29 November 2007
Sean Taylor
I'm a Redskins fan, and for the last few weeks my biggest concern was the fact that we've been playing so badly that we were going to miss the playoffs yet again. I was disgusted with The Great Joe Gibbs, I was disgusted with the play calling, I was disgusted with the poor execution I was seeing by a group of men that I was so loyal to. I was so disgusted with the Redskins that I refused to even watch their recent game against the Buccaneers. Then, Monday morning, suddenly everything took a back seat.
I was on the Internet at google.com checking headlines when "Redskin's Sean Taylor shot in home" popped up. I whispered, "Damn." and clicked on the story. "Okay, a leg wound. He should be okay," I foolishly thought. I followed the story all day online. All I kept hearing was "He's in a coma and in critical condition." I actually thought to myself on Monday night - He'll be fine. He'll be upgraded to serious in the morning and by Saturday there will be pictures of him smiling with doctors and nurses and signing autographs for sick kids in the children's ward. I assumed he'd miss the rest of the season and come back next pre-season as the Redskins Golden-Boy with smashing tackles and crazy interceptions." Yeah, he'll be fine.
Then Tuesday morning I turned on the radio next to the bed and they were talking about him in the past tense. "He was a talented player..." "He had this kind of spirit..." "He was well liked by..." And I thought, "Damn, why are they talking about him like he's dead. That's pretty thoughtless." With a knot forming in my stomach I went into the guest room and turned on the TV and there it was on channel 5, "Sean Taylor, 1983 - 2007" You could have knocked me over with a feather. I called to my wife, "Sean Taylor died!"
Just then my 3 year old son walked in, coincidentally wearing a Redskins jersey over his pajamas, and asked in a sleepy voice as he sat down next me, "Why did he die?"
What could I say?
I looked at him, then the TV, and then him again and I put my arm around him and said, "Because a very bad person hurt him. And that's why he died." My son looked satisfied with my answer. I don't believe he fully grasps the concept of death and dying, and I guess at this point that is kind of a good thing - maybe.
I'm just stunned.
The police are saying that right now his shooting looks random, but I believe that like I believe George Bush is a good president. I think that is a police ploy to capture the shooter. I don't believe this was a random crime. I'm confident that the person [or persons] that did this knew that was Sean Taylor's home, I'm confident they knew he was home, and I'm confident that he was a target for whatever reason. I think if someone just wanted to steal something, they wouldn't break into a bedroom and start shooting - they would avoid contact and flee. Or if they were startled they would run and just start shooting blindly during their excape. I'm sure that Sean's killer knew him and knew he was home. I truly hope that they bring him to justice!
I was so pissed off over the 'Skins not making the playoffs this year that I had vowed not to watch another single game. Now I can hardly give a damn. I feel for those guys. I feel for the whole organization. Football is just a game, a sport - life is REAL. Life is joy and strength and faith and happiness and pain and sorrow. Life is real and life is what is important. I'm ashamed that I had forgotten that on Sunday afternoons.
TTBM
19 November 2007
Nation's Capital or Murder Capital?
12 October 2007
The Noose
27 September 2007
The deception we see...
I was driving the other day and not really paying attention to anything other than the road when this commercial caught my ear. Basically, it was talking about a Air Force surveillance aircraft that picked up an enemy target and sent an electronic signal to an Army ground unit who relayed instructions to a Navy fighter to take the target out. Then it finished with some snazzy catchphrase like, "Netcentric Warfare brought to you by Northrop Grumman."
I had been hearing this radio ad and others like it quite a bit over the last year. Then I got to thinking about the fact that I had been seeing a lot of television and newspaper ads for military contractors over the last few years. On the subway, on the sides of buses, in magazines, basically everywhere I go I see ads for the big military contractors. I don't seem to remember a lot of commercials for these types of companies until the last couple of years. I just don't think that these companies could have marketed themselves or their products so aggressively unless we as Americans hadn't gotten so conditioned to war, warfare and the images associated with both.
Certainly many of us had heard of Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Grumman and these big companies, but they were back-burner companies when it came to the workings of most of our daily lives - we knew they existed, but they weren't household names until NBC Nightly News and CNN brought their products into our living rooms.
Then I got to thinking about it and I found myself asking the question: "Is the deception we SEE, the truth we DON'T?"
Honestly I don't know if that question is sheer genius or the definition of stupidity, but none the less it made me look deeper at this awful war that an unfit President and a Congress that is so busy trying to keep their jobs that they don't want to do their jobs - has gotten us into.
