"What Is the News?"

 Written in 2008 as kind of a prediction of what would happen 2012... 


 What is the news?   Its Interesting the way local news has evolved into, "Who can beat the other TV stations in describing the blood and gore on the streets?" The more horror the better. They describe that the man was shot in the chest 4 times and was killed instantly. Then the camera pans to the street to show the blood and police tape...Do we really care what happens in the city to the drug dealers? I don't know about you but I don't. Then there is the "Caught on video on a security camera." They will run this "over and over" with the warning "may not be suitable for children." Then they show a man being hit by a car and thrown over the hood with his limp, rag doll body hitting the street. The driver then speeds away never to seen again. My personal favorite is the man or woman hit by a train then showing the blood and brain matter on the tracks. Then there are rapes and child molesters. The corrupt officials who hide there faces in a perp walk or are caught in a men's room looking for sex. The future leaders who cheat on their wives. The male coach who is accused of inappropriately touching a teen girl in school or of setting up a video camera in a girls locker room. I really enjoy the hot blond, female teacher who had sex with her 15 year student. Oh, how I envy him. You can be sure mom told on that one......Oops, lets not forget the commercial telling the audience to take anti-depressant's or a pill to loose weight. I especially love the commercials with the loud obnoxious moron yelling at you to buy a car and lets not forget the bastard singing a stupid song about his package store. Now back to the news...A crack head breaks into senior housing to steal money and kills the 88 year old woman after he has raped her. We must not forget the gang assholes who light a homeless man on fire while he was sleeping then rob a convenience store only to kill the clerk who I might add was working 3 jobs so his son could go to medical school. Now for the weather update. Rain and floods in the Midwest causing 28 children to drown in a school bus. Driver tried to drive across a flooded street only to be swept by the currant into a river. The driver survived trying to save children. I think that driver might as well have died along with the kids by the time they are done with him....Now the Local weather. Lighting strikes pregnant woman and kills her. Then, with that "idiot smile" on his face the weather man says "Back to the news. A man drills a hole in the head of his dog because the dog wouldn't listen. Woman arrested for having too many stray cats, Neighbor complained. You know the neighbor, the one with his to big baseball hat on sideways with all the gold chains who speaks that black street talk. "ITS THE DRUG DEALER THAT SHOT THE MAN 4 TIMES" I scream at the TV but they can't hear me... They show the poor lady crying as the animal control puts the cats she saved in the little kennels. Now the human interest story....Man has a prayer memorial for his wife and 2 daughters who were raped and murdered in their home during a home invasion. The two suspects were released from prison 2 weeks earlier because of over crowding. They show where the home was and it was leveled and it is a lawn now with a plaque with the names of his wife and daughters. The two men are now on death row with no hope of release. The Governor of Connecticut just abolished the Death penalty. Will these two killers have any hope of not being given the needle...Stay tuned... The worst part of all this is, all this is true.......Time for Letterman........

"My Take on the News"

Violence on TV stimulates the copycats and the Psychopaths into thinking that they can get away with the things they see on TV or in the movies because they think they are smarter. Did you notice that lately they are putting the most insane things on the TV news? They do this so people will generate more news. In a sense they are reshaping cultural values. The young people of today are, for the most part not being taught at home or in school. Look at the epidemic of bullying lately. Years ago they learned by limit setting and their parents example. Today it’s the drug addict movie star or some other twisted thing on Facebook or YouTube. They see these things and guess what? Right, they are on the news and you are saying. ”Awww isn’t that a shame…

"TV Ban"

Television is still banned in my house except for NY Giant football. Just kidding, its really about choices and choosing and I choose not to be brainwashed. Its not banned and if I have company they can watch anything they want. We usually end up watching commercial free movies on the internet because I'm finding more and more people are sick of all the violence on TV. However I do miss certain things. Once you stop doing something habit forming you also miss the good things, if there are any good things about the habit. When I watched morning television the only good things were watching my favorite weather girl Stephanie Abrams on the Weather channel and as far as I am concerned the most famous traffic girl in this area Teresa LaBarbera from New Haven 8. My favorite news girl was Heather Hegedus but she moved from Channel 3 in Hartford to Boston. I felt bad about that. I looked forward to seeing these ladies. These three woman are not only gorgeous but they have brains and are good at what they do. What I don’t like is and you knew there would be a, “Don’t like“ didn’t you? The television stations and networks exploit their sexuality to attract viewers, mostly guys, who will ultimately watch commercials and spend money. I mean what normal guy doesn’t like to see an attractive woman. If you think about it, there isn’t really anything wrong with that. Well, along with the good guys that watch and there are a few, come the perverts and scumbags that make rude comments. Their insults and dirty words are usually made on Facebook or other social media where you can be a so-called follower or fan of these woman. I often wonder why these beautiful woman would subject themselves to this scrutiny and I feel embarrassed for them. I think the bottom-feeders that say these things had parents who brought them up in a sewer and taught them to roam the playgrounds and hallways in High Schools, if they made that far, as bullies. I wonder what Mom and Dad think when they read some of the things written about their daughters. Enough said. Its very discouraging to see how much our morality has degraded just to sell something and make money…

"Soup Kitchen In Your Neighborhood?"

