Welcome Relief

To my senior friends:




Recently there was a movie review in the paper regarding the holiday movie "What A Wonderful Life" (WAWF) starring Jimmy Stewart and available on just about every network except possibly Animal Planet.



The reviewer - whom it can be assumed must be very young since she claimed she had never seen it before - was critical of its qualifications as a true "Christmas Movie" because it was sad and troubling.




I know, the irony was not lost on me either that a member of the media (even if by association) was disturbed about sad and troubling news, particularly the kind which is featured 5+ nights a week on the "Late Breaking News" lead in on ABC Evening News - while we wait 28 minutes to get to the good stuff about people 'helping' people.




Those of us who have pretty much come to grip with most changes now taking place have simply acknowledged we are living in a different time but admittedly occasionally throw up the question "And Why?" - before finishing our evening prayers
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We do this also while shaking our heads (old poops do this a lot) as we read the headlines like the one recently about some of our most prestigious universities cancelling mid-term exams for the later part of the day. They did so because when the election results about 2 AM confirmed that their favorite Presidential candidate was defeated the disappointed students were thought to be way too devastated  and emotionally injured to sit for the exams.




Those of us who were around in 1948 when the Chicago Tribune prematurely and incorrectly posted the headline "Dewey Wins" were only now sadly realizing that we didn't receive even as much as a snow day to repair the reaction of both our parents and neighbors and by extension - ourselves.




There really is a panacea for dealing with the overabundance of recognizable and allegedly authentic
news sources "bad news" that has been heaped on us (and don't even get me started on the whole "fake news"  phenomenon). OK, I will anyway.




 I learned about fake news early in my life. My experience was while patiently awaiting my turn in the chair, and deciding to read cover to cover both "Confidential Magazine" and the "Police Gazette" favored by my local barber and neighbor Johnny Pedrotti,.


Johnny (nobody called him Mr.Pedrotti)  whose tonsorial parlor was replete not only with these "dirty magazines" but was known for it's slowly revolving red and blue cigar shaped sign  prominently displayed on Sumner Avenue where both our families resided.


This was, of course, as opposed to the blinking red one at the top of the street in the front window of Widow Shanahans house.




So, what do we do about incorrectly reported or simply fake news we're now exposed to every day?


Here's one suggestion:Find an ear torn copy of the old children's book we read as kids entitled  "Chicken Little". It's a quick read.


When you finish, take an oath that you will never again walk under an acorn tree - speak to Henny Penny if your paths cross - or watch the evening news by yourself without first taping it for appropriate editing and re-examination of it's authenticity.




It also might benefit we "old poops" if we are willing to recognize that we also made a slew of mistakes in our business and personal life before arriving at our present status. Worse yet, they made perfect sense to us at  the very time we were making them and we continued to defend them to our wives for many years after.
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If that still doesn't work - try to catch and tape the Farmers Insurance commercials where the host  - wearing his outdated corduroy jacket and jeans assures us of the reliability of his sponsor because (paraphrasing) "We saw a lot and we did a lot" (or whatever)




 Feel free to play them whenever necessary unless you would rather opt for watching WAWL for the "eleventy-seventh" time as you reminisce about the good times and the bank failures.
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Seriously, the now passe' advice of "chilling" is  an exercise of "welcome relief" and really much more tasteful than the application of the old formula we used in order to get here in the first place:


"Plop- Plop / Fizz - Fizz - Oh, what a relief it is."




May your holiday season be filled with nothing but good news.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY

Having been off my blog for some time and struggling to get back in for almost 2 hours I find I am speechless.


My password has been changed after several unsuccessful tries but if I shared it with you it would become painfully obvious the one I chose was done strictly out of frustration.


However, every time I go into the bathroom I should be able to remember it.


This will be my shortest blog. intwo minutes the Steelers game comes on.