WHAT A WORLD IN WHICH WE LIVE!

 The beat just goes on and on and on.......Finally clearing off the desk but this one will take some time to read.......

ANDREW LESTER of Liberty, Missouri pleaded 'not guilty'  to first degree assault, which is a fancy way to say attempted murder. Lester, 84, shot a black man, RALPH YARL, 16, in the head and then the arm for just knocking on his door. Yarl is making a miraculous recovery as only 15% of people shot in the head ever make a full recovery. Incredibly, Lester was released after posting just $2,000 in cash. A perfect example of a man who should never see the light of day again and die in prison, I wonder if he would have fired if the teenager had been white?

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Now on the flip side. actor ALEC BALDWIN had ALL charges dismissed in the accidental shooting death of cinematographer ALYNA HUTCHINS. Baldwin claimed from the beginning that he never pulled the trigger but those waters were initially muddied when the FBI lab results were that the gun wouldn't fire without the trigger being pulled but another testing agency reported that the gun was faulty in it's design and could indeed fire without the trigger being pulled. Time to buy a lottery ticket, Alec.

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Hey, if you used Facebook between 2007-2022, you have some money coming to you if you sign up at FACEBOOKUSER-PRIVACYSETTLEMENT.COM because Facebook was hacked by a company that turned over personal information of 87 million users to DONALD TRUMP'S campaign. Previous checks to Illinois residents have been for $397 and $30 but the total this time depends on how many people apply. It's free money so matter what state you reside, sign up.

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So when you were a 'yute' growing up, you got popped by the local police for possession of cannabis and you pled guilty and got fined and life went on BUT, as the nuns used to tell us, it became part of your PERMANENT RECORD! And the conviction did stay on your record until........NOW.   When Illinois legalized pot in 2019, they also provided an outlet to get your record purged FOR NO CHARGE.   Just contact the site at the end of this sentence with the particulars of your arrest and conviction and they will take care of the rest. FREE!!!  carpls.org

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EDWARD BURKE has been a Chicago Alderman for 54 years, the longest tenure in the history of city politics but he is retiring at the end of the month under the cloud of a federal indictment which ties him to the current trial of 4 members of COM ED, whose futures will be determined by a jury starting next week.

 Ironically, a fellow alderman tried to institute "ED BURKE DAY' for this week and that suggestion was met with raised eyebrows and an uproar from council chambers and the suggestion was quashed by Burke himself and the matter was dropped. Burke is 79 and even with a plea bargain, will probably die in prison. 

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McDONALD'S is making changes to it's hamburgers! STOP YOURSELF! And I quote "meltier cheese, white onions added to the burger while it's cooking for caramelized flavor AND a softer and more pillowy bun." And coming out of retirement to introduce the new changes will be none other than the HAMBURGLAR, who promises that there will be no increase in prices. We'll see on that one. Changes begin next year.

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So you like hamburgers? How about free hamburgers the for the next 25 years? Steak gurus at OMAHA STEAKS have created a contest which gives the winner two deliveries a year of 48 burgers for the next quarter century. What's the catch? If they pull your name, you have to get a LARGE full sized tattoo on your butt cheek which will be rendered by world famous tattoo artist STEVE BUTCHER. I think the contest is a bit cheeky.

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What goes around.......The FLORES BROTHERS were arrested for cocaine distribution in 2008 and in order to get lighter sentences, they agreed to testify against CHAPO GUZMAN, the Mexican drug kingpin who received a life sentence because of their testimony. The brothers each received 14 year sentences and they are already out of prison.

One problem.....Their wives were supposed to turn over ALL PROCEEDS from the Flores drug empire but they apparently 'forgot' almost 3 million dollars when the husbands went to prison and with no verifiable income, the women sent their kids to private schools, paid rent for an exclusive home in the high rent district and took private jet rides to go shopping. DUH! Both wives are facing 7 years in prison when sentenced in the fall.

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Need a job? Chicago is looking for someone to be the Superintendent of Police. No thank you. The time for a bleeding heart liberal has come and gone but the political "progressives" are not going to support a hard line boss who throws people in jail. A totally thankless job.

