Purina Diet

I can not shop at Costco anymore!

Yesterday I was at Costco buying a large bag of Purina dog chow for my loyal pet, Necco, the Wonder Dog, which weighs 191 lbs. I was in the check-out line when a woman behind me asked if I had a dog. What did she think I had an elephant?

So because I’m retired and have little to do, on impulse I told her that no, I didn’t have a dog, I was starting the Purina Diet again. I added Continue reading “Purina Diet”

Rev. Joe’s Random Thought #2,921

yeah I know you did not ask!

You should so be blessed – well cursed at times actually – with a mind such as mine, making all these weird connections between my rumored neurons. Just be thankful that I do not share all of my random thoughts.

There are folks whose mission in life is to travel, experiencing as many different roller-coasters in the various amusement parks across the nation and for that matter, around the world, as they can.  I found several names for them, but coaster geeks was my favorite.

I bring this up as the other day I was texting back and forth with a friend.  In a wise-ass response to one of her texts I remarked, “Marriage: The Ultimate Roller-Coaster.”

These enthusiasts could save a lot of travel expense and time with a couple gold rings and a bag or two of rice.

Just saying.

Subscribe to Curmudgeon Alley

Thinking About Your Ex

Guten morgen, Herr Doktor Freud,

This morning, flipping through the news on my phone as I drank my morning dose of caffeine, I came across the following article: Why Thinking About Your Ex Can Actually Be Beneficial, According To Research

It was really a fluff piece to allow the insertion of ads, but their bottom line summary was this:

“The bottom line is, if you fondly recall times with your ex, it doesn’t mean you don’t love your current partner. And in fact, it might actually benefit your relationship now. Of course, there’s a line between the occasional nostalgia trip and unhealthy preoccupation with your ex, but rest assured it’s A-OK to reminisce once in a while.”

Yup… you got it, it started me reminiscing about exes. Having one or two, I have described Continue reading “Thinking About Your Ex”

Rev. Joe’s Random Thought #8,600

yeah I know you did not ask!

Divorce is never easy, sometimes very necessary, but never easy.  While going through mine during the last century I came across the following that accurately described how I felt at the time.

Divorce is like hacking off one of your limbs, yourself, using a rusty, very dull, undersized pocket knife.

Oucher for sure.

I was thinking about divorce for reasons I do not need to get into here, but when do you know it is time to get a divorce?  Obviously, it is a very complex situation with many factors, and it is different for every person/couple. Getting divorce can be expensive, time consuming, and emotionally devastating. Frequently it is not for the weak of heart.

However, I think the when can be summarized by saying it is when one or both persons in a marriage stop treating the other person with respect, especially if it is a long term pattern.  It is time to go.  It is time to split the blanket. Life is too damn short to live like that.

And so it goes… about 50% of the time in the United States of Acrimony.

Yiddish for a Good Marriage

Senora when she gets upset or annoyed with me – yes, I know, hard to imagine – has a tendency to call me something in Yiddish.  Not knowing exactly what she is saying, although I am picking up on her tone of voice and expression, I just smile at her.

All o f which started me hypothesizing  that perhaps the secret to a good marriage is not understanding what your partner is saying… at least at times.  So far I have resisted the urge to test my hypotheses by going tit for tat with her using my Spanish against her Yiddish.

But I am wondering how you  do say, “Sticks and stones may hurt my bones, but words never will” in Yiddish.

And so it goes.

Rev. Joe buys a blow-up doll

In any workplace with one or more persons, you are likely to encounter one or more “characters”.  My first job in Information Technology was with a large national manufacturing concern at their Ft. Smith, AR plant, at that time their administrative offices were also there. For reasons unclear, hopefully not dark and mysterious, there dwelt more than the normal allowance of characters at the plant and offices, perhaps a birds-of-a-feather phenomenon.

One such character was Jon, a computer operator who had worked  there for many years.   Jon did not achieve his character-hood for his activities at work, but for his personal life.  He had been married 7 or 8 times, no one was quite sure, Continue reading “Rev. Joe buys a blow-up doll”