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A Farruggio Original: Street People
His mind rarely ever thought back to who he had been, the same way he never pondered at who he had become. He needed to keep away from the past, if nothing but to keep whatever sense of sanity he had left. His homelessness was a choice, though a part of him knew that...
Mercy Mercy Me!!
Marvin Gaye said it best in his hit song ( written by him) : Whoa, oh, mercy mercy me Oh, things ain't what they used to be, no no Where did all the blue skies go? Poison is the wind that blows from the North and South and East Oh, mercy, mercy me Oh, things ain't...
Stuck In the Middle
Well I don't know why I came here tonight I've got the feeling that something ain't right I'm so scared in case I fall off my chair And I'm wondering how I'll get down the stairs Clowns to the left of me Jokers to the right Here I am stuck in the middle with you Yes...
Revelation.. Not Revolution!
One definition of revelation is: A surprisingly and previously unknown fact, especially one that is made in a dramatic way. This is what many of my fellow working stiffs need to reach: A revelation on how screwed we all have been! Not since the ' Gilded Age' ( 1870s -...
Anger, Yes Fascism NO!!
Let's cut to the chase OK? All working stiff Americans are living within an empire. As the late President Eisenhower warned, and he should have known because he served it: A Military Industrial Complex. Look around you fellow Americans of most political leanings : the...
Ignorance of Their Evil
Many readers of this piece will most likely take issue with me on my premise. We look at, or look back at instances of evil acts or evil beliefs, and cannot believe that the perpetrators were not aware of their evil. Evil is defined as ' Profound immorality and...
Suckers for the Super Rich!
This writer has loved professional football and baseball my whole life. Going with my father, little baseball glove in hand, to watch Dem Bums at Ebbets Field in the mid 1950s was such a joy. In those days the players were getting royally screwed by the owners, so...
Caught in the Draft ’73
One surmises that the volunteer military system devised after the Vietnam debacle erases what had transpired before. Perhaps we all need to revisit that terrible era, when phony US incursions overseas had such horrific repercussions… on foreign nations and on our...
DeSantis ’24: Inherit the Wind!
Living here in ' Death Valley' AKA Florida one can see the results of having a governor like Captain Ron as I label him. One can go back to Weimar Germany circa 1930 when the Nazi Party gained popularity amongst many working stiffs. It seems that it is always anger...
Not Enough Fezziwigs
An annual tradition, since my childhood, has been to watch the 1951 film classic A Christmas Carol starring Alastair Sim. In the film Ebenezer Scrooge, played by Sim, is taken back by the Ghost of Christmas past to review events in his life. What always brings tears...
A Farruggio Original: The Mall Santa
He was tired, dead tired. It was fifteen minutes to five and he was late. Had to get into the security office, meet up with Ruth and get into costume. Didn't figure on so much traffic. How stupid! It was the week of Christmas you idiot!! He always yelled aloud at...
The Fault Dear Brutus Part 2
Lovers of real American history should recall the words uttered by the late, great newsman and newscaster Edward R. Murrow about Senator Joe McCarthy. During the height of the political witch hunts orchestrated and influenced by the late Senator (AKA McCarthyism)...
The 2nd Most Deadly Pandemic
Let’s put Covid aside and address the 2nd most heinous ( yes, I use that term) and deadly epidemic facing us all. This disease had always, it seems, been around our nation, let alone most of Europe. Unlike Covid or the flu, this epidemic has a few different names:...
The Mega Rich Have It Made!!
There are less than 1% of Americans who earn over $5 Million per year. They are taxed at the same top rate ( 37%) as those earning approximately $ 600k a year. Sixty years ago the top rate was never under 70%, ditto for the 1970s. Reagan came in and had it lowered to...
So Many Are So Thankful
There are so many out there that would take a few moments to be thankful this holiday. Where shall I begin? All the tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of Iraqi, Afghan, Libyan and Syrian civilians who were displaced by US carpet bombs and other WMD. Those...
A Farruggio Original: The Two Christmas Trees
Divorce was not easy for him, yet he wanted it and got it, much to the chagrin of his ex. She was happy with how things were going, despite the constant arguments. It was one thing for them to be at each other's throats when they lived alone. Now, with two little sons...
(Un) Comfortably Numb
Kudos to Pink Floyd and their 1979 classic ' Comfortably Numb' for inspiring me to write this critique. With the news that it looks like the Democrats will continue to control the Senate ( while most likely losing the House) shouts of joy rang throughout ' Blue...
Spectators
Well, if you have any sense of the climate of this American culture, you will realize just how far down the rabbit hole we have fallen. As a baby boomer I can look around me and gauge just how ' Dumbed down' the populace is. I am not such a fool that I do not...
The Good Son
He loved his parents more than one would know. So much so, that when he graduated college he decided to forgo getting his own place and stay at home. There was too much constant bickering between his parents and it frightened him. Deep inside he believed that without...
Isn’t it a Pity?
Sitting by my computer this mundane Sunday AM listening to the late George Harrison's classic song ' Isn't it a Pity?' As a 1960s lefty student all grown up into a Baby Boomer socialist columnist the lyrics of this song ring so true: Isn't it a pity? Now isn't it a...
Elevator to Hell
There has to be a heaven, if only by process of elimination. You see, if there is a hell then there has to be the antidote, heaven. To this writer, who has spent his adult life studying many facets of what many call metaphysics, this trip we are all on is nothing more...
… And Wearing a MAGA Hat!
The great 20th Century writer Sinclair Lewis put it best: "When Fascism comes to America it will be carrying a cross wrapped in a flag." Well, this writer now adds ' And wearing a MAGA hat' to the mix. Sometimes alarmism is needed , as it was with last week's...
Hurricanes R Us!!
One can only empathize with those poor souls on the SW Gulf Coast of Florida who were devastated by this hurricane. Imagine losing your residence, possessions and perhaps your life. Sad is the best word to use. This writer had his family's own experience with such...
Open Letter to the MAGA Crowd
I actually come into contact with many of you folks all the time. When I get car repairs, need a plumber or handyman, or go to a store, most of those I run into are MAGA supporters. On a personal basis you folks are usually nice, decent people. Yet, you support a...