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Is ELON MUSK one of the strangest people you've ever met in your life? After dropping prices on the TESLA 4 times this year, Musk then threw it into reverse and raised prices $2500 on his four luxury models, making the bottom line $87,000-$97,000 and they are not eligible for the $7500 government credit because they are too expensive. What the hell is he thinking? The man has too much money and not enough brains.

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If things are really going bad for you, just be glad you don't live in JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI where the water system produces anything BUT clear water and they can't afford to fix the system plus they haven't had garbage pickup since April 1st because the village board can't agree on a garbage service and every vote ends up 3-3 and unlike Illinois, the Mayor does not have a tie breaking vote.  Pretty bad, right? But we're not finished because this city of just 150,000 has 100 homicides per year which extrapolates to over 3,000 murders if they had the same population as Chicago. The State Police have been ordered to the area because the city has no money to hire new officers. What a mess.

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A sad day in Chicago because of the passing of JAMES EISENBERG, 92, the CEO of Vienna Beef which also produces those great hot dogs. Eisenberg started with the company in 1954 and bought them out in 1982. Eisenberg always wanted people to know that Vienna introduced the world to hot dogs at the 1893 World's Fair.

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BITTERSWEET....The surviving families of the victims from the Las Vegas massacre of 2017 will each receive about $22,000 as the estate of the shooter was finally liquidated.

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You probably never heard of KEN POTTS but he died the other day at the age of 102. Mr. Potts was one of two living survivors of the USS ARIZONA, which was sunk at Pearl Harbor in 1941. He was shuttling supplies between buildings when the attack occurred  and he jumped into a small motorboat with another sailor and they spent the next two hours pulling survivors out of the water. It took just 9 minutes for the Arizona to sink and 1,177 crew members died with more than 900 sailors still entombed today and the ship still sits where it sank. LOU CONTER, 101, of California is the last living survivor.

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Finally, on a happier note, my brother is starting to heal as he enters his second week in the hospital after a toxic reaction following surgery on his foot. Still sedated but conscious, he has walked a few steps with assistance and the breathing tube has been removed. He's bitching about the hospital food so I know he's getting better and hopefully will head to a rehab center soon.

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THE DESK IS CLEAR!! Enjoy the winter weather. Be safe and stay out of Chicago.

IT'S TIME FOR SPORTS!

 First of all, good-bye and good luck to Chicago Blackhawks captain and future hall of famer JONATHAN TOEWS, who was a major part of bringing 3 Stanley Cups to the city after an almost 50 year drought. Toews will be moving on OR retiring following the Friday night game against Philadelphia in the United Center. CAPTAIN SERIOUS.....We wish you well!

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Memo to boot licking cub fans: remember all your angst when the club traded "the core" from the world series year....WHY? WHY? WHY? 'how could they trade them?'   Well, let me tell you why. JAVY BAEZ......batting average .100  WILLSON CONTRERAS....  .169 KRIS BRYANT .....played just 52 games and hit ONE home run in Colorado last year and Coors Field is known among the league as 'the launching pad'. Plus 2 of those 3 guys are me-me-me jerks.

Now nice guy ANTHONY RIZZO is doing just fine with the NYY and just signed a new 3 year deal so good for him and bad for the cubs. But for once I totally agree with the front office of the cubs on their decision to dump the junk.

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The BEARS finally rang the bell with off-season moves! While I was south of the border, they made a great trade to get out of the #1 pick and made some very nice acquisitions in the free agency period. NOW COMES THE DRAFT and 4 possibilities: 

OHIO STATE OFFENSIVE TACKLE PARIS JOHNSON       6'06"      313

NORTHWESTERN OFFENSIVE TACKLE PETER SKORONSKI   6'04     297

GEORGIA DEFENSIVE LINEMAN JALEN CARTER       6'03"    305 (if you can keep him out of prison, he'll be a good one)

TRADE THE #9 PICK FOR MORE PICKS

Any of those 4 moves is just fine with me but they will still struggle to win 8 games.

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I am the only WHITE SOX FAN who doesn't believe in the starting pitching, which is a key element in gaining the post season. DYLAN CEASE is one of the 5 best in baseball. LANCE LYNN is 30 pounds overweight and carrying a 7.3 ERA. Hello, dallas kuechel.

