60 Minutes

Watching 60 Minutes tonite and they devoted 1 segment to the struggling Americans in or around Orlando, FL. Then the next 2 segments were on the brilliant Wynton Marsalis. While the first story is sad and a reality to what is happening here in America it really is not "cutting edge" journalism getting to the heart of the cause.

Following Wynton Marsalis to Cuba is entertaining but it too is not "newsworthy" nor is it "journalism." Mean while we are prosecuting 3 or 4 wars simultaneously, the economy is going to hell and the Americans have been looted, the dollar is going to hell, our food is being poisoned and cancer rates have doubled in the past 2 dozen years.


Meanwhile the sheeple in America vote in the same two parties hoping for a different result. I tell you what let's put some "hope" into our gas tanks and see how far that gets us! Our heads are so far up our asses it amazes me.

Let us too give this experiment fair play, and get rid, while we may, of those tyrannical laws. It is true, we are as yet secured against them by the spirit of the times. I doubt whether the people of this country would suffer an execution for heresy, or a three years imprisonment for not comprehending the mysteries of the Trinity. But is the spirit of the people an infallible, a permanent reliance? Is it government? Is this the kind of protection we receive in return for the rights we give up? Besides, the spirit of the times may alter, will alter. Our rulers will become corrupt, our people careless. A single zealot may commence persecutor, and better men be his victims. It can never be too often repeated, that the time for fixing every essential right on a legal basis is while our rulers are honest, and ourselves united. From the conclusion of this war we shall be going down hill. It will not then be necessary to resort every moment to the people for support. They will be forgotten, therefore, and their rights disregarded. They will forget themselves, but in the sole faculty of making money, and will never think of uniting to effect a due respect for their rights. The shackles, therefore, which shall not be knocked off at the conclusion of this war, will remain on us long, will be made heavier and heavier, till our rights shall revive or expire in a convulsion. -- Thomas Jefferson

My Best Friend - Billie Jo Dog - 1997 - 2011

When my wife and I bought a house in 1997 we next went to the shelter and got a dog. She picked her out. She was a mutt, a Doberman / German Shepherd. She was super smart. Smarter than I at times. She knew how to steal food better than any animal I've ever seen. There was the time that my wife and I had a dinner party and the dining room table had a cheese platter on it with crackers around this HUGE cheese ball in the middle, you know those port wine things with almonds jammed into it. Well Billie Jo jumped up on the table with two paws and grabbed the cheese ball with one big bite and bolted. She got away with it. She knew she was a "bad dog." But she at least had a fully belly.

Christopher with Billie Jo Dog on Mt Miller in New Hampshire.


I have a 100+ stories like these of her. After my wife and I got divorced the dog had to find a new home. My classmate and one of my best friends Peter Rhett took her in and moved the dog from Massachusetts to Virginia. Billie Jo got the best of the divorce. New house, fishing every weekend, camping all the time, she could sleep wherever she wanted and never got harassed. She put on a few extra pounds like we all do as she got older but she ate better than many humans on the planet, sad to say, but good for her.



Since her move to Virginia she went to Canada about 4 times and the Adirondacks once last year. We made 2 of those trips with her. She passed peacefully and did not have any pain in the end. She lived a full healthy life to the end and lived a long time for a large dog. We love you Billie Jo, thanks for all the love and memories. Christopher, Peter and Jim.

IRS Audits

The IRS decides to audit Grandpa, and summons him to the IRS office.

The IRS auditor was not surprised when Grandpa showed up with his attorney.

The auditor said, 'Well, sir, you have an extravagant lifestyle and no full-time employment, Which you explain by saying that you win money gambling. I'm not sure the IRS finds that believable.'

I'm a great gambler, and I can prove it,' says Grandpa. 'How about a demonstration?'

The auditor thinks for a moment and said, 'Okay. Go ahead.'

Grandpa says, 'I'll bet you a thousand dollars that I can bite my own eye.'

The auditor thinks a moment and says, 'It's a bet.'

Grandpa removes his glass eye and bites it. The auditor's jaw drops.

Grandpa says, 'Now, I'll bet you two thousand dollars that I can bite my other eye.'

Now the auditor can tell Grandpa isn't blind, so he takes the bet.

Grandpa removes his dentures and bites his good eye.

The stunned auditor now realizes he has wagered and lost three grand, with Grandpa's attorney as a witness. He starts to get nervous.

