It's Said "Hindsight Is 20/20"

Which means, it is easy to see things clearly and understand them after they have already happened.

That being said, had I known what and how these past several years would have effected me, I should have invested in Kimberly-Clark (KLA), the owners of Kleenex.

With my use of these tissues alone, it would have been a worthwhile investment; I would have made a killing!

If only...

Fighting Back The Tears

I'm Throwing A Flag On Sports!

I've posted about this before, and yes I did recently go to a New England Patriots game, but came across the below screen shots from Foxnews.com the last couple of weeks and thought I'd reiterate my feelings about this foolishness.

Sadly, the games have changed.  Sportsmanship just isn't what it once was and with more and more of the below happening these days AND it's all drive by BIG business and money. I have very little desire to watch these overpaid primadonnas.

The fighting.  The constant whining. The showboating. The endless penalty calling and game delays. Not to mention the endless commercials and ads that run while trying to watch a game, UGH!

It's also worth noting, that the behaviors below are NOT limited to the pros.  It's happening with fans in the stands and even happening at the high school and town rec levels too (parents fighting and assaulting coaches and refs), shameful.

The utterly foolish money many of these ballplayers are getting is just stupid awful. How can anyone justify a 15-year, $765 million dollar deal (for baseball player Juan Soto)?!  Ultimately, the fans pay the price for these ludicrous salaries.

It's already a bank-breaking proposition to attend a game in person.  Parking prices, ticket prices, food, souvenirs, concessions, etc., too darn expensive.

This right here is SO dirty!  An Arkansas linesman, or better yet POS, intentionally steps on the ankle of an opposing player, I kid you not!  He should NOT be allowed to play college ball ever again!  How is this ever justified and further proves my point about how sportsmanship has changed.

I find it ironic that the player has since issued an apology, which I believe the only reason he's done so is because he was caught; his dirty antic was caught on camera and the news media blew it up, so he had no choice but to apologies in an effort to save face.

I've not heard, nor could I find anything on the Google machine, about whether this POS has been punished.  College football is BIG business, so no surprised it's all been swept under the rug.

In summary, I'm all but done with pro sports.  I'll still watch here and there but very unlikely that I'll offer support beyond that.  I won't be paying extra streaming fees, nor purchasing clothing with team logos and at the end of the day, I don't care if my home teams win or lose.

Poor sportsmanship and what has now become big business has ruined most everything.  For another example, look at the holiday's now and what's become of them too. Over commercialized and shoved down our throats...

"Jungle Jack" Hanna

Generally speaking, I'm getting tired of the daily new, whether on the TV or Internet. Seems most of what's reported is nothing but terrible news and bad things happening all over the globe, even right next door in many cases, unsettling for sure.

This morning news was no different when I sat down with my coffee and connected to one of the news sites I check each day.

This story hit home with me and truly upsets me.  It's very sad for a number of reasons; father time can be brutal but also because I was a big Jack Hanna fan and always enjoyed watching his programs and when he was a guest on one of the talk shows.  Hearing about his illness and decline is sad and a loss for his family, friends, fans and the animal world.  At the same time an uplifting and wonderful story between Jack and his wife of love, admiration and dedication, which seems rare these days.

"Jack Hanna's family says famed zookeeper 'continues to decline' amid battle with 'advanced' Alzheimer's".

Life is too short my friends, enjoy it while you can!  Be thankful for each day, what you have and what you've been blessed with. 

In Need Of Assistance

A hot-button topic for sure!

So, I've been going into the Boston office more often these days; taking the commuter rail into South Station, then it's a short walk to office.

I will tell you that I've noticed a substantial increase in the number of homeless folks loitering in and around South Station. Some inside to get out of the cold and some inside to use the restrooms.  Sadly, it's not unusual to also see one or two inside splayed out or passed out or whatever you want to call it, assuming high as a kite!  They appear to be keeping to themselves and not bothering people, so suppose that's a good thing and why they're tolerated.

I have heard that some homeless do not care to stay at shelters for whatever their reasons.  Pictured above is a person cocooned in that tattered blue tarp and with an umbrella overtop of him.  Guessing that's his spot, as he's been there for a couple months now.  In the mornings, he's sitting atop that pile with a sign asking for money but in the evenings, he appears to be nestled inside and bundled up.

Of course, I have no idea of this person's story, how he ended up here, not being in a shelter, etc. but it's sad really. Guessing he's an American, otherwise he'd be setup comfortably in one of the Boston area hotel that have been converted into housing for the illegal migrants versus taking care of one of our own, sad really.  

Be Kind

 

So, I've been walking at least 2.5-miles a day now for close to two years.  Typically, I walk the same route and often see and pass the same people doing the same.  There's this one older woman that I would see a couple of times a week and we'd always exchange pleasantries in passing.  One day we stopped and introduced ourselves and chatted for a bit.  This became more of the norm, that we'd stop and chat each time we saw one another.  She's very nice and I always enjoyed our chats.

