The Phone Rings both Ways

Have you ever had a situation where you really didn't want to deal with someone, so you just don't call and then they call you and say, I haven't heard from you.

Well I have.

All I can say is that the phone rings both ways!

A Return from Paradise

Why is it that everytime I return from a weekend in San Francisco I feel so empty. Well, I guess that's a pretty rethorical question, now that I think about it. But really! I drive down there, I see a number of old friends, which I did do this time and I come back to Tuolumne County feeling completely empty.

I know my time up here is “God’s Country” is limited. I also know I’m a time bomb waiting to explode, which is not good. And, I also know that it is very difficult to get me motivated to do things. Yes, it’s true. I would rather lay on my bed, nappping than cleaning out Dad’s closet. Although, I guess anyone would rather do that. I guess it’s just that I know a number of things I could do now to make later, or whenever easier. It’s just that I don’t.

I suppose I should make a list of everything that needs to be done and just work down it. Period. End of story, but that seems so easy. I think I would much rather procrastinate and put it off until the very last minute. My nature?

Yeah, I guess it my nature, but it might be human nature too. I can only hope so and thereby redeem myself of being quite so odd.

I don’t know. I need to figure this one out though.

Do you believe?

Well, it seems that today is Easter Sunday.

What seems fascinating to me is that children actually believe in the Easter Bunny and Christians actually believe Christ arose from the dead...that may be a bold statement for many people believe in many fantasies.

Now I feel, and have always felt for the most part, that without organized religion our world, or country, would be chaos. Religion has it's part in creating a right and wrong, what is good and what is bad or a black and white and even a gray or grey. There is nothing wrong with that at all. Many people in this world need some sort of "belief" or "guidelines" in their lives. But aren't we overdoing it just a little? Or is it by some galactic positioning that this year's Easter Sunday is a "super duper holy day!"

I say that in the trail of USA Today's article, "How Easter and Christianity undermine Atheism". USA Today went on to say, "Because aside from all the logical arguments for God's existence and all the miracles and all the truths contained in Scripture, one simple fact remains: 2,000 years ago, on that first quiet Easter Sunday morning, Christ did rise". Now mind you this article was an opinion piece, yet not labeled as such. So I would take this as actual reporting of the news. This writer has made two assumptions; that Scripture is the Holy word of God and that there was a resurrection of Christ. I suppose being an American, we are all to believe this to be fact.

In another article, the writer spoke of the Second Coming of Christ being seen on Twitter and other forms of social networking. I personally think this is a wee bit far fetched but the "Holy Bible" says, "...every eye shall see him" and I guess, if an eye is reading their tweets, then it will be interrupted with coverage of the 2nd Coming. How terrific that is. We probably won't even have to wait until the middle of the night to see it, like we will next week for the Royal Wedding. I bet it will be simultaneously broadcast in whatever time zone one lives in.

Call me cynical but I do believe we all have a higher power - it just may be called something different but I also believe tolerance is more needed in this world today, even on my part, than Easter Bunnies or re-enactments of the crucifixion being headlines as Prime Time events.

Just a thought from someone who thinks as eternity is the time between now and bedtime.

The RING THAT TIME HEALS....

I never really thought about why I still wear my X's ring. Although, I really love it, it no longer conjures the same feelings it did.

However today, I looked at my hand and saw hope. Yes, for the first time, Hope that one day I will have another relationship even better and longer that the one for which the titanium ring I continue to wear symbolized.

It is totally amazing when we can shift our minds and remove all the essence of the old and look to the future - especially with an object. Now, maybe I should be repeating, "I am worthy, I am worthy, I am good". but now, I just look at my left hand, treasure the 6, well almost 7 years and it somehow doesn't have the same meaning it did. Amazing.

Jerry Herman wrote in probably his best song ever, from Mack and Mabel: "Time Heals Everything, Tuesday, Thursday, Time heals everything, April, August, if I'm patient, the break will end and one fine morning the hurt will end.

So make the moments fly, autumn, winter. I'll forget you by next year, some year, though it's hell that I'm going through,some Tuesday, Thursday, April, August, Autumn, Winter, next year, some year.

