Archive for November, 2020

1. Siamese twins unable to comply with state’s social distancing order. They say the order is creating a lot of unnecessary division.
2. Headless horseman issued waiver to give rides says, “I’m just trying to stay a head of the game.”
3. State Wildlife Agency orders baby possums to be a little less clingy and follow the example of well-behaved baby ducks.
4. Predictably, half of schizophrenics are unable to comply with state’s social distancing order saying, “You know if it was up to me I would, but try telling that to me.”
5. Milton-Bradley to offer new socially distanced Twister played on a half-acre plastic mat.
6. State orders dragstrip closed. All races are now ZOOMing.
7. Survey shows prisoners in solitary confinement were never healthier, happier.
8. All 3-Legged races canceled unless all 3 legs belongs to one person.
9. Guru in India who’s been exhaling for nine months, an “inspiration” to many. A grateful nation says, “We’re all just holding our breath hoping he can continue.”
10. Man in iron lung is nicknamed Rusty. He’s not happy, but recognizes the iron-y.
11. Homemade cranberry sauce is not hard to make and a welcomed addition to any Thanksgiving feast. There is no kid’s table this year. Instead, everyone gets their own table. As a joke, when someone says, “Pass the rolls please,” tell them, “OK, I just had one, it will take me about 24 hours.” And finally, remember: As ye sow, social ye distance.

1. 

   “I can’t come over tonight. I have mono, Polly.”

   Chernobyl Monopoly – Only board game that has a half-life. When parents got wind of this radioactive edition they had a meltdown.

2. Titanic Monopoly – This version was a disaster. (Thanks for groaning)
3. Beatles Monopoly – This one was actually Fab! So many great places to land on: Abbey Road, Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields. Favorite game piece? – You guessed it: the Yellow Submarine.
4. Garden of Eden Monopoly – This version was tempting. Very, very tempting. In the end everyone is thrown out of the Garden just for having a little fun. It made no sense then. It makes no sense now.  
5. BLM Monopoly – Not the BLM you think. This BLM (the Bureau of Land Management) thought it might be fun to supervise federal lands on a Monopoly board. Fail. It was a bored game.
6. NRA Monopoly – Again, not what you think. The other NRA – the National Restaurant Association – created this game, but diners had their reservations about it.
7. Native American Monopoly – People also had their reservations about this game too. Indian reservations. The Indian game pieces were outnumbered by the cavalry game pieces 4 to 1. Game always ends with the Indian pieces being forcibly moved to one little reservation between Indiana and Kentucky Avenues. This left nothing to Chance.
8. Hurricanopoly – This version just blew. And blew and blew and blew.
9. Hooveropoly – Unlike Hurricanopoly, this version sucked
10. Napoleon Blownaparte – This is what happened when Napoleon sat on a bomb? (I know. Not a Monopoly game, but all Monopoly and no Napoleon makes David a dull boy…OK a duller boy)
11. Bibleopoly – Just like the real Bible, the instructions are so domineering (Thou shalt not Pass Go, Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s thimble) that people didn’t like being told how to behave.
12. Palindrome Monopoly – Too unstructured. Players could move forward or backwards. And of course everybody wanted to be the racecar because racecar spelled backwards is still racecar.
13. Eastern Standard Time Monopoly – Creators of this version marketed it with the tagline: “Play Monopoly like it’s whatever time it is in New York City in winter.” Oooh, pinch me. A Greenwich Mean Time Version was no more exciting.
14. Pornopoly – Why did the instructions say Pornopoly should only be played on Wednesdays?
15. Polly-wanna-opoly – This game was for the birds.
16. Homeopathy – Not a board game at all, but a natural healing method of caring for one’s self. And do take the time to care for yourself – everyone. Happy Thanksgiving.

My cup may runneth over, but my bucket is empty.

