A Summer Residence in Bethlehem

Earlier this morning while doing laundry in my basement, I looked up above in the window well and saw what I thought was an old friend.

Last year around the same time, I found out I had a pine vole taking up residence in the same window well. At first, I didn't even know it was a vole. It seemed somewhat blind, and had a triangularly-shaped head. I researched it on the internet, and found out they are pretty common in this area, and like to live in leaf litter and soft soil. They eat roots, seeds, bark, berries and sometimes insects. That describes my window well just about perfectly, as there is a inch or two of fresh mulch at the bottom.

I wondered if it was the same little feller from last year. I hadn't seen any voles since last year around the same time. I mused that maybe he lived somewhere warmer in the winter, but decided to spend his summers in Bethlehem in the little vole condo in my window well. There's no pool, but my garden hose is nearby.

Further reading about voles then dispelled my theory. The poor little things only live to be about three months old! This one looks young though, so maybe he (or she) has a good two months to live. I sure hope so. So far, it's the best pet I ever had. It stays on the property, I don't have to feed it or let it out, and it might be eating bugs that could infiltrate my residence.

Long live the voles!

A Question Of Character

Our 99.9 The Hawk blogs are not supposed to get political, and this one, while involving a politician, will not.

As a news junkie, I keep hearing endless details of the sordid past exploits with other women by Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina. He's now admitting he's "crossed the line" with other women while in a committed relationship. Not that his "missing in action" episode to South America to see his so-called "soulmate" wasn't bad enough!

Somewhere in his confused, small mind, he is rationalizing all of this -- as all cheaters do. Instead of working on any problems in the relationship, shallow people like Sanford find it much easier to just look elsewhere. I read that he is now "attempting to fall back in love with his wife". You couldn't write a bigger comedy than this. But it's really a tragedy. Why would his wife even want him back? This whole circus has to be incredibly embarrassing to her and the rest of his family.

When people stray outside of committed relationships, it's simply a matter of weak (or no) character. Our society looks for strong character and integrity in our so-called "leaders". The Governor has failed his wife, his family and the citizens of South Carolina with his selfish, disrespectful actions. His wife Jenny should have dealt with him firmly and decisively when she discovered he had violated their commitment. To me, that seems like a no-brainer, kids or no kids.

It's going to get a lot hotter in South Carolina this summer, and I'm not talking about the weather. Sanford was considered to be an up and coming star in his party. They talked about a possible 2012 Presidential run. His political career is over, he just doesn't know it yet.

Obviously, he needs to resign. His multi-level betrayal should not be rewarded with the trust that comes with public office. If he doesn't jump off the ship voluntarily, the good people of South Carolina will push him off. As well they should.

Update!

Looks like I'm not getting Buster any time soon. But that's a good thing at this point.

He was adopted shortly after I posted my last blog. The link to see him on Petfinder is no longer active, but trust me, he was a nice-looking guy.

I'd like to believe it was my blog that helped get him adopted, but I'm sure it was the picture of his great, warm brown eyes. Who wouldn't have wanted to get this guy out of doggy jail?

I will most-likely get a new tailed friend this Fall. I'll be checking www.petfinder.com weekly until then. You should too, if you have room for a furry friend who needs a new home or a fresh start!

The Dog Lover In Me

This summer, by choice, I have an incredibly busy schedule. In addition to my daytime station duties (Program Director and Afternoon DJ), I usually have five outside station promotions to do during the week. It's quite a challenge to do all of them, and still try to take care of a house. But I do enjoy getting out...it beats sitting in front of the TV.

Every once in a while, I think about getting a dog. I grew up with three purebred German Shepherds, and would love one of my own. But with all the great dogs available for adoption in shelters, I would feel guilty spending $800 or so and getting one from a breeder.

So, I occasionally visit www.petfinder.com. It's a great website that cross-references local and regional shelters and rescue organizations. I usually fall in love at least once when I'm on that site.

I did last week, again.

I entered "German Shepherd" in the search field, and scrolled down the selection of dogs. Not many of them actually look like Shepherds. It's hard to find a purebred German Shepherd available for adoption on petfinder, but that's okay. I landed on "Buster". A 10-year old Shepherd Mix (seems like a total "mutt"...can't figure out the other breeds that might be in him). But it was his story and his sweet eyes that have me wanting to make the trip to Dixon Street in Allentown to the Lehigh County Humane Society. After 10 years, through no fault of his own, Buster finds himself in jail. It makes you want to cry. I know human life takes cruel turns sometimes, but why is this beautiful animal without a home?

