Leap Day Flashback 2020

  My mom introduced me to the Rudyard Kipling poem “If” at a very early age. The words have changed as I’ve looked at them through my years.

Today’s quote on Leap Day suggests that we never have an idea what life brings... currently politics, racism, poverty and religion have taken a back burner to the China Virus.

Now I don’t have the hindsight to tell you this too shall pass.... it could be as big as a world war or it could be the next Y2K....

All I know is it’s an opportunity to stay level headed and keep a kind eye out if the shit does hit the fan!

On Leap Day.... have an extra piece of coffee cake, make love ten minutes longer, have another cold beer and take deep breaths with eyes closed facing the sunlight! Jumbo/Shep orders you!

February 29th, 2024

   Last night I picked George up after a three and a half hour class. From six until nine thirty, George learned how to become an election judge for the Cook County primary election later this month.

He climbed into Betty with a defeated attitude and immediately said, “I can’t do this Dad! These people seem shady and aren’t very smart…”

George Shepley received his first lesson in modern day politics.

I listened to George rant and rave all the way home and all the way up to the final “Good night Big George, I love you boy.”

George is going to earn two hundred and fifty dollars to work from five in the morning until seven o’clock at night. Seventeen bucks an hour and an important lesson in democracy.

He noticed one other thing among the six tables with about six to eight fellow future election judges. The blacks sat together, the Hispanics sat together, the whites sat together and the Asians sat together.

He asked me why that was.

That will be a conversation for another time and a growing pattern that George’s generation will unfortunately have to face.

I’m just proud my little Whig Party offspring made it through the training session. I was expecting a call halfway through asking for a ride home.

Whatever precinct George lands into on March 19th… they are going to get a non judgmental autistic kid that has been blessed to not have the hate gene.

Maybe we should start electing more politicians on the spectrum?

I put a smile on the sun this morning. Go out and do something outrageous. It won’t show up on your Facebook flashback for four years.

Have at it Chalkheads and enjoy the leap!

February 28th, 2024

      I turned on the television and looked for something to watch last night. The first two movies suggested to me were “Full Metal Jacket and “The Princess and the Frog.”

I picked the cartoon over the war movie. No Shepkids were around when I made this decision. The Disney movie was the first movie that I ever took George to. It will always be his first movie at the theater. That made it a nostalgic pick and an easy one at that.

Last night wasn’t the first time that this has happened. Anytime “Cars” is on, I watch it and I always cry when Lightning pushes “The King” over the finish line.

It was easy to pick a quote this morning for the Chalkboard. This was the simple motto that Tianna lived by.

….and in the end it all worked out!

I hope life isn’t like a movie. I don’t want things to work out at the end. I don’t want to work until the day before I die. Fucking Disney…..

I’d like to go to a couple more Jazzfests in New Orleans before I go to the big Jazzfest in heaven.

Dress warm today. Temperature dropped hard around 2:30 this morning and the wind is howling hard.

Hump hard and try to be astonished.

February 27th, 2024

       My dad handed me two CTA tokens and a sawbuck on a Sunday night before bedtime. He told me that I could jump on the Lake Street elevated train and ride into the city Monday morning.

He suggested maybe spending some of the money to buy a book at Kroch's and Brentano's.

My dad forgot to turn the kitchen radio off Monday Morning. When I woke up, they were talking about the Cub’s game on WGN. My dad also forgot or purposely left his Sun Times on the family room coffee table. The Oldman read the Sun Times on the L in the morning because it folded like a book, which made it easier on the crowded morning commute.

One of the men on the radio mentioned how he loved buying a ticket for the bleachers for $1.50. Tickets went on sale the morning of the game. So, it was first come, first serve. Once you bought that ticket you can run up the ramps and find any seat you wanted. The ticket lines formed an hour or so before game time and I had to hurry and get dressed. I wasn’t going to the bookstore; I was going to the ballpark.

I took the Lake Street from Oak Park into the Loop a bunch of times, but I never transferred to the northbound Howard by myself.

