Beijing or Bust

It looks like I didn't make it to the opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics this year. Poor planning? No not really, no funds. And even though George took his father George to China and I would suppose everyone else in the family, me and him aren't that close. So I had to make do with celebrating it Philly style in Chinatown.





Oh, I guess I have to say that even though it was my camera, all of these pictures except for maybe one or two were done by Curtis. Having said that, I'm starting to wonder why I was in none of the ones taken by him. Also, why didn't I show up earlier for the free food, dragon and fire crackers?

Change You Can Believe In

I have a question.

When Ronald Reagan ran for President against Jimmy Carter, I remember the Carter campaign came out and said that when Reagan was Governor of California, he had closed all the state mental institutions and that there were now hundreds if not thousands of crazy people roaming the streets with no where to live bothering ordinary people. How low can this man go to show his ineptitude, I thought about the former President from Georgia?

Sure enough less than 4 years later, I was entering the World Trade Center from the south side at night to catch the Path train to Jersey where before it was always clean and empty, I noticed there were men lying on the ground stretched out and getting comfortable from the revolving doors through the lobby and all the way to the escalators that lead you down to the lower levels. Once again, my assumptions had been proven wrong.

Well many years later, after Senior’s, “1000 Points of Light,” Clintons “I feel your pain,” and Junior’s,” mission accomplished,” people are still sleeping in the street and begging for change at an ever increasing rate it seems.

Apparently, there are said to be 3 types of homeless person. The 1st one is one who dresses neatly, cleanly and you could never tell that they were homeless unless someone told you. You’ll probably find them sitting at the library during the day or the train station reading and or trying to figure out a way to make some change. The 2nd is the type is the one who will wear an overcoat in the summer and six layers underneath that. Or they will walk about not realizing that their privates are being exposed and being aired out so that you can smell them from about a half a block away. They will scream at you unintelligently making noises and guttural utterances no one can recognize. And the 3rd, will fall somewhere in between the other 2, the type who will ask you for change.


The 3rd type was the one that approached me the other night outside of Rita’s Water Ice. In the above picture, he was the one in the yellow asking everyone for change. The picture doesn’t really show the dirt that he was covered in or the pathetic way that he held himself as he went from person to person begging. I didn’t want to take advantage of his situation especially since I only gave him 50 cents and then only after seeing him for a second time that evening and asking him a silly question.

Close up, I noticed how young he was and how reasonably good looking he was and I wondered how he could have gotten himself into this mess. I could have thought the “there but for the grace of God,” line, but that’s something that anyone would have to worry about in my case. Yes I appreciate life but not that much. I’m the type who you would find floating down the river or lying splat on the side of the sidewalk next to a 10 storey building before I could accept that way of life. I’m not that strong. I’m not built that way.

Anyway, I wondered why the taxes I pay, or anybody pays can buy bullets and bombs and salaries for Halliburton, but not cover the costs for the homeless. Also, why after all these years, the sight of people sleeping in the streets or having them ask for your change has become acceptable and even normal in our major cities. When will all of this change?

That is my question.

And I bet you thought this was going to be about Obama.

I Touch You Touch

Rest assured your jobs are now secure. You can sleep easy now with the thought that the value for your homes will no longer decrease as the economy is revived. And dare I say there will be peace in Iraq. Yes, I have done my bit for Bush and country. The economy stimulus check has been spent. It’s true I don’t actually know if the money has been deposited in my account yet, but they said it would be on the news and you know the networks are never wrong.

Anyway, I’ve been having troubles with my iPod recently; I was only getting sound out of one side of the headphones. I had thought that it was a headphone problem but after replacing them at least 3 times in the last 6 months, I figured it must be the iPod itself. This evening I went to the new Apple Store at the Cherry Hill Mall to see if I could get it repaired. Obviously it would be some sort of short that needed fixing or headphone contacts that needed realigning. Real simple.


Well they didn’t fix it there, but if I went on line and googled iPod repair, I could find someone who might fix it for about $50 to $75. Or the store could replace it with a similar model, which they don’t even make any more for $120. My third choice was to trade in the iPod Classic I had and upgrade to something else with 10% off. I turned and looked at what they had in the store and I actually felt my nipples start to harden. I was surrounded by that sweet smell of new technology and I couldn’t resist.

So the iTouch is being charged and I’m sitting back figuring I will have about $180 which I will buy a money order with and send it to my cousin courtesy of Chet from a previous post. I would send a check but the bitch used to steal from me when we were younger. I doubt that he’s changed since. But I’m happy, at least for today knowing that I’ve done my part for the economy by purchasing parts that were made in China and assembled in Mexico. I’ve helped with global warming by purchasing a leather case for iTouch and thereby preventing another cow by belching and farting methane gas into the atmosphere. And I know that George is still in the White House.

It brings a tear to the eye.

Foot & Mouth Disease

I don’t know where the putting the foot in the mouth phrase came from, but it’s been one of those phrases that I have been aware of for quite some time. I am sure that I heard it being used before, but the first time I remember hearing it being used effectively was the Democratic convention in ’88. God, how the hell old am I?

Governor Ann Richards of Texas was giving the key note address, or the opening speech or some speech and she mentioned George Bush senior who was running for president and that she was the one with the real Texas twang in her voice and not him. She then went on to comment on the Vice-President’s newly found interest in social issues. "Poor George. He can’t help it. He was born with a silver foot in his mouth," she said with a shrill in her voice that brought the audience to its feet.

I guess she never thought then that George Jr would come by later on take her job for insulting his daddy. I guess she never thought then that politicians would still be putting their feet in the mouths and still keep getting away with it, ala Clinton, McCain, Kilpatrick and countless others.

But politicians are not the only ones who seem to suffer from foot and mouth disease. Like a lot of people, I have been known to say the most inappropriate things at the most inopportune times. Most times it’s because I didn’t think the thing through and there was a lack of judgment on my part. I will often have to take it back and apologize, or rephrase what it was that I should have said. There are other times when I will just take a cavalier attitude, stick my chest out and let the cards fall where they may. Neither position is a comfortable place to be in.

In fact the only time that I like to have a foot in my mouth is when it’s someone else’s. Well actually I haven’t got to that foot fetish stage yet, just toe tickling testicles and nipple squeezing action but who knows what tomorrow brings. I hear music. I’m drifting…

So, in conclusion, for those people for whom which the fate of the nation or state rests on their shoulders; please think about what you are going to say before you open up. My plea is for Hillary, you know you’re my girl, but your black supporters, all 3 of us want you to stop reinventing memories that don’t exist and stop talking about other peoples’ churches. My request is for McCain to get your facts straight and take your medication before you talk us into a 3rd war front in the Middle East. And if I hear one more personal thing coming from Governor Paterson in New York, I swear I’ll… (Open mouth insert foot here.)