The problem is right now, with my crazy lifestyle, it wouldn't be fair to Buster for me to adopt him now. But if he's still there in September when my schedule slows down, I am going to get him. But I don't want this handsome, nice fella locked up that long. If you're a dog lover, please click on the link below, and consider adopting him, or pass the link along to a friend. There's something about his eyes that just tell you he'd be a wonderful friend. I'm sure he has a good three or four years left, and no one should spend their twilight days locked up behind a steel fence.

The more I type about him, the more I'm thinking the hell with my schedule...I'll just bring him with me wherever I go.

So if you see a big friendly Shepherd Mix with warm eyes laying at my feet the next time you come to Tuesday Night Trivia at Roosevelt's in Bethlehem, you'll know I couldn't wait until September.

I'll keep you posted. If you or anyone else you know adopt Buster, please let me know. I'll put his pictures on this blog. And I'll expect you to name me the dog's Godfather too!

See Buster here: http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=13823673

I've Got 10 Years Left

Facebook can be pretty amusing sometimes. It can help reunite long-lost friends. It can inform you of certain events. And now, it can even tell you how long you have to live. Really!

A "friend" (?) recently sent me one of those Facebook quizzes where you need to answer a few questions, and then it spits out an answer. You've all seen them, you know, the ones like "Which famous movie star are you most similar to?". I never took that one, but I'm sure it would be Brad Pitt, don't ya think? ;-)

The one I took the other day was "When Will You Die?".

For planning purposes, I decided it might be nice to figure out when I will die. So I answered all those important questions like my first name, birth date, state I lived in, and gender. I was kind of surprised I didn't see any questions about obesity, smoking history, high blood pressure, heart conditions, or family history of medical issues.

I clicked "enter" on the computer, and then waited with high-anticipation. God those three seconds really seemed like four, maybe five seconds!

The verdict? Facebook says I will depart this Earth on September 8th, 2019. I will perish in a car accident.

I Googled the 2019 calendar, and found out that September 8th is a Sunday. That will probably be the first day of the NFL season. So there's only two ways I can possibly die in a car wreck that day.

#1. If the New York Giants have a home game, I will get clipped by a tractor-trailer on the way home from The Meadowlands after a 4pm game. The Giants will have beaten the St. Louis Rams in a much-closer game than expected. Final score: 24-21. It will be a freak accident...some sort of a "steel beam falls off the truck decapitation thing". Gruesome, but quick. None of my friends traveling back from the game will be injured. In fact, if they're truly my friends, they'll grab a few leftover beers from the cooler in the back of my SUV or RV and toast their recently-departed fellow Giants fan. Tears are wasted liquid, but beers shouldn't be!

#2. If the Giants have an away game, I will be rushing to Carl's Corner in Bethlehem for a cheesesteak during halftime. I will take my eyes off the road to check out a nice-looking woman walking down the street, and slam into the side of a Raymour & Flanigan furniture truck. When my life flashes before me in that split second, my last thought will be why couldn't this have happened after I ate my Carl's cheesesteak? Plus, I will wonder "...will the Giants wake up during the second half and start playing like they're capable of...?".

When the NFL Schedule for 2019 comes out in April 2009, if the Rams are the Giants first opponent, at least I'll know I've got five good months left.

Thank you Facebook. At least I can put together my own 'bucket list" now.

It Doesn't Seem Wright!

I remember growing up as a kid seeing these inserts in the Sunday newspaper from Carol Wright Gifts, a mail-order company that sold a lot of things that seemed to make life easier. There were the basic return address labels, egg slicers, digital meat thermometers, deluxe foot pads to help with bad feet, many "as seen on TV" products, and more.

The Carol Wright Gifts newsprint catalog featured a logo of a mature, wholesome lady's face. I guess that might have been Carol? It resembled Donna Reed (from "It's A Wonderful Life"). The stuff offered in the catalog was as wholesome as the represented head-shot logo.

I hadn't seen a Carol Wright Gifts insert or catalog in at least ten years, until last Sunday. It took me back to my youth right away, as I had always liked looking at a lot of that "As Seen On TV" merchandise that my parents would never buy. Of course, I had no real need for digital meat thermometer when I was 14, but I still thought it was pretty spiffy!

