It ain't amazing

Have you ever wanted to know what a garbage truck full of kittens sounds like when you drop the truck off the Empire State Building? Here ya go. Enjoy...or not.

Keeping watch

With the remnants of Tropical Storm Fay loitering around the Southeast, dropping lots of rain on the region, they've issued a flash flood watch for a goodly portion of northeast Georgia. In response I say, it's about goddamn time we got some rain. Bring it on...six inches, eight, twelve...it's doesn't matter, we need it. The main river through town which is our primary source for drinking water is way, way, way, way down. It's more of a creek than a river at the moment.

Things don't always go as planned

Recently I took a longer and more scenic route to work, as I needed to put gas in my car and the bank having just approved my small business loan, everything was a go to put half a tank in. Unfortunately on this particular day, I was frequently delayed in going from gas station to the deck where I park my car. On this morning the sororities on campus were starting their Panhellenic festivities, the process where girls visit different houses in hopes one will offer them a bid to pledge. I was about two car lengths behind a campus bus when it stopped in front of a sorority house. A long line of girls proceeded across the street, gathering on the walk leading up to the house. At the end of the line was a girl who stood out amongst the rest. I wouldn't say she was fat, but it this were a personal ad she'd fall into the "few extra pounds" category. Her physical frame was definitely larger than the rest of the bleached-blonde, sun-dress wearing preying mantis' who had gotten off the bus before her. She wasn't unattractive by no means, she just stood out from the rest, which isn't always a good thing in these types of circumstances. I hoped for the best for her, but it occurred to me that things don't always go as you plan them.

And that's been the case for me of late. For many months I had been looking forward to my trip to New York, my first visit back since 1978. I was concerned about a great many things leading up to the trip, such as trying to drive around an area that I really wasn't familiar with, the traffic, running out of money. For the past several years I've been thinking more and more of New York, my family there, and what my life would've been like if my family hadn't up and moved to Georgia many years ago. I was sure the trip would result in my thinking, it's a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there.

We flew into LaGuardia on a Thursday morning, caught a shuttle to the Enterprise car rental facility just outside the airport, where we were pleased to find out that our reservation had been upgraded because they were out of compact cars. We'd be traveling around Long Island in a Toyota Rav4, which was nice because it had plenty of room inside. I told myself to avoid the Long Island Expressway at all costs because of some pretty horrible accidents I've read about on there, but before I knew it I found myself driving on the LIE. Uh, oh.

But I managed to navigate me and the family out to Uniondale, where I used to live. I got to show my daughter the house where my family used to live, and was able to introduce her to a former neighbor who still lives in the same house after all these years. The next week was spent visiting stores looking for NY Giants and Islanders apparel, visiting cemeteries to pay my respects to my grandparents and great-grandparents, traveling into Manhattan and seeing Ellis Island and Times Square. During our trip we stayed with my aunt and her family on the north shore of Long Island. For the first couple of days there my uncle and his wife traveled up from Virginia to see us. It was as close to a family reunion as I could hope for, and it was great. All the while, I never felt like a pilgrim setting foot in a new land. I felt like I was home. As much as I thought this would be the trip that made me glad I didn't live there, it didn't work out that way. It was a wonderful visit, and it won't be thirty years before I go back, that's for certain. When I got back home I started checking job listings for the area, but moving back isn't really an option; it's just too expensive to live there.

A few days after we got back from our New York trip, my wife and I headed out of town again to attend my 25th high school reunion. My observations from my 20th reunion comprise one of my first blog posts. I can't say the event was very enjoyable for me. The planners chose to include three graduating classes--82, 83, & 84--to help spread the costs, which is a good idea. A few people whom I was hoping would show up didn't. On the other hand, I got to see a friend of mine who I hadn't seen in twenty-six years. In addition to high school, we were also in Cub Scouts together and played rec league soccer as well. It was good seeing him again and meeting his wife. But other than that, I didn't enjoy myself at all. I don't do well in groups of people I don't know, so all I wanted was to get out of there, which we did about an hour and a half after arriving. My wife was disappointed that I didn't have fun, but she understood completely why I wanted to leave.

In five years our 30th reunion will be coming up, but I'm not planning on attending. I'm in touch with the people I want to be in touch with. As for the rest, I'm sure you're good people but there's nothing connecting us other than we went to the same school. I'm not looking back anymore, and I'm okay with that.

Losing Faith

I'll admit to being a bit surprised and disappointed to read that my friend Todd Mitchell decided to close up shop at his Article of Faith blog. I really can't say I blame him, though. For three years he frequently posted his running commentary on the political issue of the day, and did so in a much more eloquent manner than I could. So that's one less blog I'll have to look forward to. Still, I'm sure I'll be seeing Todd again in the future. Actually, I know I will--he has monthly payments to make as I still have those incriminating photo negatives.

Sometimes it's not interesting

I've blogged before about how, to drown out the background, I listen to the local police scanner while at work. It can be very interesting, especially listening to transmissions during foot chases. Right now is not one of those interesting times.

About an hour before I wrote this the police received a call from someone who claimed that he had hurt his wife and was threatening to hurt himself. To make matters worse, this was in relation to an ongoing divorce proceeding. Long story short, the police made entry to the house a short while ago and reported two people with fatal headshot wounds. They're now in the process of contacting the next of kin. It pains me to know that in a little while someone will have their life thrown into upheaval as they find out their son or daughter was a victim of a murder -suicide. And then it will be splashed all over the front page of tomorrow's newspaper.