Take the highway

 Lord knows I've been gone too long

Lot of sad days
One day you'll turn around and I'll be gone (Toy Caldwell+ Marshal Tucker)

music has always played a significant role in my life.........lyrics.........words and music....i don't think i could survive in a world without tunes......perhaps i am guilty of assigning too much significance to songs......searching for the right song at the right moment......believing in some outside forces to provide the soundtrack to monumental events....or creating them altogether.....

i spent an emotional few days in the Garden State......i spent 4 straight Christmas Days away from home in the late 1980's......Diego Garcia, onboard the USS Luce at sea or in Jacksonville Fla.......i always volunteered to work on Christmas day while we were on the ship.....so that the guys with families could have off to spend the day at home with the spouse and kids.....but when you are 20 you have your whole life ahead of you......so i was always fine........this year felt different and i had to come home for a short spell......and i am glad i did.......but traveling is exhausting and in 2025 very depressing........I found myself in the lobby of the Hotel Ballast in Wilmington NC awaiting an uber......the hotel was tuned to Sirius Southern Rock station and the GEM, GEM of a song referenced at the opening came on.

so much emotion tied to the Southern Rock titans for me.....Skynyrd, the Outlaws and the Caldwell Bro's and Marshal Tucker......ive listened to Take the highway 2,000 times.....but it never hit me in the gut like it did this week.....the beauty of music is that we can't always explain how or why it hits.....but when it does you feel no pain (as Mr Marley told us) .......i sat there immersed in the musical interlude , and although i saw my driver arrive.....i didn't leave the lobby until the song was over....

I'll be back someday
But darling, please don't wait for me too long
There's just one place I can't stay
Memories of your love still lingers on

And the time has finally come
For me to pack my bags and walk away
Make me stay

Conquistador your stallion stands

 

in need of company
And like some angel's hallowed brow you reek of purity
I see your armour-plated breast has long since lost its sheen
And in your death mask face there are no signs which can be seen ( Procol Harum)

Big night at the Worlds Most Famous arena as the Great, GREAT Kris Kreider returns in an unfamiliar Orange jersey with a silly duck on his chest......he brings with him an impressive 13 goals , more than any Ranger this season and his Ducks are atop their division ( as predicted on this blog back in August). Welcome Back Kreids, the Blueshirt Faithful still love ya and appreciate everything you did for us.....you were big time player , the bigger the game, the bigger the results....including a 3rd period hat trick in Carolina to bury the Canes and advance to the Conf Finals.......and of course a Franchise record 48 post season goals.....

After the welcome home video tribute , the focus should shift and a red hot spotlight should find one Chris Drury.....he dismantled a Cup Challenging team and drafted poorly and squandered Cap space.... it is time for Drury to move on.

I know you came with sword held high
You did not conquer, only die

 

BLUE of the Mighty DEEP

 Gold of God's great sun.

Let these our colors be
Till all of time be done, done, done, done.
On seven seas we learn
Navy's stern call
Faith, courage, service true,
With honor, over honor, over all.

I ain't gonna lie....this one hurts

4th of July..........no problem

Labor Day, Halloween......no problem

Thanksgiving.............no problem

but today i awoke with a pit in my stomach and an uneasy feeling.......a yearning , a strong longing.

today, i wish i was home.

today i wish i was gearing up with layers of hats, gloves and hooded sweatshirts.

today i wish i was standing around a keg for 10 hours.

today i wish i was inching closer to the fire pit during a game break.

today is my super bowl....my Christmas morning, my game 7 of the cup.

today is my day to gloat.

today is my day to gleem like a proud parent.

today i will manage to survive

today i will find a bar to cheer on the lads

but today it just won't be the same.

Go...............FIGHT....................WIN

Anchors Aweigh, my boys,
Anchors Aweigh.
Farewell to foreign shores,
We sail at break of day-ay-ay-ay.
Through our last night ashore,
Drink to the foam,
Until we meet once more.
Here's wishing you a happy voyage home.

i was feeling

 oh so bad,

i asked my family doctor just what i had (The Young Rascals)

well i can see the writing on the walls.......the demonrats did what they always do........they create or exacerbate a problem and immediately accuse the Republicans of being responsible or doing the same thing.

