"Winter Whine.........Bus Bitching.............&.........2 for 11..........."

Good Afternoon;

So last night after I left the coffee shop I headed back to the shed for the first time since it snowed on Wednesday, having spent the past 4 nights at Jenn's. I got there about 9:30 pm. after slogging through the piled up snow from the plows covering the sidewalks on Reisterstown Rd....or walking in the street which was becoming slick with a layer of glare ice....not fun....(And let me insert my daily bitch about the MTA here= The driver of the #27 bus which I caught at Mt. Washington loop purposely pulled forward past the semi-cleared space at the bus shelter and forced me to climb over and through the piled snow to enter the bus.....and then gave ME a dirty look.......these assholes need a comeuppance! He then almost lost control of the bus as he made a too fast left turn off of Cross Country Blvd., which was not the only time the bus lost traction due to glare ice and too high a speed! As I looked at his badge to get the number on the way off the bus he pulled his coat over it to hide it. There really ought to be a Federal investigation into the stae of the MTA and it's violations of traffic and safety laws....the City of Baltimore and the Stae of Maryland are sure not about to......HEY Baltimore Sunpapers.....You want a REAL story!!!???)...There was an expanse of snow unmarked and untraveled except for one set of footsteps where somebody walked across the parking lot and under the carport to take a pee on the wall of the shed.....I'm glad it's winter!...I tried as much as possible to stay in those footsteps, both to avoid leaving a fresh trail and for ease of travel and so as not to get snow up my pants legs and into the boots, but this guy must have been part giraffe judging by the length of his stride!.....lol!

It was a mildly uncomfortable night, between insomnia, too much coffee earlier, and chilled feet because I kept kicking off the covers. For some reason I was twisting and turning and getting the sleeping bag all knotted up. I was tired from the weird sleep patterns at Jenn's and ended up drifting in and out all morning until about 11:00 am. when Jenn called asking if I could watch the kids this afternoon and early evening while they went to a viewing at a funeral home. I said "yes , of course......can I turn it into an all nighter?" She said she had to check with Tom, but it should be no problem. I may go over to the Starbucks when she goes to her HG tonight, just to give Tom some time with the kids and stay out of the way. (It's a fairly small apartment and seems to have movable walls and a decreasing square footage directly proportionate to the number of hours spent there and the amount of people inside.)

from Friday night the 21st through tonight I will have spent only 2 nights in the shed, Tuesday the 25th and last night the 30th out of 11 nights. Sometimes I get real lucky and blessed, for which I am very grateful.

I am here at the library computer for the first time in a while since I got the Laptop from Erik, (www.Pikesvillepc.com ), because I needed to return and check out books and kill and hour before heading over to Jenn's. Which I seem to just about have done right about.......tick-tick-tick-tick......now!.........LOL!

I may be back with more from Jenn's,

Later...................Dave

"Help Mr. Wizard................"

Good Afternoon;

Well it's good to see the sun again and the tropical 40 degree temps. are a delight.

I'm been here at the coffee shop for the past hour arriving from Jenn's via the train and the train just before Noon. It was a stress filed morning over there with no one but Ed getting enough sleep last night. Devin woke up at 3:00 am. and I could not comfort her so she ended up in bed with Jenn and Tom, (who had gotten in about 12:30 am from a DJ gig), waking them up and interrupting the rest of their night. (It's amazing how a 3 year and 2 cats old girl can take over a whole queen size bed, leaving no room for 2 adult humans...lol.). It took me an hour to get back to sleep and at 5:00 am. the ghetto f*ck upstairs lets out his 2 yappy dogs to skitter back and forth all over the uncarpeted wood floor of the apartment before putting them out on the balcony to bark continuously for the next hour, the noise and worse the out of phase echoes waking everyone in all the buildings forming the square surrounding the courtyard and causing all the other dogs in all the other apartments...including the stinking and stupid waste of oxygen masquerading as a dog that Jen has to bark madly in response. Just about the time I was ready to start defrosting the ground beef in Jenn's freezer and root around in the closet with all the Mr. YUK stickers for the quickest acting pest control chemicals the idiot brought the little bastards inside to a chorus of threats, imprecations, and varying intimations regarding his parentage, personal habits, and sexual proclivities from some of the neighbors.

Never falling back into REM sleep I was up and in the bathroom shortly afterwards, coming out to find Devin strapped into her high chair with a banana and a breakfast bar, and Jenn's door closing.....and latching. By 8:00 am. Ed was up and in good spirits, for a change.......as he was the only one who slept through the whole night!....lol! By 10:00 I was pacing up to leave, Devin was back in full meltdown mode, Jenn and Tom were headed for an episode of Jerry Springer or Dr. Phil, and Edward was clueless and happy, and bouncing all over.

Yeah......Twizzle Twazzle Twuzzle Twome.....Time For This One to Go Home!!....(or Starbucks.................which is the nearest thing to living room, dining room and den for me.............lol.)

Anyway....here I am. I'm about to call the 'ex' and see if she can drop Rachel off for a few hours to spend some time with me and have lunch or a snack.

Later............................Dave

"I LOVE Little Children........................ Properly Cooked!!!....."

Good Evening;

Well I've been at Jenn's since Wednesday night and I'm again spending the night in exchange for 'time served'..(watching the kids........lol).

Tomorrow morning I'm heading out because....it's time.

As the old saying by Benjamin Franklin goes......:

"After 3 days, fish and house guests start to smell"

I have absolutely nothing to comment, whine about, or pontificate on tonight,

My world has been revolving around the grand monsters pretty much these last few days, in pendulum swings between laughter at their antics.......and grabbing for the duct tape, (the ULTIMATE child care accessory!......LOL!).

I'll be 'back in the world' tomorrow.....

Later.....Dave

"V.A. Offers Excuses Rather Than Expedited Assistance........."

Good Evening;

Here is a link to a FoxNews video on the red tape holding up vouchers for homeless veterans.

http://video.foxnews.com/v/4502174/red-tape-keeps-veterans-homeless/

Later........Dave

"Slush Puppies.........Or........................... Let Sleeping Dogs....................."

Good Evening;

Well.....I'm sitting here watching 'Modern Marvels', .....(strike that....'The ODESSA File".......which I just started re-reading the other day.....Hmmmmmm?....), playing on the computer, and reading bits of "Grandmothers Whisper"......while occasionally telling Ed to be quiet and watch his DVD or shut up and go to sleep. Yup, another night at Jenn's. I went out this morning and took the Metro subway downtown to the First Mariner Arena to get opening night tickets, (2 for 1, two middle concourse seats for $25.00 first night only), to Disney On Ice-Princess Wishes for Rachel and I on Feb. 9th. Along with the Circus and the Md. State Fair it has become a continuing tradition that began with Jenn and has moved on to Rachel. A bit of continuity and connection between father and daughter & sister and sister that always seems to transcend any and all other issues, at least for those few hours. When I got back to Jenn's and was preparing to pack up she asked if I minded watching the kids this evening while she and Tom had a 'Dinner and a Movie' date....with the usual compensation. After trudging through the slop and the slush outside.....it was a no brainer.....lol.