It was Monday, June 25th, 1979. One week before my thirteenth birthday. I wore jeans that my mom cut into shorts and a light green golf shirt with a blue collar. My dad had a rule to look nice when you went downtown, so I put on a collared shirt rather than a t-shirt.

I walked over to the Ridgeland stop and waited for the next train. I had the newspaper tucked under my shoulder, fourteen bucks in my wallet, two tokens in that little pocket in my Levi’s and an Indianapolis Indians baseball cap on my head.

An old black gentleman got on the train at Cicero and sat in the seat perpendicular to mine. He asked me if I was going up to the game and who the starter was that afternoon. I opened my Sun Times and told him Lynn McGlothen and he shook his head with approval.

I got off the train in the Loop and nervously found the transfer that I needed to get up to Addison and Cubs Park. The northbound train was much more colorful than my first inbound train. It smelled like cigarettes and piss.

The train arrived and the ballpark looked gorgeous from the L platform. The flags were blowing on the centerfield scoreboard and faces were drawn with smiles all around.

I got in the line behind the bleachers and was about twelve spots from the front. I bought my ticket and ran up the ramps with everyone else. I was out of breath when I came to the entrance overlooking the field. The seats were still empty and I ran down to the first row on the right field side. Most people were heading to the left field side because that was where Dave Kingman played that year. 1979 was the year of Dave Kingman and I always daydreamed how awesome it would have been if he played on my Southside Hitmen two summers before.

Before I knew it, I was taking off my hat for the National Anthem. Led by Ivan DeJesus and Billy Buckner, the Cubs rocked Steve Carlton. Carlton left the game in the second and by the third inning the Cubs led 8-0.

I was getting hot and needed to take a leak and get a hot dog. When I got back to the bleachers I decided to head up and sit under the centerfield scoreboard. It was less crowded up there and I could spread out and drink my pop and eat my hotdog. Second bite and mustard slapped down onto the front of my green collared shirt.

I didn’t care, I was in kid heaven. As the game neared the fifth inning I started to think about my dad. He’s probably going to shit when he finds out about my impromptu trip to the ballpark. He gave me ten bucks to buy a book to read that summer and I spent it haphazardly at a Cubs game.

I left the game with my ticket stub and a mustard spot on my shirt. I tracked back home without any problems. Only the fear of the price I was going to pay when I got home without a book.

I could say I left it on the train. I’d get in trouble for being a dumbass and that wasn’t as bad as going all the way up to Wrigley Field by myself.

I got home and my dad was already sitting in his chair in the family room. Right away he asked about the book and the mustard on my shirt.

“Dad, I took that sawbuck and those two CTA tokens and went to the Cubs game.”

He looked at me silently for an eternity. Closed his eyes and took a deep breath,

“You’ve got to be shitting me Moose?!?! You went to Wrigley Field by yourself?”

Then he asked me where his Sun Times was and I told him I left it on the train.

I got another… “You got to be shitting me” and the old “I don’t want to see you for the rest of the night.”

I went up to my room and read the program that someone left near my second seat in centerfield. I kept that scorecard for years.

Spontaneity…. The memory of going to a Cubs game alone outlasted the anger the Oldman had for me that week.

That next Saturday my dad took me to the bookstore in Oak Park and he bought me a copy of “To Kill a Mockingbird.” It took me into August to finish the book and that is a story for another time. A ballgame and a book that changed everything the summer that I became a teenager.

Go out and enjoy the warmth that Tuesday brings. Wednesday brings back winter.

Do something crazy today.

February 26th, 2024

 Another full moon has come and gone. Though there were some clouds, we had plenty opportunity to glimpse at the Snow moon this weekend.

February comes to an end this week and March is on the doorstep. I’m looking forward to opening up the front door and walking into spring.

Who knows what opportunities await… we won’t know sitting on the couch looking out the crust covered window panes.

I put a huge smile on the sun today. Go be astonished!

