Familial Ponderings

Drunk at 1:25 a.m. and proud of who I am and who is with me in this life of mine.

Sleeping familial members closeby.

I chatted at length with my oldest son tonight about things political and things regarding social conscience. And I saw that I see him how my parents likely see me. They don't see the seemingly flawed outcomes of my decisions. They see no real failings at all. They only see a son who is going through life trying to keep his integrity intact. Intentions are everything as I see it. And my son is gold in my eyes.

As Lyle once put it, "she wasn't good, but she had good intentions." Nothing wrong with that.

Slumber awaits.

Slumber arrives.

My Heart Goes Out

This week, I have met several parents of children who suffer from always fatal Batten disease.

And tonight I saw a man who was annoyed by all of the wheelchairs in the lobby.

"I guess it's too much to ask for a clear path to the elevators," he muttered for me to hear.

And the world keeps doing its thing.

Sad News From The Elephant Sanctuary

Handler killed by elephant in Tennessee

HOHENWALD, Tenn. (AP) -- An elephant with a reputation for being dangerous killed a handler and injured a trainer Friday at The Elephant Sanctuary in southern Tennessee, authorities said.

Winkie, a female Asian elephant, stepped on or kicked a woman handler who was killed "on the spot," said Doug Markham, a spokesman for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. A male trainer was injured when he tried to intervene.The names of the victims were not released.

The trainer was taken to a hospital in Columbia, about 30 miles east of Hohenwald. The nature of his injuries was not available.

Winkie weighs 7,600 pounds and came from Burma more than 30 years ago, according to the sanctuary's Web site.

Winkie has not been euthanized, and it was not clear if there were any plans to do so, Markham said.

At her previous residence at Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison, Wis., Winkie hurt several staffers and visitors, earning a reputation as a "dangerous elephant," according to her biography on the site.

Opened in 1995, the nonprofit refuge on 2,700 acres about 60 miles southwest of Nashville specializes in Asian elephants. The sanctuary provides a haven for old, sick or needy elephants in a setting of pastures, forests, spring-fed ponds and a heated barn for cold winter nights, its Web site says. It also tries to educate the public about elephants.

Many of the sanctuary's elephants came from performance backgrounds. Once they arrive, they no longer are exhibited but can be seen via webcam on the sanctuary's Web site.

Thaumata Goes to Spain

Hopefully, my wife doesn't mind that I call this stranger my internet crush.

Record Store Memories, Part 1

Customer is looking at the cassettes in the country music section, somewhere around the E part of the alphabet. Customer flags me down, giving me attitude. "You're a record store, right? You don't have any Elvis?"

I can't do much more than walk the customer down to Rock 'n Roll and stop him in front of the Mr. Presley's alphabetized place on the wall of rockers. "Here ya go," I say. He can choose from so much from The King of Rock n' Roll. And I can go back to price checks or whatever.

But there's more. "I bet you guys lose a lot of sales by hiding him way over here."

Probably; but I'm at peace with that. And Kenny G plays on.

True Dat

Actually, the sign reads:

WARNING

IT IS NOT

HOT AS HELL

But my first glance at the sign today was on that last line. And I agreed with what I read.

Time To Mow The Dash

 

She Knows It's Impolite To Eat With Her Hands

How Gray Is Your Record Store?

New Yorker music critic, Sasha Frere-Jones, links to a great New York Times piece called The Graying of the Record Store.

I worked for several years in one and my years there define who I am more than any other occupational experience I have had since. I wasn't the sullen one or the one who lived to judge you based on your musical preference. In fact, in all of my years there, I never had a co-worker whom I would describe as "sullen." Some would judge you, of course. But so what? You were buying music that moved you and we were selling it. Fair transaction.

Give me a few days and I will do my best to write a bit about the beauty of those years for me. I'll leave you now with a few questions: What was your favorite workplace from your past? Why is it in your past? What is your dream job?

A Military Wife And Me

Last week, before my family vacation, I was touched by the story of a military wife whose husband of 15 years returned home and shocked her by telling her that he wanted a divorce. I was touched by how she related the story. No big drama, no begging for someone to help her make it through. She just shared the facts with me. She told me of the counseling. She told me how he had always been her best friend as well as her husband. And now she wanted to run with her pain to her best friend, except that she couldn't. He was the one who caused it this time.

Statistics tell of the huge number of divorces within military families. Military personnel see the worst, day after day after day. They lose so many friends. They see the deaths of people they are responsible for. They are soldiers, first and foremost, and there is no clocking out at the end of the day. And then they come home to a nation seemingly obsessed with who gets voted off of American Idol. I can only imagine that coming home to such a contrast can either be the greatest satisfaction (at the end of every episode, everyone is a winner because no one dies) or it can seem so extremely petty ("I have gone through hell...and for this?") that it would fill a person with disgust.

I really admired her calm recollection of the events that she chose to share with me. I tried not to give her that stupid look of sympathy. It was obvious that she wasn't looking for that. She just talked about it like it had happened a generation ago. But it had happened less than a month prior. On with life. That seemed to be her M.O. Her husband had come home with a hardened heart (there's the sacrifice), and I could feel hers hardening more with each word. "From now on, I am focusing entirely on my work," she said.

Whatever her name is, I wish her well. And I thank her for sharing with me.

Drunken Pictures Of Me...

...will not be seen here.

But after 1 pint and 8 fl oz of lovely Heineken, this would be a good time to know me at my least guarded.

The house still hasn't closed, but we have been told by our realtor that it should happen sometime next week. I ain't buyin' it. But I will be pleased to be proven wrong. Either it will close next week or I will need ten more days like today's workday to pay both rent AND mortgage at the end of the month.

Alligator Cove will open at the local zoo on July 22. They will be where the otters used to be. I, personally, will miss the otters. But if you were an otter and an alligator wanted to live where you do, wouldn't you relocate, too?

Is it just the accent? I was adamant that I would not like the new Rocketboom girl. I was going to be loyal only to Amanda. Nevermind. I like the new girl. I haven't yet put her name to memory, but Rocketboom with the new girl rocks, dare I say, slightly better than Rocketboom with Amanda.

I'm sure whatever Amanda does next will be cool, too. Assuming the world doesn't end first.

Quick Hits In The News

Wedding webcasts: So that those who have reason that a couple should not be wed should send IM now or forever hold their peace.

Yo, Blair!: World leaders assume a mic is not on and speak off-the-cuff.

Shrinkage at the New York Times: "We were in the pool!"

Soldiers turn to Yoga for fitness: Downward facing Bulldogs!

And lastly, a woman who I may or may not have listened to music with in a van in my record store parking lot a long time ago is separating from hubby, Dave Navarro.

Now go read one of my fave bloggers and have a good day: This Just In

She's Home From Florida And Sporting A Very Nice Tan

Home

I flew to Florida to catch up with the rest of the family for a little vacation. After a few days of rest and relaxation, we are home and back to reality.

Here are a few of the hundred or so pictures I took over the weekend.


View from high above the clouds.


The girl I came to see.


Happy together.

profile photo