Was it a mistake to have waited so long to have grandchildren? A trip to Salvation Army yesterday to donate a huge load of “stuff” the grandchildren have accumulated in 2, 4 and 8 years, respectively, reminded me that somehow we got by in our youth with much less stuff. Yeah, I know. You’re thinking, “Here he goes again about his childhood deprivations compared to what people have today.” You’re right. But beyond being a “have-not” entering a “haves” society, I want to write mainly about shoes, or lack thereof.

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    “Let’s get that fat guy in the middle.” Splat! Right in the gut! “Now, Fluoride looks like he needs a whacking.” Thunk! Ah, the sound and feel of rubber smacking human flesh!
     Sweating like stuffed hogs, a large number of us filled the mini-gym at Immaculate Conception School to engage in an exciting and exhausting activity.

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    Just like the crew who re-introduce egg nog each year, when it’s seasonally advantageous, or those who re-release the easily melted chocolate treat named Ice Cubes, there has to be a gang of language people who remove certain words and expressions from cold storage for elections.
     A couple of candidate-speak expressions taken off the shelves during the political processes are “You can’t change horses in midstream” and “Stay the course.”

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    What a perfect combination, losing at the casinos and securing a payday loan to cover another payday loan in order to buy groceries!
     The practitioner of this financial schedule is a man I’ve known for about 30 years. His wife I’ve known for less time, and each one sat with me for a couple of hours, on different days, to justify why they feel that way. I state emphatically that I am neither their financial adviser nor confessor. They simply wanted someone to listen, not give advice.
     But we’ll get to the gambler and his spouse in a few paragraphs. Let’s start with some observations regarding games of chance.

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    Recently, several members of the Optic newsroom staff went over a host of government-police-type articles that appeared in the state’s newspapers. It was amazing how many times those mentioned in the articles refused comment. Either police failed to identify the suspect or, more commonly, some school or civic or state spokesperson remained mum.
     Commonly we read, “On the advice of my attorney, I have no comment,” or “I can’t comment because the case is under investigation.”

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