The phrase “I Hope Never To” should be repeated before each entry

1. Hear my doctor say “Don’t worry. It’s the good kind of” anything
2. Get confused when baking a flourless cake in the shape of a flower
3. Hear the captain say, “We’ve all made our peace with the Almighty up here on the flight deck. Probably a good idea if y’all did the same back in the cabin.”
4. Sleep in a barn and wake up a little hoarse
5. Sleep in my bed and wake up next to a horse’s head. (Godfather reference: If you give Johnny Fontaine that part, you’ll never have to worry about this.)
6. See my shadow move differently than I’m moving
8. Leave #7 blank…Damn it! Epic fail. And I was so close. #7 is un-intentionally blank.
9. Ride through the desert on a horse with no name. Or even ride through the desert on a horse whose name I knew, but subsequently forgot. And lastly, to ride through a car wash on a horse whose name I never asked and was never told.
10. Spend time at a petting zoo. Especially as an exhibit.
11. Be so retired that we start going out, not only to Early Bird dinners, but to Early Bird breakfasts – where of course we get the worms
12. Free climb El Capitan – No one has to climb it. And just because it’s “there” isn’t enough of reason. I implore you all to take El Capitan for granite – hard, unforgiving granite.
13. Walk on Hot Coals
14. Walk on Warm Coals
15. Walk into Kohl’s. Why should I? It’s all online.
16. Pick-up roadside trash on weekends in order to satisfy some Community Service obligations I didn’t deserve. Next time I guess I’ll ask permission before I try to free climb Kirstie Alley.
17. Have an air bag go off in a car I’m in (unless, of course, it needs to)
18. Accidentally get a glimpse of the godless lumpy landscape, floating in a sea of bluish hell in a Port-a-Potty waste tank. One errant glance and you’re changed forever. Too many among us suffer silently from PPSD: Post Port-a-Potty Stress Disorder.
19. Write a doctoral thesis contrasting Hunt’s Manwich Sandwich with Sloppy Joe’s. It’s a fool’s errand, like contrasting Mary-Kate from Ashley.
20. See any of my internal organs
21. Visit the warehouses where all the removed Confederate statues are stored
22. Touch the tips of both pinkies while each is in a separate nostril
23. Be assigned a probation officer
24. See Donald Trump naked
25. See Kate Upton clothed
26. Use “winter” or “summer” as a verb (As in: Oh, we winter in Cozumel and summer in Martha’s Vineyard.)
27. Get a call from my probation officer telling me: “My lawn gets mowed once a week and the trash goes out on Tuesday. We can talk about massage latter. Now get crackin’ Hardiman.” And before hanging up he sings: “For he’s a jolly good felon. For he’s a jolly good felon. For he’s a jolly good felonnnnnnn. That nobody can deny.”
28. Move so slowly that I get run over by one of those 6-million lb NASA mega-transports while its rolling a rocket out to the launching pad
29. Help my Uncle Jack off a horse
30. Help my Uncle Jack off anything for that matter
31. Use the past as an excuse for current choices
32. Spend less than 10 minutes a day meditating (not thinking or cogitating)
33. Well, you made it this far. Congratulations. Now, post this list on your wall and fill in the blank #7 using the phrase “The Big Secret is there’s no secret.”

1. 

   The picture (of me) doesn’t always have to dovetail with the story. Sometimes a picture is just a picture. 

   We’re not happy about it up here in the cockpit either folks. But sometimes airplanes just run out of fuel.

2. We think it’s best to leave the arrow in till we get to a hospital
3. When’s your due date?
4. I didn’t know it was loaded. Big toes are overrated anyway.
5. Just 24 more reincarnations and you’ll be able to move on to the next level.
6. The good news is that you’re a person of interest. The bad news is that the police are the ones saying it.
7. You’re kinda cute. (if Mike Tyson said it)
8. Don’t worry. I won’t tell anybody you’re an ABBA fan.
9. David honey, the YMCA called. They said your loincloths are in. What’s that all about?
10. Well you did draw the short straw and we have been stranded for 3 weeks.
11. According to 23 and Me you’re not related to anyone in your family.
12. No Mrs. Hardiman, these coffins are soundproof. Even if he was alive you couldn’t hear him.
13. I think the lava flow is gaining on us. Your shoelaces are on fire.
14. OK, now I can tell you. It was 100% elephant placenta.
15. You’re lucky Mr. Hardiman. It’s the “good” kind of sucking chest wound.
16. I didn’t think it was possible, but you’ve got toilet paper on both shoes.
17. You’re kinda cute. (if Mike Pence said it)
18. You got an F- Mr. Hardiman. And it was graded on a curve
19. Well at least you still have the one leg.
20. Your concern is noted. And you’re right, our hot air balloon should be big and puffy. But sometimes hot air balloons just run out of fuel.
21. Peter at the Pearly Gates: If it was up to me you know I’d let you in. But I don’t make those decisions. I’m just a bouncer with wings.

1. 

   Brick and mortar books: More expensive, less convenient and just as satisfying as ebooks, audibles or kindles. Buy them anyway.