I stopped seeing her as often and then all together never seeing her.  Then on a Saturday morning about a year ago, we bumped into each other again - it was so nice to see her.  She was with her husband and their two older dogs, a pug and a golden retriever, and she introduced me to all three of them.  She then proceeded to tell me that she had been diagnosed with cancer and that the reason she wasn't walking was due to the treatments she was going through.  They were taking a toll and she didn't have the strength to get her walks in.

That was the last time I've seen her.  However, I do see her husband often when he's out walking the dog, the pug.  Sadly, they had to put the golden down earlier this year.  We always stop and chat or will walk together for a bit, and I always ask about his wife.  I saw him on my 6AM walk this morning and when I asked about his wife he told me that he's taking her for a CT scan tomorrow.  Seems she's having issues with one side of her face and having difficulty seeing out of one eye.  He told me the doctors fear the cancer has spread to her brain.

The point of this story is that we're all going through shit.  We all have struggles and challenges and you just never know.  The old adage, that if we all threw our problems into a pile, and saw what others are faced with, we'd grab ours back, is SO true.

I'm sadden by the news and hearing this turn of events put things into perspective for me.  I've been struggling myself as of late and having a tough time of things but my struggles, although valid and real, pale in comparison to the struggles of cancer.

So, 

be kind.

be thankful.

appreciate what you have

and please say a prayer for this woman.

💔

 😭

Try Losing One

It's hard to get a number

It's hard to get that dance

It's hard to talk a girl

Into ditching all her friends

It's hard to get that first kiss

It's hard to make one fall

It's hard to get the courage

Up to give her dad a call

And if all that ain't hard enough

Try losing one

Try walking through the door of an empty house

Try staring at the wall pouring whiskey out

Try living with knowing that you let her down

Try trying like hell not to think about

That hurt in her eyes as she turned around

If you think finding a girl you can't live without

Is the hardest thing you've ever done

Try losing one

It's hard to come home early

Them last call home come so late

Pride is hard to swallow

And sorry is hard to say

And taking her for granted

Is an easy thing to do

And if you wanna see the kind of hell

A girl can put you through

Try losing one

Try walking through the door of an empty house

Try staring at the wall pouring whiskey out

Try living with knowing that you let her down

Try trying like hell not to think about

That hurt in her eyes as she turned around

If you think finding a girl you can't live without

Is the hardest thing you've ever done

Try losing one

Try losing one

Try missing her every night holding on

Barely getting by a love like they

It might be hard to find

But try losing one

Try walking through the door of an empty house

Try staring at the wall pouring whiskey out

Try living with knowing that you let her down

Try trying like hell not to think about

That hurt in her eyes as she turned around

If you think finding a girl you can't live without

Is the hardest thing you've ever done

Try losing one

Try losing one

Sad News

What a terrible loss for our seniors.

*** Breaking News: All public and private schools in Massachusetts will remain closed through the end of the year amid coronavirus pandemic.

As They Whisper (Help Us)...

I'm fairly certain this could be considered animal cruelty, if Trixie and Oliver could talk.

This is what happens when the cold weather arrives and day light savings time ends.

Unfortunate Event

**** SQUEAMISH WARNING ****

We had some excitement here on Lincoln Street yesterday morning.

A deer was hit by a vehicle and killed in front of our neighbors house.

Turns out the person who stopped and called Franklin PD was not the person who hit the animal.  The person who hit the animal did NOT stop!  This woman stopped, in part, because the deer was struggling (not dead) and flailing and she wanted to help.  However, by the time FPD arrived the animal had passed.

Franklin PD sat behind the animal with his lights on waiting for Animal Control to arrive, and he sat and sat and sat, for close to 15 minutes.  Animal Control never arrived, nope.  Instead, a passerby in a small 4-door car stopped. In the end, the officer helped this passerby load the deer into the trunk of his 4-door car, where is shut the door, shook the officers hand and drove off...

She was one of four deer that have live in this area; one of the mothers.  There were two adult does that each had a single fawn last spring (2018)

**** SQUEAMISH WARNING ****

Now, please don't take this the wrong way or view me in the wrong light.  As tragic as this was I see this as one less deer in my yard eating my perennials and vegetables AND AND seems she's going to be re-purposed (in some fashion) by the gentleman who stopped and carted her away.   Ironically, I had chased the deer, all four of the, off the night before when I caught them eating my tulips (right down to the ground), when I put Trixie-dog out for her bedtime piddle.

What about these pant I got on...

Franklin Fail!

This is the view people are greeted with when coming off of rt.495 north and stopped at the lights of rt.140 in Franklin - appalling right!

Dirty, unsightly trash scattered ALL over the area.  All tangled in the now dead tall grass and weeds.

A sad welcoming when driving into Franklin.

Actually, and in my opinion, typical of the DPW and how the town is run and managed.

It's Just Plain Wrong!!!

 

My dad just came home from a Memorial Day breakfast at the local Elks with this American flag pin.

 

Does anyone see what's wrong with this picture?

 

Sadly, it speaks volumes to how things are today and it is a shame :-(