They spent 4 years denying Biden was a decaying vegetable and now they are 24/7 questioning Trumps mental and physical health.

They drove the economy into a ditch and were at the helm when inflation rose to 8% , and now they are blaming Trump for the affordability crisis.

But their next move is obvious.....they shut down the govt over obamacare subsidies, knowing full well that the Republicans were not going to give in during a budget negotiation, but they planted the seed in the American subconcious......and they are hoping that if and when insurance premiums go through the Roof on January 1, that avg Americans will blame the party in charge....ie the Republicans.....and will be so overwhelmed with health care costs, that they vote the Republicans out at the midterms.

Most American voters cast their ballot in the here and now.......how am i doing today ?  if it's not good, they vote for the other party.....most voters don't care if this is really the result of the Horrible Affordable Care Act that the dems rammed down the country's throat back in 2012....all they are going to care about is that in 2026 health care costs are bankrupting them.........they don't care that he country has an insurmountable debit because they have been subsidizing this horrible plan for 15 years......meanwhile, I spent 2 hours in a toxic dust cloud on 9/11 but my insurance won't cover me for a colonoscopy because i had one 8 years ago........everyone is cashing checks from the 9/11 fund for heartburn and skin rashes, but i can't even get an annual 9/11 physical until i am diagnosed with something tangible......great fucking country.....i failed the lung capacity test so many times that they just stopped giving it to me.........i should to Montreal for a ranger and then come back across the border and seek asylum......i would get the Triple AAA Health plan as an illegal.....

Anyway.....2+3=BEEER        GOOOOOOO Navy..........BEAT ARMY.

all you need.......all you really need........is Good Lovin.

you got something to say

speak or hold your peace
Well, you got something to say, speak now or hold your peace
 If it’s information you want you can go get it from the police (Dylan)

This is one of the posts that is not for the followers of this blog, but rather for future readers.....it is all just plain common sense....the kind that is eventually brushed under the rug .

The latest nonsensical complaint of  the left is that Trump is not doing what he promised to do during the election, he is not prioritizing deporting the worst offenders....instead he is deporting hard working family men that have been here for decades.

First and foremost, the left opened the borders, allowed 20 million into the country and denied to our face it was happening ....they refused to negotiate for obama's "Dreamers" and when they had all 3 branches of govt under their control they did not try to reform immigration whatsoever.......so they do not have a leg to stand on.

But let's talk about the merits of their argument....the worst offenders......the violent gang members and serial rapists are not working 9:00 to 5:00 in the corner Starbucks.....they are not attending BLM and Anti-Israel protests with signs around their next proclaiming their illegal status.......they don't want to be identified. they are lurking in alleys and shadows......they are members of criminal enterprise and have the financial support to stay below the radar.

NOW....IF if IF the sanctuary cities would allow for their Police, Schools, Hospitals and Jails to work together and cooperate with ICE , instead of stonewalling them; they could identify the "Worst" and alert and assist ICE is apprehending.....and ultimately deporting these dirtbags.

I'm still waiting for the first sanctuary City for the unborn fetus........and for a mayor who makes it illegal for the city hospitals to hire or assist abortion doctors...........i am sure the left would accept and support a municipality that ignores laws that don't fit their preferred narrative.

I personally am not the biggest supporter of going after illegals that are trying to assimilate and keep their noses clean and raise a family in this country.....BUT........the truth is we need for a significant # of people to self-deport........in fact recent stats show that 1.6 million people have self deported since February......and that is most likely the result of the non criminals being deported.......otherwise that 1.6 million would have just waited until after all the criminals were deported first.........now that they know they could conceivably get detained and deported tomorrow morning while buying coffee , well they might decide to just self deport and still have a chance to come back legally down the road.

common sense......just like 2+3=BEER

our pals at Stealie Shop just added long sleeve Sweater Nite t_shirts.....giddy up.

Wedding bells ringin’, the choir is beginning to sing
Yes, the wedding bells are ringing and the choir is beginning to sing
What looks good in the day, at night is another thing

Sweater Nite 28

 We have confirmed the availability of the Lief for Sweater Nite 28.