First, everyone in the White House was bent out of shape over Iraq's ignoring certain UN resolutions, and then Bush excited over Weapons of Mass Destruction, and then suddenly Bush told us that WE had to liberate the people of Iraq, and I think now we are, uh, let me see... fighting them over there so we don't have to fight them over here. I'm sure there have been some other reasons for this war, but they'll come to me later.
However, I think my eyes are opened a little wider now. Surely we all know that Bush and Cheney and their supporters want access to that precious middle eastern oil, but I think even more than that, Bush wants to make his economic base, his economic supporters even wealthier by financing the military manufacturing industry of this nation.
It is no secret that WAR is great for a country's economy, at least for corporate side of the economy. Employment in related fields go up, raw materials are needed and gobbled up, technology goes through the roof - Industry Fat Cats laugh their way right to the bank! In the last six years, Northrop Grumman stock values have gone up nearly 100%; Lockheed Martin stocks have gone up over 150%; and United Technologies [the parent company of Pratt and Whitney who manufacture most of the military aircraft engines] has seen its stock rise by over 200% in the same period! The people behind our President - the people that funded his campaign for the White House, the people that he publicly called "his base" must now be repaid and thanked properly and what better way to do that than to give them a war, a war that has pumped hundreds of billions of dollars into non-competed military contracts; a war that has built up massive numbers of tanks and jets and bombs, guns and bullets, and SOMEBODY has to make them! And then we have the support contracts from companies like Blackwater and the infamous Haliburton [who has since taken all of their tax generating income to the country of Dubai!!!] who are making billions of dollars with each passing year of our war in Iraq! There are actually more US contractors in Iraq than there are US soldiers and Marines!!! Somebody is GETTIN' PAID!!!
So, we not only went to war for a Presidential vendetta, and not only did we go so that powerful people behind the scenes in our country can take a large stake in the global oil reserves - but, we went to war because our political leaders wanted to make the rich in this nation richer, they wanted to fund the mighty American war industry and they wanted George Bush to go out of the White House as the most generous president to corporate interests EVER - and they were willing to fuel it and finance this with the blood of our brave men and women.
I'm not finished with this one yet...
TTBM
11 September 2007
Could this change the world???
By David Templeton, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
ERIE, Pa. - An Erie cancer researcher has found a way to burn salt water, a novel invention that is being touted by one chemist as the "most remarkable" water science discovery in a century.
John Kanzius happened upon the discovery accidentally when he tried to desalinate seawater with a radio-frequency generator he developed to treat cancer. He discovered that as long as the salt water was exposed to the radio frequencies, it would burn.
The discovery has scientists excited by the prospect of using salt water, the most abundant resource on earth, as a fuel.
Information from: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
07 September 2007
That queezy feeling...
You know how you've met this person and you're all excited over whether or not this person could be THE ONE?
They look good, they've got a great smile, they say the right things, they've got that twinkle in their eyes that makes you wonder... "Are they as special as I think they are?"
In the hours leading up to the Big Date, you have butterflies in your stomach, your chest is kinda' tight, your thoughts and mind are all over the place, you can't think of much else. You just want to get to the date and see what's what?
That's how I feel right now.
Me and 500,000 REDSKIN fans all across this country!!!
We are queezy with anticipation as the first kickoff of our new season approaches. Is Jason Campbell going to be something special? Is Clinton Portis going to rush for 1600 yards? Is the defense going be number one against the run? Are we gonna' crush some teams this year? Is Joe Gibbs FINALLY gonna' live up to the hype? Are glory days going to be upon us again?
Lord knows I want the answer to be "YES" to all of these. But sadly I'm a realistic pessimist. The answer to most of these is going to be "NO" and the worst part is, I'm still going to be there for all 16 weeks. I bleed burgundy and gold. And for the last decade or so - I've been bleeding a lot.
I'm still lost in the glory days of the past... Theismann throwing touchdowns, Riggins blowing across the goal line, Green intercepting balls and jetting into the endzone, Mann pressing opposing quarterbacks out of the pocket, Marshall crushing opposing running backs, Manley bruising his way through the line, Williams and Rypien leading us to The Promised Land, Big Tre' shuttin' defenses down... it's all still with me.
Every year for the last ten years I find myself threatening to become a Colts fan 'next season' because I get tired of the same old "Skin's collapse." I get tired of the stupid holding penalty; the dumb interception, the foolish fumble; the damned delay of game penalty - all of the avoidable stuff that puts one in the right hand column. Every year.
