Boomer Randomness

I awoke to a loud female voice coming from the room next door. I couldn't tell if she was having a nightmare, having sex or singing. Then I realized she was singing ... The Star Spangled Banner. Maybe she was doing the other two activities too. Rockets red glare, bombs bursting in air and all that. Some people would be horrified if they knew they could be heard by other guests in a hotel. I have often heard loud TVs, conversations about travel plans and other mundane things. Several times I have heard people having sex. I was embarrassed for them; they probably had no idea their private moment had an audience. Some of those moments were laughable, sadly, but one time I nearly cheered at one guy's stamina. How would you feel if you knew someone heard your singing along or getting it on? Why are some hotel room walls so thin? The recent stay I am writing about was at a suburban Best Western near Washington DC; it is the top of the line for their franchise but my expectations ...

Successful actors often get locked into roles that mimic the iconic characters that make them famous.   We see so much of that part that we forget they can play other roles too.   Humphrey Bogart is a good example.   He is the tough guy with a heart, the fighter that claims to ignore the fight but in the end he leads the fight, like his Rick Blain character in Casablanca or Harry Morgan in To Have and Have Not .   Then we see him later in his career as the delusional, broken down Lt. Cmdr. Queeg in The Caine Mutiny , who does not become a hero at the end; or the cynical drunk Charlie Allnut in African Queen, who does. Larry Hagman died this week. I do not believe he is in the same league as Bogart, but in some ways he follows a similar pattern. His most iconic role is oil man J. R. Ewing in the 1980 television series Dallas . He a ruthless stealer, cheater, liar business tycoon who cares about himself first, his family name second, and not much else, yet he is ...

They say that you can make some things happen by simply ‘willing’ it. With that in mind: I will not get holiday depression this year. I will not get holiday depression this year. I will not get holiday depression this year. I will not get holiday depression this year. I will not get holiday depression this year. I will not get holiday depression this year. I will not get holiday depression this year. I will not get holiday depression this year. Actually, I’m sure I WILL get holiday depression at some point this season and I’m OK with that. By planning in advance for the possibility, I increase the chance of decreasing its impact. Thanksgiving Week gives us an opportunity to consider what we are thankful for in life and that is what I choose to concentrate on for the next six weeks. My life is filled with crap right now and things I have been trying to make happen are still crawling along like a slug. Crawling, however, does indicate movement so I can add that to the...

“We’re going to raise the roof.” There is a television commercial airing right now that makes fun of that phrase. A Mom says it in response to celebrating a sale in a store, her kid tells her nobody says that anymore, someone else in the store shouts it and the Mom grins. But what exactly does ‘raise the roof’ mean in that context? Something like ‘to have fun and make a lot of noise’ like maybe a loud celebration because this sale is going to be so good. Here’s another one … “I’ll be there with bells on.” Upon hearing that, someone might ask “why would you wear bells?” The origin of that phrase goes back to the pre-auto days and has something to do with arriving at a festive event in your horse-drawn carriage with bells on the harnesses of the horses. Words and phrases take on different meanings over time and people of various generations who don’t catch the change might have difficulty communication with each other. Remember in the 1980s when the word ‘bad’ starting to actuall...

The election was a week ago and many Facebook friends are still whining or gloating. Geez, just stop! If you voted for Romney … hey, your guy lost and Obama is President for four more years. Deal with it! If you voted for Obama … hey, your guy won but he does NOT walk on water and does not have all the answers. Deal with it! Both of them have leadership qualities that could make for a good President. Both have leadership flaws that challenge their ability to be a good President. Remember, however, they are not dictators and the fate of the country does not rest on one person. Another thing: the President is not the problem. Congress is the problem. And many of the same players are still Representatives and Senators. The only way we’re going to get through the mess we’re in is if both sides start listening to each other and paying attention to each other. There are good ideas and bad ideas on each side; listen to all the ideas, discuss and debate the merits of each idea, then compro...

I wrote and posted this last year, but I’ll repeat it because this is how I feel this weekend too. When I see the tributes and thank you messages to vets around Veteran’s Day each year, I usually embrace the message and in some way add to the salutes. I want to praise “them” for their service. Then in the middle of it all, I remember that I am a military veteran too. I do not usually include myself in the praise.  Me in the Army I have served my country in many positive ways over the years but my military service is not one of them. I hated the military at the time and most of what I thought they stood for then. I enlisted in the Army but only because I thought I lost my college deferment because of bad grades and I mistakenly believed I would have more choice if I joined rather than being drafted. The draft ended soon after and I would never have had to go. Fate works in mysterious ways, doesn’t it? My three-year enlistment lasted only one year. The details are my busines...

It is November and I'm already producing radio commercials for concerts next summer.  I can't leak the details but I can tell you that tickets go on sale in the next few weeks for two major country music concerts happening in my area next May. Do you remember back in the day when tickets went on sale six or eight weeks before the concert and you had to go somewhere to buy them.  At one time the only place to purchase tickets was at the venue, then along came ticket services with outlets.  I bought tickets at department stores for some shows back in the 1980s. Been to a concert lately? At many venues Ticket Takers are now really Ticket Scanners … they scan the bar  code on your ticket rather than tear it.  That's pretty cool if you keep tickets as souvenirs.  I see a day when tickets won't even exist.  My 'tickets' for the two most expensive concerts I've ever gone to were printouts from my computer; I bought them online and printed the ticket....

One of the proudest moments an American has is to cast a vote. I feel an amazing sense of power as I stand before that voting screen and touch the box next to each candidate of my choice. I would spend an hour or more in line if necessary to exercise this right, but fortunately my polling location was not crowded … I was only in line for ten minutes this morning. This election season was the meanest I can ever remember. Most politicians, even the ones I voted for, spent more advertising time blasting their opponents than explaining what they would do if elected or re-elected. It is difficult to make an informed choice with all that crap swirling around. I made most of my choices months ago and nothing in any ad, debate or Facebook post changed my mind. Much to my surprise, however, some people were still undecided as late as this morning. I had a brief email exchange with a friend over Presidential candidate choices and I believe she eventually made her choice based as much on what...

Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. -Ralph Waldo Emerson

I will proudly cast a vote for Obama on Election Day. If Romney is your choice I encourage you to proudly cast a vote for him on Election Day. That is our right. If you’re the stupid coward who left this note on a friend’s car in battleground state Virginia today, I encourage you to seek help from a mental health professional. If I caught someone leaving a note like this on my car they would not be able to vote on Election Day because they’d still be in the hospital Tuesday. I am an American, a patriot and a veteran and believe Obama is the right person for the job of President. I also believe people have the right to disagree – half do and half don’t, according to the latest polls. But I think it takes a very unpatriotic coward to leave a note like this. That person probably wouldn’t have the courage to face me with a comment like that. He or she certainly has the right to believe that but I challenge their right to imply there is something wrong with my patriotism if I choose...