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[boomers1957]

Today, We Celebrate the Patent of the Bra. Let’s Give it the Same Support, it Gives Us!!!

Today, we celebrate the anniversary of the patent of the bra or brassiere, for you formal types, in 1914.  I'll be out front with you,  it gives me great satisfaction to be able to celebrate a topic such as this that is near and dear to my heart.   Not in the literal sense, I'll leave that to the ladies in my audience, and you cross dressing men.  You know who you are. You're gonna have to cut me some slack here, because my generally sophomoric sense of humor won't allow me otherwise,  I have to get the double entendres off my chest, so to speak. I promise, I will get to the "Fun Facts" portion of the program shortly.  I think a little background, at least in my experiences with Bras go, is in order.First off, let me express my sincere sympathy to the women in my audience for being stuck having to wear these rather restrictive contraptions.  If it were up to me, I would outlaw the damn things.  I know, I know, you're probably thinking that I'm only thinking about this from the male aesthetic, and you wouldn't be completely wrong.  In all honesty, and especially in hot weather, I can't stand wearing anything that is restrictive in terms of clothing, so I can only imagine the discomfort the bra provides.  So, ladies I fully lend my support, at least in the figurative sense to you, if you want to ditch your bras.  Don't thank me, I'm only thinking of you.  It's the least I can do. Read the full article

[boomers1957]

Halloween 2020. I'm Confused. Do I Wear a Mask Over My Mask?

These are indeed strange times in which we live.  For instance, and for starters, I know I'm writing and publishing this Halloween blog a day early, and that's because this year the holiday falls on a Saturday. I always publish on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.Next, I'm not sure what the proper protocol is with this whole pandemic mask thing, and how it'll screw up the Halloween costumes I'm considering wearing. I mean, just how Darth Vader will Darth Vader be if he's wearing an N95 mask over the whole helmet face mask get up? I've also considered dressing up as a Bank Robber, but once again, who's going to take a Bank Robber seriously if they're wearing a politically correct Covid mask?  If this were real life, can you see a guy walking in to rob a bank wearing a Covid mask carrying a gun,  and walking up to the teller with a note saying "don't make any sudden moves, this is a bank robbery ".?  The teller probably would have to question the robber's sincerity because on the one hand the guy's threatening you with certain death with a gun, and in the other hand, has taken the time to wear a Covid mask to keep you from catching a deadly virus.  Mixed signals, to say the least. The good news this year for those of us who may not be as physically attractive as our costume might require is this, take Cinderella, for instance.   We all knew she was supposed to possess at least enough exceptional beauty to capture Prince Charming's heart.   Read the full article

[boomers1957]

A Love Letter to My Mommy on Her 91st Birthday!!!

Today is October 28th and it's my Mom's 91st birthday!!!Let me start out by sending her birthday wishes before I start getting sentimental.  Let me set the scene.As I've written before, my poor Mother started going into labor with me on July 4th, 63 vears ago, and I wasn't delivered until 2 days later.  And I'm pretty sure this wasn't the only time in my life that I caused her that much pain. My Mom was 28 when she had me, her first child, which for her generation was almost considered ancient at the time, for having kids.  Hell, in Alabama they would have started questioning her fertility if she hadn't spawned a child by the time she was 16 back in those days.So, here I come along, a bundle of joy that I'm sure upset the little apple cart my parents had established for themselves during the late 50's.Lucky for me, to say that I had a pretty ideal childhood would be an understatement. To this day, my Mom always thought that I favored my Father, and in certain areas of my life, I did, but, it was my Mom that I spent almost all my time with. This was the case, especially during the years before school started, and to some extent, up until maybe 4th grade.  I mean, come on, I was in 4th grade and it was in my estimation the right time to start becoming a bit more independent.So, during the early, formative years,  it was my Mother who taught me the little things, things that have stuck with me my entire life.   Read the full article

[boomers1957]

As David Bowie Sang, “Ch, Ch, Ch, Changes…” I’ve Noticed Them, Subtle or Otherwise…