 LUCAS GIOLITO is 6.00 and has become a split personality. AND that brings us to the the PSYCHO TWINS......MICHAEL KOPECH at 6.75 simply sucks and needs to be traded. He is certifiable and you can see the petulant child arrive every time someone cranks one. That's right, ONE hard hit ball sends him into a funk. He stinks and one good outing out of four doesn't justify keeping him.  MIKE CLEVENGER may or may not be a major league pitcher or he might be a burnt out 50/50 journeyman. Have to keep an eye on him.

Relief pitching will be fine, the defense will continue to suck until they're healthy and realize that ELOI JIMENEZ & GAVIN SHEETS should never, and i mean NEVER, see the field except at first base in an emergency. The offense will eventually be fine but you have to pitch to win. case closed.

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HOW ABOUT THOSE BULLS???!!!??? and now on to Miami where it will be interesting to see if management stifles DEMAR DeROZAN'S daughter, who screamed every time the Raptors attempted a free throw which may have resulted in the junior high-like 50% from the line. And yes, in the NBA, management does have the right to control what you yell.

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BEST BASEBALL PLAYER IN MY LIFETIME. Slam dunk. SHOHEI OHTANI.

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And late breaking news.......My brother Terry is fighting complications from a total ankle rebuild and is currently on a respirator up in Milwaukee. Personally, I think it's a desperate plea to get more strokes on the golf course when he's better. GET BETTER!

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Ok, I can see a little of my desk. More later. Enjoy the weather.....until Saturday night. 

ALL SORTS OF STUFF

BRANDON JOHNSON was polling at just 2% a few months ago but when several Chicago mayoral candidates cancelled each other in the primary, it allowed Johnson to take advantage of a perfect storm and absorb the votes of the primary losers which gave him just enough votes to out distance PAUL VALLAS and win the seat at city hall so congratulations to him.

Johnson inherits a myriad of problems including rising crime, a short staffed police department and rising property taxes. The west and south sides are like the wild, wild west and Johnson plans to bring big businesses into those areas to provide stability and jobs to those beleaguered communities. Good luck with that.

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It seems that shootings have become a daily occurrence and we are becoming numb to them. Three shot here, six shot there and so on and so on and the shooters have no connection to the victims or their families. I just don't get it.     AND I HAD NO SOONER TYPED THIS when the news from Louisville broke with 5 killed and 8 others wounded inside a bank, which makes mass shooting #146 for this calendar year.  

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Ok, here's one for the smile department: Man walks up to the teller at a bank in Waterloo, Iowa and initially asks to cash a check and the teller requests his driver's license which he already has in his left hand but the man pulls a gun with his right and he quietly and politely tells her that it's a holdup and to fill his plastic bag with cash. She follows orders and hands him the cash.

He leaves quickly and leaves his driver's license on the counter.

 Local law enforcement was waiting AT HIS HOUSE when he walked up the sidewalk with the bag stuck in his shirt and twirling the gun like a cowboy. No bullets. Case closed.

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WALMART has decided to close 4 Chicago stores due to the stores losing "tens of millions" every year and the losses have doubled since 2018 as internal theft and people 'jobbing' the automatic checkout stands by only ringing up 40% of what they had in their baskets.

Pretty simple decision, right? But the corporation is being vilified by the affected neighborhoods for not 'trying hard enough' to overcome the problems. WHAT???? If you'd stop stealing in the first place, this wouldn't have happened. Reap what ye sow.

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So the Democrats will be in Chicago for their 2024 convention and the Republicans will be just up the north shore in Milwaukee. Great news for the local economies but the traffic will absolutely suck for at least a week. Gotta give to get.

Today's poll says that 34% of the people trust PRESIDENT BIDEN and 25% trust donald trump. But does trust convert into votes? We'll see.

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Is Justice Clarence Thomas as arrogant as I think he is??

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Done for now. Enjoy the weather.

                                                     

CATCHING UP AFTER MEXICO

Just got back from Mexico and it's time to catch up with the world.

HOW MANY SCHOOL SHOOTINGS before the republicans realize it's a matter of time until one of their family is slaughtered  by some demented individual with an assault rifle? We're not even 3 months into 2023 and there's already been 13 school shootings that have resulted in injury or death and at this rate, last year's 51 incidents will be surpassed.