   Schizophrenia: Two Views

2. It’s Sheila: On Discovering the Name of the Horse You Rode through the Desert on. Y’know, the One You Thought Had No Name
3. Too Short for the Low-hanging Fruit: The Kevin Hart Story
4. Schoolroom Horror Avoided: My English Teacher Wants Me to Use “Intoxicants,” But Only in a Sentence. Phew!
5. Schoolroom Revelation: It’s Not the School I hate. It’s the Principal of the Thing
6. Why Can’t All Pools Just Be Heated for Christ’s Sake?
7. God’s Broken System of Reincarnation: On Coping with People Who Were Cows or Other Livestock in Their Last Lifetime.
8. Feelin’ Very Caucasian: The Mike Pence Story
9. You Can’t Get There from Here: On Pushing String and Planting Cut Flowers
10. “Ha Ha. Look Everybody. Breana Says She’s This Many Fingers”: Fighting Ageism in Toddlers
11. How My Sister and I Became Attached at the Hip: On Choosing to Become Conjoined Twins
12. Ice Cream Truck Jingles You Never Forget: Sweet Baby Jesus I Beg You, Get Them Out My Head!
13. Epileptic Fit Bit: Least Loved Wheel of Fortune “Before and Afters”
14. The Great American Navel
15. I’m So Dumb and I Don’t Even Know It: Admitting You’re Stupid is the First Step on the Road to Recovery
16. “Van Gogh”: What Babies Say When the Dodge Caravan Drives Away
17. Life: A Preexisting Condition Covered Only by the Sky
18. One Can + One Can = Toucan: The Story of Kellogg’s Froot Loops
19. “Cargo”: What Babies of Federal Express Employees Say When the Dodge Caravan Drives Away
20. Thinner: The David Hardiman Story
21. Thinner: What I Use to Dilute Oil-based Paints
22. Thinner: How People with Lisps Pronounce “sinner”
23. “Escargot”: What French Babies Say When the Dodge Caravan Drives Away

1. No-Ply Toilet Paper – For eco-friendly people with time, and other stuff, on their hands.
2. Rescue Hamsters – Only $1 a dozen. Remember: The difference between a hamster and a gerbil is that a hamster has more dark meat.
3. Sorta Depends – Sorta work for the sorta incontinent
4. One Cheek Fanny Cleaner – Another half-ass product from the Dollar Tree
   

   Stretch your dollar till you pull a legal tendon at the Dollar Tree.

5. Shadow Puppets – So flimsy they don’t even cast shadows
6. Ventriloquist Dummies – Really dumb. Their mouths don’t open. No wonder they only cost a dollar
7. Reconditioned Kleenex – Pre-owned facial tissues for the phlegmishly frugal
8. Plant-based Iguana Filets – For those who cannot afford actual iguana filets
9. Meat-based Plants – Turnabout is fair play. Try the surprisingly affordable Hot Dogwood tree.
10. Sarah Huckabee’s Beauty Mask – Sold in the Halloween section
11. Pumpkin Spice Catheters – Combining everything you don’t like, in something you don’t need, for one low price
12. Bristleless Toothbrush for Denture Wearers – Brush like no one’s watching. At least I hope not.

1. York Peppermint Waldo – Really good candy…if you can find it
2. Almond Mellows – Available at marijuana dispensaries. Simultaneously causes and satisfies the Munchies
3. Reese’s Feces – Ummm, maybe it’s filled with peanut butter, and maybe it’s not
4. Really, Really Hilarious Ranchers – Regular Jolly Ranchers infused with THC
5. Good-n-Linty – Sometimes candy is where you find it
6. Arm Candy – Initially very popular with men, but they soon discovered they just couldn’t afford it
   

   So many cavities. So little time.

