55 plus living communities, are great indeed for you are among people your age group, yet they also have their in and outs and problems too. What many do not get is the finances required to live in such a community, the maintenance needed to stay in one and the interactions with the other residents that can happen or not happen.

First lets discuss, the cost of living in 55 plus condos in a community. You have to pay your mortagage like owning a home, what that is, depends on what you put down and the rate of the loan you get, Second automatically you are hit with HOA fees, which will grow as the complex grows of course. Then you have your utilities and amenities of course on top. You need to track your bills and budget just like living anywhere else. It’s a matter of income vs output, really.

Then you have to be able to adjust to living close to other people, without becoming involved in their personal lives. It is fine to be polite, friendly, but be careful how far over the line you cross. We who live in such complexes are set in our ways, whether we are solos, divorcees, or widowers or widows. We do things the way we have always done, most of our lives, by force of habit. Plus you have to be able to adapt to other people, and be acceptable of the differences between you. You may not like a neighbor, but, you have to deal with them politely and without getting anyone angry at you.

I also noticed somethings in the community I am in myself here. The male to female ratio favors the female population. So, if your a single male in such a complex, you are a commodity that is hard to find within it. if your 55 plus community is like mine, the percentage of single women to single men is like 65 percent or better female. So, as a single man, one must not get involved with the single women in a romantic way, for if you do and make a mistake, well you get the idea. While I love women of all kinds, I also know, that women gossip, they talk among themselves and you make one mistake in any relationship that may start. you can end up an outcast and isolated from the community. which in the end can force you into a position of moving, unless you love isolation, and ignore all. Even if you do over time, you will feel not wanted, and probally move or sell the condo you purchased. while one as a single male must guard against this, you also come to realize it quickly, if not immedicately if you have a awareness of your surroundings. So, what does one do if you are in such a complex and situation, to survive?

Personally, I took the approach of not dating anyone in my community. I based it on the fact that, women gossip, they talk and they communicate their relationships more freely than men. They discuss their male friends, openly, among themselves, and if you as a single male say or do something wrong and it ends a relationship your in, it will spread among the community quickly. so, what does one do, if your still an eliable single male looking for companionship and a relationship? You end up doing online dating apps, or going to bars and taverns. Hoping to find one female who will fit your desires and needs and is friendly enough to get into a relationship with. I don’t drink so for me bars are out, never did believe in blowing my money in a bar or tavern and getting drunk. That leaves churches, and for me, I am non religious and not interested.

So if your like me, that leaves dating apps on the internet and better then half of the women on them use false pics, fake profiles. So to sit and pay a dating service online , can be a total waste of money and time on my part. You can’t find a match on these dating sites, because they will say anything they wish and they lie. So, in the end, your better off, staying to yopurself, protecting your heart and wallet if your a single male. Now, I know many women will say, oh I don’t know what I am talking about, or I didn’t give the apps a fair chance and not all are the same. I tried several apps, and found that the few women I dated, thru them, were not what they said they were on their profiles. I am not saying all were liars, but, each had some problems with men they were trying to overcome, trust issues, honesty issues, or they were seeking men to pay their ways in the world.

At one time in America, it was easier to find people to date on both sides of the gender gap. we used to go out, do things in public places, like bowling, roller skating, singles dances, etc. Today those have disappeared basically, and all is now online. Why, I shall never understand, what I have always believed and shall always believe if that if you are yourself, natural, have fun in life and what you do, the chance of you finding someone increases. Be you, folks, do what you love, live, laugh and enjoy each day. I always have believed, if you do that, people notice you, they talk to you, and you stand a chance of finding a relationship, a companion, a friend or a lover. If your a phoney person and fake, or a narsicist you lose out. Anyway I, divert from the 55 community factor somewhat, but the basic idea still is here. If your in the 55 plus age group and in a community like mine, you learn quickly to walk quietly, carefully and avoid the mistakes I have listed above. I have seen some cross the boundries of what I have outlined above and survive, but they are few and rare for sure. Some want to know why single men who are 55 and up do not approach women in the same age group, well here it is folks. we are just as scared of getting taken for money, or being used and abused as the women are too. In the end because of the way today’s society handles being a 55 plus person, and being single, we guard and protect ourselves in all ways too. We may be males, but we too are smart enough to say no, or to walk away, or not accept if we get abused, feel used, or taken for what we have. so, it goes both ways, doesn’t it? You Tell me!

My real question is this, what does a senior citizen whether male or female do to find a companion, or a relationship in today’s world and society? While we live longer in this day and age, we also, get divorced, or never married, or we end up widowers or widows, in the natural course of life. So, what to do, once you reach the over 55 age group or better? Or are we all destined to be alone. till we die?

Legacies, are different for many people when they pass. Some leave behind just their children and say they are their legacy. Others money and donations may be their legacy. So legacies vary for different people and what they wish to be remembered for once they pass away.

Personally, I hadn’t thought of any type of legacy, as I grew up or grew older. I kinda figured my childfen were my legacy and i had two daughter, so the grandkids would be too. But if we are normal people in anormal world our families are always a part of our legacies, but not all of it. We do other things in life we would like to be remembered for, at least I know a lot who do.

Legacies are built on different things and different reputations too. Some get remembered for the money they leave behind, some for the interaction and helping of others. Then there are the musicians, actors and entertainers. What of the average man and women, what legacies can we leave behind, beside sour offspring and family?

Some leave behind a legacy of kindness, of helping other and being there when needed. some leave behind what they did for aliving and did well, so others can learn from it. It is all a matter of what we think, is important to us, to be remembered by all, is it not?

In my case i determined when I was young I was moving too fast to think of a legacy to leave behind when I passed. Then as I aged some, I started writting, little stories and books first, doing 51 of them. Then I branched off and started doing poetry of a romantic nature and of other items, but poems. Poetry expresses many moods, attitudes, actions and more in a way, to make others understand it well. Poetry comes from within a person and expresses the things that are important to the person writing it, usually. So, when someone says to me, like I was asked I always say, my legacy is my daighters and their kids yes, but it is also, my writtings I produced. I went on to doing numerous blogs also, on life, liberty, politics and more. They shall live well beyond me I am sure.

