Car wreck buddies

Fever seizures are hereditary and not uncommon among toddlers. My wife had them, I think her mom had them, one of two of our daughters had them and now one of our granddaughters too. The kids grow out of them but they are scary to witness (I about lost it the first time I saw one of my girls in seizure). Last Friday, Carlie said she was taking her 4-year old to the doctor because of a high fever. She seized on the examination table and the doctor sent her to the hospital in an ambulance. So Carlie called and asked if I could go to her house and stay with her 2-year old boy while she was gone. I went to her house and Pat called from her classroom and said why didn't i bring the boy to her classroom to play as she had some work to do there. I nearly said no, I would just stay with him at their house but I thought it would be fun for him so I packed him up in my 98 Nissan Frontier pickup and headed down 22nd avenue towards Pat's school. As I was stopped at an intersection, a primer-gray small Ford pickup came barreling up behind me and, BAM! Rear-ended. The boy was fine, didn't make a peep (thank you safety car seats). I did go forward and bump the Cadillac SUV ahead of me enough to crack my grill and bend up the front but only enough to scuff up his bumper. So he left, no hard feelings. My rear bumper, however is bent under.

Turns out that the guy who hits me has no insurance and no job. And I have no comprehensive and collision coverage on my car as it is paid for. Urrrgh! So now I will be working with my insurance company regarding my un and under-insured coverage to get some medical care. That weekend I was holding my boy while we stood in line for a ride at Disneyland and I said, "Hey, you and I are car wreck buddies" to which he responded, "Car wreck buddies!"

Goodbye, little guy...

About ten years ago our black cocker Licorice developed a tumor. She was an old dog and we decided to put her down. And as "Dad" it fell to me to make the arrangements and carry them out. We had originally gotten her for Scott with the idea that "every boy needs a dog!" Well ,their relationship was cordial but it never really went anywhere. When Rachel came along, she bonded immediately with Licorice. So, she was understandably distressed when the end came. To address her grief and sadness we went to Pima County Animal Control and adopted Jaxx, a 2-3 year old Cairn terrier mix. He was a nice little dog but when left unattended in the house would proceed to mark (urinate on)nearly every piece of furniture and door in the house. This caused me to have little affection for him over the years. Rachel however, loved him!

He developed some back problems over the 10 years we had Jaxx and recently had an infected tooth that started swelling behind one eye. The fix for hem at the vet was to be over $600 not to mention the over $100 for the office visit and medication. So we decided to take him to the Humane Society and put him down. It was interesting that this time it was so much more difficult for me! I cried on my lunch hour knowing that 3:00 would be here soon. I drove home and took him for one last walk to get the mail. I loaded him into the cab of my little truck and petted him the whole way just repeating "I'm so sorry. Jaxx"

At the Humane Society, the young man was very kind and asked me some questions, had me sign some papers and then asked if I wanted to go back and hold him. I said that I couldn't. I took off his collar and leash and petted him one last time as the attendant placed a red leash around his neck and led him into the back room. I cried as I donated the rest of his food and got back in the truck. I'm sure I didn't pet him, play with him, or walk him enough. Taking him in was much harder than I thought it would be. So goodbye, little Jaxx. You were a good boy.

Not-so-empty nest after all

Our daughter Wendy and her husband of 1 1/2 years, Chad have moved into our house. In the first place, we are thrilled that they have "come home" to Tucson after a stint in Seattle (yes, we know it's hot here!). They are here while they look for a house to buy and they have been searching dilligently. They both found good full-time jobs within about a week of arriving. One good thing about their being in the house is that Wendy likes to cook (which Pat and I don't do much of these days) so we have had some pretty great meals. Also, she has pushed me into improving my backyard grilling skills. When there is meat in her recipe, she will just tell me that this needs to be cooked on the grill, etc. And that is a good thing. So we are not really sure when or if we will ever really have the house to ourselves but it's OK. It's just what you do and we are happy to do what little we can to help the kids along. Now the question is... will they take Jaxx the dog with them when they move into a house?

Reflections on the "Empty Nest"

So it has finally happened. Our daughter Carlie, her husband Trevor and their two kids moved out of our house a week or so ago after about an 8 month stay. Our youngest, Rachel moved out a month or so before so now we are officially alone. This is the first time since August 10, 1979 when we welcomed our first child, Tina into our family and the world. I never thought much about what "empty-nesting" would be like, probably because there have always been kids here. But I'm thinking... it's not too bad. Of course, a lot of that feeling probably stems from the fact that 3 of our 5 kids live in our area code. It is tough having Wendy and Tina and their families so far away but being able to stay close to the others is great. It would be way different and more difficult if all our kids lived far away.

I am finding that I really enjoy the time I get to be alone with Pat. We are and have always been best friends and there is no one I'd rather hang out with. We still share lots of the same interests (although she likes TV crime shows way more than I). I kind of like the quiet (but I still love it when the house is full of "kid noise"). Obviously, the house stays neater and relatively uncluttered which is also nice. Of course, we still are the repository of stacks of the kids' boxes of junk in various closets and corners but I guess that comes from having the biggest house, modest though it is! I'm sure they'll pick them up by and by!