7. 2 Musketeers Bar – A low budget 3 Musketeers. No chocolate. Just solid nougat. Sold at the Dollar Store.
8. Almond Sad – Actually an Almond Joy for the clinically depressed
9. Toddler Ruth’s – Baby Ruth bars that we’re left out too long
10. Juvenile Ruth’s – Baby Ruth bars that we’re left out way too long
11. Floater Ruth’s – Great for emptying pools
12. Twits – Twix for stupid people
13. DITS – Telegraphic sister candy to DOTS. People found the whole Dit-Dot thing too old-fashioned.
14. Sweet Farts – In test markets all agreed: They absolutely stunk.
15. Herschel’s Chocolate – Not from Hershey, but from nearby Bethlehem, PA most found this Semitic chocolate “too Jewish”
16. Bit Bats – A knock-off version of Kit Kats. It’s the first candy bar that bites you.
17. Claire Danes – Maybe a candy, maybe an actress. Bite it and find out.
18. Charleston pre-Chewed – Popular candy in nursing homes where fatigued senior jaws can use a little help
19. $28,000 Bar – A deep discount $100,000 Bar. 72% smaller than the original. Popular with dieters.
20. Clusterf*cks – Too many snafus relegated this problematic candy to the dustbin of history
21. M’s – Rejected M&Ms from the Mars candy factory. Available in Plain and Stupid.
22. Shittles – A don’t ask, don’t tell version of Skittles
23. Goodbar – A stay at home candy that never really caught on
24. Goodbar – This candy bar was very popular early on, but eventually became Mrs. Goodbar and candy eaters began to lose interest,
25. Payday Bar – Discontinued as Paydays kept getting smaller and smaller every year.
26. Bit of Honey – A grammatically corrected version of Bit-O-Honey. Popular at book fairs.
27. Lot-O-Honey – What happens when you remember her birthday. (yeah I know – It’s not a candy bar. It’s called being an artist!)
28. Bitter Honey – What happens when there’s nothing under the tree for wifey. (yeah I know – It’s not a candy bar. It’s still called being an artist!)
29. Honey, Honey – An Early ABBA hit (Still taking artistic license here. OK. Now back to the candy bars)
30. Cracker Jills – A female version of Cracker Jack. Discontinued after a recurrent psychological manufacturing flaw, where they could never get the peanuts to come out of their shells
31. Gummi Dares – Made from bear secretions. I dare you to eat one.
32. Coconut Coated Tootsie Rolls – A Halloween favorite. Especially when you substitute clumped cat litter.
33. Chortles – If you like to Snicker, you’ll love to Chortle. “Chortles really satisfies,” he guffawed.
34. Gecko Wafers – It’s how Necco Wafers are sold in Hawaii. If you leave them out they migrate to the ceiling.
35. Milky Whey – “Not enough curds doomed this well-intentioned candy,” he snickered
36. Butterfinger – Sales really picked up after they finally put the letters “er’ between the “t” and “f”.
37. Duds – Milk Duds that bombed
38. Mentals – Strange substance. If you place a Mental in a Coke bottle, you foam at the ears.
39. 2M – Mathematicians version of M&Ms. Strangely enough 2Ms are made by 3M.
40. Candy Corn – A lot like Fruitcake. People own it. Give it as gifts, but never actually sit down and eat it.
41. Senior Mints – A more mature version of Junior Mints. These geriatric mints enter your mouth and then forget why they went in there in the first place

When You Least Expect It

This spaceship-looking structure was home to Syracuse University Basketball from 1964 to 1980 and was the scene of a great juvenile escapade.

My friend Gary DeBaise and I are bosom buddies in the Norman Rockwell sense of the term. We grew up 2 years and 2 unspectacular houses apart in the solidly middle-class section of Eastwood in Syracuse, NY. We bonded over many shared interests: sports, girls and disbelief at the behavior of others. Our bond was further cemented when our parents both got divorced at roughly the same time in the early 70s. We were constant and curious friends; wondering what the hell we were doing in these bodies, but not philosophic enough to squander the opportunity to operate them in ways perhaps unintended by their creator. In the gentlest of ways we’d conspire, scheme and execute the most notoriously benign skullduggery kids can devise.

The kind of trouble we got into would warrant a stern talking to, or maybe the frowning of a lifetime – if we ever got caught (which we never did). Some of our exploits (immature shenanigans to some, bold feats to us) were suitable for a Steven Spielberg juvenile buddy film entitled something like EGT: The Extra Goonie Terrestrials. Our escapades were brilliantly hatched and stealthily executed operations, undertaken with Hogan Heroes’ precision, MacGyver savvy and Bondian sangfroid. Well, all that and maybe a dash of Wile E Coyote miscalculation. One time we repurposed (some might call it stealing) 24 wooden 2 by 4’s stored in an open shed in the backyard of a neighbor. Risk was minimized by undertaking the mission at 2 o’clock in the morning during a new moon. We dubbed this daring little act of espionage Operation: It’s Just Sitting There, Denny Dimwit Isn’t Using It and Besides We Need It for Our Fort. You don’t pull off this level of larceny unless you’ve got your neighborhood sh*t dialed in. And in that rotary age we had it very dialed in.  Read the rest of this entry »