Friday, May 29, 2015

Sweet Love

Sweet Love


Lionel Richie and the Commodores wrote and sang a fabulous song called "Sweet Love." Unless you're either very young or have been living in a cave your whole life, you know how great the Commodores are. If you don't know them, buy their music NOW.

The reason I love this song is because it talks about a world I would love to live in. A few of my favorite lines:

"Show me a place where dreams are for dreamers and all the things you wish come true, yeah, I'd wish the world had all happy people then there'd be no wishing to do."


Can you imagine such a world? It would be a dream come true. 

"Sweet love that comes through the ages reach out and touch my soul gave my life so much meaning and everyone a heart of gold."


Just hearing those words gives me goose-bumps. I'm trying my best to be the one to touch someone's soul. I love the people, in my life, that reach out and touch my soul. 

Too many of us are tainted. Too many of us believe these lines are bullshit and will never be achieved. Too many of us have just stopped trying. Too many of us are focused on the negative stuff that's going on in the world today. Not Me!!

We can dream about a better future for us and our children's children, but if we want that to happen:

"I know you're searchin' and I know it's been hard tryin' to find your way, but you got to keep on searchin' harder day by day cause it's love, love's the only way. 

Love, love Sweet Love."





Tuesday, May 26, 2015

You Can Tell A Lot About A Person By The Music They Listen To

You Can Tell A Lot About A Person By The Music They Listen To


As a young child I listened to the music my father listened to. He liked opera, big band and singers like Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Nat "King Cole," etc.  My Dad was conservative, mild mannered and risk adverse. In the forties, jazz was the music of the risk takers.

I got to like some of my dad's music. I cried when I heard operas sung by Enrico Caruso and Mario Lanza. I also like Frank and big band to this day, however, I'm far from my father's temperament - I'm an old, yet still young at heart, rocker.

In my early teens when ninety eight percent of people loved the standards by white singers, I only listened to the other two percent of the radio stations that played black music. One such station was by a DJ called Jacko. He would start his radio show by saying: "once again it's rocket ship time and the ones on board must be out of their mind."

He played songs by The Platters, The Drifters, Fats Domino, Lloyd Price, The Spinners, etc. etc. He never played songs by white singers like Bill Haley & His Comets, The Everly Brothers, The Kingston Trio, etc. etc. At the end of his show Jocko would say: "I'm like a roach on a post - too smooth to move."

I love black music because it has a fabulous beat and is easy to dance to. That music is still inside my soul today. Maybe it was that music that made me want to be different than my father (he hated rock and roll music). I wanted to be out there not behind the scenes like my father. I wanted to be a risk taker which my father was just the opposite. Listening to black music when everyone else was listening to white music, made me different. I like being non-standard.

Today I'm all over the place. I love country, the fifties and sixties oldies (including some white singers and bands), Rock and Roll, etc. If it has a great beat and I can dance to it, I love it no matter who the singer or group is.     

People who listen to country music come in two flavors. Traditional country sung by Johnny Cash, Willy Nelson, Hank Williams, etc. etc. and country rock sung by Blake Shelton, Confederate Railroad, Bob Seager, Creedence Clearwater, etc. etc. I believe the older generation still favors traditional country and are very conservative. The younger country generation and older rockers like me, prefer country rock. Since I'm not conservative, I assume most of the country rock people are also not conservative

Sixty eight percent of black people like rap music. Thirty one percent of all the people who like rap music do so because they want to put the windows down on their piece of shit car and blast their rap music, out the window, pissing off anyone within one hundred feet of their car. Only seven percent of brown people like rap music and Asian people just don't get it.  I like some rap music, but too much is too much. The groups I like most are Cam'ron and The Black Eye Peas.

Ninety one percent who listen to boy bands like Maroon 5 or singers like Justin Beaver are under twenty years old. Obviously they are so young they don't know shit about music or what's going on in the world. I hate boy band music. Only four percent still listen to Jazz most of the time. The only reason I don't like Jazz is because I can't dance to it.

Sooo, what kind of music do you like the most? Do you believe your music fits your personality? I know my music says exactly who I am - Rock and Roll fills my soul.

BTW, you're probably wondering where the hell I got all those percentages stated above. The truth is:


I Just Made Shit Up




Sunday, May 24, 2015

Potpourri

Potpourri


It's holiday weekend and I decided to give you a few sentences from my favorite blogs. Some of them are funny, some serious, some controversial and some that just make sense.