And yet, I'm here again - hours before kickoff and the butterflies are in my stomach. I'm still burgundy and gold and ready to bleed - again. As usual, I'll be ready on Sunday with a some Heineken, hot dogs, Fritos and band-aids.
Lets do it!
My prediction: Skins 17 - Dolphins 13
23 August 2007
Like Mike...
18 August 2007
Et tu E-Z-Bake?
I wasn't too surprised when I heard, a few weeks ago, that Sesame Street toys made in China were being recalled. Leading this particular recall were Big Bird and Elmo toys. I always thought that Big Bird was pretty clean cut, but Elmo's a different story. I always KNEW that there was something sinister about him.
All that red fur and googly eyes, and that little voice. I knew HE was a bad dude, I knew HE was just the kind of toy to try to harm our kids. Him and his CRAYONS and his little goldfish... pleeeease.
But the Easy Bake oven recall came out of left field.
Well, actually none of this should surprise me and a big part of me is happy its happening. These incredible recalls; fish, dog food, cat food, toothpaste, toys this week, toys last week, toys the week before last, toys next week - its shameful. Shameful and disgusting. But NOT shameful and disgusting because of anything the Chinese have done. No, it's shameful that WE have so much of our economy, our products, and our welfare resting squarely in another country's hands!!!
I came to a scary conclusion a few years ago... one morning I was lying in the floor playing with a bunch of toy trucks with my son and I happened to notice that the one I had was made in China. For no particular reason I checked another one and it to was made in China. A third was made in Taiwan, two more in China, two more in Taiwan. I got so caught up in this reality check that I ended up spending the better part of an hour trying to find anything in my home, toys or otherwise, that was made in the good old U.S. of A. When all was said and done I'd have to say that less than 10% of the things I checked were made in this country.
Even in my wildest imagination I thought that maybe 30 or 40 percent might be made in America. But I was way off base. This is the fact that I'm so shamed and bothered by. The politicians of this country have so much against China. Its the classic case of smile in your face and stab you in the back, yet while China and the US are smiling at each other - we are importing hundreds of billions of dollars in materials and goods from them each and every year. Yet deep down we don't trust them. And while trust is a big issue, there is an even bigger problem that has me scratching my head.
Why in the world aren't we Americans making our own toothpaste? Why aren't we Americans growing and producing our own fish and fruits? Why aren't we making and painting our own toys for OUR kids? Why?
Have you read your orange juice bottle?
"made with oranges grown in China, Chile, Brazil..."
Have you looked inside of you sneakers?
"made in Taiwan..."
Have you looked on the bottom of your laptop or keyboard?
"Japan no doubt..."
Why aren't WE in America stepping up and making our own merchandise?
Let me be real for a moment, I know its all about money, everything is. American importers want to use the cheaper Chinese labor and China wants the business. I'm all for international trade and international commerce, and I understand that the United States needs to be a big part of that. But must we COMPLETELY sell ourselves? I honestly doubt that millions of little Chinese and Taiwanese boys and girls are crawling around on the floor playing with toy cars and toy trucks, and little airplanes and dolls made in America. I doubt it seriously.
Honestly, it's that same "let somebody else do it" mentality that is fueling so much of the immigration problem we have in this country. If I hear one more politician say, the illegal immigrant population does the jobs that American's are unwilling to do - I'll scream. The truthful statement is "Illegal Immigrants will do the jobs that Americans are unwilling to do for slave wages." When it comes to Asian manufacturing for American importing the statement is "Chinese will manufacture the goods that Americans are unwilling to do for slave wages." And, nobody should HAVE to do ANYTHING for a slave wage. It is this type of shameful financial treatment of lower tier employees that creates a multi-generational poverty among working class people.
It's disgusting. Multi-billion dollar companies refuse to shave a small portion off of their profit line by hiring the men and women, the mothers and fathers that will buy their products - to make their products. These importers want their toys, and snacks and products sold in Detroit, Washington DC, Boise, Tampa, Cleveland, Sacramento, Boston, Miami, Denver and all of these kinds of places, but they are not willing to hire the people that live in these cities to make these same products at a decent salary. And we're telling them, "It's okay."
"Sure, it's okay to not hire me, an American, to build a product that is intended for American stores and American citizens. I'm not upset. There's NOTHING you can do to create jobs for Americans that ARE willing to work, but can't find a job that pays enough to buy food and healthcare. It's okay. I know your profit is very important to you and I wouldn't want to interfere with your profit. So please, give me that Elmo with the lead painted eyes, the truck with those loose little magnets, and the Easy Bake oven that gives off those deadly fumes... my two-year-old will love them."
