What's a "strange drawer" ?

Recently I was looking for a place to store a cherry pitter. I questioned my high primal thinker who in turn instructed me to put it in the strange drawer. A strange drawer? Junk drawers are part of any normal household as I have chronicled before, but what in hell is a strange drawer?



It turns out that a strange drawer is home to bunch of kitchen items which are strangers to each other but are not ready for the junk drawer. The following can be found among the strangers :

• barbecue tools
• panini maker part ( works fine without it)
• recipes waiting for their day on the stove
• hot plates
• shrimp diviner
• lobster and crab leg cracker
• frosting spatulas
• salad bowl utensils
• appliance cord
• cough drops ?????

What separates a strange drawer from a junk drawer is organization Each of the strange items has its place in a drawer organizer. Unlike junk drawer items, strange drawer items live in apparent harmony.

I did track one item, an appliance cord, for several days. I wasn't sure what it belonged to but there it was taking up space in the strange drawer. One day, I noticed it was gone. I was informed that I could find it in the junk drawer. The high primal thinker had determined that the cord was an alien item which had illegally entered the the strange drawer and had to be deported. Besides that, she did not have the slightest clue as to what it was for. I concluded from this episode that items in the strange drawer were only one step away from being classified as junk.

All in all we are very fortunate. Two junk drawers, a strange drawer and still enough space for essential kitchen ware.

Baseball And The Devil

A while back I wrote a post titled " Baseball And God" in which I had some fun with Baseball's devotion to spirituality. The problem as I saw it is that God is not a baseball fan - God is a football fan.

That being the case I wonder whether or not it is time for Baseball to seek an alliance with the Devil. There are good reasons for doing so . The Devil is no stranger to sin and would be very forgiving of Baseball's steroid scandal. The Devil has access to some fantastic prices on Skoal chewing tobacco. No matter what rule is broken , the player's could always claim , " the devil made me do it".

The problem with this proposal is that any alliance with the Devil has a price. He would demand countless souls as attendance records were broken, the Indians won the World Series, The Cubs won a pennant, the Yankee's raised ticket prices and still sold out, the player's bulked up and nobody cared. But whose soul?

That would be a negotiable issue between the owner's and the Player's union. Negotiable? Hardly! Complete stalemate!

Actually the question of whose soul would be at stake is easy to answer. Baseball is the soul of America. There is no way America would make a deal with the Devil. After all, its motto is " In God We Trust". Sacrificing Baseball to the Devil is off the table but it was worth exploring.

Breaking news! The Devil released a statement that he has no interest in an alliance with Baseball. He's a hockey fan and the pickings are greater in the NHL.

More breaking news! The Cleveland Indians have retired Chief Wahoo and renamed the team, the Cleveland Devils. You just can't trust the Devil

Still more beaking news! Cleveland sports teams have no soul - ask the fans. Even Devils make bad deals.

About Health Care Reform

According to Eric J. Toder, a tax economist at the Urban Institute, if health care reform is worth doing, more people should be willing to pay for it. Good point, but therein lies the problem with getting a reasonable health care reform bill through Congress. More people are not willing to pay for health care reform. Somehow or other someone else should pay for it , and that someone else is reluctant to pay for it. Stalemate! Fodder for Republican obstructionists! The makings of botched up health care reform!

It comes as no surprise! We wring our hands over injustices but we send a clear message that “ what’s mine is mine and don’t you dare try to take it away from me to fix an injustice” . If we are not willing to pay to fix an injustice, why the hell do we elect people to fix that injustice? They are politicians not magicians.

I keep thinking back to 1986 when the rage in Congress was to come up with catastrophic medical insurance. All went well until someone told retirees their Medicare premiums would go up. No way they said. The end of catastrophic medical insurance. The beginning of inflationary health care costs. As for the retirees, they saw Medicare premiums rise anyway. By the way, most of the objections came from those who had access to catastrophic medical insurance. They cast a tear for those who didn’t and went on with their lives.

