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The results are in for Russia’s recent presidential election; Seven are dead, 4,444 are wounded, and two million have been jailed. Democracy is alive and well in the old Soviet Union.

It is time we give President Trump some credit. He does fire members of the White House staff rapidly, but at least he doesn’t send them to the firing squad.

A bunch of teenagers vs. the National Rifle Association. That sounds like a fair fight, but keep in mind, the NRA is undefeated and untied.

Keep it simple stupid (KISS). I am not a very good kisser. My mind is challenged to process simple.

“A man has too many enemies than that he can afford to be his own foe.” Ralph Waldo sure could turn a phrase.

Before you can be a real writer, you have to go out and have your heart broken a couple times. Who the fuck wants to be a writer?

“Who is the nervous spirit of this world that must go over and over what it already knows?” asks Michel de Montaigne. Me, that’s who!

A high school student from Parkland Florida said, “I am part of the gun shooting generation.” That is sad no matter which side of the gun you are on.

The ocean is where I belong and where I will end up. Fo sho baby, fo sho.

It turns out my old high school buddy Keith Schiller was quite the “wingman” for the President of the United States. Hey, I am only going on what those two women, who were paid to shut their mouths, (not at all times) stated on national television.

“The Bright Hour” by Nina Riggs is the best book about both living and dying I have ever read. Riggs’ connection with Ralph Waldo Emerson was beautifully interwoven in her story.

Take a close-up look at Joel Osteen. More and more, he is taking on an undeniable physical resemblance to the Devil. (Don’t worry about how I know what the Angel of Darkness looks like.)

Tiger Woods is back. From the bottom, to the top of the world, back to the bottom, now, fighting to claw his way back up the ladder. God puts some people on this earth to keep proving the mob wrong.

I am getting my five minutes of fame. Every once in a while I get a call from a friend saying they just saw me on CNN. My next move is to get my own show.

Bobby Axelrod returned last night for another season of “Billions.” We left off with our hero jammed up. There is no way they can keep ole Bobby down for long.

He is a clear and present danger, who poses a threat to democracy. He is a criminal president. Calm down. I am talking about President Vladimir Putin.

Mr. Trump appeared very ornery while signing into law the new $1.3 trillion-dollar spending plan. The right side of the room is very upset at the president for caving into the idea of more government. Histrionics aside, inwardly he is laughting at the same taxpayers who applaud this plan.

“Putin is a pimp. He could have never outfought Hillary. But I didn’t know until this day that it was Stormzini all along.” President Trump does a vey good Don Corleone imitation.

Everybody thinks it is funny until it is about them. We ALL need to lighten up.

“Little minds have no worries. Big minds have no time for worries, “Socrates professed. I must have a medium mind.

Two women agree they had consensual sex with Trump over 10 years ago. That’s it, that’s all. I don’t care whose side you are on, the media is just as unprofessional (unpresidential) as the guy they hate so much.

I doubt “Stormy” is going to be elected pinup girl for the “Me Too” movement. Sorry ladies, even you guys can’t have it both ways. Sorry again ladies, but Ms. Daniels is good material.

Oh Stormy, Bring back those sunny days.

“What is meant to happen always does.” Best line of the night from the season premier of “Billions.”

I don’t fully understand why the celebration date of Christ’s resurrection is moved around. I do understand that in 2018, Easter and April Fools’ Day are one and the same.

“If you don’t change direction, you may end up where you are heading.”– Lao Tzu. Mr. Lao didn’t specify if that is good thing or a bad one.

“Why so many questions all of a sudden, Rich?” my father asked sipping his Blue Moon. I study others to better understand myself, especially you, Dad.

Ask yourself a question: when was the last time you started a sentence with, “You know what I was wrong about?” As I suspected, you can’t remember.

Don’t mistake my silence for deficiency. It’s known as the “calm before the storm.”

Sleeping with porn stars in the marriage bed, interns under the desk in the oval office, tag teaming movie stars with your brother. And they try to tell me one President is different from the next.

