The Human side of Humanity

Good day readers, followers, Happy Christmas, Merry Christmas.  Ho, Ho, Ho.  It is Christmas day around the world whether you celebrate it or not.  Earlier this year I wrote my most well received piece regarding the Easter Holiday and the correlation between the ficticious Easter Bunny and Jesus...that's pronounced " Gee-Zuss" not " Hey-Zeuss ."  Both are holidays originally based on religious events.  Somewhere both became twisted events with characters like Santa, elves, talking reindeer (that fly!!?) and both are marketing and sales events. I don't really understand why we are feeding a corpulent guy milk and cookies when he's probably pre-diabetic at best.  I'm wondering if the elves are merely seasonal employees or if they qualify for a full benefit program?  Maybe...just maybe I'm putting too much thought into all of this stuff anyway.  The holiday season here in the states is generally from The 4th Thursday of November (Thanksgiving) th...

Hello dear readers and followers.  The past few weeks have been challenging.  The passing of my great friend Gale took a toll and continues to be a point of much thought...as expected.  The holiday season, here in the states generally considered as the week of Thanksgiving (4th Thursday of November) thru January 1st is supposed to be joyful.  When there are events such as the passing of a loved one the season is one of confusion, dread and sadness. I have a couple friends who had loved ones pass during the season and they never shared the same joy again.  I have always understood and yet had been on the sideline until this year with Gale's accidental death.  The positive is that in some sense I am now closer to some of my friends than a few weeks ago- even if it is temporary.  I take pride in the closeness of my friendships and the years where we have remained together to help one another. Another point of great pride is my University.  Temple...

Hello readers and followers.  Today is Thanksgiving day here in the USA.  The history of the day is not relative to this blog today.  I have always enjoyed Thanksgiving more than any holiday.  I enjoy cooking and entertaining and meeting with my friends and family.  I have used the day to thank my friends for being the most trusted small circle around me.  I have actually said "Thank you for being a friend," which is a song by Andrew Gold- the lyrics are timeless.  Those of you that read and follow know that I put significant meaning in how and whom I call my "friend." In some years I gave Thank You cards to my closest friends.  In one year I actually included a significant amount of the lyrics from Andrew Gold's song in a card to my friend Jill, it was done part as heartfelt banter and part in jest.  Jill had jokingly included an entire song on the back of a birthday card one year because she said it would be "much better than trying to li...

October 31,  2017...Halloween day in New York City.   The NYC- that vibrant city that many here in the USA consider the heartbeat of our country.  A city attacked twice by terrorist - the second time resulting in the collapse of the famous twin towers on September 11, 2001.  Once again NYC was the site of terror.  On a day that for many allows the children to be superheroes for a few hours we really needed one. Eight people were run over by a maniac in a rented truck for the sole purpose of killing Americans.   He took that truck on a bike path.  A place that is supposed to provide some safety for pedestrians and cyclists.  A place where the people were merely slow moving targets. I'm a cyclist.  I am disgusted, I am beyond angry...I'm at a point of frothing madness that someone has again stolen lives for nothing, no reason- just to kill. Everyone was someone's son or daughter, to Darren Drake's parents he was their only child....

Good day readers! We are officially in Autumn her in Questionnopolis.  The Fall- when leaves change color and then float to the ground in the cool air.  You know, humour is so much more attractive to people as an escape from the reality of humanity.  I used to write a blog about my electronic (and sometimes real) dating experiences.  Readership was 3-4 times what it is on this blog.  It was fun, funny and well received...in nearly 20 countries!  I ended it because there were so many serious things that I wanted to address.  However, I do add humour here (and I know I'm using an old english spelling for that too).   Anyway, my most read blog here was my take on how the Easter Bunny and Jesus were really related and it was pure fun. As a result, I've taken excerpts from last Fall's blog to repost for you my dear readers.  Enjoy!  I noticed that one particular site that sounds like e-Charminy has significantly increased their advertisi...