BLOG "SEX"

Sooo, what am I saying here - it's simple, SEX is FUN. No more thinking about it. No more stressing about it. No more believing what others have put into your head. No more theories as to why we have orgasms. STOP ALL THE HANG-UPS. Just go out and have as much SEX as you can because:


It's a hell of a lot of FUN!


BLOG  "Take My Wife.....Please"

Airline Jokes
Getting on a plane, I told the ticket lady, "Send one of my bags to New York, send one to Los Angeles, and send one to Miami." She said, "We can't do that!" I told her, "You did it last week!"

The food on the plane was fit for a king. "Here, King!"


Doctor Jokes
A doctor gave a man six months to live. The man couldn't pay his bill, so he gave him another six months.

My doctor grabbed me by the wallet and said, "Cough!"

The Doctor called Mrs. Cohen saying, "Mrs. Cohen, your check came back." Mrs. Cohen answered, "So did my arthritis!"


BLOG "Time For Cloths Off"

Here is the most important question; "when you get home, do you take your clothes off and get comfortably ugly? Are you afraid to let your spouse or friend see you with clothes that don't match, but are super comfortable? How do you feel about swing in the wind without underwear?

Trust me, you'll never really get to know your spouse or friend until you see them ugly. Hugging in comfortable clothes is much better than hugging in party or business clothes. Hugging someone who isn't wearing any underwear is more thrilling than hugging someone who has layers protecting the good stuff. 

Sooo, say it loud and say it proud:

"TIME FOR CLOTHES OFF"



BLOG  "Knock, Knock, Knocken On Heavens Door"

Who the hell wants to wait to die before we can be rewarded with the greatness that some of us call heaven? I want to be rewarded NOW. I do the right thing because it makes me proud of myself NOW! I give unconditional love to myself and others because it feels so good NOW. 

This heaven and hell crap can hold you back from enjoying the goodness of today. This heaven and hell bullshit is not going to make an evil person less evil. If you focus on how you engage the world today you will be either rewarded with positive energy or negative energy. It's your choice NOT some religious teachings that was passed down to you by your parents or someone else who used heaven and hell to set your path in life.


BLOG "Racism In America"

Racism is all about anger. Why are we still so angry?  Maybe our father's father (black or white, Asian or Hispanic) had a reason to be angry, but what the hell does that have to do with us? I realize anger can be passed down to other generations, but why can't we take a step back and say: "my father's anger is not serving me. My father's anger is not helping me become happier. Having racism in my heart will only greatly reduce the chances of my kids having a happy life."

Racism in America has outlived its usefulness.  We need to just see people as people. It's their actions we need to focus on not their color or their accent. It's not about who is shooting who. It's about three things. Learning to live with everyone, getting rid of the anger that a parent, friend or relative put into our heart and realizing;


Racism In America - What Is It Good For - Absolutely Nothing


BLOG " What Are They Afraid Of"

The facts are, gay people are just like us.  They work just like us.  They worry about finances just like us.  They fall in love just like us. They have gay and not gay friendships just like some of us. They have bad days and good days just like us. They adopt children just like us.  They love their children just like us.  They try their best to make a happy life for their children just like us.  Most of all, just like us, they want to have a happy life.

Do you really believe if they marry, your life will be worse?  Do you really believe if they marry, the Church will go under?  Do you really believe if they marry, your children and their children will grow up in a demon world?  Do you really believe if they marry the United States and the rest of the world will fall apart?  Come on, you know the answer to these questions is NO!

Sooo, what the hell are they afraid of.  I really don't know and I'm not sure they know.  I have never heard anyone give me a specific reason as to why being gay is wrong.  Saying the Bible says so, is leaving all your decisions to a book.  Saying it's just not right, is not an intelligent answer.  Saying that's the way I was brought up, is giving control of your life to the past.  Saying it discuss me, is saying you have no incite as to how you feel about things.



BLOG  "Superstition, Horoscopes and Fortune Cookies"


The fact is that some people are paranoid about some superstitions. They actually let them have an impact on their lives and their happiness. Ask yourself, how the hell can a rabbit's foot or a coin bring you good luck? Do you really believe if you break a mirror or have a black cat run in front of you, you'll have bad luck? What the hell does a mirror or a black cat have anything to do with luck? As a matter of fact what the hell is luck? Believing in luck is probably the most insidious superstition of them all.

