Bocce

One of the traditions that people of Italian American descent are exposed to is the playing of Bocce. Yesterday I played bocce in Bradley Beach New Jersey, followed by the competitive sport of eating pizza, along the great coastal shore of New Jersey.

Although I usually suck at sports, I can proudly say I was only the second worst player in the group and even got a few lucky moments when I brought honor and points to the "reds". The team name being determined by the color of the ball used.

You'll see bocce, in different forms, being played throughout Europe and in Italian neighborhoods along the East coast of the USA. In America it is traditionally played by old men of Italian origin but it is slowly picking up speed among non Italians in places like Texas. Like pickelball, it is one of those sports where, with perseverance, even someone who sucks at sports can play a decent or at least non embarrassing game.

Editor's note: The white marker ball is the pallino not polenta.

I missed Woodstock

When baby boomers reminisce about their weekend at Woodstock, I have an evil (until now) secret that I have held. Instead of going to Woodstock that weekend I went with my parents to Mo-No-Mo-Nock. Instead of skinny dipping in the rain, I swam in the pool with the bathing suit that Mother picked out for me. Instead of taking acid and listening to the Grateful Dead, I went to the square dance and line danced with the other guests at the hotel.

All the hip kids at school went to Woodstock (if they weren't back packing in Europe) while I was playing golf with my father at Mo-No-Mo-Nock. I was one of the guys at the pool saying, "Woodstock! I would draft the whole lot of them!" While most baby boomers remember Woodstock, I will always remember the weekend at the Pocono's with mother and father Hubbard.

Youtube q and a videos

One of the features of subscribing to You tube channels is that, if you wait long enough, you will come upon a q and a session. These are usually originally done live but are available later in taped form. In general, they are a lazy way for a You tuber to get an easy program in without having to do any location shots, editing, or scripting. They simply answer questions that people send them.

Depending on how you view You tube, you may or may not know the questions they are answering. Typically, the host or hosts look at the screen and answer questions. Typical answers are "No I've never been to Russia". "Yes I plan to going to an In and Out place when I come to the states". "No I hate dogs." "I'm not talking about my former boyfriend!"

Q and A also gives the host/hosts a chance to promote their merchandise and Patreon. Apparently Patreon is a big money maker for You tubers.

Last week I saw an interesting Q and A. The host ate Chinese chicken with chopsticks and answered questions. Politicians could learn a lot from her. Boris Johnson could have a bowl of Thai chicken and eat it with chopsticks while answering questions from Parliament. Might come in handy when we get closer to Brexit.

Oh what in Heaven's name should I do with my Amazon boxes

Lately I have been trying to throw out the old junk that is accumulating in my abode. I have gotten rid of some things but I find I have tons of old Amazon boxes. I have always reasoned that I need them for returns (in reality I have never returned anything from Amazon) or to send gifts to people (because I've gotten in the habit of using Amazon to send gifts to non local people I don't do this very often). The reality is that the boxes accumulate in my closet.

Apparently you can use the boxes to ship stuff to Goodwill industries (with free shipping). They also make good kindling if you need to build a bonfire. I suppose I can recycle them if I remember to dismember the boxes into flat surfaces.

Women's pockets are smaller than mens

Today I learned something that I never knew. That the pockets in women's pants are considerably smaller than the pockets in men's pants. That's why a man can walk somewhere without having to carry a pocket book or back pack. Women can't because the pockets in women's trousers are too small to fit a wallet, cellphone, or even, in some cases, keys.

Now I know why women are always lugging around pocket books. There must be some advantage to this system but I haven't figured out what it is. Perhaps a throwback to the Victorian era?

Teens working less in summer

New reports indicate young people are now less likely to have summer jobs. Apparently they are not just hanging out on the beach, though. They are volunteering, taking summer classes, and backpacking in Europe.

I have many memories of my summer job in high school. That money also paid for pizza, transportation to school, and pot that I used throughout the school year.

I guess it's good and bad. The thing I learned the most about my summer job is the importance of the coffee break.

Air conditioning, revisited

I have a new theory on how globalization affects the United States. You can think of the world as a giant house in summer where the owner can only afford to air condition one room. The rest of the house is hot, humid, and full of mold except for the one room that has an air conditioner. The room with the air conditioner is the developed world. The United States, Canada, western Europe, Australia are relatively comfortable and (until recently) prosperous.
If you open the doors of that room you have the world economy under globalization. The outer reaches of the house get a slight increase in comfort. Most noticeable, however is the one room that had air conditioning. It's conditions deteriorate rapidly.

It's the theory of supply and demand. When there is a limited resource, (water, energy,  air conditioned cool air, diplomas, doctors, teachers, nurses) limiting those people who have access to these resources to the few is better for the few. When college degrees were scarce, people who had such things had a leg up in the job market. After the sixties, when practically everyone had one of those things, they became less valuable. Hence people like me selling hot dogs with a BA degree. Free college for all will only devalue further the degrees for people who already have them. 

The same can be said for doctors and nurses. With health access for all, the doctor's offices will be crammed with people and it will be harder for the people who have health insurance today to get appointments. With an onslaught of immigrants, housing will get even scarcer and teachers will have dozens of new students and they will need to be taught English. This will not benefit the kids who are in these schools now as they will have to compete in more crowded classrooms. Unfortunately, in most places, local taxpayers are not going to want to see their property taxes raised to accommodate other people's children. 

These facts could hurt our Democratic candidates in a general election. One thing I miss about work is now I have to pay for my own air conditioning. 

Editor's note: Expanded from a blog written a few years ago.