"Trust not the physician; his antidotes are poison and he slays more than you rob." (Timon of Athens)

Mr. Col. Mike Pickering's comment on Jan. 2's blog is the longest recorded blog in the history of free and democratic blogobamas. Added to his interminable mountain of monotonous verbiage was a plethora of sentences that ran on and on like a tsunami of slow flowing lava. And apparently, apostrophes are--besides friendly and sociable games of cards--anathema to this pyramid of a man. He has all the virtues I dislike, and none of the vices I admire. So what's to be done? Next New Year's Eve-- perhaps the next time we dine with this virulent card-hating smushy Jewish tomato plant--after an afternoon of feeding slot machines and then ourselves, we shall retire to his place and sit around munching each other's words instead of engaging in the thrilling challenge of "Pay Me" which requires some thought as to know when to hold 'em or when to fold 'em;know when to walk away, know when to run--and whether or not you can get away with saying, "I paid you the nickel already! Look on the floor or between your legs."

You can read this watermelon's comment by clicking on the word "comment" at the bottom of yesterday's dessert-ation.

Today, as yesterday, was a very cold and blustery day, and hopefully the market didn't drop 220 points again... I haven't checked it. One happy thought was the fact that gold went up to $856 an ounce! I should have bought a hundred ounces 15 year's ago when I paid about $250 an ounce instead of only 10 ounces. Darn! Go know. Anyway, we dropped my car off at the car doctor because the cold air thing was only blowing hot air on hot days; then we were off to Boca and Rho's eye doctor for a check-up. Her appointment was for 1:40pm but it wasn't until after 3pm that we got out of there. Since she hadn't had any lunch and I only had half an apple turnover for breakfast we stopped in at Lox Around the Clock. She had a bowl of soup and half a corned beef sandwich, and I had coffee and shrimp salad on a bagel. Since it was about 4pm when our food arrived, we had no clue as to when we would be having dinner. It's 8pm now and still no dinner. I'm going to have something to say about doctors down here tomorrow who schedule multiple patients at the same hour. TTYL

"They say this town is full of cozenage...as nimble jugglers deceive the eye."

I'm finding out that there are devils out there who are bent on separating me from my money--and perhaps you are also being targeted. I know that the ubiquitous casinos cropping up all over America--Biloxi, Las Vegas, Connecticut, New Jersey, Florida and who knows where else--are satanically designed to inhale your money. And most casinos have slot machines that provide musical sounds to soothe you as your $20 bills are being sucked into these diabolical and addictive contraptions. And then there are the so-called "2-for-1" dinners. But when the check arrives, you find that you are not saving any money because the #1 dinner price has been doubled since the last time you ate a 2 for 2 dinner there. And I've seen people leave these bistros with smirks on their faces, thinking they have completed a coup--not realizing that they have been scammed and that the restaurateur has accomplished a "fait a compli."

Then there's the damn addictive games they try to sell you on the internet--and I succumbed to two of them--scrabble and Jewel Quest. In the Scrabble game, if you even play against yourself you lose. Then if you play against the computer, you wind up with angst and depression. Winning at Jewel Quest is like hurling a ball against a wall; no matter what you do it comes right back at you and you find that you've wasted an hour trying to beat it. And I won't even attempt to convince you about the prices of tickets to a show in Vegas or the Kravitz Center in W. Palm Beach. Only Shaquile O'Neal and Alex Rodriquez can afford it--and even they may have to sit in the balcony. So, just read a book or do the Times x-word puzzle. That'll keep you busy for free.

"To be up after midnight and to go to bed then, is early." (12th Night)

Can you believe it? Here it is, 2008. What's in store for us this year? Where will destiny lead us? For one thing, I do hope that we can end the war in Iraq and wherever else we are at war. Why bring misery to the families of our soldiers? Perhaps a change in our Presidency will be for the better. We could use a Washington or a Lincoln or an FDR or a JFK or a Clinton--be it male or female. Perhaps Bill will find himself in his old bed, and feed in his old kitchen. You never know. Destiny will tell us--it's in the stars.