You can't really believe that the daily horoscope is correct for the tens of thousands of people (who are all different and born in different years) who read and react on these bullshit horoscopes. Do you realize these daily horoscopes are written by a news writer who was delivering internal mail six months before he or she was asked, by the editor, to write the daily horoscope. If you don’t, then I know a surgeon who is a master at performing lobotomies.  


Now for those of you who believe in horoscopes, you must believe in the fortunes inside Fortune Cookies. Sooo, let's take an example. Speaker of the House of Representatives in Congress, John Boehner goes to Panda Express to get his Chinese lunch. He gets back to his office in Congress and opens up his Fortune Cookie. It says: "your personality will win over everybody." Speaker Boehner reads the fortune, goes out of his office and runs through Congress waving his fortune while screaming: "I have a personality, I have a personality, I have a personality!!!


Get real people! These cookies have fortunes written by a machine and then stuffed into a weird shaped cookie. IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU! However, if your desperate for good news (BTW, there is never bad news in a Fortune Cookie) hold off on getting the lobotomy and allow the fortune to put a smile on your face.

The bottom line is that if you believe in Superstitions, Horoscopes and Fortune Cookies and that helps you get through the day, I'm all in favor of it. However, just make sure you say to yourself,

I know its bullshit, but just in case...




BLOG "Alien Invasion"

Except for the obvious, that bad Aliens make movie people a shit load of money, the people who make movies and TV are smart. They bring in scientists, astronomers and NASA people to help create their movies. These brilliant people know that any Alien race that has the technology to travel through space beyond the speed of light (that's what it would take to get here) would not do so to replace or save our sorry ass race.


Let's get real; we here on earth are already destroying ourselves. We have Arabs killing Arabs, Africans killing Africans, religious groups killing other religious groups, Americans killing Americans and everybody sucking all of our limited natural resources like it will last forever. So why would any Alien race travel millions and millions of miles to either destroy or save this stupid race of people?


Even in a few movies where the Aliens are good guys, they're not here to save us from ourselves. Take the Spielberg movies "ET" and "Close Encounters Of The Third Kind." In "ET," all that cute little Alien wants to do is call home so he can get the hell out of here. In "Close Encounters Of The Third Kind," the Aliens were nice enough to take a few of us back to their planet because they knew this one sucks.



BLOG "Button, Button, Please Stop Pressing My Buttons"

OK, enough about me, what about you? Have you come to terms with your buttons? Do you realize reacting poorly to the button pushers are never going to make you happy? Have you done anything to find a way to either get rid of your buttons or at least not get as angry, frustrated or depressed when someone is has his finger on your button? 

My blogs are about happiness. Buttons are the antithesis of creating a happy life. We work hard to make a living. We work hard to raise a family. We work hard to generate good friends. We work hard to make us more attractive. We work hard at finding something that will make us happy. 

Now is the time to work even harder at minimizing the number and the pain of those freak-en buttons




BLOG  "I Love You"

I have a few dear man friends. I never said "I love you" until I was sixty because it wasn't the macho thing to do. After saying it a few times to them, they started saying it to me. I meant it when I said it to them and I believe they meant it when they said it to me. It really feels good to end a conversation with saying "I love you" and have the other person come back with "I love you too." 

My dog Zita always says "I love you" when I walk in the door. It's easy for her and it's easy for me to say it back to her. Sooo, why is it so difficult to tell the people you truly love, "I love you?" 

Now that you have read this blog, there are no more excuses for not telling the people (including the dog), your car, etc. whom you truly love "I love you." Start today. You'll be surprised how good it will make you feel and how often "they" will say it back to you.


I love you! I love you too! 
Big hug goodbye! 



BLOG "Jewish Guilt"

Sooo, what is all this guilt about? Giving guilt is a controlling action. It's done to get people to do what you want them to do. When you don't have the facts or the proof - give them guilt. When you don't believe you can convince them any other way - give them guilt.

Feeling guilty is all about YOU! Why would you feel guilty if you want to be a Plumber? Do you really think your mother is going to lose all her friends? What does your mother's delivery pain have to do with you wanting to skip college? Will the family disown you if you don't drive the 100 miles to go to your Grandmother's funeral?

When are you going to love yourself enough to stop feeling guilty?



BLOG  "Domestic Abuse" 

Growing up, people would talk about women who everybody knew were getting beat-up by their husband or boyfriend. However, nobody took action because it was believed it was none of their business. At that time policemen were just that - MEN. They didn't give a shit and considered domestic abuse was a man's right. They assumed the woman deserved what she got.