ASSAULT RIFLES ARE MADE FOR ONE REASON: KILLING PEOPLE. You're not allowed to hunt with them so why allow the weapons? And if anyone says to me the age old republican cop out of "guns don't kill people, people kill people" I will punch them right in the mouth.

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KUDOS to the two Nashville officers who ran TOWARDS the gunfire (unlike the officers in Uvalde, Texas) and eliminated that psycho bitch before she hurt anyone else. They deserve meritorious service awards for addressing the danger with great risk for their own personal safety.

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On a personal note, a sad and teary-eyed farewell to my friend FIDEL THE LIFEGUARD, who died suddenly last weekend down in Mexico. Fidel was regarded as the best lifeguard along the hotel strip and had saved dozens of people who took the ocean too lightly. I had Fidel and several of the waiters over for dinner just two weeks ago and we laughed for the entire time after the meal. A great sense of humor and a smile that would light up the room. Just a good person.  Rest in peace, amigo.

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Whether they like it or not, the Chicago mayoral race has turned into a black/white battle between  PAUL VALLAS & BRANDON JOHNSON with each pointing fingers regarding their intentions with the city. The tv commercials are getting real nasty but the whole thing ends on Tuesday, April 4th.

In a related story, incendiary and embattled FOP president JOHN CATANZARA predicts that a thousand officers will resign if the black candidate, Johnson, is elected mayor and there would be 'blood in the streets.'  "No room for a mayor who wants to defund the police and I don't care what he says.....He said it and we have the video to prove it." Johnson says his defunding comment was taken out of context.

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AND NOW ON TO SICK CALL:

Speedy recovery to my nephew HARPO (aka LEX LUTHOR) who scared the hell out of the family with his recent health issues and surgery. ENOUGH OF THAT!!! Keep getting better because opening day is this week.

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Ilinois had a pretty mild winter so does that mean a real crappy spring? Probably.

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And yet another GET WELL to SANDY THE POLOCK down in Arkansas who just had a nasty, but benign, cyst removed from her throat. Can't you people behave when I go away?

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And now even POPE FRANCIS is in the hospital with a respiratory infection! At 86, he has to be very careful and expects to be in the hospital for a couple of days.

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I like the fact that a federal judge has ruled the former VP MIKE PENCE has to testify before a grand jury regarding Trump's actions on January 6 but Pence will not have to testify regarding his own actions on that day. Like him or not, Mike Pence appears to be a truthful man who, if asked the right questions, will not hesitate to throw Trump under the bus. Fingers crossed.

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Just HOW MUCH will trump's night with STORMY DANIELS end up costing him???

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FYI.....vanilla is still relatively cheap in Mexico and their food is the best in the world, bar none. Can't beat it when a boy from the fishing pier walks into the restaurant with a bucket of water holding two RED SNAPPERS still splashing around.  Yes please. Chicken wings and shrimp while watching the Super Bowl in a fresh air restaurant. Again, yes please. And for you bottled beer lovers, coolers set at 32.5 degrees. 

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I see construction season has started on the interstate system with the EDENS and the KENNEDY being torn up until the cows come home. Actually, it's scheduled to take more than 2 1/2 years to complete. ouch.

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Catching up on tv, there are three new series which are definitely worth your time. The first is ALASKA DAILY starring two time academy award winner HILLARY SWANK & GRACE DOVE starring as reporters for a small town newspaper. Well acted and well written. 

Also, EAST NEW YORK on Sunday nights is very fast paced and deals with the multiple personalities who exist inside a precinct house as they try to contol crime in the 74th precinct.

 And the third one is WILL TRENT, a combination of Columbo & Monk who, despite being dyslexic and unable to read, is the lead agent for the Georgia Bureau of Investigations and has the highest clearance rate. And check out his dog.......

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GIVE IT UP for DALE SANDERS, who at the age of 87, paddled the entire length of the Mississippi River from Minnesota to New Orleans which is a total of 2,400 miles. The trip took him 3 months and it's the SECOND time he's accomplished this feat. I can't even walk to the mailbox without taking a break.