That is my answer when people ask what I am leaving behind, it’s not money, it’s not material items, it is ideas, thoughts, stories , poems and blogs. It is my way of giving peole a feel to what is in the world and is happening, how it is happening, why it is happening and in the end the emotions of my life in my poems. I never forget that, I also would like to be remembered asa decent person, who laughed, joked, cried and gave back to those I could. If I am remembered as a pleasant person, then my legacy will be set in stone. The concrete to it is how one treats others, always remember that folks.

Legacies, we see through out history and stories we hear daily as we cross at time sto hearing and reading poetry. Blogs become a statement on the times and conditions we live in and for me, my feelings about what is happening. One day some will look back, and read what I wrote I hope and understand it was a product of the times i lived in. The wording was not always 100 percent correct or the grammer, but the thoughts are pure and true for the times I live in. Thats what a legacy really is folks, it’s what you accomplished, how you did so, and what was worth being left behind by eahc of us. We get remembered for what we produce, we get remembered for how we treat others, and as history has shown us all, we get remembered for the good or the bad we achieved in our lifetimes. As, i told someone, when you go toa Gravesite to visit someone you cared for and lost, you don’t stop to think they were bad or an asshole, you stop to think of whether they did good, treated people well, and the fond memories they set for others to see and follow. Legacies can be powerful and some can be weak, but, in the end, they are what makes you in others memories, fond. Never forget, at some point, in your life, you are aaffecting what people will say about you, once you are gone. What you want for alegacy, no matter who you be, is for you to be remembered honestly, and fondly, and i think that should be, what is important to you or to me. Leave a Legacy of hope, happiness, joy, words that you said about the world or each girl or boy. Leave a Legacy folks, that you will be remembered for, that affects others and akes then think well of you. Thats what Legacies are all about folks, and in the end long after we are gone, those memories can live on.

Feb. 10th, 2025, and cold is still here, of course in Massachuetts, and it is early am a lilttle after 6:30 am. The coldness outside, causes havick with my back, which has been injuried now since 1982. I was injuried in a fall aboard a Navy ship back then. So I have suffered and still suffer today from the discs I herniated then. I go on using muscle relaxers, traction, back braces and taking it as easy as I can daily. For no matter what I am alive and still kicking, after turning 69 in January.

I try to keep a positive outlook on life for myself and anyone around me. Going in the opposite direction does not help at all. I use my braces, hot water soaks and muscle relaxers, I lay down as needed and sit when needed. Yet, I refuse to give up, even if the pain gets me at times. I have learned, you can try to handle the pain, manage it the best you can, and keep going, or, you can surrender to it, give up and end up, shutting down for the rest of one’s life. I will handle it and manage it as I have always done since 1982, for complaining, crying and not doing what I can, does not help in any way. It only makes the matter worse. As long as I can continue to walk, and engage with people I shall. Isolation and Loneliness will only kill, it never helps folks, always remember, human beings are indeed made to be social animals.

Ok Next, The Super Bowl is done for 2025, and The Eagles have won and stopped the Cheifs in their quest for three in a row. The game was not as competitive as people thought it would be. The Eagles defense handled Mahomes and that Chief;s Offense in every way. The score may have said 40-to 22 Eagles, but, the game was no where that close even. The Eagles defense manhandled the Chiefs Offense and then the Chiefs defense had no idea how to stop Jalen Hurts, and that Eagles Offense. It was interesting, but, entertaining too. I watched it with others from the community I livein here in Westborough Mass, and as we did we laughed, we cheered the Eagles on, and some were surprised by how it turned out I wasn’t. The Eagles had scored 55 point’s in the NFC Championship Game and they were on a roll, coming into the Super Bowl. I give it to the Cheif, that they made the Super Bowl three times in a row, but, they are not the same caliber as The Patriots were in their heyday and prime.

Now, onward folks, lets see what comes next for all of us in America. As Trump and his Administration try to tear down what America is and has been, remake it in his image, what do we do next and what will he try next. The last line of defense for the American People is goingto be the Justice Department and the Judges. Sadly, they themselves only have so much power and ability to slow him and his maga crew down. The real question is how far, will Congress and the American people let Trump and his Maga cult go? Will Americans wake up in time to save our Republic and democracy, or will wil slip slowly into an anarchy and communist ways. For that is where we are headed today folks. We are being withdrawn from the world stage, not helping others anymore, our personal information is being raided by Musk and his DOGE team. On top of all of that we find Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid under attack, and The Education Department too. We have a President who wants to take over Greenland and annex Canada and tariff the world to hell. He can’t stop food and gas prices from rising and he knows it. His tariff’s will only cost americans more in taxes each year they are in effect. And America continues to tumble and fall from prominance and from world view. We are now headed toward becoming a third world nation, isilated, alone and unable to recover what we once were, before Trump. It’s a sad, sad thing to see, for thos like me, who served our country and gave our all to keep it free. What wil become of America over the next four years, how many countries will walk away from us, and how many countries will we walk away from too. All because one man didn’t like the fact he lost the 2020 election, we have a Capital that was destroyed and a path of destruction, he set upon us all, in his revenge and retribution mode. It’s a sad thing to see, that so many voted him in and now, they refuse to admit they were wrong as he dismantles all he can, and the nation slowly starts to pour down the drain, becoming a shell of what was once it’s greatness.