In the end, we only regret the chances we didn’t take. Actually, when I think about that, it is not regrettable, it is sad.

In my best moments I can be Hector. But now as in my past those moments are fleeting, and I long to to be Achilles.

It is very frustrating when you witness people running past you. This time it isn’t people with Quebec license plates in cars on the New York State Thruway. It isn’t every student in my ninth grade advanced algebra class. And, it isn’t all my peers reaching puberty a few years before I do. This is far more demoralizing (maybe). My current humiliation is coming from a mother/daughter duo, a young male gay couple, a teen-age girl kicking a soccer ball, and a gentleman close to my age with a 20-something female, positively not his daughter. I try desperately, to no avail, to crank my legs to a higher level. My limbs are giving me a stern reminder the gear I am searching for abandoned me ten years ago. I am left with no choice but to settle in at a pace suitable for my present circumstances. There is nothing shameful about embracing the role of the tortoise in the race through this world, so I settle in, scan the vast ocean to my left making sure I have enough stamina to complete my journey, and try to come to terms with the moment.

The moment is about a 58 year-old man struggling to hold onto all things vernal. The long runs while vacationing in the Caribbean this past week were bittersweet . They allowed me to conjure up what once was, yet understand what will never be again. Ending up a cliché was not one of my childhood goals. The older man appreciative for what life has brought him but still holding on to the nostalgia of yesteryear was never my plan. What pisses this old man off the most is that he still holds on to resentment and anger for his short comings in adolescence. The pain of my youth has not completely receded and probably will not in this lifetime. I attempt to realize how selfish it is to, at my age, still dwell on not being the king of the prom, let alone not even getting acceptance from my first choice for a date. It has become evident to me that I am still obsessed with some kind of unobtainable missed glory redemption.

The girl at the Craven bar was named Natalia. I had gone down to the resort watering hole to check my phone which had not been touched in two days. I felt a nudge to see who missed me, who might have passsed or what emergencies had erupted back home. Natalia inquired as to why anyone would be flipping through a communication device at 9:00 pm on this majestic starlit night. I smiled, shut the power off and engaged in conversation with Natalia and her companion Liz. Natalia is 27 years old and was born in the Ukraine. Her parents won an immigration lottery in 1991. Her mother applied for the one in a million shot at the jackpot of free passage to the United States. Next thing you know, Natalia is a one year old baby being welcomed to America by a immigration officer at Kennedy Airport in New York. The three of us shared a couple of drinks and plenty of laughs before it was time for me to go back upstairs to my family. Natalia gave me a hug with a peck on the cheek and said, ” I hope this goodbye is not forever.” I headed back to my room feeling a connection between a young girl born in Europe and an old American man searching for something left behind.

The workout room can be a desolate place when you are at a secluded chichi hideaway. Ford Buckner was pushing up weights with a sense of urgency which caused me to pause. In November, we don’t forget what it was like last summer. That can be a problem if your favorite day of the year has always been June 21st. In late autumn we are able to easily conjure up triumphs of summer. We are just as capable of understanding what we are now unable to do. Ford is 18, from Boston Mass., 6’2″, with a lean near-perfectly developing body. “What is your best sport?” I shout across the dumbells. “Soccer or tennis. I have been offered partial scholorships in both sports but turned them down. I am going to study engineering at Vanderbilt in the Fall.” I was perplexed that affirmation in athletics could be treated so cavalierly. I would have died for what Ford seemed so dismissive of. How could someone this young have so much perspective. “Ford, you are a very old soul,” was all I could muster to say. I had been shut out from any awards at high school graduation. There were zero colleges knocking on my door regarding my athletic prowess. I struggled in the category, I still have haven’t figured out, called love. Only recently am I grasping that my-early-in life disappointments motivated me to live a more ambitious life. It gives me the confidence that all the best is ahead of me. Ford from Boston has a 40-year head start.

