Pet Peeves

As we end the month of July:
-Congress going on vacation tomorrow after a do-nothing session.
-Tailgating drivers.
-For English press 1.
-Drivers changing lanes without flashing turn signal.
-Robo phone calls when I have food on the stove.
-Marketers who call at mealtime and hang up abruptly when they learn my age.
-The F-bomb on TV is not improving my vocabulary. (After my many years of working around waterfront folks.)
Zone four boarding at the airport minimizing availability of overhead bins.
This space__________ for your write-in.
Peevishly yours, tjs

Things are Looking Up.

Some folks in New York are turning their rooftops into micro-farms. And in affluent neighborhoods that maligned 1% are cooling off with rooftop swimming pools. Beats that traffic to the Hamptons. When I first arrived in New York circa 1975 our office was in the Battery near Bowling Green subway station. Most of our secretarial staff came in by subway from Brooklyn and Queens. One summer Monday morning our secretary arrived with an obvious coating of sunburn.  When asked where she got such a burn she replied "Tar Beach" which she explained was her rooftop in Brooklyn.  What a far cry from "The Rooftops of Manhattan!"
tjs

Please Pass the Salt

Recall the old joke intro "A Priest, Rabbi and Minister walked into a bar..........." Well try this twist "A Pope, a plumber and a carpenter walk into the Vatican cafeteria..........." And there his Holiness was, on line, tray in hand and startling the cashier who "didn't have the courage to hand him the bill." Of course, he could have run a "tab" and I'm sure the Vatican bank would vouch for him. This photo catches him sitting in the midst of the workers - (the way Jesus might) - in a straight back plastic chair discussing their concerns and aspirations. There was no rubber necking, no paparazzi flash bulbs, no selfie scramble - just one discreet photographer. The New York Times were so impressed they put this shot on the front page above the fold on last Saturday's edition and it wasn't a slow news day. This man Francis is full of surprises.

tjs

The Hall of Fame

Last weekend the Baseball Hall of Fame inducted six sports greats at Cooperstown, N.Y.  But on Saturday another notable was honored with a sports writer's award at the Hall. His name is Roger Angell, age 93 who for many years spun his prose in the New Yorker and Sports Illustrated and as he said "But I didn't have to write to deadline." He had a marvelous way with words and his describing Willie Mays' magic in his prime would have you present in the Polo Grounds as a witness. As the old vaudevillian used to say "Every movement is a picture!" Memories do fade but years ago I had similar feelings watching the rotund Roy Campanella legging out a three-base hit or watching Jackie Robinson levitate over second base at old Shibe Park to force the Phillies into overtime. Roger told an interviewer that he "blogs" to stay sharp. Egad! That is what I do, too. While I am only an octogenarian it may be that he and I are "bloggers" of a feather.
Carry on, Roger, and keep turning those phrases.
tjs

A Touch of Show Biz

Forty - some years ago when I was still working in Philadelphia I heard from an old friend in Chicago who had just met a new acquaintance who was in Show Business. He was shortly to appear in a musical with a week's run in Philadelphia and since he was a stranger to our city could I, as a favor, arrange to meet him and offer some brotherly friendship. It turned out he was the leading man in this road show and it took me a while to reach him thru intermediaries. I invited him to lunch and suggested a private club where he could avoid any fan recognition. As we had nothing in common but a mutual friend, I sensed that conversation might be strained but after the first drink he launched into a recitation of his romantic conquests. His modus operandi was to avoid the leading ladies as they were demanding and temperamental with layers of agents. His practice was to proceed with the chorus ladies who would be more appreciative of his attention. So went this tutorial of Show Biz 101! I passed up his invitation to the "cast party" fearing for my local reputation and confined any further contact to an aisle seat in the orchestra.
tjs

Hail Britannia!

