Where Are My Keys?

Godspeed, Geno..

We lost one of the good ones on Friday.

My father-in-law Tom was a great guy.  He grew up on a fox farm on the East Coast, went off to war at the tender age of 17, and flew B-24's on dozens of missions.  He came home, tried college for a bit, and then went to work.  He made his name in plastics, met and married his beautiful bride Ali, and raised four kids, the youngest of which I'm quite fond of.

I didn't get to know him until very late in his life, but we sure made up for lost time.  Tom (or "Geno", as I came to affectionately call him) could fix just about anything, was quick to lend a hand or ideas on projects, and was always interested in what was happening in my professional life.  My friends all loved him, he loved them back, and no one could believe he (or Ali, for that matter) was as old as he was. 

He walked daily, rain, snow, or shine, to stay on top of his weakened heart - multiple bypass operations couldn't slow him down.  We often joked that he had been playing with "house money" when it came to his heart, the miracles of modern medicine keeping him with us for as long as possible.

Sunny days would find Geno sitting on the porch, enjoying one of his cigars, and chewing the fat.  We would talk football, the Rockies, my Sun Devils, merits of the designated hitter, his struggling Jets; and his favorite subject of all, politics.

Tom loved listening to Rush, watching Fox News, and reading all the books from the various network personalities.  If we hadn't spoken for a few days due to my business travel, we'd go over the list of stuff he wanted to catch up on.  He was able to vote in the last election, and was thrilled on election night to see the Democrats receive a good thumping.  He was a daily reader of WAMK, wore his t-shirt everywhere, and loved the random stuff I would find and post. 

He volunteered at the zoo, processing the various items that went out to schools on loan.  He'd make sure everything was put back in its proper place, and get the next batch ready to go out.  He'd keep us up to date on the inner workings and gossip of the organization.  We'd joke that he was the CEO, his passion and knowledge of the place.  He loved the work, and the ladies he worked with.

He was a devoted man of the Church.  Rarely missed a Mass, was buddies with Father Chris (they had an inside joke in which Father would speak to him in a tortured "New Yawk" accent, a tradition the continued when Father Chris spoke about Tom yesterday at his memorial), and was my go-to guy for questions on anything religion-related.  He was so proud of the little Duper at her first communion last year.

He was deeply in love with his wife Ali.  64 years of marriage on this planet before she died last year, and we watched Tom change from being waited on to becoming her caregiver during the last year of her life.  He learned how to shop for them, cook for them, and take care of her in a way he never had to before.  He'd make sure she had her meds, got her to her appointments, and tried to keep her happy and comfortable.

He moved in with us for a few months after she passed, a new chapter and experience for all of us.  We set him up in the front room, learned just how high the volume on our TV went, and included him in our semi-weekly DJ night in the kitchen.  He'd cocktail with us, dance with the Duper, and egg us on.  He was always up for an adventure into the mountains, to Home Depot, or to school for pickup.  We found him an apartment in an independent living facility, he made some new friends, and would still join us for cocktails, conversations, and a home-cooked meal.

His health began to slip over the last month or so.  His heart had a lot of miles on it, and things were beginning to break down.  He was in and out of the hospital after stays of a few days several times.  He came home for good last Thursday.  I had been out of town on business, and we caught up a bit on Friday morning.  His oldest son was coming into town on Sunday for a few days, so we knew we would have lots going on.

We got the call that he passed a little after 7 pm, exactly one year to the day as his wife.  If that wasn't amazing enough, he died within an hour of Ali to boot.

We had a small ceremony yesterday morning, attended by his fellow residents, zoo co-workers, our friends, and our family.  He was surrounded by love, and Father Chris gave a wonderful memorial.

He was a pilot, a father, a child of God, a grandfather, and most of all, my friend.

I'll miss him terribly.

 

I'm sure this Administration will respond with a hashtag campaign..

#NoBombersInOurBackyard

I'm sure that will take care of it.

Because this is the most important thing in the United States right now..

This was the biggest issue that you saw in all those ads leading up to the election right?  Net neutrality?  Wasn't that the number one thing on people's minds last Tuesday?

Good to see the President respond to his constituients.

I'm just curious about one thing - if the only to way to make sure the Internet remains "pure" is by letting the Feds control it, how come it hasn't been "polluted" already?  What's stopped "powerful interests" from already doing exactly what the President is telling us will happen if the FCC isn't in charge?

Good for you, Rush..

The radio giant threatens to sue the DCCC:

Radio host Rush Limbaugh has threatened to sue the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) for defamation, The Daily Caller has learned.

Limbaugh retained the services of lawyer Patty Glaser and demanded that the DCCC “preserve all records in anticipation of a lawsuit for defamation and interference” after the Democratic Party group led a campaign against Limbaugh based on out-of-context statements the host made about sexual assault. Limbaugh’s legal team delivered a letter to DCCC representatives Monday informing them of the legal threat. Limbaugh has also demanded a public retraction and apology.

The Limbaugh team is currently proceeding from the standpoint of litigating and has not yet made a decision as to whether the DCCC could make any concessions at this point to prevent the lawsuit.

The DCCC “has intentionally disseminated demonstrably false statements concerning Rush Limbaugh in a concerted effort to harm Mr. Limbaugh, and with reckless disregard for the resulting impact to small businesses across America that choose to advertise on his radio program” according to the GlaserWeil law firm’s letter to the DCCC, which was obtained by TheDC. “Mr. Limbaugh clearly, unambiguously, and emphatically condemned the notion that ‘no’ means ‘yes.’”

“Let’s be clear: Rush Limbaugh is advocating for the tolerance of rape” the DCCC stated in a September fundraising email after Limbaugh mocked Ohio State’s new mandatory sexual consent guidelines.

A Liberal hero suggest one "punch back twice as hard".  Limbaugh seems to be doing just that.  He has deep pockets, time, and what appears to be a winnable case, so why not file suit?

There's the added side bonus of the DCCC having to toss money that could otherwise be put to better use (maybe helping to find better candidates than the ones they offered up in the last election) than having to defend themselves.

A win-win for Republicans.

Great observations from VDH on Election Day..

Every bit of this piece is fantastic, and pulling out various snippets for you to read would be nearly impossible to do.  So I'll tease you with the open, and ask that you read the whole thing:

Here is the problem with the old-style Obama strategy of slicing and dicing the electorate into aggrieved minorities and then gluing them back together to achieve a 51% majority. On almost every issue in this election that they should be running on, they simply cannot. And on those that they are running on, they probably should not be.

Let me explain.