Steve was easy for me to pick out sitting poolside. The first time I noticed him, alone with his book, I was convinced I was getting a glance into my not so distant future. It turns out Steve is 75-years-old, and a retired partner for Price Waterhouse. Two things about him grabbed my attention: his golden bronze tan and the Camel cigarette that hung so naturally from his mouth. He was reading a book called ‘How to Talk to a Liberal,’ by Ann Coulter. I could not resist striking up a dialogue with a man who could be me in 30 years. “I bought a house here two years ago right before my wife died. The house is for sale and now my children bring me down here to this place three times a year,” he said between coughs. A hard-working life filled with booze and smokes was leaving no one confused why Steve is a very old looking 75. After about an hour, of what I would have to admit was more of an interrogation, I ask Steve my last question. “You are closer to the end than the beginning, if you had a bucket list, what would be the number one thing on it?” For the first time we had been together he took his Camel smoke out of his mouth and crushed it into the ground. “I want to fall in love one more time.”

Every day of the week of my respite I return to the ocean for my slow jog. Finally, acceptance had taken over. No longer can I even fake being the hare, it is long overdue for me to embrace the role of the tortoise. It is a role I have been misguided in avoiding for so long. I cruise by several folks taking a casual stroll in the early morning sun. Only a few runners go flashing past. As they put distance between us, I wrestle with feelings of jealousy, resentment, and anger. I can hear the sound of their feet in the sand gaining on me. Even more challenging is to fight off the urge to race after the ones who have already gone by. At the halfway point, before I am ready to head for home, a man in his 30’s is running in my direction. I decide to try and stay close to him on my return trek. For approximately a mile I stay within ten yards of him. When I reach my personal finish line, I collapse in the sand and notice the hare in front of me has slowed to take a glance behind him. I have been blessed with more than I could have ever dreamed of in this short life. I will not give into the dark voices inside of my head that keep trying to convince me I am near the end. I shout back at them, “I am the tortoise. I will keep moving, and I have only just begun.”

“Did you think you would never reach the point which you were constantly heading?” …… Michel de Montaigne

Abbot Kinney Blvd. , Los Angeles is advertised as the coolest block in America.  It definitely was the most energized street I’ve walked in this lifetime.

Venice Beach, Los Angeles had me in wonderment, like a believer on Christmas morning. I am still trying to understand what that says about me.

 

Everyone is teacher. Everyone is a student. It is all about time and place.

I don’t know the reasons, but for four days my mind slowed and my panaroma exploded. Drugs and alcohol were not involved.

It was said that Billy Graham  is the first private citizen, since Rosa Parks, to lie in honor in the Capital Rotunda. I do believe many politicians have been laid there.

Rev. Graham hung onto life, only to pass at the age of 99. Knowing the after party is even better, why didn’t the reverend leave this life until the wee wee hours of the morning. That is something to think about.

Jared Kushner is a bright young man. Sometimes bright young men do not take job applications seriously.

Oscar Wilde said, “They spoil every romance by trying to make it last forever.”  I wonder who he meant by they?

Daniel Day-Lewis might be the best actor of his era. Still, Gary Oldman deserved the Oscar for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in “Darkest Hour.”

Rational folks do not want to revoke the second amendment. They only want us to remember that our Constitution is a living document.

Barack Obama never stood up to the NRA. Donald Trump has zero respect for anybody but himself, and that is what this fight needs.

Tragedies are not the time for name calling but…… The authorities in Broward County Florida, fucked up real bad.

“In the white room with black curtains near the station.”  Yes, the cryptic “Cream” song blasting on the left coast beach indicated to me that even Hell has a place to go tanning.

It was not officially advertised, but I am pretty sure there was a “creepy van” convention going on near Abbot Kinney Blvd.  Also, the pitbulls must go there for spring break.

If you are in business, it is inevitable that you are going to take some hard punches to your gut. The most pain comes from acting as though it doesn’t hurt.

Hope Hicks. I love the name and we barely got to know you. Welcome to The House of Trump’s revolving door.

Michigan State’s star basketball player has been accused of assaulting over 200 woman.  Major college hoops coaches are under investigation for all kinds of corruption. Still, the March Madness goes on.

My doctors continue to send me for blood tests.  They have not been clear as to what they are looking for. All they need to do is ask me, it could help.