Pop-pop was tired and had had enough crap and needed some peace, so the kids went to bed at 8:oo pm. with permission to watch 2 DVDs, Devin was out 15 minutes into 'Dr. Suess's Horton Hears A Who', and I don't think Edward will last much more than 30 minutes into his second choice, 'Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone'.......if I'm lucky

.I'm only able to read a bit of my friend Inette Miller's book at a time, so as to be able to savor and contemplate her words and ponder their multi-level and many faceted depths. A fascinating and powerful journey in which I can find many points of connection and understanding.....going both ways.

I went to sleep about 1:30 am. last night and woke up at 4:00 am., put on my boots...(no pants mind you....just boots.....lol)...and went into the bathroom, I remember thinking, "Oh no, I am so late!" I woke up on the can about 40 minutes later and went back to lay down on the couch, mystified at why I was in the bathroom....lol! I could not get back to sleep until after 8:00 am., just in time to be woken up by Tom banging out the door.

I'm tired and I'll be back later....

.......Dave

"SnowDazed.................."

Good Evening;

So I've been here at Jenn's all day and I'm on the couch again tonight.Tom took Edward out to Monkton to his mom's to shovel her house out and it was Devin and I most of the day living 'La Vida Loca ala La Nina Tres Annos'.....lol.

If I have to watch another episode of 'Strawberry Shortcake'.....or worse........'Ruby and Max'.......and where the hell are those little rabbits parents!?!

She is getting pretty damn proficient at left clicking the mouse on the pbs.kids website, next thing you know she'll have her own blog....lol.

The libraries were closed and the side roads are still crappy, so there was no real reason to go out. I'm here until tomorrow midday at least and there is not much to say...so....

Later........Dave

"Snowbound,...........'sNo Boots..................'sNo Worries......."

Good Evening;

Well.....plans changed quite a bit since I signed off earlier today. I ended up hanging around in the Giant for about 2 & 1/2 hours; 1/2 an hour puttering and shopping, close to 45 minutes in line because the place was a friggin' zoo, and the rest of the time talking with my friend Mike who works in the meat department as he wrapped and put out ALL the rest of the meats and poultry. Everything in the meat locker that was not frozen is on the shelves, and what is left in the freezer is the stuff that doesn't sell quickly anytime at all.

As I was getting ready to leave and head out the bus Jenn called inviting me to spend the night because the weather was getting worse, which was a surprise to me because when I went into the Giant it had just begun to rain slightly. When I walked out......there was at least 3 new inches on the roadways which were clear when I came in,

(and now the Weather Channel said snow was falling at the rate of 2 inches an hour, with 4 or more hours left before slackening off and ending.

9:14 at night and rush hour traffic is still on the roads and at a standstill in places.),

and when I stepped outside it was almost a white-out!

I waited about 15 minutes for a bus and was covered white with snow....hell even the pockets of my coat were filling up, and I could barely see because the snow was blowing horizontally in my face as I looked up the road for the bus....and I was hiding around a corner of a building OUT of the wind!

I had just walked out of Reisterstown Road Plaza, (the short cut and direct path through the mall saves close to 3/8 of a mile of walking), when Jenn called again asking if I had left the Giant yet, because tom had forgotten the Texas Toast Garlic Bread to go with the spaghetti and meatballs she made. I told her I would go into the other Giant here and pick up a box. So it was back through the mall hoping it would not close up in the meantime, as it was almost dead then. Surprisingly this Giant, (known as the Ghetto Giant to Pikesville's Gucci Giant...lol), was only unreasonably crowded not insanely crowded like Pikesville. But the customers and staff made up the difference and the visit was just as unpleasant! There is a large Russian community here & a Hispanic one also, who conveniently are unable to read or speak English when it suits them, such as when the checkout lines are crowded and they slip into the '15 item or less' "Express"....HAH!!!....lines.

So it was another 20 minute wait...with one item! The mall was still open and I went through there and across the Home Depot lot, where I again looked like a Yeti by the time I got to Jenn's.

I'm showered and fed, and the grandmonster's are in bed...(and I think I figured out Jenn's ulterior motive....I seriously doubt that Edward will have school tomorrow, and Jenn now has live in entertainment and diversions that will let her get her desired but rarely achieved, 12 to 15 hours of sleep......HA!......lmao!

I'm watching the branches of the trees droop lower and lower from the weight of this wet, heavy snowfall, and SNAP, there goes one of the pine trees breaking now, I just hope that we don't lose power like all those folks around and in D.C., close to 200,000 at this time. The good thing about being here is not so much a place to sleep tonight, the temps. being in the 'comfort zone' for my sleeping bag and blanket 'combo wrap',.....lol.....,but not having to slog through the snow and slush as soon as I get up tomorrow just to get to someplace to be. I am very grateful for that, and not having to dress in the cold.

One thing I am not happy about is the snow interfering with plans to see Rachel, and not being able to get around and finding a pair of better boots at a price I can afford, and then going to return the others at Target. They don't seem to be leaking, at the moment at least, if push comes to shove maybe I can spray or spread some sort of silicone sealer that will remain flexible over the cracks in the skin and just wear them until they die a natural death...or I have an extra $60.00.

I'm outta here for a while, 'Two And A Half Men' is on...and no ever accused me of being PC in my humor choices....lol!

Later............Dave

P.S. Thanks Kate, I'll look into it. I'll have to see how simple the install is too.

(I also realized that Blogger/Google added a Stats tab in it's latest makeover that has an 'All time' category. Though I have doubts as to it's accuracy, there are at least 2 hits that I am aware of from countries that Sitemeter listed that the Blogger/Google does not...?)

"Goooooooood Morning........Vietnam!......."

Good Afternoon;

So I'm just about to get out of the shed and head over to the Giant to get something for "breakfast".....lol. I have been up for a good while but first it was still snowing and I was still exhausted from not sleeping well, (though warmly, so I am not complaining!!!) the previous 4 nights, and then I really did not have anywhere to be, and then I got on the laptop......well you get the picture, one more minute turned into hours.

In any case, the 'comfort:warmth:boredom/confinement:' ratios are no longer in equilibrium....so I'm heading out into the slop.

Of course I'd much rather be curled up on a sofa in front of a fireplace somewhere with a snifter of brandy and a plate of hot canapes about to toss another cat on the fire...but, oh well.

My fingers are to cold to type so I may as well get dressed and head out, boy do I miss the Starbucks that closed up!

I had a visitor from Vietnam on the blog today, I think that is a first. I wish Sitemeter would show farther back than the last 100 visitors, but, it's free and I can't complain, (the more detailed version is $6.95 a month).

Later...................Dave

"Candid.....Or Is It...'Candied?...Camera, Damn It Is Sweet!...........

Good Evening;

I'm sitting here in the coffee shop falling asleep so I thought I better post this while I can still type.

I went to the Hematologist this morning and guess what...you got it more tests.