Morning Chalkboard Video, 2/25/2024

February 25th, 2024

  The winter fart from Friday night no longer lingers. What little snow left from the quick burst of a blizzard will melt today.

I just watched the sunrise climb over the horizon and spread the new daylight across my way.

I’m not going to give you some sappy line about today being a fresh start.

Or

How each morning is a gift and a new chance to rise from the ashes of yesterday.

Here is what we need to do today. Treat ourselves to what makes us mo betta’.

Is it a pot of coffee?

The Sunday paper?

A cheese danish?

10:30 mass?

A Bloody Mary?

Smooches with someone who tingles you?

A long distance phone call?

The smell of bacon?

Miles Davis on the turntable?

Or a walk down a path parallel to splashing water?

Maybe get yourself a bowl of Clam Chowder today? I prefer Manhattan over New England.

Just go do something that will make you happy!

That is what the prescription for the last Sunday of February is…

Get yourself happy and let’s groove into March on an upswing!

February 23rd, 2024

 I will always associate February twenty third with my Gramma. It was on this day in 1906 that she was given a birthday.

Born on this day into a large German family in Greensburg, Indiana was Loretta Stier.

My Gramma… and she’s a Gramma, not a Grandma or a Grandmother… my Gramma is one of the biggest influences in my life.

She is the reason that I get up early every day. She is the reason that I pray every day. She is the reason that I arrive at work before the bell rings every day.

My Gramma worked hard and she prayed hard. She passed away in 2012 and has been pushing me from heaven ever since.

That’s right she died in 2012 and was born in 1906. Catholic school kids, help the public school kids out here with the math. Loretta worked and prayed for 106 years.

In the grabber section on today’s Morning Chalkboard is the name of the store she worked at for many years. She was a salesperson in the fabric department of the Marshall Fields of Indianapolis, L.S. Ayers.

Funny, well it’s not funny, but both stores that I mentioned were destroyed by Macys.

Happy Birthday LoLo… keep the fuzzy navels to a minimum up there.

Happy Friday all you beautiful Chalkheads. How about some sun to wake up to and some snow to lull you to sleep tonight?

Go out there today and be astonished!

February 22nd, 2024

 I drove past my dad’s house on Monday after lunch with Fritz. We did a loop down the alley and up the street a few times. I stopped in front for a couple minutes to reminisce.

“Fritz…. At one point in my life… this house was the safest place I could be.”

I have a recurring dream that I’m trespassing at 220 South Lombard. Only to find out my dad never sold it and it’s alright to take a quick nap.

If I trust in that dream… I’d end up arrested, but I think it’s a reminder that eventually I’ll return to the safety of my Oldman’s house. A house that he will never sell.

Time to go make George’s lunch. No smile on the sun today Chalkheads… you’ll need to dream one up on your own.

February 21st, 2024

    I have a friend from high school that is battling cancer right now. She is chronicling her journey… her ups and downs, her victories and defeats.

This morning I woke up and saw her recent post. She is having a minor setback, but is remaining positive about it.

The beginning of her journal entry said, “Good AM my beautiful pink supporters—- I know, that sounds kind of weird!”

I met this girl when we were freshman in high school. A period of time when hormones were rushing, pimples were popping and Johnny Cougar was rocking.

The first thing I thought when I read her opening line was 1980. I imagined this girl walking into class in her Catholic school uniform saying, “Good morning my beautiful pink supporters!” and the one thing that would have come to mind to a fourteen year old boy….

I think we all know what that is. Back when Reagan became president it was the Holy Grail of Hormones.

Years flew by quicker than we expected and know pink has a different meaning.

That cute little girl from English class is going through a tough fight. A battle that she is preventing to age her because she is staying astonished. She is learning new things about her health, her life and her cancerous condition.

…And she is detailing every step she takes.

She is in a slight setback, but she is staying confident and she is setting an example for all those that love her.

When she walks into the fortieth reunion this autumn, heads will turn. Not because she’s the cute girl in the parochial skirt and blouse, but because she is the woman with the scars and pains of battling illness.

