the New OK

I know I should be more worried about climate change. In my lifetime, the damage is done. There is no overcorrecting that is going to see any impact on what time I still have left on Earth. 

But you know, it was 63° F yesterday.  In February. In Cleveland!

There is zero chance of Lake Erie freezing over this year. Or any of the Great Lakes for that matter. Zero. 

Still - 63. 

I broke Shep out of daycare early. Dressed in running shorts and a t-shirt (me, not him), we took a hike, though the temps had plummeted to 60. It felt chillier in the shade, but in the sun it was great. I was planning on a smaller hike, but we did a much larger one because.....warmth!

No doubt we will have colder weather, but we are about halfway through "winter" with one bad snow and a few sub-zero days. 

We're not closer to solving climate change - clearly - so for now I'll enjoy what I can. 

Song by: Drive-By Truckers

Loser

Once again, or still, I'm over the news and world events and politics. And even the Grammys. Maybe especially. 

The GOP and their failures to even set up the Dems for 2024 is a little astonishing. Their failure to impeach anything is humourous. But when they fail, they usually come back harder and meaner, if possible. 

I am kind of surprised they can impeach a Senate (not House) approved Chair. Or is it just all for show even if they could get the votes?  Does it mean anything, really? 

The dismantling of a workable immigration plan just to make the current administration look bad is just sad. Sadder is, should it (have) work(ed), I'd like to think any debate moderator and any newspaper editor could bring it up at Primary and General Election time. 

Of course, not only will they not do that, voters hear / believe what they want to - on both side of the aisle. I'd state more on the GOP side, but I don't have anything to really back that up - unless you use Kentucky as a perfect example. 

They are heavily Republican and the biggest user of social programs for the poor and have two Republican senators who vote against their interests and needs - and they keep electing them. They see "others" as the problem. Moscow Mitch has been their senator for 36+ years and yet the poor are still poor and hungry. 

It's nice to know the appeals court(s) side with the DOJ on BLOTUS' immunity. But that is a set-up for SCOTUS who refused to hear the case when the DOJ requested it months ago. Now it has to go there (presumably) - to be voted on by three BLOTUS appointees.  .....and you know they won't recuse themselves.  Fuckers. 

And then the Grammys.  Everyone's talking Tracy Chapman - and good for her that she achieved the #1 and 2 downloads on Apple Music; along with the #1 song - 36 years later. I had the opportunity to see her open for 10,000 Maniacs before her debut disk even was released. It was something!

But no, I'm talking fucking Jay-Z.  

Somehow he equates his wife having more Grammys than anyone (seriously, how did THAT happen), but bemoaning she didn't get Album of the Year.   ....as if having more automatically entitles you to more. This is a woman who covered "White Christmas" and attempted to get songwriting credit on it. 

He blames the Grammys, when he should be blaming the voters - who are recording artists. Well Mr Z, if they didn't think she was the best, taking it up with them, not the Grammys governing body. And as recording artists, maybe give them the credit to say they know their craft and what they think might be good. Or better. 

And like Kanye who did this to Taylor Swift and someone from the Wu Tang Clan did it years before to Shawn Colvin. Basically shitting over other people's triumphs - live! - to make your statement on how the others aren't good enough. 

Like the GOP, you're sore losers. It's not enough to have about $3 BILLION dollars between Jay-Z and his wife, and more Grammys than anyone else - it just has to be more !  

And if you're doing what you're doing for awards, you are no longer artists. You're only worried about your brand, not your art. 

I liked Dua Lipa's opening though. 

Song by: Grateful Dead

Funny

It's a 'nonsense' day. 

I was going to write about running and then thought better of it. You can thank me later. 

So why not do a video clip?  Not music, just a funny vid. 

I like Judd Apatow enough, but sometimes not enough. I never bothered to see This is 40, which reprises Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann as their married characters from Knocked Up.  Well, I assume they reprise them. Again, I've never seen it. 

While they were pleasant enough in Knocked Up, at least from this clip, Melissa McCarthy is the star. 

