Acting is the most minor of gifts and not a very high-class way to earn a living. After all, Shirley Temple could do it at the age of four.--Katherine Hepburn

It seems as if everybody that has ever resided in Wilkes-Barre has sent me this pic, but I didn’t post it because of the foul language. What the heck?

Me hears that! I could care less what Martin Sheen thinks about the latest in geopolitics. Yeah, as an American citizen he has the right to express his goofball opinions, but I get the impression that these Hollywood types feel that their opinions carry more weight than yours or mine. Christ, if the commie ever made a decent movie maybe, that’s maybe I’d give his views a second thought. Let me see here, he protested against nuclear power plants, but he also protests against a war for oil as the commie leaning protestors are so fond of calling the ongoing Iraqi conflict. We shouldn’t have available nuclear power and we also shouldn’t covet the world’s oil supplies. Martin should finally unveil his plan to power the world by burning pictures of our current president already!

And the other Hollywood type that seems to be making a lot of anti-American noise these days is Susan Sarandon. Is this not the same chick that played ‘Janet’ in the Rocky Horror Picture Show? Was she not totally putrid in that now legendary low-budget flick? Has anyone noticed that after twenty-five years of applying her skills, she finally learned how to act somewhat? Now we should gleefully accept her word as gospel over the word of the assorted intelligence agencies of the free world? The road was long, but I ran it. The river was deep, but I swam it. There’s a fire in my heart and you fan it. If there’s one fool for you than I am it. I’ve one thing to say and that’s “Dammit! Janet! I love you.” Imagine that, ‘Janet’ has somehow been elevated to national security advisor status.

This is a classic:

Holy frig! It got warm outside. Somebody somewhere screwed up. Isn’t it weird how this global warning phenomenon is causing the winters to be colder and longer these days? Hmmm. I was out and about today blasting some Ramones at ungodly decibel levels when I came upon a group of kids playing tennis ball in the Thomas C. Thomas parking lot. I cruised on in there and got a few funny looks from the kids. Loud, loud guitars? Is that now considered ancient classic rock, while we suffer with what these kids call music? Whatever. I had a hunch about these kids and after sharing a few words with them, they confirmed my suspicions and had no problem with me taking pictures of them. Who knows, they might have thought I was a chickenhawk, but what struck me while cruising by that lot was that this group of kids were Kings kids getting outdoors after a long winter.

It’s really sad that our mayor decided that by demonizing these kids he could curry favor with a few voters that reside in the same neighborhood with these kids. Some of these kids are old enough to acquire alcohol. Some of these kids enjoy very loud music. Some sport ugly tattoos, while others have silly body piercings every few inches. I don’t understand what motivates these kids to partake of some of the things that I totally abhor, but at this exact moment I sound like my mom and my grandmother. When I was a clueless young lad, some of my neighbors saw my really long hair, my worship of loud music and my extremely foul mouth as proof that I was someone that needed to be banished to the juvenile detention facility. Nothing could be further from the truth. I was just a poor kid, frustrated by my predicament and struggling to find my way in a very immature fashion. I was a jerk. Deep down a good kid, but nonetheless, still a jerk.

Kids find their way eventually and during that journey they sometimes make noise and at other times they park where they aren’t supposed to. Big whoop! I find it unfortunate and somewhat distressing that a politico would paint these kids as the scourge of the earth to enhance his position in the eyes of the small-minded voters among us. I respect the kids that attend Wilkes and Kings. Yeah, they may make some noise now and again, piss on some hedges and deposit a few Yuengling bottles where they shouldn’t be deposited, but they are usually just letting off some steam, while dealing with a heavy academic load at schools known for serious academics. I couldn’t hang with these kids. I attended LCCC and could care less about my continued education. It has been suggested to me that LCCC does not exactly inspire greatness, but whether that is entirely true or not, it wouldn’t have mattered in my case. I didn’t possess the intestinal fortitude or the commitment necessary to obtain an Associate Degree. The kids that are so often seen as targets for abuse in Wilkes-Barre have my complete respect. I would have had no chance of being accepted at Kings or Wilkes and a big reason for that would be my own lack of motivation and a lack of financial resources, but these kids are residing in Wilkes-Barre for one reason and one reason only. They came here to better themselves. They came here to obtain a top-notch education. I don’t see them as some sort of enemy to be exploited during every election cycle. I see them as exactly what they are. A bunch of kids. Kids smarter than I and kids with a bright future if they stay the course they have chosen.