I thought I could run right in and out of Jai where I am obligated to get the blood taken and pee in the cup, so I stopped there on the way back from Sinai on my way to Jenn's to pick up my bags. I should know better, the incompetents behind the bullet proof glass walls, NOW I know why they are there!, had me sign in on he Lab book and never added my name to the queue. If I had not snagged doctor Richardson on her way by by tapping on the glass like a little kid at the aquarium, I'd probably still be sitting there!

Anyway, I'm still waiting for the referral from the surgeon about the gall bladder/stones test. I tries to save time by picking it up while I was at JAI, but no one there knew what I was talking about.........typical.

Okay, I'm back..........my friend Abe just left, after handing me a bag from the camera store where he works part time, (Service Photo Supply Inc. on Falls Rd. in Hampden..... http://www.servicephoto.com/ ...) saying "Here this is for your daughter, Rachel". I looked inside with no clue as to what was inside, (the last time the bag was full of citrus fruit!), and it is a Sony Steady Shot DSC-H2 Digital Camera! DAMN!!!

It's got the size and feel of an SLR, it's a 2006 model and has jpeg movie capability, a 12X power zoom and can be used manual, or fully automatic.

plus a card reader and batteries. No manual, but I'm sure it can be figured out and most likely I can find one online for sale of maybe a PDF file to print out.

This is really cool, I almost want to keep it...lol!, Good thing I am not much of a shutterbug.

I'm gone for now, it's becoming a chore to keep deleting and retyping when I fall asleep on the keys......lol.

It's the shed tonight, (and waking up to freezing rain, then wintry mix throughout the morning, and ending up snow by Noon tomorrow through Thursday morning, with between 4-8 inches of accumulation total...... Wonderful ... NOT!!!)

.....unless of course someone wants a house guest for a day or two......

and until Saturday when I am again monstersitting. I have found a secret out that will keep them busy for hours though....

Curious George Paints on http://www.pbskids.com/ , Rachel will spend time on it too. next I'll introduce them to http://www.funbrain.com/ !

Later..Dave

"Still Cold, Still Tired, Still Feeling Like A Crash Test Dummy................."

Good Evening;

So I left Monkee's about 10:30 am this morning, and she is going on as I am packing up about how glad it wasI came by because it got down to the low single digits last night and I told it was synchronicity that I had been by on Sunday morning and how her "friend" had left early that night, and how grateful I was for the invitation. I caught the bus and the train and went to Jenn's and dropped off my bags, showered, and sucked down a cup of coffee, then back on the train and the bus and headed over to Sinai, (the hospital not the mountain....sorry, no modification on the 'grey area' commandments.....lol.) and the referral to the surgeon for the Gallbladder issues. Guess what.....more tests, how did know that would happen.....!!, and back here to Jenn's to monstersit.

Tuesday is the Hematologist, Dr. Truica, who happens to be colleague of the surgeon, Dr. Miles Harrison, (who seems a hell of a guy and a great doctor), and consultation about the Spleen, (and anybody want to bet....more tests.....lol!).

That's it for now....I'm tired and not in the mood to write.

The grandkids are in bed and 1/2 of them are asleep, and I'm about to crash out on the couch.

Later......Dave

Captain America Man Raising Awareness for Homeless Vets

Good Evening;

Captain America Man Raising Awareness for Homeless Vets

And when I go outside in MY cape and tights.........LOL!

Later......Dave

"Sleeping In The Sauna ..................... AKA ...................................................... Too Cold To Camp-out................"

Good Evening;

So.....Win one/Lose one.

Thumbs up for Green Bay.......Thumbs down for the Jets.

It ought to be a kick ass....or....ass kickin' Superbowl.

I'm over Monkee's and spending the night inside if anyone is concerned about the single digit temperatures tonight.

It's one of the 3 or 4 times a year I do so when the temps go extreme in either direction. She was worried about getting me a blanket for the bed in the basement,

telling me it got cold down there at night, sometimes in the upper 60's.....LOL!

Not to worry, I told her, I'll just take off 2 or 3 of my normal sleeping layers.....LOL!!!!

Okay, I'm getting off now, I'm on her laptop because we could not figure out her WiFi, & why I could not get online.

I go to see the General Surgeon for consultation tomorrow, so I may not be back online 'til late. I'm babysitting the grand-monkeys again tomorrow night, so I'll be at Jenn's for the warm-up to the low teens......lol.

Tuesday is the Hematologist consultation, (and both the gall bladder and the spleen are outside of normal limits, and hopefully within the "Holy sh*t somebody get me a scalpel.....stat!" range.....LOL! But with my luck you never can tell.

Later.......................Dave

"Flying The Hump.......And.......Frozen Food................"

Good Evening;

So I'm sitting here with Edward and Devin hanging on top of me as I'm writing this post. We are all out of duct tape......damnit!........LOL!

It's supposed to go down to 9 degrees tonight and wind chills below 0 (Zero), and since I'm basically still monstersitting it was mutually decided I may as well spend the night again.....Thank Goodness! Tom is DJing and Jenn does not feel good so I am the winner of the 'parent by default award'. I only left the house to walk to the Giant, (Ghetto not Gucci), about 10:30 am. this morning for some necessities, (Powerade-Pringles-On Sale/Reduced/And Discounted Top Round London Broil Steak-& BOGO Entemann's Rich Chocolate Frosted And Variety Pack Doughnuts), like I said, the essential staples......lol. There was no wind so the 22 degree temps at the time were not too awful with proper layering for the short walk, and the can of beer I drank on the way back was able to keep off enough of the chill and I was inside before the negative effects of the alcohol kicked in....lol.

But when I went to take the trash to the Dumpster and walked over to put cash on the laundry debit card around 5:00 pm. it was so cold it hurt to breathe, and the goosebumps on my legs looked like an aerial view of the Himalayas!, (of course wearing a pair of thin shorts and my extremely well ventilated 'sacred'...."every other shirt I own is in the wash"....tee shirt may have had a bit to do with it.....lmao! But seriously, once the sun went behind the buildings the temps. plummeted and it is becoming brutal out there.

I really am grateful to Tom and Jenn.

Tomorrow morning, Sunday I have to head over to East Baltimore and Monkee's house for a bit. Then I have to figure out where I can, and transportation to such place that I can get boots. I looked in Marshalls at Reisterstown Plaza today on the way through the mall to the Giant, and saw some great prices and markdowns, but the selection and sizes just did not correlate. Hmmmm. Bus schedules and yellow pages, Google Maps and online ads are indicated.

Gotta run, I promised Ed I would show him www.pbskids.com ,

Later....................Dave

"Insomniac With A Laptop .............. Almost As Bad As Drunk Dialing!...."

Good Morning;

Damn I am glad I'm inside right now, 6:30 am. and the temperature has actually warmed up 1 degree, all the way to 12 degrees, with a wind chill of 7 degrees!

