August 28, 2024
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Believe it or not, not a single day goes by that I don’t think of “You Guys” and that I have not communicated here for “quite a while”. Between “catching fish”, contemplating my own mortality, and doing what I can to Save America …. You Guys are on a very short list.
“Which grandchild shared what deep thought” is on a list all by itself. “SuperMom” asked Little Ruthie (age 6) recently if anything was bothering her. “Yes, Mama … are the English sad that they killed Joan of Arc?” See what you are competing against.
I owe you some sort of disjointed explanation(s) of my recent “Where’d BobLee go” ….
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I began this website in 1998 simply to “entertain folks” …. never as a money-maker. 2,500 mostly incredibly insightful columns later thats still my humble objective.
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To paraphrase a classic line from Mary Tyler Moore’s Chuckles The Clown funeral episode …. “A little song … a little dance … a little seltzer down your pants”.
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Had “make a ton of $$$” ever been the objective I would have named this site – “Homicidal Nekkid Lesbian Cheerleaders” – have 1,000,000+ subscribers at $10/month and be traveling the fishing world with my old buddy “Dr Tommy” …..but the type of folks THAT would have attracted would not be “my kinda people” …. I’ll settle for a few 1,000 of YOU PEOPLE any day ….
Frequent contributors certainly score very high on the “mean a lot” meter but even if you are just a one-dimensional visitor here …. You Matter.
YOU matter to me … and I hope I Matter to YOU. I get the feeling I do. I want to continue to “matter to you”.
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1- My Journey into Cancer World ….. I’m doing Very Well in defeating my Hodgkins Lymphoma. I have two more chemo infusions over the next month followed by another PET Scan to be sure the “good” chemo poisons have defeated the “bad” cancer poison. Every indication – bloodwork, et al – indicates we nearabout have it licked. Fingers crossed and keep aprayin’.
FWIW …. I’ve never felt anything from “the cancer” itself but HAVE had some rough patches with the chemo side effects ….. pretty much everyone who has battled cancer w/ chemo will agree.
The dreaded “side effects” have not been THAT bad. Bouts of fatigue …. hair loss …. some neuropathy … laryngitis …. etc. Nothing I could not handle.
Fun Fact: My combination of Medicare plus a BCBS Supplement (monthly premium of $331) has covered 100% of my treatment at Duke/Raleigh Cancer Center. A recent statement from BCBS showed my pretty much “standard” chemo treatment for Hodgkins Lymphoma over the past seven months has reached seven figures !!!! YIKES!
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2 – “Saving America” ….. I have referred to this earlier but within a week of Rush’s death, Blondie and I were contacted by “a prominent national Conservative” to produce a national newsletter …. after three years – over 500 newsletters (3X week) to over 200,000 subscribers. Pretty impressive figures in the very competitive “political newsletter bizness”.
Blondie’s genius as a world-class political aggregator – honed over 20 years as Rush’s personal “stack o’ stuff” provider – provides the news of the day into a concise format for quick easy reading.
Me? I format her genius via Substack always including at least one tiny typo or insignificant grammatical error to satisfy the “grammar nazis” that are always lurking. Add “grammar nazis” to the list with gnats and “The Oprah” on the Why God Why ??? lists.
WARNING: MSNBC / CNN well-indoctrinated, terminal TDS-infected viewers freak out and break out into a rash if they stumble into a copy of our newsletter. Have we SAVED AMERICA ? Obviously Not Yet ……
Has the “Dumbing Down of America” finally reached the tipping point? The Dems thought it had in 2016 but You Know Who came down the escalator and The Wicked Witch of Chappaqua was sent apackin’. That was 8 years ago and a lot of America’s population demographics have changed …
Whatever you think of “Trump” and – he IS a very “provocative” fellow – he DID save America from Hillary PERIOD. Can he Save America from a far more ruthless enemy come November … ?????
In addition to the newsletter … I also have an “active presence” on Facebook. 5,000 or so “fine folks” – like most of YOU – who seem to appreciate my “take no prisoners” opinions on What The Hell Is Happening To America ….
