Day 80: I think I need a break from this angry world. All this death,
violence, hatred, sickness and overall disinterest in our world has
really gotten me down.
The Little League World Series starts today. Brings back some really fond memories of when I was younger and a couple of the people I still see on Facebook and around town. To think that way back when, this was one of the highlights of their lives. To win a big game or to hit a home run and now I'm liking pictures of their weddings and the birth of their children. It's amazing.
The Little League World Series starts today. Brings back some really fond memories of when I was younger and a couple of the people I still see on Facebook and around town. To think that way back when, this was one of the highlights of their lives. To win a big game or to hit a home run and now I'm liking pictures of their weddings and the birth of their children. It's amazing.
Today, is an anniversary of sorts. Six years ago, sitting in the same
room I'm sitting in right now, I joined Facebook. I immediately
connected with an old "lost" friend. Since then, I've seen my friend's
ups and downs and been able to share some of their highs, even if
silently from a far. I remember having vinegar on my chips (fries) for
the first time in Sunnyside queens and now I'm reading his hilarious and
insightful blogs. I'm seeing an even older friend take his children to
see the motherland and the island of Icaria. Thoughts of the fig tree
that sat in his backyard and the delicious snack it offered us on that
close knit street in Brooklyn.
I'm going to think about my youth and running sewer to sewer for a touchdown or roofing a tennis ball. I'm going to think about playing in a men's fast pitch softball league and coming in second on a team made up of mostly 14-17-year-olds. I'm going to think about my little brother climbing trees high enough to look in the sixth floor windows, yelling down and laughing. Today, the horrors of the world are going to have to take a back seat. I'm alone in Ithaca. The birds are chirping and I've yet to go to bed. I'm thinking about scouring the basement for photo albums of a younger, happier me. Photos of my mother, father and all four of my grandparents, still with us, my brother not even a thought yet. If I can find them, I'll share a couple, but keep most for my memories. Hope everyone can find a little sunshine in this dark world and not simply because you choose to ignore it. #100DaysOfHopper
Day 81: Someone, insinuating that I'm a miserable bastard, because I too greatly care about the horrors of the world, reminded me I can't change them. They told me to breath and to think about myself and what I wanted. They then asked me to use this daily "thing" to make a list of ten things that made me happy at the end of the week, so here it is.
1. Watching a baby squirrel climbing down a tree, while it's mother watched and followed behind slowly. It wasn't necessarily very exciting, but it dawned on me that we rarely see very small baby squirrels.
2. Seeing my friend Joe's name in the TV guide's synopsis for his new reality show Cement Heads. Just plain cool seeing someone you know on TV.
3. Seeing a friend's name pop up in the events section of Facebook for her birthday. I wish her many many more!
4. Hearing my brother laugh on the phone when I busted his chops about something. Funny when the little brother tries to be the big brother. You big brothers and sisters all know...knock that shit off right now.
5. Knowing it was candlelight at Birchmont and remembering my first one. Not going to lie, but I cried when I saw the picture. Then laughed and remembered just how special it was.
6.Laying in bed, the sounds of the birds woke me up, but I quickly realized how soothing they were compared to the place I've called home for ten years.
7. Eating handfuls of fresh picked blueberries, ice cold from the fridge.
8. Listening to the care and appreciation of my father as he talked to a friend who is 93. Then being able to drop him off as he headed out to Chicago to go visit him.
9. Doing dishes after a dinner of roasted chicken and as I'm about to clean the tray that the chicken was laying on, finding the most perfect piece of skin, with just a small pit of meat attached and carefully pulling it off and plopping it in my mouth. The best bite of the entire meal.
10. Hearing from a friend who suffered a health setback recently and them worrying about me.
I'm going to think about my youth and running sewer to sewer for a touchdown or roofing a tennis ball. I'm going to think about playing in a men's fast pitch softball league and coming in second on a team made up of mostly 14-17-year-olds. I'm going to think about my little brother climbing trees high enough to look in the sixth floor windows, yelling down and laughing. Today, the horrors of the world are going to have to take a back seat. I'm alone in Ithaca. The birds are chirping and I've yet to go to bed. I'm thinking about scouring the basement for photo albums of a younger, happier me. Photos of my mother, father and all four of my grandparents, still with us, my brother not even a thought yet. If I can find them, I'll share a couple, but keep most for my memories. Hope everyone can find a little sunshine in this dark world and not simply because you choose to ignore it. #100DaysOfHopper
Day 81: Someone, insinuating that I'm a miserable bastard, because I too greatly care about the horrors of the world, reminded me I can't change them. They told me to breath and to think about myself and what I wanted. They then asked me to use this daily "thing" to make a list of ten things that made me happy at the end of the week, so here it is.
