Happy 86th Birthday to Ringo Starr

 

I have saluted Ringo on his birthday several times in the past.  For this year, I am featuring the Beatles version of Boys where Ringo sings lead.  The Shirelles had the original version of  Boys in the early 1960s.  

17 Years of the Fans of Cousin Bruce Morrow Page on Facebook

 

Yesterday, I received a message from Facebook stating it was the 17th anniversary of my starting the Fans of Cousin Bruce page.  I never remembered the exact date that I started it.  Since that time, 14,400 people have joined the group.  The overwhelming majority are lurkers, as relatively few post there.  Thankfully, there have been very few inappropriate posts over the years.  Cousin Bruce also set up his Official Friendship Page, which has 85,000 members.

Random Thoughts on July 4, 2026

 

• I remember my friend Mike H from CCNY had  birthday barbecues from 1969-71
• Happy Birthday to my grandnephew, Teddy Shapiro, who lives in northern California
• We live in a culture enamored by celebrity weddings.  I think the excitement over Prince Charles's wedding to Diana in 1981 was greater than that of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.
• On July 4, 1976, I was living in New Brunswick, NJ.  There were more activities for the Bicentennial than the 250th anniversary today.

America by Simon and Garfunkel - Good Song for the July 4th Weekend

 

Random Thoughts of the Day - July 1, 2026

• Today is Bobby Bonilla Day as the former player receives a check for $1,193,248.20 from the Mets.  He will receive these payments every year until 2035. What people don’t know, by deferring Bobby Bonilla's contract, the New York Mets had the money to sign Mike Hampton, who became the NLCS MVP that season. Hampton played a significant role for the 2000 Mets, who lost the World Series to the Yankees.
• I am taking an online defensive driving course to save money on my car insurance.  Everything in the course is common sense to experienced drivers.
• I had another crazy dream about attending a professional meeting 8 years after I retired.  This is one of the few dreams that I remembered after I woke up.

 

Half Moon by Janis Joplin - It is Halfway Through 2026

 

Where does all the time go?  We are halfway through 2026.  The days just fly by.  The days turn into weeks, weeks into months, and months into years.

Phillies 5 Mets 4 - New Manager Same Result

On the way to the game, there were signal problems on the #7 train.  So what else is new after all these years of riding the trains?  We arrived in time for the start of the game, as with other Met games this season.  The Mets left 14 men on base and batted 2 for 16 with runners in scoring position.  The only highlight for the home team was a two-run pinch-hit homer by A.J. Ewing that tied the game at 3-3.  But Kyle Schwarber hit a two-run homer to put the Phillies ahead 5-4 in the 7th inning.  He now leads MLB with 30 home runs.

There were many Phillie fans in the stands.  It is an easy drive or train ride from Philadelphia to Queens.

Game Recap