Pool Night: Loosing to Ancients at the Dive

The Pool Team representing the Ancient Dive is marginal at best. The problem is that we have marginal attendance by our shooters at our games. The other problem is that we don’t shoot that well at home.

One of the major reasons for that is a pool table that is broken, un-level, with worn felt and poor maintenance. We have lost close games to both good and bad teams. We lost games we should have won and won some we should have lost.

Last week we shot against a local team from a local bar. I won’t mention the name of that bar for fear of ongoing embarrassment. The shooters on that team had me thinking about the stereotypes that we have and the thought processes we use. I had to rethink the drinking part of Pool Teams. I will drink a lot less when shooting, although that Wednesday night, I had two beers all night. I knew we were in trouble.

I knew the old man in his early eighties, ‘James’ has been shooting pool since he was sailor in WWII, that’s right, a combat veteran of IWO JIMA and the Naval invasion of OKINAWA. This old gentleman, almost medium height, had a smile and a kind word for everyone he talked to. Many of our shooters knew him. He was known to be formidable. But what freaked me out was one of his shooting partners.

A little old lady in her eighties, frail and gentle, Maggie had to work to climb to sit up on the bar chair. James told me that Maggie used to own a bar in Hempstead, recently taken by the Town by right of eminent domain. Maggie’s pool stick was taller than she was. The two other shooters were a gent in his late 40’s and the other was in his mid 30’s. The two frail old timers moved slowly but quickly figured out the pool table was fucked up.

The argument made to shoot that night is that we all are shooting on the same table. That didn’t give me any comfort because we were at home, these old timers probably shot on all kinds of fucked up tables, if so, they had an advantage on me. Sure enough, I was right. The little old lady used her pool stick like a straight razor in a bar fight. Maggie cut us up and down making shots that were reminiscent of the ‘Black Widow’ and James looked like Willie Mosconi giving lessons to shmucks.

We lost almost all of our games. I shot two good games and lost because the table kept rolling my shots to the left (even practice on the crooked table dictated I make good shots) and of course a scratch. I knew we were screwed when the sweet old lady didn’t drink anything, not even a soda. Maggie had medication in her purse to help her out, she wasn’t feeling to good, only good enough to emotionally abuse us with her pool cue. Sad fact is we deserved it.

James stayed after he and his team administered their ass kicking. The didn’t gloat and were quite polite. Besides, starting a bar fight with an little old lady would get you talked about for the rest of your life, if Maggie didn’t straight out kill you. James told me about WWII, his kids, this bar, and other teams in the league. I really appreciated James and Maggie, they are treasures as people and competitors, I considered it a privilege to shoot against them and talk to them.

That night a lot of regulars were in attendance, including the menhaters and the dayshift. Candy passed a comment on my shooting and our overall approach as a team. I don’t recall the exact words but to paraphrase it was something to this effect: “Good experience can’t give great experience a chance.” A crooked table did not favor the home team that night. I closed the place with Shelly.

So much for my happy Halloween.

Love.

RJ

Another Look at Veteran’s Affairs

Here is some information regarding Veterans that everybody should know. If “assumption is the mother of all fuck ups” (quote from Under Seige 2) don’t assume Veterans are cared for.

Even now Veterans of every American conflict, I speak of those Veterans who are still living, are being denied benefits, denied treatment and are actively humiliated and maligned by the Government and the people they fought and bled for.

As we approach Veterans Day keep in mind that freedom isn’t free and some broken old man pushing a shopping cart full of what he might have left in this world, paid the price for all of us who live in this ‘ungrateful nation’.

Not all Veterans are homeless or hopeless, but none should be. The next time you have a meal or use the toilet consider this:
(photo from namguardianangel.org)

UNINSURED VETS: Coverage found limited
About one out of every eight veterans younger than 65 is uninsured, a finding that contradicts the assumption many have that all vets qualify for free health care through the Department of Veterans Affairs, a new study shows.

