Month: July 2025

Twenty Years Now, Where’d It Go?

Been in Grandpa mode lately with a young neighbor about budgets and knowing where your/her money goes. Laying out my August budget yesterday, I got to thinking about the last 12 months – a widower period of transition. I am, to paraphrase Joni Mitchell an “Ageing Child”.

Digging through paper files (remember paper) from this past year, I added up about a total of $8,500 of maintenance for my 2005 Silverado Work Truck. Bought new in May of 2005. Took back to the Mother-ship aka Hendrick Chevrolet in Cary. And I can’t tell the difference from new. Had plenty of time in the Service Dept. waiting room to surf their current deals. Cheapest I could find was triple what I paid in 2005.

Like a Rock!

It’s hauled 3 yard loads of mulch, a yard of crush & run stone, new washer & dryers in and old ones out. Retrieved loads of dried, rough sawed white oak from a mill by the NC State Fairgrounds after a tree service hauled the eight f00t+ long logs there from a big ole tree dropping bark by my house that needed harvesting. Moved sons in and out of UNC Chapel Hill & Greensboro dorms. Moved wood shop tools from house to storage at down sizing. Moved a couple of yards of construction debris from town house during last kitchen renovation for my late sweetheart. Hauled a ton of studio lighting gear for a dozen years. And it moved me to where I am now.

Current role is daily driver – Lowe’s Foods, BJ’s Warehouse, Total Wine and La Farm Bakery. We are both, taking it easy.

A Must Share -Losing Our Minds

“What will happen if this becomes fully realized? An electorate that has lost the capacity for long-form thought will be more tribal, less rational, largely uninterested in facts or even matters of historical record, moved more by vibes than cogent argument and open to fantastical ideas and bizarre conspiracy theories. If that sounds familiar, it may be a sign of how far down this path the West has already traveled.”

Old Man PSA – QR Code Scams

Très convenient for crooks! Easy to implement, with the almost Sheep like acceptance of folks wedded to oxymoronically named “Smartphones”. My hunch is, the wolves are licking their chops at the delicious possibilities afforded by the “convenience”. And emerging AI offers an accelerant to the ease of fleecing the herd: ‘Quishing’ scams dupe millions of Americans as cybercriminals exploit QR codes.

*** Bonus Scam Update Info! The incoming, automated, spoofed unassigned DiD numbers Scam Calls have gone to zero! The last iteration were spoofed numbers from small towns in Idaho and Georgia. No message and a hangup in 20 seconds. So I “replied” to the nobody there IVR with a blast from my Dog Toy Kazoo (liberated from a stuffed toy by my young neighbors “Dumpster Rescue”). When some poor soul then answered “This is …., how many I help you”, they got a couple more Dog Toy Kazoo blasts at max speaker volume. I’ve been banned 😉

Old Man Looks At Modern Problems

Geezer perspective on a, to me, astonishing article in today’s NYT: Retirement saving mistakes. I know about the Target Shopping thing from my neighbor/adopted Grand Daughter/BFF/Rescue Dog Owner. We routinely share our recipes and victories with supermarket markdowns.

  1. Say what! – The average consumer spends $118 a month on food delivery and $78 a month at coffee shops, according to a 2023 survey of 1,000 U.S. adults by Empower, a financial services firm. (A month plus of coffee made at home is less than $12. And get your butt out and go pick it up! Better yet COOK – it ain’t rocket surgery! $118 + $78 buys months worth of Folgers and Chicken and Veggies!)
  2. Most consumers don’t realize that the minimum payment on a credit card barely covers the interest rate charges, which on average currently range from 21.16 percent to 22.73 percent.  (Bank pays me way, way less than that on my CD and HYS – guess who wins, Suckers? It is, financial Rape.)
  3. “Getting out of debt becomes even harder when you keep charging items to your credit card. “The ability to just grab your phone, tap a few times and have something sent to you that day, within a couple hours, makes it a lot easier to overspend and to do so without truly thinking it through.” (Yeah, maybe, just maybe, think it through. Divorce Lawyers live on this, as in “I want it my way and I want it NOW!)

Being owned by your debt is no fun whatsoever. Knocking on 75 turns around the Sun, seen it – explains divorce from first marriage. Wanna see pathetic – old folks with no bucks. Nah, no thanks, I’ll go my own way. So 70 cents for a 12 oz Miller Beer at home vs $5 for the same pour at local restaurant/bistro. Or what ever the ridiculous fees are for “Door Dash, et al. There are, special occasions that justify the cost delta and spending some “go to hell money”. Like tickets to attend the Ballet in Paris ($60 Euros). Or Anniversary dinners. Or graduations. But denial is, not a River in Egypt. If you ain’t got it, don’t spend it. You need a roof and a rack and chow (just ask the folks in Gaza). Leather Memory Seats, Remote Start, Lane Assist, Blue Tooth, Rear Cameras, etc, etc, etc – not so much. Disclaimer: I do have a $30, oxymoronically named “SmartPhone”. Works! I start the Washer & Dryers in my apt. complex laundromat with it. Rollover triple minutes keep accumulating when I buy a 90 day Plan and add a 12 months of coverage for 15 months of service – about $70. Keep it in the truck in case I need to call AAA or electricity internet goes out. Else, I’m reading and writing on my $139, open box, lightweight Chromebook with 14″ screen, full keyboard and 12 hour plus battery life – WiFi with 400 MBPS at $39.99 a month.

