Posts (page 2)
How have you changed in the past year?
Submitted by littleduckling.
Many, many things are now settled that were once in doubt; I'm healthier; happier and more in love with my wife than ever; more comfortable in my skin.
RG...out!
I saw this here and thought it looked interesting. 1) What was I doing 10 years ago? I had been in Las Vegas for 2 years and was already planning a move back to San Diego. 2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today? 3) Snacks I enjoy: Chocolate; cookies; fruit with fruit dip; chips; 4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire: Give ten percent of it away; bank most of the rest and live off of the interest. 5) Places I have lived: 6) Jobs I have had: 7) Bloggers I am tagging who I will enjoy getting to know better: Everyone in my neighborhood!!! RG...out!
In a previous post I mentioned that my granddaughter, Ocean, is "feloniously cute."
Midnight Low tide I'm sleepless Dreams escape me Holding on 'Til dawn comes Blowing in On a cruel wind When did love go away In the night I long for you Been down In lonely town Cold streets Empty faces I'm broken The night rolls in Blowing in On a cruel wind Who hears me when I cry In the night I'll cry for you So tired Another mile I'm hopeless Peace escapes me Hanging on I'm fading fast I'm blown along By a cruel wind When did you go away In the night I searched for you Rainstorm Coming on Blinded Sight eludes me My heart aches Someone speaks Small voice On a cruel wind "I'll never leave your side In the night I'll carry you" Through the pain of a broken heart When my world is torn apart Your love goes on and on Down a string of empty years Through the night Through all my tears Your love goes on and on
After having our three year-old granddaughter for four days my wife and I have come to a new understanding as to why you have children when you're young!!!!
He was just a little guy. Standing there in line between two extremely tall men, he looked terribly tiny and lost. He wore jeans, bright red athletic shoes, a Los Angeles Lakers sweatshirt and baseball hat turned around backwards. He kept leaning around the tall, tall man in front of him as if checking on how much longer he would have to wait. I sat but a few feet away observing the scene, and at one point, his bright, inquisitive eyes found mine. Raising his eyebrows as if in amazement, he smiled and held up a twenty-dollar bill for me to see. I whistled and returned the smile giving him a thumbs-up in the process. When he finally reached the front of the line, his eyes barely cleared the counter. In fact, the two Baristas working the registers didn’t see him for the longest time and kept calling other customers ahead of him. He turned a hurt and fearful gaze toward his father who sat a short distance away at a table along the window. The dad nodded his encouragement and the little guy turned as if to make one more attempt at ordering. It was a big day. It was the day he’d been waiting for a long time. The day when he would get to order the very manly drinks by himself. With twenty dollars. His twenty dollars. Earned by himself through the labor of his hands. And here he was in position to do just that, but the two cute young ladies towering above his head didn’t even notice him. His lip began to tremble ever so slightly and he looked once more toward his father for assistance. As before, the dad merely smiled and nodded his encouragement. The boy stretched his arms straight out from his side and let them fall, slapping against his thighs as if to say, “I’m not having any luck here, dad. What should I do now?” A kindly soul who was next in line noticed the young lad’s plight and said, “Ladies, I think you’ve got a paying customer down here,” as he pointed to the boy. One of the Baristas leaned way over the counter and said, “Well, hello there, I didn’t see you. Would you like something to drink?” With a grin that threatened to split his face open, he said in a very clear, grown-up voice, “One tall coffee and one tall decraff...decanated...” his brow screwed up in puzzlement and he turned to his father one last time for support. “Decaffeinated,” his father provided. “Yeah...what my dad said.” “All right,” said the Barista. “And what is your name?” “Andy,” said he. “All right, Andy I’ll get that right up for you.” I’ve never seen someone more eager to part with money except perhaps in the instance of going shopping with my daughter when she was still in high school. She brought the coffees back and sat them on the counter, being careful to warn the youngster that the cups were extremely hot. “In fact,” she said, “I’m going to double-cup those coffees andput sleeves on them.” I’m not sure if he had the slightest idea of what she was talking about, but after paying for the drinks and returning his change very carefully to his front pocket, he accepted the drinks into his hands as if they were a treasure of great price. “Come again, sweetie,” said the smiling Barista as he walked cautiously toward his dad. And for the next half hour he sat there with his dad drinking a manly brew and talking about manly things, his grin set aside only for the sake of making faces when taking in a mouthful of the strange tasting liquid. It made me recall younger days when, under my uncle’s tutelage I learned how to properly prepare and consume a cup of coffee. Of course, no lesson in coffee consumption would have been complete without my uncle repeating one of his favorite coffee-time jokes which said, “Did you hear about the guy who went blind drinking coffee with sugar and cream?” To which the other men would reply somewhat seriously, “No. How did that happen?” And with scarcely concealed relish, my uncle would deliver the punch line. “He forgot to take the spoon out.” I didn’t get that joke until I was well into my high school years. Of course, I always dutifully laughed right on cue because I was a boy among men and the men were laughing as if it was the funniest thing they’d ever heard. Gazing fondly at the big spender and his dad, I had such a melancholy ache in my soul and at first, I couldn’t figure out why. Then I put it together. My uncle was the most important man in my life. Someone I loved. Someone who was more of a dad to me than many biological fathers are to their sons. I saw myself in that little boy as I saw my uncle in that loving father. On my way out, I stopped and said to that young father, “You’re doing a good thing here, sir.” He grinned and said sincerely, “Why, thank-you. I learned it from my dad.” I bid them both a farewell and continued on my way. As I climbed into my car, I recalled hearing someone say recently, “When someone is facing their last hours on earth, you never hear them complain about wishing they’d spent more time at the office.” Nor will you ever hear them say, “When my son was little I spent way too much time with him.” Driving out of the parking lot, I held my cell phone to my ear just in time to hear my uncle’s raspy voice saying hello in his easy-going way. “How are you doing?” I asked. “Oh, I’m doing pretty good,” came his typically buoyant reply. Me too, uncle. HAPPY FATHER'S DAY (in advance) RG...out!
Staring at the blank computer screen as if willing something pithy, something brilliant to appear.
If you had to write your autobiography in 6 words, what would you write?
Submitted by mitzie.
Broken by the fall...mended, free.
RG...out!
Look at the first post you ever wrote on Vox. What important developments or changes have occurred in your life since then?
Submitted by Alexandra.October 14, 2006.
1. We were ten days away from going to Barcelona for 6 1/2 weeks.
2. I had no idea how I was going to get my work published.
3. We were contemplating moving back to San Diego.
4. My grandson hadn't been born.
June 4, 2008
1. Barcelona is a wonderful memory.
2. I own my own publishing company.
3. We're staying in Las Vegas.
4. Diego is 1 1/2 and thinks his "Poppa" is wonderful. :-)
RG...out!
How many houses have you lived in? How is where you live now different from where you grew up?
I've lived in 18 houses. I hate moving!!!
Where I live now (Las Vegas) is about as different from where I grew up (Monterey Bay in California) as it could possibly be. Monterey Bay is like the Garden of Eden with agriculture, beaches, mountains and Redwood forests, Mediterranean climate. And Vegas is...well, not that.
RG...out!
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