Pandora's Other Box

Sounds a little bit like a movie… perhaps a little too much… Last night I watched, along with millions of others, the hallowed and much anticipated, somewhat boring ceremony of The Oscars. Yes, Billy “The” Krystal boy was there, impersonating an old man… or, was it the other way around? As with the rest of us who were all younger, more agile and thinner, his appearance has given in to the passage of time. A little pudgy, a little slower and looking almost bored with the whole thing… Perhaps 17 times is enough and the producing cadre should go and look for the next “Billy Krystal”. Not that he was bad, he usually is not but… that old feeling of fun’n games he used to bring with his shtick is gone. In Oscars past, most of his comments were biting and funny; last night many felt over rehearsed, with a “let’s-not-step-on-anyone’s-toes” attitude which does not fit his image… or, at least the image I remember and truly enjoyed. For the men, the most memorable moment pr...

Usually, by this time of the day I have put away the computer and am dedicated to things like being instructed by a TV show or some such intellectual pursuit. Actually, earlier today I did watch TV for awhile. It was one of my favorite channels: “The History Channel”. There was a compendium of first person narratives about some of the more fierce WWII campaigns, like Philippines , Iwo Jima , and others in these parts of the Pacific Theater. I did watch it for a while, although this is not the fare that I normally want to see. One thing is a war movie where the action stops when the actors get hot and thirsty. Another thing is the real issue, when there is no mercy and no knowledge of when your last moment on earth may be. This particular campaign I watched included a documentary about the “Death March of Bataan”, when some 70,000 American soldiers were forced marched through the jungles in the Philippines , after Gen. McArthur was ordered to retreat by President Roosevelt. T...

  … said the carpenter ant to its queen… -“Brudder… Hao Ar ju?” there was that familiar voice and softly accented cadence coming to my ears once again… -“Cheíto… mi hermano… it has been a while since we talked!” answered I, in a calm voice which belied my haste of the moment. -“Guell… Ju knoe” he continued… -T’ings hav been with a lot of problems hear”… “Felicita guants to move to De Gardens an’ dat cost a lotta pesos”… “Shi say dat hear in our little haus we got no roon no more and shi say dat in De Gardens houses hav gardens and ol’ dat” -“Well”, I said, in my most conciliatory manner –“have you looked over there?” -“Jes an’ OMG!!” he almost cried into the phone… “Ju t’ink them hauses made outta gold, or sumt’in lik dat!” … “Ju knoe brudder, this little man work very har to get t’ins for my Felicita an’ Princesita”… then, he added almost as if thinking out loud… “The only problem is dat my Princesita is getin’ older an’, ju knoe, the t’ins she wans are more ...

These last two weeks have seen some changes in my normal routines; an increased work schedule along with other responsibilities which I hope will bring income soon have also been added… The end result is that, by the time home base is in sight, there is little time and brain matter left with which to sit and brainstorm about a topic, let alone develop one for the blog. This past weekend I had a chance to reassess these circumstances and came to the realization that the increased loads were taking away important time from something which I do enjoy tremendously: writing. I also feel that those who come to read the blog on a regular basis are being cheated. Not that I think these postings will in any way compete for a Pulitzer Price in hidden literature (well hidden, at that!), but they represent an outpouring of thoughts and sharing which many of you do appreciate. I think I am letting you down. THIS ABANDONMENT HAS TO STOP!!!... I loudly chastened self… And stop it will. ...

Each day that goes by is becoming a little more difficult to find the time to sit and write… Other commitments are taking more and more time… Actually, for the last 10 days, every minute spent on this computer, is being taken away from something else that “just has to be done” and, sometimes, I truly wonder just how crucial is that whichever "just has to be done" thing is… More than not, it is really no more pressing than anything else that wants attention and is competing for the available time. Ever since this blog was started, it was billed as a “Never Ending Story”, borrowing the concept from the title of a science fiction/fantasy film of the same name, brought out not too long ago. I did see the film; in fact, I saw it a couple of times, coming to like Atreus, the unwilling young hero, quite a bit. The concept of something that never ends is, in itself, a concept that is very attractive and somewhat daunting. It has haunted us mortals ever since the beginning o...

This is the status in which my mind is at the time… Not much going on, despite the efforts to the contrary. Several years ago a friend of mine who lived in NYC owned a Citroen. Actually, he, his wife and children lived in a little known enclave of the Bronx, called City Island . This was, back then, an almost bucolic like place with a main avenue, appropriately called City Island Avenue, going down the center of the island ( yes, Virginia, it is an island!!) , all the way to the end restaurant and  flanked by a number of houses facing the small streets branching off either side of the avenue.   Well… that is just a mental picture of this place. His name was ( I hope it is still… ) Ira; a good Jewish name for a good Jewish man. I have not spoken with Ira in almost 40 years… In fact, one of the last times I saw him was at my citizenship swearing in ceremony, where he was my sponsor and witness. I remember him for this … and I remember Ira’s Citroen… Bertie. For thos...

[Perception] “The process of using the senses to acquire information about the surrounding environment or situation” Indeed! While every one of us is endowed with this particular capability, it seems that each and every one of us is totally convinced that his/her perception of any situation is not only the correct one, but perhaps the only one. While it seems that it would be virtually impossible for the above statement to be true… Ask yourself... Have I talked to someone lately about something about which we do not agree? If the other person’s idea or perception of that given situation differs from your own, most likely you will assume that person to be wrong; funny thing, so will he/she think about your perception or idea. Perception... In the eye of the "perceiver"   Why is this? I am not really sure; to answer this would assume an understanding of the human race and that, friends, is far beyond my scope. And this goes only for the male half, to which I b...

By the above heading, I guess I’m running out of working titles after some 250 entries… No matter, a title is just a mini introduction to whatever comes behind… or below… as is the case here. It is the primary body of art that is important. Well, OK, the bunches of written lines that follow this shaky start. As usual, when there is a lacking start such as this, we ( Royal “We”, remember ?) just sit here and type away, often not even truly looking at the page or what is there, so engrossed is the mind in what is trying to churn out. Then, at the end, I come back and read the black and white rendering all over again; at times little is done to change it, at other times… it goes into the little virtual trash can ensconced on the upper left corner of the screen. My God… I just realized that if this can were real and not virtual, the crumpled paper heap would be way over my head… Not a flattering thought. I wonder if all the great writers (all right… I’m NOT including myself i...