Good day, Good day dear readers.  Thank you for firing up your computers, devices and dropping by to see what humanity is doing- good and bad.  It is nearly Autumn here in Questionnopolis.  The leaves are starting to change color and the air is filled with soccer balls and footballs!  Ding!  Oh, yeah- it's a great time of year.  Let me explain for a moment to those outside the USA, football is a different sport than soccer here in the states.  Why and how "foot- ball" is named, somewhat of an oxymoron,  is unimportant right now. Weekends are filled with cheering voices, children's laughter...and sometimes crying.   There are fields covered in white lines, some with green blades of grass, others mostly made of dirt.  The fields are in cities and towns all over the world.  It is all good.  Good exercise for the body, great energy for the mind.  The fields bring us all together.  Humanity.  The human spirit and sp...

Good day readers, followers, everyone.  We are winding down August and the days of sunlight are getting a bit shorter everyday.  On  Monday, as we swing into a new work week we will get a solar eclipse here in the states.  I think that's cool, I should be out getting some sun and shade at the same time so it will be a different kind of Monday anyway. There are oddities, eccentricities and all kinds of strangeness around us and sometimes I think that's perfectly normal.   Hmm, normal, remember that word, the one Webster's describes as "conforming to a type, a standard, a normal pattern."     Yeah, well we've already determined that for me, being unusual, really means I'm not normal.  The recipe of life has a dash of oddness, a scoop of the eccentric and a cup of unusual mixed in the with the normal.  Variety, yes-  "you've got have variety"  as my long ago friend Eric infamously said...variety really is the spice of life. I wrot...

Good day, I have returned from a lengthy blog absence and at times wanted to pop open the trusty laptop and type but there was usually limited time to share my unlimited thoughts.  I have done some travel in the time since the last blog.  I went to what is nearly the very middle of the United States, St. Louis,  Missouri.  I've been there many times but it's been such a long time since I was there in summer I didn't realize that the humidity is like Florida....and it was over 100 degrees every day!  Yikes!  I couldn't think straight enough in the heat to write a coherent piece. (Maybe I never do) When traveling I find people watching to be particularly interesting.  Airports will bring together every piece of humanity from many cultures.  The human ingredients mixed in an airport also have every part of the emotional spectrum.  Since I had a 90 minute delay I chose to use it as an opportunity rather than a drag.  Let's start at securit...

Good day, here in the USA, Happy Independence Day! To those of of us here in greater Questionopolis, Happy Birthday!  The Answerman does celebrate what it means to have lived my entire life in this country.  The 4th of July is the day the country was born in the nearby metropolis of Philadelphia- also where I was born and lived for several years.  You don't have to love it, you don't have to love us...but we do enjoy many freedoms that others do not.  Since this blog has been read in several countries, well, there are cultural differences and in some of those places less freedom. This is not to say that there is not some forms of oppression, repression that lead to emotional recession.  Yes, it happens in our cities, neighborhoods and households -in small ways that can become large issues as time progresses.  The statistical and psychological facts have been proven that events in childhood can have permanent impact.  By the way - Answerman- not a fa...

Good day, wherever in the world you happen to be reading.  Apparently the readers outside the USA find this blog more interesting by a 2 to 1 ratio in the last month.  Hmmm, very interesting.  Anyway, as we move forward and Summer has officially begun, I've taken a break from weeding, watering, splitting wood and cursing at weeds to write some thougths.  Maybe they're thought provoking...maybe. We live in a challenging time, every day there are decisions to make, each will have an outcome and make an impact on out lives in some way.  Sometimes there is a risk to what we decide, what some may call a "gamble."  In that sense what is a gamble?  According to Webster's "To bet on an uncertain outcome."  Also, "To stake something on contingency."   Ok, what's a contingency Mr. Webster?  Contingency: "A event that may occur but is not certain to occur."   Life is definitely full of contingencies. One thing that I have always found c...

