Fun Drive Home

 On my way home from work today there was a "dude" cutting through traffic in his Acura TL. Car looked nice and had a sporty sounding exhaust, but the way the guy was driving it was kind of ticking off the crotchety old man in me.

We ended up side-by-side at a light and he sat there revving his engine. I, of course, took it as a challenge, so I staged up. Foot on the brake and throttle down just enough to sit on the stall of the converter. Light turned green and my 4000 pound Mercury Grand Marquis put a couple of car lengths on him. I backed off at 60 and he passed me.

That was when the F250 beater that had been behind me whipped over and passed me too. He rolled up next to the Acura and they took off. This was where I got to really laughing because that shit box diesel F250 gapped that Acura like it was sitting still...twice. Amazing what a well tuned diesel will do.

Have a great weekend.

Another Trip Around the Sun

     Today marks my 52nd orbit. Had to renew my license and hear the nice lady say she was changing the hair color from BRN to GRY. Dammit. Oh well, like they always say "any day above ground is a good one."

     On the upside, I'm actually losing weight for the first time in my life. Down about 15 pounds so far with about thirty left to go.  Goal is to keep that A1c down in the mid 5's and maybe cut back or eliminate the BP meds for a while. Tired of taking pills. To be honest I've always hated exercise, so it really pains me to admit I feel better than I've felt in years, no scratch that, decades.

     On the writing front, I'm slowly making progress on things. Nothing to really share now. Work has kept my mind occupied way more than I like, which makes shifting into creative mode difficult at times. There are things working and things coming, I just can't nail down any timelines right now.

     Oh and the project cars and cars that keep making themselves into projects. One of the downsides to having a penchant for older cars is that they take a lot of TLC to keep on the road. Could I afford a new car? If there were any to have, probably. Do I want one? Not so much. Well, I mean I wouldn't turn down a new Mustang GT, but I don't think anyone is about to give me one. 

     Everyone take care of yourselves and those you love. Remember to be good, and if you can't be good, be sneaky.

-Wayne

Throwback Thursday

This is 16 year old me helping pull the reusable parts out of a buddy's 68 Mustang that was in a an accident. We called him Hoss. The parts went into another 68, called Hoss 2, which as coincidence would have it is still in his possession. Well some of it is. Over the years, this part or that has been scrounged from it until all that is left is the unibody, doors, trunk lid, and glass. 

Its a lot more solid than the 68 that is sitting beside my house. It has front floors for instance. This is a picture taken THROUGH the floor of my "complete" 68. 

My buddy offered me the car. I loved this car back in the day and I'm going to make sure it comes back in all it's glory...and then some. I mean we were kids when we built it the first time. Hoss 2 will be back. It may take me a few years, but it will happen.

Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to make the world's first bionic man car. Steve Austin Hoss 2 will be that man car. Better than he was before. Better... stronger... faster.

Doesn't that pic have the look of "Seriously? Just stop." LOL

-Wayne

Manic Monday

      I got to start my Monday with my HR hat on. Always a fun way to kick off the week. I looked at the clock on my pc about the time I got the last little bits nailed down from crises 1 through 3 only to realize it was time for lunch. Got an invite from OldNFO to go to a new cajun/seafood place called The Catch. An invitation I was more than happy to accept.  Blackened gator nuggets. So good.      

     Got back to my desk after lunch with Lawdog and OldNFO. Our conversations rambled across topics like they almost always do and ended with Lawdog listing all of the things he has to write that's due soon. It was one heckuva list. Mine's long, but dayum. That boy's got a lot on his plate, and so does OldNFO. Speaking of which, there's a new western novella out from the lattter of the two that can be found HERE.

     Oh and last thing for you guys. This weekend I got sent down a musical rabbit hole. Sat and listened to a lot of this guy's bass playing. Gonna have to see if he's putting of this out in album form somewhere.

 Y'all have a good week.

Wayne

     

I'm Busted

So I finally got my first one star review. It was on Here There Be Pirates, and it is glorious. I have to admit that at first I was mildly ticked off, but the more I thought about it the funnier it got. I clicked on the name of the reader and found that the one star review is his bread-and-butter. That's pretty much all he does. Please allow me to share it here in its entirety:

I read this. Then I thought about it for a while and realized that on Lawdog's recommendation, I'd spent $2 on what is apparently a comic book proposal written by a 10 year old kid. If there's a joke here, I missed it.

Eloquent ain't he? I stand by my original statement on this blog from way back when I started this whole thing with Tole's story from The Bar at the End of Everything. If you're looking for the next great literary classic, or hell even moderately decent writing, you're in the wrong place. I tell stories. I do not aspire to do anything else.

Now I would just like to say that if any comic book publishers are reading this, I AM more than willing to license out the character for a modest fee plus royalties.

Y'all be good, and if you can't be good, be sneaky.

-Wayne

Reflections of a Grumpy Old Man

      I'm a grumpy old bastard. I'll admit it. It seems, though, that I have been getting progressively grumpier over the last ten years or so. The other morning as I was getting ready for work, I made eye contact with myself in the mirror and came to a realization. I was not always the angry, cynical, pessimistic shit that I am now. In my younger days, I was a much happier guy. I've always struggled with depression, but that's a separate issue. My general outlook on life was brighter. My view of the world was much more positive. I was, in general, content. I miss being that guy.

      I spent the rest of that morning reflecting on what could have possibly been the cause of my shift. Could there be a single root cause? Sure, since I got married 24 years ago, I don't hang out in pool halls anymore. Thanks to the stalemate in my fight to the death with my pancreas, I don't/can't drink. I gave up smoking when my kiddos came along. But, all of those things weren't what made me happy. They've all been replaced with things that give me just as much contentment and joy as any of them did.

      Once upon a time, I harbored dreams of amassing wealth and maybe some modicum of fame. Neither of those came to pass, but hell, a lot of people have that dream. I found that I can, and do, make a difference with people every day in almost every job I've had, and I'm good with that.

      None of those things rang out as the reason for me to be so damned angry so often, but as I continued my backward journey one thing finally jumped out as decidedly different between then and now...political awareness. As I have become more and more politically aware and more and more involved and invested in the process, I have also become more and more agitated and quick to anger.

      Add to that the last, oh, 12 years or so of people screaming at each other and the whole damned thing becoming less and less productive and more and more about thwarting any and everything the other side is trying to do. The rise of "social" media is just keeping it all in your face 24/7.

      The big question is "What do I do about it?"

      I'm still working on that.

      In the meantime, I'm also working on just keeping my big mouth shut and walking away when I feel anger rise. It's not fair to lay it out on people who didn't cause it and don't deserve it.

      Hopefully peace and contentment are somewhere ahead of me. I know my family would be glad to see it.

-Wayne