Getting old might suck, but getting older together is an astonishing journey.

The smell of onions in the concourse is just over a month away. It’s February 21st and I put a sixty up on the Morning Chalkboard.

Have a beautiful day all you supporters of the pink!

With You CF, you got this!

February 20th, 2024

 I’d mark that as a successful three day weekend just by the fact that I went to my favorite hotdog stand twice. Albeit that it was closed for four months and I had some catching up to do.

Today’s quote won’t make much sense in a society that is consumed by instant gratification. I did wait patiently for Parky's Hot Dog's to reopen and the reward was grand.

Tom Skilling is getting close to his last weather forecast at WGN. How will Chicagoland get through next winter without his calm fatherly nature?

There is a smile on the sun and a mild temperature on the Morning Chalkboard.

It’s Two for Tuesday… who do you want to hear?

February 19th, 2024

 Today’s quote is a heavy hitter for a Monday morning. I don’t think you need to listen to some guy sitting in front of a computer in his boxer shorts and a West Ham United t-shirt.

Listen to yourself this morning. Ask yourself if your feet hurt? Ask yourself if you have too much shit in the hall closet? Ask yourself when was the last time you used that do-hickey or that thing-a-ma-bob? Ask yourself if you still fit in that outfit?

The road is heading into spring and that means baseball, birds singing, flowers blooming and Spring cleaning.

Spring cleaning….

Time to sweep the sheds and get the clutter out of your life.

Listen to yourself and take the path with less traffic signs. Get on the road with less toll booths and stop lights.

The other day the florist finished my bouquet and asked me how it feels. She didn’t ask me how it looks. She asked me how it made me feel…

The lesson that I learned was… use your other senses!

It is the Monday morning of President’s Day weekend. I woke up on a balcony on Toulouse and Bourbon street on this day many years ago. My pillow was a pile of Mardi Gras beads and my blanket was a Confederate flag. I woke up to “Honky Tonk Woman” blasting from the jukebox at the bar across the street.

Everyone must take the road that leads to their Vieux Carré every once in a while.

I’m about ready to hear George Harrison sing about the ice finally melting….

Go use your senses today!

February 18th, 2024

 A man of few words today… it’s Sunday Funday and the first Sunday of Lent….

Take advantage of the three day weekend and get a little crazy.

We are already on the downslope of February heading into the first peaks of early spring. It isn’t time to wear shorts around town just yet, but the smell of late winter frost and later sunsets is a good start.

I just watched the sun pop up across the rooftops… it has a smile!

Behave today…

February 17th, 2024

 I don’t feel like talking about anxiety today. The word in this quote that is so deceiving is “tomorrow.”

I have a dear friend whose mom is going into hospice care this month. That alone puts a number on the days left my friend has with his mommy.

On the other hand….

I have two cousins that are brother and sister that haven’t talked to each other in almost three years.

In the first scenario, my buddy has little time left with his mom. As sad as it is, he has the opportunity to come to terms with his mom. They can tell stories and tighten up all the loose ends they have.

I had this opportunity during the last sixty days I had with Cecilia, my mom. It was a gift from God to know that those days together were numbered.

Back to my knucklehead cousins….

…they don’t know how many tomorrows they have together. One of them can get hit by a bus later today. If that happens, the survivor will never have the opportunity to say goodbye. They are robbing each other of a last “I Love You.”

So my buddy who is caring for his dying mother has an advantage. He knows the days are few. He will get closure and find relief when his mommy gets her angel number.

Don’t be like my cousins. If you are holding a grudge. If you aren’t on speaking terms with someone that you love.

Well….

Take today’s quote and remove the word “anxiety” and put in the word that is stealing your today’s.

Anger? Cowardliness? Stupidity?

Because I know a word that will get shoved up your ass….. REGRET!

In today’s Grabber section is some Latin…. It means, “Pray for Us!”

Pray for my friend who is sharing the last days with his mom.

