I have a friend who is a step mom and rather than bore you with details, here are the highlights.

Her stepdaughter lives with my friend and her husband full time and she struggles whenever she introduces or speaks of her step daughter - and this has been going on for awhile.

Because of the stepdaughter’s mom, she was sent to live with the dad in a more stable home.

Step daughter is 18 and starting college this fall.

Anyway - I told my friend that I see her struggle with how to introduce her step daughter because, I think that she should refer to her as her daughter.

I suggested she talk it over with said step daughter and I just received an email letting me know that they are officially calling eachother Mom and Daughter.

I teared up.

How beautiful is that.

I mean………seriously…….our self esteems are based so much on how our parents are with us and this 18 yr old girl has had it tough - and when she was sent to live with the dad, the blood mom broke off all contact with her.  That’s not love.  Never in a million years is that love.

So, my email was a big thank you for bringing it up and suggesting how to discuss the topic with her DAUGHTER!…..this 18 year old girl has become such a good young lady since she moved in with her dad and new MOM.

I’m proud of my friend for asking and I’m proud of this 18 year old I’ve met only once for being open to feeling and being loved.

Love is a choice we all make to have in our lives.

==============

For those of you waiting on my “dating story” - i’m finishing that up.  But, I’ll give you a hint.  One of the people in this story has been given the name - “W h i t e   S u p r e m ac i s t    G i r l” - and she aint no superhero - that’s for sure……and her superpower is HATE and sharing it with others.

Work.

Busy - but good.  Very Busy.

Goal.

Aside from being the best dad in the world for my daughter, a better son and brother and uncle and cousin and friend - To have my own show headlining at a small coffee shop and go out and about a little when i hit the boston area in the fall.

Dream.

To have a house.  With a yard.  With grass.  A tree.  A little playground.  A smile on my face.  Filled with love.  And pictures.  And love.  And special times.  Precious moments in time.  Lines showing growth on a wall.  Tears of joy.  Tears of love.  Tears of hope.  Tears of pride.  Tears of pain.  Tears of a clown (ok, i threw that in there for a chuckle).  A barbecue.  Nice neighbors.

—————-

I’m going to write an ‘unpublished’ blog about dating.  I finally decided to take a step in that direction.  And, you’ll be surprised…….and mortified with the results.  Understand, what I will write is true.  If you’re interested in that - put a little comment in here and i’ll shoot it off to you or I’ll post it for a very brief period of time to be seen. 

Didnt we see something like that in the movies back in the late 70s/early 80s?

Didn’t Bear Stearns say all was well and had plenty of cash when, the reality was, no one wanted to work with them?

Ok folks - I do not believe.

I do not believe.

Hey - did you check out my shoe pictures below yet?

Is Mike going to go McCain or Barack now that Hillary is OUT!

So - these are my brown shoes.

Bought in August, 2002, these shoes have been through a lot with me and logged mileage all over Europe.

If they could talk they’d have so many things to say.

Many times they were the very thing that kept my feet moving one step at a time - the unknown unseen friend that reminded you to keep on keepin’ on.

“I was there when your baby was born.”
“I was there when you were singing the love boat theme on the gondola while in Venice, Italy and then the neighbors from up above started throwing things at you - hahahahaha - that was funny.”
“I was there when you went throughout Europe not knowing anyone and ended up seeing the branch manager from the bank you went to as a kid about 1/3 mile from The Coliseum.”
“I’ve been there through countless work re-organizations.”
“But most of all…..I’ve just been there.  Your dutiful servant.  Always ready to serve you as needed.”

I’ll miss these shoes - I even wrote an ‘homage’ song to them that talks to the ‘end of life’ of an old man and the old man’s family surrounds him and there are those brown shoes he asked to be buried in and can be seen going toward the light wearing those brown shoes.

Oh - my brown shoes.

 

 

1.  Barack -
He was in a church on Father’s Day talking about father’s who fail their children by not being there at all……like - yeh, i shagged with her, had a kid, but dont want to take any responsibility for it.

Folks - those ’seed-givers’ exist.  I know one woman here in VA who got divorced and her ex has gotten re-married.  They have a daughter, but now he’s looking to give up all of his rights to his daughter.  His daughter didnt do anything to him and he’s just walking away.  He doesnt realize now that he’s going to really do a number on her in the future.

I hope that he somehow turns around, but, man….the paperwork is in process right now so that he’ll sever any rights he has for her.

Barack - can you do something for the good dads out there?  I need your help.  And, others like me need your help.  Please.

2.  New camera - and have some new photos - really good ones.

3.  Father’s Day - I fell asleep after dropping my daughter off with her mom.
We spent the day together doing:
- Breakfast with my daughter at the local diner
- Gave her a bath and then we went on our way to a Waterfront Festival
- At the waterfront festival we went on many rides including:
Ferris Wheel, very slow train, some dragon thing that goes in circle but goes up and down a little fast, and mary went on her own on a swing thing, a car thing that went in a circle (the car didnt move) and a few other rides.  Good times.  Really good times.
- We put on sunscreen, but, when she put mine on, i was missing it like….all around my five-head - so….i’m fair in the middle of my five-head and read on each widow peak side. - it’s funny to see.  And, my friends at work have had a little fun at my expense.  :)   It’s all good.

