What a Mess

What a mess.

No one in our government seems to know what to do in Afghanistan.

Like quicksand, we were sucked into it the moment we put one foot into it.

Biden is right – we’ve got to get out.

At great expenditure of men and money, our efforts failed.

Twenty years of trying is enough.

Like it or not, we must go.

Get out…now.

It’s frightening to think of what will happen to the Afghan people who supported us.

They will be targeted by the Taliban.

It is our responsibility to get them and their families out of harm’s way.

While not in the best bargaining position, we have to make a deal with the Taliban.

We are holding some good cards – our air force, which they knowingly can’t fight.

We have “taken out” their leaders and we will, if necessary, again.

They know this.

In one sense, they are as helpless as we are.

Kabul airport is jammed with people trying to leave. It is a chaotic situation. Planes are leaving with people hanging on to them.

Pathetic.

Sad.

It “boggles” my mind to think about it.

We don’t win every battle.

For sure, we must recognize the loss of Afghanistan.

It will become a “dark age” country with “dark age laws.”

Gone will be the gains it has made.

Women will lose all the rights they have gained. 

President Biden says they will have to help themselves, we want “out.”

The Taliban are cruel, heartless rulers. Afghanistan will have medieval laws.

Our country will no longer help them. They are on their own.

My view is that our total withdrawal is a cop out, an abandonment of Afghanistan, giving the Taliban a free hand.

We cannot, as Biden is doing, wash our hands of the problem. It’s not doing what’s right. Where is the United Nations in all of this?

They, too, must put pressure on the Taliban.

Difficult, dangerous situations in the past have been solved.

This one must be, too.

Many innocent lives are at stake.

What the outcome will be, no one knows.

We can only hope for the best.

(August 19, 2021)

IRS Observation

Despite what people (me too) think or say, there are many honest people in the world.

When I was in business my “honest” accountant did his best to find every legal deduction he could.

I had a thriving business. I paid my taxes.

I was audited once and he told me he usually spends hours auditing businesses. 

He left after about an hour.

“Mr. Markoff, you keep a good set of books.”

High praise from a government auditor.

A strange thing happened many years later when Betty and I went to the IRS office to check whether I owed more taxes.

The teller behind the counter shifted through a batch of papers and asked me to wait.

“I need to talk to my supervisor.”

I got worried.

I waited about 10 minutes wondering what was happening.

The teller came back with her supervisor.

“Mr. Markoff?” she asked.

“Yes.”

She handed me a check for $3,500.

“What’s this for?” I asked.

“For overpayment of your taxes, Mr. Markoff, we don’t hand out many of these. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

We shook hands and she left.

I looked at the check, a standard government one.

Betty was waiting for me at the entrance of the IRS building.

“Betsy doll, let’s go to dinner.”

We had a most memorable evening.

It was a day to remember.

I do.

(July 23, 2021)

Watchmakers, Great Job

What time is it?

I look at my watch.

3:30 p.m, time to do a little walking.

The thin little second hand on my watch sets me to thinking,

One of the best skills is being a watchmaker.

He needs a steady hand. Their primary tool is a pair of tweezers.

He often breaks down the basic components of the smallest of watches.

I, as a machinist, am in awe of this skill.

A watchmaker is not the highest paid of all trades, but it should be.

I once asked a watchmaker how long it took him to learn his skills.

“A lifetime.”

Watchmakers everywhere hear this, my hat is off to you.

I worry that your skills will soon be redundant. 

We are now on “digital” time.

It’s called progress.

Is it?

P.S. The next time I see a watchmaker, I will ask them, “Can you repair a digital watch?”

(July 14, 2021)

Musings

My favorite subjects in school were history and English. I always got A’s in each.

I am a reader and have been since I was about 6 or 7.

I was a voracious reader of paperbacks.

Boredom was unknown to me, and still is. 

Interspersed with my reading and watching movies, I watch TV but I get annoyed.

A “bit” of news and then advertisements, which are repetitive.

It’s easy to become brain dead. 

I used to stay up late. I no longer do.

By eight p.m. I am in bed.

In my younger days, I would stay up until midnight.

I was a “free soul,” no one supervised me.

By eight p.m. my eyes get watery and paste together.

Usually, I am helped into bed. I usually get up two or more times during the night to urinate.