Health care reform is a tinder box. Republicans say it will be Obama’s Waterloo. That’s about all they can contribute to the debate --- they have no solutions. Can Obama pull it off. I hope so and I do know it will involve sacrifice on my part although I have perfectly good health care coverage. My good coverage , however is vulnerable to rampaging health care costs. Health care reform is a must and we must be willing to pay for it.

The Noblest Profession Of Them All

The noblest profession of them all and perhaps the most maligned is teaching! As we celebrate the landing of the first man on he moon, kudos go to the engineers, scientists and astronauts who made it possible. Let us not forget that somewhere in the background of every engineer, scientist and astronaut there was a teacher who planted the seeds which later matured into a harvest of entrepreneurship and scientific accomplishments.

Somewhere in the background of a Pulitzer prize winner was a teacher who introduced the writer to the magic of good literature.

Somewhere in the background of Academy Award winners was a teacher who ignited the spark propelling them to venture before an audience.

Let us not forget the impact of the ultimate teachers --- Aristotle, Jesus Christ, Mohamed and Buddha. Their teachings have formed the foundation of our civilization.

Teachers give of themselves to others so that others can have a chance of enjoying productive lives. I am proud to have a daughter, son, sister, niece, sister-in law and grand nephews who made teaching an important part of their lives.

The next time someone gripes about teacher's pay and how easy they have it, they might do well to reflect on what life would be like without having someone to teach us to read, write and think.

Of course there are bad teachers. I'm tempted to say that behind every bad doctor, engineer, writer , lawyer was a bad teacher. That would not be fair. Suffice to say that being bad at what one does is not restricted to teachers.

If everyone was good at what they did , we would not need anyone to lead the way. I don't have any statistics to support this, but I daresay there are many more good teachers than bad teachers. How else would I be typing this on a gadget called a computer?

Yes I do!

After listening to Obama's remarks to the NAACP, after listening to his pep talk on health care reform, after looking back on his ambitious foreign policy and domestic policy agenda since taking office, I am more convinced than ever that Barack Obama will go down as one the greatest Presidents of The United States.

If the Democratic majority in Congress would start acting like a majority rather than a minority, we could embark on a renaissance for this country. Reid and Pelosi need to adopt more of the " yes we can" mentality and send the Republican obstructionists reeling.

YES WE CAN!

A Stroll Down Statuary Lane

Last October, our nomadic spirit took over and we relocated to a new neighborhood. The neighborhood is everything my spouse anticipated. Lovely homes, beautiful landscaping and quiet. It’s quiet to the point of distraction. In fact at times it is almost eerie.

The eerie feeling comes from the abundance of lawn statuary. A preponderance of our neighbors have chosen to grace their property with cement figures. One gets the feeling that Merlin took a stroll down the street and cast a spell, turning everything into stone. Walking down “ Statuary Lane” is like walking through a memorial garden.

Squirrels scamper all over the place but ironically, several homes sport a huge rock with a cement squirrel poised on top. Evidently looking at a live squirrel climbing a tree was too boring. The live squirrels do not seem to be impressed by the squirrel monument. Judging from the droppings on the monument, birds and doves are appreciative.

The neighborhood is made up mostly of near senior and senior adults. Children are rarely seen running around except on an occasional visit to their grandparents . Apparently some children do not visit grandpa and grandma often enough, so grandpa invested in stone children and placed them in his garden. They are cute, quiet and require little maintenance or attention.

Then there are those who always wanted a pet but did not want the responsibility of caring for a pet. No problem, just place a stone dog or cat by the front door or in the garden. I’ve noticed that real live dogs are attracted to these rigid animals. They piss all over them. Peace in the neighborhood is sometimes disrupted when the stone dog owner confronts the live dog owner. After all he didn’t bargain for the responsibility of cleaning up Stoney.

Last but not least we have the religious neighbor who is too lazy to go to church. Adorning his lawn is a shrine. Another attraction for a dog with a bladder problem. I understand that the type of care given to the shrine determines whether the homeowner will go directly to Heaven or will be required to spend an indeterminate amount of time in Purgatory.

As for me I’ll live with the squirrels rummaging for food, the chipmunks burrowing under the patio, the birds at my feeder, the occasional deer prancing across the property and the visits from my daughter‘s real live dog. “ Statuary Lane” is my home’s location but my home has not entered the stone age.

