Temperature topped out @ 60ish, mild winds, partly sunny,and it was just a beaut! Totally crammed full of good vibes, everywhere you looked. This, in January! If this is global warming, I can definitely roll with it! Dogs in feisty spirit, full of mischief and shit-eating grins(hopefully, not literally shit-eating, but I wasn't there when Bubba was walking them in the nearby Wildlife Refuge, where he takes them almost daily, so thankfully, I don't know for sure).

As such, it was a great ride to and from work, blasting the radio, and a busy, full, day at work, with everyone apparently in good moods. No complaints today, but I am sure that I will make up for lost time here in the near future. Rainstorms coming in tonight & 80% chance of rain all day tomorrow. Bubba & I are walking barometers...soon, the sky is going to be falling, we can feel it in our heads. I am not happy that Bubba suffers headaches as I do, but I am grateful that he understands and sympathisizes with my pain. My ex had rules regarding my headaches-I was not allowed to mention it when I was in pain, I was to keep the pain within, and not speak of it or show it. The rule didn't work very well back then, and we had many a loud arguments in the midsts of my migraines, always leaving me in tears. How life has come full circle...it is hard to believe how much of a quality life I live now compared to my married days. It's like that fortune from a fortune cookie I got once, and that I have varnished & saved for over 20 years, "There is yet time for you to take another path." Thank God, I finally wised up and took another path...or 2...I've never had it so good, or appreciated it as much as I do now. My life is very good. I have ice packs for headaches, and I can whine a bit about the pain. Things have been worse. Much worse.

Payed my first 6-mos insurance bill for my big, new, red truck...almost 8 bills. This living so expensively is uh...er...expensive. This is my first new vehicle, first truck, and first full coverage truck insurance policy, ever. Bubba's got my back, and he can reposess the truck if I fall on hard times with my crappy-paying job income. I mean, I just do not see how things can too much better for me, but somehow, they just do.

And I gotta tell y'all, there is a certain kind of buzz acquainted with being the toast of my friends' beverages. It kind of gives me a lil rush in my belly, a thrill reminiscent of a roller-coaster ride. I smile big-time just to think of you folks raising a glass of whatever and drinking a sip in my honor. The closest I will ever come to a rock-star rush, and I accept the honor with a grateful humility. A toast, in return, to all my friends & family on the Stream, and not on the Stream. Y'all are a big part of this good life I've got going on....I salute you, and thank you, one and all. I enjoy most days all day long, in spite of the occasional pangs of reality, and Blogstream is such a big part of my enjoyment of life.

But, back in reality, Bubba is only 1/2 concious and sleepy-time time is upon the both of us this warm winter's night. I need to check my e-mail in earnest, return the ice pack to the freezer, and snuggle up under my blankies. I bid you all a fond farewell, and bid you good-night, good-night, goodnight...

" I'm looking forward to tomorrow."
Running my Sunday rounds to visitate with friends and family has definitely been tougher than today. It was just plain nice. Best friend Deb is doing her 1-woman extreme makeover on her own house, and she is doing an excellent, enviable job. Lots of friends & even hired pros have taken a stab @ assisting her, but they either have done slip shod jobs, or leave the place w/out finishing the job, & Deb has just had to learn to get 'er done by herself. She is very proud of all the work she has done, and rightly so.

Nice day for a drive in my big, new Chevy truck & I rolled on down the road, rocking out, enjoying the ride. Mom's meds, as I have mentioned in the past, are properly adjusted and as a result, so is she. She is happy to see me arrive, and happy to see me go. Took her out for her mandatory cigarette, then she was over it & ready for a nap. For a nursing home resident, she is in a good space, physically and emotionally.

On down the road to visit sister Kath. Really nice house & she is ready for a nap as well, so I keep it short & vacate the premises in a timely manner.

Pick up a Donnato's pizza, and hit the road for Dad & Rene's nursing home,& it gets cold after the 1/2 drive to get there, per usual, but Dad & Rene relish it even cold, proclaiming it is the best food they have had since last week when I brought them food.

They were nice visits. Rex(Mom's dog that I took in after she had to be admitted to the home) remains my saving grace...eveyone overjoyed to see & pet a pretty, well-behaved loving dog. He is friendly to all. Happy to see them, then, happy to get on down the road for the next meeting. I wish all visits to be this enjoyable, but reality dictates that a hard rain is going to eventually fall.

But not today. Today was good. And as I do not hate my lowly job, I do not dread the morrow...will make the best of it & hopefully have another good day, after day, throughout the rest of the week. I'm optomistic, hopeful, determined to make the best of my pretty great world.

Hey, I enjoyed all the comments on my "Truth or Cher" post...thanks to one & all.

