MANY ANECTDOTES AND A FEW TALL TALES

This is true: Many of you may know we are going to Turkey in early October. Unless you wish to pay $30 per flight segment (and for the two of us there are 8 segments), you cannot reserve seats. So I decided to call British Air last night and whine. After a monumental wait, I get this guy on the phone and confirm my reservations. Then I ask about the seat assignment deal--he says that if I can answer a trivia question, he will get me seats. He realizes I am from Boston (don't you hate it when they know where you are calling from?)and wants to know who sits two seats away from Doc Rivers the Celtics coach on the Celtic bench. I guess Cliff Ray and was wrong--then he tells me who it is (Kevin Eastman) and that this Kevin was his coach at Washington State when he (the British Air guy) played ball there. So I say, I will tell him where that school is and where it is located if he will still keep the offer on the table. He agrees. I then tell him the school is in Pullman which is close to Spokane and the Idaho border and it is flat and full of wheat. BINGO--got my seats--all aisles for both of us on all flights. Is this a great country or what?

Don't you just love those baby kosher hot dogs wrapped in puff pastry? They are probably really bad for you but it turns out unlike a bunch of other stuff, I can eat them with no problemo. I used to wait by the kitchen doors at weddings etc. just to attack them when they came out because they were always the first to go. At our nephew's bar mitzvah, they had great food for the adults but the baby dogs were set apart and just for the kids. No way--I snuck over regularly and elbowed those kids away from the table. It was ugly but I prevailed.

Speaking of events, we went to a bar mitzvah in Delaware. I don't know about you but I always congratulate the kid and tell them they did a wonderful job even if they tripped over every Hebrew word. Well Nathan has some sort of pervasive developmental disorder (some form of autism which I truly do not understand--I especially don't understand why no one had it 50 years ago). Yet he led the service, read the Torah, and really wowed me. I was inspired by what he managed to do and MEANT it when I shook his him and told him how well he did. Worth every minute of the 8 hour return trip in driving rain!!

So Elizabeth Warren deserves the job, should get the job, but the Obamaites are afraid of a filibuster. So he might appoint her temporarily to avoid congress altogether. We really are in bad shape although last I looked, Mr. Silver of 538 still has the Dems holding onto to both houses of Congress. And of course Mitch and the boys are drawing yet another line in the sand about the tax cuts. the rich are just like you and me and deserve another break. Scottie is in full support of this position--and as i have said before, IT IS TED KENNEDY'S SEAT. unbelievable. Great article in the recent New Yorker about the house on "C" Street where a bunch of these jokers live and pray. scary is a better word than great.

I love Maine even when I go for the purpose of visiting my mother's grave. This time Barbara and Anna went with me and after our cemetery prayers, we went to York Beach for a few days and ate lobster daily. Oh my, along with shrimp and those baby dogs, lobster makes three.

SPORTS TALK

The Pats were never (as in ever) going to lose Sunday. They were under rated and the Bengals were over rated. My British Air guy and I agreed that if they are doing well after 8 games, those young kids on defense are going to be be very good. And the two cornerbacks are from those big football powers--Rutgers and UConn. And let me just say Brady has no business taking that car given his contract but----he is sooo good. The jets away will be tough but they too are over hyped and their qb is not as good as anyone thinks.

The yanks are in trouble--no hitting and one starting pitcher until Petite gets back. Bullpen has kept them in. Not sure if they can limp through this. Boo hoo for those red flops but they do have a great start on next year what with all those young guys.

Still hate Rodriquez out there in Ann Arbor. Robinson is a great qb but if they use him that much, something will fall off his body. He is getting banged on every play.

sayonara and happy new year to those who celebrate as well as having an easy fast.