I'm somewhat amazed at the things we take for granted.  The things that make life more convenient, save time, money and effort.   We are so jaded, entitled even, so much so, that we not only don't appreciate these conveniences, we go about our daily lives without  even realizing their impact.A little while ago, I wrote a blog about the time I asked my Father about the biggest changes that he had noticed in the world from the time he was a kid.   I found his answers pretty interesting.   So, I started thinking about some of the things that have occurred during our lifetimes that I found impactful.  I am just a few years older than my Father was when I asked him the same question.I don't want this exploration to be just about what changes I have found interesting, or life changing, but what things you, my readers, see as cool, convenient, or even life altering. So, let me start out with TV.  Both, from a hardware, and programming standpoint.TV's have come a long way from when I was a kid.  I remember one of the first TV's we had was a 10" black and white tube set that had to be 2 feet deep.  A big screen TV back in the day would have been maybe 19 inches.  These days, the size of your TV is pretty much only limited by the size of your wallet. A TV 24 inces deep?  I think my latest set cpmes in at 1 ½ inches and weighs a whopping 20 lbs.  Getting up to change a channel?  Hell, no.  Read the full article

[boomers1957]

If You Could Be Any Age Again, What Would it Be?

When the trials and tribulations of life start beating you up, two things always occur to me.   The first is, how the hell did I get here, and the second, how quickly can I get to the escapism of wishing I were 4 years old, again. Yes, life can really kick you where the sun don't shine, sometimes.  Be it, financially, health-wise, relationship problems, kids.  You name it.  We all know, just when things seem like they're going going along swimmingly, something's gonna come along to bite you in the ass, and ruin the smooth flow of life.  I've thought about how to handle it, but as it turns out, the sight of a 63 year old man, curled up in the fetal position, sucking his thumb, isn't something everyone wants to see.So, I've had to come up with other ways of coping that I could internalize and not freak people out. For me, i go to my happy place.  Now, my happy place isn't a physical location, but it's a place and time in my head, when life was much simpler and safer.Years ago, I'd deal with the trials of life differently.  Usually, it would involve the typical escapism of alcohol, or pot.  But, as I got older, I realized a couple of things.  The cloud and stupidity of youth usually helped to hide my problems sometimes assisted by alcohol.   But, I found that after the cloud lifted, and in the case of alcohol, I felt like crap from my hangover.  Also, the damn problems were still there, and in some cases, seemed worse, because of my procrastination. Read the full article

[boomers1957]

Role Playing. As a Kid. it's Fun. Why as an Adult, it's Considered, Kinky?

Sit back and try to remember the joy that playing dress up or role playing games as a kid would bring you.  Sometimes, these games would last for an entire afternoon, but the memories would last a lifetime. It's funny, when you're a kid, you don't say, "hey, do you want to come over on Saturday and do role playing "?  No, you'd be more likely to have your friends come over, and when they got there, you'd ask "Want to play Army"? Why, and at what point does the idea of role-playing go from child- like innocence, to downright "adult" in nature, with just the mention of role playing?  When you're a kid, playing Army starts out with who's going to be the officer, or the leader of a platoon like on the old TV show, "Combat".  When you try doing the same thing as an adult, the game starts out with who's going to be Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS, and will there be a German Shepherd involved. Now, I don't know about you, but there were generally a few different role-playing games that were a sure fire guaranty of a good time with my friends.  The aforementioned Army, Man from U.N.C.L.E, and Cowboys and Indians.  Thinking back, all of these games involved the inclusion of toy guns.  Very politically incorrect, these days.  But we didn't care, it gave us an excuse to hunt the "Bad Guys ".  Generally, no one got hurt unless you count the time my cousin Robert threw a claw hammer that he substituted for a hatchet, hitting me in the head.  Read the full article

[boomers1957]

Hobby? I Don't Need No Stinking Hobby!!! Yea, I Kinda Do...

Unlike many of my Baby Boomer brethren, I haven't retired and still have to work for a living.   But I do work out of the house and the combination of being self employed, and with this stupid pandemic,  I have a lot of spare time on my hands.  So,  I got to thinking,  maybe I should take up a hobby.  I mean, unless you consider sitting around and getting fat to be a hobby, I really don't have one.   When I was a kid, there were a number of things I enjoyed doing like going fishing or smacking a baseball around.  These days the fishing thing doesn't provide enough instant gratification, and the smacking a baseball?  It would probably look pretty amusing  to someone watching a 63 year old guy out on a ballfield hitting a ball to no one.No, I really need to find something to do to occupy both my mind, and my spare time because I'm starting to go a little stir crazy..I've considered both, yachting and learning to fly, but after a quick review of my bank accounts,  pretty much shot them both down.You know, i need something that will be fun, relatively inexpensive and can be done without any major planning being involved.  So, camping is probably out. Hmmm... stamp collecting?  Too boring.  Origami?  I'm all thumbs in the coordination department.I need ideas, people!!!Below is a short list of hobbies I've considered and the reasons I had to eliminate them from consideration. Read the full article

[boomers1957]

What a pain in the neck, and back, and knees, and.....

