AND ALL THAT JAZZ

(The following was delayed for editing)

Wife Phyl, Bella, the minature Chihuahua, and I are one week settled into our new apartment, and we are starting to enjoy life.

Admittedly, it was hectic at first - with a few unexpected events taking place; which I won't go into here.

The first was a positive.

I'm thinking of getting a tee shirt for this old "Foop" that reads: "Doesn't fold - bend- spindle or mutilate." Thus, the experience of trucking up three + flights of stairs was a scary thought.

Still, we wanted to spend quality time with the kids and grandkids, while possibly looking for a home in the north to either supplement or replace our comfortable home in Bradengon, Fla.

When we walked into the apartment complex one day early - with checks in hand- we were told a Terrace level apt. had opened up. No lugging goodies, furniture, purchases etc up to the third floor.

That was truly our greatest fear in making this temporary move.

After a lot of adjustments dealing with the forwarding of mail and bills etc for a different Apt address; we started to settle in.

Unfortunately, Mr.Foop," (a/k/a Mr. Results Oriented") got into trouble by overwhelming the missus,who had only a passing glance experience with what the real Pgh - and all it's shortcuts, hills, challenging curves were all about.

This is despite her "almost" Western Pa introduction coming in from the roller coaster hills of W. Va. for 3 hours.

We transplanted Floridians don't do sweeping curves and cliff driving very well any more.

Finally, after a few nights exploring Pittsburgh's Pinot Grigio wine supplies and making friends, we agreed on some compromises; our normal way of dealing with challenges.

(1) The missus will not be doing any open houses or even house visitations for a minimum of 30 days, or until nightmares about West Virginia roads cease.

(2) Mr. Foop must cease and desist with showing her all the shortcuts when she still hasn't had time to master the main roads of Penn Hills etc.

A real positive for Phyl has been the Pittsburgh food - unlike even that in Harrisburg - her home town. Morgans is our favorite bistro.

The huge plus for both of us has been the people, including family, and our renewed exposure to "All That Jazz."

More later.

CATCHING UP

One of the joys in life I experience is reading the blogs written by friend Harry, which I just did while catching up.

They are often poignant and always interesting. In addition, they are well researched.

Harry recently commented on the Casey Anthony trial - and I figured I might as well add my two-cents worth. And, that's probably about what it's worth.

In this day and age it is becoming more and more difficult not to give in and - suffer fools easily. For, there are so many of them.

Those who want to commit physical harm against Casey Anthony, her family, and her attorneys are among the most strident folks I have ever encountered.

I will never believe that Casey was not guilty of her daughter's disappearancee and eventual demise. But, believing it and proving it are two different things.

There is no question that the flames in the hearts of these misled fanatics referenced above were fueled by the likes of Nancy Grace.

Folks - get a grip. This is what this lady does for a living - and she's good at it. Those who echoed her sentiments throughout this three year nightmare earn their keep the same way.

Hello! The object is to sell papers and advertisements - not speak the reasoned truth that is required of anyone who wants to use the brain they have been fortunate enough to have received.

Instead,for some strange reason - too many of us want to live with, lead with, and reason with - a different part of our anatomy.

Unfortunately, this doesn't just apply to politicians - and it's not always the same part of the anatomy - even if located pretty close to the first one.

And, why are we hearing so many examples of this phenomena? Again, because it sells newspapers and advertisements. It's still all about the money, gang!

It's time for us to collectively put our "thinking caps" on.

The interest in the Casey Anthony trial proved why the leading and most watched TV shows continue to include CSI, Law & Order, and NCIS - three of our favorites in the Sullivan household.

But, we also know this is a fictional account of the law and it's proceedings with just enough factual information to make it interesting - and sell advertisements as well.

I have always been fascinated by the Law and have documented the reasons for my interest in many of my blogs.

My belief has always been "the law is the law" - whether I agreed with it's impact on civilization. Without it - we are nothing.

The Supreme Court Decision deciding that a corporation is an individual and entitled to the same rights as an individual still has my head spinning.

In my opinion it will never be included in any CD purchased by me and advertised as "The Best Of The Supremes."

But, again; the law is the law until changed by some hopefully intelligent and well reasoning individuals.

