thumped

Totally bummed. We've lost seven in a row to the state rival. We beat one team with a winning record. Kinda hoping for a coaching change. Still not convinced that the current coach had any drive to win. His defenders talk about what a brilliant offensive mind he has. He coaches as though he's afraid of the endzone. Slow to adjust, slower to admit a mistake.
Now the thrust to fulfill Christmas wish lists is upon us. Despite not being a shopper, it's a rush getting in the mix of it all. It's over here, it's over there. Dashing about and spilling fossil fuel all over creation. Crunch time for the procrastinators. We were hoping for a 900% increase in sales but only got 750%. We're only going to invite 2500 to the after Christmas party. Times are hard. Spend it all now. Though it's not written in stone, they say the dead don't take credit cards.
Saturday was really a beautiful day. The cold is here and it's not backing down.

humped

The week is done. It's toast. Dead bird time. Getting some sunshine to burn deep into my mind. Hammering out some nostalgia for the kids to laugh over when they talk about the "good ol' days" in a decade or two. Yeah, baby.
Today was so beautiful and delicious there was no need to dream about tomorrow.
The young were born. The dead died. The living just went absolutely crazy.
Peace. Love.

spin

We won. It wasn't pretty, but a win is a win. The fact that we barely beat a team with 3 wins this late in the season points to a poor job of coaching on our part. It is time to change. Our coach has his head so far up his rear end that he can already see next week's lunch. We have not improved in scheme or preparation since the first game of the season. We play our in-state rival on Saturday. My voice will be hoarse after the game from cheering. Our chances for victory do not look promising. Our players proved that they can win in spite of the coach this past Saturday. Maybe we can do it again.
Apollo got his Wii.
Butter got some more money but no help.
It's going to be a great week. Maybe we'll remember how much help we received to get to where are, rather than being thankful that we're not like those who got left behind.
Spin groovy and rock on, kids.

joy joy

whew
made it

need

This past Sunday, Butter was shown about blogs by me. She doesn't have an internet connection. Butter was a homecoming queen in high school. People speak about her now in sentences with crack and aids. It just seemed like a kind thing to do. There is an element of cheap therapy in blogging. Whether it's reading other blogs and feeling a bit safer that someone that messed up lives so far away; or, writing out thoughts that would have been illegal physical manifestations had they not been blogged out of one's system.
Butter was just over here a minute ago and it seems that now here ex-boyfriend is out to get her and me. Kinda wish that news story about the two teenagers cutting that guy's head off didn't pass before my eyes this morning. Oh, no. Just remembering the part about the blowtorching. It was such a beautiful day outside today too. outside the sun is shinning, seems like heaven ain't far away
Butter just needs twenty bucks to take out a temporary protection order. Of course, it's ten pm and all the good clerks are at home or in some neato cybercafe blogging now.
Apollo needs a Wwii. Is that how it's spelled? They call it wee and for Christmas it will be key and king to many a young girl's and boy's jumping for joy.
All this blogger needs is for everyone to stay alive until tomorrow when everything can be solved. it's good to have you with us, even if it's just for the day

head

It weighs about 4.5 to 5 kg (10-11 lbs) when you're dead. Supposedly it's about 8% of the human total body mass. Next time someone tries to back out of a commitment claiming a head cold, say, "You've got ninety percent working. Now get your game on and get going."
Several weeks ago a fever and head cold drained all my energy during the day. Then laziness wrapped itself around me and kept me from working out for about six weeks. Worked out one day last, one day this week. It just feels better being in shape. Higher energy level and better self-esteem could result from working out. Not to mention an increased velocity when dashing away from meanies after having run the big mouth too much. (Not that this blogger would know. It's just a theory.)
Apollo lost 13.6 kg last January. Diet and exercise. Yeah, we're all proud of him. To quote him, "I was just a big ol' blob of goo." He's a funny dude.
To me, it's not what you weigh, it's what kind of weight you have. Muscle weighs more than fat. Not really a fitness freak, it's just that my sense of the day ahead is good and groovy. Paradise has that kind of affect on a high percentage on humans. We need some rain, but it's still pretty incredible here. It's just a matter of getting your head in the game.
High energy and love to all.

about

Ten things about Endymion
1. On a scale of one to a million, musical talent=3
2. Enjoyed multiple choice tests in school
3. Camped out near Cape Canaveral and saw an Apollo liftoff
4. Does a terrible British accent incessantly
5. Ate a bug in high school for $15 (it was big and crunchy)
6. Loves dogs
7. Poor at math

g'day

Happy birthday, Apollo.