As a closet Anglophile I am concerned with the news coming out of Britain:
-A member of the P.M.'s cabinet was recently convicted in the phone hacking scandal that enmeshed the Tabloid community.
-In the Midlands it is alleged that there is a concerted effort to introduce an Islamic ethos into a few schools in Birmingham.
-Scotland is threatening to secede from the United Kingdom with a vote due in September. Celebrities are adding their voices with Sean Connery favoring separation and J.K. Rowling urging unity.
-And to top things off, the Queen's horse failed a drug test at Royal Ascot.
It's a good thing they have that year old prince to offset these reversals. Carry on with a stiff upper lip!
tjs

Senior Secrets

Have you ever wondered what goes on within the walls of those senior citizen residences? Meet my friend Vince - an 89 year old widower - former fighter pilot in WWII and successful in business. Finding himself with an empty nest he down sized into a comfortable suburban senior community where the entry fee was in six figures. He kept active with competitive bridge games, helped with the bingo and assisted with the groups books. He was a 14 karat occupant. One day he phoned to tell me he was dating again and invited me to lunch to meet his current lady friend. During conversation over lunch the lady leaned over and said "Your friend Vince is a keeper!" And I knew exactly what she meant. The Irish have an expression "May the Good Lord "keep" you in the palm of his hand."
tjs

Nary a Cross Word

There is a lady in Sandwich, England who reads the Daily Telegraph of London which she buys like "thousands of other dementia-fearers because of the kindly crossword." I tell myself I am not fearing the "D" word even though I challenge the New York Times crossword puzzle every day. Monday's is reassuring but by Friday the frustration level builds when I am not able to identify the latest "rap" artist.  And Sunday's puzzle usually requires a committee but I will be ready for that eight letter word meaning "chronic disorder of the mental processes." But I sure do like those four letter words.
tjs

Bumper Stickers

Heard the priest at Mass yesterday quote this one:
"Be kinder than necessary!"......J.M. Barrie

The best things in life are not things.

It's five o'clock somewhere.

Not all who wander are lost.

Since I don't like my bumper littered, we have the following posted on our refrigerator in Cape May:
"Just be Nice!"
And we hope all the renters will take the hint.
Have a nice day!
tjs

Now They Tell Me

The NY Times is commenting on the prevalence of acronyms in the conversation i.e.
BOGO = buy one get one.
YOLO = you only live once
FOMO = fear of missing out
Now a pharmaceutical giant has added FOGO = fear of getting old. They are introducing a hashtag #FOGO. There is also a #FOGO Quiz that advises "It's time to tell the truth about aging. The less you fear it, the more you'll enjoy it.......it can be the best time of your life. So join us and get old with a new attitude." While this is all too late for me, I could be persuaded to cancel my burial fund.
tjs
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/16/business/media/pfizer-to-inject-youth-into-the-aging-process.html?ref=business&_r=0

What's New in Sports

It appears that the genteel lawn game of Croquet is having a resurgence of popularity. In far flung communities of Prospect Park in Brooklyn and Cape May, N.J. the male players are donning their straw boaters and white slacks and attacking the greensward - the female players adopting uniforms of their choice. The rules of the game are rather complex and I can envision Bob Newhart trying to explain them to his phantom phone listener. "You need a wooden mallet that you swing between your legs - that's right  - and the mallet propels a colored wooden ball across the lawn and the intent is to put the ball thru a horseshoe shaped wire called a wicket - yes - yes - and you do this nine times!! After which lemonade is served to all combatants. It's a little like golf without the frustration." The best part is I can wear my straw boater again.
tjs

Life imitating Art

Forget privacy! The cameras are everywhere - clicking and rolling - you can't even pick your nose anymore. Unless you were in Brasil for the last four weeks you probably couldn't avoid seeing the TV shot of the poor guy napping in Yankee Stadium during a Yankees-Red Sox game. He paid for his ticket and was catching a few winks and the game was close but the TV announcers seemed obsessed with zeroing in on him with a running commentary. The upshot is he is suing all concerned for invasion of privacy and other indignities. The NY Times recalled a similar incident from a Seinfeld episode where George was caught on camera devouring a sundae at a public arena causing him embarrassment and a romantic breakup. Then I think back a few years to that baseball fan at Wrigley Field who interfered with a home team player while attempting to catch a foul ball. He was identified and harassed publicly. So if the Yankee Stadium fan's case goes anywhere, look out Chicago!
tjs