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More a little later. Sports blog next week. Stay warm.

    

ODDS & ENDS & CHRISTMAS MEMORIES + NATIONAL & LOCAL

It's been a while and the year is coming to an end so let's get the desk cleared off so I have some room to wrap presents!

Michael Buble has a great voice for holiday songs. As does Thomas Rhett.

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When I was a kid, we had ONE string of Christmas lights on the front of the house and when I asked my Dad if we could get more, I got the standard answer he learned in Dad class 101........"Do you think I'm made of money? Are you going to pay the electric bill?" Ah, Christmas memories. FYI...Until I fell off the ladder a couple years ago, I had a thousand lights on the house every year and yes, I paid the electric bill.

I will admit that the old fat bulbs would definitely run up your bill but the new smaller lights hardly use any energy and I put 7 strings together with no problem. Back in the day, you were pressing your luck with the circuit breaker by putting 3 strings together.

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Convicted pedophile R. KELLY is complaining that "they" took away his money, his family, his kids and friends. THEY?? Enter my African-American friend Larry, who called me when that story broke and here is his direct quote: "That nigger violated his own people over and over and ruined the lives of God knows how many young black women. He screwed his own life up and he's lucky he's still alive. THEY??? Take a look in the mirror, nigger. YOU are they!"  (You'll hear from Larry again later in the column.)

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Chicago Mayor? I think it's time to put your money on JESUS 'CHUY' GARCIA.

I also bet that trump will not be the Republican nominee.

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As I wrote months ago, there's just something about imaginary money like cryptocurrency and bitcoin which makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck. I like my money in my hand and pocket and the first leak in the dam happened this week when FTX, the second largest crypto exchange went belly up and the CEO was arrested in the Bahamas on various fraud charges and will be soon extradited to the U.S.  

Losses to customers are at least 8 BILLION so the next time you see famous people like TOM BRADY, SETH CURRY and MATT DAMON touting the imaginary money, grab the remote and change the channel. FYI.... bitcoin has lost at least 50% of it's value this year.  If you don't like dollars, buy gold.

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GRANDMA HATFIELD'S on Christmas eve was the best. The biggest tree in the world was in her Chicago living room and I got to put an ornament on the tree while being lifted by an adult. Later in the evening, Santa would show up. And Grandma would sneak me a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie.  Didn't get any better than that.

My father bought an aluminum tree with a revolving color wheel and I would sit there for hours watching the tree change from red to yellow to green to blue and then back to red.

The only tree we never had was a flock tree.

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Is ELON MUSK as weird as I think he is?

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Drug Smuggler BRITTNEY GRINER was returned to the U.S. in a prisoner swap with Russia. "Unlawfully detained" was the battle cry here in the states but she was arrested and eventually pled guilty to bringing the drugs into the country. EVERY WNBA player knows about the zero tolerance law in Russia regarding drugs and they're reminded by the league EVERY year before they leave to play in the Russian leagues. She is very lucky but guilty as sin.

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4 blacks were arrested yesterday after a string of over two dozen armed robberies all over the city and enter my buddy Larry once again: "Punk-ass niggers who I guarantee dropped out of school at a very early age to run with the gangs. Maximum sentences should be on the table for all of them. There is no rehabilitation for them because they are ghetto rats and when they get out, they'll go right back to the same life. Don't believe that any of the rehab crap because those programs never work except for an occasional lightning bolt in a bottle." Thank you for your input Larry.

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HEATHER MACK was denied bail and custody of her daughter. Mack is a dirt bag who helped kill her socialite mother in 2014 and then stuffed her into a suitcase. She awaits trial here in the U.S. following 7 years of jail in Indonesia.  Screw you Heather. Rot in jail.

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Saw the MARIE OSMOND CHRISTAMS CONCERT last week at the Genesee in Waukegan. Save your money and buy one of her cd's instead. Slow moving, off key and way too slow in the middle but she did do a very nice three minute opera rendition.

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ZARI THE LION is pregnant and due in January at the Lincoln Park zoo.

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We've had a pretty mild November/December but the bottom falls out next week just in time for Santa's sleigh to make the rounds. Weather people are suggesting temps will be 20  degrees under the normal high of 38 degrees just in time for the holiday. THROW ANOTHER LOG ON THE FIRE!

