Thursday, August 30, 2018

Is the Weekend Here Yet?

Oy, returning to work after having a week off almost seems more painful than foregoing a vacation entirely. Almost. Everyone needs a break and I am no exception. But, I've been digging out from work on my day job all week. At least we've got a three-day holiday weekend coming up. Labor Day indeed! Fall and winter will be here before we know it, so I'm going to try to enjoy the remaining days of summer.


Friday, August 24, 2018

Toronto

I took a much-needed vacation this week to Toronto. I had been to Toronto many years ago, but only didn't have fond memories of the place because I food poisoning most of my time there and spent two days barfing. But that was then and this is now. I had a great time the second time around and managed to spend a few days in the city without barfing. While in Toronto, I noticed a few things.First, Toronto is very diverse in terms of race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc. It's the kind of place that a supporter of Donny T. would hate. Second, Toronto is very expensive. Even with the conversion rate between US and Canadian dollars, I still found Toronto expensive. The tax I was charged for a purchase somewhere was 13%. That's high. Everything was expensive: food, housing, clothing. It's a wonder the working classes can afford to live in the place. Of course, I was downtown and not outside of that area, so I assume there are more affordable places to live and eat outside of the city's center. Third, there's a lot to see and do in Toronto. I went to the Toronto islands, Casa Loma, the shoe museum, and St. Lawrence market and enjoyed them all. I finally put my selfie stick to work here! Fourth, the people of Toronto are quite friendly. Pretty much everyone I encountered in the city was friendly and helpful and I appreciated that.


Thursday, August 16, 2018

RIP, Aretha

When I heard about Aretha Franklin's passing this morning, I was saddened by her death but hearing about it also made me think about my own mother's passing more than twenty years ago. My mother was an Aretha fan and we grew up listening to her Amazing Grace album (on vinyl). I remember that album cover with Aretha dressed in African garb and particularly loved her rendition of "Mary, Don't You Weep." When I'd heard earlier this week that Aretha was in hospice care, I knew her time on earth was limited. When the hospice folks are called in, you know what's coming next. The same happened with my own mother. But Aretha's music will live on even after her passing. Many years ago, I went to see Steely Dan perform at Pine Knob outside of Detroit and when they did "Hey Nineteen" the lyrics changed from "Hey nineteen, that's Aretha Franklin. She don't remember the Queen of Soul" to "Hey nineteen, that's Otis Redding. she don't remember the King of Soul." I figured Donald Fagen had to change the lyric because, even back then, nineteen-year-olds knew who Aretha Franklin was. (Otis Redding, maybe not so much.) One of my favorite Aretha songs is "Spanish Harlem" and it's been on my mind since I read about her death.

RIP, Aretha. Queen of Soul, proud Detroiter, legend.

Monday, August 13, 2018

Garbage In, Garbage Out

In the latest trials and tribulations of Donny T. and the Funky Bunch, a member of the bunch was expelled. That member then retaliated by writing a tell-all book. Donny called the expelled member a "lowlife." I guess it takes one to know one, right, Donny? This administration is filled with lowlifes including the lowest of the low sitting in the Oval Office. When you are garbage and you hire garbage, don't be surprised when that garbage turns out to be, well, garbage. All of these people sold their souls to the devil for a taste of power and I have no sympathy for any of them. There are no winners here, just one loser after another.

Tuesday, August 7, 2018

Polo, Anyone?

While parts of Chicago spent the weekend dodging gunfire and attending Lollapalooza, I spent part of my Sunday afternoon attending a polo match. Since I'd never attended a polo match before, I found it interesting. The divot stomping was the highlight for me. We all had an opportunity to get involved! And who knew a chukka was more than a kind of boot? I sure didn't! You really get to see how the other half lives at a polo match. The only reason I was able to attend was because my sister's boss was playing and he invited the staff to come and enjoy the festivities. I appreciated the invitation because, God knows, I'd probably never have had the opportunity to attend a polo match at a country club.


Saturday, August 4, 2018

Back on the Train

Since my day job moved from the suburbs to the city in the past month, I've been able to get back onto public transit to travel to and from work. No more driving out to No Man's Land and dealing with traffic on the tollway. Now I can sit and read like I used to when I lived in Brooklyn. Public transit does have its drawbacks, mainly from having to deal with other people, but I still believe the benefits outweigh the problems. I'm a strong advocate for public transit. Having affordable, reliable public transit helps us all. It reduces the amount of cars on the road, it enables people who don't have access to cars to travel, and it's a way to bring people who might otherwise be siloed into a space with people they might not normally have any interaction with. On the flip side, I do hate that the L line I ride has fabric-covered seats. Whose bright idea was that? (Someone who DOESN'T take public transit regularly, I'm sure.) Fabric can absorb all kinds of nasty stuff (bed bugs, lice, moisture). Plastic benches are the way to go for public transit. At least then you can see if the seat is wet. The CTA really needs to get on the stick and remove all of the fabric seats from the trains. They're just gross.