Yes, the Omicrons are here among us. Hopefully not among you or me, just the collective Us.
Omicron (apparently because Media talkingheads constantly repeating B.1.1.529 would be a marketing and evangelizing nightmare) is just the latest and greatest in the corona series of social and behavioral controls promulgated by perpetually perplexed, constantly behind-the-curve “experts” and politicians.
As bewildering as this has become, perhaps we have reached the point where we must come to this rather obvious conclusion:
MegaDeath Corona virus(es) are FOREVER out of The Genie’s Bottle,and no level of Human Social Torture is going to get that cork back on!
Maybe it’s time we realize this is not going to end anytime soon. That’s “soon” as in years, likely a decade or more. Maybe it’s time to accept the consequences of stupid China human tricks, even if none of The Civilized Nations are brave enough to confront the responsible criminals.
Maybe it’s time to get along with Life in all its normal freedoms and glory. Maybe we should refuse to be shackled to the Dread of Infection. Maybe those “at risk” individuals will always and forever be at risk.
Maybe it’s time for Individuals to make Personal and Responsible decisions as to how their Future will play out in the shadow of this heinous insult inflicted by Others. Maybe the “experts” will confess they will never have all the answers, leave us their advice and the Choice to follow along … or not – at our own peril, and get off our backs!
Maybe …But either way, The Genie ain’t getting back in the damn bottle!
Birthdays – for me these days – serve no benefit other than reminding one how fast those Lifetime Milestones are flying by. This one had the added attraction of officially designating Yours Truly as soon to be in need of advanced medical treatments.
65 … The Medicare Year … YEA! Could it get any worse? Of course it could …
I spent the morning at the DMV (PENNDOT Division)!
UnHappy Birthday
Hello Blogging, my old friend …
Every year at this time I have to consider the prospect of letting go of Cranky Man’s Lawn. Been a long time, and my attention span for fascination and obsession usually runs 10 years max.
We started our journey here in 2011. (That weirds me out.) And lately, every February I have to convince myself that hanging around would be good. For me at least … With a micro-blog you are – more often than not – talking to yourself.
This year I really thought this was it. CML had run its course. What more could come of this? Let’s just end it.
And then last week – true story – I get two comments from a woman, whose father used to own a bar/restaurant in our old neighborhood (Frankie Masters Tavern), about a blog post I had written that very first year. Without revealing details, she appreciated the chance to reminisce about her parents through a very brief memory I shared.
Then her brother chimed in. It meant a lot to them and to me. How can you throw that away?
What stands now at 9401 Ashton Road
Having My Cake and Eating It
Weight-conscious, healthy people and cake haters are no fun with which to celebrate birthdays. No one wants to eat my chocolate-frosted cake Carol so meticulous prepared.
God … I’m so so very tired of Winter. More snow today … but only about five inches. Fine. Dealt with it. But I am tempted to leave my car running overnight in an attempt to speed Global Warming.
At the Phillies game watching them get eviscerated by the Milwaukee Brewers …
Went to Federal Donuts and find out the only chicken they serve now is on a roll!!!!
WTF!!!
Used to be … Federal Donuts would give you a halved breast (2 pieces) and a drumstick accompanied by their delicious donut. EVERYTHING was delicious! Now it’s a chicken sandwich, take it or leave it. So I left it.
Got two donuts and stomped off in crushing disappointment. Procured an Italian sausage sandwich to ease my pain. Never a disappointment … #wheresthechikin
It’s been awhile since last we spoke. Personally, I have been having a hard time finding subjects on which I feel strongly enough to write. My writer’s block has however been finally been broken by a flood of Facebook posts deriding the recent trend of National Football League (NFL) players refusing to stand; kneeling through; or raising black fists in protest of varying social conditions during The National Anthem.
The Facebook pleas encourage me to stop watching the NFL; to boycott league-sponsored merchandise and broadcast sponsors; and demand corrective action, even laws to punish the offenders.
Now most people, who know me, will expect me to come down hard and fast on the side of showing our National Emblem the deference and respect we believe it deserves without fail … ever. And certainly I believe that …
What nags at me however is the thought that Respect for national symbolism – be it The Anthem or The Flag – trumps the Rights of the First Amendment, particularly that of Free Speech. While I do not appreciate disrespectful displays or treatments of The Flag, what I choose to cherish most are the Freedoms that allow such behaviors as an expression of perceived failures or injustices.