You know, I wake up every morning wondering what the hell body part is going to hurt that particular day.  It's kind of amazing because I'll go to bed with one body part hurting and wake up with an entirely different part, giving me a problem.I've got parts of my body that hurt that 40 years ago I’m pretty sure didn't even exist. So, in the interest of transparency,  I'll disclose that I  have what's known as psoriatic arthritis, and I'd like to thank my ancestors for feeling the need to pass along the gene's responsible for it.Now, I didn't always have a problem with the arthritis part because it actually started out as just a problem with the psoriasis, itself.The psoriasis would manifest itself by making me break out with some dry patches that were easily managed with salves or creams.  So, I drifted along for years with no real problems.   Then my sister who had the same condition started having problems with psoriatic arthritis and I watched her deal with the pain, thanking God that I seemed to have escaped the arthritis part of the equation.   Then, maybe 15 years later, I started having a problem with my hands getting a bit stiff on occasion.  Now, psoriatic arthritis is the kind of disease that comes and goes depending on if your body is going to have a flare up, or not.  I went to the doctor and told him about it, he ran some tests, and gave me the news.  Read the full article

[boomers1957]

The Chicken or The Egg? I’m Going With the Egg, in Celebration of World Egg Day!!!

The Egg.None of us would be here if it weren't for them.But today we're focusing on the egg that comes from a chicken. And why, you may ask?  Because it's WORLD EGG DAY!!!This isn't just some National holiday.  Nope, the whole friggin’ World is celebrating the little buggers. Now, in order to properly give the holiday, it's due, we should address the age-old conundrum, which came first, the chicken or the egg?  Of course, trying to win this argument is like watching a dog chasing its tail.  The dog never catches it, and no one can win this debate, either. The egg has been used in advertising over the years in both a good light and a nefarious one.  The good ad campaign was put on years ago by the American Egg Board, and used the tag line “The Incredible, Edible, Egg”.  On the other side, there was the campaign against drugs which featured a hot frying pan, sizzling butter, and then a poor egg dropped into it, and tagged with the phrase, “This is your brain, this brain on drugs, any questions”? as the poor egg was fried to death.  Luckily, the campaign worked as it proved very popular in making its point.  Thank God, the egg didn’t suffer any long term affects from being associated with drugs. I’ve often wondered what the chickens must think when every morning, their potential offspring are kidnapped from them by chicken farmers, only never to be seen again.  Do they suffer from separation anxiety? Now to be perfectly honest, I really, really, love eggs.   Read the full article

[boomers1957]

Ever Been Told To, “Wipe That Smile Off Your Face”? Why Would You Ever Want To Do That?

Happiness.  It can be elusive.  When you’re down it can seem to be a hopeless dream that you’ll never get that feeling, again.  Hang in there.  Hope is not lost and Happiness is a state of mind that you can visit without leaving your easy chair. One of the standard definitions of happiness is:   Happiness is that feeling that comes over you when you know life is good and you can't help but smile. It's the opposite of sadness. Happiness is a sense of well-being, joy, or contentment. When people are successful, or safe, or lucky, they feel happiness While that may cover it most people, I think that happiness means different things to different people.What makes you happy? Perhaps it's job satisfaction.  For others, it might mean being in love.  Some people derive happiness from food, others from sex.  For some, good food is better than sex.  Who's to say? I started to take stock of my own personal happiness the other day.   When I really started to think about it, I realized that it's not a static thing.   In other words, depending on what's going on in my life, different things may be driving my happiness quotient at any one time.   In other words, sometimes maybe my live life may be the biggest thing making me happy.   At other times, it could be my job.  On the other hand, there are times when I’m just not happy at all.The Read the full article

[boomers1957]

