... completely go away. I strained my wrist at work last night. Old baseball injury. I can't remember specifically if it was from sliding, getting hit by a pitch, diving for the ball or running into a wall trying to catch a fly ball. Obviously it had happened more than once.

I can't find my wrist brace, so I'll have to forgo workouts for a few days. Luckily, that won't stop me from my yoga. It's a good thing I'm ambidextrous.

Life is too short and we don't always get the chance to say those things that should have been said:


~

There he stood. To say he hadn't changed would be a lie. His beard is now grey, there were lines and creases on his face and he wore a hat to cover his bald pate. But his voice and laugh were just as I remembered. We shook hands, then hugged. Growing up, guys never hugged, it just wasn't macho. It seems we've both overcome that bit of childhood idiocy.

We walked the streets of the town we grew up in, telling a few stories as I told hm where the old shops used to be and what they've become. It was misting rain, but we didn't seem to notice. Walking and talking was all that mattered.

Next, we got into my car and drove around for a while, then stopped for coffee. The old wit was still there as we joked with our waitress. Finally I dropped him at his hotel. We shook hands in goodbye, promising to not wait another 35 years to see each other.

I drove away, thinking about how much I'd missed my friend. Life sometimes separates those you hold dearest to your heart, but there is joy in the meeting once more.

Today I was thinking about what we said to each other, about dreams unfulfilled. I think my friend said it best:

We've been through a ton of shit, but we're both still here... survivors. And that should make us feel good about life.

Until next time, my brother, I'll keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

So long... for now!

~

I'm getting ready to go meet an old, dear friend of mine this afternoon. I haven't seen the guy in over 35 years. Man, did we ever run the streets back in the day. Sincerely looking forward to this!

I heard a cover of the original song by Toto by Weezer on three different radio stations on my way home from work last night. Very close to the hit song. An excellent homage:


~

On NN you can show anything. On FB, apparently not. Burt Reynolds passed away 9/6. A woman I know tried to post the famous centerfold of Burt nude, with his hand covering his privates. She was denied. So I tried to post the same centerfold and was told it violates their nudity rules. Well then, they should take a look at their messaging section. I get rally graphic videos and pics sent to me from friends all the time. I protested their denial of a picture which, by today's standard, is pretty tame. Too bad there isn't a comment section on that, or I'd let them have it for being hypocritical.

FB said they would review the photo, but I'm not expecting anything different with the result. Thank God for places like NN which are a little more (little? HAH!) more open minded.

End of rant.

~

The last few days have been around 90 degrees, with high humidity. A cold front moved in last night and, along with rain moving up from the latest hurricane, we will have lots of rain, with temperatures in the 70's. Finally, Fall is only two and a half weeks away!

I have a friend who, on FB, likes to contradict my postings. She likes to think that because she has lived all over the world she knows more about anything I write about.

Oddly, whenever I disprove her contradictions, she doesn't say a word.

I suppose I'll take that as a win.

I know you've heard it all before and probably have become immune or apathetic about the situation, but drugs really are a big problem in the U.S. and have been for years. Meth and Oxy use are on the rise and heroin is making a huge comeback in useage. My little hometown has become the meth capitol of our state, no kidding.

A little history:

My hometown has been long associated with a book written in the 1920's about Middletown, U.S.A. Yes, the name stuck and we have been used as an example of the average town every since. To this day, people are always looking at what goes on here as an example of what goes on in the average town across the country.

Drugs first arrived here as popular use in the late 1960's, when I was in high school. Everywhere you went in town you could find pot. Soon, LSD and other drugs crept in. I smoked a lot of pot in the beginning. We kind of all did. It was the late 60's and everyone was experimenting. Like most other kids my age, the usage went down as we came of legal age to drink. Even then, I noticed that younger kids were smoking more and taking other drugs at an earlier age.

Flash forward 30 years. The two main factories in town close. People leave town to pursue work in other towns. Left behind are those who have to work at low paying jobs. Crime and drug use rises. My hometown has become a college town, dependent on the money of young people. Every day in the local newspaper, there are stories of drug arrests, domestic abuse and murder.

I know quite a few people I grew up with who have been through rehab. Luckily, I last smoked pot 33 years ago and besides the occasional drink on the weekend, i don't feel the need to escape reality. I have a job and a decent place to live.

As I grow closer to retirement, I struggle with wondering whether I should leave these problems behind and move away, or whether I should stay and fight to reclaim the town i grew up in and still love.

Yes, drugs are here. Don't turn a blind eye to what's going on around you. If it affects your surroundings, it affects YOU.

~

They don't make them lie this any more:


From 1952.