I love my country believe me, but, the fact that the American People voted Trump back in as President, the fact that Congress can’t stop him from all he is doing, reflects totally on the fact american are gullable, foolish and blinded by his MAGA cult movement. The real question is how far will the American People let Trump, and Musk go? No one elected Elon Musk to any office period, yet here he is, attaining and reaching for your personal information and data. Musk is not even a born American citizen, yet he has more power at this point in time, than anyone thought someone would. Musk needs to be stopped. Also the fact that between Trump and Musk are cutting Federal employees and cutting their jobs is unbelieveable. This will really help our economy right? Put thousand out of work and on the unemployment lines and make then search for jobs to survive. The eonomy will not get better worse, Trump has no idea how to slow it’s rapid growth and cost to you. He made numerous promises to the American People and people bought it and now, we shall all suffer for those who were gullable enough and foolish enough to vote him in. At some point even the MAGA followers and cult followers will wake up and figire out what they did wrong and try to correct it I am sure, but by the time they do, America, it’s Democracy and Republic, will fade slowly from the world. As we do, I pray, that at some point the Congress and we the People will wake up and fight back.

God Bless America folks, and I hope our people too, as we tumble down the ladder of societies in the world. All great empires of the past have fallen, and it is looking like America is next. Sadly, The Aztecs, Incas,American Indians, The Germans, the dynsasties and Empires like Japaneese, Italians all failed, and America will fall too. Donald J. trump cares not about you or I, he cares about his own pocket, his rich cronies. As they get richer the average citizen in America will pay more. I hope and pray at sometime, the American People iwll wake up and realize the mistake they made in Electing Trump back in office. It is not Trump running anything, or doing what he promised, it is Elon Musk controlling Trump. Musk is not a born American Citizen, he has no business controlling acess to your personal data, or information, yet there he is. Wake up America! It’s time to wake up and fight back, or go down like all the other Empires that have been lost in time.

I do my blogs when the mood hits me to write and if I think I have something that is worth the effort to say. Now not everyone will agree with all I say, my opinions and thoughts and ideas are my own of course, and we can all agree to disagree if you don’t like them. I was raised in Connecticut, and there I learned many lessons in life, I wouldn’t have otherwise. I learned that respect is given to those who give it to others, manners you are taught as a child apply still once you are an adult. relationships are not just based on meeting someone, it is how the meetings go, how you see eye to eye with someone else and how you interact with people in general. I say this because, many think, when they meet someone at first that first impressions are everything. In fact the truth is, sometimes a first impression can be misleading and you may misjudge someone and find out later, they didn’t do a damn thing wrong to you or anyone else. Impressions are first looks at humans you don’t know, normally from a distance away, and the longer you know someone, the sooner you get over the first impression and find, they are nothing like what you thought they were. In life, people, of both genders, hide emotions, they hide thoughts, ideas and reactions, why, because they feel you have no reason to know how they feel. It’s private to them, and they keep it bottled up inside. The reasoning is simple, to protect themselves and those they love. We all do it, it’s a fact of human nature is it not? I think it is.

I was talking to someone, I really didn’t think I liked one day, and found out, first they weren’t as bad as I thought they were, secondly, their sense of humor was different than I have known, and thirdly, once they were relaxed, I perceived them differently and in a different light. No it doesn’t happen with everyone you meet, but, each person is an individual with reasons of their own for how they react to others and situations, they encounter. And learning that, either at a young age for most of us and for a few others later in age stages, maybe the bets thing for all of us. The human body hides pain well, and we as humans, do not always want to let others know we are hurting in any way. we hide mental anguish, mental illness, physical illnesses and injuries too. Why, because one we consider it all personal of course. It’s just the way we do things, we do not want to impose or burden or bother anyone with our problems or conditions. Why would we, unless they are family or friends you have known for many years of your life. We reach for help when we need it of course and some of us, are alone in life, we have lost a mate, a husband or wife, or a mother or father or sibling, and we hide the pain from others. It is part of our nature as individuals in how we do so, and we do so to protect ourselves or those we love dearly.

Years ago, in my younger days, I would defend and protect many in different ways. Friends or those I considered friends, family members as needed. When I grew up, I joined the Military and when I did, I realized I did it for a few reasons. The first was to grow up and mature myself, the second was to Represent and defend my country, and the third was to protect and defend my family and friends I loved deeply. I didn’t want anyone, hurting those I cared for. Now, it worked for me, because it taught me that being selfish or foolish was not the way to go in life and that the world is bigger, than just the space around me.

I have seen adults who think that attacking other sis a way to go, or making fun of others is the thing to do. I have run into bullies and seen introverts and extroverts also. I have sat with, stood with and seen comics, and singers, songwriters and poets, I have fought side by side with all colors, race as and nationalities also. when one does you learn, that 1) All of us no matter what color, nationality, race, or creed, are the same. 2) We all laugh, we all cry, we all hope and we all sigh. 3) We have things in common that define us as human beings. 4) Never forget when we lose someone we loved or cared for, we all grieve the same. Some may be more intense in the amount or way of grieving, but, we all go through it folks. We handled it differently based on who we are as individuals, what we were taught and the emotions we let flow. Some of us let it out, some of us hold it in, but in the end we all deal with it, in our own way. And that in and of itself, should point out to all, we are not so different from one another, are we?

No man or woman is perfect, no child does something without being taught how to first. as we grow and age we learn by doing and by the guidance of the adults in our lives. If you are not taught right from wrong, you have no moral compass then, If you are selfish all the time, then you lack the abilities needed to get by in life. If no one teaches you morals and ethics or manners, than you will fail in society in general. Some need to learn to say Please, Thank You, I’m sorry, Forgive me, and express emotions better. But, you can’t force anyone, so you learn to live with what they do, and accept it as it is. We are not all at the same level, emotionally, mentally or even physically, but we do strive to fit into the society in which we live. That is how life works for most and we accept and carry on.

