one of the flock

I haven't thought of Old Hoss in months now, filing his memory away with others who have influenced me in some way or another to be who I am today. The tenacity of this gentleman was amazing, even when he found himself in ill health. His last swing across the country started with a bloggers convention in...you guessed it..Vegas. Then he went hopping from town to town with his oxygen and guardian angels at stops along the way and spent some quality time with us. When I first "met" Gene his wife was dying of Lou Gehrig's and they were in a nursing home together. Following her death, he went out on his own and became quite the famous elderblogger. Nothing on weekends usually. He was too busy bird watching or speech writing or hell raising. I miss you buddy.

It's now day 2 of a protracted soggy gray cloud with intermittent rain. Maybe sitting in front of this energy efficient squiggly bulb will give me some SADD relief. However, a nice beach visit would probably do just as nicely. We'll see if there's any left after paying all the people. We are falling into a natural rhythm around here with our work shifts overlapping just enough for the moment. We are both single and about to become equal roommates financially. To say that I am mighty proud is an understatement.

I used to have these really bad anxiety attacks, mostly when I was in the "oh shit is that what that's about!" stages of therapy. The day I knew I was losing control was when my family and I were riding across a bridge in the gulf and I grabbed the steering wheel, freaked that we were going over. Celexa took care of that and most of my other worries. When I find myself burdened now, I try thinking about myself as just one of the many sheep wandering around lost looking for some affirmation for SOMETHING to believe in. We are bombarded with so much bad news that it's easy to just sit down and cry. One of our county's largest employers today announced a planned shutdown in May affecting some six hundred workers. God bless China, right?

I have never claimed to be the right one. All I have ever expected was to be treated as an equal and have my opinions respected. The hate mongering that is a part of US politics in today's techno-advanced world is absurd. How about spending that money on some food and healthcare for the underserved, ya'll? As a believer, one of the greatest sins to me is greed, because it is all about self preservation. That is what I enjoy so much about Colbert's persona. The arrogance is just flaming and crazy funny. Might as well laugh, huh?

Sometimes, it's good to be an old fart. Right Hossie?

^j^