Joan's Knife part b

Joan attempted to catch up to Kathy but tripped right at the moment she had reached out to put a hand on Kathy's shoulder. Joan landed hard on her own shoulder against the ground but avoided bumping in to Kathy. Having heard the tumble, Kathy stopped and looked down at her friend on the ground.
"What is the matter with you?" Kathy asked. Athletically, Joan leaped back upright.
"Kathy, I felt so sorry for that guy. He doesn't even know his own name. I ... I thought that I could bring him by here real quick and we could clean him up and send him on his way. Something just flickered in my conscience when I was on my way to the party here." Kathy gave an incredulous look at Joan then walked to the Jeep and approached the guy in the passenger's seat.
"Hey, buddy. What's your name," Kathy asked. The guy looked straight at her and smiled gently.
"Good afternoon, ma'am. My name is Leon Drummer. That's a beautiful dress that you're wearing," the guy said. Joan looked at the guy quickly with her lips pressed tightly together and daggers in her eyes. Kathy looked briefly at Joan without responding to Leon.
"I just wanted to have a real good party so we could all get together and blow off some steam without any guys around. Was that too much to ask? Could you get this bum out of here, please?" Kathy said with a touch of anger.
"It's not too much to ask, Kathy. If you only knew how much I regret picking him up now," Joan said as she cut her eyes toward Leon with hostility. Kathy sighed and turned from Joan, the Jeep, and Leon without saying goodbye. Joan was about to plead for forgiveness but thought better of it. She hoped in her Jeep curtly, set her jaw tight, and fired the ignition. Leon bowed his head and said,
"Good evening, afternoon ma'am." Joan forced her jaws tighter, backed the Jeep out, turned up the driveway and headed away from the party. What happened to I-can't-remember, Joan mumbled under her breath. On the highway, Joan accelerated past the speed limit and enjoyed the wind whipping through her hair. She glanced quickly toward Leon and saw that his hands were clutching his knees with a wide smile on his face. She calculated that the damage to her friendship with Kathy could be repaired over the next couple of weeks even though it might take six months to get invited to another one of her parties. At the corner of Jupiter and Third, Joan decided to drive to the Rock. She could the sun and some wine coolers and Leon could get cleaned up there. It could also be a good place to push him over a high ledge; accidentally of course. She pulled in to the 6-12 to pick up some wine coolers.
"Want some beer, Leon?"
"That would be good, ma'am. I could use a bath though," Leon said as he reached into a coat pocket. Joan immediately put her hand on her knife. Leon didn't see her as he pulled out several bills from his coat. He pulled one apart from the rest and handed it to Joan saying, "Let me pay." She took the bill from him thinking that it was only a one.
"Thanks, Leon. This'll help. What kind of beer you drink?"
"Cold." Joan laughed at his answer and walked toward the convenience store entrance. As she reached to open a cooler door inside the store with the bill in her hand, she noticed that it was a hundred. She immediately looked back toward her Jeep where Leon was sitting. Drug dealer, Joan thought to herself.

weekend

Duke has one of the most beautiful campuses ever put before my eyes. It's been said that the kids there are smart and study a lot. They were partying like rock stars with no tomorrow when we got there at 8:30am. They won my respect. "Never let college get in the way of your education, o ye hapless youths."
They served fried Snickers bars on a stick at the stadium. Forget to get one of those. Looked kinda yum.
Ah, yeah. We won. We danced. We sang.
Kind of exhausted now.

yabba dabba

The sun is warm, my basket is getting less full, and the sky is as clear as carribean water. At 4 am tomorrow, Apollo and I will take to the road for the last away game in the regular season. The excitment level for me right now is so high that I'm about to wet my pants. The season hasn't been exceptional by any means but I love this team and it's traditions and just being near it all is very exciting. There's always the possibility that we could get splattered on the highway similar to dragonflies smacked against the windshield of an oversized suv. Yet, what is more mortifying than want of fruit for lack of courage to shake the tree? Can't remember who wrote that; Logan Piersall Smith maybe.

Here's to good health for everyone. Here's to good decisions as well.

courage

"It is not rebellion itself which is noble but the demands it makes upon us." -The Plague, Albert Camus

Ours

This past Friday, my internet connection was lost. It was lost because a certain bill went unpaid due to a forgotten password. The password wasn't retrievable because it was listed in connection with an old, non-working email. Sometimes money is groovy though, and now, everything is cool. No, not everything.

On a beautiful summer day in 1994, Sam Nunn gave a talk to several thousand people. He spoke about a conversation that he had with a reporter who had been in Yugoslavia. The reporter heard an explosion and then some gunshots at a very close range. Soon after that, a man carrying a young girl approached the reporter.

"Can you help me, sir? My girl is wounded and I need to get her to the hospital." Before the reporter could answer, the man carrying the young girl said, "Please. Just drive my car and take us to the hospital." The reporter followed the man, got in the car, and drove as fast as he could while following the man's directions to the hospital. The young girl didn't survive the trip. The reporter apologized and offered his condolences to the man holding the young girl. With tears in his eyes, the man said, "I have something very hard to do. I must go tell her father."
The reporter responded,
"I thought that you said she was your child?" The man looked down at the lifeless young girl and said,
"They are all ours."