Can't sleep...read until about 3:30 am. then dozed off for an hour. Since then the dog and I have just been sitting here in the dark trying to kill each other with silent but deadly bio-chemical warfare......lol.

Good thing the stove does not have constantly lit pilot light.....and that the smoke detector is only set for Carbon Monoxide....and not Methane....lol!

Hell if I could find a way to store this stuff, I could heat the shed!

Sorry, lack of sleep.....and oxygen deprivation.

But seriously, I am grateful to be indoors, especially after seeing all the news reports across the 'net coming in from all over the country about the many deaths due to hypothermia among the homeless.

If you have ever wondered about donating something to an individual or a reputable outreach organization, other than cash or food; consider old sleeping bags or winter coats & new pairs of gloves or watch/ski caps or thermals/long johns, those packets of disposable chemical hand/foot warmers.....all obvious choices of course, but also those inexpensive little AM/FM radios with earbuds or headphones, that can fit in a shirt or coat pocket or some come on lanyards. They can be found for as little as $1.00 at some dollar stores/aisles, or you may have a drawer full of them given away as promotions from radio stations, banks and stores. Not only are they good for entertainment and escape, but also they can give a heads up on approaching inclement weather and Code Blue shelter and "warming (or cooling) station" openings and locations.

Anyway....

it's light outside now and I'm going feed their cats, (so they'll shut the f*ck up!!), to try to grab a few hours sleep before the kids wake up and the heat gets too intense....it's up to 15 degrees...but the wind chill dropped a degree....(?).

Later.........................Dave

"Cold Weather Sucks--Chapter 4,723.................Das Boot--Episode 4...................&.......Gifts--Graciousness--Gratitude--&--Givebacks.........

Good Afternoon;

So ....last night was a baaaaaaad night as Ron White would express it.

My feet got painfully cold for some reason and I could not get them warm enough no matter what I did. They were not all the way in the danger zone at their worst, but yet not far from it. Luckily the rest of me, (except for my typing fingers...lol), were plenty warm enough, and I was fully aware of the problem, so frostbite may have been a possibility, but hypothermia was not. Putting on the ice cold boots this morning, (yeah I was forced to wear them, the sneakers were worse than I thought, holes in the soles all the way through, and damn if I'm going to have cold AND wet feet at below 30 degree temps.! So I could not return them today........BUT WAIT!!! as the Ginsu knife commercials used to say...THERE'S MORE!!.......keep reading), brought back the pain from the cold, and of course the bus was an hour late going to Jenn's. By the time my feet warmed up to the point of feeling like they were being attacked by Lilliputians with spears, as the blood returned, it was time to get off the bus and walk to Jenn's apt., where I stripped the boots off and could scream without being arrested.....lol!

I showered and dropped off dirty laundry to be done when I was planning to return tomorrow, had some coffee and more of the fried chicken I picked up at Whole Foods last night, 8 huge pieces, (2 of each, L,T,B,W), on sale for $5.99, with a $2.00 discount....not too shabby a deal! I jokingly told Jenn she should have her husband take her out to a movie and dinner tonight, & I'd watch the kids, (since the forecast is for lows near 12 degrees with wind chills below 0, ( That is a Zero......and I don't mean Mostel........or the WWII Japanese Fighter Plane of air combat legend!.......lol!). She told me she was going out to celebrate a friend's 8th year anniversary (YAY Lauren....Way To Go!), and Tom was home with the kids. as I showered I reviewed my possible options for tonight, (and Hypothermia is not one of them, I may be stupid, stubborn, and struggling with sanity, but I'm not f*ckin' crazy!), from snagging blankets, quilts and cargo mats, to calling Monkee and seeing if she was having 'company' or not and asking to crash there, (and I have to get past there by Sunday anyway), which I have done before in extreme temps. on both sides of the scale, by her invitation and by my request. That is one of the emergency fallbacks I do not abuse, and she respects and appreciates that so when I DO ask, she knows it is a big deal and not a whim. I was also thinking about putting out an APB on the blog begging for anyplace inside and out of the weather...bed-couch-floor-hammock-recliner-etc., and going through the names in my phone, (in my head, not with the cell-phone in the shower....lol, like my stepdaughter once did, answering the phone under the water and wondering why it wouldn't work later....LOL!), to see if there was anyone available to ask a night of........and being Friday night, Shabbat, that eliminated the best possibilities. I was still pondering my choices when I got out of the shower, (and realizing that most people really do not literally mean it when they say, "If there is ANYTHING I can do to help, [their stress on the anything], just call me"), when Jenn called out and told me Tom said I could come over and spend the night, since I had to be there in the morning anyway to watch the kids as both he and Jenn would be going out and there was an overlap of their times,......but to come over after the Starbucks closed, and hopefully the grandmonsters would be asleep by the time I took the bus there, eliminating the all night 'play date' that would occur if I was any earlier...lol.

So I left there after dressing and caught the 3:10 pm. #58 bus here to Mt. Washington, (only 20 minutes late, plus I had gotten to the stop 10 minutes early,....it was cold as my ex mother-in-laws heart out there, and the wind was almost as bitter....(lol.....NOT!), but one thing about these cheap boots, as long as they are not cold or my feet are not cold, with 2 pair of socks my feet were warm enough.....of course they have piss-poor ventilation so eventually condensation is an issue....lol), and walked over to the coffee shop, (and the driver was new on this route and really, really did not know where the hell he was going, so as I came out from under the JFX overpass I saw the bus coming around the corner of the parking lot of the Mt. Washington Mill, where it not even supposed to be. He saw me, looked at me, smiled and shrugged, and I told him as he opened the door that if I knew he was that confused I would have rode over with him....lol....and he laughed as he pulled off after I gave him the correct route directions, (I only travel the #58 every night and at least twice during the daylight hours each week....lol.).

As I was in the middle of playing my usual game of musical chairs, table-hopping from place to place working my way to one of 'MY' tables, (in a corner, with an outlet nearby if I'm using the laptop, and/or one of the 2 by the back door if not....., always where I can have a wall at my back.....old habits die hard..lol!), Stewart, (of the lost stamps I found of his, and the lost magazines he lost of mine), walks over and tells me his troubles, trials, and tribulations of trying to first find the offices of, and then contact and get to, The Baltimore Jewish Times to attempt to replace the copy I had lent him with the article and story about me in it, [Feb 19th, 2010.. I'm on the cover.. ;-) ..you used to be able to get it online, I just tried, but I think it is too old now......damn], and his negative returns for his efforts. I told him...again!!...that it is not THAT big a deal, and I have a copy stashed...(at least I think I do......uh-oh......CRS strikes again!), and not to kill himself trying to find one. He walks over to his bag, and comes back with an envelope and says it is a belated Xmas card. I opened it and there was a card inside........and, taped to the inside of that card is a nice, crisp, fresh, new $100.00 bill!!!!!!!!!!!

I tried to refuse saying, that is way too much, and started to hand it back to him but he would not take it back, insisting that I deserved it.