What you'll see is an improvised outtake of a scene. Gotta love that McCarthy, and the actress playing what I'm assuming is a school principal, never breaks character. 

I think I like about half of what McCarthy does. I feel I might literally be the only person who saw the Boss. But I enjoyed it and her. I liked Spy too and her character in Bridesmaids. Still, she's done a lot of crap too, so choose wisely. 

The character below seems to be closest to her Bridesmaids character. .....but it works. 

Song by: Rob Thomas

Hold Me

We are decently on our way to our movie goal, but I also know we always start out the year strong due to Oscar contention movies - then we usually sink like a stone. 

I'm hoping to rectify the pattern. 

Via Instagram, I saw previews for the Holdovers back in May (!!!) 2023. It looked good and I'm a fan of Paul Giamatti (honestly, if you have never seen the HBO series on John Adams, you must!)  and director Alexander Payne. 

Admittedly, the previews made the movie seem funnier and more whimsical than it was, and I should know better. Payne's Election, the Descendants and Nebraska all had light moments with heavier themes. Eons ago I tried sitting through his Sideways (also with Giamatti), but couldn't get into it. 

While I won't get into any kind of true spoiler - the premise is an all-boy's boarding school over the winter holidays, some kids have nowhere to go, so they are holdovers at the school for the break. A faculty member is assigned to watch over them. 

With what could have easily turned into a higher-brow'd Breakfast Club, Payne makes sure it does not, and he does it well. 

The movie rides on three performances (for the most part) with one or two others thrown in for great measure (Carrie Preston). The thing is, for the two male characters (Giamatti and Dominic Sessa - who has never been in a movie) you kind of want to root for them; kind of not. Either way, they don't make it easy, but they're not supposed to. 

Giamatti gives a great performance. Sessa does too - though times he looks like a teen student, sometimes like a 37 year old. Heaps of praise are being given to school cook played by Da’Vine Joy Randolph, and she's good, but I'm not convinced it's an over the top good. 

I find with Payne movies, multiple viewings usually help too. It assists in the dramatic and comedic aspects and how it all pulls together. 

While this is still at some theaters, due to the Oscar nominations, you can rent it on amazon prime for like $6. It was a lot cheaper than two movie tickets. Hell, it was a lot cheaper than one. 

2024 Movie Count / Goal: 03 of 15

Song by: Fleetwood Mac

My Music Monday

The Pet Shop Boys have a new song.  Songs. Like if there were still physical singles, they released the A and B side of songs that are slated for their new album. 

"Loneliness" is the A side and it's ok.  I'll link it here (it's a nice video). But I found the B side, "Party in the Blitz" to be more interesting (but no real video). 

PSB have been around for over 40 years now, which is impressive. There are a number of band that have stood that test of time. Still, they've done a lot - some great, some good and some passible, but that seems legit for having 15 albums or original (mostly) music. 

710 is a bigger fan than I, but I listen. I mean, I don't care if I ever hear "West End Girls" again, but I usually don't click off the channel if it comes on. 

Nothing

I got nothing. 

That is all. 

Put Your Head on My Shoulder

Dogs and Cats.  Well Dog and Kitten. No. Dogs and Kitten. You get the idea. 

Shep isn't always the snuggler, so I cherish it when it happens. 

It is like the perfect place for Simon. 

Daycare IG / FB star!

Only a fraction of the dogs at daycare. Tony, the black and white dude near the back wouldn't give me the time of day.  Rude!   The guy at the front was cool though. 

710's at home work companion. 

Shep up at the Lower Shaker Lake.  Grey grey day. 

Dinner prep can sometimes be a challenge. 

Song by: Paul Anka

Run

My training group started back up this last Tuesday. 

This is different than my old man running group (which really isn't all men, though mostly).

Both have their advantages, of course, but both are very different in nature. Just by the name - one is for training, one is just for running.........and the bakery. 

With the latter, they run just to run. Since most are older than myself - some in the group for over 30 years now! - they are done with races. Most of them, not all. But no one - save one? - is training for a marathon, or even a half. 