The All Star Game

The All Star Baseball game will be played tonight in Minnesota between the American and National League teams. This is for more than bragging rights as the winner will dictate the home field advantage for this year's World Series. Thirty teams are represented while in days gone by there were only sixteen teams and the talent was more concentrated. One of the greatest performances was in the 1934 game when New York Giants pitcher Carl Hubbell struck out five all-stars in a row with his screwball viz. Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmy Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin. His "scroogie" screwball acted the opposite to a curve ball and puts a strain on the arm but Hubbell pitched for eighteen years and there was no disabled list (DL) back then. Ogden Nash wrote a tribute to the all-stars of his era called "Line up for yesterday" by Ogden Nash. You can find it on Wikipedia. Let's play ball!
tjs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line-Up_for_Yesterday

World Cup Final

Bom Dia! Well, the World Cup is over -  Germany won their seventh and final game of the tournament and Europe will have bragging rights for the next four years. It was an exciting and physical contest going into extra time. So the 2018 games will be in the Russian Federation with its nine time zones. So order your tickets now. But the 2022 games are scheduled for Qatar in the heat of their summer and this is not sitting well the the folks who have to play the games. How many water breaks can you have? Stay tuned for developments.
tjs

World Cup V

Brasil is a huge country and while I have not visited there, I am somewhat familiar with the geography as my previous employers U.S. Lines and Crowley called our container ships at the various ports of call viz. Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Recife and Fortaleza - port cities that were also host locations for the various preliminary games. No, we didn't go up the Amazon to Manaus. Let's hope that Brasil's pride will get them up for the consolation game against The Netherlands on Saturday July 12th - the date of a super full moon.  And for the Sunday final look for Germany to double team Messi - if they can - and keep the Cup in Europe. More later.
tjs

World Cup IV

Bom Dia! It's Thursday and the rain has stopped in Sao Paulo and there are two teams left standing - Argentina and Germany will play for the World Cup Sunday.  So Lionel Messi of the dancing feet will come up against the German well oiled machine who will be well rested. There is a practice at these games which I find charming - as the players enter the stadium they are escorted by little children holding their hands and all line up as the National Anthems are played. This occurred in all twelve cities over the last four weeks of play. There is also a sense of irony as Argentina will play for the Championship in the heart of Brasil in Rio de Janeiro. So it will be Europe vs South America and hope they get good weather. More later.
tjs

World Cup III

Bom Dia! Good morning - it's Wednesday - but it is not a good morning in Brasil after their national team was stunned and embarrassed by Germany's well oiled machine. More like it's "good mourning"! At least six of the German players play on the same team in the German winter league and their performance showed. They now play for the World Cup on Sunday and Brasil has to settle for the consolation game on Saturday. But today it will be Argentina with the dancing feet of Lionel Messi - you can't take your eyes off him - versus The Netherlands whose striker Robben has legs like pumping pistons. This should be a much more even match. More later.
tjs

World Cup II

Bom Dia! It is Tuesday and time for the first semi-final game between host country Brasil and Germany. Brasil's star striker Neymar was injured in the game against Colombia and is out for the rest of the tournament. But Brasil will have the home crowd on their side. Germany is very balanced with a deep bench so it should be a good match - 3:30PM EDT today.
Some observations: with so many scores 1-0 it demonstrates that the goal keepers are the stars of this Cup. Algeria had to play during Ramadan and the entire team are Muslims - they went as far as they could. Many of these opponent players are teammates during the winter in the Premier Leagues of Britain and Europe who then go home to represent their nations against each other. Let's hope we have an injury free match. More later.
tjs

World Cup

Bom Dia! Which is Good Morning in Brasil, the site of the World Cup which brings together national teams from 32 countries to play in 12 cities over a four week period. On the whole, form has prevailed as the last four teams standing are host Brasil who plays Germany on Tuesday July 8th and Argentina who plays The Netherlands the following day with the Championship game on Sunday July 13th. To paraphrase Joe Biden, the World Cup is a Big ____ Deal. And the Veep was present for opening ceremonies  as were many Heads of State. It is such a big global event that when a German won the U.S. Golf Open tournament he knew he would be preempted by "futball" in the German press. More later.
tjs