I pray every fucking day… I pray because it gives me strength for tomorrow.

I’m going to go watch the sunrise come through the window now… have a brisk day, have a glorious day and becareful out there!

February 16th, 2024

     The former Mrs. Jumbo and I never got startled when the Shepkids fell down as toddlers.

You’ve seen it when two years hit the ground, they look for mommy and daddy to react. When a baby starts to walk, it’s like watching a drunk midget.

We hung bubble wrap all over when George was born. By the time Hazel moved in… the house was like the wild, wild west.

But when all three of them would tumble to the floor, we would ask them, “what do you do after you fall down?”

…and they learned to reply, “you get right back up!”

Life is full of wipe outs and collisions. I fell down and hit my head on the coffee table in 1968 and I did it again in 1988. I don’t have a coffee table today or I might still be doing it.

Try not to fall down on this three day weekend. Binge on a new television program. Bang out something flavorful in the crockpot and bump fuzzies with someone who makes you tingle.

…. and move your shadow down a sunny path. It looks to be brisk and sunny in Chicagoland over the next few days.

Look for Jumbo and the Shepkids at Parky's Hot Dog's Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Maybe we will go both days. I’ll buy you a hotdog if I see you there…. With Mustard, no ketchup!

February 15th, 2024

 Hazel challenged me to draw an angel… so I did.

It is already Thursday and many of you might be suffering from a love hangover. I can’t help you with this one. Maybe a little hair of the dog?

February is halfway over and the weekend is almost here. Good luck to all that gave up something for lent.

February 14th, 2024

 Happy Saint Valentine’s Day… I took a line from one of the best pop love songs of all time.

The first VD that you share with someone that you have just fallen in love with is the best.

I’ve been fortunate to do that twice in my life. The first time was the Saint Valentine’s Day in 1990 when Chicago was hit with fourteen inches of snow. The second time was in 2001 when I went on a double date with my future in-laws and their daughter.

I still love the girl with the snow shovel.

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Easter journey for Christians. This year I want to become more focused on developing a stronger faith within myself. I also want to reflect on the bond that Christians must strengthen with our older half brothers from the Old Testament.

Yesterday I cut into a parking place at the grocery store. There was a guy walking back to his car carrying two bouquets that he just bought.

He thought I came close to hitting him , but I didn’t. He was twenty feet away and he just wanted to be a mealy mouth.

He yapped at me when I got out of Betty the Green Blazer. So I said to him, “Don’t let her know you got those horrible looking flowers at Mariano’s! She’s worth more than that Governor!”

These are the things that I need to work on this Lent. Let Jagoffs be Jagoffs and just walk away.

Let us also begin the final push into spring… have fun making out with your love tonight… ashes on your forehead and love in your heart.

February 13th, 2024

 I watched an interview yesterday with Frank Zappa talking about John Lennon and Yoko Ono stealing music from him.

Zappa was a great storyteller and at the end, the interviewer nervously laughed. Realizing that he probably shouldn’t have found the story funny, he apologized….

That is when Zappa used today’s quote. In his deep and mellow voice,

“Go ahead and laugh, what’s the difference…..”

We can’t do anything to change how people react to us. Whatever our intentions may be and if the outcome isn’t the way we planned. Words will be hard to fix it or cover it up.

I finished the Chalkboard and sat down at the typewriter. That is when I realized I didn’t say something in the grabber section about Mardi Gras. No Lagniappe, no gumbo, no “Laissez les bon temps rouler.”

Instead I gave the countdown to what seems right now to be a horrific event in American history.

Many things can happen in 265 days. Whatever does happen….

Go ahead and laugh, what’s the difference?

February 12th, 2024

 That weekend flew by quickly and we made it through the Superbowl. Tomorrow is Fat Tuesday and next weekend is Presidents weekend.

We have a big smile on the sun today…. Enjoy it!

February 11th, 2024

 When my father died I gathered with a group of friends at a restaurant in Riverside. They met me there to comfort me, wipe my tears and protect me from the initial grief.