Researchers at Harvard Medical School projected that about 1.8 million veterans overall lack health coverage. That is an increase of 290,000 since 2000.
The researchers said most uninsured veterans are in the middle class and are ineligible for VA care because of their incomes. Still others cannot afford their co-payments or lack VA facilities in their community. The study is based on an analysis of government surveys released between 1988 and 2005. (UNINSURED VETS Compiled from the Associated Press)


If that doesn't give you a warm fuzzy feeling about our country and how it treats its Citizen Servicemember try this: Returning Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines are being denied the jobs they left to fight for Military Industrialists profits and President Bush's Iraqi Oil.

Here is a Halloween Story that should scare the shit out of you:

Veterans Employment Rights are Ignored

To cut to the chase, at issue hear is that veterans, who left their jobs to fight for a corrupt liar in the White House and his greedy buddies in the Military Industrial Complex, these Veterans can’t get their jobs back when they come home from Iraq or Afghanistan.

The argument is over who is going to both hear their grievances and who will enforce the law regarding Veterans employment.

There are two groups: Department of Labor's Veterans Employment and Training Service (VETS)

These two groups are supposed to report to Congress about what is happening regarding Veterans employment and their resolution of the problem. While they attempt to pass the problem like a hot potato from one agency to another, Veterans loose their jobs, their homes, their wives (or husbands), their kids and their self worth.

In a hearing on Halloween Day the deceivers assembled in Washington to test a lie or testify before an oversight hearing of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee chaired by Senator Daniel K. Akaka of Hawaii. Here are some excerpts from the minuets of that meeting:

October 31, 2007

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI), Chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, held an oversight hearing today on the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, known as USERRA. The Committee questioned panelists on a variety of topics, including jurisdiction over USERRA claims. Chairman Akaka expressed particular concern about the number of USERRA claims being brought by returning servicemembers in connection with their employment in the federal workforce.

"Veterans should not have to fight the government they defended in war just to return to their previous employment," said Akaka.

One witness, Mathew Tully, shared the struggles he faced to return to his old job after serving a tour of duty, describing in detail the issues he faced in regaining his job with the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Mr. Tully, a member of the New York National Guard who was accompanied by his wife and one-year-old son, will deploy shortly to the Middle East for his second tour.

Other witnesses at today's hearing included George H. Stalcup, Director, Strategic Issues, U.S. Government Accountability Office; Honorable Charles S. Ciccolella, Assistant Secretary for Veterans' Employment and Training, U.S. Department of Labor; and Honorable Jim Byrne, Deputy Special Counsel, U.S. Office of Special Counsel, accompanied by Patrick Boulay, Chief, USERRA Unit.

Senator Akaka said in his opening statement:
“As our troops are returning home from battle, many of them seek to return to the jobs that they held prior to their military service, particularly those serving in Guard and Reserve units. USERRA, which is set forth in chapter 43 of title 38, United States Code, provides these servicemembers with certain protections. USERRA also sets out certain responsibilities for employers, including to reemploy returning veterans in their previous jobs.

This applies to virtually all jobs - including those in the federal sector. I must admit to being particularly upset at the volume of USERRA claims related to federal service. It is simply wrong that individuals who were sent to war by their government should, upon their return, be put in the position of having to do battle with that same government in order to regain their jobs and benefits.”

If you know of a Veteran, any Veteran, this current War, Gulf 1, Lebannon/Grenada, Vietnam or earlier, going through difficulty or hardship contact the VA on their behalf and get all the information you can to help them.

Also write your pitifully intransigent Congressman or Congresswoman and request they un-ass that chair they comfortably park their butt in and do something for your local Veterans.

As Veterans Day approaches in this a Veterans Month, I ask that you locate all the Veterans you know of good, bad, rich, poor whether in good health or not and let them know you give a damn about their sacrifice and their existence.


Be a blessing

Love.

