Doggy heaven

Spare some fluid?

I miss my first car sometimes. A '74 Datsun hatchback. Once upon a time, it was probably fire engine red, but by the time I took delivery of said vehicle for $400 and a stereo, it was a faded pink red color. I never once locked the car even when I parked it in bad neighborhoods. Noone with a sound mind would be interested in stealing it. It certainly had no chick appeal. No promise of the wild throes of passion lay in the back seat. Just an old pair of crutches in the back window that I acquired a few months before in a 'roll the van 3 times' accident that should have left me dead.

The tires were bald. I don't mean bald as in the tread was low. These suckers would have passed for racing slicks (albeit skinny ones). I drove as though the tires were coming off every time I hit the gas. That doesn't mean slow, it means being ready to bail at any point in the drive.

The seats were so bad they were covered with faux sheepskin covers to keep you from losing your manhood on a spring. There was a hole in the exhaust pipe that was covered with a piece of tin that was tied on with bailing wire. That came loose and cost me $10 and $70 for a new muffler when I roared past a motorcycle cop who was offended by the fact that I was poor.

The final push over the edge was the master cylinder pumping brake fluid into the body of the cabin under every time I hit the brake pedal. I drove it to a dealer and worked out a deal on a Volkswagon Fox the next day. It only took 2-3 cans of brake fluid to get me there.

The police wrote me a letter in another state a few months later and told me to come get my abandoned car. I laughed and told them the name of the car dealer that had abandoned it. I wonder where it is now.


Something like this.

Listen loud and proud

List 25 albums that made an impact on your life or take you back to another time and place when you hear them. I'm not a big fan of memes, but this one struck a nerve for me.

1. Iron Maiden - Piece of Mind
2. Pink Floyd - The Wall
3. Pink Floyd - Delicate Sound of Thunder
4. R.E.M. - Green
5. Scorpions - Blackout
6. AC/DC - Back in Black
7. Surf Punks - My Beach
8. Scorpions - Savage Amusement
9. Metallica - Kill 'em All
10. Aerosmith - Pump
11. Aldo Nova - Aldo Nova
12. Aisa - Alpha
13. Garth Brooks - No Fences
14. U2 - Joshua Tree
15. Van Halen - 5150
16. Ozzy Osbourne - The Ultimate Sin
17. Def Leppard - Pyromania
18. Dio - Holy Diver
19. Quiet Riot - Metal Health
20. Guns n Roses - Appetite for Destruction
21. Kansas - Two for the Show
22. M.S.G. - Perfect Timing
23. Motley Crue - Shout at the Devil
24. Prince & the Revolution - Purple Rain
25. Loverboy - Get Lucky

Interesting exercise. What really makes this interesting is the fact that since my accident I really don't enjoy music much anymore. I can go days without turning on the stereo in the car and I used to never have it off (or even turned down.) They don't know what causes it, but it's common in people with MBI (Mild Brain Injury - classified by the length of time you were unconscious). I have my moments, but more often than not, I'd opt for silence.

Unleash the beast

Sometimes we take so much for granted that you might miss your hand in front of you face. Yep, steady ol' hand. Still there after all these years. You don't give a lot of thanks to your hand, but it's there for you everyday. What about Mr. Thumb? Without opposable thumb, first, second, third and fourth fingers are pretty useless. Kind of like having a condom handy, but no partner to use it with.

Today was a really great day. It started off badly and went straight uphill from there. Odd how that happens sometimes. Usually, you wake up on the wrong side of the bed and you stay there all day. I saw a lot today that I take for granted. I saw smiles and heard laughter that I did not create or propagate. It was simply there for my enjoyment. The sound of someone else making the most of their time. I wonder if they thought about how marvelous they looked or the pleasure they radiated.

I've been mentally checked out for a long time. It's nice to re-engage. To feel fulfilled. Sometimes I feel like the Colorado River. A roaring torrent that surges through the landscape. Then suddenly trapped in a gorge by a monstrous dam I had no idea was looming in front of me. Then suddenly flowing again. Twisting, turning, churning. Here's to roaring torrents in your mind. Let loose. Be human. Be kind.