1. Watching a baby squirrel climbing down a tree, while it's mother watched and followed behind slowly. It wasn't necessarily very exciting, but it dawned on me that we rarely see very small baby squirrels.
2. Seeing my friend Joe's name in the TV guide's synopsis for his new reality show Cement Heads. Just plain cool seeing someone you know on TV.
3. Seeing a friend's name pop up in the events section of Facebook for her birthday. I wish her many many more!
4. Hearing my brother laugh on the phone when I busted his chops about something. Funny when the little brother tries to be the big brother. You big brothers and sisters all know...knock that shit off right now.
5. Knowing it was candlelight at Birchmont and remembering my first one. Not going to lie, but I cried when I saw the picture. Then laughed and remembered just how special it was.
6.Laying in bed, the sounds of the birds woke me up, but I quickly realized how soothing they were compared to the place I've called home for ten years.
7. Eating handfuls of fresh picked blueberries, ice cold from the fridge.
8. Listening to the care and appreciation of my father as he talked to a friend who is 93. Then being able to drop him off as he headed out to Chicago to go visit him.
9. Doing dishes after a dinner of roasted chicken and as I'm about to clean the tray that the chicken was laying on, finding the most perfect piece of skin, with just a small pit of meat attached and carefully pulling it off and plopping it in my mouth. The best bite of the entire meal.
10. Hearing from a friend who suffered a health setback recently and them worrying about me.
Hope that suffices, even though I broke the rules. #100DaysOfHopper
Day 82: I'm on day four out of five listening to the birds chirp without sleep, so for those that read, I'll keep it short. Why do I care? How do you people who have that ability to shut it off, do it? I don't have a child, a wife, or a pet to distract me, but I don't think that would do it. I'm obsessed with things getting better. For the world, the country, the people I know and finally me and my family.
I just don't have the ability to stop caring about the world. I'm sorry, I'm all for the positives of the ice bucket challenge, saving kittens from kill shelters and whatever else is popular this week or next, but how do you people who get so wrapped up in those things, yet ignore Gaza, Ferguson, homelessness, food insecurity, lack of health care, lacking education funds, the fact that we spend more on weapons than we do on anything else? And I don't mean "just because I didn't post on Facebook, doesn't mean I don't know about it" caring. I mean, how doesn't stuff like this keep you up at night? How does seeing half a baby, burnt to a crisp, not have a serious impact on your life? How does a dead kid turning into a race riot not trouble you when we spend so much time honoring those who came 50+ years before us for "ending" that?
Day 82: I'm on day four out of five listening to the birds chirp without sleep, so for those that read, I'll keep it short. Why do I care? How do you people who have that ability to shut it off, do it? I don't have a child, a wife, or a pet to distract me, but I don't think that would do it. I'm obsessed with things getting better. For the world, the country, the people I know and finally me and my family.
I just don't have the ability to stop caring about the world. I'm sorry, I'm all for the positives of the ice bucket challenge, saving kittens from kill shelters and whatever else is popular this week or next, but how do you people who get so wrapped up in those things, yet ignore Gaza, Ferguson, homelessness, food insecurity, lack of health care, lacking education funds, the fact that we spend more on weapons than we do on anything else? And I don't mean "just because I didn't post on Facebook, doesn't mean I don't know about it" caring. I mean, how doesn't stuff like this keep you up at night? How does seeing half a baby, burnt to a crisp, not have a serious impact on your life? How does a dead kid turning into a race riot not trouble you when we spend so much time honoring those who came 50+ years before us for "ending" that?
I know I'm cynical and sometimes pessimistic, but I can't just have my
chakra (pretty sure that is the wrong word) adjusted by juggling some
crystals or go for a run or lift a weight and forget about that stuff.
Sure I can joke and I'm not obsessed to the point of the D word, but I
never stop thinking about it. How can we help? You offer to work in a
soup kitchen, they ask for money. You offer to volunteer at a school, we
don't need that. You offer to send money to help the homeless and a
skyscraper goes up as does the homeless rate.