Screw You, Little Debbie! We Had Hostess to Fall Back On…

For some reason, sitting around causes me to wax nostalgic about various experiences and things that have occurred during my lifetime.  Maybe it’s because in the Autumn, of life it provides some sort of comfort in reminiscing about the experiences that made us happy, or a longing to go back to a time that perhaps, is more enjoyable than where we are today. In a previous blog I explored iconic brands that we grew up with that have left the landscape.   As promised, today we will explore some of the companies that most of us used their products or services, that are no longer with us.  It’s funny that this feeling of nostalgia should come over me for companies that have passed from the scene, when research shows that you shouldn’t really grow too attached to any of them.  A study of the Fortune 500 0f companies that were listed from 1955 to 2014 shows, that of the companies that started out on the list in 1955, 74% were either no longer listed, or ceased to operate completely by 2014.  Three out of Four companies?  No wonder that some of the iconic brands from my childhood are no longer around.When I started reviewing the companies, (yes, I needed to consult a list because my memory isn't what it used to be) I was struck by many of the names that were pretty much household names , made so by great marketing,  or just sheer size.   I know that I had used many of these company’s products, some more frequently than others.   Read the full article

[boomers1957]

Screw You, Little Debbie! We Had Hostess to Fall Back On…

For some reason, sitting around causes me to wax nostalgic about various experiences and things that have occurred during my lifetime.  Maybe it’s because in the Autumn, of life it provides some sort of comfort in reminiscing about the experiences that made us happy, or a longing to go back to a time that perhaps, is more enjoyable than where we are today. In a previous blog I explored iconic brands that we grew up with that have left the landscape.   As promised, today we will explore some of the companies that most of us used their products or services, that are no longer with us.  It’s funny that this feeling of nostalgia should come over me for companies that have passed from the scene, when research shows that you shouldn’t really grow too attached to any of them.  A study of the Fortune 500 0f companies that were listed from 1955 to 2014 shows, that of the companies that started out on the list in 1955, 74% were either no longer listed, or ceased to operate completely by 2014.  Three out of Four companies?  No wonder that some of the iconic brands from my childhood are no longer around.When I started reviewing the companies, (yes, I needed to consult a list because my memory isn't what it used to be) I was struck by many of the names that were pretty much household names , made so by great marketing,  or just sheer size.   I know that I had used many of these company’s products, some more frequently than others.   Read the full article

[boomers1957]

Catch Phrases- Hot One Day, Then, Not. Wassup?, With That?

It's always kind of amazed me how certain phrases or words would capture the imagination of the population, so that you would hear it spewed from the lips of virtually everyone.   These catchphrases would burn white hot and so white hot, that they would burn themselves out.  You know what I’m saying, Dude?  You feelin’ me?Here today, and gone tomorrow. I think the first such term I remember was "Boss ", as in "That car is so boss".  The meaning of course, was that it was really cool.  Cool by the way, is another catch phrase.   The difference between the two?  The word Cool has endured, "Boss", not so much,  Another exception here is, with immigrants to this country, and some natives, as well.  As in, “What’ll you be havin’, Boss”?  or. “Okay, Boss”.  I think they use this term either because they don’t know your name, or because they have no idea how else to address you.  All I know is, it drives me crazy.  I’m not their Boss, or anybody else’s, for that matter. When these phrase are the "Cat's Meow", people tend to use them to fit in , again, to be cool, and use them they do.  To death.  But over time as these phrases go through their inevitable life cycles. The use of the phrases, especially very, very late in the cycle can become very uncool.  As in the headline above, the expression, "Wassup", which was made popular in a Budweiser commercial, became huge. It seemed to be on the tip of everyone's tongue to the point of obnoxiousness.  Read the full article

[boomers1957]

Who said "You don't get no respect “, Jacob Rodney Cohen? I respected You!!!