A question for Chuck Schumer in regards to his recent comments about the White House’s administrative team. Aren’t  contradiction and open mindedness siblings?

On the plane ride back East I watched a movie called “Wonderstruck”.  The flight attendant walked by and handed me a box of tissues. I admit, I have always been a rank sentimentalist.

Bill Maher has a hit weekly TV show on HBO. This despite the fact that he is an atheist, he consistently talks down to 90% of the American public, and his sense of humor is  bedevilingly dark. Shit, when do I get my own show?

I was determined to keep my West Coast vibe going for a sustained period of time. The reality is that as soon as my plane touched down in New York my mundane, banal, sophomoric thoughts returned  immediately.

 

This week I received an e-mail in regards to my 40-year high school reunion. For a second I was in a state of shock, then it hit me. I am blessed to have taken life this far.

A woman on Fox News was suggesting we take the word “man” out of the English language. She advocated words such as: “police officer, “postal server”, “thirdbase person”.  I just reread the first page of the King James Version of the Holy Bible and I believe God, as well as all mankind, is going to have a real problem with this suggestion.

“Judge your success on what you had to give up to obtain it.” I do not know who said it, or where I heard it, but it sure as heck has my mind churning recently.

CNN just broke this story: “Trump Organization” is engraving the Presidential Seal on the tee markers at Trump golf courses. “The President could be in big trouble for this,” said CNN’s highbrow geek pundit Richard Painter. Woooohoooo. Now I’m ready to impeach the bastard!

“Everything came too easy for me to ever have any real ambition.” A 83 year-old street punk, born in Brooklyn, during the depth of the Great Depression, spoke those words to me recently. Wow.

In the end, God or the Devil may have the same simple question for all of us when determining our fate. “Do you believe in Magic?” I am sure the Devil does start to weigh in on us all.

And please do not look to me for my answer. I still could go either way.

I can’t understand the media’s fixation with the “mood” of the president. Trump is all about ratings and doing it his way. He may be playing with fire daily, but so far he is winning the game. Try not to forget, that if you believe in forever, it is a very long war.

I felt like I was located at some sort of go-between station the whole time I was in Los Angeles. I got a taste of paradise, it’s all I really need to make me stay.

I keep hearing age is just a number. Then please tell me why people get all bent out of shape when they find out I lied about mine?

Our President called the congressmen and women who did not clap at the State of the Union address traitors. I thought it was funny until I got a certified letter letting me know that Mr. Trump is aware I missed his entire oration.

The poor gentleman who said he needed to conduct an interview with me for 20 to 30 minutes had no idea what he was getting into. Four hours later, he said, “Okay Rich, I’ve had enough. I mean I have enough.”

Hitch yourself to a star and you remain a wagon. Hitch yourself to a has been and you will always be a doormat.

Every time I visit my daughter Laura at Florida State, I ask myself the same question: Of all the colleges in this country, I chose Muhlenberg?

It will be 37 years this November that Natalie Wood ” accidentally fell” overboard from her private yacht and drowned. Last week, Robert Wagner, 85, who was Wood’s husband and on board that night was named by authorities as “a person of interest” regarding her death. To think Wagner must have started to believe he could escape the long arm of the law.

Here’s a question for you hardcore jocks: “Who is the punter for the New England Patriots?” Stop your Google search and admit you haven’t a clue.

I take nothing away from Justin Timberlake’s performance at halftime at the Super Bowl, but, I was hoping for some type of Janet Jackson equipment malfunction, to be perfectly honest .

The stock market is up and down more than a Mexican jumping bean. I did not steal that quote from the President.

I was on a plane jotting down some notes when the lady next to me asked me to stop clicking my pen. Wtf is it with women and clicking noises?

A book has recently been released about the relationship between Jackie Kennedy Onassis and her sister Lee, who is still alive. The book describes the many instances in which the sisters fought over the same man. I will let you do the math.

I just finished reading ‘The Butterfly Hours.’ “Steal from yourself. All sorrows can be borne if you put them into a story or tell a story about them,” says author Patty Dann, along with many other helpful insights about creative writing.