Senior Moments

Mother Tesch of albatross necktie left a kind comment on one of my posts referring to the possibility that I'm a senior. Her instincts rival Miss Marple's ( another clue ) and I proudly acknowledged that indeed I'm long in the tooth.

That got me thinking ( glad to say I'm still capable of exercising those grey cells). Actually I must confess that I'm having a senior moment. I am thinking but I'm not sure what I'm thinking about.

Is it about the wisdom that comes with old age? Hell no, someone put that out there to make old codgers feel good. My granddaughters & great grandchildren have more wisdom than I'll ever have.

Is it about the inevitable arthritis that creeps into those fragile bones? Lets not get into that. It's not that bad yet. Why should I bore anyone with my pains and become a pain in the ass.

Is it about how I got to be a senior. Maybe. My high primal thinking spouse had a lot to do with that. Still that's a story for another day.

Is it about the perks that come with being a senior citizen? Perhaps, but they are slowly disappearing. It has something to do about budgets.

That senior moment is becoming an eternity.

Eternity! That's what I was thinking about! Getting old just emphasizes that we do not have an eternity to do everything we would like. If you can still walk, talk and think, live every day as though it's your last. Easier to say than to do. I heard it somewhere and it sounds good.

Damn those senior moments. Mother Tesch said that she didn't always understand what I wrote. I have to agree.

( Mother Tesch, give Vito my condolences about the Cub's loss tonight. At least they didn't get massacred like the Indians did this afternoon.)

Q: Why do the New York Yankees insist on treating " God Bless America" as the national anthem?
A: Because King George the Steinbrenner deemed it so.

Q: Why does the Pope lecture the world about the ills of "new capitalism"?
A: To cover up " old totalitarianism" in the church.

Q: Why did Wolf Blitzer say that Barack Obama is the first African-American president to visit an African nation? Were there some previous African - American presidents?
A: Of course not but as Mr. Blitzer explained , Barack Obama, the first African- American President is visiting an African Nation.
Q: Why can't Eric Wedge, the Cleveland Indians manager, make up his mind as to grow a beard or not?
A: He can't make up his mind about anything,least of all his lineup.

Q: Who are the people questioning whether they will buy a General Motors car again?
A: GM retirees. They don't like the 61% government stake in GM! They do like the government saving their pensions.

Did I answer correctly? Who said this was quiz? Besides I used crib notes.

Behind The Headlines

Plain Dealer headlines begging for some speculation:

Guns prominent in killings
Not surprising. Not many murderers are skilled with a bow and arrow.

Shaq wants "a ring for the King"
Is the King ( Lebron James) ailing? Shaq has four , why not give the King one? Who made Lebron king anyway?

What's up with all the grunting at Wimbledon
Constipation? Have they ever heard of stool softners?

Devoted family man guilty of bribes, kickbacks
What else is a devoted family man to do to support his family in style given today's economy?

Palin's resignation provokes speculation about her future
Is the directorship of Planned Parenthood in the cards? Will she get a talk show opposite Dave Letterman? Is there a CEO opening at Exxon? Anything but the presidency!

You can't teach an old dog new tricks....

I did it! A new computer graces my desk. I finally got it up and running. What took me so long? It didn't have the feel of my old friend. After a lot of tinkering it's a reasonable facsimile.

My old computer has gone the way of Mark Sanford's political ambitions. It's still alive but on life support. The computer doctor predicts it will be gone in about a week. It's not big news but we'll have a suitable memorial. In this household it will preempt any MJ memorial.

I was sure that a new computer with lots of memory megabytes would stir up my writing creativity. With the faster speed my blog posts would flow incessantly. This is the best that I have come up with so far.

I'm not giving up. As with any new relationship patience is the key. I did buy a lap top and I'm seriously thinking of taking it to bed with me. I've heard that lap tops get really hot.

Just think of the post material which will be forthcoming!

What's with this sleep thing I see in the lower left corner. That will never do. We'll probably never consummate this marriage.

Next thing I know there will be a pop up screen informing me that this slick machine has a headache.