Thanks to Adam for cutting me some slack. Seriously, Dude in the not too distant past, we'd share a drink & a laugh over me telling you how to live your life. Like I know anything about anything. I just know that I can't drink anymore, so you & Lucee are gonna have to toast me in my abscence...would ya maybe do that for me? Lucee("Trying Not To Come Undone") has been toasting me on occasion. Being toasted kind of warms my heart.

Reverend Dan used to toast me over in the U.K.-I wonder if he still does...and I wonder if Billyjones & the Soft Haired Boy still toast me...For someone who quit drinking, I sure seem to be inspiring a fair amount of alcoholic intake. Contributing to the deliquency of the Stream...Ice? Whit? whassup with me? I don't want to be a bad influence, but I do like it when folks toast me, for some reason. And I will just be sticking w/H20, toasting all of you...Silver Fox,Scratch, Marvin, C.C., Topaz, Mokie Joe, Pup, Dariah, Gizmo, Debunkem, Moonstone and everybody..I salute you all...you all add such quality to my life. Such a good life it is, too.

1. I'm not so sure that this is a good idea.
2. I have an addictive personality.
3. I used to be addicted to alcohol, and a few other things.
4. I was able to quit only for the love of a good man-Bubba. I needed to be worthy of his love, so, changed
5.I do love my new big, red, truck.
6.I love dogs.
7.I love my family.
8.I love my Blogstream family.
9. I am addicted to Blogstream, and have no desire to quit.
10. I am fascinated with Mrs God, AKA The Right Irreverant Reverend Dan.
11." Harold and Maude" is my favorite movie.
12. Santana is my favorite musician.
13.13 has always been a lucky number for me.
14.You can go home again...I did, and have never been happier.
15. I've suffered migraines the majority of my life.
16.In this context, I realize that the majority of my life, and subsequent decisions that have influenced my life were all made under the influence of migraine medication.
17. I continue to suffer migraines despite the pain block that is causing me to run up a bill for 10 Large for an unsuccessful proceedure.
18.I have not told Bubba that the bill for this unsuccessful proceedure exceeds 10Large. He hasn't asked, I haven't advertised.
19. I'd still rather take a pill...or two.
20.I have a headache right now, but no pills to take cause I took pity on a dude in pain & gave him the majority of my prescription to ease his pain, hoping my own pain block would work.
21. I wish I had some pills, or at least was not in pain on this,the only day that I really have off & to myself.
22. My sister, Kathy, thinks she needs to go with me to see the pain Doc as she will do a better job of questioning him and his proceedures.
23. I hope she does come. She never gets stage fright & blindly agree with the doctor's and their needle-happy proceedures.
25.When I do not hurt, I am still a lot of fun to hang out with, even sober & without pain meds.
26.I am fun to hang out with, cuz I want to be Ruth Gordon's "Maude" when I grow up.
27. I was in a horrible marriage for almost a decade, and I allowed him to be the SOB he was, by staying, when I knew it was hopeless.
28.I dropped out of college to follow the Dead, and to live in Northern California, and keep my bad habits going without my family having to worry about what I was up to.
29. if I could meet Lucy in person, I would definitely have at least one Corona with her.
30. Bubba takes good care of me, and I rely on him a lot more than it is healthy to do so.
31.I am older than I have ever been, and happier than I have ever been, right here, right now.
32.I never had kids and I regret it most of the time when I am not too busy having fun 'cause I never had kids.
33.I love Science Fiction, and anything about fictional monsters.
34.Politics frustrate me, and I just hate the whole scene.
35.I go barefoot whenever possible. and I lose the bra whenever I can get away with it. I like to go commando, too...elastic constrictions have never been my forte.
36.I have very little self-confidence &/or self-esteem, with no one to blame this lack upon but, myself.
37.I love music, any kind, all of the time.
38.I love chocolate. Especially dark chocolate.
39. I think all politicians are crooks. All of them.
40.I love my friends, and would do anything for them, and subsequently I allow them to take advantage of me on many occasions.
41. I need to get more exercise.
42.I don't eat red meat, and would not mind being a vegetarian if it didn't take so much effort.
43. i am very lazy at home, and would much rather blog than do any semblence of housework.
44.I am not lazy at work, and do much more than is required of me.
45.I am grossly underpaid.
46.I am ashamed of my job, but enjoy doing it.
47.I wish my nephew,Ken, was my son. I miss going to the movies with him.
48. I want to spend the rest of my life laughing with and loving Bubba.
49.I share things-lots of things,and allow others to take advantage of me.
50. I know better.
51. I love expensive coffees..esp. double lattes.
52.I really am not a very good driver-not God's gift to astute observations.
53. I will turn 54 on July 5th, and I still believe I can continue to roll with the inevitable punches-with a little help from my friends and family.

And I kin dig it. Plan to traverse the Stream as often as possible this weekend, cuz, well, it's what I do.

