How to Send a Christmas Card to a Recovering American Soldier

My friend Ellie posted the following information on her Facebook page that I wanted to pass along. She recommended that for their of you out there who are sending out Christmas cards, to take at least one card and send it to a recovering American soldier.  

The address for sending said card is:

Holiday Mail for Heroes
PO Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456

The deadline for sending cards is December 9, 2011.

The 2011 Holiday Mail For Heroes program is administered by the Red Cross, and funded/managed/screened gratis by Pitney-Bowes. Here are the rules: 

Card Guidelines:
Every card received will be screened for hazardous materials by Pitney Bowes and then reviewed by Red Cross volunteers working around the country. Please observe the following guidelines to ensure a quick reviewing process:

- All cards being sent in for should be postmarked no later than Friday, December 9, 2011.

- Ensure that all cards are signed. Use generic salutations such as “Dear Service Member.” Cards addressed to specific individuals can not be delivered through this program.

- Only cards are being accepted. Do not send letters.

- Do not include email or home addresses on the cards, as the program is not meant to foster pen pal relationships.

- Do not include inserts of any kind, including photos, as these items will be removed during the reviewing process.
We encourage participants to mail as many cards as they are comfortable sending. If you are mailing a large quantity, please bundle the cards and place them in large mailing envelopes or use a flat rate box from the post office. Each card does not need its own envelope, as cards will be removed from all envelopes before distribution.

- Please refrain from sending holiday cards with glitter. Many of these cards will be delivered to military and veterans medical facilities and the glitter could interfere with a patient's recovery.

So do a little to bring a bit of happiness to those who are giving so much of themselves for the freedoms that we enjoy everyday.

FH

To Like or Dislike Tim Tebow

I have asked this question a few times, both to myself and others. Why is Tim Tebow disliked and hated. I can probably say that it has to do with a few things. 

As the adage goes, nice guys finish last. In this case, it remains to be seen whether or not Tebow succeeds, people really seem to hate the guy because he's living the dream that we all would like to live. Allow me to elaborate. 

I hear that he's being given a chance rather than earning it since he doesn't have the necessary talent to play the position of Quarterback. He's overrated is another thing I hear about him. That remains to be seen. Who's to say that his way of playing the position is wrong. I thing people get to caught up in Pre-conceived notions of what a quarterback is. I also think people hate the kid because he's smart, eloquent, good looking, defined and shaped by his beliefs.

Tebow is a very strong believer in God. That is probably the big reason why he's hated. One gentleman I spoke to told me that he hated the fact that Tebow always seemed to mention God. His practice of taking a knee and giving thanks to God after a scoring play has been ridiculed by many including opposing players. But my thing is what's wrong with that. If Tebow was trying to preach from the Football field and pass judgments on others then maybe I can see some of the resentment. But the fact that he given praise to his savior shouldn't be a reason to hate the man. They are his beliefs. He's not the first athlete to praise God. He won't be the last. Remember Reverend Reggie White?

The way I see it, in this sports landscape of douchebags, dead beat dads, drug users and cheaters a person of Tim Tebow's character should be a role model rather than being vilified. He lives a clean lifestyle, spending much of his free-time helping those in his community and many within poor communities around the world. I guess most people today find it cool to love the "Bad guy" over the "Good guy". In the case of Tim Tebow, I hope he succeeds so he could shut up all those detractors and haters.

FH

- Click Here to access Austin Murphy's article You Gotta Love Tim Tebow from SI.com dated July 27, 2009

MTA Closing Late Night

So it was announced on the WNYC blogpage by Andrea Bernstein in a post called City to Put Brakes on Some Subway Service Overnight that the MTA will be shutting down lines during nighttime hours and some lines completely during the entire weekends in order to perform construction normally done piecemeal during the weekends. For those of you who know me, know how much of a critic of the MTA that I am. As much as I wish I could get all upset and frothed at the mouth like a rabid dog about this AND as much as I don't like the plan, I'm surprised it too the MTA this long to implement it. It really is the most realistic way to go about it. 

Consider this: that much of the NYC Subway system is over 100 years old, consists of over 600 miles of track and runs in it's entirety 24-hours a day, 7-days a week. To maintain a system of it's size and depth without interrupting service is virtually impossible. Take the London tube as an viable example. In segments it is older than the NYC Subway and It shuts down from 2am-5am for cleaning and regular maintenance on most lines if not longer on others. Most other cities shut down every-night from about midnight to 5am if not earlier.