RJ

Tour of the Champion (a Review)

This series, Tour of the Champion is a fictional account of what happened to a Marine deployed with the Fleet who was then sent on an unaccompanied tour in the Orient. Part 1 deals with life on base, the realities of separation and some of the drama that goes with being away from a loved one.

The second part of this deals with the double standard, the deployed Marine is part of a male culture that both tolerates and accepts extra sexual behavior outside of marriage. On the other hand the Marine deals with the reality that his wife may be having an affair. He scrambles to find out if there is a way to protect her and get her away from her current setting.

Part 3 deals with the real dirty side of deployment, how women, with few if any resources are manipulated, abused and degraded with little or no recourse to either military or civilian justice. Also noted is that there are Law Enforcement Agencies inside the Military (i.e. CID, Criminal Investigation Division of the U.S. Army, OSI, Office of Special Investigations of the U.S. Air Force and NIS now NCIS, Naval Investigative Service or Naval Criminal Investigative Service of the US Navy and Marine Corps).

Part 4 is coming up and deals with a Marine fighting personal demons, the realization of his Military legacy, his temptation to leave his wife and the final resolution of his pressing problems. Homicidal thoughts along with planning for homicide, self mutilation and other expressions of rage, anger and the onset of depression are dealt with. The series is fictional, the realities described in it are not fictional at all.

The subtopics, subject matter and storyline are decidedly adult themes. Extra-marital sex, bondage and discipline, fetishes, venerial disease, predatory sexual behavior, stalking, sodomy and other deviate behavior. This is not a bedtime story for the kids. Read responsibly as you drink. I hope you drink responsibly.

To read the previous Tour of the Champion posts click on the month of October on the menu on the left and then click on the post you want to read.

Keep reading and pass this on. E-mail it along with the blog address. At the bottom of the post is the “e-mail this” highlight, click and send – its that simple.

R.J.

Scaryoke Night

Well, some things resonate with a person as time goes on, “Scaryoke Night” was one of those events. Not just because of the costumes, the songs or the alcohol, but because of the mood. It was kind of mellow for a Halloween Night.


I remember a lot, I remember because I drank slow and was afraid of what a mix of medication and alcohol could do to me. I didn’t grab the mike because I was still in some possession of my mind. I know I can’t sing.

Yeah, I walked in kind of early and shot pool, a doubles game with Dusty and Yaega Lee, I was teamed up with Daria. She was real happy about that. S.D. showed up looking like Beetlejuice on acid, and was just as wild. S.D. took off for another party but vowed to return (He did).


Pimp staggered in and was being pretty cool (he hadn’t started drinking yet).


Ruby and Shelly were in costume too, Ruby’s dress was definitely in keeping with Halloween but kinda on the sexy side. She roasted me over some things she saw in the blog but she served me anyway and was very kind.


Shelly was in an all white, skin tight baseball outfit with mini skirt. I strained my neck to getting a better look. If you saw the costume you would have tried to get all the looking in you could. They were in preKareoke shakedown mode.

Dino, showed up and was with Mickey and Alice (Friend of Gino’s) Alice was dressed as Laura Croft in camouflage utilities (sun glasses did work for her). Mickey was dressed like Johnny Cash. As the crowd filtered in I watched a couple I never saw before, some loud nasty blonde bimbette with big 1950’s hair was talking trash to Shelly and Ruby. A meeting of current and former bartenders at the mythical 1762 establishment had a powwow at the end of the bar.

The bartender conspiracy included Yaega Lee, Daria, Ruby, Shelly and Gin. I think big hair was mad that her man was giving Shelly second looks (third and fourth looks too). Most guys there were taking in the sights, pretty women showing off cleavage on whatever end was working, heaving breast or bouncing ass, I was glad to be in the number. Much was starting to happen as the crowd flowed in.

