Where did the last 4 months go?!?  See you next year (ha-ha!!)

I'm still here in Appleton City, waiting for God-knows-what to happen with the house closing.  Buyers bought a new boat, jacked-up their credit, and I almost had to raise my voice to the realtor to get that bit of info out of her; only took her 2 months to tell me.  Anyway, I guess they're getting all re-evaluated; unfortunately, I kinda know the process, as this sort of thing happened the last time I sold a house; that genius bought a new car after he got his preapproval letter from the bank.  Twice-in-a-row.  What are the odds?!?  Please, please I beg all of you: if you're in the market for a home, and you decide to get preapproved before you go house hunting, all together now: Don't Buy ANYTHING!!

Keeping this in a more positive perspective, I've often been wondering why there's a chance I may end-up owning an empty house 90 miles away, after I get moved back to KC.  Everything happens for a reason, right?  And for the most part, the more complicated situations are never clear until they've come to pass.  This is no exception; I'm completely stumped on this one, but did make a point of getting to Mass extra early Saturday evening to say the Rosary.  Bizarre as it may sound, it felt good; hadn't said it in a few months.  When I first moved down here, I thought it was the neatest thing to see all these people getting to church early, and I soon became one of those people.  Initially, I thought it was said for world peace; for the soldiers in Irag, as there used to be a board towards the front of the church with all the names of those from Montrose and Appleton City who 'Proudly serve their Country', some with a little * next to the name, God rest their soul.  At some point, the board was removed, and so was my place in the pew (or behind the piano), as I started to find myself in KC almost every weekend.  Making a rare appearance this Saturday, I noticed the devotees were still there, and it made me realize how much I missed their spiritual companionship.  The best part about this last weekend, however, was getting a Sunday morning call from the dentist (who also doubles as a Knight's of Columbus guy) to ask me if I wanted a plate of pancakes with sausage patties left over from the monthly K of C breakfast... "Heck yeah, man!!"  (I was getting tired of living off of the Gatorade protein shakes I picked up at Big Lots a couple weeks ago; got a deal on 'em; only .70 a can).  So a few minutes later, one of the nicest people I've ever met showed up at my door with a mile-high stack of pancakes and extra burnt-n-greasy sausage patties (Mmmm-MMmmm!) --still warm, too.  BTW, this is the same dentist that thought it was a smart idea to give me 3 cases of M&M's 'aMazing' candy bars last year.  He's cunning alright: I was in his chair less than 6 months later.

Don's Pancake Delivery Service is just one of the countless examples of kindness that happens down here, and will be greatly missed in the 'hood.  Sorry if you're not that impressed with pancakes, sausages or candy bars --you've missed the point.  He could have brought mud pies and I still would have been equally touched by the thought.  Yes, I will surely miss this town.

I promise to keep this  succinct, and won't get political but maybe a couple more times before November...

I used to brush off all the hype this p**sy blathered about, but the fact that he's duped enough people into becoming the Democrat's nominee is a little scary.  I'm no Hillary fan, but at least she has more balls than this joker, and if we were attacked on her watch, she'd hit back.  I guess this is how the Left felt after Bush won his second term; what was the UK paper headline, "How can America be this dumb?...", or something like that.  Why aren't they asking that question now?  My question is, who do you want leading the most powerful country on Earth: a tough-as-nails, no-b.s. gritty, ex-P.O.W., true American war hero?  Or a spoiled little ingrate, admitted ex-cocaine user (with a wife and posse of friends who absolutely despise America) who hasn't accomplished  a n y n t h i n g.  Oh wait, I forgot: he voted against a ban to keep almost-born babies from getting their brains sucked out of their heads while still alive (what is now called, 'So-called' partial birth abortion).  Yeah, he gives me a lot of hope for changing the hope of change I can only hope for.

Thought I was moving next week, and I thought wrong.  Closing on my house has been delayed a month, so I won't be experiencing the final sunrises in Appleton City for another few weeks.  Actually, this came at a pretty good time; taxes dues next week, playing a wedding next weekend, and if I had to find time to pack in the next 5 days, too, I'd be drinking a LOT of Diet Rock Star.  So now I'll just be drinking a moderate amount of Diet Rock Star, as the free time I now have will be spent updating my web sties, finishing music projects, doing extra paint jobs here in town, and it's almost time to start mowing, again.  And hey, there's one more parade I'll get to see from my front yard!

This picture was from the Homecoming parade last Fall; the theme was Elvis.  One of my final projects here will be posting those pics in the next update.