The training group - that is that they are training for, half and / or full marathons that are set for the spring. There are other training groups for 5-10k races that will start in a few weeks. 

Yes, no secrets this go round, I'm still training for full and half marathons, even if I don't know which ones they be just yet, though I've signed up for Cleveland full marathon this year. Last it was the half.

I've also already signed up for a 5k, a half of a half marathon and a 10 miler so far. While running doesn't have to be an expensive sport, you can certainly make it one. I have.

Tuesday's run seemed tough for me. I couldn't find my breath. And this crowd is faster and I think there is one person older than myself in the group. The rest are 15-30 years younger.  Of course they're going to be faster. 

Unlike a year ago where I was back of the pack, this time I was in the top third. Yeah, it felt like a shitty run, but was a decent time. It felt shitty because I was pushing myself to keep up, which is kind of the point of training. I just have to keep telling myself that. 

Also unlike a year ago, I was welcomed this time. There were people who called me by my name, I'm not even sure I've ever seen before. My running wife runs with the west side group on Tuesdays. The above image is the east side group with which I participate.  I do (did?) have an east side wife kind of, but she wasn't there, and I'll have to text her to see if she's participating this session. 

Training will lessen my runs with the running group, which will bum me out, but I'll be with them every Sunday. But that's Panera day and and not the bakery day, so that sucks. 

If you remember from an earlier post, I'm also taking challenges from my running app too. Two, actually, but will only report out on one today. 

I swear originally it had running 200 miles by the end of March. It is now the end of February. 

I'm not too worried about not meeting the challenge.  This was me at the end of January. And I didn't run for a week due to "stomach issues".  In theory, I would have had 24 more miles (or more) onto that 122.75 

I mean, I'll still make it before the deadline, but my goal was to be better. As I've said: I'm very competitive with myself. 

First race is in 21 days....I think. 

Song by: Foo Fighters

Backfired

Ugh - this country. The U.S. that is. 

I get that everyone isn't from here, but even I have to believe that anything Taylor Swift related is global news. Whatever you think of her as a musician, she's a cunning (no 't') business woman.  ...and she knows how to work social media. 

Her bf, Travis Kelce does too. I believe he and his brother have the #1 podcast with New Heights. I know Travis and Jason are from my town, but they are fucking hilarious. It's fun to watch that shit. 

But OMFG - the GOP. 

Besides the paranoia of the rigged NFL shit, but that the republican snowflakes (yes, they are actually the ones who are über sensitive, not the liberal folks) are allegedly planning some kind of counter-attack due to Kelce and Swift. Something that hasn't even happened.

This. Is. Brilliant. 

Seriously. On so many levels. 

In a land of 342 million people (161-168 million registered voters), the GOP is so seemingly incredibly fragile that two people - 2 !!!!!! - can take down a political party that has been in place for over 200 years. 

Should that be the case - and it might be - then the GOP should be scared as fuck. 

Me?  I'm hopeful as fuck. 

Yes. Me !!!   I just typed that. 

Backfired. My man, your plan backfired in your face. 

Swift has the financial means to purchase every single ad slot for the Super Bowl with just the interest on what she makes annually. Can you imagine if each and every ad was her singing about Pappy Joe while riding the Bud Light Clydesdales while holding boxes of Plan B?  

You think men of this country were melting down over seeing 42 seconds (!!) of her during a 3+ hour play-off, just think of chaos that would happen? 

Swift has personally been responsible for making the NFL / Kansas City Chiefs and additional $331 million during this last regular season. That's a lot of money to me and you. It is a drop in the bucket to the $16.8 BILLION the NFL rakes in annually - but it's more than a blip, considering it was an untapped female market. 

Let's be honest - no one is fucking with the half-time show, and I don't even know who is performing. If Kelce does anything during the game not football related it will be to propose to Swift. That alone will send the GOP screaming, though I'm not sure why. I thought they were for traditional marriage. 

