Never lie to your mother

When I was a tot, I went playing with some of the older boys on Parker Avenue. When my mother asked me why I came in late for dinner I explained that I had been playing with the Mills girls on Kaplan Avenue.

The next morning, my mother said, "A little birdie told me that you were playing with some older boys on Parker Avenue yesterday afternoon." You always have to be careful about the neighborhood birdies who tell tales. Poor Ryan, losing all those endorsements. Just because, like the Rolling Stones in 1964, he had to take a leak in a gas station.  Moral? We should never lie to our mothers.

Donut peaches

Yesterday I had my first donut peach. I saw them in the local farmer's market and the next day I bought them at the garden store in Morrisville, Pennsylvania. They actually are good. They are drier and less sweet than a regular peach and I guess are a treat partially because they only appear briefly in August.

The Morrisville Garden Farm market is always fun. It looks like it was last remodeled in 1961 and has no self check out. The floors are saggy and the place reeks of atmosphere.

Goodbye Taj Mahal

When the folks first visited me in New Jersey in the summer of 1990 they wanted to see me, the graves, and some of the aunts still living in the area, but most importantly, they wanted to go to the Taj Mahal. They didn't want to hurt my feelings or anything but they had been reading about it and I always suspected that it was the real reason they wanted to go up north from their sweet retirement home in Texas. 

At the time, with all the hype and hoopla about Atlantic City being the great gambling mecca East of the Mississippi a lot of people wanted to try their hand at the slots and perhaps see what a casino looked like. I know when I came back the first time I wanted to see Merv Griffin's palace, Resorts, and the Taj Mahal was even bigger. Tastefully decorated in what was faux Hollywood style exoticism, the Taj Mahal was big and a once in a lifetime treasure. A wonder that brought to New Jersey, however briefly, the distinction of being one of the most written about sites in the country. 

We came, played the slots, and as a souvenir, my father decided to discretely carry his coin tub with him back to the car. He was stopped in his tracks by the site of Donald Trump marching through the casino and shaking hands. He put the tub behind him so Mr. Trump wouldn't notice. Later we saw the Trump helicopter on the sands.

Now we hear that the great mecca to gambling and culture is closing. A monument to the second golden age of Atlantic City its closing symbolizes the decline of both the jewel of the Atlantic and the would be president of this fine country. 

Conventions in ages past

Going through the vaults, I found two old posts of mine on political conventions for 1960 and 1964. Classics.

On January 20

Well I listened to the Trump acceptance speech. It seems an awful lot of things will happen on  January 20 of 2017.

• On that day illegal aliens will stop murdering American citizens
• On that day people will stop shooting at police officers
• On that day we will put an end to trade policies that hurt American workers
• On that day Hillary will be handcuffed and put in a federal prison
• Construction will begin on that day on a wall between the United States and Mexico
• On that day terrorists will be deported back from whence they came

I might add a few things to my own wishlist

• On that day Zillow will say I have made money on the condo
• On that day I will get a raise from work
• On that day my air conditioner will get a boost

Well we can dream. Next week the Democrats will get their turn in the beautiful I-95 corridor in south Philadelphia. I wonder if Hillary will have on a striped dress and say "Well they said they wanted to see me in stripes!"
Humor in uniform.  (for those of you who used to read Readers Digest)

I have a dog in my life

Living in a condo or an apartment you may think you are the king of your castle. However, all it takes to change your life is a new neighbor with kids, or a dog, or a boyfriend with a motorcycle. Suddenly you don't need to set your alarm in the morning. You wake to the sound of a motorcycle revviing. Or a kid screaming. Or a dog barking.

My life has changed. Well actually, my new neighbor has neither kids, a boyfriend with a motorcycle, a drunk ex husband who visits, or a rooster. But she does have a dog. Cute thing, actually.

I was trying to clean my porch (mini ten foot by five porch) and suddenly, a dog starting barking out of the place next door. His face stuck out of the French door. Then a lady in the garden below was walking her dog. The neighbor dog: Ruff ruff ruff.  The garden dog (an older dog with a lower voice) : Ruff ruff ruff.

So now, at least occasionally I get to hear the new dog through the walls. Mrrrr. Ruff ruff ruff, followed by a woman's voice. "Shut the f--- up!"

Life is full of adventures. Who knows? She may even have a drunk ex husband.

So what am I watching on You Tube nowadays

For people with time on their hands and too cheap to subscribe to HBO or Showtime, there is always YouTube. Here are some of my fav YouTube series.

We can start with the Sherlock Holmes tv show. Filmed in France in the 1950's, it's not terrible. Half hour long.

Piddleass is an old favorite. The trials and tribulations of a twenty something living in LA. Her cat, Thor, her new boyfriend, her trials (her air conditioner broke) lead to a pleasant slice of life with an Oklahoma native now living in L.A.

A fun video series by an American woman who is living in Germany. Dos and don'ts about an expats life in Deutschland. Wanted adventure.

A wilderness buff currently in Vancouver island by herself (but who's filming?) and sort of fun, if she doesn't get eaten by a bear. The part where she swims in the alltogether covered by an electronic Canadian flag is cute.

Two women, one straight, one bi talk about meeting men. Just between us, a good guide to Millenials for human resources staff.

Unsolicited Project. Two lesbians talk about life. Occasionally they promote their movie, Almost Adults. Sort of fun. The blonde isn't bad looking.