Huh? What's Up With That?

  the 1st saturday in may...                                                                      It was one of the most memorable sporting events I had ever witnessed and all because of the circumstances that placed me in the midst of tens of thousands of horse race fans.      HUH ?   What's up with that ?   Here's how those circumstances came to happen.   The year was 1976 and the venue,  Churchill Downs , was just a name that prior to that year was barely known to me.  I would soon learn it was as iconic a name in sports venues as  Yankee Stadium  and  Soldier Field .      My goal for the first years I had been in broadcasting was to work for a 50,000 Watt AM radio station.  There were only 12 clear channel (50K) stations (no other s...

  encore performances #8...                                                    This post explores the activities retirees turn to after the decision has been made to pull the plug and step down from regular, gainful employment.  Forty hour weeks to get a financial reward at the end of the week are in the past;  OT means OFF TIME;  any raise comes from Social Security, and;  negotiating on any level is now only for personal benefit or personal gain without regard to a company, business, or organization      HUH ?   What's up with that ?   Throughout the past two years, dozens of people, both men and women, have been interviewed for these posts.  Their words are their own.  Every word is recorded and then transcribed to a working paper.  Some people decline to be interviewed, while others d...

a ukrainian view...                                                          Dr. Bogdan Graboviy, his wife, Natalia, and their eldest child, Aleksey, 30, were all born in Ukraine. The couple's two youngest children, Marianna, 15, and Patrick, 13, were born here in America in Louisville, Kentucky.   Natalia, Aleksey, and Dr. Graboviy were refugees brought to America by a Catholic charity.  HUH ? What's up with that ? Doctor, tell me a little bit about your background. Gladly, he responded . I was born in Lviv (l uh-veev) in Western Ukraine. I'm a dentist and I practiced for five years before leaving Ukraine and coming to the United States. I went back to school when I got here. Natalia and I had two children after coming to America. We arrived in the United States in 1996. Do you have extended family in Ukraine? ...

reflections...                 Janis Ian's hit single,  At 17,  was about a young girl's angst about her appearance and coming to peace with the fact that she wasn't invited to any social event by the time she reached 17.  My interpretation of the song was she was not even invited to join in the dance of life.     HUH ?   What's up with that ?    Recently, while tooling down the interstate, the song came on my XM satellite radio and it caused a genuine ripple of introspection/reflection on my part.     1975--the year At 17 was released   A loaf of bread was less than 50 cents, while a gallon of gas was under two dollars.     Love Will Keep Us Together by the husband and wife team of the Captain and Tennille was the Number One song playing on the radio.     The Vietnam War ended in 1975 as Communist forces took Saigon.    President Gerald Ford was in offic...

it's different...                                                       It can all be a bit off putting and even annoying.  The dilemma comes in not knowing what to do in all situations.  And, it's all because of a virus !      Should I go to that party or not.     Will others be wearing a mask if we go to the game ?     Is it okay to go to a restaurant ?     Do I stand six feet from someone talking with me while we're standing at that bar ?     A family gathering at your house Doris...with how many people ?   Uh, is it okay to ask if they have all been vaccinated?     Yikes!  Those plumbers are coming into the house!  Will I offend them if I wear a mask?   HUH ?   What's up with that ?   Indeed, Covid-19 and its variants have been like a major leagu...

       encore, encore....7x                                                                This is another chapter in the continuing series showcasing retirees and the new choices they make after leaving the day-to-day rhythm of performing from 9 to 5 for many years.  We call these new choices, Encore Performances .     These select interviews are certainly not meant to be scientific or representative of a larger group as a whole.     Certain expressions, such as, I wanted something to do ,   I was getting bored , or even, I can't hang around the house all day,  are heard many times over and uttered by both men and women.  It doesn't seem to take long before some people require new activities to fill the void created by retirement.  It seems having all the spare tim...

 siesta  time...                                                                                                         It has been described as, refreshing, blissful, invigorating , an escape , and even a ... renewal of all the vital forces (Churchill).     Dagwood Bumstead takes an apparent much needed siesta every time the need arises, no matter the place or time of day.     When D-Day forces landed, Hitler was asleep. It was 6:30 in the morning.  Not exactly a nap, but no one dared wake him.   DaVinci replaced real sleep with 15-minute naps every four hours.   Former President Bill Clinton was known to nap at any time.  He was caught on camera napping during President Reag...