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OK ….. Cancer and Newsletter …… But to the question of “Where I’ve Been …”
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I have officially reached the point of – I AM NO LONGER “A SPORTS FAN”.
Like most – if not all of you guys – I grew up and have lived most of my adult life following whatever major / minor sports were in season. It’s just what one did … Not Any More for me …. I even had “my teams” over all those years. Not any more ….
I did not watch a second of The Olympics and that had nothing to do with the Opening Ceremony fiasco. Likewise I did not watch any of the NBA regular season and Playoffs. I DID watch several of The Hurricanes playoff run. Only NFL game I watched last season was The Super Bowl … same plans for this year.
Have not watched an MLB game in two years including the World Series. I never imagined I would be saying that …. never imagined having cancer either …. never imagined a lot of the crap happening these days.
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Yes …. I WILL be following College Football specifically the local area “hated rivals” for at least one more season.
PREDICTION: I want to get this on-line before Thursday’s opening games.
I see UNCCH / Mack having a very mediocre year – 6-7 Ws Max … despite an “easy schedule”. Mediocre could become a train wreck once UNCCH gets thru its early season “cupcakes”. Of course, an impressive W at Minnesota could make me look silly.
As fans will see Thursday night …. Mack has given up on his diet and “get healthy” regimen. He looks like “a Joe Biden version” of a big time head FB coach …. Oh My! Continuing the “Biden comparison” …. insiders tell me Sallie Brown is playing the Evil “Dr Jill” role …. spending way too much time snooping around the FB offices “protecting Mack” … Uh Oh!
IMO … Mack has not successfully adjusted well at all to College Football 2024 and is simply in it now to collect his contracted paychecks …. sigh …. Whatever happens with “reshuffling” conferences …. I see UNCCH FB having to “start all over” within two years … to ever be mid-tier competitive in any Big Time conference situation. And THAT will be Very Very Expensive ….
Meanwhile at NC State …. Dour Dave HAS figured out how to deal with NIL / Transfers …. keep your staff intact … recruit 2-3 stars and “coach’em up” …. go after a few transfers that fill a specific need.
This COULD BE a “banner year” for The Pack … 9 Ws or more …. A W in Charlotte over Tennessee will have Pack loyalists giddy thinking The Final Twelve For Sure. Uh Oh!
UNC fans’ best bet might be to wish that the Pack have a VERY Good Year so Doeren gets a Mega-Millions deal to leave West Raleigh … so both schools have to “start over”.
Duke … Wake Forest … ECU …. sigh …. I see no way for these fine schools and their loyal fans to expect more than “maybe get to 6 Ws somehow” and get to the Mayo Bowl … Their futures as competitive major college football programs are not bright at all. ….. sigh.
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To the lament expressed in today’s title …. I’m not sure how I am going to tweak “all this” going forward.
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Sure … I could turn this into a socio-political blowtorch …. taking no prisoners in a series of scorched earth exposes of how America finds itself peering into The Abyss …. two baby steps from becoming an Unrecognizable Dumpster Fire ….
“Our once shining city on a hill” having its “fruited plain” salted like Rome did to Carthage before the barbarians did it to Rome … once the First Amendment is formally abolished LOOK OUT!
We already offer that service in our newsletter and on Facebook as noted above.
My total apathy re: “sports” isn’t about to change. I appreciate that “sports” especially those “hated rivalries” matter A LOT to most of YOU. They don’t matter at all to me. I can’t fake it.
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Over the years, many of you have compared my stuff to the late Southern humorist Lewis Grizzard – who passed away 30 YEARS AGO this past March. Feeling old yet? …. I have always appreciated the high praise of that comparison. Maybe I have a few more Grizzard-esque insights in me?
In the meantime … I’ll be reposting some of My All Time Classics that have stood the test of time over 26 years. There are various other options under consideration …..
I WILL figure it out …. My Promise To You.
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