Unfortunately for our various sensibilities, Respect for the First Amendment requires a higher level of tolerance for the ways in which our Freedoms are expressed. Accommodating the freedom to express oneself requires an Advanced Degree in American Citizenship, particularly when its display encroaches on the symbols, institutions, and rituals for which we wear our Hearts on our sleeves.
This is not easy. But then again, it was never intended to be easy.
Certainly we can express our scorn and anger at what we interpret to be unconscionable violations of national heritage and symbolism. That freedom to express one’s disdain is covered in the same protections that allow the type of demonstrations that annoy the bejesus out of us.
We can publicly judge those who burn The Flag or choose not to stand for The National Anthem is the best – or only way – they can express their own anger and frustration. But punishment and retribution?!?
No, those reactions are the purview of authoritarians, dictators, and oppressors who look to preserve their own peculiar claim to rule by denying Voice to the People! This is not what Americans do. It is not how we roll!
No matter how maddening the behavior …
Allow me please to reiterate, since I am sure some will take this message as endorsement of the practices. I do NOT agree with flagrant displays of disrespect for my Country, its cherished symbols, or the Principles for which it stands. What I do recognize is that there are degrees of disrespect I can live with, in the knowledge that our Founding Fathers no doubt intended for The Bill of Rights to be a challenge to both the Government and its citizens!
And I have had my moments in celebrating the actions inherent in those who Advanced Degrees in Citizenship spurred them to action!
I applauded – wildly, I might add – the Chicago Cubs’ Rick Monday, when on April 25, 1976 he ran from his outfield position to arrest the flag-burning attempts of two supposed war protesters.
.
Those of us who would appreciate Mondays’ quick actions should also recognize that demonstrations of national disrespect sometimes accomplish nothing more than to illustrate a protestor’s failure of perspective, particularly when they simply draw negative attention to the person or position they claim to support by physically mistreating or burning The Flag. In my opinion, your cause, your candidate – even the people who support them – will suffer in our view. When they fail to recognize or value the Sacrifices made by others, whose sacrifice allows them to express themselves so freely, they cheapen whatever message they are pushing.
There’s the rub really that protesters of this sort fail to appreciate. You might attract limited, short-lived attention for your cause or position ; but that transient recognition will fade faster than the headshakes and mental “F— you!”s tossed your way by those drawn serendipitously into your protest. For those whom your message is intended, you run the greater risk of alienating them rather than changing minds or opening a discussion.
The story is quite different when it comes to the quiet, almost reverential protests we have witnessed recently at football games … at least in my opinion. These passive demonstrations, inspired by a back-up quarterback no less, where sitting or taking a knee as the National Anthem is played or the slightly more active stance of raised black fists is – if nothing else – much easier to manage emotionally.
We may not like such displays. But we should also wonder why they are considered necessary by those protesting.
I may not understand the need to turn one’s back to The Anthem or to embellish one’s seemingly reluctant participation with a raised fist. But many people do understand the need to take such action. If they did not, we would not be having these conversations today.
And that’s really what that pesky, sometimes irritating Freedom of Speech is intended to do … Give voice to those who feel isolated or left behind, whether or not we can appreciate their position!
So no … Do not ask me to boycott the NFL or Pepsi or Hyundai or Papa John’s pizza simply because your sensibilities were offended by a kneel or a clenched fist at an inappropriate time. Because I have news for you …
The emotions you feel, the reactions you have to such displays are exactly what the Founding Fathers were likely hoping might occur when one group or another feels the need to draw attention to their perceived plight in any way that stirs our emotions. The Stars and Stripes is a collection of fabric to which we attach a great deal of pride and symbolism; but it’s the Fabric of our Nation, expressed in the Freedoms passed down to us, that makes all things possible.
‘Tis annoying when one goes to the gym or “fitness center” and encounters those “lunks”, as hopeless gym rats are derisively described by such authority figures as Planet Fitness. Face it, some people were born to spend copious amounts of time in the gym. They actually look forward to it! Enjoy the hard work and sweaty toil … the Pain needed to make the Gains … the form-fitting workout gear only the lunky or curvaceous gym apostle can wear.