Yeah, what is it that you need? Different than what you want – even if you haven’t thought about it. Go your own way.

It’s A Mystery!

The bulk of this “Old Man Screed” was “deactivated” in the comment section of the Raleigh News & Observer today. I get it. Pretty soon, lots more will!

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“Lara Trump as Senator? Bless her heart!

Come Nov 2026, NC will have a Dem AG, Dem Gov. and a Dem Senator – all busy trying to fix the chaos created by he who shall remain unnamed but whose ignorance dwarfs Mt. Rushmore. You know, the guy who is very close pals with pedophiles and subservient billionaires, the one trashing the global economy on the ego trip of a 12 year old.

The bold soldier who was only prevented from being a warrior due to bone spurs which, thank God, don’t interfere with his shoe lifts!

The one who stopped the Ukraine War in 1 day!

The one whose age limit for sex with girls STOPS at age 12!

Or maybe it was Hannibal Lecter and the 1400 percent reduction in prescription costs!

Nobody even knows how the Diet Cokes he drinks, sweetened with Aspartame, compares to Cane Sugar! It is, as the Jesuits explained to me, a mystery!“

Waterhole #3

Guilty self indulgence – Waterhole #3

USPS brought this today – eBay purchase. From 1967. NO way made today! But laugh out loud and accurate portrayal of modern society. Pompous military, blowhard men with entitlement attitudes and women, putting up with all the nonsense. And making immigrants, scapegoats!

Wonderful Roger Miller singing commentary: “The Code of the West, is do onto others, before they do onto you!”

Both Sides of This Life

My young neighbor & BFF confirmed the accuracy of an extraordinary article in the New York Times about modern courtship – okay “Dating” : The Trouble With Wanting Men: “Women are so fed up with dating men that the phenomenon even has a name: heterofatalism”

In about two weeks, I’ll finish my 75th turn around the Sun. And I had no idea. Had a well intended but doomed first marriage of 21 years. Me and my soulmate both got it right the second time. For nearly 30 years. Till death did part us.

But this – chronological men acting like boys – makes me embarrassed. Young men, I believe, need the focus and discipline of Recruit Training in Armed Services. Better, actual service. So the ladies don’t have to do two jobs – their day job for a paycheck and the second job, caring for a man-child.

Old Man Fun – Part Deux

On a REALLY hot and miserably humid Carolina July day, hiding out in the A/C, after today’s chore of laundry – drinking & thinking:

  • Phone scammers shifted to spoofed / unassigned DID numbers in Idaho – so pick up call, put on speaker and blow quasi duck call noise maker from a dog toy! Someone answers and they get another blast! Then they hang up! Mission accomplished!
  • Got eBay offer from seller after putting in “Wish List” – good price & free ship for a favorite, couldn’t be made today, Blake Edwards movie. Bought it!
    • "MV5BMjM4MzMzNzM1NF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMzk5OTUxMQ@@._V1_.jpg
  • Somewhere between trips to laundry across the parking lot, a fly found my apartment. Watched it struggle on window. Captured with plastic cup and a page of local PBS monthly guide – released outside!

Garden Of Stone

Aisne-Marne American Cemetery – Belleau, France

Made this photograph in late September of 2o17. From St. Paul Metro Station in the Marais District of Paris, it’s a short ride to Gare Est. Then, a morning express train to Château-Thierry. Next, a local taxi.

99 years after the Battle of Belleau Wood and 1 year before the American President, in Paris, chose not to attend the Centennial Memorial. It was attended by the Commandant of the Unites States Marine Corps. And Marines.

On my visit, I walked the Battlefield in silence and solitude. The American President who dishonored Marines, I do not forgive.

Old Man Fun!

My neighbor & bestie and her dog visit often, in late afternoon. Ok, it involves dog treats – it’s Pavlovian. But that’s not what this is about. It’s about a sort of Duck Call noise maker aforesaid dog (pictured below) liberated from a stuffed toy. Which resides by my old school phone handset (Ooma).

“Dumpster” Rescue – thrown away in a garbage bin as a puppy.