Good Day readers and followers. Once again some time has passed since the last piece that I posted and it has been with some alarming and unnerving things that have gone on very close to home.  As previously noted, I am very close with those that are my friends.  The title of Friend is not one that is freely given out like stickers at a 5 year old birthday party.   We may have people in our social circle but not feel any particular way about them, to me they are a social acquaintance and nothing more. I tend to check in, check on and do my best to look after those closest to me- family and my friends.  Sometimes my "people" get a little concerned about me merely checking on them.  I get it, really I do. A little over a week ago was one of those times where I had to reach out to a few....and then once some of my friends were concerned- more about my worry than me, well everything seemed to be where it belonged in my close circle.  Hmmm, so what happened?...

Good day, yes it has been some time since my last post.  I had done a little day traveling and it kept me away from the keyboard.  My somewhat short trips all had one thing in common;  soccer.  The game has meant a lot to me.  The non-athletes out there find that kind of statement from anyone, related to any sport, very odd.  However, for those of us that have spent time on athletic endeavors...well...it is a weighty statement, it has impact. I enjoy the game, I loved playing- the game has passed me by (more on that later!) and I thoroughly enjoy teaching the game to the next generation(s).  It is a privilege to coach.  Some decide to coach to be involved with their children and really know nothing of the game and that is perfectly acceptable as the world lack volunteers.  In the last two weeks I got to spend consecutive days watching, hanging out, coaching a little and yes even "attempting" to play. During that time I was hanging out wit...

Good Sunday morning!  The sun is shining in Questionopolis, bringing a brightness to a new week.  I have stated that we all move in one direction in life, or should- we move forward.  In the best scenarios we all learn from the past, hopefully not repeating errors, missteps and also enjoying the memories.  While I have been told on many occasions that I keep moving too fast those are the same folks that don't realize that I also take in a lot of what happens around me.  This leads to some very vivid memories and the detailed recollected tales that I share.  The past week was one that had special meaning to me.  April 17 is a special day.  This is the birthday of my best friend.  We all called him "Bo."  It was a nickname that came from cutting off his last name, he was Brian to his family.  As some readers may recall, Bo unfortunately left this earth over 11 years ago.  We never got to celebrate either of us turning 40. ...

Good day my dear readers, followers, friends and the general assortment of global folks who don't know me at all! It is Easter weekend.  Easter, a very confusing religious based holiday that has more strangeness than Christmas.  A holiday that has almost as much over-the-top commercialization to blind everyone to the religious basis.  What is it, this Easter holiday? Hmmm, let's see, it is not the holiday with the creepy corpulent guy who lives in cold environments and runs an illegal sweat shop that the government celebrates.  Nope, that's Christmas and Santa Clause.  Oh, and that is supposed to be based on the biblically recorded birthday of Jesus.  That's pronounced "Gee-zUss" for the uninformed, not "Hey-zues" .  Jesus Christ- the basis for the word Christ mas.  This is why the religious world takes offense to the commercial world changing it to a rather un-Christ like X-Mas . No, this is to celebrate the death and resurrection of the afor...

Hello readers, it has become April, and vernal equinox has passed bringing all of us in my hemisphere to Spring.  I think that the great people of Questionopolis can put away the snow shovels and break out the garden shovels.  Time passes, at times seemingly quickly, at other times ticking slowly, eventually, as I once wrote so long ago until the years pile up behind us like waves on a beach. I can still remember sitting in a 6th grade class room and the clock never seemed to move, it was english class with Sister Mary I-want-to-Intimidate-you and "don't dangle your participles in my classroom!!!" Every day at 2:30 a tricked out van, belonging to the older sibling of a schoolmate would drive by the school and their horn would play a tune.  All of us then knew there was only 45 minutes left in our day.  I remember it vividly from my second-row-from-the-window seat two desks from the rear of the room.....it was 39 years ago.  Waves, waves on sand, the sandy beac...

Good day, Good day.  It's coffee time in Questionopolis, a time to sit quietly and think about the week and project forward what can be done based on what has happened.  The new week brings an opportunity to change things, to make improvements since we cannot go back in time, only march forward.  I sit and I wonder as my mind wanders...wanders through a myriad of instances and opportunities from last week to this one.  This brings me to a defining word that I was searching for;   Redemption. The opportunity to improve is a shot at redemption, however, what is redemption?  The definition that I found was already flawed as it included the academically incorrect base of the word that is should be defining. Redemption:  The act of redeeming.  Hmmm, so what is redeeming?   Serving to offset or compensate for a defect.  I accept that  as a better explanation and it certainly brings more clarity to what defines redemption.  Yeah, I...