Bastards …
For the rest of us – which I would venture is the most of us – going to the gym is three rungs above a Dental appointment and one rung below dinner with the In-Laws. A sad – but honest – admission …
As for me, I go through my own personal 5 Stages of Gym Mourning just to get out of bed and through a workout. Similar to the more infamous 5 Stages of Grief, the stages to my gym morning are saturated in emotion and the desire to hide from painful Truth. A sense of Loss lays the foundation for both. In the case of anti-gym types like me, it is the Loss of Youth, the Loss of Leisurely Morning Routine, the potential Loss of Health, the Loss of Body Form and Image, the Loss of Laissez Faire Eating Habits, the Loss of Hair …
Need I go further …?
No one likes the pretty gym people … except other pretty gym people.
After all to morning anti-gym rats, “grief” fairly accurately describes the process of hauling our sleepy bodies from our warm beds for the purposes of strapping ourselves to Machines of Torture! For me, that’s 2-3 mornings a week depending on Mood, Physical Health, Weather, or if I absolutely have to fit into those pants I bought when I was oh-so-proud about recent weight-loss. There are few things more demoralizing than your Significant Other perusing your chosen evening wear and saying, “Those pants have gotten a little tight there, chubby.”
So for all those reasons, I subject myself to the following Cranky Man5 Stages of Gym Mourningpre-workout routine …
0515 hours … “What is that incessant noise?!? Who the hell set the alarm clock on a Saturday?!? This is freakin’ ridiculous!”
“OMG … It’s only Thursday. You have got to be kidding me! There’s no way I’m getting up this early. This is stupid! Who does this every morning??? Son-of-a ….”
ANGER … is always the first response.
0524 hours … The alarm again … “Oh c’mon … I can’t do this. This is inhuman!”
“No, you have to do this. You can do this!” And rounds of BARGAINING begin.
“OK … If I go today, then I don’t have to go tomorrow. Tomorrow’s Friday … You can sleep all the way to 0630 tomorrow if you just go to the gym today.”
“No … No way! This is stupid!”
“Now, now … Listen! There’s a half-gallon of Breyer’s Ice Cream in the freezer, Slick. Go to the gym today and maybe – if you’re good all day long – you can have low-guilt ice cream tonight!”
“OK … OK … OK … I’m getting up!”
(Now of course such a thing as “low-guilt ice cream” is impossible, as any reluctant prisoner of the Healthy Gym Workout cycle can tell you!)
A Bargain will eventually be reached. And you will drag yourself from that warm bed … unless the Bargain was reduced to sleeping in today for “guilt-filled ice cream” and a workout tomorrow.
The majority of those who go the gym, do so because they can eat whatever they want with little in the way of Rationalization. That and a lighter load of Bad Food Guilt is as good as any endorphin buzz a workout can give the reluctant gym denizen!
ACCEPTANCE is usually the easiest phase to live through. By this time, I have dragged my weary body from my soft, warm bed … one appendage at a time; pushed myself squint-eyed through the morning bathroom routine, bouts of resolve-strengthening mental cheerleading, and perhaps a few additional rounds of Bargaining. Then, once prepped in my gym-enduring workout clothes, primed for another day of attempting to fool Mother Nature, I resolutely head out the door.
Truth is the warm months of Summer make the Acceptance process all the easier. Being able to roll out of bed and head off to the gym in the same clothes I wore to bed the night before makes all the difference in the world. I can do everything up to climbing into the car with my eyes still barely open!
The biggest difference from the more well-known 5 Stages of Grief is the feeling of ACCOMPLISHMENT one gets from completing a strenuous, exhausting, and sweat-filled workout. Let’s face it … The biggest reason many of us hit the gym is that feeling of doing something entirely for yourself. Improving your health; increasing your Stamina; sharpening your Focus … blah blah blah …
I don’t really look older when you work out. I just feel older … a lot older.
Yes, it’s a good feeling … That lasts all of 20 minutes until you realize you have to repeat the process in a few days ….
Forever and Ever and Ever!