One of my friends and I talked about the person who I quoted on today’s Chalkboard, Kahlil Gibran. I can tell you everything each one of my friend’s did for me on that painful Saturday in October of 2020. Every individual act of kindness that I received from the dozen people that comforted me that day.

I talk today about that one person because our paths crossed last night. I asked this person why I was defriended and blocked on Facebook. The answer I received was because I support Israel.

A person that put their arms around me when my father died. A person that baked cookies to cheer up Hazel. A person that welcomed me and supported me when I moved to Riverside….

… no longer speaks to me because I support my Jewish friends.

I sat across from this person twelve hours after my dad went to heaven and talked about Kahlil Gibran. We talked about love, joy, sorrow, passion, pain and freedom.

…Now we won’t speak ever again.

The end of this friendship won’t be a tragic loss, but the reason for its demise is unfortunate.

You can take a person that is loved and respected. Someone who is a really good person and peal away the deception and find an antisemite.

I’m going to close the book on this one. I’m no mastermind when it comes to hate. I have hatred tarnishing my heart every morning. I won’t go to heaven if I don’t clean this problem up.

I am also guilty of defriending and blocking someone who supports the group of people that I dislike. So I can’t be a hypocrite of the person that doesn’t stand with Israel.

The lesson for the Shepkids when they go through all these Morning Chalkboards.

Life is too short to hate and hatred doesn’t get you into heaven.

I’m done getting the poop off of my chest.

It is Taylor Swift Sunday… I don’t care who wins the game. I won’t remember the winner in six months. I want to bury some guacamole and some chili and watch Us/Her butcher the halftime show.

We are in the middle of a mild February and Fat Tuesday is this week. Yesterday is but today's memory, and tomorrow is today's dream.

February 10th, 2024

 In Chicago we joke about our two seasons, winter and construction. I’m always talking about the path of life. Many of you have been on my path and I’ve been on yours.

Those paths could have merged due to road construction and one of us taking a detour.

My biggest detour was my marriage. If the Eisenhower, the Dan Ryan and the 294 were all under construction at the same time… you’d have my failed marriage.

Eventually the last traffic cone was picked up and all of the surfaces were paved. That is where I’m traveling now and during all those detours I picked up three passengers. The Shepkids!

I had another detour during my career when open outcry trading was starting to fade. The path had several road closures, but I finally found a road that I’ve taken from the trading pits to a trading office.

All of my plans and preparations, all of the plans and preparations my parents had for me… Well…. I lost those directions, I didn’t have a map, but finally GPS came around and helped me get on the right path.

Getting lost has some real benefits. In fact all of life’s detours and closed exit ramps have a reason for the madness. It ends up being those critical moments that help us grow and learn and live.

Shit if I took my parents plan… I’d be a priest. Could you see me dropping F bombs during my homily?

“Jesus went into the temple and told all these assclowns that they’ve fucked up the place and his Oldman is pissed off! He told those Jagoffs that his dad will destroy this fucking mess and rebuild it!”

My parishioners would walk out of ten o’clock mass dumbfounded.

If I took the path I wanted as a young man I would be an unemployed and bitter journalist. I think the demise of the newspaper is similar to the end of the trading floor. Both are relics….

I was never the next Mike Royko, but I am the guy who writes on a chalkboard that hangs in his kitchen. Have you noticed I’ve been doodling more often in the grabber section?

Time to get my big ass off of this typewriter and take the path of Saturday morning.

Chinese New Year, the year of the dragon. I’m a Horse guy myself who loves a good egg roll now and then.

I put a smile on the sun today. We have some rugby early this morning and Ike over at BuckleDown has collaborated with Aunt Diana’s.

They are offering a chocolate and beer special for Saint Valentine’s Day. I don’t have love right now, so I might partake for Mardi Gras reasons instead. You can’t go wrong with an Old Style and a Whatchamacallit!

Be kind, put some pork in the crock pot and a wet spot on the sheet.