The case put on by the Prosecution was not convincing despite the fact most of us concluded the mother had something to do with the death of her daughter.

There is a reason Defense attorney Baez in his closing arguments drove us nuts with his continual reference to the term "reasonable doubt."

But folks "reasonable doubt" is the law and this ain't CSI, NCIS, and Law & Order.

It's called life - and Casey Anthony did not receive it as a punishment and, another legal term -"double jeopardy"- will keep it from ever happening.

If you are religious, get down on your knees at night and pray that this country will never be ruled by the "court of public opinion."

And, know in your heart, you may not be fortunate enough - if accused of a crime - unfairly or not - to have access to a high powered Defense attorney to point out the flaws in the Prosecutors arguments.

Whether the Prosecution was successful or not in this instant case -can you imagine the uproar if they had not put Casey Anthony on trial?

In the meantime, be somewhat comfortable in knowing that if you are the defendent, we actually have people in this great country of ours who were willing - against obvious criticism from many - to put their possible thoughts and feelings aside and carry out the law as the system was intended to operate.

"Catching up" can be invigorating for this old foop.

The thought process involved will, hopefully, delay the onset of Alzheimers that Seniors like Harry and I fear the most of the maladies that continue to confront most of us in our "Golden Years."

Take care.

A CALMING EFFECT

I had stored this rough draft prior to our leaving for Pittsburgh - thus the earlier date of publishing listed. It was finished today- July 20.

So many of the political blogs I receive are both foolish and vicious.

Therefore, when one comes to me that speaks to the heart I feel a need to share it. I'd like to give credit to the author but can't find out who that is.

Here goes:

"We never get what we want. We never want what we get. We never have what we like. We never like what we have. And still we live & love."

"The best of friends, is the kind you can sit with on a porch swing, say nothing, and then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you've ever had."

"It's true that we don't know what we have until it's gone, but it's also true that we don't know what we've been missing until it arrives."

"Giving someone all your love is no assurance that they'll love you back."

"Don't expect love in return: just wait for it to grow in their heart, but if it doesn't, be content it grew in yours."

Don't know about you - but, with all our preparation, travelling and getting settled in our new digs - this had "a calming effect".

Hope you feel the same.

IT HAPPENS

The blog title is a reference to, "Sometimes it happens that your side gets an extra turn at bat."

Such an occurence was an E-mail I received from Bank Of America after expressing by phone my disatisfaction to one of their customer relation practices. I suggested it was an example of providing "no service" at all.

It was neither a big deal nor as unappealing as ESPN insisting that what Joey Chestnut does should be considered a sport - as they kept reminding us by keeping it on a continuous loop the other day.

There are many things different in the South as represented by the State of Florida. One is what appears to be a rather lackadasical approach to customer service, as seen in one local bank.

But, that really wasn't my grievance - at first - during my latest customer relations episode with this rather large bank.

Now, to those of you who also bank with this organization and are pleased with it's services - you may really not want to read any further.

In preparing for the upcoming Pennsylvania trip it has been necessary to complete some financial transactions. In this instance I was attempting to communicate with the bank by phone.

Now, please keep in mind this is a huge financial institution that you would hope is furnishing us with the best customer service.

Taint so, Maghee.

My request was made on July 3, a Sunday, and involved my request to transfer some funds from a small flexible CD account to my checking account with the bank.

Now, before I go any further, I can already hear the wheels grinding in the mind of some bank "spindoctor" who would be saying: "What customer relations blunder? Do you realize how far we've come in providing service that your parents never had - the benefits of telephonic banking?"

Yes, that would be correct; however, they were also spared the non-personal experience of talking to a machine who couldn't understand their verbal responses, despite repeating their answers over and over.

You see, Mom & Dad interacted with neighbors and friends who were called "tellers", who actually "told" them what they needed to do, smiled at them, and asked about the kids.

These "tellers" were foolish enough to think they were providing good customer service.

You do remember "tellers - don't you. They were replaced by ATM's (plural) or at least just one - at my closest local branch; and it consistently runs out of money.

You can't deny the wisdom of ATM's - the greatest customer service advance. That would be before outsourcing the banks customer relations representatives with folks who can barely speak English and are located in countries you are hardpressed to find on a map.