So this past Sunday, I'm thumbing through my newly-cherished Carol Wright Gifts catalog. "I have money now...I'm not 14...maybe I'll actually order something this time", I mused. About 6 pages in I saw an ad for a "personal massager". It was in a very "personal" shape. I knew right away these weren't the type of "massagers" that you wouldn't glide over your tired arm or back muscles. I turned the page and got the shock of my life. The "centerfold" of this supposedly All-American, wholesome catalog was completely filled with more than a few ads for male-enhancement pills, creams, vacuum-pumps, many more personal massagers, female battery-operated devices and other adult toys/aids that I thought you'd only see in an "Adam & Eve" catalog, or an Adult Bookstore or Lingerie Shop.

My jaw hit the floor. What had happened to this wholesome, mom-like Carol Wright? Did she discover the world of adult erotica about 10 years ago and decide to share with her customers? I mean, some of this stuff made me blush, and I'm not a prude by any means!

My guess is, if the logo of the All-American looking Carol Wright was indeed Carol, she either died, or sold the company and let them retain the name. Companies will do anything for a buck, and there's no doubt all of that stuff is huge-selling. If she is dead, she's rolling over in her grave, wishing she had put in a "no adult toys" clause in the company sale contract. And Carol, if it is your idea and you're selling out for the almighty buck, then shame on you!

It just ain't Wright!

Crazy Random Thoughts/Rants

Some things in life are worth writing about, but not worth full "blog-length".

I recently was given a new box of updated business cards. Maybe ONE THOUSAND business cards! (?) As Program Director/Brand Manager for 99.9 The Hawk and 107.1 The Bone, and also Afternoon DJ for The Hawk, I will not meet enough people in a true "business situation" to give them one of my "business" cards until my supply exhausts, possibly in 2017.

Anyway, I now carry a small stack of cards in my pocket all the time. I have been using them as note cards. I either write down trivia questions for my Trivia Night (Tuesday Night Trivia at Roosevelt's Bar & Grill in Bethlehem), or I write down thing things that I might blog about, while knowing there's not really enough subject matter for a true, full-length blog.

So this post will just contain "random musings" that I would like to share. Nothing deep. Hopefully you can relate to some of them. I always welcome your comments, thoughts, rants, disagreements, agreements, and/or opposing points of view.

Here's what I have off the back of my "business" cards:

• I have an unnatural fear of Chiropractors. I have this crazy idea that when the Chiropractor "cracks my neck" quickly and I will be forever paralyzed. I know...it makes no sense. But I am not at all afraid to fly, and I bet more people have that phobia than my fear of Chiropractors! So far in my life, I haven't sought relief from a Chiropractor. I guess I was born with a strong back, or, I've been really lucky!

• Every time I turn Cable TV on on the weekends, "House" is on. On like, LOTS of channels. I have never taken the time to watch a full episode, so I can't say it's not that good -- just the opposite -- if it's on that much it MUST be pretty good. Maybe one day on the weekend I will devote 60 minutes to "House", which seems to be on at 1am, 2am, 9am, 10am, 11am, Noon, 3pm, 4pm, 5pm, etc....

• I did see a 90-minute special on PBS about the career of comedian Bob Newhart. It was excellent! I almost picked up the phone and sent a contribution to PBS. But like the state budget, I'm cutting back. If I see two more shows I enjoy as much as that Bob Newhart bio, I will send PBS 39 $50. $75 if they're really good.

• I really can't do "shots" of liquor anymore. Not that that's a bad thing. I recently had major sleep apnea surgery, but forgot that at the retirement party for our Nassau Broadcasting Poconos VP/General Manager Maureen Barth. Anyway, I found out, when they take out your uvula, you cannot tip your head back and do a shot. Well, you can, but the aforementioned "shot" goes right up your nose. Your uvula prevents anything swallowed at a strange angle from going up your nasal cavity. So what happens when the ENT surgeon takes your uvula OUT? Well...just try to "snort" a shot of anything! That's what it feels like. After I caved in to peer pressure and actually unwillingly "snorted" my Jaegermeister, I knew my days of doing "shots" were over. No more shots, thank you. The "stopper" is gone, and I sleep much better without that nasty uvula!

