Morrie Markoff – 109-year-old Blogger – born Jan. 11, 1914
Metal Sculpture Artist, Photographer, Writer and Los Angeleno
Losing teaches you that you are not the best. You will strive to be better.
If you lose, be a good sport and congratulate the winner. Make him (or her) feel good about their victory.
Tell them how much you enjoyed playing them. You did your best but they were better. Set an example for them. Someday they may be beaten, too.
Win or lose, it’s how you enjoyed playing.
Sooner or later we are all losers.
Perspective. Think before you do. Regrets are hard to live with.
(November 18, 2020)
Danny’s beautiful wife Georgia has handed me a roasted Indian corn. “Yum.” Dusted with a little salt, it was a delight to eat. “Thanks again, Georgia.”
Thanks to Danny, my most innovative chef, I enjoy breakfast. By phone, Danny orders from local vendors our early dinners. Only once do I remember not enjoying it.
With my 30-year battle to save my teeth (long gone) I can say that despite my weak knees I am in fairly good physical condition. I know my limitations. I fell once with little damage (a few scrapes). With the use of a walker I am able to “haltingly” get around and fulfill my needs. How long, nobody knows.
I hear Betty saying, “Morrie, stop predicting the future.”
Sweet Betsy. I am so lucky to have had her for my wife for over 70 years.
I talk to her often, in my constant refrain.
“Betsy doll, wherever you are, on this earth or on a star, I love you.”
Thanks for the 80 years of love you gave me. I love you and as long as I breathe I think of you.
Sleep well, my love.
Morrie
(November 5, 2020)
Many years ago anti-smoking philanthropists contributed a large sum of money for an anti-smoking campaign.
They bought billboards all over town. They were ubiquitous, huge. They could not be missed.
A heavy smoker for over 30 years, I developed tongue cancer at the edge of my tongue, excisable. In a “bit of sanity” I gathered up all of my pipes and threw them into the garbage can.
“Morrie, what are you doing?” Betty, who was watching, said. “Tomorrow you will be buying new ones.”
“Not this time,” I said. “I’ve had it.” I never, despite my urge, ever smoked again. Whenever I desired a cigarette, I put a slice of gum in my mouth.
I am told by doctors that quitting smoking is harder to do than heroin. I tried giving up smoking many times. It didn’t work. This time it did.
For over 80 years of not smoking I can say I “liked the habit,” a dirty one. With the smell of tobacco in my breath I wonder how Betty could have accepted it. Betty never smoked.
I became a fanatical anti-smoker since. Smoking is an expensive filthy habit.
I once did the math on how much money I saved – unbelievable. No wonder I have lots of dough.
(November 14, 2020)
Many of Trump’s followers are jumping off his ship. If you do not agree with him he fires you.
Many government officials are quitting. They don’t want to be associated with Trump’s policies, his ranting and raving.
Afraid of losing their jobs, many go along unwillingly with him. Our government is in complete disarray. It reminds me of the ‘50s and the Joseph McCarthy House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC).
We are all waiting for the other shoe to drop, wondering how it will all play out.
Again, “hang in there,” the “fat lady hasn’t spoken yet.” Unique in our history these are trying times. Our country is strong as in the past it has gone through some “rough” periods.
I, always the optimist, am confident we will prevail. We always have in the past and will again.
“Keep the faith.”
Good luck
Morrie
(November 18, 2020)
Emily Doll and Ha’ile, two people I highly respect. I wish you great happiness and productivity. Now you are traveling the road of life together and it’s not always easy, often filled with “potholes” you will learn to avoid.
Two different people with diverse backgrounds and lifestyles. You will not always agree with each other but you must learn to respect each other’s viewpoints. It is the key to a long and happy marriage. Learn to agree to disagree. You will likely come to roadblocks difficult to surmount, a ladder or finding a way around it is essential. Help may be needed. Advice from friends.
You may resort to costly psychologists who try to help but often can’t. Betty and I went that route.