I'm always seeing posts about how one person changes the world, but why is that change always them getting richer, giving a grant to something and 40 years later, they are a billionaire, we're no closer to a cure and everyone is sick or dying or close to it? How do we make a difference or is the difference simply the ability to shut it off? I keep saying I wish I could, but then I wouldn't be me. Everyone else would be content with that, but isn't that really the point? #100DaysOfHopper
Day 83: So why don't you have a smoothie or try juicing? Everyone's answer to everything lately. Here's why? When did eating fruits and vegetables become a chore? Why do I have to drink my salad? It's idiotic and I have a little tip for you....it's not as healthy as you think.
Let's get the store bought smoothie debate out of the way first. If there is anything added for flavor, it's not healthy. Sugar, sorbet, yogurts, etc. Anything that needs to add fat or carbs to it is defeating the purpose. And don't tell me it takes less time than making breakfast. I made eggs, sausage and a bagel in eight minutes this morning and had nothing to clean, but a pan, which took eight seconds.
I'm always seeing posts about how one person changes the world, but why is that change always them getting richer, giving a grant to something and 40 years later, they are a billionaire, we're no closer to a cure and everyone is sick or dying or close to it? How do we make a difference or is the difference simply the ability to shut it off? I keep saying I wish I could, but then I wouldn't be me. Everyone else would be content with that, but isn't that really the point? #100DaysOfHopper
Day 83: So why don't you have a smoothie or try juicing? Everyone's answer to everything lately. Here's why? When did eating fruits and vegetables become a chore? Why do I have to drink my salad? It's idiotic and I have a little tip for you....it's not as healthy as you think.
Let's get the store bought smoothie debate out of the way first. If there is anything added for flavor, it's not healthy. Sugar, sorbet, yogurts, etc. Anything that needs to add fat or carbs to it is defeating the purpose. And don't tell me it takes less time than making breakfast. I made eggs, sausage and a bagel in eight minutes this morning and had nothing to clean, but a pan, which took eight seconds.
So why is it not healthier? One, chewing is a huge part of the
digestive process and while you may get some nutrients faster from the
blending method, you also cut out an essential organ in the eating
process. Your brain. When you drink a smoothie or a juice, your brain
doesn't compute that you've eaten, because it doesn't secrete saliva in
the same way. This also changes metabolism and actually causes you to be
hungry sooner.
Then there is juicing. Please save the reasons as to why it's good. I'm glad your enjoying your feces in technicolor, but nobody really believes that's a good thing. You can get the same results by eating fresh leafy greens every day. Also, juicing takes one essential element out of your diet and that is fiber. Think fiber isn't important. Try having diverticulitis once. You'll learn quickly, just how important it is.
And here's the main reason not to do it. Apples, bananas, kiwi, strawberries, etc are all absolutely delicious. The thing that makes fruit so wonderful, is the texture. Is there anything better than biting into a peach? Why the hell would you want to extract the skin and take away from the experience? Then there are the veggies you'd be missing out on. Why would anyone want to drink spinach? It's the most delightful veggie on earth. Raw, sauteed, steamed, it's absolutely amazing. Why the heck would you want to take away from that by drinking it. Honestly, unless you broke your jaw or have an intestinal problem that can't handle solid foods, skip it and go for the real deal. Oh and if you don't believe me, scour the internet for yourself. Sure, you'll find a ton of sites saying I'm wrong, but check what they are called. Probably smoothieapocalypsedotcom. Real food! #100DaysOfHopper
Then there is juicing. Please save the reasons as to why it's good. I'm glad your enjoying your feces in technicolor, but nobody really believes that's a good thing. You can get the same results by eating fresh leafy greens every day. Also, juicing takes one essential element out of your diet and that is fiber. Think fiber isn't important. Try having diverticulitis once. You'll learn quickly, just how important it is.
And here's the main reason not to do it. Apples, bananas, kiwi, strawberries, etc are all absolutely delicious. The thing that makes fruit so wonderful, is the texture. Is there anything better than biting into a peach? Why the hell would you want to extract the skin and take away from the experience? Then there are the veggies you'd be missing out on. Why would anyone want to drink spinach? It's the most delightful veggie on earth. Raw, sauteed, steamed, it's absolutely amazing. Why the heck would you want to take away from that by drinking it. Honestly, unless you broke your jaw or have an intestinal problem that can't handle solid foods, skip it and go for the real deal. Oh and if you don't believe me, scour the internet for yourself. Sure, you'll find a ton of sites saying I'm wrong, but check what they are called. Probably smoothieapocalypsedotcom. Real food! #100DaysOfHopper
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