HEAT AT LAST! HEAT AT LAST! THANK GOD ALMIGHTY, WE GOT HEAT AT LAST!!

One of the most important things in the word is friends. Unlike family, friends are chosen, and I find that many are chosen because of attributes we lack, and singularities we share. I have just found such a new friendship. Amazing how these things happen. I'm not really absolutely sure because I've never been a dog, cat, or other mammal, not fish nor foul, but I'm relatively sure they don't make friends through 'contacts' through introductions from Fido's cousin, or Snowball's mom. What makes humans different besides the frontal cortex is that ability to reach out and make friends. Some last a lifetime, others go poof in a blip, but all are important, and we grow because of them.

The no heat thing is such an example. We had been ripped off by a unscrupulous seller of DIY radiant floor kits, and last year we froze because of it. Add to that, it cost $9000.00 and you have a reason to go back on drugs. Anyway, after that fiasco and having numerous plumbers, technicians, suppliers and 'experts' check it out, we were finally lucky enough to find a real expert through a cousin far away. This person and his girlfriend braved the colossal snow storm we just got (2 feet of snow in one night) to install a burner (furnace, boiler, etc.) to get us warm. Since they had been up before helping us at thanksgiving to try and fix it, they were now here just before Christmas again, lending an unselfish set of hands and wisdom and bailed us out. It took almost 20 hours of non-stop work to get it done and the time was spend working hard and joking about our pasts which lead to such commonality that we fast became good friends.

Now as I sit before the glow of pixels, I am warm, not only by the heat rising from the floor, but by the thought that now our circle of friends has grown, and we can go to NYC, and on trips and share new experiences that will turn in to memories that will last for many years.

So, that's about it. Tomorrow I will post pictures of the snow and some shots around my block. It will be great. I love photography, as I do all art, and can't get enough.

Over and out fellow bloggers and don't eat the yellow snow, unless it's an Italian Lemon-Ice.

Icicles Where Icicles Should Be

I had the intention of writing another part of my journey west and beyond, but something got my attention this morning that overrode that...that being frost on the proverbial pumpkin. This morning, it was a wopping 17.92F. A virtual Richard E. Byrd morning, (for those of you who didn't know who Admiral Richard Byrd was, he was a naval officer who did or did not become the first man to navigate by plane over the north pole. He did much research at the north pole, and was the man responsible for fast freezing food, in particular vegetables, to be stored for long periods of time. Later he became the president of his namesake company, "Birdseye", and the rest is frozen food history).

Anyway, Byrd would have felt right at home in my home at it's present temperature of 50 degrees. 50 is ok when your outside, but inside it just plain sucks. And don't attempt sitting on a toilet seat without first applying a teflon ass gasket, or you'll be wearing said seat for the remainder of the day. So, it's colder than yesterday, and I'm not happy about it at all. Moving from the relative warm of Santa Barbara winters, to this Siberian-like permafrost is just not me. I love the old New Englanders who always claim to love the change of seasons. Why? Do they even know how sick that is? Layering on long underwear, shirts, jerseys, sweaters coats, hats, scarfs, gloves and boots is no fun. It's a pain in the ass. People don't look comfortable in all that stuff, and they get inside someplace warm, and the clothes they've assembled onto their bodies are now becoming a portable sauna, which turns to cold again when they go out. Tell me you old Yankees? What's good about that?

Today, I'm looking at two guitars I have and might have to sell. I'm not relishing the thought. Just got a call from my friend Mike. He's the guy who is expert at boilers and is getting me a deal on a boiler today. It's about 2 grand off the wholesale price which is outrageous. So, we will have heat for sure, thank god. I can't wait, this has been ridiculous. Still have to part with one axe and I don't know which to do.....

Damn this sucks bad. But better broke and warm than broke and cold..

Colder Than The North Pole Here...