Well!, what can I say about this? His interest and generosity is gratefully appreciated and at this time especially, sorely needed! Now I can go out on Sunday and find a pair of REAL boots somewhere, and then go return these pieces of crap to Target, fighting for the cash I paid for them back, but if all else fails, I can take a store credit and save it for Rachel's birthday....or the next time I see her, which ever comes first.......lol! Yeah, right, it won't last until her birthday in May....lol.

Anyway it's been a pretty up and down week boot wise, and the past couple weeks have been over the top with the surprising gifts I have received and the people I have gotten to know, from Abe to Erik, and Stewart to Mikel, and Lauren and the other folks at the coffee shop. Cash, clothes, a TV, a Laptop, food, and Inette and 'Iokepa's book signed and dedicated........and friendship and family and love and compassion. Yes there are huge gaps in the surface construct that is my 'so called life' as some people see it, but at the level of the soul, the basic infrastructure, I am pretty damn blessed.......and lucky as well. That's why I try to pass on what I get when I can, or pre-emptively and proactively, pay it forward.

Thanks for reading, and for looking at the links and suggestions to visit other sites that I post.

The ones that seem to be the most relevant are, www.Change.org (the Poverty In America tab), www.Invisiblepeople.tv (for the blog and videos, if you 'friend' them on Facebook you can get easy access to links to content/other sites), and The National Coalition For Homeless Veterans, (which I am NOT, just to be clear, but it's a crime what the men and women who put their lives and bodies on the line for their country, sometime losing parts of body, mind, and soul in the process, have to suffer and go through before they can get help from the government who used them up!), www.NCHV.org

Well, I'm done for now......of course with 24/7 online access in most cases now.....

As Archie McNally says....."One Never Knows, Do One?".........LOL!

(You'll have to figure out the [hint--literary] reference for yourself......I can't do ALL your work for you!......lol!)

Later.............Dave

"New Boots Are Screw Boots.................Or................A Glass Of Mid-Winter Night's Whine............"

Good Morning;

Well I am NOT a happy camper right now!

The friggin' boots I bought at Target this morning at 11:00 am. were cracked and had a hole in them by 7:30 pm. Right where the normal flex point on top of the foot is between the big toe and the instep. What a piece of made in China all man made materials suck-ass useless crap! I mean, I have had these boots before and I know they are not Donner, or Danner Mountain, or even Timberlands, but c'mon............ Eight F*ckin Hours!?!?!?!?!

And the bitch of it is....I tossed away the old boots I had from my son-in-law Tom because they were shot, between the cracked leather, and the worn down at the opposite angle from which I walk soles and heels, and the flapping soul on the front of the right boot that was held together with electrical tape.......well they were too heavy and not worth carrying and the boots I had just bought fit well enough.......soooooo, ka-dump! into the trash can at the exit along with the ripped up box with no lid the new ones had been laying on.

Now.....I am not only pissed, I am screwed too!

I am sitting in the shed listening to the traffic pass by, tires hissing on the wet asphalt. I have not yet looked outside, but the weather forecast is calling for snow and everybody in Baltimore's favorite two words........a "Wintry Mix"!

Greatttttttt!!!! The only other shoes I have left are the pair of sneakers with the rubber worn off the sole exposing the lovely open cell foam padding and inner sole, which very efficiently absorb the water and 'wick' it directly to the socks. This material is more commonly referred to as a 'sponge'.......LMAO!....(yeah, I'm laughing, what else can you do! Thanks God.....your timing is coming along nicely!, and also.......ahhhh!, so that's what irony is!........lol! [My God is not an angry or vengeful god.....but boy does HE have a wicked sense of humor!]....lol!)

Anyhow, I'm not sure how I'll deal with this in the morning, I guess it depends on the state of the pavement. I have to return them for the cash I paid for them, screw exchanging them! Not only are there no other boots of that style in that size, (hell there aren't even a dozen pairs of boots in any size or style!), why would I get the same crap?

Oh, yeah.....as for a store credit? NFW!.....I NEED footwear!.....from elsewhere!!!

I gotta get off now, my right fingers are beyond tingling, and well past numb and descending rapidly into pain. (the left hand is a bit better, it's holding the laptop level, right under the heat sink and cooling fan....lol.)

Later.....................Dave

"America's Next Homeless Star..........."

Good Evening;

Another newspaper editorial/story trawled from the net,

via invisiblepeople.tv, by way of Facebook;

www.portlandmercury.com

go to NEWS tab and click on (or 'search')

"America's Next Homeless Star"

(by Dave Bow)

That's Portland, Oregon by the way.

After you read that story....read;

"Death Behind A Dumpster"

by Sarah Mirk

on the same website.

For every 'feel good' story, how many unnoticed,

unmourned souls are quietly buried?

For every shining star streaking through the media's heavens.....

How many end up trapped beyond the event horizon of a black hole

in anonymous despair and a lonely death?

Later..................Dave

P.S.

I learned that Portland has the highest per-capita rate

of homelessness in the United States.

I would never have even considered Portland if asked,

figuring more like somewhere in South Florida, California, or N.Y.C.

as the leading places.

"Re-Boot Debut........"

Good Afternoon;

So it was a bit colder last night but I stubbornly refused to quit reading the book I was into, (Gust Front by John Ringo, 2nd in the Posleen war series), so my fingers felt as if they would shatter like glass by the time I finished the last chapter and the afterword.....lol! My right foot was also intermittently cold and hot with no obviously discernible rhyme or reason.

I got up and dressed from the skin out in clean clothes about 10:00 am and headed out to the Target in Pikesville to look for a pair of boots. And I thought the selection at Walmart sucked! There were about 8 pairs of boots in 2 styles and one pair of size 11 in the whole store, in fact the men's shoe section consists of 1 aisle out of the 7 0r so aisles, 5 devoted to women' and 1 to children's shoes. It never used to be this bad. Anyway I bought the 1 pair available and they'll do. My ankles my be bloody for a while as I break them in,but they are whole and dry, as long as I am not wading through water. I looked to but a pair of gloves with the change, but the store is now stocking shorts and other spring and summer wear already. No coats, no gloves, and a half dozen ski caps left. I am holding on to the change for the chance to do something small with Rachel this weekend, it has been too long, almost 2 weeks since I spent any real time with her.

The bus was coming down the street as I walked out and it changed to the Mt.Washington route at the Plaza subway station, so I came right on over about noon-ish.

It looks like snow tonight and ass-bitingly cold Friday through Monday nights, with not much warmer temps. Sat. through Monday daytime.

You know the refrain that's coming, same old song and dance:

!!!!!!C.W.S.!!!!!!

I'm here at the coffee shop tonight and will be on and off the laptop throughout the evening........visitors welcome, (real or virtual)....lol.

Having the laptop, (Thanks Erik at www.Pikesvillepc.com) , is giving me a chance to read and communicate with some of the article/writers at the various sites I try to keep up with around the country that focus on homelessness.......so there may be links posted at any time.......you have been warned......(LOL!).

Later................Dave

"What's Next?.........Soylent Green?........"

