DARK HUMOR - 2002

On the first anniversary of the World Trade Tower Attack I was sitting with two NYPD narcotic detectives in a bar on Avenue B. Rocco and I went back to the Milk Bar and his partner Stevie was telling us about his 9/11

“My sergeant said as we approached the north tower, “Be careful, boys, today a lot of people are going to die.” He barely finished that sentence and a body smashed in front of us and then another and another. We ran for cover. None of us were heroes that day, even though we tried.”

“Shut up, Stevie. You did your best. No one can ask for more.” Rocco drank heavily from his glass.

We each had stories of that tragic, but lost the thread as we eavesdropped on a group of firefighters toasting their fallen comrades.

“Fucking Boy Scouts.”

"Who?"

"Firemen. Everyone thinks they're heroes, while we're scum."

"You got that right, Rocco." Stevie had been partners with Rocco for eleven years. Rocco leaned over and started talking loudly about how the firefighters have looted the WTC before its collapse.

“You know there would have been no dead firemen, if someone had posted one sign on the World Trade.”

The firemen at the bar turned as one to our table.

“And what would be on that sign?” Stevie loved playing straight man for his partner.

“Nothing of value inside.” Rocco laughed and slipped a hand under his jacket, as a trio of behemoth NYFD approached us. We were friends of the owner, the firemen had their house around the corner, but this was an old fight between rivals.

“What’d you say?” The largest fireman demanded with clenched fists.

“Just that if the World Trade had nothing to steal, then none of you would have died.”

Rocco laid his Glock on the table without taking his finger off the trigger.

“You’re a fuck.” The biggest fireman waved for his comrades to ignore the insult.

"It was a joke," explained Stevie. He wasn't looking for a fight.

“It wasn’t meant to be funny.” Rocco had lost two friends in the collapse. None of us found much funny about that day.

“Now be happy campers and go back to your drinks. The next round is on me.”

“Fuck you and fuck your drinks.” The biggest fireman forced his friends back to the bar, but they drank Rocco’s round and sent us one too.

“Nice one, Rocco.” Stevie lifted his glasses. We were drinking vodka-tonics.

“To the gone, but not forgotten.”

We downed them in one go and ordered another round.

9/11 is that kind of day that was remembered forever one way or the other.

Not For Nothing

On winter nights as a child in Maine in the 1950s I listened hockey and basketball games on the radio from Boston and the Far North. While I loved the Celtics and Bruins, I cherished even more so the fading in and out of hockey games from the Montreal Forum, for even if I didn't understand a single word of French, I loved the slash of the skates on ice, the pock of a slapshot, the boom of the boards after a big hit, and the cheers of the crowds.

Only later I discovered that the Canadians were the Bruins' bitter rival.

This video captures the heat and passion of hockey.

The fights?

Fights occured often in pre-1980shockey.

I wish it wasn't that way, but Derek Sanderson was always my man.

Here's to the great teams, their players, and the history of a rivalry written on ice.

Watch this amazing video

https://vimeo.com/150439850

Not for nothing, but go Bruins.

And bless the Dropkick Murphys' ROSE TATTOO.

They are one of us.

Happy 2016

Mike (Habs) and Moi ( Da 'Ruins )

Dark Humor

On the first anniversary of the World Trade Tower Attack I was sitting with two NYPD narcotic detectives in a bar on Avenue B. Rob and I went back and his partner Stevie had almost been killed on 9/11 by a falling body. We each had stories, but lost the thread as we eavesdropped on a group of firefighters toasting their fallen comrades. I had always heard about the rivalry between the two services. Cops are considered scum and firemen are cool. Rob leaned over to me and started talking under his breath about how the firefighters have looted the WTC before its collapse. "You know there would have been no dead firemen, if someone had posted one sign on the World Trade." Rob was speaking loud with a purpose and the firemen at the bar turned as one to our table. "And what would be on that sign?" Stevie loved playing straight man for his partner. "Nothing of value inside." Rob laughed and slipped a hand under his jacket, as a trio of behemoth NYFD approached us. We were friends of the owner, the firemen had their house around the corner, but this was an old fight. "What'd you say?" The largest fireman demanded with clenched fists. "Just that if the World Trade had nothing to steal, then none of you would have died." Rob laid his Glock on the table without taking his finger off the trigger. "You're a fuck." The fireman waved for his comrades to ignore the insult. "That wasn't very funny." I commented before picking up my beer. "It wasn't meant to be funny." Rob had lost two friends in the collapse. None of us found much funny about that day, but eleven years is a long time and there are 9/11 jokes; “It’s a bird!” “It’s a plane!” “It’s…. Oh shit, it IS a plane!” Q: What’s Al Qaida’s favorite football team? A: The New York Jets Q: What was the last thing going through Mr. Jones’ head when he was working on the World Trade Center’s 90th floor? A: The 91st floor. A man goes to the doctor and the doctor says, “You are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder from being in the Pentagon when it was struck by a plane.” The man says, “Doc, I think I wanna second opinion!” The doctor says, “OK- your breath stinks!” What does WTC stand for? – “What Trade Center?” Q: Who are the fastest readers in the world? A: New Yorkers. Some of them go through 110 stories in 5 seconds Today FBI concluded that New York had been hit by a U.F.M (unidentified flying muslim) Q: What did one terrorist say to the other terrorist before boarding their respective airplanes? A: I slam, you slam, we all slam for Islam! NEWSFLASH…. The WTC has been destroyed…. thousands of New York executives feared dead…. Hookers all across the city are in mourning….. Q: Why didn’t Superman stop the planes from hitting the Trade Towers? A: Because he’s a quadriplegic!