Yeah, but remember, now you have 24 hour banking! Of course, that would not be true if you need the banks CD department on a Sunday - even if that Sunday is followed by a bank holiday.

Never on Sunday? I enjoyed the movie better.

So, how big a deal is it - you may ask. On the surface it's minor- but the banks - in fulfilling some executive's MBO (management by objective) promises - decided to send me an interactive E-mail asking me, "Tell us how you really feel about our bank?"

Yep, Our team got an extra at-bat.

My biggest challenge was to carefully separate my responses about my totally non-personal bank branch up by the Post Office so as not to smudge the "extra effort" displayed by a superior branch of the same institution down the road in a shopping center.

I wanted to clarify that the topic of the new movie "Horrible Bosses" is normally the result of a lousy theory "X" boss who may or may not be carrying out the dictates of their own bosses.

It appears the income of the higher up is directly tied in with how much he/she ignores lousy service at the branches under them; and if they can just pare costs down to the bone.

And, the guy or gal on the bottom wants to be elevated to that
higher position. So, it's a kind of business practice that just continues to feed on itself.

Think of this C/R snafu as when the Bank fired your favorite tellers - to install machines - and then penalizing you with fees and charges because you did what they asked you to do- "use them".

Well, as much as I enjoyed completing their survey, which I'm sure is now closely enjoying it's demise with some C/R's computer "delete" button; I was even more pleased to read in today's paper the following:

"Federal regulators will be able to take back pay from executives held responsible for a large bank's failure. Executives deemed 'negligent' and 'substantially responsible' can lose all compensation from the previous two years under a rule approved by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The rule is part of the financial overhaul tht Congress passed last summer."

Okay now, I really don't want to hear any response that suggests this will make the banks "friendly consumer service" even worse.

Nor, do I want to entertain thoughts that any member of Congress sitting on a banking committee is now eagerly selecting the location of a second or third vacation home; as they anticipate the monies pouring in from the lobbyists to try to eliminate or greatly modify the expressed desires of the F.D.I.C..

There was a bank in Harrisburg, Pa called "Commerce Bank." Among their services were:

"7 day lobby or drive-thru hours" even in Center City Philadelphia and Manhattan".

"Instant creation of ATM cards on the spot at the time of account opening."

"No overdraft fees on debit card usage."

"Free 'penny arcade' coin counting machines for BOTH customers and non-customers."

"No- Fee Visa Gift cards for customers."

Doomed to fail, right? Nope, that wasn't the goal. Service was!

In 2007 - three years after we moved here - Commerce was so successful it was purchased by Toronto-Dominion bank, which merged Commerce with TD Banknorth to form TD Bank. You may have seen Regis and Kelly doing their ads - emphasizing customer service.

The Commerce philosophy was that they were retailers - not bankers- and they went so far as to call their various locations stores - not branches.

Maybe, the ruling (if upheld) will get the Management at Bank of America to begin thinking again about providing good customer service.

Perhaps their goal will be to regain the customers they threw away with their perceived greed resulting in miserly CD & savings rates.

That would be despite having plenty of cash on hand courtesy of the government - and funded by you and me!

But yes, please feel free to join me at my home as I celebrate the ruling by eating 144 hotdogs in 1 1/2 minutes in my backyard vomitorium; thus creating an "ever new" sports record.

Hey, maybe "It Happens" - who knows?

IT'S OKAY TO CRY

"It's okay to cry, " I said to my kids.

I also offered this advice to many of the folks I was asked to counsel at my church and in other private settings.

I can still remember the first time I saw my Dad cry. I was just a child and we lived at 120 Sumner Ave - which would put it somewhere between about 1942 and 1950.

I have no rental records, so I have rely on the years of birth for my two brothers (1941 and 1945) to determine about how old I might have been when this happened.

We lived at two different locations on Sumner Ave when each of them were born. I guess, therefore, I was somewhere between the age of 5 and 8 at the time I witnessed Dad's highly unusual meltdown.

I wish I could remember the circumstance surrounding my Dad's tears. Was it due to his Dad's death in,(I'm guessing) 1944 or 45?

Or, did "Mr. All Thumbs" just pound one of those short stubby digits with a hammer? Probably not. He demonstrated a capacity for pain that he passed on to his three sons.