In the end let me say this, so all can understand it clearly. I may not always agree with you or you with me. I may have a different vision, in my mind , than you. I may have been taught differently, or learned some things the hard way. But, we all live, we all cry, we laugh, and we all die. The real question is not how, but why? And always remember, when you pass from this plane, onto the next, you will be remembered for how you interacted with those around you. Were you helpful, were you kind, were you pleasant most of the time? The legacy you leave behind if not materials, it’s spirit, it’s emotional, it’s interactions, that’s what people get remembered for. So, I always have said, God put mankind on this earth for a reason. we are each of us here on a separate mission we must complete, before we depart. We know not what that mission is, or when we actually accomplish it, but, when we do we depart. We return to from whence we came, for we have completed helping who we were supposed to. That is what life is about folks, believe it or not. If you don’t believe me, that’s fine, but, the proof is when you are standing next to a grave marker, a casket, an urn, and you listen to the words of those remembering those who have departed. For they always talk of the good deeds not the bad, don’t they, those are what we get remembered for.

Hello America, how are ya? As we struggle through each day under the current Administration of Donald J. Trump, we are beginning to see just what his backers the MAGA crowd, put back in office. He is dismantling what it has taken hundreds of years to put together in no time at all. He is breaking down our medical, educational and financial institutions and allowing a person, who is not even born America into our private data. Musk has no business in our social security, Medicaid, Medicare files, he has no business, forcing Departments and Agencies to shut down. No one voted Elon Musk President, yet here we have Trump a 78 year old President, giving free reign to a Billionaire, who paid to get him onto office. It’s amazing how money, controls everything isn’t it folks. Trump is more unfit at 78 years old them Biden was at 82. It’s a sad day in American History. Trump’s picks for the most important offices and positions in the American Government are the most unqualified people ever sworn into office. Yet here we sit, as Trump pulls us out of international organizations, and opens us up to attacks from so many angles and countries, that America will never be the same again, as a country, or on the world stage.

As Trump does as he pleases, the Congress, stands by and just gives him and his people whatever they want and is not defending us as the citizens who put them in office. They are kowtowing and bending over and taking it in everyway possible, and that is just horrible and sad. We are about to have our personal data breached, our benefits taken away and so many people put on the unemployment line by Trump and Musk, that, the unemployment rate will jump a few more percentage points. Where do these people who are losing their jobs go to get new jobs to support themselves and their families next, in an American economy that doesn’t have the new jobs for them to go to? You tell me America, please. trump has no solution at all for that, and we all know it. Americans are about to be put out of jobs they earned and worked for many years, all so Musk and Trump can play with our personal data and money, and rearrange things better for the rich. Sad, indeed.

I know, I was not elected to any office, and I am not approving of what the Trump Administration is doing in anyway. He is messing with people’s life’s their benefits they earned and not caring about where they go next, or how they survive. Never in American History has there ever been an American President who pursued revenge and retribution in the Presidency, yet here we have it for the whole world to see. Then, he wants to take over Gaza, misplace the Palestinian People, and force them out and make it a Rivera? The last person who tried to displace people from the lands they were born in and loved was Adolf Hitler, the most evil man in world history and the man who almost destroyed the world, for his thousand year Reich. And to see, the Israel Prime Minister standing next to Trump, oking, and asking for it is a sad day in American and world history too. For it was the Israel people who Hitler tried to eradicate and get rid of, now it is their Prime Minister backing a plan to do the same to the Palestinian people today! How the world Turns is not a soap bopper folks, it’s real it seems, as it comes, now instead of the Israel People being moved it will be their enemies? I know what was done to the Israel people was wrong and they have suffered and overcome so much, I agree, but they have no right anymore than Trump or America to eradicate and remove a who human population from their homes, and the place they call home.

That said, There isn’t much I can do about it, for I am not an elected official in any government. Congress here in America needs to grow a set of balls and act to stop this madness now. Stop Elon Musk who was not even born here in America and all his access to our personal data and finances. Stop Trump’s madness to kill the education Department, USAID and more. Look I know we are in a deficit in this country, yet, this is not the way to become financially solvent or to run a nation. trump’s decrees and executive orders need to be better looked at and stopped. he is dismantling what the Fore-Fathers of America, and The Constitution and Bills of Rights were made for and created for. I tell you this Americans, and I ask you now, What do you think Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Hamilton, Franklin and more, would have done with a man who ran an insurrection against his own government and people to stay in power and then lost that battle and came back again. The Fore-Fathers of America back in their days, would have snatched him up, jailed him, thrown away the keys and then tarred and feathered him and left him to die, attached to a post. I kid you not folks, Trump doesn’t belong in the Presidency he belongs in prison and he knows it. yet here he is, destroying all America has built and dismantling it and our nations reputation is gone as a great defender of Democracy and The Republic we have is now at stake.

I am a disabled veteran myself, I served my country for 16 years, in three branches. I defended this country to protect friends and family, from all foreign and domestic threats. i didn’t get drafted I volunteered and got injured doing the job I took on. Now I watch as an Unqualified Tv Host has become the Secretary of Defense, in Hegseth, and so many positions in our Government are being filled with unqualified people, who have no business being there. What is wrong with Congress, and how far are they going to allow this man to go? Congress as a citizen of America and a believer in our republic and democracy, I ask, when will you stop this madness, how much longer can you allow Trump to run rampant over everything in our country and get away with it. I know, this much if Congress does not step up soon, they will pay the price for not doing so. The next election cycle is coming fast, changes will happen once again. Enjoy your time now in Office Senators and Congress Men and women, for at the next election cycle you will be former officials in office. Americans will rise up and dump you to the streets where you belong, for you are not leaders, you are followers of a cult, MAGA is no more than a cult brought up by Trump and his people, just as the Nazi movement was by Hitler, it will destroy America from within, if you allow it to continue. End it now, get back control, stop this madness now. For the American Republic and Democracy are at stake. Stop Elon Musk, he should have no power period, he wasn’t elected to any office. Stop Trump’s insane ideas now, because if not, we shall end up another empire, like The Inca, Aztecs, American Indians, Romans, and yes, Nazi Germany, The Japanese , and Italians, destroyed from within and ended. America will end up another empire that destroyed itself from with in, because we followed another man who, started a new cult and we fell for it.

