Tag: AWD

GONE FISHIN

It’s time for my annual trek to Wildwood to mingle with the obese tattooed masses. My posts will be sporadic as I ride my bike, take my son and his friend deep sea fishing, read a book on the deck, sit on the beach, walk on the boardwalk with Avalon, drink heavily at the Shamrock, recover from nights at the Shamrock, listen to my mom tell me the same story for the 4th time, and learn some new curse words from Joyce, my Section 8 neighbor.

Section 8 ain’t doing so great. Mike is doing 3 years in the State Penitentiary for selling heroin in a school zone. Luckily, Joyce has shacked up with a new dude, who weighs about 350 pounds. A match made in welfare heaven. For all the newbies, I’ll repost my classic opening to summer, written five years ago.

Here’s the link:

http://www.theburningplatform.com/2016/06/23/dumbass-fat-cat-crazy-lady-section-8-at-the-beach/

AWD WOULD BE HEART BROKEN

In honor of AWD, I’ve added some of his favorite GIFs below the sad news.

Kate Upton Is Engaged to Justin Verlander, Shows Off Huge Ring at 2016 Met Gala

Kate Upton has announced her engagement to baseball star Justin Verlander.

The 23-year-old supermodel and actress took to the red carpet at last night’s Met Gala in New York City to show off her ring.

She tells E! News that the 33-year-old Detroit Tigers pitcher asked her just before the baseball season started and she’s “excited to finally be able to share it with the world.”

E! reports that Upton and Verlander have been dating for more than three years.

As for a date for the nuptials, Upton tells E! they’re simply “enjoying the engagement period.”

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EPIC START TO MY VACATION

I’m in wonderful Wildwood. The sun is shining and the breeze is blowing. The Section 8 neighbors’ two yappy dogs are barking already. Joyce hasn’t started cursing on the deck yet, so I have that going for me. 25 cent beer night at the Shamrock is only one day away. I left to come down last night after work. As usual, I had to pick up my mother and her fat cat before heading down the shore. She moved to Media, off Baltimore Pike, so my drive would take 20 minutes more than my old drive.

I decided to take Baltimore Avenue through West Philly. The horrific sights could damage me forever. I lost count of the fat teenage black girls pushing baby strollers along the street, with no black men along for the walk. I wonder why. The streets were piled with garbage. The ramshackle buildings that housed check cashing stores and pawn shops were barely inhabitable. There were more boarded up houses than occupied houses. Porches were collapsing due to decades of neglect. The streets were filled with potholes, as the City of Philadelphia doesn’t give a shit about the people living in West Philly. The Democrats will get their votes despite 50 years of creating their poverty. The Free Shit Army continues to shuffle around the streets in their $150 sneakers and talking on their iPhones, because the EBT cards are still being replenished. I wonder what happens to West Philly on the day the free shit stops flowing.

So, I’m within 15 minutes of arriving at my mom’s new apartment and the most epic nasty thunderstorm I’ve ever witnessed struck. I thought my Honda Insight was going to go airborne and I’d run into Dorothy and the Wicked Witch.

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HOPE & SORROW – THE CIRCLE OF LIFE

REPOST OF ARTICLE FROM AUGUST 2014

 

“Actual happiness always looks pretty squalid in comparison with the overcompensations for misery. And, of course, stability isn’t nearly so spectacular as instability. And being contented has none of the glamour of a good fight against misfortune, none of the picturesqueness of a struggle with temptation, or a fatal overthrow by passion or doubt. Happiness is never grand.” – Aldous Huxley, Brave New World


When you drive the PA Turnpike for 7 hours you have a lot of time to think. Our trip to Altoona was bittersweet. My oldest son is beginning his senior year at Penn State. He has his whole life ahead of him. But you never know for sure. His best friend was killed in a car accident one year ago. That tragic event has changed him. He is more serious and introspective. He is searching for a deeper meaning to life. He has downloaded a number of books about spirituality this summer.

