My Life As A Hobby

  I saw a bumper sticker on a car not too long ago that said,”It’s not that I’m old, your music really does suck.”  Preach it brother.  Bob Seger put it best when he sang, “Call me a relic, call me what you will.  Say I'm old-fashioned, say I'm over the hill. Today's music ain't got the same soul - I like that old time rock 'n' roll.”  I might change the last line to,  “today’s music sounds like a Buick that needs a brake job stopping on a hill.”  You’re welcome, Bob.  If you’re thinking,” Oh no, it’s not another one of old people telling us how bad our music is.” Well, buck up, Sparky, because it is. There is no doubt that many things in today’s world are better than they were a half century ago. But music ain’t one of them. And it’s not even close. The music in the 60’s 70’s and 80’s rules.  Artists that most people under 35 don’t even know have influenced some of the so-called music that they listen to today. And I wish they had influ...

I have been yelling like a, well, a grumpy grandfather. It’s embarrassing really - yelling for quiet. But it’s necessary when you have a houseful of screaming kids.  I know my voice only added to the pandemonium, but I had to do something. The TV was blasting, an iPad was playing music, and a naked 3 year old was running thru the den like a mini streaker.  When you add shrieks from 2 other kids and barking dogs, there’s no way I could peacefully watch the ending of Top Gun. The cherry on the frustrating sundae came about when I get out of my chair to inquire about the nudity, and my bare foot stepped on a Barbie doll.  It felt like I had been stabbed with a Bowie Knife.  This is what happens when three of my grandkids - who are all girls- spend the night with us.  Any time Rilynne, who’s 11, Eva, who’s 8, and Addy, who’s 3, get together, it’s like an all-girl version of Lord of the Flies.  I asked for this. I raised 3 boys and I desperately wanted a l...