I was recently honored with the rare opportunity to be interviewed for the Stream by The Iceman for The New Residencia. How cool is that? Hanging with Ice & Pop...in my element, one more time. Unsure as to the reason behind ol' Honest Abe's unexpected appearance, unless he was there to thank me for the story I fabricated about him when I was a geek in high school, where I hypothosized that Abe was considering the possiblities of reincarnation, desiring to come back as a famous author, and that famous author would be Carl Sandberg, who coincidently was always fascinated with Abe. That lil yarn got some kind of honerable mention in a creative writing high school competion, but true to my nature, it got lost in the shuffle through the ages, and I have never been able to recreate it with any semblence of it's former accuracy or questionable glory.

I was, however, saddened by the neighboring article in The Residencia regarding the premeditated getaway of Ice's brother. I found the news to be eerie and sad, bearing the brunt of the missing man's intent on being lost and alone, which threatens to leave him incommunicado, and, ultimately, lonely. Perhaps, it is what Ice's brother desired to do, but it was not an idea that Ice seemed to be relish, then, or now. I just have to figure that he takes Ice's brotherly love for granted, and does not fully understand the pain that his getaway visited upon those who love him. To one extent or another, we all, all too often take the love that is freely given to us far too lightly, considering the priceless value of that love. It is in those times, that I feel it would be most beneficial for our loved ones to smack us upside of our head and say,"Hey! Get a clue! ." It is trite, but true, that we only hurt the ones we love. It is what I used to do.

I cannot count the many times I vacated my home in the Heartland for what seemed like perfectly good ideas at the time, but ultimately turned out to be frivilous, self-serving exploits where I had lots of adventures and left my loving family bewildered and missing me. I would sporadically communicate, but for the most part, I kept to myself. Most often, I found myself thinking that when I was screwing up &/or suffering big time in California, at least the folks back home will be blissful in their ignorance of my day-to-day self-inflicted soap operas. I was wrong. They were not blissful in my absence-they missed me. I hurt them. I am sorry. I dunno what was wrong with me Hormones, I suspect. That was then, and this is now. Just like Dororthy, if I ever go searching for my heart's desire again, I will search in my own back yard, cuz if it isn't there, I never really lost it in the first place.

Ok..gotta break for liquid refreshment...two fisted drinker this fabulous Friday..a bottle of H20, side by side with a deadly concoction of cranberry AND apple juice. Girls just want to have fun!

Later, Gator.

P.S.-did you hear the one from Mrs.God about the bloke with the steering wheel sticking out of his pants? He says"You gotta help me, Doc-it's driving me nuts!"...get it? Glorious is English..."it's driving me nuts",says the Magnaminous One. In the USA, we'd say," It's driving MY nuts." I think it's one of Glorious's better comments on the inconsistency of realities, don'tcha think?

Sorry, Mr, Warlock, I put my foot in it. I was knocking the bottle, not you. Please do not misunderstand my intentions. The bottle was not kind to me and for the majority of my life, it was a major player in my life. It scared me to see you post that you were so irritable when you were sober. I'm sure that you are a wonderful guy with or without being under the influence of alcohol. When I drank, I, too was fun to be around. I drank lots of Scotch...on the rocks, straight, in between beers. I did lots of stupid things...driving under the influence, flirting, and things that I won't go there in detail for, as it is all in my past, and no longer a part of my life.

When I was 28,38, even 48 years old, nobody could make me understand or believe that I didn't deserve the right to drink. I'd like a drink right now...a Chablis, or a Chardonnay...or a Corona w/Lime. But I won't give in to the temptation, as I no longer have the patience to tolerate myself, or those around me and the behavior that drinking promotes. I miss drinking...but I do not miss being drunk, nor being hung over, nor paying for the mistakes I had made when I was drunk. I only quit a little over a year ago. I still have a lot to learn, and I thought that I had learned not to try to help people. As to try and help them, is to try and change them, and we all know that the only person that you can change is yourself... It is like I told Billyjones at my wedding, when he told me that I was making the biggest mistake of my life, and begged me not marry the man that eventually practically ruined my life.

I told Billy, "I've got to make my own mistakes." (I knew it was a mistake, but went ahead and did it. Like my drinking.)

And, you, Adam, must make your own mistakes, as that is the only way we learn anything of any value. I had only wanted to put a bid in to spare you more pain than you have already suffered. But how you suffer, like everything else in your life, is up to you.

I apparently just got carried away, and I sincerely apologize for making you feel that I was attacking you, as opposed to attacking the bottle. I just know all the pain the bottle has brought into my life. I just thought that you had already had more than your fair share of pain. I meant well. Again, the comment was meant to knock the alcohol, not the man drinking the alcohol...I am truly sorry it made you and your lovely wife feel defensive. It's none of my business how you handle your pain. I only meant to help, but these are truths one must learn for oneself...they cannot be taught. Again, I am sorry.