Good Afternoon;

Go to www.change.org ,

click on Poverty In America,

and search for the story titled:

The "Official" Word On The Homeless,

....and I bet they pulled the wings off flies as kids too.

Later........Dave

Crain: Debunking urban myths about homelessness before the Big Game | Editorials & Opinions |...

Good Evening;

SuperBowl Tailgate Party & Homeless Cookoff!

Crain: Debunking urban myths about homelessness before the Big Game Editorials & Opinions ...

Texas Style!

lol!

Later....Dave

"Fallout Shelter"

Good Evening;

Just a saying that I saw and thought was cute...

and modified for my own purposes:

Homelessness......If You Are Not Part Of The Solution:

You May End Up Part Of The Precipitate!

Later.................Dave

"Sleep Hard----With A Venegance!.............&........These Boots Are Made For Walkin'.........."

Good Evening;

Well it's around 7:00 pm. and I'm sitting in the coffee shop, thinking about today's post.......(it's so cool to be able to say that.......LOL!).

First thing I have to do is to relate another example of the overwhelming generosity of one of the people I've met during this amazing journey, (and without getting all mystical or metaphysical, some of the people and events that have encountered recently have reinforced the feeling/thought/idea that this is all for some yet unknown/unforeseen purpose).

Abe came into the Starbucks and walked over to say hello after he settled in at his table and asked if I had seen my caseworker and gotten my boots today, after yesterday's weather postponement. I told him I had just finished e-mailing with her and that the next time we got together, we'd be going to Walmart, on Monday the 31st. Well I was okay with that, but he was a bit upset, telling me "You can't go another week and a half with your boots taped up like that!". Then he asked me if the bus goes to Walmart, and I told him yes, but I could not just go there alone as it was Prologue's store credit card and tax number being used, and he says "No, I want to sponsor your boots.", and hands me $50.00. I told him he did not have to do that and he said, "I know that.", I told him again Prologue was taking me there, and he reiterated that I could not go another week or more with taped up boots.

I was nearly in tears with the multitude of emotions running through me at that point, and tried to coherently express my gratitude, but he said, "It's no big deal......".

Well, it's one hell of a big deal to me!, not the boots, but the generosity and building friendship of this gentle man who I've only known a few weeks and has already, unasked and unsolicited by me, given so much. From cash to the TV, to a bag citrus fruit and the (awesomely delicious and decadent!!!!!!!) box of English Toffee.

Thanks again Abe, I'm heading to Target in the morning, (I really don't care for Walmart anyhow, and Target is closer to the shed, I can walk if the weather is nice enough), and if there is nothing I can do in return for you, be assured I'll find a way to 'pass it on' or 'pay it forward'!

So...After not sleeping well the past few nights, nature caught up to me.

The combination of warm temps., (I don't think it got much below freezing last night...a veritable heat wave....lol!), and total exhaustion, and the delayed stress effects of some of the medical issues all contributed to the fact that I hit the sleeping bag at 10:30 pm. last night and except for 2 extremely brief excursions to the 'excess fluids bottle', I slept until 12:09 pm. this afternoon.....and I still kept dozing off on the bus ride here. Physically and mentally I'm in as good shape as can be expected in my current situation, thanks to the needed rest and modern medicines pharmacological contributions, (and I DO mean non-recreational.....lol!!!), while emotionally I'm flip-flopping between overwhelmed and overwrought, with a large dash of confucktion thrown in for god measure.

Hell this is probably be the only time you'll ever hear me say this, but; Thank Goodness I don't have a lover right now.......(LMAO!!)!!

Anyway, I'm about to eat dinner, (I was given a bag of sandwiches last night), and I'm worn out, so I'll see you tomorrow.

Later.............Dave

P.S. Oh, yeah there is an article in the Houston Chronicle (online-1/19/11) about

"Homeless Peoples Prized Possessions", you'll have to Google it I can't link it today for some reason, that is interesting, and funny in places too.

"A Proactive Response to: 'Cold Weather Sucks'===Student collecting backpacks for the homeless - baltimoresun.com ......."

Good Evening;

I started this blog in part as a way to say Thank You to the people of Baltimore who take the time to stop and see the homeless and acknowledge them as human, and to those who go the extra step and reach out with a meal, money, clothing, a blanket......and sometimes just a nod or a moment of conversation.

The link below will take you to the story by Jaques Kelly in the Monday online edition of the Baltimore Sun,

(or in the Tuesday print edition...Pg. 3 Front section)

about a 17 year old young man named Bobby Weinstein who has done that and more. He has started a program called "Heat For The Streets" that has collected and distributed first coats, then bags and backpacks, sleeping bags, and toiletries.

Student collecting backpacks for the homeless - baltimoresun.com

You are familiar with my oft repeated mantra;

"Cold Weather Sucks"

that is echoed by most of the folks I have met on the streets also.

Thanks to Bobby and his efforts...it sucks a bit less for some of those out here.

Later...................Dave

"Sleepless In Seattle.....Meets.....Bootless In Baltimore"

Good Evening;

So I'm at the Starbucks getting to know my new/old laptop better, installing wallpaper and a screensaver, changing passwords, writing e-mails, puttering around on Facebook and chasing links. As I was writing this an hour ago Abe came in and we talked and as I started to go back to the blog after we finished our chat I looked up and saw Michelle my dear friend from MICA sitting almost directly across from me. With both of us concentrating and having our heads down, neither of us noticed the other until we happened to look up at the same time......lol. She just left to meet her graduate advisor, (or is she the graduate advisor....it could work either way....lol!), and we are going to try to meet up later this month to discuss an idea she had,.....about me coming in to talk to one of her classes, "Elements Of Visual Design", which is a non media specific class, with a broad range of techniques available to the student, on my creative process, (such as it is....lol), in poetry and the blog and the influence and use of visual cues....imagery...etc. I'm still a little confused...but She was excited at the idea...lol. I need some more clarification & input I guess....lol.

I spent last night at Jenn's and the perfect night to be indoors it was too. The boot expedition was canceled by mutual consent and agreement at 7:00 am. this morning on the phone with Shelly from Prologue. Schools were canceled and Tom was not going out until later this afternoon, and the Light Rail was running a 'bus bridge' north of Falls Road due to icing, and the side roads were still sloppy, and the Prologue office in Pikesville was closed, and the company cars were available at the employee's 'discretion', but it sounded like they really didn't want them used. At any rate, after sleeping less than 2 hours all night, (insomnia...and my feet hurt, they are as dry and crackly as the crispy, sweet and tasty skin of a well prepared Peking Duck, but nowhere near as pleasant to experience.....lol), I was not leaving the house to deal with a minimum of 6 buses and the accumulated waiting time dealing with the ice and slush and idiot drivers in Baltimore who don't slow down and wonder why they have accidents.......at least not before 2:00 pm.......lol. And when I left Jenn's to catch the 2:20 pm. bus to here the ice was melting so rapidly off the trees that I thought at first that it was a steady downpour of rain....lol! and the streets were clear, mostly.