All I can say in ending this blog today is this, America is supposed to be the Land of The Free and the Home of the Brave, well, if we are then I suggest that the Free and The Brave, stand up now, stop Trump, Stop Elon Musk, and take back our country and protect our Constitution and our Bill of Rights, do it now, before we fail like all the other empires before us. For we shall end up in the ashes of history, and a poor nation of also rans soon.

Ok, Thursday Feb 6th, 2025 has begun for me at an early time, I woke at 4am. But, it is the first time in over many years my back is not killing me. I actually have less pain then I had before, the steroid shots I received and it seems the Doctor found the disc in question when he did two shots. The first he did was in the L-5 disc area and I barely felt anything except light pain and pressure for that one. The L-4 disc area was the one for sure for when he started I jumped more than on once and he had to re-numb the area with a higher dosage of pain meds, to get the steroid in. I survived the shots, and when I left, I was ok, they made sure I could walk without stumbling or falling, and because I drove myself in for the shots, I had to wait over an hour to be able to leave.

I have been living with my back pain and injury since 1982, while serving in the US Navy, after a fall aboard ship on duty. I was carted off the ship in a stretcher back then and my long journey of pain began. I fought the Navy, for seven years over the injury and pain problems and was finally Discharged in July of 1989, on a Honorable Under Medical Discharge. Ever since then, I have have gotten medical attention in all ways through the Veteran’s Administration and Disability Payments also. You can’t work if you have all I have, six herniated discs, three in my neck and three in my lower back, plus, PTSD. So, you learn to live with the pain, and keep complaining and asking for help until you get it. I know I did.

This was not the first time I received steroid injections for my disc injuries. but it is the first time since 1982, a Doctor hit the l-4 disc with steroids the way this one has. It has now only been a day, since the injections and procedure and the pain has lessened for me, and the Doctor said it would not take full effect for seven days. If that is the case I shall be much better I am sure. My next Doctor Appointment is in 5 weeks now. I am glad the Veteran’s administration authorized the procedure and I think it is going to help my condition going forward. Thanks to the Veteran’s Administration.

Next up is a slow easy relaxing time with my back and being able to do things I couldn’t do before. I am hoping I can get back to walking again in warmer weather, and doing some sports like pickleball and bowling again. One needs to keep physically and mental going at my age and the more I can go, the better off I shall be and the longer I can live hopefully. Never thought I would still be alive at 69, but here I am, I lived a life that led me to believe, I wasn’t going past 40, lol. Yet here I am, after two marriages, 16 years service, two daughters, and I survive my second wife passing from cancer as I had a lobe and a third of my right lung removed in 2013 for lung cancer myself. I am guessing that there is still a purpose for me here on this planet and the Good Lord, is waiting for me to complete what he put me here for.

As time goes on I wonder why I am here, for my belief has always been, all of us were born unto this world, for a mission, we have no idea what it is to complete. The Good Lord knows is all I can say, and any day, we can awake, open our eyes and get out of bed and move, is a good one. None of us really know what we are here for, we tend to go through the motions each day we live to our fullest, and hope to wake up the next morning after we sleep. We we are that lucky to do so, as many are, we are still in pursuit of whatever mission the Good Lord has deemed for us and we have not completed it as of yet. So forward is the only direction we can go, knowing that at some point it will all come to an end. But as long as I am here I shall help who I can, how I can, when I can, and try to live and laugh the best I can. That’s when life is the best for me.

I am not rich, I am not famous, I write, blogs like this on many subjects. I write in The Military, Politics, Health Issues, and more. I also write short stories of which I have done 51, and numerous poems also. It is now a part of me that I use to keep me going each day. I look for places to walk, to do things like playing pool, bowling if possible of course, pickleball if possible also. I read when I find a good book I may like, I build puzzles and hang on to life each day. I believe the Good Lord wants me here for a reason and I just haven’t completed that as of yet.

Life is not a game for fools folks, and as one Singer put it Only The Good Die Young, right. So, I do not ever claim to be perfect or above anyone else. I communicate well enough, I avoid anger, I avoid people who get nasty or upset, and in the end I talk to only those I like or get along with. And I believe that is what all of us should do in life, for no one will ever get along with everyone.

As we go further into 2025, I hope at some point to find female companionship again, if it is possible. I do not chase women, for I am no a predator, or stalker in anyway. Nor do i approach just any woman out there, even if I enjoy the females around me. I have set myself up as a widower, that just goes day by day, and hope is all. If I meet someone it is destiny, if I don’t I shall survive, for I have proven I can do so as a single person and a widower. I take care of myself, I pay my bills and I keep going forward the best I can. I know at 69, I am not the best man a woman is looking for, most want bigger men in physical proportions, or richer men than I. Most want better looking than I, for I am not Mr. Handsome or Mr. Personality either. I am an average man in many ways, I think. I try to treat all with respect who I meet, laugh with them, not at them and hope all the best. So, I doubt I will ever have another woman in my life again, because in today’s society in America, people don’t find companionship and romance, at my age. we get set in our ways, do what we know to survive and to avoid danger of being taken for money, and avoid emotional turmoil’s as we do. So you see, when someone reaches a certain age in life, the possibility of anyone of the opposite set even noticing you lessons. and since I have never pursued women, I don’t really know how to flirt, never learned in my lifetime, even though I was married twice, it will probably, be a slow, single life for me from now on.

Some have asked how is it possible, I was married twice, and never learned to really flirt? I don’t know what to answer that with except both of the women I married, came after me, after I met them. I didn’t pursue them they did me. In the end one divorced me, for her own reasons, and the second died from cancer leaving me behind in my 60’s here. The total time of marriages in my 69 year old life was 40 years. I had two daughters and two of everything really. I have six grandkids also out there, so I did something right, produced as a man should. When I stop to think about it, I was alone for many years in my teenage years. Then, till I married the first time at 24. Then 12 years late rit ended, it took me a good three years before I found my second wife, and we lasted 28 years together, till her passing from cancer. Now for over three years it’s just me again, lost in a world, with no one to hang with or be with. I will just go on hopefully, and see what happens next is all.