So, I think I am going to get used to this. We love our kids and grand-kids. They are everything to us. We so look forward to visiting with them at every opportunity but after years of late nights with sick kids and other minor catastrophes, maybe it's time for us to put our feet up for a few minutes. Aaaahhh!

Goodbye...for good.

The man in this picture is world-famous guitarist Joe Satriani. Mr. Satriani is, as of today, the proud owner of my vintage 1960 Fender Stratocaster.

I got an email this afternoon from Chris, the owner of Real Guitars in San Francisco where my Strat has been residing on consignment for about 2 months. He told me that he had received a serious offer on the guitar and did I want to accept it. "By the way, it's a famous person." "Am I allowed to know who it is?" "Yeah, it's Joe Satriani". It was a couple of thousand less than I had hoped for so I called my little brother Rob for his opinion. He echoed what Chris had said... that with the economy and specifically the vintage guitar market down, it would probably be good to take the deal. So I did... and I am glad.

Rob headed over to Real and was there while Satriani was paying for my guitar and two others. He told Joe, "Take care of that guitar... I learned to play on it!" "Oh, this is your guitar?", Satriani asked. "No, it's my brother's. He let me use it when I was in high school." "Well," Joe said, "I will only play good notes on it!" Rob does big time audio-visual for events, conventions, concerts, etc. in the bay area so he is used to hanging with celebrities. So when I asked if he had gotten his autograph, he said, "No, I'm not like that!" "Well, I AM like that!", I said. I would have loved to have had an autograph with a nice note like, "Thanks for the great guitar... Joe Satriani". Oh, well.

I thought I would be sort of melancholy when the sale was eventually made but knowing that it went to a guy like that, I'm OK. Now, will I see my Strat on stage in Satriani concert footage in the future? Not likely. He has a contract with Ibanez to promote his "Joe Satriani Signature Model" so I think that will always be in his hands when the cameras are on. Maybe he will record with my guitar, display it, who knows? All the same, you can bet that I will look carefully at every inch of Satriani concert video I come across from now on, just in case.

Thanks again to my brother Rob for his freely-given help, advice and support. And now, goodbye for good, old girl. You are in good hands.

Goodbye old friend

Here is the best way I can describe the feeling I had yesterday as my workday was ending... Do you remember when you were a teenager and were out way after curfew? You couldn't go home because you know it would be very unpleasant. But you couldn't stay out either and you were kind of sick to your stomach. I didn't want to come home because the night before I had packed my old friend, a 1961 Fender Stratocaster to ship it to a guitar store in San Francisco. It is going there to be consigned and eventually, sold. It is a valuable instrument and we are in a position to have to liquidate an asset or two to address some debt. Life happens.

I got home, looked at the box, puttered around the house, looked at the box, played with Ellena, looked at the box, got something to eat, looked at the box... You get the idea. So finally I put it in the back of the pickup and drove it to the UPS store.

I bought it at Whittier Music in California for $275. I have been telling myself ever since I decided to sell it, "It's just a thing..." But it was much tougher than I realized it would be to let it go after 34 years. I really very seldom played it and I have always said that it is way too good a guitar for my skill level. I felt OK when I got home though. I am sure I'll feel another twinge of pain when SF calls to say they have an offer. But I know that ultimately I will be grateful for the cash the sale will bring in to be able to do what we need to do.

My kids overall have been pretty supportive. They had hoped that I would keep it until my death at which time they could fight over who gets or sell it and split the proceeds. But they understand that things change. And at some point in the future, I can easily buy another electric guitar for a few hundred bucks if needs be.

My bay-area brother Rob has been great as a middle man facilitating this project, partly in just helping me stay calm!

So, goodbye old friend. Thanks for providing so much pleasure, fun and a little income over the years. I hope you find a home where someone will appreciate you and enjoy playing music with you. I will miss you.

"... on the shoulders of giants..."

I have some thoughts today after watching the Michael Jackson memorial on TV this morning. Overall I thought it was well and tastefully done. The tributes were touching, sweet and appropriate. The one low point in my opinion was the speech given by the Reverend Al Sharpton, self-appointed, self-anointed blowhard. He claimed that Michael was "... the Jackie Robinson of entertainment" and that Michael had opened the doors of the entertainment world for African-Americans. Hogwash. He also intimated that because of MJ, Barack Obama was able to be elected president! Outrageous!

As I have said many times, I was, am, and will always be a fan of Michael. He was twice inducted in the the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was a brilliant writer, arranger, singer, dancer, producer. He was an innovator and his influence on popular music is undeniable. He was a generous philanthropist. Yes, he was strange, eccentric even a little weird. He was acquitted of every child abuse/molestation charge ever brought against him. And the family that he "paid off" rather than go to court already had a history of trying to extort celebrities.

So back to Sharpton's claim... Here are the names of only a few black pioneers who I believe really did open the doors he spoke of: Billie Holliday, Count Basie, Louie Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Lena Horne, Richard Pryor, Bill Cosby, Wilson Pickett, Jackie Wilson, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, James Brown (whose dance moves Michael nicked in great detail when he was a little boy), Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, Diana Ross, even Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson. I believe Michael himself would agree and freely admit that he stood on the shoulders of these greats and that perhaps rather they opened the doors for him! I will miss him; all music lovers will.