This Too Shall Pass

On Nov 8, 2016, the 56th Presidential Election of the United States of America is taking place. We Americans will be deciding who will be named the 45th President of this unique and special land. This country, the greatest country since the beginning of time, 'from the mountains, to the prairies, to the oceans white with foam', is left with choosing between these two dreadful candidates. I am deliberately refraining from using their names because neither of them deserves to be mentioned along with the names of Washington, Lincoln, Adams, Jefferson, Truman, Reagan, etc. To choose between these two candidates is like choosing between death by firing squad and death by poison. One candidate is under an active investigation by the FBI, has a strained relationship with the truth, and has left a trail of carnage down every path her professional career has taken her and the other candidate has the temperament of a child, speaks before thinking, is offensive beyond description, and has no filter what so ever. This election cycle reminds me of the car wreck alongside the road with all it's mangled metal and broken body parts that we can't seem to take our eyes off of. We stare in utter horror and disbelief that such a tragedy is lying before us. Please! Somebody call the salvage yard and have them haul the wreck away. Get this heap of garbage out of our site and let us just forget about it and go on with our lives.

I will cast my ballot on Tuesday to honor all those who have fought to preserve the democracy and freedom that we enjoy and I will go home and take a shower to wash away all the grime and the filth that I have been subjected to during this election process of 2016.

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The last time I authored the Breakfast Club blog was on Saturday, Oct 8. At that time, the air temperature was warm, the leaves on the trees were just starting to turn color and Rutgers Football lost to Michigan by a score of 78-0 for an 0-3 record in the Big Ten. Fast forward to today, Nov 5, most of the leaves are showing the fading colors of autumn and are rapidly falling to the ground,  the air temperature is gradually dropping and Rutgers has gone down in defeat two more times for a record of 0-5 in Big Ten conference play. The certainty of the weather and the changing of the seasons in New Jersey are both absolute, undeniable, and predictable. There is a certain degree of comfort that comes with the anticipated changing seasons. As of late, Rutgers Football has demonstrated the same degree of predictability as the changing of the seasons. The outcome of their games has been both anticipated and inevitable. However, the predictability of the Rutgers Football team has provided anything but comfort. Rutgers is our home team. The Breakfast Club loves Rutgers. We need a victory, if for no other reason than to offset next week's presidential election. Give us something to feel good about. Hopefully, the Scarlet Knights can bring their conference losing streak to an end today, Saturday, November 5 when  Rutgers hosts Big Ten foe Indiana in Piscataway. Go RU!

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#SecureThePorch = #Commitment
Unfortunately, the best of plans don't always work out. I had commitment but it wasn't enough.
My early morning schedule:
5:50 - wake up
6:00 - 6:30 walk the dog
6:30 - 7:00 stretch
7:00 - 7:30 shower and dress
7:30 - leave house for deli
7:38 - arrive at Bobby's

Upon arriving at the deli at 7:38 AM, I notice there is only one car in the parking lot. Securing the porch should be a cinch. Except, the occupants of that lone car were sitting at a BK table on the porch.  Panic started to set in until I realized they were about to finish eating and give up the table. Whew! This is not the way the plan is supposed to unfold. The porch was ours to have as the other members of the BK club arrived.

The old ball coach shared one of his many secrets with the rest of us today. He ordered an egg omelet with bacon and a buttered roll on the side. When asked, "why don't you let Bobby assemble the sandwich", he explained,  "you get more bacon if you order it on the side". The old ball coach is a genius!!

A lot of conversation took place regarding this Tuesday's election. The political parties listed on the presidential line are Democratic, Republican, Socialist Workers, American Delta, Socialist and Liberation, Green, Workers World, Libertarian, and the Constitution Party. I scratch my head at the political parties that support systems that have failed miserably throughout history.

In addition to the obvious positions that are up for grabs, there are 2 public questions in New Jersey.

Question #1 is to permit casino gambling in two counties other than Atlantic City. This is easy for me to understand.

Question #2 is something regarding the dedication of additional revenues to state transportation system. Everyone at the BK club is educated and well read. However, no one was able to give a clear answer on what Question #2 is actually about. When faced with many dilemmas such as this, I turn to Patricia Widdoss for clarity and direction. We have a lot of smart people in the BK club but so far, I don't think anybody is close to Pat when it comes to intelligence.

Our BK Presidential poll taken today elected Donald Trump as our next President with a tally of:
Trump 8, Clinton 1

The demographics of the BK club are male, white, married, with children, Christian, college-educated, professional, and ages from 56 to 62.

We normally handle religious discussions pretty well but today we kind of got off the rails early on. Redemption, mercy, the Assumption, the Ascension, the book of Revelations, the Nicene Creed, and the current state of the Catholic Church were all covered. Tempers flared, nasty looks were exchanged but we are all good. I hope to continue the discussion tomorrow with a few cold beers. That is Progress!

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Happy Anniversary to my lovely wife Cindy.

Happy Birthday to my son Mark Bauer, Pat Widdoss, Brendan McDevitt, Sue Bernocchi

God Bless America!