CNBNews

by Joe Ball | CNBNews Contributor There was a death in my immediate family recently. It ended a close relationship of over 11 years. My car died. My Mercury Grand Marquis, which joined my household in April 1998, died suddenly. No warning. No sputtering. Just dead. What turned out to be my last time with the car was a solo drive from Phila. to Ventnor, NJ ., down the Atlantic City Expressway. Average of 70 + miles per hour. No problem. I parked on Martindale Ave. Ignition turned off. Then moments later, following a request to park around the corner... Read more →

by Joe Ball | CNBNews Contributor As one grows older, one experiences things that normally don’t happen to those in their twenties and thereabouts. But a message to young people – – Just Wait! The following is on the horizon for you, and already here for me. … Friends I’ve made in elementary school, high school, boy scouts & back-of-house driveway areas are sometimes recognizable. Not always. … So many of my older acquaintances are using canes, or, uh-oh, walkers. … One of the first sections I read in the daily newspapers are – – the obituary and death notice... Read more →

by Joe Ball | CNBNews Contributor Training 1951: Joe Ball, a 21-year-old draftee with his M-1 the rifle of the time at Camp Breckenridge, KY. Note the bayonet scabbard on his left leg. Remembering Rifleman Training I’m going to be in a book. It probably will not be read by many people – but I’m still flattered. The book is about the U.S. Army’s Camp Brekinridge, Kentucky, in the year 1951, during the Korean War. That’s where thousands of draftees were sent to train to be infantrymen. I was one of them ********* The author is Anne Audette, of Westland,... Read more →

by Joe Ball | CNBNews Contributor When you’re 88 years of age, life can be boring. It can consist of … … Sleeping late in the morning … Having the same get-up routines (early to the bathroom for the everyday AM brushing of teeth, showering, swallowing pills, taking the daily sugar blood count, checking the I-Phone for weather info, making a decision on what to wear for the day.) 2013 photo … Double-checking to see if any medical appointments. … Watching TV. Especially CNN, CNBC occasionally, Fox, (less occasionally) the “History Channel”, “National Geographic” and, hoping there is an afternoon... Read more →

Joe Ball Joe Ball | CNBNews Contributor I very quietly confided to my best friend that I was having an affair. She turned to me and asked, ‘Are you having it catered’? And that, my friend, Is the definition of ‘OLD’! *** Just before the funeral services, the undertaker Came up to the very elderly widow and asked, ‘How old was your husband?’ ’96,’ she replied: ‘Two years younger than me’ ‘So you’re 98,’ the undertaker commented She responded, ‘Not hardly worth going home, is it?’ *** Reporters interviewing a 104-year-old woman: ‘And what do you think is the best... Read more →

By: Joe Ball | CNBNews Contributor Published on September 18, 2019. June 1, 2009 – – The 51st Anniversary of our Wedding. Joe Ball We remain husband and wife. Together… 51-years… And, for me, 51-years of a wonderful life – – thanks to your, Sandra Lee (Cohan) Ball. I have often said the two best things I have done in my life were (1) marrying you and (2) starting my own business. Number two actually activated number 1. The line on the chart of my adult life begins with you, and goes upward, upward, upward. Along the way there are... Read more →

By: Joe Ball | CNBNews Contributor I think I know what death is. I had a “near-death” experience. It was nothing like the recollections of the people featured recently in the Inquirer by staff writer Faye Flan. Those people told of happy near-death experiences involving light, flowers, music, and even a beautiful male angel. T’aint from one who knows (or so thinks) Joe Ball My experience came several days after an emergency gall bladder operation. I was released from the hospital – weak, but seemingly on the way to complete recovery. My first evening home – three days after the... Read more →

Published on October 21, 2019. By: Joe Ball | CNBNews Contributor The first time I ever saw Sandra Cohan was at her front door, 2442 Bryn Mawr Ave., in the Wynnefield section of Philadelphia. Joe Ball I was there as a “blind date.” She was 19. I was 28. I remember my first thought, when she opened the door of her parent’s home: It was: “I like her looks!” Our first date was a neighborhood movie, “Cyrano De Bergerac,”followed by either a hamburger at the Hot Shop, Broad and Champlost Sts., or corn beef sandwiches at King Cole’s, on York... Read more →

By: Joe Ball | CNBNews Contributor Joe Ball I’ve heard it said that “when you age – – the feet & legs are first to go”. True – – as it affects me. But first some good things about aging. I’m soon to be 88. I feel good … from the waist up. Downward, well no comment . . . I have neuropathy . That’s where the nerves in the feet take a never-to-return vacation. The result is loss of balance. And loss of balance is a major problem. Major! So major, I want to say it again, this way:... Read more →