Soup kitchen issue packs meeting - Norwich, CT - The Bulletin

“I am devastated as to what I am experiencing,” said Sharon Reilly, who has lived at 41 Park St. for more than 20 years. “I resent the lack of representation from our politicians as well as the underhanded actions of the diocese under the guise of kindness.”
Reilly’s husband, Mark Gagne, said they and other opponents appreciate the value St. Vincent de Paul has for the needy people it serves, but that its arrival to St. Joseph School has severely altered quality of life in the neighborhood.

Comment .... They moved from an easy access in downtown Norwich to the top of the hill in a vacant Catholic school is what they are talking about. The two places are like different worlds. Living in the area now must feel like you are bringing the enemy home to your back yard. People will argue and say, Larry have some compassion. Its a Catholic thing to help and feed the poor and being a Catholic I would agree and say the same thing. I remember the neighborhood they are talking about here. It was beautiful when the school was active but I also remember a few years ago the dwindling attendance. I thought then that they would find a good use for the old school never thinking they would try to do something like this. It just doesn't fit in there! Its like positive and negative. Its hard to believe they are putting something there should be in the center of city. Maybe over by the Town Hall or the Firehouse. Or maybe over near the Court House would be more appropriate. Forgive me here but I wouldn't want to look out my window only to see, "Staggering rift raft"  walking toward the soup kitchen past my grand children who playing in the front yard. Get the point? In Windsor Locks Connecticut the diocese sold the old Rectory and Catholic School I went to. They turned it into condos and apartments for low income people. No comment on that but you can just imagine?
Like most things these days the world is changing as we speak, faster than the mind can understand. Leaving the good honest people that worked hard in the dust. This issue has been going on for a while now.. However, I will bet not one of the Politicians or Lawyers that want this to happen, live in that neighborhood. 

"Days Past"

In Reference to the record breaking Skydiver story the other day...

Being an Airport runway electrician in my younger days. Hey, somebody had to install and repair the runway lights and all those little blue lights... I have met my share of, lets say risk takers. Mostly in the form of Air force Fighter pilots. Who, as I used to say had a "screw loose", all along secretly wishing that I could do what they did. Air Guard Col. Bonetti would taxi his F-100 fighter onto the approach of the runway, then would wave at me giving me the thumbs up sign, close the canopy and line up his jet fighter on the center line of the two mile long runway and take off into the sky with the roaring of the afterburner at astounding speeds...I swear to you the earth shook when he went by. They left sometimes alone or in twos, threes or fours. A long flame with a loud boom coming out of the tail pipe...Wow, what a sight, especially close up or at night...Sometimes I watched from only 10 or 20 feet away...Having had this wonderful experience day after day I believe I know what it feels like to do what they did. Doing my job as I did years ago lets me appreciate how far we have come in 2012. Sometimes I just don't believe it...

"BBC News - Skydiver Felix Baumgartner Breaks Sound Barrier"

BBC News - Skydiver Felix Baumgartner breaks sound barrier

Austrian Felix Baumgartner has become the first skydiver to go faster than the speed of sound, reaching a maximum velocity of 833.9mph (1,342km/h).

In jumping out of a balloon 128,100ft (24 miles; 39km) above New Mexico, the 43-year-old also smashed the record for the highest ever free fall.
He said he almost aborted the dive because his helmet visor fogged up. It took just under 10 minutes for him to descend. Only the last few thousand feet were negotiated by parachute. There are videos on this link....


Comment.....Being an Airport runway electrician in my younger days. Hey, somebody had to install and repair the runway lights and all those little blue lights... I have met my share of, lets say risk takers. Mostly in the form of Air force Fighter pilots. Who as I used to say had a screw loose, all along secretly wishing that I could do what they did. Air Guard Col. Bonetti would taxi his F-100 fighter onto the approach of the runway then would wave at me giving me the thumbs up sign, close the canopy then line up on the center line of the two mile long runway and take off into the sky with the roaring of the afterburner at astounding speeds...I swear to you the earth shook when he went by. Sometimes alone or in twos, threes or fours. A long flame with a loud boom coming out of the tail pipe...Wow, what a sight, especially close up or at night...Sometimes only 10 or 20 feet away...Having had this wonderful experience day after day I believe I know what it feels like to do what they did. Doing my job as I did years ago lets me appreciate how far we have come in 2012. Sometimes I just don't believe it...

"Low Profile and Wisdom"

Nothing new going on with me...I like to say I'm keeping a low profile and minding my own business. Being invisible seems to working well if I do those things. Fall is well on its way and in my part of the world its getting cooler every day although I did wear shorts while walking on the beach the other day. Three years ago I made the decision to move back, I lived here in the past, its a long story, to the shoreline of Connecticut and I do not regret it.. Aside from buying my Mustang in 2005, its one of the best decisions I have made in my whole life and that is saying something. I have absolutely no regrets or buyers remorse. These days that is rare. With age comes wisdom and letting things go that in the past you tried to control. To sit back and watch without gloating,"I told you so" is quite an experience. What happens when you do this is that people, not all but some family and friends will accuse you of "Not caring". Well, that just isn't true. I have the knowledge and experience and will always warn you of the pitfalls. All you have to do now is ask and listen carefully. Learning to read between the lines also helps. Making mistakes is part of learning and growing up. For some of us these things take a little longer. In the past I have done many things, some good, some not so good. I've learned by these errors. A tribute goes to my Dad who shined the light for me to follow. I don't know what I would do if he didn't share his wisdom with me. I don't think I would be writing this today.