For those who are complaining about the fares, that's where our money is going. To make sure the repairs that are necessary get done. I'm going to feel the inconvenience first hand when my lines get shortened in January with no service from Grand Central to Atlantic Avenue. I guess I'll just have to leave early and detour to get to work. Let's hope it's like the MTA says: Performing work in this manner is expected to shorten the overall duration of projects, minimizing customer inconvenience and maximizing worker safety

I hope they are right.

FH

I Got Kicked Out of the Bar For Being Honest

Our bar is not necessarily a place where stealing occurs. As with any bar stealing can happen but its rare at our location. What I do find that tends to go missing are darts. There's a reason why we charge a $10 dollar deposit to replace darts whenever they go missing. But the predicament gets compounded when private darts go missing. That's what happened tonight.

We have regulars who like to bring in their darts. Just like we have pool regulars who bring in their sticks. So tonight we had some regulars who in total had 3 sets of their own darts. They left their darts on the board and went out for a smoke. No biggie, right? Here comes the issue. This other guy who was playing next to them took the set he rented and brought the private darts thinking they were bar darts to rack up the deposit money.

When I saw that he took the private darts up to the bar, I told him that they were private darts and that he needed to pur them back where he found them. He walked back to the dart area and placed them on the rail. But as things work in this business, my "Spidey-Sense" went off. My gut told me things weren't as they seemed. 

I went outside and told the dart owners to go make sure all their darts were there. And as my gut instinct is very rarely wrong, there were a set of darts missing. As I go to approach who I believed took the darts, he walked over to the owner and returned the darts, which he had hidden in his pocket. 

Upon his returning of the disputed darts, I told the thief that he needed to get pay his tab, get his stuff and leave immediately. So he did and left leaving us with a little note on his credit card slip that said: I'm getting kicked out of the bar for being honest. No fool, you got kicked out for being a fucking thief. You were lucky you didn't take some other regular's darts who would have popped you in right in the mouth. The nerve of some people. To even think that returning the darts after placing them in his pocket makes it right and that he is the vicim here is just wrong. People are delusional.

FH

I Survived Halloween 2011

Yesterday was the first Halloween that I worked as a bar-tender and I must say it was a doozy of a shift. Thanks to the main man John, we had a record night (well at least for me) behind the sticks. There are a few things I want to touch on here in this post. Let's do this.

Why is it that people who are out on a busy night like Halloween are such assholes. I mean really, who asks for a Manhattan, a Cosmopolitan and a Dirty Martini when the bar is three to four deep. Have some consideration. it's not all about you and the fancy cocktail that you want. Sure I made them as my job specifies but I sure didn't like it. LOL.

Here's the opposite, who in the Benny Hill asks for a recommendation for a shot when the bar is three or four deep. Don't ask your bartender who is completely swamped with people waving glow sticks, hats, hands and in one case bare breasts to get his attention so that you can ask them for what they recommend for a shot. Even worse, don't ask them for a Halloween Special shot. Really now. Its like asking a bartender at an Irish pub on St. Patrick's Day to make you a Green Irish themed shot. He or she will pouring a Guinness and a Jameson and you'll drink it. Damn amateurs. Know what you like an order it. Keep the sampling for a night that's not busy. A bartender like me won't mind experimenting on a slow night. You might even get to sample a few shots for free. 

This point is something that goes back to my post on how to take control of your money. You have no idea how many people swiped their cards for a one or two drink transaction and then came back to use their cards again. The irony is that I overheard the same people complaining about banks and the current state of affairs. Well let me tell you buccos, you're doing what the banks want. Reckless and frivolous swiping of your cards (be it Debit or Credit) just makes the banks more an more money in the form of fees. If you damn well know that you are going to have more than one drink keep the damn tab open. But no, some of these obnoxious fools just keep swiping swiping and swiping. Poor fools.

Ok peeps. I'm swamped. Hope you had a safe Halloween and may your hangovers be minimal an somewhat painless. BTW, the request of the night was made to Izzie when she was asked: What kind of drinks to you have? Damn amateurs. LOL.

Peace.
FH