It was sometime during the Spring of 2009 when my wife and I attended a staff meeting of the New York Alumni Association in preparation for their upcoming annual event at the Beverly Hills High School in Beverly Hills, California.  I was there primarily because I was their official photographer but I think that most of the people came that night because it was a free dinner at a Chinese Restaurant in Encino.

There I was, munching on an egg roll, minding my own business, when from out of the blue, the lady sitting on my left, with a huge grin on her face, blindsided me with the question, “So what do think of our President Obama?”

For years I have heard the admonition, “When in a group of people, never bring up the subjects of religion or politics.”  Well, I for one hardly ever adhere to those words of wisdom for I have found that by going against the grain, it is a sure way of enlivening what might otherwise be a dull party.  In this instance, because we were all there for a singular purpose, I decided to be politically correct.

My answer was simply, “The jury is still out on that one.”

By her reaction one would think that I personally attacked her and all of her offspring.  To put it mildly, she was totally bent out of shape.  That was then.

The other week I ran into the same lady, whose name escapes me, and I reminded her of our ‘brief encounter’ of six years ago and I asked her, very politely of course, if she still feels today like she did back in 2009.  She completely bowled me over when she said, “That no good m………..g son of a bitch bastard, 14 letter expletive, followed by a 12 letter expletive, should only drop dead”, to which I posed the question, sarcastically I may add, “Why the sudden change of heart?”

Her virulent answer was, “Are you stupid, or what?  Don’t you ever read the papers or watch the news and commentary on TV?”

So I ask all of you good people out there in cyberland or maybe it’s dreamland, “Are you stupid, or what?  Don’t you ever read the papers or watch the news and commentary on TV?”

Believe it or not, the world is not made up of zombies and vampires and the ridiculous, albeit very profitable, bachelor and bachelorette programs or better yet, “The Real Housewives of Whatever City You Live In”.

Will this commentary generate for me some negative comments?  I sure as hell hope so.