It is, I'm not lying. It's so cold, I saw a Great Dane stuck to a fire hydrant. In the warm of my room here, I can complain about it, but I feel guilty for those who have to live in this ridiculous climate. Why oh why did I leave California??? As the "Governator" would say, "Isle be bach!" And I will, one day. The warm of the California wildfires nipping at my heels, the deafening roar of the planes at LAX, the traffic jambs even at 2 in the morning on a weekday, (doesn't anyone work a real job?) and of course, the carnival that 'is' California. Honestly, I do miss so much about it. I miss San Francisco. Golden Gate Park in the summertime is just magic, as is the city itself. I miss the hills, the view, the lights of Oakland from across the bay. I miss the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge, the Presidio, Coit Tower, Lombard Street, the cable cars, BART, and so much more. Oh, and the restaurants, and Fisherman's Wharf, Ghiardelli Square. I really did leave my heart there. My wife and I celebrated our 7th anniversary there. We had such fun. We rode around the lagoon on the electric boats drinking beers and probably smoking a joint. I know we drank beer. We celebrated with a bottle of champagne, and bought two glasses to drink it in. That will be 20 years ago next year. My how that time has flown.

She's more beautiful now than ever, and I love her more each day. It took me many years to realize what I had and have, and the time spent with her I wouldn't trade for Bill Gates and Warren Buffet's fortunes. It's amazing how, if you put up with someone long enough, as we have with each other, that you either run away, or it hits you that all your adventures were special not because of the adventure itself, but because you shared it with someone who you loved. That makes all the difference and makes it possible to face the toughest days, and to weather the worst of all Nor'easters, blizzards and floods. If you just have each other, the material things are just immaterial.

I remember our journey to California from Connecticut in 1984, the year after we married. Funny when I see someone's birth year on the net and it says "1983" and I just can't believe that we have been around that long, but we have. Anyway, we bought this old Airstream trailer; a 21 foot job that needed some tlc. We installed a new toilet (essential) and it needed a new 'furnace'. We also installed roof top air conditioning, something we later were so happy we did. We bought a brand new Chevy Suburban Silverado, loaded out with everything but 4WD, after all, we didn't need it where we were going. Our idea was to move all our 'stuff' out to California in the trailer, find a place to live and sell the trailer. Oh, we were moving out for me to go to Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, an accredited college for the art of photography and cinematography.

But I digress. We loaded up the trailer with everything, including our little cat Didlew Dudes, and hit the road. We said a tearful goodbye to our families, first at my parents house in Greenwich, where we had kept the trailer and had lived in it to 'test it out', then to Stamford to say goodbye to my wife's family. Sue's dad gave us a notebook to keep a journal in. He entered the first entry, something to the effect of the weather being ok, and the time and all that. His father was a newspaper reporter at the Boston Globe, and he himself was a teacher and probably that came from that. So we said goodbye and headed south on I-95 through New York, over the Washington Bridge and onto the infamous New Jersey Turnpike. It rained at one of our first rest stops, and we got gas, some stuff from the refrigerator and with Didlew Dudes tuckered out from meowing for about an hour settled on down the road with some serious rain and two-fisted driving.

We wanted to make it to Williamsburg Virginia, Colonial Williamsburg that is, (set a spell, take your shoes off, yall come back now hear? God, I so want to write, "now the first thing you know old Jed's a millionaire, kin folk said Jed move away from there, said Californey is the place you awt to be, so he loaded up the truck and moved to beverly...hills that is...swimmin' pools, movie stars...." but I won't.

So we stopped in Williamsburg for two reasons; 1 was to see the town, the second one was to go to Busch Gardens for rides and free beer. This place was a must. We alway's liked the various Busch Gardens, and this one, although not as interesting as the one in Tampa Florida still had the most important element....beer. Yes in those days, Budweiser actually was doable. Today I'd only drink it if had been walking miles in a desert and couldn't find a Fred Harvey something or other. Anyway, we rode the rides, whatever they were, and then we headed west.

More tomorrow....

Running On Empty

Gosh. A whole page of white. What do I write? There is so much, so very much. But much of it is nothing much. I don't know what to write. Should I write about my lack of an idea? Why don't I have something to write about? Dammit, this just plain sucks. Drugs or alcohol might help. I'll be right back. Nah, nothing. Now I'm having trouble even typing, or remaining upright. Now what? I could fall down and then write about zero gravity for that micro nanosecond. Ok, I'll try. BRB. Damn! It didn't work.

Actually, thinking about it, I should write about how I feel right now, but later. Oh yeah, that sounded dumb (SOUNDED DUMB, SOUNDED DUMB, SOUNDED DUMB, SOUNDED DUMB).

I'll have to leave this, my first and pitiful blog for later when I have more substance.