Of Politics, Sports and Stuff

Things I just don't get, and don't expect that I ever will, that others people just looove: Any Quentin Tarantino film Nascar Donald Trump Mixing fruit and chocolate Mixing fruit Bok Choy Ultimate Fighting, or whatever they call it Powerboats Organized religion Anything mint-flavored...except mints. Fast food TV shows that center around cops, lawyers, detectives, doctors Reality TV

I'm not sure a thought like this is what George Fox was looking for when he founded Quakerism 3-400 years ago, but this is what came to me in Meeting this morning regardless: I wonder...were murder legal, if we would all be nicer to each other.

  My most recent conclusion about how and why people vote: Republicans vote with their pocketbooks. Democrats vote their values. In other words, if you vote based on the values attributed to Jesus in the Bible, you'll vote Democrat. And when, not if, the Dems lose the House tonight, and likely the Senate as well, the navel-gazing will begin, analyzing how and why Dems didn't and aren't connecting with moderate (non-MAGA) voters.  Here's my (overly simplistic) take. It comes down to two words: Free Stuff If you support the idea of the government giving people Free Stuff - stimulus checks, welfare, food stamps, section 8 housing, even including affirmative action and minority set asides, things you didn't earn or work for - you are going to vote Democrat. If you hate that the government gives people Free Stuff, especially if it isn't coming to you, you vote Republican. And that second category includes most of the people who decide elections.

  Life is complicated, confusing, and challenging  and yet  quite simple if one approaches every challenge with calm, courage, conviction, compassion  and...love.

  I came across this little square of a piece of paper recently: ...and it reminded me of a time in my life (age 23) that I remember as busy, but didn't remember just how busy. I think I used to do this monthly, or maybe I just did it for this one month of October, 1980, because it was just a crazy month in my life. The dates on that list are all events I attended or participated in, and some are of some historical interest, and just a little more relevant now because the Phillies are now, and were then in the World Series. Here is the list a little bigger and with explanations: October, 1980: 1 - I took an exam in my accounting class, probably at Ursinus College. This was the start of my career change from social work to accounting. 4 - The second ever Friends Fall Festival at Downingtown Friends Meeting (and the date Martha Bryans asked Mike Rellahan and me, who were doing face- and HAND-painting at the Festival to give her young daughter a "hand job", referring to her

  After being harangued for months by avid reader Becca (and by “harangued”, I mean she casually mentioned it once in a comment a few months ago, but hey - I'm a too sensitive guy - that surely constitutes a harangue in Jamie World), I am finally willing to share the story of how David Brooks, the NY Times columnist, tried to have me thrown out of the 2012 Democratic National Convention (DNC). (Spoiler – there is nothing in the story that follows that will match the scenario playing in your head that likely looks like  this . I'm sorry - I have no idea how to link to GIFs properly. Or even how to pronounce GIF.) So, here’s the back story. Cheryl got a call in early 2012 asking her if, based on her level of participation and hard work on behalf of the Obama campaign, she would like to be a delegate to the DNC coming up in Charlotte (NC, not VT). Being a delegate to the DNC had been a goal of mine since I was in 10th or so grade and had seen a young hippie-like individual inter

No one asked or possibly cares, but here's my view from our couch: - Hunter Biden and Donald Trump should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. And as quickly as possible. - It's no coincidence that (Joe) Biden announced pardons for marijuana possession on the same day leaks appeared about charges being considered against his son. - Joe Biden is doing a great job...and in 2024...should give his full support to someone/anyone else...other than Kamala Harris. Even Bernie or Pete, but I gotta believe we can do better. - Flying immigrants to Martha's Vineyard is a win-win, as long as those being flown are told the truth. - I haven't heard a cogent argument for how trillions spent on either war or the space program are better uses of tax dollars than improving our schools. - Teachers are badly underpaid. Our goal should be to have our brightest minds want to teach, not work for Wall Street or Madison Avenue or as defense contractors. - Tenure should b

Two more stories shared with my baseball buddies I thought worthy of including here: -  When the Phils moved to the Vet in 1971, i was a 14 year old and used to wait with my buddies outside the clubhouse where the players would walk to their team bus for the ride back to the hotel. I got autographs from Roberto Clemente, Willie Mays, most of the Big Red Machine, but the nicest person I ever met in that process was Fergie Jenkins (by far) and the biggest a**hole, by far, was Bob Gibson. Only reason Hank Aaron wouldn't give me an autograph was because the little 3' x 3" scrap of paper was too hard for him to write on.  I told him that one of his teammates had signed it with no problem: "Ralph Garr signed it. Aren't you as good as him?!" Didn't work. -  In honor of Roberto Clemente Day, and because my team is so far out of it, the price you guys have to pay is all these posts regarding the Dark Ages of baseball, I'll say that the 4 most impressive home r

A random discussion of baseball stadiums (OK, stadia) we've been to, came up recently among my baseball fantasy league buddies, and I suggested we list the ones we've been to that don't exist anymore, and when I gave the list, the only response was from one of the younger members telling me I was showing my age.  Anyway, here it is: Candlestick Park Kingdome (Seattle) Baltimore Memorial Stadium The Vet (Philly!) Connie Mack (Also Philly) Shea Stadium Comisky (Chicago) Tiger Stadium (Detroit) Riverfront (Cincinnati) Three Rivers (PIttsburgh) District of Columbia (RFK) Stadium Cleveland Municipal Milwaukee County Stadium Exhibition Stadium (Toronto) and the (Houston) Astrodome I might as well list current ones too: Fenway (Boston) Wrigley (Chicago) Yankee Stadium Citizen's Bank Park Angel Stadium (Anaheim, CA) Guaranteed Rate Field (Chicago) Kauffman Stadium (Kansas City) Camden Yards (Baltimore) PNC Park (Pittsburgh) Ring Central (?) (Oakland) I've also been to hocke

