day, for that would be the day she ceased to go on living.

I did make my way out of little Italy. Inspired by my aunt’s predicament I guaranteed myself that I would do anything in my power to ensure I did not suffer the same fate. I studied hard in school, joining every club that I thought would boost my chances of getting into college and when acceptance letters came from not one but three different schools, for the first time I was able to envision a life different from the ones that I had been surrounded by since my parents brought me home from the hospital.

College life was everything that I expected it to be and more.  It was an opportunity to totally reinvent yourself and be free of the shadow that describes the majority of the girls you grew up with. While they were getting their mom’s wedding dresses fitted to their frames or picking out colors for the surprise nursery I was debating politics in auditoriums and spending my weekends in museums. I didn’t just grow up, I grew out and beyond the reach of the old neighborhood; a place that I never considered defined me to begin with.

I did marry shortly after graduate school and was blessed with two little girls of my own. Thanks to my husband becoming a partner in his accounting firm I no longer have to work and am able to spend more time focusing on the children and making our new house a home. Some days I envy my neighbors as I see them get in their cars and head off to work. Prior to our oldest daughter, Fillomena, being born I made an okay living for myself too as a restorer of fine art.  I oh so loved bringing a long lost piece back to life again and if you ask my colleagues I was quite good at.

But how could I complain? Marc was a good man where it mattered most. He was a phenomenal provider for me and the children, ensuring that we wanted for nothing regardless of the cost.  He is the assistant coach on little Angela’s soccer team and when time is available even takes me out to dinner once or twice a month.  I would be lying if I was to say that out passion is roaring like that of a festival pyre but as you learn with age those stories are only for the fairy tales and hopeless romantics. Being a realist you begin to settle for a roof over your head, someone who never hurts you or belittles you and most importantly you cherish the security for your children.

Marc is forced to work a lot of late nights and is often away on business trips. After a few winless fights we adapted the “don’t ask/don’t tell” policy in order to keep the peace and not upset the children.  Just in case his flight gets cancelled or the meeting is rescheduled I make sure that the house is always spotless, dinner is on the table and that the kids and I look nice and neat. It may not be the life that I envisioned when I first left the old neighborhood and In fact just recently little Fillomena said something that I pray her own daughter never says to her;

“Mommy…. Mom… why do you make such a fuss for daddy every night even if he doesn’t come home in time to enjoy it? Why make such a big meal and get all dressed looking all pretty if you don’t know if he will even see it?”

“FIllomenna, who does Daddy come home to every night?”

“You Mommy, you.”

“That’s right, he always comes home to me at night.”