Reblogged from The View From Here:

Now that the so-called stimulus package has been signed, the only thing left is to wait to see if it will work. As I have mentioned in my posts, I have some doubt, but I’m hopeful but with a lot of trepidation.

first off, everyone has to know that we will not be returning to the glory days of the past.  If all boats rise in good times, they all will lower or sink in bad. So expectations have to be adjusted for this new world we are entering.  It’s times like these that brings me back to the following …

blast from the past, still true today

Shaving for me was something I had a little choice in, I had to do it. That might sound strange in this time of lax personal grooming, where you now can go to a restaurant and be waited on by some lanky pimpled faced kid who has anything from colored spiked hair to a goatee that drags across your plate of food as he places it down in front of you.( I refuse to dwell  the grooming habits of what is preparing my meal out of sight in the kitchen. I just pray that it is at least at the level of chimpanzees in the wild.) When I started out, working, first in Fast Food then later in Hotel Kitchens, we were told  flatly to shave or look for work elsewhere. Later on, when I decided that my life needed a decidedly more spiritual direction, It was impressed on me that first impressions were the ones that mattered and I could not expect to be taken seriously until I maintained a clean shaven appearance. That is not to say I was not dragged kicking and screaming by both  my occupation and my avocation. No, I rebeled long and hard. growing mutton chop sideburns that I kept trimmed below my ears. and kept  them for years well into my twenties. just enough soft shell disobedience that went up to the line and glared over it, ready to cross it at the slightest hint of disapproval.

As we mature, most of us find that the energy expended to defend and heat all of our Castles of principles, far exceeds their real world value. So, one day while shaving, I cut off the sideburns of my discontent and watched them as they circled the bathroom drain. if I had any illusions  that my act was ignoble, they were dashed later that day when I found myself in a group of acquittance’s and none of them even noticed that I had removed them from my face. So much for a principle. So now I find myself at the opposing side, where while my greying hair will elicit comments about dye or not to dye, (for now, I have chosen to embrace realism rather than some “impressionistic” illusion) I have this impulse to shave as close as I can short of removing layers of skin.

That brings me back to the straight razor. I have to admit that using a razor without any of the so-called protections that come with the common blades you find today,  removes any cushion for error, and external bleeding, for some reason that adds to the allure. However I’m not stupid.  in an effort to keep the blood loss low, I went right to the Internet to get some idea of what to expect. All the while I’m reconstructing why this has taken over my “to do list” Why did it elbow out other concerns and become the “Raison de facto” of the moment?

Maybe I’m making too much of this, can it really be as simple as wanting a cleaner shave? If I was a younger man, I would stop at that reason and move on. It just that the suddenness and It’s demand of immediacy,  not unlike the cowcatcher of a runaway locomotive that barrels down the track pushing anything out of the way. I had no time to move. The pack of unused five blade cartridges suddenly became untouchable to me. I brought the new blades before my next shave was due. I’m now three shaves in, and frankly, it is better. however, closeness has it price, not just in blood but in time in front of the mirror. Still, as I get better at this, I have found that I cut myself less which each shave. Maybe it is, after all, it’s simplicity, it’s baseness, and forgive me ladies, it’s manliness, the need for 100 percent attention to the task at hand and the feeling that shaving should be nothing more than raking one very sharp blade across your face and living with the result.

That reason will suffice for now, if it changes, I will let you know

So it is time to break out the secret weapon! Roll out the big guns. The one thing that even the most ardent conservative to the right of Hitler must defend.. The holy grail of the South, the ultimate symbol of southern womanhood, The thou shall not gaze upon our goddess, you of dark skin, except by pain of death, the personification of Eve and Fay Raye.. The Blonde!