• I think my Dad Larry (who is 77 years old), never, ever, wore a pair of blue jeans. Ever. I have nothing else to say, except that what the hell did he wear all those years? I just washed eight pairs tonight as I was typing this. If I didn't have blue jeans, I would wear either shorts, sweatpants, or really wrinkled khakis! Thank God for blue jeans! :-)

• I recently upgraded my cable account to include a DVR. I just got used to using it. A few weeks ago, I decided I would work in the yard and record the end of a PGA Golf tournament. Well, the tourney went to extra holes, and when that happens, you don't get to see the end of the tourney! I was watching the third playoff hole, when you guessed it, the DVR stopped. I went online two days later to see who won. I really didn't care that much, so why did I even record it?

• Jimmy Fallon is about as bad a talk show host as Chevy Chase or Magic Johnson. He is pathetically bad. When Conan O'Brien first aired, I actually knew he would be pretty good. I;m happy he is now The Tonight Show host. I got what he was trying to be. But Jimmy Fallon...sorry. He won't make it deep into 2010, unless NBC just wants to protect their decision. I usually give new hosts a little rope for a learning curve, but mark my words: Jimmy Fallon was a very bad decision!

And that's it...for now. I will save some more business cards with my random musings and get back to you. But hey, I would love to hear from you! Agree, disagree, or tell me something I never knew. I will always give you credit, and you'll lend credibility to this blog.

Bill 1, Sands Casino 0

After hearing several of my friends rave about Bethlehem's new casino, I called an audible this Sunday Night and changed my plans of watching TV and headed out about 10:30pm to check it out.

What I really wanted to do was see the new Irish pub located on the premises. As to be expected, the price for a pint was steep. I think I paid $6.00 for a pint of Harp. In a casino, they can get away with that. This new Irish Pub won't be a watering hole for the locals.

St. James Gate (http://www.pasands.com/dine/stjames.aspx) was a little too dimly-lit for my tastes, but I understand they're going for atmosphere. Nobody visits bars that are lit up like Wal-Mart. It was very busy. It felt like most of the crowd was from out of town. Some folks were dressed to the nines, most were casual in jeans, and then there were a few backward-hat wearing fools with oversized Nike T-Shirts and gold chains. One of these tools was with a very nice-looking girl, who was dressed well -- almost kind of a preppy look. I wanted to give her Dr. Mark Moran's phone number to have her eyes checked. (If you're reading this dear, his number is 610-437-4988).

With about $100 remaining in my pocket after a few pints, I headed out to the casino floor. I actually wasn't even sure I would gamble at all before I got there. But then, the beer started telling me "...awww what the heck!". I wanted to play a machine that ended with 77, because I just bought a raffle ticket for a new Harley whose number ended in 77. I also graduated in 1977 from Freedom High School.

I did find a machine that ended in 77, but it was occupied by a very large woman who was playing two machines at once. I hate that. I sat down on the end of the row in front of machine 1079. It was a $1 machine. I stuffed five 20's into the validator, and pushed the "play max bet" button -- a five dollar bet. It was a "Double Diamond" slot machine with multiple pay lines. The $100 quickly fell to $50, then went back up to $89, then down to $30, then up and down for while, until I was left with $10. I figured I had two more chances left.

I only needed one.

I still don't exactly know what I did, but the Double Diamond logo was in the middle, and there were a lot of "bar" symbols in all directions like this: / \ and horizontally (---). The credit counter showed 358. Each credit is a dollar. I stared at the red LED "358" for about 10 seconds with a wry grin on my face. I then thought about playing it down to either 300 or up to 400. But in a moment of rare sanity, I decisively hit the "cash out" button. In 30 minutes, I had taken the Sands Casino to its knees! Okay, maybe not. But I was done, and I knew it. In my former years, I would have squandered it on other machines. In this time of financial uncertainty, I was certain not to squander this unexpected windfall. But I knew who was buying breakfast.

In actuality, the Sands casino paid the $21 breakfast tab at Denny's. I'm 1 and 0 at the Sands, but I think I'll sit the rest of the season out. It was a fun 30 minutes, but I think I'll invest my extra money elsewhere.

If it WAS hungry, it wouldn't try to kiss it's meal!

Saw this short two minute video on my cousin Patricia's Facebook page. It's three years old, but I've never seen it before.

Posting YouTube videos is sometimes like telling a good joke. You never know who has seen the video, or who already knows the punchline.

So, in case you haven't seen the amazing video of the dog and the killer whale, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNUlpDLuYUI

If you've already seen it, e-mail me a good joke that I can tell to people. Maybe they haven't heard the punchline yet!

The Backstreet Boys? REALLY?

A few Sundays ago after cutting the grass (what else?), I popped the TV on in my family room and sat down on the leather couch hoping to find a baseball game to watch while inhaling leftovers from the night before.

