Reality TV

My wife has me hooked on Downton Abbey. The Brits do it so well. Recent episode Jan 6th has the host family threatened with bankruptcy and/or foreclosure i.e. they could lose the family mansion with all the maids, butlers, valets and footmen out on the street. The timeline was post WWI. But reality in post WWII in England was not easy either. Food rationing continued long after war's end. A friend stationed in England during WWII brought back a song of the times to do with a family mansion being foreclosed and home and contents being sold at auction. Kitchen staff were in the auction house and as each item went under the hammer there were sobs emanating from the crowd until they could no longer contain themselves and a cry went up which went like this:

"Don't sell the biby's (sic) chair - the one that we hold so dear -
You can sell old Grandfather's spittle (cuspidor) - but don't sell the chair with the hole in the middle.
'Twas knocked down for two shillings - and with it went many a tear.
'Til up stepped a "navvy" (stevedore) - a stout hearted "navvy" - and knocked down the auctioneer.
(Second chorus same as the first.)
tjs
Next -  Potpourri XII

Mistaken Identity

I am indebted to a loyal reader with a sense of humor for the following which I will paraphrase using the first person:
I walked into a bar and after a few drinks observed several "large" ladies chatting and their voices had a lyrical lilt. I asked "Are you ladies from Ireland?" They shot back "No, WALES, you friggan idiot!" I then asked "Are you WHALES from Ireland?" And that's the last thing I remember. When I came to I figured it could have been worse - they might have been a couple of hookers after my AMEX platinum card which is what happened to that Philadelphia weatherman in Miami some months ago. Funny, I always thought I had a good ear for accents.
tjs
Next -Reality TV

Creditworthy, Anyone?

Apropos of our recent comment on the emphasis on credit score when dating, I just received a credit card application from an airline who shall remain nameless. I always read the fine print re "interest rate" before deep sixing it. Here is how they explain their "introductory" APR interest rate: (better sit down) "15.99% or 24.99% when you open your account, based on your CREDITWORTHINESS." Wow!  25% interest is so usurious it would make Shylock blush.  And make the late Andy Rooney rant. And it takes my breath away so as to render me speechless. Always take the time to read the fine print.
tjs -
Next - Mistaken Identity

The Dating Game

When I was young the biggest impediment to establishing a relationship was geography. When one partner lived in another state it became a deal breaker. Particularly in the 1970s when we had two gasoline shortages. When my parents were courting - circa 1920 - they lived within five blocks of each other and could walk to each other's home. Now I read where some young people ask for the credit score on the first date. They are going by the numbers ..........what happened to romance? In my day my biggest concern was the number of credit cards in her wallet. How times have changed.
tjs
Next -Creditworthy, Anyone?

Potpourri XI

"I have taken more out of alcohol than alcohol has taken out of me." - Winston Churchill

Before we let 2012 slip away we should note the following irony concerning Elizabeth Warren. As an advocate for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau she made enemies in the Banking Industry who lobbied to block her appointment as Director of the Bureau. So now she is the newly elected Senator from Massachusetts and will probably sit on the Senate Banking Committee where she can keep their feet to the fire. Be careful what you wish for, boys.

 Washington Politics has now become a spectator sport - they call it "kicking the can". But this was a game we played as kids in the urban streets seventy years ago. It seems apropos that they have adopted a children's game - and reached back that far - but, of course, the rules of the game have changed.
tjs
Next - TBA (Mon.)

The Morning After

I don't recall exactly when I became "turned off" by New Year's Eve.  It was possibly when Guy Lombardo died in 1977 and snuffed out our "auld acquaintance".  On January first the Bowl Games did little to improve my lethargy. And the next day - first day back in the office - was unbearably long - phones ringing with demanding callers - my colleague in his cubicle sipping buttermilk as his antidote for scotch. And then the bills began arriving for gifts bought in haste - followed by the IRS tax forms which arrived like clockwork - and were NEVER late. Then the weatherman with his forecast of "snow followed by little boys with sleds." Would January - the cruel month - never end!
At least there was no "social" media back then to splash any embarrassing pics on the network for the world to see. Back then you had to try to buy the Kodak negative. I  guess that is why they say "Whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas". Ah, but help was on the way - February was on the horizon with its twenty-eight days, two paychecks, brighter mornings, Valentine's Day and Presidents weekend for you skiers. And the world kept turning slowly on its axis.
tjs
Next - Potpourri XI

Cliff Dwellers

As I sit on the precipice waiting to be pushed or shoved, two items arrived in the mail. On the plus side was the notice from SSA of a COLA increase of 1.7% reflecting a net of thirty dollars per month. On its heels was a notice from my landlord increasing my rent by thirty dollars per month or a dollar per day. They call that a "wash." So one would think that I am holding my own while waiting for the Congress to act. Harry Truman had what he called a "do nothing congress" but this current gang have outdone the do nothings. Where have all the statesmen/women gone? Anyway, if we do go over the cliff let's hope we all have a bungee cord to bounce back. Any year ending in 13 can't be lucky!
tjs
Next -The Dating Game