Why is it that these kids are not encouraged in any meaningful sense to remain in Wilkes-Barre after their college years are behind them? If Wilkes-Barre is ever going to flourish again, we need the best and brightest that our two higher learning institutions have to offer to decide to stay here and contribute in a meaningful way. While we pander for the votes of the older citizens, the city will have no future if it’s population increasingly continues to be made up of folks that see nothing beyond their recycling containers positioned on the tree lawn.

I am nuts, heyna? I was compelled to fire away with all of that only because I ran across a bunch of Kings kids playing tennis ball on a sunny afternoon.

A cul-de-sac e-mail:

****** The Cul-De-Sac is a great idea...I just hope our Fire Chiefy went over those plans really good. The city’s ladder truck is 45 feet long, and according to the men that man it, it isn't the tightest turning vehicle in the world. It would be a crime if King's was allowed to do this without first making sure that fire apparatus would have complete access to the front and sides of those buildings....immediate and unobstructed access. Naw, the fire chiefy is much smarter than that....................better check those plans again fellas.******

Here’s another:

******Mark

I am glad to see you remain optimistic about the demise of the current regime within W-B government. I have serious doubts about the outcome of the election. As a hose dude I interact with the senior population of this city on a regular basis so believe me when I say he still has a strong base of support within the senior population. When we go out to assist the seniors that are very grateful and almost always praise the mayor for the services we provide. It is all I can do to keep from telling these misinformed people that these services are being provided despite the mayor and the band of idiots he has as department heads. One of your emails has a person stating that he wont vote for any of the current council members because they wont stop the mayor. While I agree that there are some council members that should be replaced, council is powerless to stop the mayor. What they should be doing however is working to amend the city form of government so if there is another term to the McGoofs reign of errors he can be controlled as to the extent of damage he can inflict.

Just thought I would share my opinion for what it is worth.

Keep opening eyes and thanks for your support.******

I hear ya’. The battle for Wilkes-Barre’s future comes down to this in my opinion. We have a sitting mayor who plays to the city’s past-it’s senior citizens. We have another mayoral hopeful who has the majority of the younger voters, the city’s future, solidly behind him. May 20th is a referendum of sorts. The voters, young and otherwise, have to decide if rot, stagnation and neglect is acceptable, or whether we can do much better. I, as many others also firmly believe, feel that this city should be booming and we will not settle for anything less than a Wilkes-Barre that makes us proud to say that we reside within the confines of the city. I mean, what are we going to do here? Is living in the world according to McTommy what we want, or should we recapture the days of when Wilkes-Barre was a great place to live, shop and play in?

Kresge’s Pizza counter and the Planter’s Peanuts store aren’t going to resurface on the Square any time soon, but empty storefronts, temporary concert lighting and promises that amounted to nothing more than holes are no longer acceptable in a city crying out for some hint of progress. May 20th will tell us where the city is headed. We’re either going to remake this city, or we’re going to suffer through more nonsense and eventually join the tail end of the caravan out of this failed place. It’s really that simple. We’re going to go forward, or we’re going to continue to go backwards. Your vote will decide whether I will have to end my long association with this once proud city.

Here’s one for you. I was out and about saving structures from nature’s fury today when a knock came to my door. Wifey peeked out through the curtains fully suspecting that the religious freaks were at it again. Lo and behold, the politicos were pressing the flesh in the Nord End. Yo! Come back here next weekend and I’ll have a newborn for y’all to kiss and a precocious toddler to wrestle with. Heyna?

Whatever. This is what was left at my adobe:

Here’s another political flyer left at the homestead. This dude can count on four votes coming from this adobe:

I’m watching the video of a C-17 which is off-loading fifty wounded American soldiers including the former POW, Jessica Lynch. The very first soldiers off of the plane were the deceased soldiers that paid the ultimate price to secure our continued freedoms. If I could cry, my tear ducts would be flowing away right now. This country is amazing beyond all belief. Twenty year old kids died so that I could enjoy my freedoms. I no longer feel the need to bitch about anything today.

May god bless them all. Life goes on and it is Saturday. The tunage is about to rumble forth. It’s gonna be loud, but I feel somewhat guilty or less than sympathetic enjoying my long-awaited weekend while dead kids are being delivered to their parents “live“ on cable television.

What a bummer.

Later

TLFM