That’s the realization that sends this Cranky Man into the final stage of his 5 Stages of the Gym Mourning …
Not sure exactly what the problem has been; but I have a few suspicions with which I will not bore those who still care enough to open those Cranky Man’s Lawn e-mail notifications they may wish they never requested.
Tough darts there, my friends!
I’m back, baby! And I will be imposing my beliefs, viewpoints, and advice in your general direction regardless of your silent trepidations that – one day – I might rediscover my keyboard.
Here are a few ideas I am working on for near-future proselytizing:
A return to my roots – so to speak – with a renewed season-long look at keeping your lawn Cranky Man worthy! Only this time I will reveal what I really do instead of what the Lawn Bible preaches.
a Trump dump … Not to be confused with a “Dump Trump” movement, this will only be my attempt to lance a boil I have been struggling to understand.
(Big Hint: If it’s Hillary as the Democrat nominee, I would likely vote for just about any one or thing rather than to see her in the Oval Office unopposed by my guaranteed Right … even if I have to hold my nose the entire time I’m working the polls in early November.)
a look at the upcoming Phillies season with a different twist on what looks to be a painful, disheartening, glamour-less baseball season for Philadelphia’s faithful. Now, doesn’t that make you want to run out and buy a Phillies season ticket plan?!? Could be worse … They could be playing in 76ers jerseys!
So hang in there kiddies!
Rumors aside … The Cranky Man isn’t lawn fertilizer yet!
Advised that he will refuse to issue death penalty warrants until the State Legislature files an anticipated report on its use. Anticipation is the moratorium will morph into a full ban, displeasing law enforcement personnel who saw two State Troopers gunned down – one fatally – in a pre-meditated ambush last year.
Scrapped Healthy PA, scrapping negotiations with the Obama Administration to expand Medicaid coverage – in accordance with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) – that sought more favorable terms for a State already paying the highest costs for any state for Medicaid coverage. The Medicaid ACA expansion mandate will not be fully funded by the Federal Government in future years.
Reversed a policy allowing for the removal of natural gas assets lying beneath State Park lands.
Announced plans to tax natural gas extractions by an effective rate of 7.5% while doing away with the State’s Impact Fees that went to compensate local communities for wear and tear on local infrastructure.
As the chief executive of a cabinet-making company, Wolf would be expected to have the patience of a mayfly. In a private, for-profit industry, who could blame a responsible manager? Sloth makes for poor reaction times; and an overabundance of forbearance can render one an unimportant player in private industry where competition for resources is keen.
But what does one make of Mr. Wolf’s propensity for shooting from the hip, and over the heads of the very legislative bodies from which he will no doubt expect cooperation some day? When will he realize he needs them to cash the checks his actions are writing?
It’s an interesting conundrum for the new Wolf on the block! But it only gets better – maybe scarier is the better word – if you’re a hard-working Pennsylvanian watching your disposable income shrink each and every year.
Rumor has it, Governor Wolf will propose an assortment of tax increases on top of those tax increases already announced on the natural gas industry. Pennsylvanians could be looking at increases in the state income tax (currently 3.07%) and in the state’s 6% sales tax.
The tradeoff might be a reduction in Property Taxes, although certainly not a dollar-for-dollar offset of any potential increases in the income and sales taxes. The result? Higher taxes for working Pennsylvanians!
States are always looking to purloin businesses from other states, especially where the business environment isn’t quite as favorable. That’s a sad statement on views of the state from outside Pennsylvania, especially when the new Governor has made it quite clear that he intends to raise taxes, but will not consider needed public pension reform or the sale of Pennsylvania’s antiquated state store liquor distribution system.
And as if that’s not enough to curl your checking and savings account, consider this: You are the reason Pennsylvania is not a better run, more self-sustaining, attractive place to live!
Why?
You have very low self-esteem!
Oh my God, I just realized … We may have elected the second coming of Jimmy “Malaise” Carter … former Governor of Georgia and perhaps the weakest President to serve the country since James Buchanan!
Sure, it’s bad enough that Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker can be heard snorting a laugh at Governor Wolf’s self-esteem assessment at the National Governor’s Association (NGA) no less. Baker undoubtedly made note to organize a job-raiding party into Pennsylvania as soon as he gets back to Boston!