Time heals everything, time heals everything,...but loving you...So make the moments fly, autumn, winter, I'll forget you by next year some year, ,though it's hell that I'm going through, some Tuesday, Thursday, April, August, Autumn Winter, Next year some year, Time Heals everything, times heals everything but loving you.
My absolute favorite version is sung by the great Barbara Cook.

But we can shift our perception of things. Now the ring is a joy to look at, knowing in the future, I may just have a more meaningful relationship than the last one. It's odd, because after 3.5 years, I'm finally getting over that relationship and they say it takes half the amount of time in the relationship. So here's to the future. L'amore, l'amore! Let time continue to heal everything! Because I now that something is coming, don't know when, but it's soon and I'll catch the catch!

The Real Trip

What a whirlwind trip. On Saturday morning, after a disappointing phone consultation with Apple support, they were kind enough to tell me my exploded MacBook battery would not be covered. I would expect as much. The good part is that there is null effect to using it in its exploded fashion.

The City was bustling. It was clear, crisp and beautiful. I left the house at 11:30 and proceeded down my list. Number 1 - Sacred Herbs on Valencia Street. Wow! I have never seen more herbals packed into such a small space crowded with so many people. I found the two essences I wanted and picked up a stick of Palo Santo. Amazing store. I could browse all day in there.

Then off to Tap Plastics, Mr. S. (unfortunately there is no hope for my huge leather pants.) I was surprised to find the price for a new pair was $384.! Zowie! I won’t be buying any of them soon. I could probably make two pairs outs of my own.

South of Market seemed to be to my liking so off to 5th & Mission Garage where I found the 6t h floor to be empty. I walked over to Virgin…it was gone! I’d forgotten they went out of business. I took off to the Apple Store across Stockton Street. I must have spent over an hour in there, looking, learning and playing with new toys.

Back for one more stop, a bite to eat and the next thing I knew it was 3:30 pm and I was on the Bay Bridge going East.

The City was very different for me this time. It left me feeling quite lonely – out of touch and once again, as I was in 1991 – socially isolated. Don’t get me wrong, I loved every minute of it. The fog, the taste of the Hetch Hetchy water. All of it!

What was interesting was on Friday night I hooked up with an old friend and went over a little after midnight. It was great, I hadn’t seen his new house – which was minimalist to say the least but with the greatest views of the city, and a signed Peter Max hanging over the head as well as a really cool Lichtenstein. Needless to say, great house.

We talked for a while, had a drink, busy banter, busy banter. All of a sudden he said. “We should get in the hot tub” I said, “What?” He and his partner had put in a 6 seater in the back yard. How they got that in, I’ll never know.

The fog was still in the air, when we raced from the back door down all the way to the back fence with 30° wind gusts. The thought of taking off my little terry robe was not sitting well. Well, we stripped and jumped into the most wonderful envelope of warmth I had hardly seen. With the mist of the famous San Francisco fog overhead spraying on my face, it was, needless to say, ”Incredible”. As the house sat just under the fog-line. Almost the same elevation as where I first lived on West Parkside. The difference in water and air was the perfect medium.

As I looked up into the sky, I immediatly saw Plieides through the mist, then Orion, and what I think was Mars. Phenomenal! I don’t think he believed me.

Shpongle continued to play when we smoked a cigarette and went back into the house.

I practiced some of my newly learned massage tricks on his gastrocnemius muscles. It was really a special evening. I stumbled back to Mark’s around 4:30 because I really wanted to get some things done that day and I knew if I hung out any longer I wouldn’t.

I didn’t then, but now think of it as a wonderfully different experience from the times before. Never, in 15 years of living in the City had I even come near a hot tub.

Back in the ‘90s my friends were all poor – in their thirties and not yet privy to the Options from Google and the like that would be slopped upon them.

Sometimes I wonder why my timing has always been bad. Had I sold in LA maybe 9 months later, I would have ended up with about $350,000 rather than $171,000. With the house in Sonora, as well. And I never should have moved from 206 Diamond St.

Enough of bad luck though. I decide my destiny, not my luck.