TTBM.
15 August 2007
Guns + Young + Poor Judgement = Safer Schools for all.
03 August 2007
Driving in DC
But, you know what I have done, and lived to tell about it?
I’ve driven in Washington DC.
Yup. And for the most part – I’ve survived.
Now, Washington is a great city to drive in – provided you are the only car on the road. There is history, great architecture and impressive landscapes from one end of this city to the other. The streets, while bumpy and crappy for the most part, are arranged in a reasonable and very user friendly configuration in which one street will be going north and the very next one will be going south, the same typically applies to east and west. Most of the streets are identified on the signs with NW, SW, NE, or SE and if that doesn’t work and you can see the dome of the capital and the sun, then you can pretty much figure out what part of town you’re in. Like I said, it’s a great city to drive in if you are the only car on the road.
And that happens… never.
This morning I saw so much aggressive driving, so much crazy lane changing, so many middle fingers being thrown that I almost pulled over to wait until rush hour was over. It was incredible! Typically I take the DC metro [subway] into work, and despite all the gripes and complaints about the fares that metro charges – I’d pay $20 a day to avoid all the foolish crap that people do on the roads inside the beltway!
As I drove cautiously past Union Station, several minutes after seeing a massive SUV narrowly miss hitting an Audi sedan, I asked myself why do things seem so crazy here in DC. My conclusion was this:
The District of Columbia is made up of four major groups of drivers. You have the Hob-Nobbers, the people that live and work in the high profile parts of DC - Capital Hill, Georgetown, Arlington, etc. They are very focused on themselves and the assumed rightness of their mission. They are very oblivious of most other drivers because they are Senator’s aides, Government hotshots or up and coming executives at the hottest law firms and companies. They are ALWAYS headed somewhere more important than you or I and they MUST be able to get home or to the office. These people can usually be seen in their Volvo’s, Audi’s and Mercedes’ impatiently whipping in and out of lanes as they become bored with having us mere mortals around them.
Then you have, The Tourists. These people come from all over the country to see the sights, and that’s where the problems start. They land at Reagan National Airport and pickup a minivan or SUV and head right into the city – AT RUSH HOUR! They have no clue as to where they are going and where ever the are, they are awestruck! They have to slow down to look at every damn thing in sight. Then they make an illegal turn at the next intersection so they go back and see it again. To these people I want to say, take some time to read your map, have a driver and a photographer that are two separate people and drive between 11AM and 2 PM and 8PM and 11PM ONLY!!! You can always spot these people, because they go 20 miles per hour and swerve a lot.
After The Tourists, you have The Residents. They know the lay of the land and they just want to get from point A to point C without getting stuck at point B. They don’t care about the Capital, the Mall, the Jefferson Memorial, Union Station or the Senate Office buildings – they just don’t feel like being bothered by all the other non-sense. These people tend to be aggressive to most of us because typically their cars are already beaten up because the DC streets are so rough and raggedy and I think they figure that if they hit a few of us other drivers, maybe we’ll spread the word to stay out of town! The Residents tend to drive way to fast and way too close to your bumper!
Finally you have The Commuters, like me. We don’t live in DC, we just work and play here. We like the Capital and the White House and the Smithsonian, but we don’t pay them much mind because we’ve see them a million times. We like our jobs, but we won’t kill to get to them, and we know pretty much how the city is laid out, but we won’t break our necks to get to where we’re going. We just come and we go. Our traffic screw up is an odd combination of all three - illegal turns, too much and too little speed, a touch of tail gating and a sprinkle of quick lane changing. But see – we HAVE to drive this way in order to survive those other three kinds of drivers!
It’s kill or be killed sometimes on the roads in DC, and like I said, “I’ve never been in combat…” but I’ve been REAL close!
23 July 2007
The N---- Mindset...
12 July 2007
Priviledged Executive?
29 June 2007
Blood in the water...
On Monday evening I sat down to do some Accounting homework and I turned the TV to the USA network so I could have Monday Night Raw playing in the background. If you don't know, Monday Night Raw is one of the longest running and highest rated programs on cable television. It is the live weekly wrestling program of World Wrestling Entertainment [formerly The World Wrestling Federation]. On Monday evening, all that was known by most people was that one of the best wrestlers in the world, Chris Benoit and his family were found dead in their home. I automatically assumed it was carbon monoxide or a violent home invasion. I was devastated and I poured my heart into a long posting about the former world champion.