Mary Kate is in Los Angeles interning as a Hollywood Event Planner. Supposedly not her own.

Why does everybody seem so outraged and horrified at the discovery that a large percentage of men are abusive towards women? Any man or woman over 40 already knew the level of abuse but was afraid to discuss it. It is great that women are coming forward and calling it out, but please leave the shock at the door.

The Winter Olympics start this week in South Korea. At the risk of being called a pseudo “academic” I ask, “Does anyone care ?”

The Trump haters have got to calm down. What despot doesn’t like a big parade?

Does Carl Bernstein think he was put on this earth to bring down two presidents? If you don’t know who he is, look in the dictionary for his picture next to “POMPOUS ASSHOLE.”

The budget was passed: $165 billion increase in military spending, and $90 billion increase in domestic disaster relief. The issues on immigration are still at a standstill . The national debt has been increased by one trillion dollars. Trump wants to be king. He certainly is the King of debt.

I did find it strange that there was not a car on the street in uptown Kingston at 6 pm on a Wednesday night. I got a great parking spot in front of one of my favorite watering holes, to find later that I had a $100 ticket on my car. I was supposed to know we were in a snow emergency?

God was overheard consoling his boy after the Super Bowl. “Tommy you can’t win them all. Once in awhile, I must let the other children win.”

I defend all women against any type of abuse. All I ask is that we don’t ignore due process.

Big news in from the Olympics, Rocket Man’s little sister sat behind Vice President Pence during the opening ceremonies. I know, can you believe it?

Mark Twain said, “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.” I may never find them, but I am passionate about finding the right words.

At 83 my father is finally figuring out that there is more to life than making it to 5:00 pm. It is both beautiful and harrowing to observe this late evolvement.

The last page is written and I have the title. Now all I have to do is write the book.

Patty Hearst was kidnapped in 1974 by the Symbionese Liberation Army. There were over 1,000 political bombings in America that same year. The only thing proven thus far about those events is that Donald Trump is responsible.

When Quincey Jones outed an affair between Richard Pryor and Marlon Brando even I got weak in the knees. Call me old fashioned.

You can’t have it all . You can’t always get what you want. You can’t win em all. But it is a lot of fun trying, fo sho.

R.I.P Johnny Cavallari……..They never saw you coming, but they were always happy when you arrived.

You can only respect all things Tom Brady.  Can it get better for him in the next life? Maybe this is the final trip for him. In the future realm, his soul should start on the bottom.

“This was probably the best four years of my life so far,” says a 17-year-old high school football player after receiving a local newspaper’s award as “Player of the Year.”  Son, chances are,  that award  is going to be the highlight of your life. Sad, but usually true.

Foolishness is a close neighbor to strength. I know it, if only I could understand it.

Walking away from deals in business is a necessity at times. Somebody needs to tell Trump that, as much as he hates it, he is in charge of the government now,  not the Trump Organization.

Nothing is more necessary for a woman than the company of an intelligent man.  I know a couple of women who pretend to get by without the necessities.

I have become a good enough person to forgive, but not stupid enough to trust you again. Think about that in the cold dark night.

The New England Patriots do have a punter. I am positive because I just saw him punt, two possessions in a row.

If we wait for the moment everything is ready, we shall never begin.  Exactly.

I saw all these people – marching in this country Saturday. At first CNN announced the crowds as people protesting the shutdown of the government.  I think it is fair to describe that lie as trumping the President.

Because of the government shutdown,  all of the United States Military Academy’s athletic contests were postponed last weekend. Our country has completely lost all sense of priority.

“I feel great, but I am looking forward to the long rest,” said by an elderly gentleman in line next to me at the post office. I never heard death talked about  so cavalierly by a healthy individual before.  The statement definitely motivated me to continue to live hard.

The government shutdown is over. Old Chuckie, and Mighty Mitch claim they got a deal done without the president. The Dems abandoned the Dreamers, and the Republicans tore down their fictitious wall. The fight continues.