Well I'm going to scrounge something to eat somehow......

Later................Dave

"Sleep Number Bed It Aint!.................."

Good Evening;

The word 'null' below is actually a link to a "Dallas Morning News" story about a homeless man sleeping in a dumpster who was dumped into a trash truck emptying said dumpster.

null

Gives 'Down In The Dumps', a whole new meaning.

Later..................Dave

(The again it may not....lol, you may have to use the search box......weird, one time it links and another it won't go past there home page???)

"Cheap Thrills......Cold Chills.........Cracks, Crevasses, & Childhood Ills.............."

Good Afternoon;

Well the library is closed for MLK Day and I can still get online.....!!!!!

Thanks Erik.

I'm at the Starbucks in Mt. Washington, and I've been here for a few hours trying to warm up. For some reason I became extremely cold last night and could not get warm, no matter what I tried, two pair of socks, closing the hood of the sleeping bag tight as possible to keep as much body heat in as possible, double wrapping my feet...etc. Which is really strange because it was not THAT cold out, or in the shed which can hold the cold. I think that Devin's gift of bacterial or viral joy is getting in sync with my already overworked immune system for a flanking attack, I can feel the scouting parties testing the defences with stealth sorties and robot bio-probes. (Does it show that I have been reading a whole lot of military SF lately.......lol!)

I'm about to eat breakfast, the Healthy Choice ham and turkey deli combo, (in the same tub, in separate plastic packages, how cool s that.....lol), that I bought yesterday at the Giant and have no worries for the freshness of since they have been stored in the 'Blast Chiller'.......aka....the shed....lol, all night.

Jenn and Tom are both going to Jenn's HG to celebrate a friend's anniversary tonight so I am heading over to their apt. later his afternoon and getting a second exposure to Devinitis Snotitosis,....oooops, I mean babysittng the grandkids tonight, and spending the night inside. Tom is going to drop me off at Prologue's Homeless Outreach center in Towson, (one of those old single family homes across from The Immaculate Conception Catholic church that the church now owns and rents or leases out for nominal fees to various non-profit groups and organizations for meetings, offices, etc., i.e. ; Girl Scouts, NA, et.al.), and Shelly and I are going to Walmart to try to get me some boots. Of course the weather forecast is for a typical Baltimore sloppy mess of freezing rain, sleet, & snow in varying order and intensity, so I'll not be holding my breath on going. We'll see in the morning.

Anyway...I'm going to eat now, and then go look at the bottom of my left foot at what feels like a Grand Canyon size crack in the skin of my sole, most likely from the cold and the extreme dryness my skin develops in winter....and have I mentioned lately....Cold Weather Sucks?

Later................Dave

"Mobility..............Or.................Sleep Blogging?......"

Good Afternoon!

I am now officially semi mobile!

As long as there is power and a WiFi hotspot......

......I'm good to go!

This is all thanks to Erik at 'Pikesville PC';

http://www.pikesvillepc.com/

If you need repairs or a new system setup customized to your needs

check him out.

I'm still feeling kind of funky, and I'm falling asleep at the keyboard, (no coffee, I'm totally out of cash and I left my travel mug at Jenn's so I could not use the Giant hot water.......and it is probably for the best anyway, with my gut the way it is......but I did suck down a couple bottles of PediaLyte that were on the "reduced all the way down to the point that if we can't sell it now....the next step is trash it" rack), so I'm going outside to catch the bus and train and maybe grab a nap and head over to the Starbucks.

And by the way, I got another piece of mail at Jenn's, this time from Jai.

It contained the referrals and appointment dates for the General Surgery and Hematology appointments on January 24th and25th, respectively; and the same for the Neurologist, Feb. 8th The large envelope on Friday was from the Neurologist and contained a mass of forms and questionnaires relating to medical/surgical history and insurance. (Damn I messed up half the words in that paargraph by 'sleep typing'......yay 'Spellcheck'........again......lol)

Later......................Dave

"Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On.....................or Internal Affairs.................."

Good Afternoon;

Well......What can I say about that game yesterday? I was physically and emotionally exhausted by the time it ended, not to mention pissed off, confused and wondering how no one else but Anna Marie and I noticed that aliens had kidnapped the Ravens at Halftime and substituted pod grown look-a-like life forms for all our players!

My gut was sore from all the tension and my voice was hoarse from all the shouting at the TV set at Jenn's, (we watched the game together...in different rooms...(for safety reasons.....LOL!), and my fingers were tired from all the texting back and forth to Anna Marie.

A heartbreaker....a real heartbreaker.

The sore gut must have been weakened to the extent that some of my grand daughter Devin's cold/flu germs decided to emulate the Beverly Hillbillies and load up their old viral trucks and move in with me, bringing along the whole menagerie of intestinal flora and fauna, lock stock, and barrel. And of course the first stage of this particular strain of viral visitation is the "Poopapalooza Festival", complete with hot and cold running diarrhea, chills and thrills, stomach wrenching cramps, and shakes, shivers, & quivers galore! It was a real fun night....NOT!!!!...with many, many, many sudden and urgent trips to the gas station with just barely enough notice to get a pair of shoes on that after the third 'near miss', I just left them on until the situation slowed down around 8:00 am....(and the hell with trying to put a coat on, I was hoping the cold would put a 'freeze' on things for a minute!.....LOL!).

After the umpteenth trip, when I had to drink 2 quarts of water for emergency re-hydration purposes, I took my dose of 'bupe' a few hours early, for the reason that it slows or stops the motility as a side effect. (Not a good reason to take it on it's own, [although, way back in 1980 when I picked up a case of very serious Salmonella, the doctor did give me Paregoric to stop the uncontrollable muscular stomach and intestinal contractions], and sometimes if the person's system is 'normal', it works a bit too far in the opposite direction, but for me and my screwed up and 'surgically shortened' intestinal system that happened to be another unexpected 'off prescription' benefit and blessing of the drug.) But it worked, even though I'm not about to bet a pair of clean shorts that the next 'bubble' is only going to be gas......lol!

Anyway, enough with the juvenile humor, I hope that I don't get the same reactions in Stage 2 that Edward and Devin had, the dreaded Technicolor Yawns of....'PukeStock'!................lol!

Okay, it's time to take a break for a few minutes, Erik just called and we are meeting here and going to see if the laptop he has for me works better this time. He has been testing it at home, and now for 'field trials'.

Back shortly...........maybe 'mobile'!

Later.................Dave

"Sleep??????....................I'll Sleep When I'm Dead................."

Good Afternoon;

So another night of nearly no sleep, not influenced by drugs, alcohol, or food and drink. Insomnia sucks almost as cold weather!

I'm still at Jenn's this afternoon and this evening, (until the Ravens game is over), then back out to the shed tonight.

I cooked breakfast for the Grandkids and Tom this morning, and me too, but Jenn was still enjoying the 'second coming' of her Taco Bell indulgence last night and passed on the french toast and beef scrapple.............lol!