The Owner, Bossman walked in and was loving it, he was preaching about the Yankee future and his thoughts about who would be the new coach. As usual he shouted down and maligned anybody who wasn’t a Yankee fan and displayed that they didn’t know what the hell they were talking about. That was entertaining too. But better costumes and drama was yet to come.

Dino looked a little sad as he took his cane and started for the door, I asked, “where ya going, the party hasn’t started yet.” Dino said, “Gotta go, gotta baby sit tonight.”



My eyes opened wide, I put down my drink and said, “WHAT”. “You deaf, I’m gonna be looking after a bunch of kids this week….kinda like a NANNY now”. Dino continued, “A couple of friends of mine are going to Florida and I got their kids till they come back.”

I thought about this for 10 long seconds, I thought about what he said. This was indeed the beginning of the Halloween weekend. The events of Dino’s coming week could be the basis of a situation comedy, a police drama or live coverage on CNN. As Dino left I did utter a silent prayer begging God to keep Satan rolling on the deck laughing in gut wrenching pain, and to look after Dino. God looks after fools and drunkards. Dino should get double protection.

Talk about divine deviates, I couldn’t believe what walked in next. Pregnant Lily dressed like a Nun, (scary thing is she looked so like the real deal) and everybody knew she was pregnant. Bossman said words to the effect of, “she’s from where…Our Lady of the Drunken Hooker, a Nun of the Immaculate Deception”. The ‘Nun’ carried a cross and would later be seen holding a cross and scimitar (hooked knife) with her soda in between.

Pregnant Lilly’s buddy that night was a thoroughly gorgeous, young, tall blonde bombshell dressed a long tight black skirt, aqua and white stripped shirt with a red scarf. She is allegedly a manhater, Celina had all heads turning at one point or another during the evening. The evening was just starting. Mallory showed up and went through the painfully tedious setup with nearly no help. Bossman solicited help from some big dudes to help Mallory get the gear in.

Ka’cee showed up without Ka’tee and was having a good time. I wanted to get to where she was but didn’t stray to far from my seat since I was having a problem standing.


Shelly ran the show behind the bar with plenty of backup from Ruby and Gin. The show began and we started to get a number of singers. Everyone was mellow. Some woman was trying to pickup any man she could. The Met Fan hid from her like he was on the FBI most wanted list.

Then the show stopping act of the night arrived at the mike, Pregnant Lilly and Celina got with Mallory and conspired on their song. It was oxymoronic to say the least.


Pregnant Lilly gently rocked touching herself and Celina as the song started, then they belted out, “Like a Virgin, touched for the very first time, Like a Virrrrgin…”. I was laughing so hard it hurt. During the back part of this number the Pimp ran behind the bar, he was nearly castrated, Shelly was pissed.

Bossman scolded the Pimp, but being in a good mood, Bossman refrained from putting his foot in Pimp's ass. S.D. and Daria did a duet together, I forget the song, it was romantic and sweet. Again, I sat down holding my sides quietly wiping tears from my eyes in laughter. There were two trains, that is chain dances that went through the bar. The first one was really fun. The second one led by Pimp leading the dance backward because it was Celina who was in front of him.

Pimp was hitting on any woman he could with liquor on his breath and a limp (like Pimp actually had a chance). After the chain dance some more singing and more good fun, Pimp had to show out again shouting “do you want me to leave”. Shelly quickly answered affirmatively as she pointed his staggering ass toward the door.

Apparently somewhere in the shuffle Pimp pissed off Daria. Daria jerked pimp with one arm like he was a perp in cuffs, jerked him right into her chest and told him to get the fuck out after he tried to re-adjust the Met Fans back.

Then the night wound down, everybody was still mellow, Ka’cee left and Ka’tee showed up on the back end of the night. Then Cary showed up. There was a light cheer from the crowd.

After two stone soul duets, Mallory and Cary had the crowd begging for more, but it was the end of the night, Scaryoke was over, but the show did go on. The bar looked like it had been nuked. Bossman had left, some squaring away was done but not much. Folks were coming in and out of the ancient dive all night. When things seemed that they were getting quiet around 4 AM (yeah, I didn’t want to miss anything and I didn’t), things got stirred up again.