Who doesn't appreciate a good conspiracy theory this guy is toting around?

But I love how this X'er in the image attempts to debase Kelce for being vaccinated.........like three years later. And yes, Kelce is a spokesperson for Covid vaccinations. And you know this dipshit twatter has been vaccinated too. Why is there such pride in promoting others to die due to non-vaccination?  Maybe his biggest concern is that Kelce won't die due to it. 

Still, there is chatter about a counter-offensive should any of the predicted happens. Except, they're not going to develop a plan and not launch it - even if Swift stays in Japan and doesn't attend. The GOP is basically the premature ejaculators for the political party system. 

I mean, they can't abort their own baby............can they? Maybe they will...............if it's not viable. 

Song by: Debbie Harry

Record of the Month

I figured I'd do a monthly 'what I'm listening to' kind of thing. This could be viewed as a lame placeholder kind of post. And probably it is. But it's my blog! So there!    

It was almost 11 months from the release of "Panopticon", the first new work in 21 years from Peter Gabriel, and the actual release of his album i/o. (I'd link you to his website, but the it seems to be down.)

Normal cycle is usually 6-8 weeks from first "single" release to the full album. Gabriel even completed a world tour to promote the album before the it was even released in December 2023. 

Honest to g-d, I had forgotten about i/o completely, and if there was any promotion for the disk, it was completely under the radar. I'm not 100% sure the disk even charted anywhere. 

Normally, this behaviour would be a record company trying to bury a bad album. But.....it's Gabriel. Even his worst material isn't bad. Allegedly, he's been working on this disk for the last 20 years. It might be closer to him tweaking it to death than anything else. 

Perfection is the enemy of good. 

To add to this: there are three versions of i/o (of which I know):  The Bright Side. The Dark Side. The In Side. All have the same 12 songs, just different mixes. It's a good way for you to part with your $$$. 

For the record, I'm reviewing the Bright Side mix. I sampled the Dark Side - and honestly there doesn't seem to be a lot of difference, but I didn't delve into it either. 

"Olive Tree" works well, until it doesn't. It starts off so great, and then the horns (or the synth made horns?) take over the song - more so than they should or needed. "Playing for Time" is eerily like a Randy Newman song from any Toy Story movie - in voice and style. It's not bad, but, it's not for me. 

There are stand-outs, of course, "Panopticon", "the Court", "Love Can Heal" and "Four Kinds of Horses".

Those looking for "Sledgehammers" or "Big Time" need to look elsewhere. There is much more in common with his first four solo disks than that, though it does infuse a bit of So. 

Sonically, the recording is excellent. But when you tinker with is so much, it will either be great or horrible, with no in between. Allegedly at least one song has between 120-150 tracks that had to be mixed together. Even with the gadgetry, most of the songs are understated and very calm. 

I like i/o a lot. I'm not over the moon about most of it. 

Ad of the Month

Yes, usually I have a video for these. Not today. 

Now and then I forget a good ad doesn't necessarily come in video form. Sometimes print or billboard media is still effective. 

But it made me laugh. 

It seemed like it could be fake, but with some digging - not a lot - it seems to be legit. 

I'm sure some moms with liberty like group would have a coronary should they ever actually see it - on the way to their three-way. 

My Music Monday

I like the group Wilco.   

They've been around for three decades with pretty steady output the entire time, though 2002's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is probably inarugably their most critically lauded disk of their career. 

They put out a new disk at the end of last year, and I keep happening upon what I think was the first release from that album called "Evicted".

Close to the opening, right before the lyrics start and even the first line or three, the music closely resembles "Raspberry Beret" by Prince and the Revolution. 

It is a little quirky in terms of cadence, but such is Wilco. It keeps my attention. 

Going Out Tonight

Two beers. 

In a day!

Let me semi start out with, I have not given up drinking, but I've kind of given up drinking. Not consciously. 

It might be all the running. But since the Columbus Marathon, I've had eight drinks. Total. Last evening, I had two beers. The last time I had two drinks was the day of the marathon - to be clear after the run. 