Today, a young man shot and killed seven classmates and a principal in a school in Finland. Youth is for living; not dying, not killing. My sad heart is with the families, friends, community and especially the parents of those young lives. I hope and pray for strength, healing, and love. A young life close to my heart was lost several years ago. The healing will take some time. There will always be a very tender place in their hearts and minds and also in ours.

follow

Internal combustion machines never held my interest growing up. Despite the smell of gasoline being high on my list of non-edible pleasurable aromas, air-bound craft held a higher fascination for me. Oddly enough, that's why I never learned much in my youth. There are clear memories in my mind about being clueless in class because a clear scene involving smooth, gleaming metal, aerodynamically shaped, zipping just over a treetop or metroscape was in place during whatever it was a teacher was telling the pupils. This started in the first grade. In kindergarten, Wilma Faust, who sat two rows over and one seat ahead of my eyes, filled my mind from neuron to neuron. She was in my dreams about hunting Easter eggs, eating pancakes, and playing "war." It thrilled me to exciting ends to imagine offering her the best dart gun before an exciting day of "war." We never played "war" but females like her have filled my dreams ever since. Last night, Vickie Sweetisland was there. It seemed she wasn't too happy about anything. She was dressed for a day of taking care of kids and not a romp on the beach. Yet, on the beach we were. In place of an internal combustion machine for transportation was a Big Wheel. Reluctant she was when asked to see if we could both sit on the Big Wheel together. Dreamily enough, we both fit on the plastic contraption very comfortably. Before getting over how easily and comfortably we could both sit on the three-wheeled vehicle, my amazement was quickly flooded by the ease in maneurabiltiy we enjoyed. We went to beach after beach on very smooth rides with zero perspiration. The dismounting process was never mastered and my concern that she was uncomfortable while doing it was partially erased by how much she laughed during each dismount. The energy focused on the dismount was directly responsible for losing the camera. Any possible distress that could have been caused by losing something was smoothed out at the almost rugged, but all too tasteful ice cream outpost. Here at the outpost, after consuming frozen delight, Vickie conveyed how wrong my thoughts were about her lack of desire to kiss me. Waking up with a smile on a Saturday morning during Fall in the South is a good experience. Even though I had intended to build an airport this weekend, I'm gonna run over to Toys-R-Us first and see if they have any Big Wheels in stock. Like they always say, "Follow your dreams."

The day is really beautiful and being here typing is not number one on a short list of things to do today. On my way to Toys-R-Us, it was remembered that Dreamgirl had asked me to get a phone number for her. Dutifully, mission A was abandoned. Mission A1a was launched. Dream wants the number of the person who runs the business in a building that she owns. The guy runs a restaurant and there lunch was eaten. The guy wasn't there but the shrimp salad and enchilada were tasty. The waiter made a humorous comment about my hunger after he took my order. Being small will laugh at me for the next three lifetimes. The cashier wouldn't give me the restaraunteur's phone number but did give me a time when he would be in. So now, typing for twenty-five minutes will be spent until the owner is in. No doubt, all the Big Wheels will be sold out by the time mission A is relaunched.

After the phone number was retrieved, the Square lured me downtown. It was a beautiful day to be out walking. "They don't allow cameras at the fesitival," Apollo yelled at me before my destination was achieved. He had his offspring with him. We all roamed around for a while. A sheep made a dash at the opening in a pen with limited success. Of course, a few minutes outside of a pen and dashing around madly might be considered quite a success to sheep. It was fun getting to dash about madly in the guise of catching the loose animal. The guy who caught the sheep did so with a nifty leg grab. The sheep didn't budge after that. There was a stage and country music was sung. Cheap stuff was bought cheap, Hawaiian Ice, formerly known as snow cones, was consumed ravenously and big tales were told. They even had these huge sling shots that they were loading with small kids and launching them into the air. That was fascinating.

fame

It's extremely difficult to exist in the United States without hearing about American Idol. I've watched one episode and the only reason was Paula Abdul. I had heard a little about Diana Degarmo as a contestant. Now I see that she's performed on Broadway, was Miss Teen Georgia, and a whole bunch of other stuff. She sang the national anthem at the football game that I attended last night. It was the best national anthem that I've ever heard. She has an incredible voice. She sat behind us during the game and is a very charming and vivacious young woman.
There's been a lot of whining about female reporters on the sideline of football games. It comes from both men and women. They need to shut up. Erin Andrews was on the sideline during the game. She's very skinny and she's very blonde. She seems to be the type who will scrap for anything that she gets. It would be easy to say that I only like her appearance. That's partially true. I like her scrappiness and work ethic. Got her autograph, either way.

Thanks, Diana. Thanks, Erin.