There has been a question that’s been rolling around in this head of mine for ions now.
I asked ‘said’ question to a fairly close friend of mine recently and was a wee bit startled by his answer.
It was the total opposite of mine.
Know that this friend of mine is an MD and a highly intelligent individual.
I would have thought that everyone would see it my way but that is obviously not the case.
While the question is illogical, hypothetical and a virtual unfeasibility,
I found it mind-numbing nonetheless.

If you came upon a celestial tollbooth in your life where you were told:
You need to give up either your sight or your hearing, which one do you choose to lose?

My answer was almost immediate which was no shock to me and possibly of little shock to you.
So as not to sway anyone this post will be in two parts, this one being the first.
What would you choose?
Sight or Sound/Hearing?

My answer will follow next week.
If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter there will be a link there soon.
Think about it people.
Give me your best shot.
I already have my answer locked and loaded . . .

~m

What is it all about?
My wife asked me this question the other day and I have to admit it puzzled my puzzler.
It’s a good question.
A deep question.
As busy as we both are with work, the 3 girls, the house, getting the cars fixed,
cooking supper, making a life, at the end of the day we look at each other and
shake our heads and wonder; what is it all about?
There was a point in our lives that we thought we knew but now we’re not so sure.
I know what it’s not about.
It’s not about the internet, Facebook, Yahoo, Gmail, the Stock Market, major league sports,
water polo, horse races or the lottery.
Not about cats, dogs, parakeets, beta fish, koalas or
freshly shucked oysters with freshly squeezed lemons.
It is definitely not about horseradish. (although I like to think so)
It’s not about the greenhouse effect or the nasty oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
The question is why do we work our fingers to the bone only to die so soon after we have retired?
Tired is a lonely town.
I realize that bills need to be paid and food needs to be put on the table
so work needs to be done.
But at what cost?
It is something to ponder.
Pamela is still thinking about it, I’m sure.
Me, too.
And for most of us, life goes on.
Or so we hope.
Maybe it’s just (in the words of Douglas Adams) all about the number 42

{1 \over T}\int_0^T \left| \zeta\left({1 \over 2} + it\right) \right|^6\,dt \sim {42 \over 9!}\prod_p \left\{1-{1\over p}\right\}^4 \left( 1 + {4 \over p} + {1 \over p^2} \right) \log^9 T

Yeah, I didn’t think so.
Here’s to the answers and the endless Questions . . .

M

Yeah, that’s me.
Minute by minute, day by day, week by week, month by month, year by year.
It gets weak sometimes, folks.
The train between Boston and Worcester seems to take on an almost elastic quality these days.
I want to be home.
Maybe I just need a vacation.
See all of you next week.

Pax . . .

M

Yeah, happiness.
Somewhat elusive, yes?
Follow the flow chart above to achieve total consciousness.
And keep doing whatever you’re doing.
Or something like that . . .

Special dedication tonight as I recall a smoky dive from the 50′s called the ‘Waltz Club’  . . .
Long story and definitely not one for this blog.
I knew of one of the patron saints of the place, from what I’ve heard.
Sweet dreams, lady, sweet and smoky dreams
Maybe I’ll see you in them . . .

[11.9.09]

*I find it intensely gratifying (for very personal reasons)
to give you the list of the players on this archaic recording:

Johnny Hartman, vocal
John Coltrane, tenor sax
McCoy Tyner, piano
Jimmy Garrison, bass
Elvin Jones, drums

God must have been engineering.

I StumbledUpon a short article one night that stopped me in my tracks.
It was titled, “If your blog disappeared, who would miss it?”
I thought about the question for a good long time and came to the conclusion that, yeah,
there are many people that would miss it.
I do hope I’m right.
I am no egomaniac but I do feel that some folks would, yours truly being one.
I’ve been blogging now for almost five years with no foreseeable end in sight.
It’s been the reaction to my words and thoughts that’s kept me going strong for 5, to be honest.
Some comments I’ve received are seemingly deeper than the posts I’ve written.
It would seem that I’m fishing for compliments here, but I am definitely not.
I have 5 questions for anyone kind enough to take the time to answer them.
I appreciate your honesty and feedback.

1. What is it that makes you visit me again?
2. What do you not like about Smoke and Mirrors? (be honest)
3. What would you like to see more of (or less of) in the future?
4. Would you like to see something different?
5. What is your favorite post and why? (longtime readers only)

There are more questions that I have but I don’t want to keep you here forever
(a little white lie, methinks)
I made this post relatively short to give you a few moments to comment.
I thank all of you dearly in advance.

Bobby Minara was a firefighter in Manhattan.
Ladder Company 25.
On September 11, 2001, he was 54 years old and almost ready to retire.
I found the next little snippet online from a woman named ‘Rita’ that knew the family.

“The last time I was with Bob was July of 2001.
Bob and Paula and my brothers Tom and Mike were all together to celebrate the baptisim of my daughter’s triplets, John, Michael, and Thomas.
He was his usual happy self and he had
three shirts from the firehouse for the boys (they still wear them).
Bob was going to retire in September and I remember Paula telling us she had a “sick feeling” and she wished he would leave now.  Bob laughed and said “I’m 54, how can I retire “He felt guilty”.
I’ll always remember that day.”

Intuition is a scary thing sometimes.
I wondered how many people had a ‘feeling’ that morning 8 years ago.
From what I’ve been able to find on the web,
Bobby was a regular guy with family and friends that loved him.
He died in the line of duty at the World Trade Center.
In researching this post, I was horrified at the number of firefighters and emergency personnel that perished.
I found the picture for this post on Google and could only assume that the memorial stone is near Ground Zero
or the firehouse.
When I visit NYC next year, I plan on finding the stone if only to say a short prayer
for the man I am paying tribute to today.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the Minara family today as I know this nightmare will
never end for them.
Bobby died doing what he’d done his entire life – helping a total stranger to safety.
May God bless this unsung hero and give solace to all the hearts that he left behind.
In closing, I found a quote from a firefighters remembrance page.
It was quite simple and I could almost hear Bobby saying it:

“If my job was easy, a cop would be doing it.”

Rest in the arms of the angels, RM
Thank you for keeping us safe.

(I hope I haven’t offended anyone using his nickname  ‘Bobby’. I used it with the utmost respect.)

Click here for my 2006 tribute to Amy Jarret, a stewardess on United Airlines Flight 175.

Special thanks to Dale for keeping this thing going with his undying focus.
There’s a very special place in heaven for you, my man.

For me this post signifies many things:
loss,
discovery,
deletion,
pain,
expectations,
choices,
devil-is-in-the-details,
denial and
ultimately
The
truth . . .

Cryptic, I know and I apologize for my strange and mysterious ways.
The following poem has been used for many purposes over the years,
based on its various interpretations.
Methinks, that’s why it’s such a great piece of literature.
It spoke multitudes to me tonight.
If you’ve read it, read it again.
If you haven’t, you are in for a real treat.
I’ll be off in the distance chasing away the endless cumulonimbus clouds
again . . .

The Road Not Taken

by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler , long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

I have always found this kind of thing fascinating.
This short clip from MetaCafe puts things somewhat into perspective.
So, the next time you’re feeling a bit small in this big ‘ol world know that in the
grand scheme of things, you are.
Just being a wiseass.
Enjoy the clip.

Pathological . . .
Lies will see the light of days
Someone knows the truth

~m