Uncle Floyd died

 

In 1974 I graduated from college with no job awaiting. It was the recession and I had been an English major and I moved back home. I got a job selling hot dogs at Two Guys, traveled to California, eventually through family connections got a CETA job. During all this time I got in the habit of  watching Uncle Floyd on UHF channel 68. At that time UHF was known for its less than perfect reception. I could get ghosty images for channel 31, WNYC television and channel 68 which featured Uncle Floyd. Similar to Soupy Sales, Uncle Floyd was a local live tv show ostensibly for children but was picked up by older kids and adults who should have known better. I even have his big hit single, Deep in the Heart of Jersey. 

Over the years he migrated from station to station, from format to format. I remember he did a show where he showcased different main streets in the state. When I was a librarian in Bloomfield, the public cable station, also located in the library, featured him in a benefit show. I got to see him by sneaking into the Little Theatre during coffee break. 

Uncle Floyd had a varied career, but will always be remembered as the one New Jersey celebrity more precious in a way because unlike Frank or Bruce, you can identify yourself as a New Jersey native by your knowledge of this great New Jersey icon. Flags should be at half-staff tomorrow to commemorate Uncle Floyd. 

Predictions for 2026

 

                                      My predictions from a year ago for end of year, 2025:

                                       Dow Jones          45169

                                       S and P                6275

                                       NASDAQ           22530

                                       Unemployed        5.2%

                                       Microsoft             440

                                       Texas Crude Oil    90

                                       CPI                       3%

                                         

                                         Actual numbers for end of 2025:

                                                          

                                        Dow Jones          48063

                                        S and P                6845.5

                                        NASDAQ            23242

                                        Unemployed        4.6%

                                        Microsoft      483.62

                                        Texas Crude Oil   57.46

                                         CPI                      2.7%

                                     Predicted numbers for end of 2026:

                                                          

                                        Dow Jones         50000

                                        S and P               7200

                                        NASDAQ           25000

                                        Unemployed       5%

                                        Microsoft            500

                                        Texas Crude Oil   70

                                        CPI                     4%

This coming year, I predict a downturn in the market due to reappraisal of AI in the spring, followed by a mild revival by the end of the year. Trump will have a bad year, first with the Supreme Court, then with overwhelming victories by the Democratic party in both houses of Congress. As the year concludes, Trump will have resigned, ostensibly for health reasons, and the president will be JD Vance. The Ukraine war will continue. 

The Eagles will be in the playoffs but not the Superbowl. Tariffs will stay with us as the Democrats discover in future years that it provides income for programs they want without the political consequences of having to increase the regular income tax. 

Happy New Year!

I have swag

 

Today was a cold and windy day and I came to the supermarket dressed for the weather. I was waltzing through the aisles looking for lemon in a squeeze bottle. A young lady came up to me and exclaimed, "I love your swag! You are so perfectly put together. If you were in New York photographers would want to take your picture!"

I said, "But this coat is thirty years old".  

I have photographed what I was wearing. A crummy wool cap. A scarf I bought in Goodwill Industries forty years ago. A stained Field and Stream ski jacket from the eighties. I also was wearing a Levi pair of dad jeans, white socks, and sneakers. I had no idea I was wearing the latest in hipster fashion. 

My uncle Lawrence used to wear a tweed suit he probably bought after World War 2 ended. My mother said he wore clothing so out of date that it became fashionable again.  As we get older, we become like our relatives. 

Christmas letters, revisited

 Just got a Christmas letter! Here's an oldie I wrote about the genre. Yes the plant is still alive. 

Divorce

 

Lately I have been wondering if the norm for the middle class international family has changed. When I was a kid, the norm was Mother, Father, and the kids. TV situation comedies reflected this. Now I notice when watching network tv, Netflix and Hulu, that the norm is divorced couples trying to raise kids with the help or hindrance of grandma and grandpa. Mother and Father both have important jobs, or at least Mother does. Father is more likely to be unemployed. The conflict involves trying to maintain highly demanding kids along with highly demanding workplaces.  

Teachers are also much more likely to voice opinions about the kids than when I was a child. Back then, the parents talked to the parents during back-to-school night and perhaps when the children did something really bad.

I guess television is trying to depict family life as it exists today. First comes baby carriage, then comes marriage, then comes divorce. I've always felt left out socially since I've never been divorced.  I've been told its not as much fun as it seems on tv.

Thanksgiving dinner and why my father spitted gas into the kitchen sink.

Since the Thanksgiving holiday weekend is almost over, I have been ruminating over my personal favorite Thanksgiving, It was back in Hackensack in the old house. My father had invited some of his family over for dinner. There was Uncle Joe and my cousin Philip, Uncle Bill, Aunt Kay, the daughters, and Aunt Helen and Uncle Charley.  

My big bother was driving down from Boston but had yet to arrive. At about twelve thirty he called the house. He called to say that he was parked a block away but that he had run out of gas. Between him and the house was a steep hill and could somebody come down with some gasoline so he could get up the hill. 

Our house was open bar and by then the brothers had all had a beer or two or an old fashioned. My father yelled to them that Jim needed us to come down with a filled gas can. My father had an empty gas can in the garage. The mission became to siphon gas out of one of the cars. The art of siphoning seemed to be a skill they all possessed, a skill learned during their youths in the Bronx. 

First they tried Uncle Bill's car. His car didn't have any gas. Uncle Joe had gas and my father siphoned gas but ended up with mouth full of Shell Regular in his mouth. He ran into the house and spitted it into the kitchen sink, in full view of Mother. Mother was not pleased.

With the gas can full, the six men ran down the hill together and located Jim's car.  I wonder if any of the neighbors questioned why six men were galloping down Kaplan Avenue. At the car there was a brief debate on whether to pour the gas down the carburetor or not. The decision obtained was that we would just pour the gas into the usual receptacle.  

Mission accomplished. The older men got to ride back to the house with Jim with the now gassed up car while the boys walked back. For a moment the men were teenagers doing a weekly chore, rescuing one of the family cars. The rest of the day went well but the turkey was a little overcooked. 

 

 Here is one of my favorite posts on Thanksgiving and the family.