I don’t want to be anybody but myself, but I admit I have a “man crush” on Mr. Brady.  Go ahead and laugh, name one person , besides yourself , you’d rather be. I dare you.

“Rich, if  you never opened your mouth, I’d think there is a good, intelligent, and insightful person living inside of you.”  My wife Donna’s words brought a tear to my eye. I am still giving her the silent treatment.

Keith Schiller is a good person, and a better soldier. Still, at this point, he is  a liability to the president. History has proven that, if you are close to the higher rungs of politics, knowing less is more.

The Wizard of Oz is my favorite motion picture. Dorothy and her gang of misfits found, in a magical land, the meaning of their lives. It turned out that they already had the answers.

The weather, sporting events, the accomplishments of your children, and the accomplishments of yourself. If your conversation is  limited to those topics, please, walk on by.

“One starts to get young at the age of 54 and then it is too late.”  Geez, Pablo Picasso was awful smart for an artist.

A local high school football coach with a 74-13 record and six sectional championships was fired after going 9-1 this season. In a text exchange with a player’s parent regarding the season ending banquet, he told the mommy she could “kiss his ass.”  I guess time is up even at the cost of winning.

My birthday is coming up and I think it is time to finally say what needs to be said: I am far too old to being doing sophomoric, stupid things.

We found the line the Democrats have for the dreamers. They will do anything, except shutdown government for more than three days. Give Trump his wall.

I have seen three of the nine movies nominated for the Oscar for Best Picture : “Darkest Hour,” “Dunkirk,”  and “Call Me By Your Name”. And the winner is “Phantom Thread.”

I love coaches. I have one for my mind, one for my body, one for my businesses, one for my writing, and one for personal motivation. Does that make me unreservedly insecure?

A friend of my mine, who also has two daughters, recited this quote to me: “When sisters stand shoulder to shoulder, you don’t stand a chance.” I surrendered a long time ago.

Every time I went into the lane Bucky McCracken always made sure I ended up on my ass. I learned sometimes you need a helping hand after you get knocked down. I still hate your guts , but thanks Bucky.

The ex-USA gymnastic doctor was sentenced to 175 years in jail for his abuse of young gymnasts. I am not a believer in eternity, but an eternity of torture should be his sentence.

The baseball writers are pretty serious about the rules. Possibly three of the best players to ever play the game missed the Hall of Fame again this year: Bonds, Clemons, Rose. The WRITERS’ rules btw.

I had dinner last night with a friend I had not seen in three years. Sometimes I forget how I got to today, and the magnitude of a loyal ally. Thank you Bruce.

Happy 2018 Harry Cacciatore wherever you are!!!!!!

“I consider myself a stable genius……Okay, haters,  it does sound like something I might say, but I swear to you it wasn’t me.

Laura, myself, and my soon-to- be son-in-law had a  meal out in Rhinebeck last week. Even though his offer was declined, he insisted on picking up the check.  I keep telling you “I love this guy.”

A true moment of clarity happen last Saturday at the gas pump……. Can’t remember specifics, though  I was having what kids call a “brain freeze.”

I had a Turkish driver on a recent trip back from JFK airport. He has lived in this country 20 years and he told me, without solicitation, that he loves both America and Donald Trump. I asked why he was enamored by our President.  While driving on the George Washington Bridge he spread his arms as wide as he could and said , “He’s got a set this big.”

My response?……”Now you’re talking Turkey.”

Jake Trapper of CNN and one of Trump’s lackeys were debating on a Sunday morning policital show. For once they took off the gloves and cut through all the bullshit.  Now that was much watch T.V.

Speaking of must watch T.V.: The new season of ‘Billions” can not start soon enough for me. (I got an Axe Capital hat for Christmas.)

My daughter Mary Kate is in LA. Her sister Laura, I think,  is in Tallahassee, or on her way to Brazil. People ask me all the time why my wife and I  are still in Kingston this time of year.  Somebody’s got to work.

Time is up boys!  This time I think they truly tied the score……… Or at least the new generation of gentlemen have to play on a level field.