We are making progress, but we have a long, long way to go. Domestic abuse is a horrible problem in our society and many other societies around the world. The odds are stacked in favor of the abuser. For that reason, too many abused children, men and women don't come forward. The horrible feeling of being violated and not being able to get justice, leads to sever depression.

We do have women's groups committed to helping abused women. We have made much more progress regarding child abuse. We've made progress by the media exposing domestic abuse. We've made progress with organization saying this is not acceptable. But, until every American has in their heart that racism and domestic abuse must never be tolerated, we will still be dealing with this for many, many years to come.

I know what's in my heart. What's really in YOUR heart?



BLOG "Monsters"

Sooo, what should all of us get out of this blog? One, like the movies, we will cheer when these evil monsters are eradicated. However, just like the movies, when we get rid of these monsters, more monsters will show up. 

Two, stop believing there is a better life after this one. Forget what your parents, your church, your organization, etc. tells you - live your life NOW because you have no proof that life after this one is better. The people who want you to believe in faith are the ones who can't prove shit about the afterlife.

Third, don't get yourself too upset about these monster ISIL Terrorists. They want us to believe they are more evil than the movie monsters because they kill people by cutting off their heads or burn them in a cage. Like the movies, they are just monsters, who are going to be eliminated fifteen minutes before the movie is over, and when they die,

They Are Not Going To A Better Place



BLOG "Dance Your Ass Off"

When I was young, dancing was a big part of my enjoyment. We always had parties where dancing was the expected entertainment. We had slow dancing, jitterbug dancing, bumping and grinding, disco dancing, dancing the twist and five different kinds of line dancing. We danced all night and sweated like Sumo Wrestlers. 


We ate and drank and sweated it all out before the party was over. We marveled at the best dancers and laughed at the ones who couldn't keep a beat. The music was infectious. The songs from the best groups were created to be dance music not just listening music. If the music had a great beat and was easy to dance to it sold well. Nobody really cared what the words were as long as the beat was right. Very few songs had deep intellectual messages.


The slow songs were love songs and the fast songs had very few lyrics. New groups created songs that would use different dance steps to make them popular. The Diamonds created The Stroll. Chubby Checker created the twist. Some of the kids created their own line dances and we would all follow their lead.


There were dance contests. There were dance TV shows like Soul Train and Bandstand. In those shows the kids on the show danced. They were the show. The best dancers were allowed to stay from show to show. I had my brief stint on Bandstand. I had to take three busses to get to the show after school, but, it was well worth it to be able to dance on TV. I really loved to dance. All the bullshit going on in my life and the world was gone while I was dancing my ass off.


Dancing was a big part of our lives and our happiness. Then the seventies and eighties happened. People stopped dancing and started listening to the words. It was a time in our history where young people were angry at the establishment and our country's politics. The Vietnam War was the catalyst for groups wanting to send a message. Although, this was the most meaningful time of young people's lives, it limited the number of songs that were just fun to dance to.


In the eighties and nineties, young and old people stopped having dance parties in their homes. They went to concerts where they just stood up and cheered. They went to venues (like Raves) where the music was so loud you couldn't talk to the person next to you. The crowd was so huge that all you could do was listen to the music and jump up and down. No more line dancing. No more new dance steps. No more bumping and grinding. Dancing was not the reason you got together - it was all about the music. You had to go to a wedding or a special event to dance.


Today, dancing is almost a lost art. Yes we have TV shows like "Dancing With The Stars," but now we're watching not participating. I guess nobody wants to sweat like Sumo Wrestlers anymore. Since I'm from the good old days, my wife and I have parties with our friends and play oldies and dance our ass off.  Everybody has a fabulous time dancing.


I believe the kids today would rather go to a party and just listen to very loud music while getting stoned.  The closeness you feel when slow dancing or even fast dancing with your friends is gone. Getting laid has replaced slow intimate dancing. I'm all for getting laid, but how about doing that after you had fun dancing your ass off.  You can do both.


Other than a party, where do 40 - 80 year old people go to dance? Very few places exist so we eat and drink at bars while listening to a piano or piped in music. Sometimes my wife and I get off our stool and find an open space, at the bar, where we can dance. People like watching us because they see we're having fun. However, in a bar with over a hundred people, two seniors and maybe one other couple are dancing. Everybody else is watching.