Hello America, It’s Feb. 5th, 2025, a whole 15 degrees outside this am here in Westborough, Ma. Seems, where I live here in Westborough, Ma., in a 55 plus community, there are very few men like me, I am a widower and it seems lots of single women here, but few of us single men. While that is nice at times, I am also very rare in the fact I don’t chase women. Now, don’t get me wrong folks, I love women in many ways, for many reasons, I just know better than to chase them, in such a community.

When you get older folks, like I am at 69, you know that in such a 55 plus community, if you get involved with anyone of the opposite sex or gender here, it can turn into one hell of a mess. I bought the condo I live in after my wife passed, thinking it is all I need for me, at 956 square feet, no more snow shoveling or yard work either. Then, I move din and have come to realize, while there are many and I many many widows or divorced or even solo women, living here too. They outnumber me by big numbers and I figured there has to be more single men around right? Well, we are indeed as I have been told a rare breed, here in this complex. So, what to do is the question. I told myself not to try to date any women here, on the grounds of big problems occurring if, the relationship doesn’t work out. Women talk, and as we all know in anger, women can be cruel or indifferent and they gossip and it spreads like fire in such a community. So I stay alone, I don’t approach, I don’t chase and I don’t ask out any of the ladies here. Which leads me to a lonely existence here in my community.

So, I tried online dating sites, like Match, Zoosk, Our Time and such and found that they take your money but, there is no guarantee you even get a date on them. If you do, it seems the women on them are still working trying to survive and have no real time for dating. It is hard to get a match through online dating sites, many fake profiles and fake pictures. Also, liars who, say they want one thing and do another and only want a man for his wallet. Momma didn’t raise any fool, so my wallet stays in my pocket unless I wish to use it, not to give away, what I have earned.

At 69, I am five foot 8, 190 lbs, brown eyes and short hair almost bald, with a goatee. I am not what I call a handsome man like Rock Hudson was, but I am not Mr. Ugly either. I like to laugh, I write poetry and short stories and blogs, like this one. I like to play billiards and bowl also. I like to walk when weather and temperatures allow, or I will walk the mall around the corner from me. In warmer weather, I like walking more, I like fishing, in good weather. I read a good amount of time, I like books, on History, politics, mysteries or biographies of famous people. Used to be I could find a way to spend a couple of hours in a Barnes and Noble Bookstore, these days ya can’t even find one near me. So, Every now and then I stop in the small book store in town and look around.

I am not a drinker really, I may have a beer or two for social reasons, like if I meet someone socially, or such. I never did like drinking and have a problem with those who over do at it. I don’t do drugs, unless it is for medical purposes, and yes, I can be 4/20 friendly. I do gummies only for pain in my back, and i have my Medical Cannabis card for that now. But, overall, I stay to myself, and try to just live day to day, it is in fact, a boring lifestyle for me. I get bored fast with being alone, but, I have been this way since my wife passed in 2021. I thought of looking for someone to date, but, finding someone who is compatible, fun, has a sense of adventure in them and a sense of humor is not easy in today’s world at my age of 69. Life it seems, is not so easy, retired and a widower, but I do my thing, and I get by, although, I date no woman, at this time and the few I have met, were nice enough, but, there seems to be a lack of chemistry, at least for me.

If there are any single or widowed women around who have an interest in me, I have not heard a peep out of them. Even in my own condo community here. I guess I am not there type, or not funny enough, or not good looking enough or whatever, so I wander alone. I am not big on events or going to bars, I like small groups not large. I would not last long in a bar situation, alone. I get bored and I sit alone in those situations and one would probably see me at the bar, eating a sandwich and fries and one beer, and leaving, I don’t stay long. Why, I don’t feel comfortable as a single, bouncing around a club, bar or tavern alone. Never have, and in todays world, if you say one thing wrong to anyone here in Mass. it’s fight on, and I don’t like to argue or fight, especially in public at all.

Anyway, that’s my thoughts for Feb. 5th, 2025, the Super Bowl is next come the 9th, I love the NFL and watching games, I like the NBA and Celtics too, and I am a Red Sox Fan, but not a very avid follower, because the game is too long and puts me to sleep, frankly. So, at 69, I am what is known as a wandering widower, who does so aimlessly, and without real purpose and who is basically, the same guy, I have always been, a bit of an introvert. That’s me, the guy most women overlook and the one who may spot you from across the room ladies, but, never make a move. I never did learn to flirt, my first wife, I met in The Navy when serving, my second wife I asked to dance at a Singles Dance. The first marriage lasted 12 years, the second 28. Add them together I had a total of 40 years of marriage in my 69 years, not bad ya ask me. But, as most will know in today’s world, there is a loneliness syndrome that is currently happening, plenty of people, but lots of fears out there, so alone I guess is my destiny. Ok later folks, have a good day, enjoy.

Many subjects come to mind, when I get up in the morning these days. 1) Economy and the fact it is not changing for the better is one. The election we just had that put Trump, back in Office, was supposed to be based on lowering the cost of living and food and gas prices and all prices for Americans. Instead we are going in the opposite direction folks, your food prices are rising, your gas prices will too and so will your taxes due to Trump’s policies and Executive Orders. You can claim as i have heard some we need to deport migrants and do it now, but the cost is crazy for what is happening as is the fact, they are doing it so outrageously. I remind all, you have to pay to hunt these people down, detain these people, feed these people and then transport these people out, to their home countries.

Never in American History has America ever had a President who is dismantling the Justice Department and rebuilding it in his own image. Yet here we do suddenly, as Inspector Generals get fired without 30 day notice to Congress and without good stated reason. They should not be laid off or fired just because they prosecuted Trump in the past and they fear they will not bend to Trump’s policies in the future. That’s not a fair and just reason for firing them. It’s illegal as all get out folks, Trump is just protecting himself and his political compatriots is all.

