For the Birds!

Dateline: Teaneck, N.J. (I used to work in that town but that was after suffering through Chapter 11 bankruptcy in another Jersey town) - but I digress. It seems Teaneck is being plagued by marauding wild turkeys who are very aggressive in the Spring. They have been attacking pedestrians and vehicles and a male Tom can have a wingspread up to fifty-seven inches. You are not permitted to kill them so the city fathers have provided the citizenry with 20 air horns to scare them away. Please don't chase them down to Cape May! With Thanksgiving still months away it could be a long, hot summer in Jersey. (I wish the President would stop pardoning them)
tjs

Oops!

When my friend Jim C. lived in Bergen County , N.J. his children were very young. When he and the Missus went out they usually engaged the services of a local teenager as babysitter. Each night after returning late he always drove the young lady to her home. One evening the teenager was not available so they used the services of a mature woman known to them. At the end of a late night Jim volunteered to drive the woman home but as a force of habit he drove her to the teenagers home and parked in the driveway. The woman looked at him quizzically and coming to his senses he said "OOPS" the exclamation made famous by Gov. Perry of Texas. Truth is stranger than fiction.
tjs

Hail the Champions

Like many in Philadelphia it has taken me 72 hours to savor and process VILLANOVA'S Championship in the NCAA Tournament. They had to win six "road" games and the "road" was long and winding. Miami U. was sent home via the Tamiami Trail - that game was a clinic! Beating Kansas was a bumpy ride down the Yellow Brick Road. And the final nailbiter with Carolina was a triumphant trip through Tobacco Road. So hail to Villanova U. an institution run by the Augustinian Fathers that graduates their athletes. Philadelphia and its suburbs were starving for a champion and these fellows delivered.
Don't miss the victory parade tomorrow Friday - GO WILDCATS!
tjs

Unconventional Conventions IV

Some of the most explosive political debates do not occur between the candidates. 1968 was a very volatile time and in August of that year there was a debate between William F. Buckley the conservative founder of National review and Gore Vidal a liberal intellectual. Howard K. Smith of ABC news was trying to moderate. The discourse was anything but "moderate". As things heated up Buckley called Vidal a "queer" and Vidal responded calling Buckley a "crypto Nazi".
The moderator was looking for a foxhole and this on live TV. You will find it on YouTube approx. 13 minutes
tjs

Say Cheese!

Today, Tuesday, is the day those cheeseheads in Wisconsin lower a block of cheddar on the head of the man with the cheddar colored hair. From the burghers in Milwaukee to the millennials in Madison, these solid mid-westerners will reject this fellow who is the worst political candidate in my lifetime - and that includes Richard Milhous Nixon and George Wallace. So another page is turned and it's on to New York.  When it is your turn don't forget to exercise your franchise. As they used to say in the 49th Ward "Don't forget to pull that lever!"
tjs

Robotics

Last week the NYTimes wrote about a Science Center in New Jersey that has a "Robotic Suit" that "simulates the sight and mobility of an 85 year old".........."with the stooped shuffle, the halting speech, the dimming senses." The intent is to feel empathy for older people. Now, I am 86 years old and somehow I missed out on all those attributes - certainly with no need for a "robotic suit". But I will still accept your offer of a seat on the subway. Anyway, I must get with my crossword puzzle after which my blog. Time is fleeting!
tjs

No Fooling

Today, April 1st, is known to some as "All Fools Day" but to my late friend Jim C. he knew it to be the opening day of trout fishing season. He loved fresh water fishing and used to frequent the Abercrombie & Fitch flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York where they had a casting pond on the roof and many prominent fishing addicts practiced their form there. When Ted Williams was in town with the Boston Red Sox he also was seen there as fishing was his first love. The store supplied sports equipment for the likes of Ernest Hemingway and Dwight Eisenhower. But all that was from another time.
tjs