Letter to Herman Cain from “They”

“You done done it now Herman, you have tried to de-flower one of ours, too bad. your lack of discretion will cost you dearly. We could ignore the other three women and their charges because as long as they kept out of the light we assumed you were playing in your own “sandbox” if you know what I mean. We knew the charges had merit. After all, one woman, could be a misunderstanding but four? Herman, Herman, Herman.. covering your tracks is a prerequisite for any political office. We covered for you up till now because it served our purposes. We had every intention throwing you under the bus anyway (I mean two black guys running for President? Did you really think that was going to happen?) Come on admit it, you knew we weren’t serious, didn’t you? If you were, you sure had us fooled. You do have your faults, but we know delusion is not one of them. Well, calling Godfathers Pizza, that grease ball of bread dough, A great pizza, did give us pause, but hey, you were running the joint and making money so we gave you a pass. Herman, we had to see if you could pass this final test. Because if you, by some unfathomable chain of events became the nominee of your party, the women would really start throwing themselves at you and for a horndog like you turned out to be, that may cause problems in our march toward world domination. You failed, so now we must destroy you one way or the other. Don’t take this personally, Hermie. We kinda like you! You make us laugh! Your National Press Club appearance where you were singing spirituals in front of the cameras had us on the floor! (LOL) we were thinking about keeping you around for just for the Yuks. You may be a dupe and a fool but you do it so elegantly! We haven’t had this much fun since the Civil War! (Or as some of our members still persist in calling it “The War Between the States )” Go figure, even we illuminati have some disagreements.) However, all of this proclaiming your half innocence/half guiltyness is very tiresome now and your philandering will cost us the base; all of those losers who joined the KKK because they couldn’t land a pretty blonde. Much less grab one on the leg like you.

It’s been a great ride!

“They”

PS. Forget I said anything about that Illuminati part, as you know they don’t exist

 I know now that we will never get this right, someone “better than Moses” will do it. But till that time, I will not stop pointing at the stain of hypocrisy that all of us carry. And neither should you.

Over the years life has rewarded me with a few connections to NY, first with Cushman and Wakefield a real eatate and property monster that I worked for here in DC. Then with Cox Communications who then owned Travel Channel, a cable network that had an office both here and in NY and Atlanta that I as Facilities Manager oversaw. finally with Scripps Interactive who has three offices in the NY area one of which houses the giant Food Channel operations in Chelsea. So I’m no tourist when I do go up to NY City

When I go to “The City” I prefer either train or the bus, because you can sit back and relax, but that is a strain from a time management point of view(3+ hours) so this last trip was by airplane which only takes about 35 minutes, about the same amount it takes for me to drive to the airport! That convience is somewhat outweighed by the fact that I have to take a city bus into town, then transfer to a subway line. I have to say however despite my love for all things Rail,  No train or bus seat views of Manhatten can come close to seeing the man- made muscled view of NYC from the air.

My last vist was spur of the moment, making up what I was going to do as I was on the plane.

1. Go to Lombardies Pizza

2. Go to Century 21 (shoe store)

3. Go to J&R

To you NY people, you can see that this was doable, as the stops are close together and close to the number 6 line that I could get in Harlem after I got off of the M60 bus line from LGA. I piece of cake for sure. I can make all stops, even stop and look at how things are progressing over at the former WTC site and still make my 6:00 flight back to DC!

Next: Stupid is as Stupid does

His equally cool response; (I taught him well), was “Not everyone loves DC like you do Dad.”

He’s right, now I do not know how he came to that realization, it’s not like I run around the house singing the virtues of my hometown (“DC, DC what a wonderful town! the prices may be up but the stupidity’s down!). In fact, I do not live within the borders of the city anymore and haven’t since my twenty-something first born was in kindergarten. If he has heard me at all talking about DC, it would be about the incompetent city government, regardless of who the current serving mayor of the city is. Still, my son may have noticed how I’m the first to volunteer to take visitors around the city to show it off, or will drag him and his siblings to any city festival at the drop of a hat so they can learn to love this town like I do. It is true that when I was a young tyke I dreamt of getting out of this place, but when I did go traveling and living elsewhere it failed to even shadow the advantages of living here in the nation’s capitol. So, I would come back home. As a person born and bred here I would like to, in no particular order show you some of my favorite DC places to experience. Some are well known, some are off of the beaten path.

1. Rock Creek Park http://www.nps.gov/rocr/index.htm

The real Central Park, This park is part and parcel of anyone who calls Washington, DC home. It is in the DNA of all true Washingtonians. Avoid if you can during holidays and weekends except for bicycle riding, when most of the park above Mass Ave is closed to automobile traffic, the park is so big (six miles long! one mile shorter than Manhattan!) that even during the weekends you can still find a place to relax and picnic.