Hello there my somewhat frozen readers!  If you're in the Northeast USA you know what I'm talking about today.  As I sit across from an early morning fire in the woodstove to warm my body enough to type- I pondered several things.  In the course of the last week I've had discussions both business and personal and tried to explain what is normal for me.  I was trying to explain my reality, thought processes and work ethic.  I'll share more later.  The idea of "normal" has been a topic of great debate across time, and what is normal for me very apparently was not the same to most. Accoring to the trusty Webster's dictionary, normal ;   Conforming to a type or standard or regular pattern.   Okay- I'm good with that definition and my great friend Nicole has expressed to me that I'm highly regimented- so I definitely conform to a regular pattern.  A further definition is Characterized by average intelligence.   Good so far.  However, n...

Good day, it has been a couple of weeks since I've been able to join everyone and share my thoughts, questions and of course- answers.  So much is going on in the world and there continues to be discontent, distrust and a lack of oversight that has been revealed.  Once again, just this week USA Today revealed the real hard evidence of the "governing" body called USA Gymnastics, or disgusting lack thereof.  Yes, I will continue with the reminders and updates on that particular subject as it evolves.  Nothing rattles my nerves more than a so-called organization that is supposed to serve as an overseer of young athletes protecting their image-- rather than those that they serve. However, I will not regress into another meandering diatribe, but I will digress into other subject matters and questions of humanity.   The somewhat jokingly bestowed superhero name of "Answerman" was given to me.  Over the course of time, my younger (but adult) daughter decided tha...

Here we are past mid month of February, the shortest of all months.  A month with holidays that are celebrated or not celebrated.  Presidents  Day, eh?  There's not much historically to celebrate there except for possibly a great deal on a household appliance.  Then there is, as many call it the Hallmark holiday of Valentine's Day.  In the Hallmark, they are referring to the greeting card company not a holiday that is one that we use to set a standard.  As I sat at the dinner table I got an inquiry from a very young inqisitor  "Who are you married to?"  No one, said I, as there is no Answerwoman. "So you don't have a valentine?" said my dinner guest at age six.   Very cleary the person I was married to previously was NOT the answer There are several theories out there for humanity to grasp onto and fit your need to celebrate, or not, depending on your whim.  The celebration of St. Valentine right?  Maybe, maybe not.  Acc...

Something is missing.  This isn't really a job for Colombo...but something is missing.  Hmm, hmmm, hmmm.  What is the something that is missing?  Well there's a lack of respect so we could say that the respect for each other in many ways has slowly disappeared.  Comedian/actor Aziz Ansari oberved that it's not so much that people have become more hateful but are more overt in their disparagement of others.  They are also more open in stating such and attributing it to the new president. Hey!  Hate is still a bad thing. Yo, you've got to love, man.  Ya gotta love!  The love is missing.  I was told this week that it really doesn't matter, we can't change the world. I disagree.  In the end, do organized marches change the world?  I say no.  However if it becomes a vehicle to open dialogue well then it is a start.  Funny, I was told that I am considered a very conservative person by most who know me.  I describe my...

Good day gang!  It's winter here in Questionopolis- in the lair of the Answerman.  Winter means that every February 2 we get to celebrate Groundhog day...well if you're from Pennsylvania anyway.  Did Punxsutawny Phil see his shadow, did he not? He did. Oh, six more weeks of winter, shucks!  Look the reality is that the rodent is merely a vehicle of wonderment in our part of the world.  Winter is going to be around until the spring equinox.  March 20th, ding! Done. Yes, it is actually a little more than six weeks for those counting at home. I like the seasons and the change.  Those of you that are fans of the movie Groundhog Day with Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell may find the lessons from the movie endearing.  Phil Connor, Murray's character was forced to live the day over and over until he actually changed his character and became a more positive person.  In the end he gets the girl, Rita- MacDowell's character.  Nice. Those that...