'Want to go double or nothing?' Grandpa asks 'I'll bet you six thousand dollars that I can stand on one side of your desk, and pee into that wastebasket on the other side, and never get a drop anywhere in between.'

The auditor, twice burned, is cautious now, but he looks carefully and decides there's no way this old guy could possibly manage that stunt, so he agrees again.

Grandpa stands beside the desk and unzips his pants, but although he strains mightily, he can't make the stream reach the wastebasket on the other side, so he pretty much urinates all over the auditor's desk.

The auditor leaps with joy, realizing that he has just turned a major loss into a huge win.

But Grandpa's own attorney moans and puts his head in his hands.

'Are you okay?' the auditor asks.

'Not really,' says the attorney. 'This morning, when Grandpa told me he'd been summoned for an audit, he bet me twenty-five thousand dollars that he could come in here and piss all over your desk and that you'd be happy about it!'

Don't Mess with Old People!!

My Favorite Hockey Goalie

My son the Squirt I goalie for his local hockey club.

Dave McGirr - One for the Thumb

Dave and I go back probably at least 4 decades. We met in Tenafly, NJ. Most likely it was through Little League or soccer. I went off to prep school and Dave stayed at Tenafly High. Every time I came home during high school I always got together with Dave. We shared a lot in common.

Dave loves to laugh. Super sharp wit. I think he picked it up on his world travels. He has been around the world many times (excuse me he hitch hiked around the world....think Ox Cart in India). Dave is an entrepreneur through and through. The word "can't" is not in his vocabulary.

In 2008 Dave hosted myself and my son in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It was a trip of a life time. We went to the Albuquerque balloon festival. We went horse back riding and played cowboy and we saw a few Indian casinos, also went to a mineral spa in New Mexico that was absolutely amazing. Dave picked us up at the airport and took care of EVERYTHING. We ate like kings. Saw some amazing sunsets.

I could write a book about Dave and the things we've done together. But if you count all of your close friends on one hand, Dave is on my thumb. Thanks Buddy I love you!

Jack Coffou - He Left the World a Better Place

Jack Coffou was as good as a friend as you could find any where. Think about it. When you have to move your house how many friends say YES? Most of them head for the hills including family. Not Jack. He headed down to New Jersey with me and we then drove my stuff back to Boston. Jack gave his unconditional love to his family and everyone around him.

Jack always went through life with a big smile on his face. I've never seen him down, not once. He and I were in the web printing business in Chicago for many years. Both of us became print brokers around the same time. We both felt that we could offer our clients more be giving them more solutions than just one printing shop. The press runs we got into were web runs and big volumes. (Think Junk Mail)

Just this past week I learned that Jack had passed away from a massive heart attack. For me this was a huge shock, he was a big strong man. A bigger shock was he passed away almost two years ago. Shame on me for not keeping in touch. However I had a lot of my own stuff going on at the time.

Bewildered and perplexed and sad I could not say good by to my comrade I searched the internet and found a really short sweet clip of Jack. He left me with one more laugh. Thanks Jack! I love you.

Ron Goedendorp - Going to Indonesia? - Go Ron Go -

I met a guy named Ron. He was sitting in a corner office on Spear St. in San Francisco and it was loaded with books and a surfboard. He was the "wizard," the oracle of invention. His invention "SomethingNow.com" Yup you heard that right he is the brains behind Something Now, not Something Later but Something NOW! WTF is that?

I'm like saying to myself what is this guy doing that affords him the Chairmanship of this high flying Dot.Com? He must be doing something right? He was and is. Ron is a people's person. And he gets stuff done. And not only does it get done, it gets done to perfection, marketing plans, business models, contracts, business plans, you name it Ron can do it.

In my Internet travels he is one of a kind, and a kind man too. He knows when to push and when not to. I love working with Ron. His sense of humor has multiple levels and when we get going on humor it can descend very quickly, I mean super fast...making Eddie Murphy a choir boy.

Ron and his lovely wife Andrea are moving to Indonesia. WTF, Ron....what's over there that is not over here? I mean you might be closer to Jim Rogers the Investment Biker Dude but why the pull to Indonesia? Listen, I hope you have a great journey. We'll still be in touch via SKYPE and GTALK, probably more so.

The glass is always half full with Ron, this toast is for you buddy! Safe Travels. Can you say Go Ron Go?