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Hey! I just saw gas for $2.98 today on Rollins Road. It took a little while but the spike caused by the war in the Ukraine has finally started to settle down.

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When I was 8 years old, on Christmas morning my Dad asked me to go out the front door and get the morning Tribune and when I stepped out, there was a brand new bright red bike with my name on it. My Dad had to wait for the newspaper because I was riding down the sidewalk in my pajamas.  Great day!

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In closing, I want to wish everyone Happy Holidays thru New Years and please remember to hug the people you care about and most important, stay out of Chicago. Don't become a statistic in that hellhole. I used to recommend seeing a matinee if you absolutely had to go to Chicago but now more than 40% of armed robberies are being committed by the ghetto rats during daylight hours. STAY AWAY AND STAY SAFE!!

        MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

IF I WERE KING

 IF I WERE KING....Political ads would be limited to talking about yourself and you wouldn't be allowed to beat down your opponent with negative rhetoric. Sends a very bad message to the kids.

Season ticket holders in any sport would receive partial refunds based on the team's won-loss record. You lose a lot or "tank"......it will cost you a bunch.

The MLB season would be shortened 10% to 146 regular season games and the season would open April 15th with the first ten days being played in warm weather cities and cities with domed stadiums. 

The AL would play in Toronto, Tampa, Miami, Texas, Anaheim, Houston and even Seattle and Oakland during the day.

The NL would play in Atlanta, Miami, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Los Angeles, San Diego, Arizona and San Francisco during the day.

This plan would eliminate snow-outs and playing in 30 degree temps, which is not fair to either the fans or the players. Doubleheaders would also be played every Sunday which would shorten the season by another 25 days.

IF I WERE KING.....  Semi drivers would not be allowed on the highways between 4 & 6 p.m.

All schools would have a police officer and EVERY door would remain locked from the outside with a panic bar inside and every door would have a metal detector. Cameras are a given and nobody gets buzzed in by an overworked member of the office. Only the officer can let someone in after vetting them and entry would only be allowed at a single door. 

Facial tattoos would be illegal.

Using a fully automatic weapon would result in the death penalty.

The DEATH PENALTY would be in effect nation wide.

IF I WERE KING....Major retail stores such as Walmart, etc. would be CLOSED on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. And they would all close at 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.

Christmas decorations would not be allowed in stores until the week of Thanksgiving.

Exterior Christmas lights at your residence can't be turned on until the night after Thanksgiving and all exterior decorations must be gone by January 15th.

IF I WERE KING......It would be against the law to use ANY electronic device while inside a restaurant. If the call is that important, go stand in the parking lot so you don't disturb MY dinner.

Kids under 10 would not be allowed in restaurants. Babies included. Especially included because YES, his crying does bother me. Go to Burger King for their night out. They like that better anyway.

Same rule applies to kids at sporting events but I think we can lower the age to 7.

IF I WERE KING...... every man and woman would get to drive a classic muscle car for at least a year. Mustang, Camaro, GTO, 442, Roadrunner, Charger, you name it. no charge.

Oatmeal raisin cookies would be mandatory at EVERY celebration. Weddings, birthdays, holidays. There is no better cookie fresh out of the oven with a glass of cold milk. Nirvana. 

IF I WERE KING.....The Cubs and White Sox would face off in the World Series and it would go to the 7th game. Imagine the fun with that!!!!

EVERY school bus would be electric.

Every political commercial would CLEARLY INDICATE to which party the person belongs and then we could eliminate the bullshit of putting red & blue colors together in the background so they can mislead the voters.

Convicts released from prison would have to wear a monitoring device for five years.

IF I WERE KING......every person struggling to pay their 30 year mortgage payments would automatically have it re-written to 40 years which would lower their payment drastically. Yes, they would pay more interest but they'd get to keep their house.

Renters, however, would have just a one month grace period for non-payment and on the 31st day, they would be evicted. Landlords have mortgage payments too and need the units rented to paying tenants.

IF I WERE KING....ALL medical procedures would be free but not cosmetic surgery. Wheel chairs, glasses, hearing aids, crutches, braces..............all free. 