Dancing is great exercise, stimulating, embraces another human being and a shit lot of fun. We need to find a way to put dancing back into our lives. We need to get our kids to enjoy dancing. We need restaurants and bars to give some of their eating and drinking space to enable at least four couples to dance.


We need to sweat like Sumo Wrestlers while laughing and having fun Dancing Our Ass Off!





Sunday, May 17, 2015

A Happy Ending

A Happy Ending


Suicide, what an ugly word. When someone asks you what's the first thing that comes to mind when you think about America the vast majority of people would say: "freedom." We have freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to congregate, freedom to vote, freedom, freedom, freedom. However, we don't have the basic individual freedom to take our own life - what's up with that?

Why does the government give a shit? It's not like we don't have enough people. The fact is we already have too many people and it's getting worse. The fact is that if we keep going like we're going we won't have enough resources to take care of all the people. I say the government should weed out the herd by creating a pill that anyone could buy, over the counter at their local supermarket, if they want to end it all.

The reason the government doesn't allow suicide is - The Church. Now that brings up an interesting dichotomy. The Church (of many religions) tells us that after death we will go to a heavenly place run by a fabulous GOD. That heavenly place will be unbelievably beautiful and serine. In that heavenly place we will be able to see loved ones (including our loved pet) who passed before us. That heavenly place will have Angels flying around making us happy and eliminating all our stress.

Sooo, why does The Church say suicide is a sin? Maybe, just maybe, someone high up in The Church thought that this heaven crap may be all bullshit and didn't want everyone killing themselves. Maybe, just maybe, there weren't enough people around back then and they wanted to keep the race going. Maybe, just maybe, The Church needed more followers and givers so The Church could survive and thrive.    

Terrorists do everything they can to convince their people they will be rewarded, in the afterlife, if they blow themselves up. Are they right - HELL NO!!!  Maybe, just maybe, people would think twice about killing themselves if there was absolute proof that heaven did not exist. KNOWING that here on earth is all there is and after death you don't go to a better place, you just go either in the ground or in the furnace, maybe, just maybe, that would stop some people from blowing shit up.

Some of us think it's sad if someone we know commits suicide. We want them to see a psychiatrist or go to group therapy even if they are in debilitating pain or have an incurable disease that will end in a horrible death. To those people I say, "what's it your business." If that person wants to leave this life, it should be their choice. 

Some of us won't put to sleep an old very sick pet because they can't stand the thought of their own grief. I say, that's elder abuse. Believe me, if that pet could shoot a gun, he would blow his brains out.

Maybe, just maybe, the problem is that the word suicide is such an ugly and negative word. 


What if we called it "A HAPPY ENDING?" Most people would be OK with that. 







Friday, May 15, 2015

THE Most Precious Thing In Your Life

THE Most Precious Thing In Your Life


My dear friend asked me yesterday if I was happy. I told him I was so happy I felt like I was cheating. He asked me why so? I told him that I had a great wife, a nice home, enough financial security to feel safe, but most of all THE Most Precious Thing In My Life was TIME!

Growing up I had school, homework and a job at my father's tiny luncheonette. The few hours I had for myself were my most precious TIME. I could choose to play with my friends, enjoy my hobbies or just sit and read.

As I got older I had work, a wife, a dog and two kids. My precious TIME was almost zero. Even walking the dog seemed like a commitment instead of a TIME to be with myself. I realize now I could have made more TIME for myself, but I was too exhausted to consider that.

As the years went by, I viewed TIME as my enemy. I was getting older. The end was coming soon. Then something major happened - I retired. Instead of looking at how many years I had left, I was thinking of how lucky I was to have THE Most Precious Thing In My Life - TIME.

I now had TIME to write. I now had TIME to follow my passion - football. I now had TIME to run errands when I wanted to not when I had to. I now had TIME to play my guitar. I now had TIME to walk the dog when I wanted to and enjoy the TIME with just her and me. I now had TIME to travel when I wanted to not the two weeks off the company gave me. I now had TIME to read, watch TV or do absolutely nothing.

We believe THE Most Precious Thing In Our Life is a great wife, a fabulous car, kids or grand kids, financial security, a beautiful home, best friends and family, an unconditional loving pet or our electronic gadgets. What we stop to realize is none of those things are any good if you don't have the TIME to enjoy them.

Sooo, I'm suggesting to you, if you don't have TIME - make TIME. Don't wait for requirement, if that day ever comes, think of TIME as your friend and make it;

THE Most Precious Thing In Your Life