49 and looking fine ... The Principessa Ann Marie, the boss, the wife, the old ball and chain ... she turns 49 domani and has never looked better. She was gifted a portable Jacuzzi a month or so ago when the ugly one managed to crack our windshield throwing a driving fit but it’ll be dinner at our favorite Jersey Joint Friday night (at the Portuguese Manor), some bubbly (she loves her champagne) and a 15 minute drum solo?
Oy-vey ...
Happy Birthday, doll face…
Hugo II ... no, the baby bichon hasn’t been cloned or anything, but he has joined us in bed for nighty-nights, usually cuddling against one of our legs. Of course this doesn’t permit moi to sleep very well since I constantly toss and turn during the night (bad back/worse mattress) so there’s that to dim the cute image no doubt most of yous are forming of a quietly napping puppy. In fact, this cute puppy does nothing quietly ... he’s a yapper and when he wants something, he lets you know it (over and over and over again).
Rigoletto isn’t exactly thrilled with the visit, but has learned to deal with the intruder to his space. The Rigonator continues to sleep above our heads on our pillows while the visiting bichon definitely prefers the lower end of the bodies/bed. We were starting to wonder about Rigoletto’s apparent calm at all the fusing going on around him, but this morning I caught him sharing a conversation with Spartacus and jotted some of it down.
“Who brought that thing, the flame thrower?” Spartacus asked.
“Nah, that was his idea,” Rigoletto said.
“Fatso?”
Rigoletto shrugged.
“That guy,” Spartacus said. “Can he get any dumber?”
“He’s alright,” Rigoletto said. “Except when he’s playing those damn drums and I’m trying to nap.”
“Yeah, what’s with Gene Krupa? I thought he was busy trying to be Hercules.”
“He’s over that, I think. He gets a fire up his ass every so often, tries different things. Now it’s drums. Before it was powerlifting.”
“He powerlifts his fat ass out of bed every morning. You’d think that be enough.”
“Yeah, but that knee is giving him real trouble. He almost dropped me a couple times carrying me up the stairs.”
“Carrying you? What are you, some kind of prince?”
“Watch yourself, mouse, I was here long before you and I’ll be here long after you’re gone.”
“Hey, I ain’t afraid a’you, pal. I’m just as big as you now.”
“Maybe, but I got her wrapped around my paws and she’s got a lot more gas in her flamethrower tank than she needs to stir fry your mouse ass.”
There was some bit of grumbling and then the alarm went off and I could no long hear them.
The above was written a few days ago ... this morning I’m liking his name a bit more ... YOU GO ... has a nice ring to it. Hugo had the runs yesterday ... oh, joy ... the Principessa Ann Marie managed to spoil Hugo in 5 days flat (and she’s now up early preparing his chicken so he loses the squirts she insists he developed after he had beef the night before).
Me, I’m in serious back pain again ... mostly from trying to avoid turning YOU GO into a tiny shag carpet ... he likes to cuddle against my back now ... which leaves me with about 4 inches of bed room before the drop to the floor (which would lead to the drop to the living room and then the basement).
“YOU GO,” Knucks said. “Yes, good doggie, YOU GO ... can’t wait ... YOU GO. Yes, YOU GO soon ... very soon.”
Vey iz mir ...
A Really Good Book ... The First Family (a non-fiction book by Mike Dash) about the The Birth of the American Mafia is both intriguing and illuminating so far (I’m just 50 pages in but looking very forward to reading more later today). Consider this a teaser ...
The Deficit (a Knucksline rant) ... is out of control, so says everyone against national health insurance ... but Knucksline has to wonder about the costs of these two wars (estimated at $720 million per day back in September of ’07). You can probably add a zero or two for 2009 but that doesn’t seem to bother the administration that promised change in Washington. I guess they meant we’d refocus our costs in lives and money from the “wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time” to the right one? We’re supposed to get out of Iraq in 2011. I guess when you do something wrong, you need to stick with it at least until the year before another presidential election.
Where have all the war protestors gone, by the way?
Change my ass.
Not that the Republicans have any answers for ANYTHING. They seem content to sit back and watch the wheels come off much the same way the Democrats sat back and watched George Bush run the country into the ground (giving him pretty much everything he wanted even after they held a majority in Congress).
Only Ralph Nader seems to offer real change, but liberal democrats seem more content throwing barbs at the right wing of the Republican Party than demanding their savior do some saving. But let’s face it, most liberal democrats are a pubic hair to the left of blue dog democrats (or how could they vote for a President/administration that refused to acknowledge gay marriage, continues to fight two wars (for God only knows what reason anymore) and bails out Wall Street without protecting American jobs. Honestly, does it get anymore pro business than that?
The economy hasn’t rebounded an iota and the record profits Goldman Sachs reported last week were off the backs of us taxpaying slobs (most of their earnings came from AIG, who paid them with OUR bailout bucks). Nowhere in any legislation favorable to big business were their stipulations for American workers and the cutbacks on basic benefits across the board for workers (what many believe are corporations taking full advantage of the “crisis”) has returned many workers’ benefits to the 1930’s.
I guess that’s change.
We have a HUGE deficit, but nobody seems to care about the little guy. The one thing this country can do for us is provide health care but suddenly we have to ignore the cost of both wars and the bailouts and tell the little guy, “Sorry, you’ll just have to sacrifice a little more.”
I guess that means more change … like a middle class tax increase?
Make believe I’m (that blowhard) Keith Olbermann here: “That, Madams and Sirs, is not fair!”
Okay, don’t make believe I’m that dick, but realize there really is a third option the next time you go to the polls. Just ignore either major party and vote your conscience instead of against what you find repulsive. If enough “liberal democrats” did that, guys like Ralph Nader could no longer be ignored; big business might actually have to sweat (as opposed to pouring bottled water on their foreheads during one of their Sheryl Crowe corporate getaways that cost US millions of dollars just to make it look like they were sweating).
Or you can do what so many managers of corporations suggest their workers do: which is to shut up and be grateful you still have a job. If, of course, you still have one.
—Knucks
AND THE DOC SAYS ...
Chaz, Chaz, Chaz,
You really have to get off that Nader kick. He's been running for president since Woodstock and if you add all the results together he couldn't come up with 10% . The more pressing issue is how we stop the new guy from spending all the money in the bank. Woops, too late, he's already done that.
And what about the new "Enemies List". We are supposed to report anyone badmouthing the Healthcare plan to flag@whitehouse.gov I wonder how many black flags you and I have. And the media doesn't think this is a little "Third Reichish"? People bitching at the town hall meetings are being labeled as unruly mobs and Pelosi sees them carrying swastikas. 10% of the country is out of work and the congress just ordered 3 Gulfstreams at 200 million smackeroos.
Can you say "Elitist Pig"?
Personally, Chaz, I like the idea of a third party. In reality though it tends to take votes away from the 2nd best guy and allows the 3rd best (worst) guy to win. So, I don't want to hear any more of this Nader shit. We have to get rid of this Chicago thug. In 2012 I don't care if BO is running against the Sham-Wow guy. You vote for the Sham-Wow guy. Capische?
Thanks for your time,
Doc
PS: Happy Birthday to the Principessa. I'm sure she appreciated you telling her age to all your minions. No wonder you've been married 12 times.
