Heaven and Hell: Forever Our Spot
It was a wonderful weekend. I dined out, and had a full social plate as well. I spent time with no less than three lovely ladies, survived a snowstorm and barely slept until Sunday night.
Sounds fun, right? It was not without its risks. I fed an ear to the hound dog from hell, and got stabbed in the eye with a pitchfork for my efforts… Read the rest of this entry »
Feet on the Ground, Reaching for the Stars…
I’ve been wanting to do bad bad things…
Self-destructive behavior has come knocking again. As I rode the bus home the other night, I drowned out the back-of-the-bus babble with tunes from the MP3 player and wished for a cigarette. If that were the only thing, I wouldn’t be worried. But there were other things; cravings I’m more susceptible to caving in to. I figured I’d better go pro-active. That’s what yesterday was all about. Read the rest of this entry »
*My* Inaugural Moment
Though I should have been sleeping, I awoke in time for the Presidential swearing-in. The pomp! The pageantry!
Leave it to me to find the lowest possible point to enjoy.
Aretha Franklin is a true American classic, a beloved songstress. I have just one suggestion for Ms Franklin:
When you are singing a song full of one-syllable words and come to a two-syllable word, don’t pause mid-word on the two-syllable word.
Especially if that word is “country.”
High Hopes
After all the snow, ice, rain etc… it was nice to have a sunny, albeit windy weekend. Does the sun cure vitamin D deficiencies if one is all bundled up? Not willing to risk it, and feeling very sun-deprived, I spent as much time as possible outdoors soaking up the rays. What did I do? Just the usual… Read the rest of this entry »
Oopsie…
It’s time to broach a malodorous subject. Be thankful you are reading this from afar.
For the last few days something’s been going on inside. A cramp here, a rumble there, a constant pressure. While not serious (unless you’re downwind) it’s inconvenient and annoying. So, if you dare, sit back, disengage your Breathe-Rite strip, hold your nose and read about Papa’s indelicate condition…
Read the rest of this entry »
Joint Custody
Tying up the loose ends of a relationship can be messy, especially when it comes to sharing custody of children or pets. I’ve seen both ends of the spectrum; from both parties bending over backwards to accommodate each other, to the kids/pets being used as pawns in a most diabolical game of chess.
I’ve been facing separation anxiety over losing Clairissa. While I’m not technically losing her, she’s moving to San Diego, so I can no longer hop a local bus and get my fix of hugs, laughter, grooming and bodacious ta-tas all in one stop. Fred Meyer advertises one-stop shopping, but not in those departments. Clairissa gets an A+ for having all those departments covered. (Except for the ta-tas, which are frequently uncovered.) But I digress.
As she prepares to go, she’s been cleaning house. Fixtures are being sold, favored items are being gifted. During the infamous week of my birthday, I gave Clairissa a dead frog.
Yesterday she gave him back. Read the rest of this entry »
Teach Your Children Well
Sometimes I think I’m a bit psychic. Maybe the universe has a subtle way of communicating things that we don’t understand. Maybe I’m just prone to coincidence.
The other day I was passing the time with Dr T at work. He’d mentioned how his first fifth of Jameson was given to him by his high school English teacher, and we laughed about how these days the teacher would be crucified, but in those days it was almost a rite of passage to drink with your teacher, providing you were a good student, mature, etc… (That sentence makes it sound like *I* was the one drinking with my English teacher, but I digress.) His story brought to mind one of my favorite teachers, Mr Magmer.
He taught journalism at Portland Community College. At the end of each spring semester, he would have a party for the outgoing students. I was taking photo journalism and working for the school newspaper, The Bridge. Part of my duties involved being available for quick photo shoots, so I hung around the paper’s office, and sat in on many of his classes.
Mr Magmer had a dry wit; it was hard to tell if he was gunning for you or pulling your leg. He taught us well, and when the end-of-term party was organized, I was invited! Although I was only seventeen, I was welcomed to come and drink with the adults. I was polite, well-behaved, and even helped bounce a bunch of party-crashers from the neighborhood when they came bearing cases of beer, thinking it was ‘a kegger.’ I left school soon after, and lost touch with Mr Magmer.
An hour or two after I had my conversation with Dr T, I got around to reading the day’s newspaper. It was an eerie feeling when I came across Mr Magmer’s obituary, just moments after discussing him. Weird how things like that happen. Memo from the cosmos…
We’ll miss you Jim, those of us who learned at your knee, so to speak. Thanks for having the faith in me to treat me like an adult, at I time when I needed it most.
RIP James Magmer, age 86.
