Even if nobody asked:
1. Rented an actual palace for our stay in Florence (hey, it’s offseason) but it hasn’t worked out as I’d hoped. Apparently, it does NOT come with a harem. None of my family sees themselves as my subjects either. And as I march through the halls yelling “off with his head” (oddly, using a British accent) nobody does anything! Lesson learned: read the fine print.
2. Pete Straub wrote the famed book (and subsequent movie) Ghost Story and is equally well known for co-authoring The Talisman with Stephen King (book #74), but #4 on my list of best books I’ve read is Straub’s magnificent – and seldom read – thriller, The Throat. Blew me away 30+ years ago. I’ve yet to meet the other guy who read it. Next week, book #3.
3. The Boston Red Sox and the New England Patriots have combined to win TEN championships in the first 20+ years of Y2K (finally a conspiracy theory that WASN’T true, but I digress) and it sure seems both owners have said, “Well, enough of THAT!” Bob Kraft and John Henry, three first names between them but not a spare nickel to lend to their ailing rosters.
4. I’ve noticed that gyms don’t open until 7:30 on weekdays and 10:00 on weekends in Italy. Most people seem to smoke. They eat tons of bread and pasta and drink wine throughout the day. Yet almost no one is fat. I’m thoroughly confused.
5. Think of two people you truly admire. Then list all the attributes you admire about them. Compare the lists to find the traits appearing on BOTH lists. These are your personal core values. Share them with your family and choose your friend group by them. Oh, and by all means hire by them if you own a buisness.
6. “Back when I was in grade school.” Grade school? Who says that? I’ll tell you who because I pay attention to stuff like this: TV script writers. Just them. That’s it. I’ve yet to hear an actual person refer to their early schooling as “grade school”. It’s elementary school, 3rd grade, middle school, junior high, prison, high school, but never “grade school”.
7. I’m an economics geek. One of the best metrics to determine how popular a state is – and thereby its real estate – is one-way U-Haul rental rates. It’s often 10X more expensive to rent a van from CA to TX than the other way around right now. Fascinating.
8. My dad always taught that we don’t MAKE friends, we CHOSE friends. See point #3.
9. “Born with a silver spoon in his mouth”? Really? Isn’t it time to retire this 17th century verbal relic when describing unearned favor? I mean, it’s the 21st century people! Let’s modernize this: “He was born on 3rd base and thinks he hit a triple.” Much better.
10. Am I the only one that believes my English translates to Spanish, Italian, Chinese and Female as long as I add just a touch more volume?