2. Gravelly Point http://www.yelp.com/biz/gravelly-point-park-arlington

While not in DC proper, I could spend all day here, despite the danger of hearing loss! This is the best place in the country if not the world for plane watching, I recommend getting some buddies and a tailgate full of food and bikes and doing the day! from here you are at ground zero for bike touring. Be warned, if you snooze you lose! Parking and tables go quickly and early here on the weekends.

3. Union Station http://www.washingtonunionstation.com

From my first visit there when I was in the 3rd grade, for a class trip to NY City I fell in love with this beautiful building. If fact I go thru it almost everyday going and coming to work, and have missed not a few trains home because I lingered yet again to take in the feel and the look of the place with it’s high ceilings and artwork. A long bumpy expensive road to get to the attraction it is now. and how grateful we should be that it has not been torn apart to share the fate of the NY Pennsylvania Station which is a travesty to anyone who saw that station in it’s heyday it was even grander than that other NY landmark Grand Central Station.

4. Memorial Bridge http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arlington_Memorial_Bridge

My favorite bridge, in a city filled with impressive bridges. the line of demarcation for the Civil War. I love it not just for the way it looks, but for the view at either end of it. It has been said that in the late summer of 1963, a young President Kennedy looked at the view of the city where he spent almost half of his life from the sloping hills that surround the Custis-Lee home that is at the center of Arlington National Cemetery, and chose to be buried there. As would any of us who call this city home

5. National Gallery of Art http://www.nga.gov

Out of everything that we as humans have done good or bad, two things to me are the greatest of all because out of these things you will find everything else.. Libraries and Art Galleries. We have more that our share of both in this city and unlike most other collections, free of charge 365 days a year. To have a building that has paintings from the brush of Van Gogh, just to name one of the many artists who work is preserved there. Not just in paint but in other media as well, You really have to resist just going in and just relaxing under your favorite painting for a whole day. While the older main gallery(West) is still impressive, the newer modern east building should not be missed nor should a quick meal in lt’s upper floor terrace
cafe for its views of monumental Washington. The lower level Cascade Bar is as impressive as well.

Enjoy!

”

—Through the Looking-Glass

At my best friend’s house, sitting in his living room the other day, there because of an invitation to a gathering of his son’s friends,all there to wish his son success in his upcoming marriage. I was invited there to impart  whatever wisdom (as his “uncle”) that I may have gleaned over the 28 years from my own nuptials.( Now that I think of it, he really should have invited my wife, as she may be the expert on any wisdom I may have gained if any)

Almost everyone  there was of my his sons’ generation and with few exceptions, unmarried. It was so unlike the gatherings I hosted over the years for my own friends, his father included, that were supposed to be sedate in quality but somehow thru no fault of my own, turned into something else very quickly. I’m not now, or ever was one of those guys you read about in books or in the media  that lived and partied in some frat house, that was a temple of hedonism.  Still, I had times where I might just have become such, now that I think about it. Youth is, if you do not know, the one big drug you spend the rest of your life in withdrawal from. I now know anytime you have a bunch of testosterone primed young guys around, some china is bound to be broken, but with the “old men” in attendance, the china was safe for the moment.

I did in fact carry out my duties, giving out, some words of wisdom (quite well I must say) and not long after I finished, we cracked opened a few beers, ate pizza, and listened to a few tunes of long ago. One by one, everyone of the younger generation drifted out and left. Even his son called it a night, leaving me and my friend sitting in the living room.

It must be said that of all of my friends, and I do not have that many, this one knows me better than anyone. So when we do get together and talk it is the type of conversation that can go on and on. Forever if we let it. It’s good and right that we unburden on each other because, in reality, it seems like we have had only one, albiet broken, conversation In all the years we have known each other. It is a conversation that is well over 40 years in length, and it is about Life.  We do in fact, talk of many things within that subject, We talk about our now betraying bodies, and the changes that we have made to compensate to keep our dignity intact. With lowered heads and speech we reach out for those who are no longer in our circle for whatever reason, taken away by the sudden turns of directions that befall us all,  but most of all we reopen old wounds, then rebandage them, confess our failings, boast our successes, and finally, restate our excuses for being who we were, and what we have become. Once that is done, for the moment (and it is fleeting,) we are whole again.

