New Shoes in the Rain

I don't know about you, but I am endlessly fascinated with the catch phrases that permeate our normal speech.  And since I'm in my 60s, I've heard a lot of faddish phrases throughout my life.  I'm a fan of language, obviously, since I'm here writing this now! The title is one such phrase that we'll come back to later, but one that I like! So let's go back...WAY back!  When I was little the word "cool" floated around for a while and then sort of lost its cachet.  Think how often we all hear or even say something or someone is "cool."  To be fair, my parents were way too unhip to ever use that word in that context.  At our house, "cool" described the weather or that a dish or cookies straight from the oven were now at a suitable temperature to eat.  Or that I needed a jacket if leaving the house! As I reached my pre-teen years, there were many, many euphemisms that were employed to describe a girl or boy who was attractive.  An ea...

Greetings, all.  Hope this week is off to a good start! Are you one of those people who have to have things a certain way and will do most anything to ensure that they are right?  Or are you a good improviser, finding ways to bend circumstances into how you want them to me? I like things just so myself, but at the same time, I think I’m pretty adept at making things work within what’s available.  Been thinking of a few examples of that lately. For example……as a man of “maturity,” shall we say, I like to look reasonably professional for work.  Our dress code for my position is “business casual,” which is a term that needs to go away, as so many people, particularly those under 40, seem to think that as long as you’re wearing a shirt with some kind of collar that you’re properly attired.  I see lots of men in pants that look like sweatpants with pockets and loose ankles, which I detest. I still wear dress slacks for work most days, and if not those, I wear khakis ...

Happy Wednesday morning, everyone.  Hope your week is going well! I’m on the road again, as I have been asked to mentor a new team member for a couple of days.  She seems nice and I’m looking forward to getting acquainted, starting in about ninety minutes! Unless you weren’t watching, or were glued to the Paris Olympics, the Kamala Harris presidential campaign held a rally in Philadelphia to introduce the candidate’s newly chosen running mate to the public.  He is Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota.   I first learned a little about Governor Walz at the time when George Floyd was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis over a minor legal situation.  Walz stepped up and assigned the state’s Attorney General to prosecute the officers involved with Floyd’s death, insisting that the case be handled by someone with thoroughness and impartiality. Since his name came up as being under consideration for the VP slot on the newly formed Harris ticket, there’s been a lot of...

It’s Wednesday, everyone.  ALMOST halfway to the weekend! As pleasantly surprised as I am at how seamlessly the Biden-to-Harris transition took place, those of us who lean a little more progressive need to make sure not to take our eye off the ball. The media has done a good job of making people aware of Project 2025, a multi-pronged effort to formalize what Donald Trump wants and plans to do if he regains the White House.  And, yes, there’s always been a lot of double talk from him about getting even with his enemies, and putting a 10% tariff on all imported products, but this project, which is nearly 1000 pages in length, goes to great detail in outlining what policies will be enacted, which ones will be changed or eliminated, departments and agencies that will either be consolidated or eliminated and become a part of the executive branch of the federal government and on and on and on. Simply put, we will discard much of the social and economic progress we’ve made as a count...

Belated happy birthday to me!  I turned 64 years of age on Saturday, my Paul McCartney birthday, as I've been calling it leading up to the actual day last weekend (sorry, Sir Paul!). Truthfully, I don't feel much different, not surprisingly.  But I'll say a few things about what I've seen over the past six decades and a little more.... I'm listening to (surprise!) The Beatles as I write today's thoughts.  I remain horribly out of touch with modern music, and honestly, I'm fine with that!  I'm sure there are some good musical acts in various genres that I might like, but I haven't heard them.  Let me add that I am intrigued by the superb baritone country singer Sturgill Simpson, who has demonstrated that he's quite the renegade and operates pretty much outside of the country music establishment.  He has a new album out (I still buy albums, y'know) but I have yet to figure out where to find it.... I like a few of the movies that have come out o...

Happy hump day, everyone.  I’m in the middle of a week of travel, made more complex by having to pack up the tent and move mid-trip.  Seldom my favorite, but can’t be helped! So let’s recap briefly what’s been happening lately, particularly on the political front.  We must start with the events of last Saturday in Pennsylvania, which saw a 20-year-old man attempt to assassinate former President and current candidate Donald Trump.  I saw what you saw, none of it in real time, but a few things seem clear: A turn of the head at the time of the shooting would have been disastrous for Mr. Trump Rally attendees saw the shooter moving into position and others reported he was acting strangely near the metal detectors; how did he get onto the grounds with an AR-15 and a ladder? Part of me felt that what occurred on stage when Mr. Trump was grazed by a bullet and thereafter seemed staged.  I don’t think I’m alone in that ambivalence.  And the timing of these events, ...

Happy Friday, everyone!  After what I hope was a short week for you last week, these five day weeks seem SOOOOOO long….. I think I mentioned in this space at some point in the past that I have had a lot of fun portraying myself to my grandchildren as the Knower of All Things.  A couple of them dispute this openly, and try to beat me with researched questions and the like.  It’s all in good fun for all of us. Kidding aside, though, I was driving (as per usual) this week and began to think of a list of things that I am pretty sure that I DO know.  Here goes…. People who persist in speakerphone conversations in public places need to be taken directly to a store where they can buy a pair of earbuds or headphones that they can use to preserve the quiet where they are the only ones making noise. The people who hurriedly cross multiple lanes of traffic to make it to an offramp on a limited access highway are simply not very good planners. When asked “is it hot enough for ya...