The next morning, I found out the dark and tragic truth of a double homicide and suicide.
I snatched my posting down Tuesday morning and spent the rest of the day sulking and cursing under my breath at a man that would do something so savage to his wife and child - the very people that a husband and father are charged with protecting.
I am a wrestling fan.
I don't tell many people that because so few people see wrestling as anything more than large men and women beating each other with steel chairs. Professional wrestling is so much more than that. Why people can go see Tom Cruise, Denzel Washington, Nichole Kidman, Halle Berry and hundreds of others and suspend reality for two hours to enjoy them as fighter pilots, dirty cops, spies and secret agents and yet many of these people criticize Adam Copeland (Edge), Steve Williams (Steve Austin), Glenn Jacobs (Kane) and others who create a fantasy world where good takes on evil, and right takes on wrong inside a 20' X 20' ring?
I don't know.
But what has been driving me nuts all week, is this feeding frenzy that the media has been in over the evil deeds of Chris Benoit. It seems as though there were some prescription steroids found in the Benoit home. AUTOMATICALLY - the media [especially that narrow minded Nancy Grace] jumped on this ROID RAGE bandwagon!!! It pisses me off to no end, that the media is this country is so untalented and in such a rush "to bring it to us first" - no matter how incomplete and inaccurate IT is. They hear one word and latch on in a ferocious death grip, like piranhas fueled by fresh blood in the water. The media AUTOMATICALLY assumes that anything a pro-wrestler does is steroid fueled. And this story is extra juicy because you've got a high body count, domestic violence, a dead child and a muscled up pro-wrestler! Nice, neat, simple and bloody. The word "prescription" has all but disappeared in this story. All "steroids" do NOT cause ROID RAGE and the crime scene does not support a RAGE.
Heaven help this country if our reporters DARED to do some real work, some real INVESTIGATIONS, some real INSIGHT into what they report - instead of grabbing the first snippet of anything and running with it - maybe our media would just do some real homework.
I'm NOT defending Chris Benoit by any stretch of the imagination. I'm defending the hundreds of men and women that choose to earn their livings by being professional wrestlers. I'm defending those men and women that choose not to use steroids and who step inside that squared circle for our entertainment.
If anyone took the time to really look into this situation, they'd probably find that Chris Benoit was clean and free of steroids when he committed the darkest acts imaginable. Very few media sources are pointing out the fact that the WWE has an independently run "Wellness Program" to make sure its performers are drug and steroid free. Very few sources are also telling people that Benoit tested NEGATIVE for steroids in his last test 60 days ago.
I think the media should move beyond trying to smear ALL pro wrestlers with their broad claims of "they all do it," and they should stop trying to simplify Benoit's actions by neatly packaging them as a "Roid Raging Muscle-Head that snapped." I think there were some dark
demons in Chris Benoit's heart and mind. I think what he has done is the most unforgivable of acts. I am ashamed for crying when I heard that he had died. I am angered that an innocent woman and little boy are dead at the hands of the man trusted with their well being. I'm angry and confused.
Thanks for reading this. I'm humbled that you gave me several minutes of your valuable time.
TTBM.
17 June 2007
ON FATHERS DAY...
DOUGLAS MARTIN was a husband and a father of six daughters.
I knew Mr. Martin very indirectly - I may have actually spoken to him 2 or 3 times and I'd probably waved 'hello' to him the same number of times.
On September 14th 2006, he and three of his daughters were swimming near the 78th street pier in Ocean City. With hurricane Florence blowing strong in the Atlantic about the same time, the northeastern US seaboard had been plagued with strong, dangerous riptides. Mr. Martin and his girls got caught up in such a riptide. They were separated from each other and he swam to shore to make sure everyone was okay. When he got there, only his 17 year old daughter had made it back safely. Mr. Martin turned back to the sea and did what father's do - he went back for his children.
It turns out that his 13 year old daughter had been lucky and smart enough to let herself float on her back and get washed out to sea, where she was rescued by an off-duty beach patrol officer. Mr. Martin and his 15 year old, Amy, were found a short time later by the Coast Guard and taken to Atlantic General Hospital where he was pronouced dead on arrival and where she died an hour later.
Over the last few days I have thought about these events for hours and hours. Their deaths reinforce the fact that we have to give love to those around us every chance we get. What was an innocent moment of family fun - a quick swim before dinner - turned to devastating tragedy in only a few minutes. What was a happy family of eight, was in the blink of an eye changed to a grieving family of six. I'm sure that morning Mr. & Mrs. Martin had no idea that that would be their last morning waking up together.
