"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.

"If thou can wake by four o'the clock I prithee, call me. Sleep hath seized me wholly." (Cymbeline)

This morning (?) I slept until about 12:15 PM. I only got out of bed because of shame. Last night we went out to dinner with Mike (Col. Pickering) and Helen (Queen of Transylvania). He wanted steak so we went to Longhorns, one of our favorite hangouts. Helen is a very bright and educated lady who is quite active in the City of Hope. Mike is a thespian who has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary. We were having very animated conversations when the manager began moving tables and chairs right behind us...many tables and chairs stuck together until there were 20 places. This event sent shivers up my spine, because I was wearing my hearing aids and expected the noise of 20 people to sound like 20,000. However, when this group came in and sat down, it became a guessing game for us as to who they were and what were they doing there. Before they came, we figured it was a kid's birthday party and made plans to move out of there. But there were no kids, so we figured maybe it was a wedding party, but they were all dressed out in jeans and t-shirts for the most part, and wonder of wonders they were quite peaceful and quiet. Then our waitress revealed the mystery: they were all former addicts out of rehap, and met there for dinner once a month. Go know.

We did see a number of kids that night; some were teenagers carrying wires hanging out of their ears and IPods in their hands. Kids today all have IPods, cell phones hooked onto their belts, laptops in Florida, and computers with little cameras in their bedrooms so they can see their friends while IM-ing. Some even carry credit cards. Amazing. When I was a boy, in order to communicate with our friends we attached a string to two cans and stood about 6 feet apart to talk. Why didn't it occur to us that we didn't really need the cans? Credit cards were still in the fetus stage; instead of computers or ball-point pens we had inkwells and blue fingers. For music, we had a victrola to play 78s. I even had a chrystal radio which picked up two stations while I was under the covers. How did I ever grow up?

Every month Huntington Lakes puts out a newsletter with articles about all our clubs; the January issue has this blurb in the "Library News

" section:

Norman Ross will present a program Friday, January 11, 2008, at 10:30 AM in the Terrace Room. He states the title of his program as "The Power and Passion of Poetry and a Pot Pourri of Me." Through readings and discussion of excerpts from some of the classic works of poetry as well as a selection of poems from his newly published books, ADDENDA and SHADOWS in the SUNSET. Dr. Norman Ross will attempt to show how to "reinvent" yourself through the magic, the mystery, and the dynamics of great poetry--and to convince you that poetry is a part of your life.

I don't know how many of you out there have an interest in poetry, but I do best with a very large audience. I will attempt to do all that's promised in 7 minutes. l k k k k k.

"Crabbed age and youth cannot live together; youth is full of pleasance, age is full of care." (Shakespeare)

Today I got a call from the VA Dental Clinic asking if I could come in at 3:45 instead of next week. I welcomed the opportunity because on the day I was supposed to come next week I had appointments with two other doctors. All I had was a cleaning and the hygienist was very skillful since she has been doing this for 25 years. After she was finished and I checked out my teeth in a mirror I told her I was never going to eat again so my teeth would look the same and I wouldn't have to worry anymore about a clavitron. When she said that bacteria would get in my teeth anyway, I decided that I would go ahead and eat after all--and I did. Rhoda went to the fishmarket and bought me a pound of Florida stone crabs--a shellfish treat. (The history of stone crabs and me can be found in "Life #2 in my book.) I love going to the VA for dental and medical work because I never ever had to wait more than 15 or 20 minutes to see a doctor. Besides that, the VA possesses all the latest high-tech equipment.

In Florida it seems that the most important and overriding topics to talk about are doctors, medications, restaurants, and food. These come before discussions about grandchildren and their parents. From the things I've heard about grandchildren by the pool, in restaurants, in the clubhouse, and other venues, I doubt that my generation will keep the title of "Greatest". In 25 years since I'm here, I have never heard of an unsuccessful grandchild who is either in day care, middle school, high school, college, rehab, or the work force. h h h f

Since my books were published, I've been trying to find something fun and rewarding to do and it isn't easy. I'm gratified and humbled by the fact that about 27 books have been purchased not counting the ones I bought myself. I only know about 4 or 5 people who bought one, the others are anonymous. Maybe I'll find a royalty check in the mail one of these days. Meanwhile, since I'm not able to play golf anymore, or take 3 mile walks or loll around a mall, I've been relegated to computer games. One of them is called "Jewel Quest", and I would advise you not to download or buy it because it is addictive. It's really a kind of solitaire game where you have to match cards and clear them from the table. If you're successful in getting rid of all the cards, then another game pops up with little thumbnails of various kinds of gems, and if you match them you accumulate points. I wound up with 1,437,000--but Rhoda beat me.

Now I really have to find something better to do than play games on the computer. Any ideas?--and don't tell me to "volunteer" somewhere. I'm not the volunteering sort. I need to be paid--either in cash or in some other rewarding way. I'll be looking forward to hearing from you.

"There's a divinity that shapes our ends..." (Hamlet)

I got up Christmas morning and ran into the living room to see what Santa had brought for me. When I got there, I found nothing and so I swept through the rest of the house frantically searching for the place where he dropped his load. Disappointedly and thoroughly dejected and pissed off, I went into the kitchen where I saw the two Mallomars that I left for him still on the paper plate. Fortunately for me, I decided he wasn't going to stop on his way back to the North Pole, and so I ate the cookies myself. I even left him some low fat milk, considering his girth and all the cookies that were going to be left for him. I wrote him a Zen note for NEXT Christmas and used two stamps considering the distance it had to go:

Be here now.

Be someplace else later.

Is that so complicated?

Right now, Rhoda is in the kitchen making brisket and kashe varniskes. Personally, I believe she thinks this is Passover after she sees all the children and grandchildren contaminating the environment here. If she puts a glass of Manishevitz wine on the table for dinner, I may have to call Social Services for her. Speaking of Social Services, visitors here this week have commented on the number of elderlies hanging on to their walkers for dear life. I tell them that this is the "walker capital" of the world. And with all these beings rolling around with their walkers, their canes, and their scooters, it looks like the Land of Oz around here. I really should not be critical; I may soon join them. When that happens, the journey of a thousand miles will begin with a single "Oy."