Hindsight 2020

This Thanksgiving, one word comes to mind for me as a human being: GRATITUDE /ˈɡradəˌt(y)o͞od/   -noun-  the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.  Being thankful -truly thankful- requires a moment of pause, reflection, and introspection. I've come to realize that "happiness" is really just a state of mind. It's a person's ability to take stock of what they have and where they are in life and focus on those things in a positive and thankful manner. Take, for instance, the millions of people around the globe that are living in squalid conditions by most of our standards. They have very little food, clothing, or material possessions. Many lack a decent house, running water, or electricity. Their days are spent working and struggling just to survive another day. But, incredibly, many of these people are quick to smile and laugh. They're generous with what little they have and they are truly thankful for what little ...

On April 30, 1975, the last few Americans still in South Vietnam were airlifted out of the country as Saigon fell to communist forces. North Vietnamese Colonel Bui Tin accepted the surrender of South Vietnam later in the day. The Vietnam War was the longest -20 years- and most unpopular foreign war in U.S. history and cost 58,000 American lives. As many as two million Vietnamese soldiers and civilians were killed. The U.S. military was sent to Vietnam to protect the United States and the world against the spread of dirty, nasty Communism. See, back then, there was this thing called the Domino Theory that suggested that other nations throughout Asia would become satellites of either the Soviet Union or Communist China, much like nations in Eastern Europe had come under Soviet domination. So the United States spent upwards of $168 billion over 20 years to make sure Vietnam didn't become a communist county. And, guess what, despite all the time, effort, and money, it did -pretty much ...

 It's been a long, strange, difficult year. As of the writing of this, the United States has lost a total of  568,962 lives to COVID-19. By my rudimentary mathematical calculations, that equates to an average of 1,425 people dying every day since the lockdown began last March. Sure, people die every day. It's a fact of life. In 'normal' times, an average of 5,500 people die in the United States everyday. But it's the way that a lot of COVID victims died -alone, isolated, afraid, struggling to breathe- that really weighs heavy on my mind. And what about all those people who survived their initial bout with COVID-19 only to continue to suffer "long haul" effects and ailments? I consider myself and my wife and two kids some of the extremely lucky ones. None of us contracted COVID-19 yet and my wife and I are fully vaccinated while both my kids have just received their first vaccine doses yesterday. I feel like we've managed to dodge a bullet for over a ye...

 Prince Philip dead at age 99. It's all over the news today. I'm sure there'll be dozens of touching tributes to this man. He obviously led a full life. 99 years. Can you imagine? He also led a life of privilege and prestige because, well, he was royal . Royalty . In this modern day and age, we still have kings, queens, princes, and princesses who are revered and honored because they are royal . It's laughable to me. Royal people are just rich people who, somewhere along the line in history, had a title bestowed upon them or just simply had a great-great-great-great-great grandfather who declared himself King. There's no such thing as royal blood . We know this as a scientific fact. And yet millions of people in Britain swoon over Queen Elizabeth and the rest of the royal family. While they have no real political power, they have plenty of influence and are still included in various ceremonial/political events. As if they were something special. Millions of British...

This year's Super Bowl was kind of a let-down for me. I was hoping for a highly competitive barn-burner of a game that went into overtime. That certainly wasn't the case, eh? Maybe it's because I'm no longer a fan of a particular team.  About six years ago, I came to the conclusion how utterly stupid and moronic it was for me (emphasis on ME) to be a 'fan' of any particular team in the National Football League. Years prior, I had rooted for the team now known as The Washington Football Team. While I didn't shell out money on game-day tickets or a bunch of team swag, I did have an official NFL jersey and I engaged in my fair share of smack-talking with fans of opposing teams. I also played armchair coach and quarterback with my fellow fans as we talked about the team as if we were actually players or coaching staff. "What we need to do is draft ourselves a quarterback next year and not spend so much money on defense!" Or after a hard loss; "We ...

 In the age of the COVID-19 pandemic, restaurants have had to adapt and evolve to survive. The sad truth is many fine restaurants and bars simply could not survive this unprecedented chapter in American history. The ones that have survived so far have found ingenious and inventive ways of doing business whether it's upping their curbside-to-go game or adding delivery options, or coming up with family meal packages. I'm amazed at their tenacity and determination as well as their ability and willingness to think outside the box. I always want to do my part to keep these savvy-yet-struggling businesses going and I've been determined to try some new restaurants as time and budget permits. A local gal even created a very nifty Facebook group for local takeout options. I followed it and saw everyday how folks were raving about all the offerings from local restaurants. The coolest thing about this group is 99.9% of the posts were positive. No bashing for bad service and mediocre f...

 Wednesday, January 20, 2021. The end of an error. And that error is Donald J. Trump as President of the United States. If you've read my other blog posts, you know I've already covered the reasons why I think this piece of shit was able to ascend to the highest office in the land. It was a perfect storm brewing for decades, but especially during the two-term presidency of Barack Obama. And it was greatly facilitated by the two-party chokehold that's held this country for far too long.  For me, Donald Trump was always a joke; a sideshow circus with his utterly stupid Apprentice TV series. I'm convinced now that up to half the people in this country have no skill or aptitude when it comes to reading people for who and what they are, but I pegged this waste of human life for exactly what he was -and still is. First and foremost, he's spoiled, narcissistic, selfish, apathetic, dishonest, egotistical, obtuse, and overall just not that bright. Most people who display all...