A Rare Jewel

And let's not forget about her.

An extraordinarily beautiful and charming Texas girl, she was from my home town. We all wore our hair like hers for years, too many years, but they were some of the best hair years of my life.

She seems a bit overlooked today, unfortunately upstaged by the death of Jacko on the same day. But she won't be forgotten. That sort of rare beauty doesn't come along very often. She's someone you just wanted to stare at, no matter your gender. And even as she aged, she didn't really lose the sparkle. She was a rare jewel, the likes of which we don't see often enough.

We knew her until she was 62 years old. But the photo above is how we think of her, circa 1976, no matter how old she got. That's pretty hard for a public figure to pull off, to freeze herself in time, even as she aged before us, but she did it.

Well done, Farrah. Another big-haired Texas girls salutes you.

Inevitable

Off the Wall.

Thriller.

That is how I prefer to remember him.

If only he'd bowed out of the spotlight after that.

Didn't we all know it would end this way? It just had to, didn't it?

Day Tripper

Day-tripper, yeah.

Or so it feels that way.

San Diego, Dallas, Chicago, Dallas and San Diego again.

I've spent much of the last week on a jet, going somewhere.

Tonight, I'll end up back in San Diego, which is the preferred city out of the list noted above.

Dallas is too hot right now. 103 degrees yesterday.

Chicago is never where I want to be. Some people love that city, but I have yet to find anything that makes me pine away to go there.

And San Diego....ah San Diego. Lovely city, unpleasant business. Still, the weather is divine, temperatures are topping out at 73 degrees, I am walking distance to the marina and some of the most fabulous sites. The unpleasantries are on their way to concluding, hopefully in the next week or two. And Fourth of July weekend is forthcoming. I'd rather spend it in lovely San Diego than in many places I could think of. So unpleasantries, bleh. I'll try not to let them spoil my stay.

I can hardly wait to go back to having regular problems again, the same problems other people have instead of this albatross that was put around our necks almost two years ago. It weighs heavy. And I'm done with it.

California Dreaming

I find myself once again in California. San Diego to be exact. Lovely city, just lovely. But I am here on some unpleasant business, so it's not all goodness.

Outside of business, however, I have managed to find some good things. The city is fabulous, people are friendly, the weather is divine. So if you have to be some place for something unpleasant, there are definitely worse places to be.

Yesterday, I found time to go to the world famous San Diego Zoo. It's an endless maze of rainforest and jungle, birds and reptiles, lions and tigers and bears (oh my!). One could spend a couple of days there and enjoy every minute. Definitely worth it.

Today? An afternoon spent at the ballpark, an all-American day of baseball and hot dogs. We sat in the cheap seats, and the view from up there of the city of San Diego and the marina is worth the climb. San Diego Padres vs. the Oakland Athletics. Padres win! It was a great day to be at the ballpark -- during the 7th inning stretch, we all got up and sang "God Bless America", and it just felt darn good to be there. Next week, the Houston Astros are in town, and I will be back and in the cheap seats for that one, as well.

So despite the ugliness of the business I am here on, the charm of the city of San Diego has managed to make it all bearable for me. I believe it will be one of my very favorite cities going forward.

Taxi Driver @ 30+ years

I'd never seen this film. When it came out, I was a child, and I recall that it was seen then as so controversial, I've never really wanted to see it. I remember my parents disavowing it, saying it was lude and awful. But last night, it was on one of the movie channels. I have no idea why they'd be showing a movie in prime time that is more than 30 years old, but they were. So I thought I'd take my chance to watch it and see if it was really as controversial as people thought it was during the 70s.

And as I suspected, it was not. In fact, it was fascinating because it was almost like looking into a time capsule of sorts. The fact that it was thought to be so controversial then said something about the times we lived in then and the times we live in now. Certainly, the subject matter was disturbing - then and now- but I remember people decrying the level of violence in it then. And watching it now, that seems to pale in comparison to what we regularly find in today's films. The presence of a 12-yr old hooker still seems shocking and tragic even now, but the way it was handled in the film was so much milder than I had imagined it. I would guess if someone attempted to remake this film today, it would be much more graphic than it was 30 years ago. I won't suggest that is progress.

It makes one wonder about the evolution of culture -- films are so reflective of it. While people were outraged in the 70s over this movie, today it seems relatively mild in comparison. I don't think that's a good sign. I think it means that culture has de-volved. We've become numb and callous to violent acts, to sad human condition. It takes more and more to get our atteniton and shock us. That's not a good commentary at all.

Just Breathe

This is a very big, very stressful next couple of weeks at my house. Some days I can't even eat, I am so anxious. Sleep is almost out of the question. The weight of this thing is making it difficult to breathe. I yearn for the ability to just be a puddle, but I can't. I have go to work every day and function. There is no relief right now, no one to help, nothing to make it better. When the panic comes, all I can do is breathe and offer up a prayer. And no one knows.

Licence to Chill?

Love ya Daniel, but please, please tell me you did not endorse this. It's totally creeping me out.

*shutters*