I remembered that everyone was bone tired. Shelly and Ruby were squaring away the place trying to run out the door. It was 4:04 AM, Jon and Cowboy E were still around, a few others then…the front door blasted open, a guy with a cape over his face stumbled to the bar and ordered a beer. Half startled we stared to the front of the bar, the Pimp said “well can I get a drink”. Shelly was obviously bent out of shape, and it made her look more sexy in that baseball costume. Pimp was ousted out.

Again at 4:26 AM Pimp, in the same sorry disguise came back in. Shelly went nuclear on Pimp’s drunken ass, Jon went into firefighting mode. It ended with Pimp again staggering to his automobile, getting into it and driving off. One of these days Halloween will be even scarier if Pimp doesn’t listen to the chorus of bartenders who have attempted to take his keys from him.
Otherwise it was a real good night.

Later.

Love.

RJ

Halloween Karaoke Party

After missing the first karaoke night at 1762, I made it a point to make this one. There were many familiar faces, but just as many new ones present. Shelley and Ruby kept everyone happily intoxicated. The Owner was on hand. He even cooked up a gourmet spread of tortellini and string beans. A culinary genius. I guess that's why he owns a bar and not a restaurant.

The Limpin Pimp made a nuisance of himself at several junctures throughout the party. Highlights included him falling on his ass when he tried to sit on a stool, spinal manipulation by the Met Fan, and his resurfacing donning a cape after he had been cut off, so as to obscure his true identity.

Pregnant Lily won best costume, and rightfully so. She wore a nun's habit at 8.5 months. Awesome. And more importantly, she invited a hot friend. Wow. Like model material. And I remember her having red hair, though others disagree. We did agree that she was tall and had a red ribbon in her hair. Other details are somewhat sketchy due to alcohol distortion.

Despit Lily winning Best Costume, I think that Gin's costume was a close runner up. Next time you are her ask her about it. Very attention-getting design. Sometimed the best costumes are the simplest ones.

Everyone seemed to have a good time smiling, laughing, singing, and dancing. I was a little surprised that more 1762 regulars weren't present. If you missed this one, don't miss the next party!

Also, if you happened to take some pics that night please email them to me at seventeen62broadway@yahoo.com. I would love to post some here.

See you at 1762.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

[Viigo] Panthers pick Testaverde to start at QB vs. Colts

Yes! The Panthers realize that Vinnie is their best shot!

Coach John Fox on Friday named 43-year-old Vinny Testaverde the starting quarterback for Sunday's game against Indianapolis. Testaverde got the nod ahead of David Carr, who is recovering from a back injury.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3080685&campaign=rss&source=ESPNHeadlines

--
This article was sent using my Viigo.
For a free download, go to http://mobile.virtualreach.com

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Identity Theft PSA

From wnbc.com:

L.I. Verizon Store Worker Accused Of I.D. Theft

POSTED: 9:37 am EDT October 24, 2007
UPDATED: 9:39 am EDT October 24, 2007
VALLEY STREAM, N.Y. -- A woman who worked for a Long Island Verizon store is accused of stealing the identities of more than 25 customers and using their personal information to obtain credit cards.

Police said Durraine Dunne, 26, of Queens, worked at the Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream.

She is charged with forgery, grand larceny, fraud and identity theft. She is scheduled to be arraigned later Wednesday.

It could not immediately determined if Dunne has a lawyer.

Having knowledge of many aspects of the growing Identity Theft problem [sorry, can't reveal my sources], the MO for this type of crime can involve the use of a second credit card reader that is possessed by the larcenous employee. Your CC is swiped in the store's reader as well as the illegal reader. To avoid this, watch you card when you hand it to the cashier. Your card should never leave your sight!
Can you rob me now? Good!