It was 16 years ago today that Rodney Dangerfield passed away.  Now,  many of you may say, "So What"?  Well. Rodney Dangerfield may not have meant much to you,  but he was kind of a personal hero, to me.  At this point, many of you are probably saying, "What"?  Thinking, this is the best I can do for a personal hero?  An explanation is probably in order. Rodney, and I'll only use one name, because during the height of his career, if you said it, pretty much everyone knew who you were referring to.  Dangerfield, was as unlikely a success as anyone could imagine.Born on November 22, 1921 in the Town of Babylon, NY.  This is the town that my Dad grew up in,  and I did too until I was 14.  Somehow that established my initial kinship with Dangerfield, who by the way, had legally changed his name to Jack Roy and only used Rodney Dangerfield as a stage name. It was really the everyman character that endeared him, to millions and me, as well. He began his career working as a stand-up comic in the Borscht Belt resorts of the Catskill Mountains of New York.  In the early 1960s, he started down what would be a long road toward rehabilitating his career as an entertainer. Still working as a salesman by day, he returned to the stage, performing at many hotels in the Catskill Mountains.  Not realizing any success, he realized that what he lacked was an "image".  Read the full article

[boomers1957]

Who said "You don't get no respect “, Jacob Rodney Cohen? I respected You!!!

It was 16 years ago today that Rodney Dangerfield passed away.  Now,  many of you may say, "So What"?  Well. Rodney Dangerfield may not have meant much to you,  but he was kind of a personal hero, to me.  At this point, many of you are probably saying, "What"?  Thinking, this is the best I can do for a personal hero?  An explanation is probably in order. Rodney, and I'll only use one name, because during the height of his career, if you said it, pretty much everyone knew who you were referring to.  Dangerfield, was as unlikely a success as anyone could imagine.Born on November 22, 1921 in the Town of Babylon, NY.  This is the town that my Dad grew up in,  and I did too until I was 14.  Somehow that established my initial kinship with Dangerfield, who by the way, had legally changed his name to Jack Roy and only used Rodney Dangerfield as a stage name. It was really the everyman character that endeared him, to millions and me, as well. He began his career working as a stand-up comic in the Borscht Belt resorts of the Catskill Mountains of New York.  In the early 1960s, he started down what would be a long road toward rehabilitating his career as an entertainer. Still working as a salesman by day, he returned to the stage, performing at many hotels in the Catskill Mountains.  Not realizing any success, he realized that what he lacked was an "image".  Read the full article

[boomers1957]

Who said "You don't get no respect “, Jacob Rodney Cohen? I respected You!!!

It was 16 years ago today that Rodney Dangerfield passed away.  Now,  many of you may say, "So What"?  Well. Rodney Dangerfield may not have meant much to you,  but he was kind of a personal hero, to me.  At this point, many of you are probably saying, "What"?  Thinking, this is the best I can do for a personal hero?  An explanation is probably in order. Rodney, and I'll only use one name, because during the height of his career, if you said it, pretty much everyone knew who you were referring to.  Dangerfield, was as unlikely a success as anyone could imagine.Born on November 22, 1921 in the Town of Babylon, NY.  This is the town that my Dad grew up in,  and I did too until I was 14.  Somehow that established my initial kinship with Dangerfield, who by the way, had legally changed his name to Jack Roy and only used Rodney Dangerfield as a stage name. It was really the everyman character that endeared him, to millions and me, as well. He began his career working as a stand-up comic in the Borscht Belt resorts of the Catskill Mountains of New York.  In the early 1960s, he started down what would be a long road toward rehabilitating his career as an entertainer. Still working as a salesman by day, he returned to the stage, performing at many hotels in the Catskill Mountains.  Not realizing any success, he realized that what he lacked was an "image".  Read the full article

[boomers1957]

Dear Johnny Carson, Please Come Back, and Bring Back the Funny With You.

John William Carson, was born Oct. 23rd, 1925 in Corning, Iowa.Today, Oct, 2, 1962 mark's the anniversary of Johnny Carson 's tenure as host of the Tonight Show on NBC.  The show still exists in its most recent incarnation, but it is so different in its current form as to be almost unrecognizable from the original format.Back when I was a kid, it was truly a treat to be able to stay up to watch Carson’s masterful command of both the shows direction, and his audience.The Tonight Show  as far as format goes, started out with a monologue as it does today, but this is where it diverges from the original.  Carson would come on and do his monologue, but his monologue couldn't be any more different than what we see these days.  Carson would make fun of the usual news topics and maybe sprinkle in an occasional political joke aimed at the President, Congress, or even state and local politicians.   The difference was, Carson was an equal opportunity offender, and his jokes poked fun at the politicians of any political ilk.  The difference from then and now, and this goes for all the late night shows was, he poked fun at the President and didn't try to slaughter his subject matter.  Carson didn't belabor the humor by making the entire monologue a wall to wall political statement on his disdain for the President, or any other political figure.  Read the full article