Check out the video below and note Baker’s involuntary snort. It’s always a bad sign when the new guy in the NGA has to declare “That wasn’t a laugh line.”
If it wasn’t bad enough that our fledgling Governor made those remarks in front of a roomful of other Governors, he added this little tidbit:
If a space alien visited the United States and was given a list of the assets of each state, “that alien would look at the 50 sheets of paper and say, ‘Pennsylvania must be the dominant state. Obviously it’s the dominant state.’ “
Wonderful … Governor Malaise and Governor Moonbeam all rolled into one! Well, if I didn’t have low state-esteem before, I certainly have it now …
I have avoided watching this movie for years, because I thought it such a disrespectful way to portray a standing President, especially at a time when some were probably wishing him dead … until they realized Dick Cheney would have become POTUS!
So the other night I’m skipping around my 800 channels looking for something, anything worth watching before I turn to tried-and-true On Demand.
A 2006 docudrama, produced in Britain (I had thought it was a German production.) as a “high concept” political thriller.
Not so sure about the “high concept” thing, but nonetheless … The question was should I swallow my Sense of Propriety; watch it; and see what value – if any – it offered. Or should I continue to avoid it like I do the Michael Moore: Outraged activist while I’m making all this money spectacle?
I decided to watch it.
Should have held onto my Sense of Propriety just a bit longer.
Sure, I get it. If you want to do a docudrama right, you must have some Docu in the Drama! You have to have a hook to connect the theoretical subject with reality.
I’m sorry. No … You really don’t have a whack a President, no matter how unpopular he is, in order to sell an entertainment concept. His inclusion added nothing to the subject matter of what happens in a theoretical situation. POTUS could have very well have been played by some formless, off-camera subject.
But let’s not kid ourselves. The fact that George W.Bush was so roundly hated in 2006 simply made the concept more palatable to a large section of the population … both here and abroad.
If you don’t believe that, just answer the following questions honestly.
If it was the current President being portrayed in this way – simply to sell a docudrama concept as being relatable, up-to-date, and credible – what do you think the reaction would be in this country?
Do you think – at a time when Kim Jong-un could stop a comedy dead in its tracks – the movie would have a chance at seeing the bright lights of the local Bijou???
I know this will come as a shock to you, but it’s over!
Breaking up is always hard to do. And I’m certain you will be surprised at this unfortunate turn of events. But you have to ask yourself how you missed all the changes.
You should have noticed that I wasn’t coming around as much. You should have noticed that I rarely ever called. You should have noticed how quiet and unsettled I was around you.
To be honest … it’s not you, it’s me.
Every other month simply does not a relationship make. And yes, I’m sorry. I have been cheating on you!
It didn’t start out that way. At first, I was just being lazy … not wanting to put in the time or effort for our usual thing. I was desperate once and needed a quickie.
From there it progressed so rapidly, I was – I think – caught off guard. It was too simple, too easy, too addictive. And once I started, it seemed impossible to return to you.
Ours has been a healthy and productive relationship. We have been through so many life events, personal problems … Good times and bad.
You were always there to tell me I looked nice. And I was always happy to give you my advice, although frankly, I suspect you very rarely took it.
I heard you on the phone one time after I pleaded with you to follow your heart. I heard you on the phone with that other guy … in the other room … whispering so I wouldn’t hear. That time it hurt, but it convinced me that all I was to you was a means to an end.
Well, let’s not rip the scabs off old wounds.
Fact is, I really don’t need you anymore. I really don’t need anybody! I can do all this myself.
When you offered me the Low Volume Hair Discount, I knew it was over! So I jumped into a relationship with a damn fine Norelco …
And the next time you need a tip on a football bet, go ask that idiot who told you to take the Cowboys and the points!
It’s been awhile since last we spoke. Personally, I have been having a hard time finding subjects on which I feel strongly enough to write. My writer’s block has however been finally been broken by a flood of Facebook posts deriding the recent trend of 
A Bargain will eventually be reached. And you will drag yourself from that warm bed … unless the Bargain was reduced to sleeping in today for “guilt-filled ice cream” and a workout tomorrow.
This Winter has been a killer – motivation-wise.
Cranky Man's Lawn 