The best thing America has going for it is our Constitution, Our Bill Of Rights, and the laws of our land. As it sits currently all three are under attack by a convicted felon, put into office by his own MAGA cult followers and the richest man on earth in Elon Musk. Musk bought Trump, he owns Trump, he controls Trump, and will continue to as long as Trump is President. And in the meantime, Musk controlling Trump is at the behest and orders of Putin. It’s like a puppet show, as Americans without realizing what is going on, are led like sheep to slaughter and about to be fed to the wolves of the world. we should never allow this and for Musk, Trump and his cronies to run around, giving Nazi Salutes to Americans and the world, well, at some point it is too much.

That being sad, the one consolation the American People have ta this stage of the game is, Trump currently can not run for another term under our laws and that must be maintained at all cost. we need full watch dog power over Trump and Vance too and close watch. They are a danger to America, our way of life and in the end the World too.

If you think prices are rising now in your grocery stores, wait more is coming. Wait until Trump, tariffs all these countries he is aiming at. Who do you think pays for those tariffs folks, we the American People do. Your taxes will rise, your incomes will go down, your jobs will begin to disappear, you can’t attack every industry in the world and every country in the world and shut down our international actions and cooperation with other countries and isolate America and survive. That my fellow Americans is stupidity at it’s best. I don’t care if we have the most expensive military in the world and the greatest weapons in the world, if we don’t have a Secretary of Defense who knows what to do with them, they are worthless. The World sees what Trump is creating in his Cabinet and our country and they are now, feasting upon it’s stupidity and ignorance and laughing at us. It’s sad. yet, American’s elected a 78 year old man, who is a convicted felon and gave him the power to do what he likes, as he likes and Congress is not stopping him, or using their powers to check and balance him, in anyway. They are kowtowing to him, kissing his ass and afraid to stand up to his crazy plans and ideas, for fear of being put out of a job. It is indeed a sad state of affairs in America. for the first time in my going on 70 year old life, I am seeing America fail as a nation, because it followed a cult. And that is one sad thing in today’s world, and all are watching as it happens. Other countries are laughing at us, as we withdraw and hide within our own borders. we are not an island unto ourselves Americans, and we lead by example, not by running away and hiding. yet, our current status and positions under Trump are laughed at worldwide, and that is embarrassing.

All of the above said and observed by me as a citizen and a disabled veteran and senior raises concerns for the futures of our families in the world and here at home. We have come to a precipice, an edge, and we are about to fall over it. In world history, the same has happened to other empires, take a good look folks. Go back and look, The Aztecs, The Incas. The American Indian, The Japanese, The Germans, and yes the Romans. All failed and fell from world dominance and grace, why, because they followed the wrong people, the wrong cults, the wrong way of being realistic and honest with themselves. America is now on that brink folks, as we head down the next four years, if we do not use the check and balance system the forefathers of America put in place, to cease this downfall and disaster coming, America will go the route of all the other Empires and disappear from the face of the earth. Putin will win then and races and countries will all lose. It has nothing to do with skin colors, race, or nationalities. It has to do with the right to self-govern and our ability to keep the people we put into that government under control and heading in the right direction. When we the people allow, these people like Trump and his cronies to control us as a nation, we give up the rights we were given as Americans under our Constitution and our Bill of Rights. Sadly, it seems in my opinion, the American people have fallen under a cult, and is being led to it’s own destruction and fall, but a man without brains, logic or empathy. If it continues, and he is allowed to keep on his track he is heading down, Americans, I suggest boldly and without apology, you buy a copy of Babbel, and learn Russian, for it is coming. That my fellow Americans is a WARNING and Red Light we should all be paying attention to applying, and soon!

As a Senior Citizen and Disabled Veteran, living in Westborough, Mass. I have learned, there is nothing I can basically do or say to change the politics, of the town or the nation. we have one right and that is to vote and participate in what we are allowed to, by laws and right we have. I have learned, I can shout to the rooftops and beyond, and it will not help change anything once elections and voting is over. There is no sense crying or complaining over who won the Presidential Election, or what Trump is doing to our nation, our rights, our way of life and our republic. That decision was made by the American people on Election day 2024. That being said, we all must now, save our money, survive for the next four years, watch prices rise, gas, home expenses and food, and taxes too, as trump plans for his retribution and revenge. It is a sad sight to see, when so many American citizens believe what is not true, there is no Trump mandate folks, he did not win by a large margin in anyway. Ya need to look at the actual numbers folks of the popular vote. Also, let me say this, if Joe Biden had stepped aside at the beginning of the election cycle and said I am too old an dlet Harris run sooner, Trump would have lost. Trump didn’t beat Harris really, she only had 119 days to run, and came close and scared him. !

The above said, I don’t wish to argue with die-hard MAGA, or Trump people anymore, they will not listen no matter if you are right, and can prove it. They are the Blind and Loyal puppy dogs following a owner who just feeds there basic needs of wants and desires to get what he wants out of them. It’s a sad sight to see folks. trump won according to the results 49.8 percent to Harris’s 48.3 percent. yes trump won, but, it is no mandate folks and if you want to really examine it closer, look at the numbers in the House and Senate and the number of seats in each. That said, I tire of those who claim Trump has a mandate, he doesn’t and once his honeymoon is over, you will see it. Ok enough on Politics for me, for now, as I shall watch, listen and see what comes next in the near future for America.

Next subject folks, I turn 69 on the 25th of this month in a few days time. As I do, I tend to look back at my life on each birthday and see what affected it, and why, and how I handled it, and whether I believe it was mistakes I made or good decisions I made. I know, no one is perfect and that includes me, and I have made numerous mistakes and at times overstayed or overstepped my welcomes. Ignored warning from others, and at times accepted things I should have fought against. But, in looking back, I know certain people and events, affect all of our lives, and how we adjust or don’t adjust to them effect what happens next and the decisions we make, each day.