Dental work would be free but MANDATORY. No reason to be walking around with pitted, yellow, broken or missing teeth.

We would have a 10% flat tax on your income. Make $20,000, pay 2,000. Make a million? pay $100,000. Fair for everyone.

If you had an idea for a business, you would receive start-up money for free to get your business up and running but then it would be up to you.

Villages that are too poor to provide services to the residents would be dissolved and absorbed by the county unless a neighboring city wants to annex them. Cities like Dolton, Chicago Heights, Harvey, Alton and East St. Louis have been ignoring and cheating their citizens out of basic services for decades. Time for that to stop.

IF I WERE KING.... Everyone's birthday would be a paid holiday from work.

The first Monday of every month would be a paid day off.

People who don't bring in their garbage cans within 24 hours pay a $500 fine. You may want to live like a hillbilly but I don't. Same thing applies to mowing the lawn on a regular basis.

There would be no more open or closed casket funerals. Only celebrations of life, held a minimum of two weeks after the death and cremation.

That's it for now. Be safe & warm and STAY OUT OF CHICAGO. Geez, have you been reading the newspaper over the last two weeks? Bodies & victims EVERYWHERE & EVERY DAY. 

Bye for now.

ALL SORTS OF STUFF

 So it's Halloween, a favorite time for both kids and adults but as usual, evil lurks and is disguised in many ways. SKITTLES, in the name of Christ, are in the area with the candy actually being FETANYL, a class I narcotic that is 50-100 times stronger than morphine but here's the key: when taken in large doses, it is fatal. And who among us has not tipped the entire box of skittles and taken numerous candies into our mouth? 7, 10, 12 skittles at a time.

 It was bad enough as a kid when you heard of some trick or treater finding a razor blade in an apple (no one ever actually knew the kid) so that eliminated fresh fruit forever and the perennial pop corn ball which was made by the old couple down the street but at least the danger was recognizable and everything went into the trash. But fentanyl disguised as candy is tragedy in a box. So when does trick or treating get outlawed?

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I was Googling the other day and this thought popped into my head. ALL information is available on the internet so why do we still have libraries? They normally have very nice bathrooms but I don't think that's enough to justify the expense.

And why do we have mail delivery on Fridays & Saturdays? What a waste of money for an organization that's drowning in debt.

Speaking of saving money, the Troy school district in Joliet has started a ten year plan to switch at least half of their 65 buses to electric with the first two in operation in November. The cost for a new electric bus is about $350,000 but the daily runs will cost pennies instead of dollars and obviously pay for itself in time with the current cost of diesel being $5.45 per gallon. Good for them.

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Can't wait for the end of political commercials. My ears are bleeding and the biggest problem is they can basically say anything they want without penalty. Both sides suck at this.

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Most popular new classes in area colleges? Anything to do with cannabis, which includes classes on the best way to cultivate your crop, tax laws, marketing, media and store location. Most classes fill up in a matter of hours. Ah, the world in which we live.

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Bridget & Tom are no more. I'm heartbroken.

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Super birds? The National Audubon Society just released travel information on the bay-breasted warbler, who weighs the same as 4 pennies but flies 4,000 miles TWICE A YEAR, first from Canada to South America for the winter and then returning in the spring. If you're interested in more information, google the society.

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Just like the rotary phone, the circus exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry is no more. The curator explained that circuses don't have the same appeal they once had and the space will be used for  brighter, more up to date and popular displays that are more in keeping with the times.

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LEE BOYD MALVO. Ring a bell? Well, he was the 17 year old kid who hid in the trunk of a car and shot and killed 10 people over a three week period in 2002 and was initially sentenced to death but his sentence was changed so he could apply for parole in just 20 years. Application made..........and denied, citing he is still a threat. More than one way to skin a cat.

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Russia is buying ammunition from North Korea. It's the same ammo that Russia sold to them ten years ago and now they're buying it back. Supply chain problems?? Hmmmmmmmm

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You GOTTA LOVE THIS WEATHER!! High 50's, 60's and even 70's as we enter November. We'll take it. It's only about 140 days until spring of 2023.

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OK, that's enough for now. Enjoy Halloween and stay safe. And make sure you stay out of the city.