Did he lose a job? This, as per my Mom who responded to my question a few years later, also at 120, after the latest occurrence -"it's not unusual"!

It was not as popular an expression to me as it was when Welsh singer Tom Jones later turned it into a huge hit.

Mom claimed the lack of longevity in Dad's employment history was due to his stubborn independent spirit and difficulty in responding positively or obeying almost any boss's instructions or criticism.

I suspect there are a few of those apples at the foot of Dad's genealogical tree.

I don't know why the initial tear flow thing happened - and wish I could remember, but alas, I was a little tyke back then.

All I know was that Dad's crying took me by surprise. I thought there was no one tougher than my Dad and saw his crying as a chink in his armor.

Maybe it was just a childhood revelation of my own vulnerability. Who knows?

Much later, when I came home from college in the late 50's due to my Dad's illness, it was also "not unusual" to spot those tears in his eyes after his own return home and the suffering he sustained from the many shock therapy sessions he experienced at St. Francis Hospital in Pittsburgh.

I also saw those tears in his eyes once when I visited the hospital and observed the expression on his face as I turned his wheelchair away from the wall he was left facing after one of his caretakers abandoned him.

I'm sure he also shed a few tears in 1971 when he lost a grandson.

Despite all this history - and possibly because of it - I learned it was okay to cry - sometimes - as I did following the death of a son as well as my grandson, both named Brian; the middle name of my youngest brother.

However, strangely enough, I do not recall crying at the death of my Dad in the mid to late 80's.

This was despite the fact I believe I was the last family member to communicate with him before he began the long process of surrendering the ability to verbally communicate before his dependence on a ventilator prior to his death.

I was also the only occupant in that hospital room to hear the sullen declaration, "Barry, I'm dying", an admission whose accuracy I quickly attempted to squelch.

He knew better.

No! I did not cry back then.

Perhaps it was because I never remembered him giving me permission by saying: "It's okay to cry."

And, believe me; it is.

INTERESTING TIME

This is usually the time of year that, when I pull up the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette computer generated sports pages, I head for the Steelers section.

Not so during this interesting time in the following of Pittsburgh sport teams.

The Pgh.Steeler news is basically "same o" "same o" with the predicted greed continuing .

The "best interest of the fans" (a tremendously maligned bit of word speak by NFL managment)is lagging woefully in last place as to the priority thinking of the two negotiating parties.

Don't know whether you have ever painted yourself into a corner - physically, emotionally, or verbally; but I have - and you feel quite stupid.

Hopefully, that is what is going on in the NFL Mgt/Players negotiations, and we can soon get this behind us.

I promised my wife that during our time in Pgh I'd take her to Latrobe - and St. Vincents - the normal location of the training camp for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

That may not happen - for a variety of reasons.

But, the compensating - or bright light - of the Pittsburgh sports pages continues to be the improved playing by the young Pittsburgh Pirates.

Yeah, I'm holding my breath like the rest of you - but even an old Pirates critic like myself - has started to feel the excitement.

Living down here around the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team gives you that sort of hope.

It appears the Pittsburgh fans have also caught the spirit, based upon the improving attendance.

It would seem a lot has to do with a new Manager - a better pitching coach - who's more than a number cruncher - and just the increasing maturity of the team.

Yeah, we'd all like to see more consistent hitting, but they've been playing without some of their better long ball hitters due to a variety of injuries. The plus sign is it has given the fans an opportunity to see some players that would be otherwise lingering in the shadows.

And yes, the bonehead running and throwing plays this year do remind everyone of what takes place when the Pirates are down here in Bradenton for Spring Training - as opposed to what one expects halfway through a MLB season.

The biggest change in the mind of this old f--t is the enthusiasm of the players. Anybody who is a sports fan - particularly if you've been fortunate enough to have played on a sports team - knows how contagious and invigorating can be the experiencing of a few victories.

I've played on mostly rag-tag teams in my youth and remember how exciting it was to climb on a basketball floor or ballfield with the feeling, "You know? I think we can win this"

It truly is an interesting time for a Pittsburgh sports fan - and long overdue.