As I surfed through the HD Channels (yes, I am an HD snob), I couldn't find any baseball, or even any other worthwhile sports to watch. I continued along higher up in the 500 series of channels, and stumbled across one of those boy bands sitting on four stools in front of a huge crowd. I was on Mark Cuban's channel, HDNet, which actually has some very cool commercial-free concerts from groups such as The Doobie Brothers, The Moody Blues, Fleetwood Mac and many others.

As I watched these guys start to sing, I couldn't tell if they were The Backstreet Boys or 98 Degrees. Not having kids, how would I know, or why would I care? I caught the very beginning of a power ballad they were performing called "Helpless When She Smiles". It's about a 4 or 5 minute song I guess. 30 seconds into it, I was thinking, okay...I need mustard for this leftover WaWa turkey hoagie. 2 minutes into the song, I'm thinkin' "...hey, this song is actually pretty good". By the time the song was over, I was seriously blown away. I hit the "info" button on my remote control to solve my "98 Degrees or Backstreet Boys" query. It was indeed The Backstreet Boys, taped from a live show in London. The song was an incredibly slick, hauntingly melodic, dramatic power ballad. Part of the lyrics in the chorus were "...I'm a house of cards in a hurricane...". Actually, I would have named the song "House Of Cards", or "Hurricane", and if you listen to it or are familiar with it, you'll know why I suggest that.

The leftover hoagie devoured, I sat there agape for another 45 minutes until sadly, the show was over. I was truly impressed with how good these guys really were. Yeah, they might have had some backing tracks pumped in behind them, but you can't cover lousy vocals with backing tracks. The Backstreet Boys were thoroughly entertaining with their choreography and overall vocal performance. I was blown away. If these guys come to Musikfest or The Allentown Fair, I'm going!

The next day at work here at the station I mentioned to two co-workers about my Sunday boy band surprise. They both agreed that Backstreet Boys were incredible performers, and they couldn't believe that I didn't know that. I guess for all their years of success, fortune and fame, I had attributed it to their teen appeal of boyish good looks coupled with a few slick stage moves.

The lesson I learned is sometimes it's not a bad thing when there's not a good ball game on Hi-Def. I wonder what else I'll discover the next time that happens. I'll let you know.

Weed consultant needed!

This cool, rainy weather has been conducive to vegetation growing like crazy. Just last week, our sister station ESPN Radio (1230/1320 AM) had to hire guys to cut down the tops of trees on neighboring property because they had grown so tall and thick, they interfered with our satellite reception.

This weather has given me an second full-time job: Cutting grass and pulling weeds. Or, are they weeds?

So far this year, I have been mowing my lawn in Bethlehem every 3 or 4 days. I have a Honda mulching mower, so I can't set the wheels too low and cut it like a golf fairway (I wish I could). I feel as though I've cut the grass already as many times this season as I did all of last year. But one thing that's different this year is the vegetation in my backyard. I have a mini-jungle in the back of my property along my neighbors fence. I owned the place almost four years, and don't ever remember seeing the variety of greenery that seems to have sprouted this year.

Was that stuff always there, or with my "Rambo-style" of mowing, was I just running it all over from the beginning the past three years? Am I mowing my lawn with a new "kinder, gentler" vigor? Who knows! But what I really need to know is what is a weed and what isn't!

Sure, I can figure out the dandelion weeds, and some other common-looking ones, but what part of my new mini-jungle are actually weeds? I'm sure I am avoiding mowing over some weeds, but they look so pretty. And who says all weeds are bad? The flowers of some weeds (like dandelions) are actually nice. I also have these little purple flowered weeds that grow in a small part of the yard as well. I do mow over them, but they're back in 3 or 4 days to say hello again!

My youngest sister Betsy (nicknamed "Bad Betty") has somewhat of a green thumb, and she volunteered to come over and assess the situation. Unfortunately, that was before she landed a job at the new Emeril's Chop House at the new Bethlehem casino. Scratch Bad Betty off the list of potential weed consultants. Actually, with her new job, her new nickname is "BAM Betty"!

The Yellow Pages has no listings for "weed consultants". It's not even a category, can you believe it?

So, if you know any good weed consultants, send them my way. Even if they're just "average" weed consultants, I'll take them, as long as they'll work for beer and a steak made on my fancy new grill. There are no weeds anywhere near the new grill. That just wouldn't be right.