It is, delightful, to respond to Scam Calls (i.e. “Pre-Approved Consolidation Loans” , “IRS Tax Relief”) from spoofed numbers, as in Press 2 , and greet the answer “Who am I speaking to?” with multiple duck calls! Same deal with later calling the “866” numbers they leave. Sometimes, muffled cursing, sometimes laughter but mostly, hang-ups. It is, highly entertaining! And the calls have reduced, dramatically! I may have been placed on the Official Sleazeball Scammer “Do Not Call List”!

A Step Ahead of Tariffs

Somewhere around 2014, after downsizing to a Townhouse on the far east edge of Wake County, I attempted to put down roots in the local community – aka teaching photography classes for Town of Clayton Parks & Rec. Center. Got along well with the young lady in charge of programs. Which failed spectacularly when she was promoted and replaced with – I am not making this up – two men. But that’s not what this is about.

I’d discovered YN-560 III speed lights – fully manual, with built in radio receivers for wireless remote control – for $58 each from B&H in NYC! Robust and throw away cheap compared to OEM speed lights by a factor of 8 or 9! Killer good for head shots and a whole bunch of other stuff

So teaching a lighting class at the Clayton Community Center one evening, a newly purchased YN-560 III suffered an infantile failure in the hands of a student. I assured her, it was something that happens with electronics and next day, logged on to order a replacement. And the $58 price was now $85! Confused, I asked the Google to explain and the answer was a new Tariff.

Which explains why I decided yesterday to buy, probably my last camera, from B&H in NYC, ahead of the 25% Tariffs announced, today on goods from Japan. Yeah, another $550 for I have no idea what would’ve been a deal breaker.

For Want of a Nail – Reversed

Itty-bitty succulent in a pot for my patio, given by my neighbor & bestie who went off to family for the holiday. Which set the wheels turning!

Can’t just put it out on the concrete where who knows what will happen! So stop & shop at local Habitat for Humanity. Found perfect, taller than a bunny stand. Plus, a Fern Stand, to mitigate a lie to my Bestie about leaving my Boston Ferns to die in future winter frost. Bought both and broke a foot off the fern stand on the way out. Which meant at stop at local ACE Hardware for Titebond Wood Glue. Plus a bag of potting mix and and 30% off ceramic pot. Where I had to help the young man at the counter calculate the non-bar coded discount.

So staring at the itty-bitty succulent this morning, realized my living room needed a serious reorg. And I did – with planned accommodation to over winter two Boston Ferns. Old Man Sunday.

Peel Out!

The New York Times (yes, I have a subscription) recently ran a reader poll about the best movies of this 21st century. I have, not a clue. Being old, my list is of the 20th century. “American Graffitti” is way high up on my list.

And early yesterday, while listening to the incredible music CD, my bestie and young neighbor surrendered to her dog dragging her to my door where treats are expected, while loading her car to head to her folks place for the holiday. So I dog sat, literally, on the floor, listening to early 6o’s music, while dog, post treats, was receiving her snuggles and Reiki massage. And just as the Boss Lady opened the door to retrieve her, I was, along with my CD Player, in full voice “Goodnight Sweetheart, Its Time To Go” (The Platters 1960) . But that’s not what this is about.

Found a DVD copy of the movie at Goodwill, autographed by the actress Candace Clark aka “Debbie”! He did peel out and they had a bitchin time! It’s on the way!

The Cost of Freedom

On this day of Declaring Independence, the cost is sobering. Every warrior, in some fashion, makes a decision to kill an enemy. There is no victory in killing. Necessary to preserve human liberty -yes. Victorious and celebratory – no. Hard on the soul.

50+ years ago, in the Missile Control Center of a Lafayette Class Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarine, I was fully responsible for putting “Birds” on target. Cautious of my Top Secret Clearance, I wondered about, what my targets were. We received regular, encrypted high altitude weather messages so as to refine the launch equation. In lower levels ops, outside my “Office” was a world map on the bulkhead. And I would look at the lat & long coordinates. And I knew that I would be responsible for incinerating some millions of innocent humans.

“Mutually Assured Destruction” may be necessary. But the cost to the soul is incalculable. Even 50+ years on. The Submariners currently on Patrol will, as I have in my dotage, meet that understanding.

Thursday Night Opera

Tonight, 3 July 2025, is Don Giaovanni on WCPE. Long ago, after teaching a Photography Class at Page Walker Arts & History Center, I listened to Thursday Night Opera on my drive home. Usually, understand not a word.

Soprano Lora Fabio – Page Walker Arts & History Center, 24 November 2013

Yet, it was a comfort. A connection to humanity. Across generations and centuries. And once, at a Winter Concert at Page Walker, ostensibly making photographs for Cary Citizen, after I thought I had the story, put down my camera and – I didn’t know a human voice could do that. Later, unable to speak – she understood. I was jelly. “Song To The Moon” from Rusalka by Dvorak – oh my.