He is worried about getting a job after graduation. His degree in Information Technology doesn’t guarantee a job. No degree guarantees a job anymore. I hope he is able to land a decent job with a decent company. He won’t be burdened with any student loan debt. That’s my gift to him. He also understands what is going on in this country. He doesn’t trust the government or the police. He has a healthy skepticism about everything in the media. Driving in a car with me for two hours a day will do that to you.

On the interminable drive, I thought about my senior year in college. It was a great time. I shared an apartment off-campus with two buddies. I had my academics completely under control, so there was plenty of time for enjoying my final days of freedom with friends. There was softball, basketball, frat parties, concerts, and many nights of drinking. Our apartment was fairly big and perfect for parties. There were many interviews with accounting firms and many rejection letters. Our biggest most drunken party was the rejection letter burning party. There were so many rejection letters among the attendees that we achieved a huge bonfire in our yard.

I graduated from college in 1986 and I had hopes and dreams that seemed achievable. Jobs were plentiful. If you took the necessary steps (CPA, MBA), worked hard, and joined the right company, a successful career in finance was there for the taking. If you invested your money in the stock market consistently, dollar cost averaging would lead to a long-term nest egg. Monetary and fiscal policy was too abstract for someone trying to raise a family and build a successful career. Accounting manager, Treasurer, Controller, Strategic Planning – next stop CFO. Politics was uninteresting to me. Life was progressing nicely until the turn of the century.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY – AWD EDITION

Do not go gentle into that good night

 

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Dylan Thomas, 1914 – 1953

DUST IN THE WIND

I close my eyes, only for a moment, and the moment’s gone
All my dreams, pass before my eyes, a curiosity
Dust in the wind, all they are is dust in the wind
Same old song, just a drop of water in an endless sea
All we do, crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see

Dust in the wind, All we are is dust in the wind

Don’t hang on, nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky
It slips away, all your money won’t another minute buy

Dust in the wind, All we are is dust in the wind

VERY SAD NEWS

AWD made his last comment on August 2 telling me to have a good time on my vacation in Wildwood. After two weeks I sent him an email to see if he was OK. I didn’t receive a response. I began to fear the worst.

I started googling his name tonight and sadly found what I didn’t want to find. His obituary.

AWD died in his home on August 5. The autopsy revealed he died of natural causes. It sounded like he had been sick. He is survived by his two daughters. He was only 50 years old.

AWD has been one of TBPs biggest contributors throughout the years. He always had my back. We disagreed sometimes, but he always supported me. He took the pressure off me by finding interesting articles to post. His contributions always generated great debates.

His original moniker was Asshole Doctor. But, I made so many jokes about him being a proctologist that he changed it to AWD.

Avalon and I are shocked and saddened by this terrible news. I feel sad for his young daughters. He loved TBP and the assortment of characters. One of his last comments was on the What Woke You Up post. His fondness for the people on the site and description of TBP captures our community perfectly:

“The Burning Platform opened my eyes. Seriously. That’s not me just blowing smoke up Admin’s ass”

Quinn let me use a Rome post of his for a book I wrote. He was very cool about it. Then I finally saw TBP, and it’s changed my life. It’s gotten me to prepare for what is coming. It enriches my life on a daily basis. I get to hang out with Stuck, and every other person on here, the coolest, smartest, most grounded, sensible, funny, deep, well, not enough superlatives. And from all over the country, but like a a hang-out, bar, party, barbeque, bachelor party, you know; lots of fun and insight. Greatest blog their is, free for all, controlled anarchy. It’s whatever we make it, and we make it good….

His last comment on my Gone Fishin post about going to Wildwood perfectly captures the no holds barred craziness of this site:

bb

Go fuck yourself. Dumb ass village idiot.

Have fun Admin…..

We’ve now lost two huge pieces of TBP – Smokey and AWD. They both held nothing back. The place will never be the same without AWD. I’ll miss him. I hope him and Smokey have met up in heaven (???) and are cursing like sailors about Obama and the rest of the dumbasses running this country.

Farwell Doc. We will all try to breathe.