Sidetracked Charley

Dad taught me to play poker. And the rule book was Hoyle . We were a game playing family and we wore out several rule books. And with board games we constantly referred to the official rules which came with the game. They were generally printed on the inside of the top of the box. I learned quickly when playing any game at a friend's house to find out the house or table rules before agreeing to play because not everyone played according to Hoyle . And if the "dealer" (usually the house we played at or the owner of the game) was not willing to state the table rules and stick to them I didn't play. I have always been a stickler about the rules. As a citizen of the United States I consider the rules to be the Constitution with its amendments. Political parties should follow the rules. But they haven't this year. They haven't for a while. Watergate was a wake up call for me. Nixon calling out the National Guard to quell peaceful peace marches in Washingt...

Midsommer Murders family I read an article about viewers so identifying with the characters in television series that when the season or the series ends they get depressed. I at first blamed this on the "cliff hanger" season closers that often have me in tears. Alright, I cry easily. But it got me thinking of the shows and their characters I identify with the most. And they are more and more English or Australian mysteries and dramas. The actors they employ as leading characters have character: warts and all. And they clearly are not sewn into their costumes. There frankly was not a single character on Desperate Housewives, which just ended its long run, that I could identify with on any level. And I tried to get involved with Revenge but it has been decades since I was in the age group of any of the leading roles. The American TV series I do watch seem to have at least one or more main characters that are middle aged or over: NCIS (which is obviously killing off its o...