  I should almost start a new thread called  Random Retirement Ramblings .   Here are three: 1 - Would you want to know if someone is having sexual fantasies about you?            Are you sure? Part of me would (guess which part), but the rest of me would not.  2 - The coolest email address: yourname@gmail.com.   Rando Dude: "What's your email address?" Me: "It's yourname@gmail.com" Rando: (Looks up, stares) MY name? Me: No. Yourname. Rando: "Wait...your email address is my name?" Me: "No, it's yourname." Rando: "So your email address is randodude@gmail.com?" Me: "What? No, it's yourname@gmail.com." Me: (Gets punched.) 3 - I forget the third one. Which is perfect for a retired senior f-ing citizen, which I was just called last week for the first time ever, to my immediate alarm and despondence. (Wow - turns out "despondence" is an actual word. I hate it when I try to make up words and it turns out the

After watching more (non-sports) television in the past few years, beginning with the start of the pandemic (it’s still weird to write those words – we really did just go through a freaking pandemic. Heck, we still are, for that matter. In fact, I feel like I’ve heard of more people coming down with covid in the past month than pretty much the first 2 years combined, but since people aren’t dying of it, it seems less present.)   Where were we/I, ah right – television, which includes movies, I’ve been keeping a mental list of things I’ve noticed about TV life that isn’t generally reflected in real life. OK, it’s not just a mental list – I wrote some of these down too. OK, I wrote all of them down just so I wouldn't fergit. Things people do way more on TV and in the movies than in real life: - Cry and have sex. Usually not at the same time. - Meet for the first time and have sex within the first hour or less of meeting. And it’s almost always intense. And over with very quick

I'm a big fan of aphorisms. In fact, I once considered starting a website that consisted only of aphorisms. The only thing I don't like about aphorisms is the word. Seems like it is a word for a world safe for people who are prejudiced against aphors.  So with that pithy intro (now that is a word I simply MUST use more often, like when someone says something particularly thought-provoking: "Oh, how terribly pithy!" And of course, it just has to be said with a British accent, with such a huge emphasis on the "p", that anyone nearby might be splattered with whatever happens to be near your front lips as you say it. And now I'll pause, because I know you need time to silently do it yourself.)  Now, where was I - ah yes - Aphorisms-R-Us. I don't usually just reprint something that someone else has written, but I enjoyed a recent column by David Brooks in the NY Times filled with what he called Life Hacks, which deserves a robust "OK, Boomer",

I love food. And I especially love food that's bad for me. Cheetos, chips, ice cream, hoagies, cheesesteaks, red meat, gravy. Yup, all of it. In fact, the worse it is for me, the more likely I'll like it. And conversely, the better it is for me, the less likely I'll like it. Except avocados. I do like them. As I've always said, vegetables are like having a job.  I don't like either one, but they are a requirement for a long, healthy, happy life. Maybe that explains why, between the time I left college and the time I married Cheryl, I gained 50 or so pounds.  Well, that and Cheryl's great cooking. (And also why I am loving retirement so much!) So, after many tries, over many years, about three years ago, I finally went all in and decided enough was enough. Time to get rid of those chubby cheeks and the big ole belly. Well, at least to get rid of a lot of it. People, having been kind enough to notice and say something about it - the best reward behind the feeling

  Hard to believe some people seem to be more in favor of banning books in schools than ba nning assault weapons in schools. --- A few years back, the media was obsessed with North Korea's missile tests. Per the NY Times, " North Korea launched  its boldest missile test in years   (and its seventh this month)." But the MSM has moved on to being obsessed with an equally non-relevant (to our lives) issue - Russia's military buildup along the Ukrainian borders. Would newspapers go out of business if they didn't have covid, crime and the Ukrainian mess to cover, not to mention repeating the same storylines on Trump's crimes over and over from "new" perspectives? --- News Item: LA Rams are favored to win the Super Bowl by 3.5.  I'm all in on the Bengals but honestly, were I a betting fellow, and I kinda wish I were, I'd go heavily on the LA squad. --- - If you say something is remarkable, isn't that redundant? - If you mention something after

  Headline story in today's Washington Post: "The confrontation with Russia over Ukraine. Houthi missile attacks potentially aimed at Americans. North Korea’s latest missile tests. China’s intimidation tactics against Taiwan. These four thorny foreign policy problems don’t have much in common, other than being inherited headaches President Biden confronts at the dawn of his second year in office." Explain to me please why these are OUR problems? None of them is...are. At age 65, I am still trying not to get involved in solving other people's problems (unless I'm asked to). It is a constant challenge for me. It appears the USA has the same challenge. Difference is, the first step is acknowledging you have a problem.

  I keep telling myself I gotta get back to this blog and I keep not doing it, so I’ll re-activate with a quick thought I had this freezing cold January morning:   If two people are having an argument about the existence of God, one for and one against, which one is actually playing devil’s advocate?