The dreamers are going to be just fine. All and all they are just another brick in the wall.

The very same people who despise Trump say, “Give us Oprah!” And no, it is not just the Hollywood schmucks.

Mr. President. Shit-hole?

People who say money isn’t everything, I say,  “You want to see my list of what it covers, and you tell me what I am missing?

Or as Johnny Depp has been quoted as saying. “Money did not buy me happiness, but it bought me a big enough yacht to pull up right next to it.”

We all work hard in this life to keep ourselves, and our families comfortable. Then there comes a time we understand that being uncomfortable is how we got to be comfy.

It would be politically incorrect for me to give you my comments on Oprah’s  speech at the Golden Globes with my usual panache.  I  will leave it at it:  “It moved me.”

The actors in black dresses were the same ones sucking up to ole Harvey at the “I layed the golden egg prize” ceremony. The award for the biggest charlatan in a drama went to James Franco.

My investor group had the closing for our new purchase. I had never been to a closing of this size before. I was so embarrassed. Each partner was asked to put two things on the table:  a wallet and a pencil.

I am taking a lot of heat lately from my” grammatically  correct” enemies.  I have been doing my own editing and concede I am failing miserably………Change is a necessary hardship of life.

Why does Donald Trump keep bringing up Hillary Clinton? It is like Lynyrd Skynyrd breaking out their greatest hits album.

Gary Oldman is one of the top actors of our time. He plays Winston Churchill in “Darkest Hour” .  Daniel Day Lewis  ( he ain’t too shabby either) will probably win the Oscar for best actor…… That will take nothing away from Oldman’s virtuoso performance.

Call me crazy. I went to a soothsayer to get some help clearing my brain. The first thing she did was guess my age was 57. So much for the self proclaimed Benjamin Button.

Missouri Governor Eric Greitens admits he had an affair, but denies taking pictures of the other woman wearing a black dress…… I mean blackmailing her.

Watching the the back and forth that goes on between white House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and the news corps is a total waste of time……. I’ve switched the T.V. in my office to the 70’s game show channel.

Mary Kate is already chillin’ in Tinseltown…….. Well, not really.

In  three months Laura is off  of Siegel Inc. payroll forever.  I want to , at this time, extend the best of luck and best wishes to whomever her new employer may be.

“The people all love me.”,   “The sun sets in the east.”,  “Mexico is paying for the wall.”,  “The crowd was huge.”,   “My hands are even huger.” Not lies if you are in the second grade and it is “opposite day.”

On my way to California I had the pleasure of spending two days at Kennedy Airport. If you get to New York you’ve got to check it out.

If you are fortunate enough to be flying out of TerminalFour, have dinner at the Applebee’s on the corner, and breakfast at the Nibble Nook near the gate. (I almost forgot to tell you the prices are very reasonable.)

While I am playing a travel agent, have I told you if you are traveling near the Berkshires, the Norman Rockwell Museum is a must see?…….. Or so I said. Or so I hear.

Good night Harry Cacciatore!!!!!!!……….wherever you are.

During the holidays I put aside significant time for reading, inclusive of several topics. My latest venture into intellectual growth was a book called ‘You Are Not So Smart’………….By page 36 I declared myself.

I read “The Catcher in the Rye” when I was in high school.  It did not do much for me, but the novel is an American Masterpiece, and is the only book, it’s author, J.D. Salinger ever published. Despite my personal distaste for the story, I was always intrigued by Salinger and his reclusive life……If you have read “Catcher” you will love the 2017 movie ‘Rebel in the Rye.’

The Cleveland Browns are going to be 0-16 this season. I am the first to say nothing is a sure thing, but I am going to make this guarantee….. Johnny Football could not have done worse.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, as I continue to write short stories I must go back……..But I draw the line at high school alumni basketball games!

Since she was a little girl Mary Kate has been enamored by Tinseltown. This Thursday we take her to Hollywood for a semester internship…….. It will be interesting to see how she reacts when the bright lights go on.