A PRAYER FOR AN OWL

My wife, Phyllis, recently told me that the skunk has been determined to be an endangered species down here.

This is because the local owls sort of see the skunk as "protein du jour". You see,the owls can't smell.

As my wife explained, the result is that people are now adopting skunks that have been desensitized, as they cannot exist in the outside world.

So, my question is "Who would like to adopt a Congressman?"

In case you may have forgotten, this is a collection of people who have retained their skunk status since comedian Will Rodgers was writing and talking about them in the early part of the last century.

As Will was once quoted, "There will never be a lack of humor resources as long as we have a Congress."

To the best of my knowledge there has never been a larger aggregation of the "genus Mephitis" in this country than those we choose to sit in our hallowed Halls of Congress.

Like the cute furry animal skunks, we seem to have this strange attraction for the human beast collectively known as politicians.

No matter how often, or to what degree, we have been sprayed with their toxic secretion - we continue to invite the incumbent back into public office.

And trust me, none of them are that cute little Pepe Le Pew with the delightful French accent.

I recently read a Thomas Jefferson reference wherein he expressed a hope that we would "crush in it's birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations."

Clearly, that ain't happening. If anything, our politicians have allowed corporate largess to consume them and in doing so, led us down the path of total economic chaos.

So, in our wisdom we decided in 2010 (two years after the most egregious disaster) to overwhelmingly allow the Republican party - the corporations largest ally - to increase their influence in the House of "Representatives" - a misnomer if ever there was one.

In fact, despite the Republican victories in the 2010 election we really haven't seen any sign of redemption on either side of the aisle. As a matter of fact, when it comes to the amount of money the skunks are willing to accept from corporations and lobbyists - it has increased.

I'm always amazed that the voters in this country really believe that a change of party representation in our national government is going to make a real difference. As long as there is greed and enough funds to support it, the face or the offending specie may be different, but the corruption will remain the same.

As long as we pursue this seesaw elective effort we are doomed to repeat our mistakes. So, why vote then - you well may ask.

We have often written how each party has it's traditional affiliation with a distinct group of special interests that cannot possibly favor the future of most of us honest hardworking human beings.So is it the liberal left or the conservative right we seek?

Part of our problem is an analogy that the overwhelming majority of us can see the neighborhood violence but are sure that our kid (skunk) is blameless or not contributing to what is going on.

But, in both of these examples more and more frequently nothing could be further from the truth.

How can we make things different, you ask? By becoming more information savvy and getting off our collective duff.

If we truly want to know which politician is gaining the most by corporate greed we need only research the source of their campaign monies and the decisions they make as committee heads.

Read! Read! Read! Also, listen to the talk shows and make up your own mind. Even when you disagree with the speaker there is a great chance you will walk away more informed.

Had we taken the time to make this determination we would have easily recognized why our economy was on the brink of failure due to faulty financial regulation and irresponsible political decisions.

If we were running a corporation like Congress is being run - and with this kind of results - we would have quickly fired the management and started at the top - (or at least the guy or gal right under us).

We on Social Security (or as I believe columnist Walter Lippman once called it, "social insecurity") continue to shed our "tears of concern" over the attempts by the skunks to misuse the contributions of our employers and ourselves and then claim the program is a failure.

So, if it's that meaningful in our lives - what is it that we are going to do about it? What independent group are we willing to support so that this financial information can be disseminated to a larger group of people?

Other than destroying the hearing of our spouses with our repetitive political opinion vomiting, what positive step are we going to take in the time leading up to the elections of 2012?

Will we keep approaching the skunk who sprayed us and be assured that they couldn't possibly have any of that toxic gas left?

Because if we do, we're fools - and 'damned fools' at that."

As a registered Republican, I remain amazed that we have had 4 years since the last Presidential election to uncover just one qualified and viable "owl" - and have failed to do it.

In the unlikely event that someone approached you to sign a petition favoring term limits for all politician not just Congressional skunks - what would your response be?

Would you support it - or only if you had a beer in your hand - and the beer hadn't been purchased by a local political crony?

If not - stop griping - and please pray for that Owl.

The last one we chose - isn't making it.

Skunks are skunks no matter whether they favor corporations or the so-called disadvantaged. They still smell just as bad.