Sunday Febrewary 15th

2:00 start.......USA vs GERMANY from the Milan Cortino Olympics  at 3:00

Live Music / No Pizza

Sweater Nite Stealies available

https://stealieshop.com/search?q=%22sweater+nite%22&options%5Bprefix%5D=last

We Live in a Political World

 Love don’t have any place

We’re living in times where men commit crimes
And crime don’t have a face  (Dylan)

was watching the world cup draw yesterday and my mind began to wonder.....i know some people don't care for soccer and that's okay.......i'm not a true fan of the sport, but i love an event that commands international attention, an event that stretches on for 4, 5 or even 6 weeks now with the expansion to 48 teams.....an even that is primarily played during the daylight hours and sometime depending on time differences, it is played early in the morning.....and everyone packs the bars and drinks........they could be playing checkers for all i care.....if the bars are 3 deep at 8:00 am, I LOVE it.

i barely remember that 1978 WC.....i think the title game was televised on Wide World of Sports on a sunday afternoon....probably on tape delay......i remember watching it and thinking the cosmos and NASL were more exciting.......

in the early summer of 1982 my good friend Charlie H informed us that his parents were going to Ireland ( I think)  for 2 or 3 weeks........and myself, Dano, Donnie Hoff , Griffin, MCevoy, Collins basically moved into his parents home on 6th ave.......we were wrapping up our junior year of High School and we had ( or took) a lot of half days......Me, Donn, Eddie G ,Charlie, Chico, would walk up the hill from Xaverian via 69th street all the way to 6th ave.......buying suitcases of beloved budweiser along the way.....firing up the grill immediately and blasting Rock & Roll.....Dano would arrive from Ford, Collins from Xavier and Mac from the Fort.........and one day i was fiddling with the TV.....No Mets Matinees, but i landed on the Spanish channel ( 68 ? 47 ?) .....i landed on the Peru vs Poland game....fuzzy black & white Tv and the announcers were speaking Spanish.........Poland crushed them....and as we were crushing cans of Buds the announcers kept screaming Goal........the now famous call of GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOALLLLLLLLLL

we loved it, we were drunk and we were hooked......10 to 15 guys watching a sport they didn't understand listening to announcers speaking a language we couldn't figure out (despite the fact that most of us took spanish in school for 3 years) ........I remember Dano squinting at the TV as if that would help him understand what was going on.....and finally just yelling at the television to "Speak English" .

we came back everyday.......watched soccer , drank a case and blasted the new album from the Plastic Bertrand "Ca plane pour moi " and sang along in french....or maybe even spanglish..........Charlie's older siblings were polar opposites.....Big brother Bobby cheered us on and even started taking his own half days and watching the games with us......but Sister Joan wanted us all hung from the Gallows.......and so some of the lads took to turning her high school graduation picture that hung on the wall around, so that she now faced the wall...

I don't remember what happened first.....did the world cup end ? or did his parents come home from vacation ? not sure.....but i do know that every 4 years i roll up my proverbial sleeves and get cracking on some serious day drinking.....from the Dubliner on Stone Street to the Iron Monkey in JC, to Texas -Az in Hoboken and of course the Liev........from watching Ireland advance in PK's in Martins Bar across from the Bull and 2 Broadway to hanging with Seamus O'Donnell and Danny McFadden in Woodside....from the Steak Exchange to the Redrock....from Suspenders on Broadway with my nephew who was a summer intern to the Brooklyn Dodger.......from drinking Guinness and having an Irish Breakfast at 6:30 am in the Fitzpatrick Hotel on 57th and Lex to just Guinness at Diamond Jim Brady's on Maiden Lane....that was 2002.......the games were being played in Korea ( i think) we were still in a 9/11 fog......but the bars secretly opened at 6:00 for a 6:30 kickoff.......yep...i do love the World Cup and i'm looking forward to watching games in Captain Archie's and Molly Darcy's this summer.....no matter who hoists the trophy, there is one constant.....2+3=BEEER

USA received a favorable draw.......we WILL be advancing to the knockout stage.....mark it down......and buy more AUR....it's starting to inch upwards

We live in a political world
Under the microscope
You can travel anywhere and hang yourself there
You always got more than enough rope