Many moons ago when I was 21 years old Ward Tice , principal of Pine Bush High at the time, interviewed me for the school’s varsity basketball job. Coming off another winless year he sold me on the idea that the Bushmen were sleeping giants…….. If only I could of held on for 35 years.

Dunkirk and The King’s Choice are two great movies about Nazi advances in Europe during the year 1940…….After watching them you will be confounded that it took the Japanese bombs on Pearl Harbor for the United States to enter WWII.

Having a baby, funerals, buying a house, going through a divorce, illness; these are typical rationales ( I prefer to call them excuses) for people to put a hold on accomplishment…….all of their weak apologies pale in scale to the annual holiday malaise.

My new found interest in art had me looking at several well renowned artists depiction of the Prodigal Son. It turns out I was unclear of the biblical story relating to two brothers and the  claim to their father’s inheritance……. I always was under the impression  it was a nickname my family gave me in deference to how cool I was.

My former college basketball coach Steve Moore has won 808 basketball games. He is 2nd in wins for division III coaches and 20th counting all divisions….. In the fall of 1981 I got the rare experience to  see the destiny of another person.

What is the over/under on how many times CNN headlines in 2018 refer to the possible impeachment of President Trump…….  I set the line at 57. And I’ll take 100 times on the over.

In the whole of 2018 how many times will Fox News say anything negative when referring to the President……… The line is 3. Same amount on the under.

I have completely  surrendered any chance  of victory over Mary Kate. The best I can ever hope for is a tie………..How can you win any debate against yourself?

The temperatures in Kingston have hovered around zero all week………. I have put an embargo on any jabs directed towards South Florida.  Promise.

The media complains about Trump playing too much golf . They complained about Clinton getting serviced by a young intern in the oval office…….  I say to the media , ” Calm down. I want my President to be relaxed.

Far too frequently of late people around me are starting sentences with; “You know how honest I am,”  “You know what a straight shooter I am,”   “You know I don’t bullshit,”  “Frankly speaking” ………Actually, I am not convinced.

In general terms a girl marries a man who displays many of the same traits she witnessed from her father……. In Laura’s case she took the traits that go along with that theory to a much higher level.

A politician was recently quoted saying “I choose conciliation vs. conflict,”………Contrary to the thinking of the people closet to me that is exactly how I feel.

It wasn’t her breach of National security, or her lack of a personality, or her elitist attitude , or her attempts to sabotage Bernie Saunders, or the plane on the tarmac…….Twas the Russians who killed the beast.

A local restaurant owner told me my grave stone should say, “He played a great fiddle”, …………Quite a compliment since I am not musically inclined.

The act of effectively and efficiently developing your brain to its’ fullest capabilities. That is my personal definition of intelligence…….Granted one brain can be more capable than another.

My childhood friend Dino Toscani’s deal to purchase Hunter Mountain may be held up due to a conflict of interest. Rumor is that Trump recently appointed him Ambassador to Aruba………I know this is all true because I heard it from Dino himself.

It is a pleasure to watch the bond grow between my daughters as they are entering adulthood. I deeply love them both equally……….Still I always keep in mind that if they were forced to make a choice I am getting thrown overboard first. Yup, that’s how it goes with sisters.

Amazon’s ad campaign has destroyed for me my favorite Super Tramp song. Hearing ‘Give a Little Bit’ use to make me turn up the radio…….. Now when I hear the song  in the advertisement on the boob tube I throw the clicker at the screen.

I received a desk calendar as a anonymous  gift last year. Each day detailed the origin of a word. I faithfully read the almanac everyday and today 2017 has run out on all of us………I miss my unknown friend already. I hope they read this and send me  a calendar for 2018.

Here is what I have to say to   all the people making New Years resolutions……. Save your breath . You already had 364 days to invoke changes and you did nothing. Yeah, yeah after the Holidays.

When I was young I disciplined myself to not look back, only ahead. In the autumn of my years I find a strange irony in what appears on the surface to have been a successful strategy………The open highway can be a lonely place.

Happy New Year Harry Catchitore!!!!!…….. Wherever you are.