As for these two beers? My first alcohol of 2024. 

The occasion? My new running group, which is seemingly quite social, held their annual banquet last evening........at a bar. Two drink tickets were provided by them, and I used them, though I wasn't sure I was going to. 

There was dinner, dessert, the bar (obvi) and awards. All were fine and socializing was good too. 

I will admit, I snuck out during a slideshow. At first it was of this couple who ran the Berlin Marathon last September - which was fine, since you know: running group. Then they traveled Europe and we had to watch their vacation photos. 

UGGHHHHHHH. 

I barely want to see my own. So I Sammy Jo'd my second beer and snuck out. I'm hoping no one noticed, but it'll be a week before I see most of them. Some I'll see this morning for the Sumday a.m rum, for which few people turn out. I think I did it deftly. Some might be envious I had the courage to take the leap. 

A woman I sat with was very adept in her convo skills:  "so, your 'significant other' didn't want to sit here tonight listening about running??".   Good for her for making assumptions but not jumping to them. But I responded, "no. no he did not".

Honestly, I don't go out much anymore for just about anything, so it was kind of nice. The food was fair at best, but that's kind of to be expected. I kind of expected the beer to hit me more than it did, but that is good, since I drove. 

I guess I'm feeling a little better than the day before. 

Song by: Mary Chapin Carpenter

Jump

Yay - Saturday.  Dogs.  Cats. 

I've still been a it laid-up with my malady from almost a week ago. On the positive note, I've surpassed my goal weight, so far by 4 lbs. Maybe more. Honestly, it's not how I wanted to drop the pounds. I've only gotten to run once since last Saturday, and that didn't last long,  

As g-d is my witness, I'm going to try to put 6 miles in this morning. 

Ken-ough about that,  Shep and Simon coming your way. 

I'd like to say Simon is jumping up to get the latch - and he is. 

However, he does this in all doorway corners, should there be a latch or not.  He's weird. 

A hike we had a BMX track next to it. No one there, so Shep traversed it. 

....and yes, like many of the bikers, he went right off the side. 

He's quick. It's just a matter of time before no one noticing him going into a cabinet and closing him in. 

A respectful distance. 

You Shall Not Pass. 

.....I did though. 

Pup Cup. 

If it's cold out during our hikes, 710 and I might get something warm on the way home. If so, Shep gets a Puppachino. Last time they asked where he was and for next time to bring him into the store. 

I don't think they know what they're doing.  .....but he is SO excited when we stop. He knows. 

Song by: Van Halen

Laugh

Time to use the subtitle of this blog - Stuff & Nonsense. 

I've seen this video over the last few months and I'm sorry, but the dad's reaction is priceless. It's so pure, it's hilarious. 

Song by: the Monkees

I'm Just Ken

The Academy Awards is still a month and a half away - which means Mike's and my 13th Annual Academy Award Guessing Game®  is a month and a half away too. 

I could have sworn it was the 14th. I even told him so. 45 days seems like an eternity, mostly because of "the controversy" (you have to sing that last word like Prince though. 

I sent Mike the ballot two days ago, giving him plenty of time to make his picks. Though some were made for us with the snubs of Greta Gerwig and Margo Robbie for director and actress respectively. Both still have nominations for screenplay and best picture respectively. 

The Academy might (?) have it out for Gerwig. She didn't get a win (though a nod) for direction with Lady Bird a few years back - nor did she deserve one for the 114th version of Little Women a year or so ago. They did nominate a number of Best Picture entries that were directed by women. Only the director of Anatomy of a Fall has a vagina. 

And you know, Gerwig can't even talk smack about the snub for fear of retribution. The joke is, Ken can - and did......because......patriarchy. 

Good for Ryan.......or his publicist.

Putting this out there doesn't hurt him, as he isn't even in the top 3-4 of the 5 performances on the nominee list, as much as I like him and enjoyed his performance. Though he just might have gotten every female voting member to come to his side, so who knows. 