Thank GOD, The HAIR is coming back, thank God (Thank you, God!)  Not my hair, but I don't want it back.  (Who cares about my head anyway?!)  No, the hair I'm referring to is the hair many of you have heard me rant on and on about for years.  Where oh where have all the happy fun girls gone?  They all betrayed me, going for a quasi-corporate look.  It sucked.  Still does.  I've almost cried at the site of a few of my female friends (and you know who you are...) showing me the aftermath of a butchering at the barber.  The only words that could be forced out of my stupid mouth were, "Well, so it will grow again, right?"  That was then --2000-n-whatever; my 20 year high school reunion is coming up, so get out the crimping iron, stick your finger in an outlet, turn the blower on high while you're doubled-over ...and wear that KISS t-shirt proudly.... my time has finally come.  Thank God.

Don't believe me?  Read this 

And we're not in the clear just yet; the final step will be to put a national ban on all those ridiculously over-sized Jackie-O sunglasses that make women look like a stuck-up yuppie fly.  As for the rest of civilization, trash your Bluetooth -No one ever thought you were as important as you wanted us to think you thought you were.  Bonnie Consolo is probably the only person who could really benefit from hands-free technology, so I'll give her a pass should I happen to see her hopping down the isle at Office Max.  ANYWAY, that's all the ranting I have for tonight.  All I know is that Hershey makes the world's best food.  Reese's Peanut Butter cups, too.  And peanut M&M's.  A Pizza Hut pizza made by Felix is up there, too.  Man, so much good food out there; life is good....

Over the past few years, I've discovered a few advantages of living outside of the city limits.  The obvious might be the peace and quiet, the infrequent drive-by shootings, and (most) everyone waving or saying 'hello' to you as you walk by.  These are nice, but nothing compares to the sunsets and sunrises I've seen here.  Occasionally I'm speechless when witness to a perfect sunset, esp.  after a long and stressful day.  I used to think nothing could be more beautiful.  I suspect that most of us are more drawn to a picture-perfect sunset, than a sunrise.  I also suspect that most of us live most days wishing we could do it all over again.  And this may be the reason we love to see the sun disappear.  It can be bittersweet, maybe a little melancholy, but always a spiritual experience.  Sunrises, on the other hand, inspire me now 100 times that of what a sunset used to.  I've seen them after my all-nighters; working to beat a deadline, to be the first in line, or to catch-up on something I've fallen behind on.  How is this more beautiful, though?  Sunrises tell me that I've just been granted yet another chance to make this day everything it should be.  That is inspiring... it really is like jumping in a time machine.  Sunsets are like visualizing the face of your first love, when you were too young and dumb to know how to act, what to say, and know what you really had; they're nice memories, full of beauty, innocence and simplicity, but they don't move you forward.  It's the past, the sun is down, the day is over --it's time to march ahead.  And watching that fire rise over the naked tree tops in February is like looking at God straight in the face --it humbles you, keeps your thoughts honest, and then inspires you to do something great.

First off...   It seems the more I offer advice/opinions for someone else's dilemma, the more I feel like a hypocrite.  But it's only after the conversation has ended that I'm overwhelmed with a need to call back and apologize for acting as such an authority on the subject, when I'm equally lost.  But if there's one positive side effect to this, it's hearing something I usually need to hear (though from my own head!).  And thanks to Mr. Emmerson's philosophy of Self-Reliance, I know that only I can take responsibility for the things that happen.  I hated this notion at first, because it was so much easier to blame anyone and everyone for my shortcomings; and after years of whining, I began to see myself as a person I wouldn't want to be around. With very, very few exceptions, everything that happens in our lives is the direct result of a choice we made.  A few months ago, I hated not telling the cop that pulled me over that the 2 cars in front of me were speeding, too (something I surely would have done even a year ago), but if I weren't speeding --regardless of who was in front of me-- I wouldn't have been guilty.  I hate this.  Something my parents would probably tell me.  Ugghh, the thought of...maybe I'm getting old(er).  Adding to that, am I responsible for not yet having the level of success in music I set out to obtain when I moved down here --despite all the shortcomings on Taxi's end?  Yes, because after 2 years of their nonsense, I still continued to invest my time, energy and savings in them and their lottery system of selection, until I finally decided one night to record another Opus 1 CD, assembling a killer combination of notes and melodies, which led to a Jeff McBride endorsement, which led to me rewriting the entire soundtrack to a magician's nightly show at a swanky Hawaiian resort, which upon completion, will net me more $$ than I ever thought possible.  I'm getting closer everyday, but could have 'been there' by now (especially with all the other deals that happened post-Taxi).  One final thought on responsibility: the only reason a person can make you mad or upset is if you let them.  This is my biggest weakness; 'thin skinned', maybe.  Letting them take control of my mind, my emotions, my spirit.  At least I've gotten over people cutting me off while driving, though it's easier to deal with that because the road is impersonal.  But when a loved one insults me, it's a bit of a challenge to say the least.

No, the site is not going down (at least not anytime soon, if I can help it); it's a new year, and want to overhaul the look.  I'll be adding some new features, pictures, stories, essays and of course --music.  Too much to do right now, as this will take some time and careful planning, but it's all in my head for now.