Yesterday we went to the Isle Casino in Pompano. It's a really beautiful venue and a lot of fun--but not so much when you lose. We arranged to get there before 3pm. because they were giving away lots of money to the winners of a drawing. We got coupons in the mail to drop into a box every hour. None of the six of us heard our names called. At 5pm we all went into the Buffet and had some good food. They even had loads of shrimp and snow crab legs. If not that there were other dishes--like steak and pasta, salads, and soup. Our friends were Lou Strumlauf, President of the Computer Club and his beautiful wife, Annette; and Col. Mike Pickering and his Queen of Transylvania, Helen--but not of Troy. We left after the 7pm drawing and came back to our place where we had lots of snacks--fruit, danish, soda, candy, etc. We played an interesting card game until midnight when we drank champagne and watched the ball come down in Times Square. Then we all went out to the catwalk and watched fireworks that we could see coming from the beaches in Delray and Boynton. We finally got to bed early--about 2am-- and today I slept until one.

New Year's Day is usually a day of rest. Watch football. Have some chocolate pretzels. Pay bills, and just loll around. It's January and as I checked my calendar, there are doctors' appointments--of course; then Bonny and Sean will be here at the end of the month. On the 11th I'm giving a program on poetry in the Terrace Room sponsored by the Library Club. So, the first month of the year looks OK, and as always there may be a few surprises--perhaps emails like I got from one of my former high school students in response to my New Year wishes for her:

Wow... that's a hard New Year's wish to follow... Here's sending all of those good things back to you and Rhoda! I will raise my glass tomorrow night in honor of, and appreciation for, my good friend and lifelong inspiration, Doc Ross, who also happens to be an American hero -- and who has always been a hero in my eyes. (Debbie French)

"For last year's words belong to last year's languageAnd next year's words await another voice.And to make an end is to make a beginning." - T.S. Eliot

"How sour sweet music is When time is broke and no proportion kept! So is it in the music of men's lives." (Richard II)

Tomorrow is the last day of 2007. What kind of year has it been for me? I suppose that one of the best things that happened was the performance of "My Fair Lady" produced by Rhoda and directed by me. As a result of that production we discovered a new lady soprano diva, Madame Marilyn Silverstein who played Eliza to her cockney perfection, and the rotund but remarkable award winning performance of Sir Mike Herbstman as Col. Pickering. Producing this musical was one of the most difficult, but nevertheless rewarding events of 2007. When Rhoda and I agreed to undertake this show, we knew it was going to be a challenge--that's why we did it. But if it were not for her work, expertise, and organising abilities, it would never have gotten off the ground.

The second best occurrence of 2007 was the publication of two books that took me 13 months to write--my memoirs and a book of poetry--each in an edition in color and black and white. Everyone should at least try to write a book because the feeling one has when the book is finally printed and in your hands is indescribable. The question that first comes to mind when this happens is, "How did I do this?" But now that is behind me and I have to find new challenges besides the depression, a war, college, 10 musicals, a career, two marriages, two marathons, two books, 110 blogs, and Mike--just to name a few.

The third event that stands out in 2007 was the 10 day December cruise that we took to the Caribbean. Even though we did not come back winners of slot money, we did have a very good time, especially every night at dinner with some delightful friends. We did find that this ship, the Emerald Princess was much too big for us. The problem with my legs has gotten worse and I had a very bad time walking from one venue on the ship to another. This disability will have to be dealt with in some way in 2008. And it will be.

Next year Rhoda will be celebrating her 70th Birthday on Feb. 2nd, and we will be celebrating our 25th Anniversary. How the years do fly by. In July, therefore, we have scheduled a cruise in Scandinavia. By then we hope to find a solution to my physical problems. This 25th will be my second one and the two women who made the mistake of marrying me were each to me a blessing. It's like Socrates said in "The Symposium"--love is finding the other half that was once a part of you before the Gods divided each sex in half and scattered them over the earth for punishment of their sins. In my case, I suppose, each wife made up 1/4 of that which was once a part of me, and I'm fortunate to have found the other 1/4 in RH+

HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL...I DON'T THINK I'LL BLOG IT FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS.