Weekly Mail December 16, 2018

Hi There:

So this will be our fall finale. We will publish our annual Christmas Eve Special on well, Christmas Eve, and then we'll have to see if we will do a year in review. I'm on the fence about that. But we'll definitely have a Christmas Eve special, 8 PM December 24 on FB.




Our 43rd President, George W. Bush often had issues saying certain words. For example he pronounced nuclear as newcular. You also couldn't tell if he was saying terrorist or tourist. On Saturday I found myself  calling the tourists terrorists.

I consider it a privilege as a New Yorker to be able to walk through Times Square on Saturday afternoons. I know people save up money and work to the bone to come here at least once in their lives to say that they did it. (I felt that way when I crossed Abbey Road back in 1998) To that end, I challenge myself to a game.... I walk through Times Square to get as close to 47th Street as I can before I cry uncle and turn towards 6th Avenue. On Saturday, I got as far as 45th Street before I threw in the proverbial towel. I blame the fact that I'm getting old, was off the last two weeks and I don't spend as much time in the city as I used to.

Timmy BTW, has gotten into the annoying habit, whenever we head to Manhattan to see my in-laws of saying "we're going to New York City"  The last time he did this, I finally set him straight.

"Tim, we are going to THE CITY. We are not from Des Moines, Iowa. We are less than 5 miles from the Queens/Nassau border which is technically New York City. Please for the love of all holy things, please stop telling people you are going to New York City."

I think he's got it. We'll see the next time we head to New York City.


Speaking of Queens, one of my family's favorite places burned down in a fire on Thursday morning.

Sidetracks on 45th and Queens Boulevard, where we've had the last few Easter dinners, was one of several businesses that caught fire. Seven firefighters and 5 civilians were injured in the 5 alarm blaze. Thankfully, there were no fatalities.

As bummed as I am about Sidetracks burning down, kudos galore to the FDNY who saved an apartment building from burning down, saving many more families from being homeless this holiday season.

Even in this devastation, there were a couple of things that made me chuckle....

1) One of the businesses that burned was The Romantic Depot, a sex toy, lingerie shop. I had no idea that was there. It must have just recently opened. I wonder if they carried the Come Hither Rabbit Sex Toy I asked Santa Claus for. I guess I'll have to wait now till my birthday.

2) As pointed out by a couple of my St. Mary's peeps, some of these news outlets referred to the row of stores that burned down as a strip mall. Please note-There are NO strip malls in that part of Queens Boulevard. Trust me. I live in Oceanside, and I have two strip malls within feet of my front door. And about 10 within a mile of my house. Long Beach Road has strip malls about every 27 feet or so. A bunch of stores together and some parking spaces. Trust me, if you spent anytime looking for a parking spot to go to Sidetracks, you know that row of stores is by no definition of the term, a strip mall.

Again, thank goodness no one died and I'm sorry to those who lost their business. Here's hoping they rebuild and come back bigger and stronger than before.



HELP WANTED:

The next time you are having a crappy day at work (which for me will probably be today) just think it could be a lot worse. You could be Donald Trump's White House Chief of Staff.

Talk about a job nobody wants. Andrea Pteri of  The Washington Post created a job posting for the gig. Check it out here. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2018/12/14/job-posting-white-house-chief-staff/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.ae79c2cf06eb



And speaking of jobs nobody wants, the Jets are most likely to be seeking out a new head coach once this monstrosity of a season comes to an end in two weeks.

So let's see, Al Groh, disciplinarian, Herm Edwards, players coach, Eric Mangini, disciplinarian, Rex Ryan players coach, Todd Bowles, disciplinarian (kind of) so I guess Krusty the Clown will be the next Jets coach.

Actually, what the Jets most likely will be looking for is a coach with a background coaching offense. All the coaches they've had since Bill Parcells have been defensive coaches.  With a potential franchise QB like Sam Darnold, the idea is to get someone who can develop an offensive to fit Darnold. I'm all for that.

I'm tempted to say that I'm so sick of the carousel. And I am. But I also think the Jets should stick with Mike Macagnan as their GM. Unless they hire a big name coach who wants to run the whole thing, but even then I still thing Macagnan should stay. Maybe it's wishful thinking, but I think he's done a decent job. I know some of his draft picks have been spotty, but I also believe one of the problems in this town is that we cut loose our GM's too quickly. I really think he's got the football smarts to build a winner. The Jets last couple of GM's Mike Tannenbaum and John Idzik were more money managers. Unless he really spits the bit the next couple of drafts and/or signs a bunch of free agents who do squat, I'd give Macagnan more of a shot.


I know this one was kind of lame. I hope to make up for it on Christmas Eve,

Sorry for the delay

Have a Great Week