In my mind, I've tried to imagine what Mr. Martin was thinking when he realized that two of his children were in mortal danger. Swimming out to them with water splashing around him, rip currents pulling like strong arms at his whole body, yelling and screaming his girls names. I'm positive that he had no thoughts of his own impending death, I'm positive that he had no idea that the 46 years of life that he had were about to end in a few minutes. I'm positive that his only thoughts were of a life without two of his girls and this is a life that he was swimming frantically to prevent. If they weren't coming back, then HE wasn't coming back.
I know there are millions of fathers who would risk and give their lives without a second of thought to protect their children. But to have actually encountered a man that would be called upon to make that exact sacrifice is humbling. To me, it defines the man. To me, it is the example of what a MAN does, and it is the best example of what a FATHER does.
Rest in peace, Douglas and Amy.
THBM
11 June 2007
My marriage is over...
Over the last 8 years there were some really great moments that will stay with me forever. And then there were some downright dreadful times that I wish I could forget and yet I probably never will.
I was very loyal, I mean - loyal to a fault sometimes. My commitment made me miss some other things that I really wanted to be a part of of, but there I was week in and week out, month in and month out, year in and year out.
And in the end, all my wife could say was, "I'm sorry sweetie."
"I'm sorry sweetie."
I know she meant it from the bottom of her heart, but it didn't take away my disappointment. It didn't take away the hurt. It didn't make me feel like less of a fool.
I should have walked away three years ago, before my son was born. Then he too, wouldn't have had to see the sadness in his fathers eyes. I'm just not the same man I was three years ago. Now I'm bitter and jaded. I've been teased, taunted and strung along. I think the term I'm looking for is "played like a fiddle."
I was there through it all:
-The thing on the boat five years ago...
-That dreadful Columbus Day parade...
-That night, lost in the woods in knee deep snow...
-The trip to Italy...
-The new house by the woods...
And what do I get in return?
The worst series finale in television history!
I have to say - MY TELEVISION DIDN'T LAND ON TONY SOPRANO, TONY SOPRANO LANDED ON MY TELEVISION!
Eight years ago, I remember it like it was yesterday. The opening scene showed a much younger and much smaller Tony Soprano watching some ducks landing on his pool at the old house. He walked out to get a closer look and they flew away. He passed out. This was his first of many stress induced blackouts that drove him into the office of Dr. Jennifer Melfi.
My loyalty to the Sopranos over the last eight years is very much like a real marriage, you have to be faithful and supportive, you have to forsake all other shows [in the same time slot], you have to listen carefully and understand what is going on, but most of all you have to take the good with the bad. Unfortunately, the last three seasons have ranged from boring to awful to terrible. I think David Chase and the other writers and people behind the scenes have taken the loyalty of us Sopranos fans for granted. I think they just figured they could throw any mis-mash of storylines and artsy-fartsy perspective together and call it "an episode." Well, that's just what they did, and my stupid-self, I kept watching and hoping that something special was still yet to come. It never did.
As the last season pulled along slowly and painfully, I knew that time was running out for a stellar mind blowing ending. For whatever reason, Chase tried to develop the loathsome, boring son of Tony Soprano, (Anthony Jr.) in the last 7 episodes. This is something that should have been attempted six years ago while anybody still gave a damn. At this point, nobody cared about AJ. When he tried to kill himself a few weeks ago, I was hoping that he'd succeed just so we could get him out of the way, but even at that, he couldn't get the job done.
I was so burnt out heading into last night's series finale, I had said that only one thing would make me like the show, that would have been for Silvio Dante to be awake from his coma and listening to "Hungry Heart" by Bruce Springsteen when Tony walked in to visit him. Then I wanted Sil to say, "Hey Ton', you know, that Bruce Springsteen, he's got a really good band." This would have been classic because Steven Van Zandt, the actor who plays Silvio, plays guitar in Bruce's E Street Band. But, even that was too much to ask.
So, last night, my eight year marriage to Tony Soprano, Sil, Dr. Melfi, Chris, Paulie Walnuts, Uncle June, Bobby Bacala, Meadow, and The Bing came to a close with a sad little whimper, a whimper and a squish.
When it was done, I was sad. I felt stupid for sticking with a once great show for three years after its greatness left. I sat there in stunned silence. My wife knew I was crushed, so she patted me on my leg and said, "I'm sorry sweetie."
I was too.
TTBM