Happy Birthday Love

And following hard on the heels of my 41st 39th birthday last week, comes my dearest wife's birthday--her 39th of course. And I attempt below to provide a bit of context for a life filled with love and much excitement . . . so far. With much more love and excitement to come. Here below, a few snippets from her glorious life . . . all prior to her current 39th birthday of course. We begin with her earliest with her mom and then with her granddad. We then trace a few episodes from her happy times on this planet . . .

Sadness

Sadness Amidst the Celebrations

It really seems to be the case that this country has handed out way too many guns to way too many folks, including, obviously some seriously deranged people. The shooting In New York City of two policemen who were sitting in their patrol car is simply the act of a madman.  And, because of an armed madman, two guys are dead and two families are burdened with unbelievable sadness.  Whatever this guy’s reasons (he shot his girlfriend first) we should acknowledge that the shooting has nothing to do with the recent spate of police-civilian shootings.

We really all need to be clear about this. There are bad guys out there in our Land. We need the police to protect us and to guard against those bad guys. Sometimes, bad things happen when armed police confront people they think are doing bad things. And yes, when such things happen, we need to bring people to account. The police are not immune to being held to account. But that is a job for our legal system, not crazy people armed with guns.

We all mourn the loss of innocent lives, and that is what we have here. Two innocent policemen gunned down for no understandable reason.  So, mourn we will and should.

And on another front, our President once again demonstrated his capacity for rational acts, by moving to rationalize our relationship with the Cuban regime.  It is 50 years overdue. The fact that Republicans are now confused and some part of the right-wing Cuban community in Florida is yelling Foul should not deter us from doing the right thing. It is time, way past time actually, to re-establish relationships with that tight little island.  Someday, Cuba may become a normal, civilized place, full of democracy. But until that time, let us at least try to help that process along. If we can have normal relations with China, surely we can do the same with Cuba.

Who knows, perhaps we could even entertain my favorite idea for resolving the whole Middle East problem by giving Florida to the Israeli’s, and letting the Middle East fester in its own sour juices.  It might be a win-win for all sides. But whatever would all those Middle Eastern pseudo-nations do without Israel to hate??

In the meantime, perhaps we can all relax a bit, quit shooting one another and at least make believe we are all brethren under one nation. So, smile folks. It’s Christmas . . . and Hanukah . . . and Winter . . . and whatever else we can dream up to celebrate. Smile, have a nice glass of your favorite beverage and just relax.

On Becoming Old

I'm beginning the final week before the 41st anniversary of my 39th birthday . . . It's been a longish haul since my early days in Brooklyn and Manhattan.  I thought for my many thousands of readers (see, I still have a sense of humor) I would provide some context.
So I thought, instead of my usual cranky old man stuff that I write for the cognoscenti, I would publish a little walk down my photographic memory lane. Below are some views of me at varying stages of my exciting life . . . I hope you enjoy.

Pearl Harbor Remembered

December 7^th

Fleeting images of past lives continue to wander through my increasingly elder brain. December 7^th, 1941. I was due shortly thereafter to become 7 years of age. Do I remember that day? Well, a bit maybe. My folks rarely talked about the war before or after that fateful date. I guess we had a newspaper around, and I know we used a radio, because I listened to it often, even at my very early age—Jack Benny, Charley McCarthy, I Love a Mystery, The Shadow (who knows what evil lurks in the mind of man . . . The Shadow Knows) Gangbusters, oh the list goes on . . .

So, do I actually remember Franklin Roosevelt informing us of that “Date that will live in infamy” event? Well, maybe yes, maybe maybe.  I certainly remember much of the aftermath of that date, which, at least for Americans, ushered us into WW II. We almost certainly would have entered anyway, with the Prez Franklin pushing, pulling, kicking us into the fray. For that we should all be grateful, well aside from  the many thousands of men and women who died to save us from that infamy.

I remember the blackouts in New York City, and the rationing, because they affected us personally. My uncle Bill was in the Seabees during the war, serving in the South Pacific theatre. But that was as close as our family got to having a family member “in harms’ way”.  Bill was 40-something when that conflagration began, and certainly did not have to serve. He wanted to serve.  We saw him perhaps once during the war, when he came home briefly. And he gave, or mailed us some postcards with naked women on them . . . wow.

So, now we remember that date and that event, although it is a fast-fading memory.    The Japanese have become our fast friends, and, before China took over and America stopped making anything, Japan supplied many of our finer goodies (thinking of our 15th Subaru now sitting in our driveway).    As I age, I ponder the question . . . which images do I prefer to keep in my dimming memory??? These . . .

             

            

Or maybe I prefer to retain this one of the Daibutsu, from our visit to Kamakura . . . yes . . . much better.