And then we must stop to return to the lives we have spoken to, that have been waiting in the shadows, it always means that a lot of things have gone unsaid. Some conversational letter “T” uncrossed or an “I” left undotted.  In this feeling, I may be alone in. Black men of my generation are renowned for being emotionally shortchanged in some manner. Many of my friend’s fathers were either tyrants or weaklings, or worse, like my father, just not there.

In some ways I do not blame them, they all were born and raised into a system that was set up to grind them into subservience. Rare was any black man so self sufficient to be able to bite the “White” hand and raise a family. Rarer, still to find the man who was aware of that fact, but still refused to deal with a second class reality, and would not turn to bite the hands of his own family in frustration.

Even for me, when I was a  younger man, I  felt the proverbial urge to “go out to get a newspaper”, and never return. I’m persuaded that for the black men of my generation that was the best way out, (they felt) while for the so-called better educated white man who could no longer support or bear his family, would just jump off a building and be done with it. But I digress, this not about our fathers, it is about the thing that has kept us from repeating their mistakes.. each other, our friendship, and the power of Man Talk.

I have always wanted to make sure that my kids taste’s in the Arts was well-rounded, so as a result ,I have exposed them to as much of it as I can, given the lack of money available to me. As an example, I had wanted to take them to see Oklahoma (stage not screen) over at the Arena Stage here in Washington D.C. The least expensive ticket was 45.00 bucks and that was for a saturday matinee showing. I know you cannot cut costs when you are doing a show of that caliber, but if you are going to take the family to it, the cost for me would be around 250.00. A budget buster for sure.

I can see it now, me in one seat  holding myself down trying my best not to stand up and sing along with every song in the musical, and to my left, my kids trying their best to shrink down to the smallest size that is humanly possible to achieve, while at the same time flashing me death stares dark enough to stop a rhino in his tracks.

Not that it matters, unlike their Mother, I’m immured to the uncanny power of parental distain. I will come up with somthing very soon for them. Good thing they do not read my blog! (they can, it posts to facebook)

When you are at the lower end of the drug scale, the result may not be as demonstrative but it has its costs. As I would soon find out..

All of this love I have despite my hatred for RTA (ready to assemble) furniture. This is not an ordinary hate. it is a hate that is (quoting from a recent comedic movie) at the cellular level. As exhibit “A” it took me about an hour to put together this TV stand for the office that was less than 100.00 bucks. I would have given them 125.00 dollars if it was already in one piece instead of fifty-eleven different ones.

Back to the store, these guys have not missed a trick in getting you to buy something even if it is just a funny looking kitchen wahtsitjig that you will never use. It is evil but it is beautifully evil. If you have not yet been thru an IKEA It is kind of hard to explain how they manage to pull this off, but I can touch upon some of the highlights…

They start off right away be removing two of the biggest obstacles on the path to your wallet, the kids and the stomach. Ikea will whisk the little monsters away to a special “play area” with (supervision to boot) to allow you the freedom to enjoy all that is in front of you. Relived of the fear that your little bundle of joy will pull down a wall of plates on the unsuspecting bystander or at the least start whining at the top of his voice that he “wanna go home” or Why is that man’s back shaped so funny? All the while yelling so loud that you know that angels on high have resorted to using earplugs, not to mention the complete destruction of your self esteem at your (now public) parenting skills.

Ikea has also solved the problem of shoppers like me, those who are on a mission to go into a store, walk right up to what they came to buy and then leave. The store has one way in and one way out, no backtracking and in between those two doors, is every department that you have to go thru in order to get to the exit! Along that path, is every item that they sell. Set up in such a way that promises that once you take it home you will be complete and whole within an orderly universe at last.

Hungry? no matter. At the half way point of your march to the exit is a full blown cafe, loaded with cheap but good looking food, much like the table you just brought. And slightly better taste. Before you know it, you have a tray in your hands and are lining up to a get a plate of meatballs, and some unidentifiable red jelly that is all the rage back in the home country.

Add low lighting, and presto! you have shot 2 hours of your weekend, spent about 200.00 dollars (red jelly included) for a table that you have to put together yourself.

I love Ikea!