But back to the Best Picture nominees. Of the 10, three of them are directed by women, only one being giving a director slot. 

I know most of the Academy is made of old white men, but Scorsese (an old white man)........again?  Mike called the watching of the Flower Moon thingy the longest week of his life. Even I gotta give him props for even attempting it. Ricky Gervais made a joke a few years about about Scorsese's Irishmen and it's length by saying they'd show a clip of it - but it's 88 minutes. 

I think it just comes down to misogyny. 

Barbie was the most successful movie of the year, not necessarily the best. I get that. Gerwig can flip off the Academy if she chooses. Over a billion $$ made, she's claimed her victory - and the right to make almost anything else she wants due to it. But that kind of success doesn't come without talent. 

....to that point, the Academy knows pseudo talent when they see it: Bradley Cooper didn't get a director nomination for his shit-fest. 

Song by: Ryan Gosling

Cooking with Blobby

Another NYT recipe that has popped up often, though it might be because my friend Jon was talking about it, entered the fray of our kitchen. 

Homemade Hamburger Helper.

This already posed a problem for me. I've never had Hamburger Helper. My mother never really made stuff from a box, even as assistance. So technically, I don't know what it tastes like, so I have no true comparison. But as I read through the ingredients nothing looks bad or off-putting. It seems Johnny Marzetti-ish, no? 

And Jon raved about it.........so...........I bought the bacon and beef. Everything else was on hand. Oh, except the bay leaf. I got that too. 

Let's get to it. 

INGREDIENTS 

Yield: 4 servings (lies! again, it makes 6 servings, or.....or.....I don't know what a serving size is supposed to be)

¼ cup neutral oil, such as canola or vegetable 

1 large yellow onion, diced into ½-inch pieces (ooops, diced them finer than they called for)

Salt and black pepper 

3 garlic cloves, minced 

5 strips uncooked smoked bacon, finely chopped 

1 pound ground beef 

1 cup dry white wine 

3 cups chicken stock or water 

¾ cup heavy cream 

¼ to ⅓ cup hot sauce 

2 teaspoons hot smoked paprika 

1 bay leaf 

8 ounces elbow pasta 

5 slices American cheese, ripped into small pieces 

1½ cups grated Cheddar 

½ cup finely chopped chives 

PREPARATION 

Step 1 Heat a large (12-inch) sauté pan or Dutch oven over medium-low, and add oil and onion; season lightly with salt and pepper. (The hot sauce added in Step 6 will add a lot of flavor, so be careful not to overseason here.) Let cook until the onions turn light beige in color and begin to caramelize, 20 to 25 minutes. 

Step 2 Add garlic and cook until fragrant and starting to brown ever so slightly, about 2 minutes. 

Step 3 Increase heat to medium-high and add bacon and ground beef, using the back of a large spoon to break up the meat into smaller pieces. Continue to cook until the liquid has mostly evaporated and the meat starts to sear and develop a crust on the bottom of the pan, 12 to 15 minutes. 

Step 4 Remove pan from the heat and carefully drain off most of the fat, leaving a little in the pan to keep the meat moist. 

Step 5 Return pan to medium-high heat and add white wine, allowing it to reduce until the mixture is almost dry, about 10 minutes. 

Step 6 Add the chicken stock, heavy cream, hot sauce, paprika and bay leaf to the pan. Mix until combined and bring to a boil. 

Step 7 Once the mixture is boiling, add the pasta and cook until al dente, stirring often, about 9 minutes. 

Step 8 Reduce the heat to low and stir in both types of cheese, stirring until completely melted and sauce is thickened. 

Step 9 Remove the pan from heat, stir in chives and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Honestly, at first I liked it. Not loved. 710 talked about the layered flavours, and there are. But as I went on, it just wasn't doing it for me. With leftovers, I honestly ate half of a lunch portion and stopped eating. 

There is an immediate aftertaste that I could not place that didn't settle with me. The only thing new I had never tried was a bay leaf, and while I fished it out, I don't know exactly what one brings to the table. Honestly, I think it was the hot sauce that I was tasting. And I love hot sauce, but maybe not in this mix? 