3.  There’s other stuff, but I just cant think of it off the top of my head.

I fell asleep last night about 8 pm.

On the day, I had an issue with work causing me to be on conf calls for about 6 hours.

I was a bit tired and went down pretty fast.

I woke up to the TV still on and Oprah talking - now, I’m not an O fan - but, she did have on a fascinating guest - and, O does A LOT to help others so…..i don’t have to like the show but i do like what she does for others. 

So - I’m going to let someone else do the talking.

Go here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo

I do believe that if you have some time to remember the importance of life and maybe you’re looking for a little help on time management, give this a watching.  If you’re not happy with what you see and hear and feel it was a waste of your time - let me know and I’ll work on re-imbursing you for your time.

If you’ve gotten to this point, that means you didnt click on the link yet. 

So, get going….like NOW.

I’ve got nothing else to say.

 

So - I’m 38 and pushing 39 pretty fast - like, a few wks fast.

Here’s an article on yahoo.com:  http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Tiger-Woods-ambassador-of-sports-except-for-ho?urn=nhl,85795

The author’s name is in there so I’m not giving him any extra google play by being mentioned on this blog.

This article is about a couple of things:

1.  Tiger Woods making a statement - paraphrased - I dont think folks watch hockey anymore
2.  The author writes how Wayne Gretzky ‘rushed to the defense’ of Tiger when someone questioned whether golf had athletes
3.  The author openly questions why Tiger would “DISS” Wayne Gretzky and the Hockey League.

Well - let’s face some facts here.

1.  People dont really watch hockey here in the US.  My boss does, but he’s in the minority.
2.  The author is a baffoon trying to start something with his article so that he can get his name out there and possibly start a ’shouting match’ with his wit - his NITWIT that is - and hopefully land himself a career as a broadcaster or become more syndicated for more cash.

More and more when athletes say “I dont read the articles” - I believe them. 
Why should they?
Many writers try to make a name for themselves with trashy drivel and get on TV.  And there are some on TV who are just dolts - insert the name Keith Olber_ _ _ here.  Note, I left out the M - A - N part because he’s no man.  Just another Tool looking to get an audience that won’t have him.

Well folks - I just call it as a I see it.

Rubbish.

I’m hearing a lot of rubbish.

Read this article here:
http://www.nypost.com/seven/05302008/news/nationalnews/more_holy_mess_for_obama_113146.htm

Now - I know it’s the NY Post.  But hey….It is what it is.

Anyway - we have this ’spritual advisor’ to Barack Obama and his previous one he had to disown in his quest for the Presidency.

Now we have this Catholic priest - at least I think he’s Catholic - getting mixed up in this and the photo op had Jesse Jackson in the background as he spoke - unless it’s a file photo.

Regardless - I have to say this - and I was raised as a Catholic - What Gives?

What have the Catholic priests done with the issues that have caused heartache in the church.

I never personally experienced the trauma that I’ve seen in the news or read in the papers.  But, where does this minister stand on the Catholic Church and hush money or the outright hiding of priests who did these horrible things.

But, his comment about Hillary and his perception of her pulling up the race card - from within her.  I don’t know  And, I don’t care.

I will say this.  I met a woman recently who on the surface appeared to be one thing and then, she turned into another.  In SECONDS.

Our conversation was a bit all over the place and I was with my friends and she her friends and, while I’m not going to say all the things she said, she started off her conversation letting me know she’s not a r*cist - note i’ve put the * in there so no one does a search under the word and pops up my blog - but, this woman was a walking definition of it.

Sad to meet people like that in the world.

Very sad.

 

So -

I was working, playing my guitar and then this came to me.  It literally just shot out of my head to papers using red ‘magic marker’ ink.

—————————————————

         Grey

I thought of Oklahoma
And dreamt out by the bay
I screamed in California
But it’s all gone away

I squeezed out juice from a tangerine
I cried out once in pain
But no one heard a single tear
Cuz they had gone away

I sat at a table with a racist punk
Spewed anger, hate and pain
So I got up and I walked out
And then I went away

I am gray
I am gray
I am gray
I am gray

Sealed inside my trance-like state
Alone now by the fire
My clay dog sits right by my side
not too far away

I drive and drive ’til I reach the end
But it’s not really the end
I am not cold I am not warm
My mood set to away

I am gray
I am gray
today, today
I am gray

Where are you Oklahoma
And dreams that have all passed
I lie awake alone to shake
Everything away

Where are you California
& San Francisco Bay
I want a way to feel again
But I have turned away

I am gray
I am gray
I am gray
I am gray
I am gray
I am gray
I am gray
I am gray