We do not control for instance the day we were born, our sex or gender at birth, or the parents who raise us and teach us, or how they do so. We tend to bend and get molded in our young days by these things and people, and depending on how that goes as a starter in our lives, we, tend to do all we can to survive to carryon. I know I had many people in my life who affected how I think, how i react to certain things, and of course medical and mental conditions also. We overcome, we adapt and we learn to live with what we have, or else we die in someway, because we can not overcome and fight a fruitless fight. In my case I have been lucky enough to overcome certain things, I was born with.

Number one was, as a baby when I overcame seizures as a baby, due to a fall. Secondly, I had to overcome being born with Attention Deficit Disorder and Hyper-Activity. Back when I was growing up in the 1960s, mind you, no one knew what that was or how to handle a child who had it, they called it emotional disturbance. Misdiagnosing it and not understanding it made my childhood rough for myself and the family I grew up in. No one’s fault of course but, again a major item to overcome for a child.

Number two for me, was a constant battle with my mother, God rest her Soul of course, over who my real father was and her not wanting me to ever know the man. I always got, well, your just like your father a grease monkey, penny pitching fool. That was far from the truth of course, and that was proven when I finally got to 18 and found the man myself and met him. But, as time went on, because I wanted to meet my real father and know my heritage and from where he came, the battle was constant with my Mother. It resulted in my being Institutionalized for two years for being emotional disturbed, as they called it back then. The fact is, a simple look at the documentation from the Institution I was in for two years shows I was fine, it wasn’t me. Yet, I suffered the separation and almost lose, of my parental family due to it all. In some ways, it improved me and in other ways damaged me emotionally and would take a bit to overcome once I was home again. It taught me ways to handle my mother and my older brother, and in the end my step-father too.

I made mistakes in my teen years in relationship areas and some I regret and some I don’t, as I am sure may do, when young and going through puberty and becoming an adult. It took me a while to learn, not to allow the girls to choose me, and to learn to pick the ones to pursue. And even then, I made mistakes that carried me through my High School years, and made problems for me. yet, looking back at it, I can honestly say, it wasn’t the girls or the relationships I had, it was how I did not know how to navigate each one. So my, teen years were one lonely, two at time rowdy and three, in the end over before I knew it. High School for me, was not good for I dropped out in my Junior Year, and went to work in a factory, because my parents made me pay rent and to survive at home. yet, I did it, and survived, for I had no choice. By the time I left High School it was 1973, and my next adventure was ahead of me, that I never thought of until necessary, welcome to the military was my answer at the time, as the economy tanked, factories closed, and there was no where left to turn, and I, ended up unemployed and in The YMCA, living there. After a short stint in The U.S. Army that didn’t work out due to my step=father getting ill and my inability to mature fast enough. Six months is still six months and the Discharge was Honorable thank God. Between 193 and 1978 I served in The Connecticut National Guard as a Machine Gunner Scout. Struggling to find work as I did so and to survive.

By December, I was alone, scarred, tired, hungry and in the YMCA again. My Unemployment was dying out and my financial situation was rough, as I would make menus for restaurants to post meals, clean dishes, peel potatoes for them and clean their diners to get food to eat. Luckily, the owners I met were kind to me and generous. But, I knew I was in trouble, so I moved on once again, and this time I choose, a little older and wiser to join the U.S. Navy. It was the end of December 1978, when I did so. This time, I knew there was no excuse if I failed and I had to succeed and serve my contract out fully. I did, and overall my Naval time would cover twelve years and added to my Army and National Guard time it would add up to 16 years service for me.

Seeing the world in the Navy was an experience and worth it to me. I gained maturity overtime, I gained some rank, and I gained an education as a sailor and a Boiler Technician. I passed A Scholl for it and then later, two C Schools also. I climbed from a watch position of Messenger to finally Boiler Technician of the Watch. I had few people in The Navy I admired, on each ship I served, and followed and earned from. yet, I was always independent and stubborn also, but got the job done. By, the time I left the Navy in 1989, I had six herniated discs in my spine, and they discharged me, under a Honorable,/ under Medical. My Naval career was over. Along with my Naval Career went my marriage, I had from 1979, and my family and home. I ended up divorced and alone and trying to recover once more, when I returned to my home, and started over.

From the day I returned home in April of 1990 to the summer of 1992, I floundered, struggled and held on. It would take some help from Uncle Sam, the Veteran’s Administration and in the end my second wife to help me recover again. I was lost, scared and alone, when I took a chance and went to a Single’s Dance, lol. There I would meet my second wife. and begin a new as she encouraged me, helped me, showed me the way, and guided me. Through her, I got my benefits from the Veteran’s, I got stability, I went back to College, and got an Associates Degree. I found a way to work once more, I learned to write. and so much more. I helped her pay her bills and we moved in together into her home and grew as a couple. I have no idea why she loved me, or how it worked out so well but it did, and I had her by my side and as my wife in the end for 28 years, till she passed from Breast Cancer on 2021. God Bless her soul I say and I know just how special she really was.

Now adays I am alone again, but I have my condo, a decent car, a way to stay alive and take care of myself, with the Veteran’s Administration. And life has gone on even though I miss my wife, I am learning, when you lose someone, you loved so well, you gained so much from, you must go on. Because once they pass, you are still here, alone and you must find ways to survive and make do, and be as happy as you can doing so, and keep your hopes alive. That is where I am today folks and It just seems to me, no matter what happens, I shall somehow survive, because I have learned to adapt, adjust, be the best me I can be, ignore those who are doubters and angry, and harm no one, but, go on it life. It’s not easy, being a widower or a widow, but, you do learn to once again, live alone, you do learn you don’t have to take any bullshit from anyone. You learn to live, laugh and try to enjoy life the best you can, once more and hold hope that life still has something or someone in store for you in your future, even if you can not find them or it fast, enjoy what you have, make the best and carry on as well as you can.