It's filling. It's flavourful. It's not going back on the menu. 

I get I'm a more finicky eater than most, so I wouldn't let my bias sway you. It just wasn't my cup of tea....or macaroni, as the case may be. 

Sick of Myself

Blah. 

No real post today. 

I've down and out physically for about two days. Stomach bug of some sorts. 

Rest has barely been gotten, even though all I have done is lay around. I mean there is a lot of getting up and down with a stomach thing going on.  Still, no gym. No running. Barely walking the dog. 

On the plus side, I might make my goal weight, though it's not the kind of weight one ever keeps off. 

So, while I've had all the time in the world to compose a blog post, this is the one you're getting .

On a side note:  watching Jason Kelce watch his brother make two touchdowns in the playoffs was just fun. I'm not saying he was drunk, but I'm not not saying that either 

Either way, this is what Taylor Swift can look forward to every Thanksgiving. 

Oddly (not really) the elder Kelce had never met Swift, as he plays football in another city, so the playoff game was their first. More importantly Jason K befriended a young Buffalo Bills fan and got her to meet Taylor Swift. Sure, he put Swift on the spot, but who cares. 

Ok. I'm done. I gotta rest. 

Song by: Matthew Sweet

My Music Monday

I know zilch about the group Slowdive. 

According to Wikipedia, they've been around since 1989 !! So maybe it stands to reason they have a Cocteau Twins thing going on here. Maybe always. 

For being around for 35 years or so, they're not horribly prolific - their new disk is only one of five. If you're only pumping out material once every seven years or so, it would seem each album would be a 'comeback'. 

Today's song, "alife" popped up on radio and I was kind of grooving to it. 

It has an ethereal vibe to it. I don't think I can run to it, but it's easy to listen to while hanging or driving. 

39

Laurie Anderson once spoke: "days go by.....endlessly.....endlessly pulling you........into the future....days go by...". 

She's not wrong. 

As an unconscious (subconscious?) rule, I think I don't delve into the past too too much here. There are somethings I dredge up as anecdotes to tie other, more current things together. 

With that said, now and then I throw a few things in from long ago. Though this older thing still ties in a current one. 

39. 

As the title states.  That is how long Mr. 710 and I have been together in some capacity or other. 

39 years today.

We'd known each other a little longer than that, from work. We both were on the 3p-11p shift and a number of the people at work would go out afterwards now and then. But I, nor he, counted those as "dates".  We weren't even 100% sure the other was gay, let alone interested. I was. We were. 

Even this first date was mired in havoc - my '71 Maverick breaking down on the way to his place. Him coming to rescue me as my car got towed to some unknown mechanic. And all in the days before cellphones. How that all came to be is still cloudy to me. 

Today is the date we have etched into our rings. Though with 1985 on the end. 

I won't lie. 39 years isn't easy. Well, the first 15 weren't. I mean, how emotionally and mentally equipped can a 21 and 24 year old be? Ones with little life experience too. So we weathered it all together - as the vows would eventually say: for better or for worse. 

There isn't a lot of 'worse' anymore. Yes, normal life changes - birth, school, work, death, as the Godfathers might sing. We are stable, mature and strong enough to deal with it all. That wasn't always the case - mostly in my case.

It helps that 710 has the patience of a saint (whatever that actually means). I do not, Maybe Paula Abdul is correct with opposites attracting. 

It doesn't seem like 39. And 50 seems a long way off.........considering our age(s). Time is a funny thing.

As I've said before, January is a sucky time to have an anniversary. Maybe we'll go out for dinner, but the weather has been sub-zero when the wind if factored into the equation. We are not ones for the big hoopla, so, it might just be home cooking tonight. 

Maybe we will celebrate at 40. 

the title image is from 1988 (?). Our hair was darker. Our hair existed. We were thinner. That duplex is now a single house residence. I don't even know who took that picture. Clearly Ted Lasso stole his look from 710. 

Song by: the Cure