That’s it. That’s my day.

“Good night”

Morrie

(July 30, 2021)

Looking Backward

Am I living too much in the past?

Sometimes I wonder.

But the past is where my life is at.

In the present, I am trying to spend my life as pleasantly as possible until the Grim Reaper gathers me.

And what a life I have had.

No writer likes repetition, including this one.

I’ve had not only a long life but an active life, filled with love, adventure and anticipation.

“Morrie, would you like to relive your life?”

Sure, but I would like to make a few changes, minor ones to me, but important to the recipient.

So – it’s almost time to move on and make room for another “Morrie.”

(July 27, 2021)

Be Vigilant

Hitler, who planned to have the Germanic Empire last a thousand years was wrong in his estimate.

The Fuhrer made many fatal mistakes. 

One was in his persecution of the Jews.

He directed the war against the hated Soviet Union, many of his enemies, I believe, would have become his allies.

Hitlers are always a threat to a democracy.

We must be vigilant and not have it happen.

Morrie

(July 30, 2021)

More Secrets to Longevity

It was a treat, a feast.

Danny brought me a July 4th lunch.

A half slice of rye bread pastrami sandwich and a side order of potato salad, both of which I love.

This morning, instead of my usual oatmeal cereal, Danny also brought a large serving of scrambled eggs and a small cup of hot mustard.

I dipped a little bit of the scrambled egg into the hot mustard.

My nostrils tightened. I grabbed a glass of cold water and swallowed.

My eyes teared. 

That mustard was hot.

Danny likes hot food.

I do, too…up to a point.

As a kid I was a vegetarian. I drank lots of milk until one day I became lactose intolerant. I had lots of bellyaches.

Today, I eat everything (if it doesn’t move) except shrimp, which I am allergic to, but I don’t eat much.

When people learn that I am 107, they ask what’s my secret to longevity.

-Exercise, walk, walk, walk and “keep breathing.”

Without a walker, my knees won’t hold me up. I use it.

Exercise, burn up excess calories by exercising…Walk.

Walking will make your life more interesting.

You will notice things around you that in driving by you would not have noticed.

It will strengthen your legs and keep your weight down.

Walking is cheap. 

-One thing I don’t do, I don’t sit on my butt watching TV unless it’s a TV special.

I only watch CNN on TV before going to bed.

-I don’t overeat, I don’t drink any liquor. 

-Don’t overeat. If you feel full, walk away from the table

-Don’t have butter with your meals.

-I credit Betty’s cooking to our longevity.

She followed vegetarian recipes.

There you have it, dear readers. “My secret.”

Whether my lifestyle will work for you, who knows?

Good luck and keep breathing

Morrie

(July 6, 2021)

In a Heartbeat

Betty and I traveled the world.

Very few places did we miss (next life).

I’ve burned up hundreds of rolls of film, some of which I never got around to printing.

Betty kept a journal. Before going to bed, she wrote in her journal our daily travel experiences, including costs. Her added comments must be read to be appreciated.

People commented on how wonderful a traveling pair we were.

We complemented each other.

Only once (my fault, my ego) did we ever have differences. We saw things differently. 

We always compromised, dropped the subject and moved on – a wonderful policy that we recommend to our readers.

Never, never, never go to bed angry or resentful.

Put your arms around each other, you don’t have to vocalize, that says it all.

“Morrie,” Betty once asked me, “would you marry me again?”

“In a heartbeat,” I answered.

(July 9, 2021)

A Tribute

Luck

Horrors.

Will they never stop?

Will the “grim reaper” never take a holiday.

Who can imagine the building you are in suddenly collapsing, crashing to the ground, a pile of rubble, the people in it crushed to death?

No one, least of all me.

Luck, you have to have luck.

Most of us have escaped certain death by sheer luck.

Is there some power that watches over us, that guides our lives?

I often wonder…or is it chance?

In my youth, I was an atheist.

I no longer am….

I no longer “ponder” and think of unanswerable questions at the age of 107.

I have lived a long life, a productive one….

No one lives forever nor do they want to.

As long as I can get pleasure out of life (and I do), I’m thankful.

So, in conclusion, I wish my readers the luck I’ve had.

We only get “one go around.”

Make the most of it.

“Keep Breathing”

(June 2021)