After 13 sessions, our female psychologist, obviously completely perplexed, said, “You are both right in your viewpoints, you just see things differently.”
At that time, I did not have a lot of money. Seeking answers to our problems, we wasted a lot of it. Betty and I never settled our differences. We just accepted them and moved on. We loved each other. Divorce was never an option.
If you love each other it will never be.
We were married for 80 years and when possible, holding hands. I miss her. We traveled the world. Hopefully we left footprints that you and Ha’ile, if you desire, can follow.
There are many pitfalls to a marriage. If you truly love each other you will surmount them.
I wish you the best of luck.
With love, Morrie
November 11, 2020
As a kid growing up in East Harlem I was a Yankees fan. When our family moved to Brooklyn, I became a Dodgers fan.
Hoorah. After trying for over 30 years, the Dodgers (the bums) won the World Series again. Persistence pays off.
When I was in my early teens, I loved baseball. I knew the names of the best players. Joe DiMaggio was my hero, with Babe Ruth a close second.
Only once did I go to Yankees stadium to see a game. The tickets, even in the bleachers, were too expensive. It was impossible to sneak in. I tried it once but a guard saw me, escorted me to an exit and pushed me outside the gate.
When I started working full-time, my interest in baseball waned. It was supplanted by my sexual awakening and my interest in girls. I was lucky enough to be born handsome.
(November 4, 2020)
A ho-ho-ho and away we go.
I thought when I woke up this morning I would be living under a new president.
How wrong I was. We can’t have two presidents at the same time. Trump refuses to leave the White House (I don’t blame him. It’s rent free and comes with full service.)
Oh well. I’ll have to live another day with Trump as my president. Barring any unforeseen accidents, I think I can make it.
In the world outside my apartment, there is lots going on. The coronavirus is still biting people who have not heeded all the warnings and suggestions on how not to expose themselves.
Our stupid (an apt description of someone who does not accept proven facts) president calls them a hoax). He’s making another speech to crowds standing elbow to elbow, a Fauci no-no. Unmaksed, he proudly tells his audience how durable he is.
He survived his recent bout with the coronavirus. Like the legendary Pied Piper, he is leading his flock to sure destruction. He is a leader who misleads. “Woe is us.”
Our country has been imperiled many times and survived. I believe we will again. Future history will record our efforts.
P.S. “Dump Trump” (with or without a mask).
(November 4, 2020)
Unlike past elections, we the public, through our media, know full well what the candidates stand for. Millions of dollars have been spent to persuade the voters to elect their candidate.
No other election that I can remember has been as contentious as this one.
The Republican candidate for president blatantly spouts obvious lies he knows he is telling but does not care.
Recent polls indicated a large percentage of the public believe him.
“Love me,” he says, and half the people do. We are a gullible people.
I am an old “geezer” (106) but would like to be around to see how it all plays out. With the continued good luck I have had perhaps I will.
I’m trying.
***
Some things change, some remain the same.
This has been the most contested and vindictive presidential contest in my lifetime.
At this writing, it is not yet clear who is the winner. Voters (me) have made their choice, but the ballot counters still counting have not.
It is my belief, and my hope, that Joe Biden will be our next president and will prove to be one of our best.
Our country is at a nail-biting stage. TV viewers are glued to their chairs awaiting the outcome. “The fat lady has not spoken yet.”
If Donald Trump wins (If I were a religious man I would say “God forbid”) the portent for our country’s future is a bleak one.
Trump already has done much damage to our country and he vows to do more.
His attack on the Affordable Care Act so far has not been successful, but for sure he will keep trying.
The only way to frustrate and stop him is to “Dump Trump.”
Age wise, I am considered old and feeble (with good reason) and despite the fact that I have dentures, can still bite.
This is a great country, let’s keep it that way.
“Dump Trump”
(November 3, 2020)
Morrie Markoff - 109-year-old Blogger - born Jan. 11, 1914 