They all went to a 6th birthday party for one of Jenn's best friends daughters and I did my laundry and tried to take a nap....but the lovely Caribbean Island natives in the apartment next door came home and had the stereo thumping with drop beat reggae to the point that things here in Jenn's apt. were vibrating......sleep was not an option.....tonight I better drain the old bladder completely before I get all nice and cozy in the sleeping bag, because once I wrap my self in....it's going to be just like Alan Shephard on the first space flight...."Houston we have a problem.........oh, well....never mind.".....................LOL!!!!"

Tom is going out as soon as they come home and Jenn and I are going to duct tape the kids in front of their TV and we are going to be watching the Ravens kick some Pittsburgh ass........(cross fingers/knock wood/....here bunny, bunny, bunny.........lol!)!

WAIT.......it's quiet.........too quiet.......later,

I'm going nappies!

Dave

P.S. .......... Welcome to the 3 new Followers, who all seem to be Boxer owners!

(The Dog....not the Porsche......lol.)

Thanks for the publicity Craig........lol.

"Medical Mishegas..........................."

Good Morning;

As you can surmise from the time of this post I'm not at the Pikesville library just now.....lol. And I do not yet have my own laptop yet, (maybe by tomorrow, cross your fingers!), besides it is way too cold to be typing if I was in the shed tonight, my fingers would be as agile as bratwurst and I'd wear out the spell check. Last night it was so cold my fingers went numb everytime I tried to read, I couldn't even turn the pages of the book. I was warm enough though when I did my turtle imitation, except for the tip of my nose and my chapped lips, but it was a really rough night inside the old brain box. Added to the damn insomnia was the sudden onset of a bout of deep depression, flavored with a large dose of loneliness. Mix in the worries over the latest batch of medical issues I was informed of Wednesday, (more on that coming up), concerns about the meeting I had that day with my caseworker from Prologue about the S.S.A. filing and the "good cause" letter for the request for an extension of the filing date and the request for a hearing, and the pressure to switch my D.S.S. office from the city to the county....and it ended up being a very 'un-fun' night to be alone with all the voices in my head.

When I did fall asleep arond 6:00 am. I only slept for 3 hours and woke up cold as hell because I had tossed and turned so much I was no longer on or under any of the blankets and padding. I covered back up and lay there trying to get warmed up again, but never did get fully warm, until about 11:00 am.

I was planning on heading over here to Jenn's to babysit the grandmonsters about 5:00 pm. but she called and said I could get here arond 1:30 pm., so after killing time at the Giant and catching the bus ....I did. Tom was going to a Kung Fu tournament in Virginia, and Jenn was heading to the store and then a meeting and a night out with a girlfriend. I was in a creative kitchen mood so I ended up sauteeing shrimp with garlic and ginger and making an Alfredo sauce with crabmeat and tossing them both with a pound of fettucine, and oven broiling a couple of t-bone steaks with garlic-black pepper coating, and after all the tasting while cooking I wasn't hungry anymore.....lol. We're gonna have a one hell of a breakfast here later this morning though!

Okay..................Wednesday.

So as the doctor was palpating my abdomen and I was telling her about the sudden sharp shooting pain I get when sitting up and leaning forward with my legs out in front of me, (such as when I am pulling the zipper on the sleeping bag up), on the right side and the feeling of extreme fullness or swelling internally on the left side, (where the neuropathic pain from the pneumonia surgery is located), she checks the radiologists reports and pulls out the referral forms again. This time SHE is doing the referring and having Jai set the appointments to;.........the Neurologist for the EMG test and sciatic nerve tumor examination, the Hematologist for the (even more) enlarged spleen, and the General Surgeon for the multiple gall stones and enlarged and and possibly 'hot' gall bladder. And amazingly....there is a huge envelope from the Neurologist's office here in today's mail at Jenn's apartment.....after I could not even get a human to return a call! (There is also a bill from the Neurosurgeons business office that has to be sent back informing them that they are billing the wrong entity, and that they either have to bill M.A. or send it through Jai,.....but it's not my problem!)

I'm really not thrilled with these findings

Okay, the battery is dying and the power cord is in their bedroom, so I'm outta here for now.............more tomorrow.

Later.............................Dave

"Early Dismissal..............."

Good Afternoon;

I'm on my way to the bus stop to head down to my doctors appointment at JAI,

so this is a quick up date. More later...tomorrow morning??

Court Tuesday...."Contempt Charges Dismissed..You Are Free To Go....."

is all I heard as I was 'out the door and on the street before the echoes died'!!

Later.......Dave

"Cold Weather..................................... BUT A Warm Weekend!..........."

Good Afternoon;

So......It has been an interesting weekend!

Temperature-wise....it really sucked!

If I have neglected to mention it before...

"I am not now nor have I ever been,

.....a member of the communist party....

(No wait.......that's not right, I watched "Good Night And Good Luck" again....lol!...

a fan of cold weather"!!!

If you Google 'Raynauds' and go to the Wikipedia page, you'll see some really wildly colored pictures of the way one's hands can be affected. My hands go yellow and red, but not to the extent pictured......BUT my feet come real close!!

Like I said:

Cold Weather Sucks!!!

But People-wise it had been a pretty awesome weekend! Beginning with Saturday morning and running into Cheryl,(Sp.?), at the Giant, then getting the e-mail from Erik the the laptop looks like it is good to go. And then as I am leaving the library and getting on the bus in the afternoon about 4:00 pm. the phone rings and it is Inette and 'Iokepa, my friends from Hawaii, (http://www.returnvoyage.com/ & also Google "Grandmother's Whisper/Inette Miller/Infinity Publishing"), asking where we can meet. I gave then directions to the Mt. Washington Starbucks and met them there. (and they were thrilled with the preservation and re-use of the old mill buildings and agreed with me that the 'aura' or 'feel' that the building exudes makes for a great atmosphere), and we met just after 5:00 pm. and spent a wonderful but way too short 2 hours catching up. The book, "Grandmothers Whisper" is published and they are on another cross country loop this time promoting the book at independent bookstores and at the homes of friend's who have previously hosted (and new friends too), Return Voyage 'gatherings'. Theirs is an amazing story and they are amazing people who I am grateful to know and who I most likely never wopuld have met had I not been on my own journey. Kindred souls, who have helped show me that 'Houseless does not neccessarily mean Homeless, and taught me to try to learn and understand the hidden meanings that life is revealing to me through the people and experiences of the past 4 years.

Maholo and Aloha, My Friends, until our next meeting.

After they had left, surprising me with a signed and dedicated copy of "Grandmothers Whisper", (and I was able to return their graciousness with a copy of "Talespinner" that I was compelled to print up the other day, but with no reason or foreknowledge why I needed to do so!), my newest friend Abe stopped in, just to say hello, and find out how I was doing. he did not even stay for a cup of coffee, just ran in and out. That was a sweet gesture and took me by surprise, I mean it's not as if the Starbucks is on the way to anyplace, it's in a dead end shopping center and is a 'destination' type of place. The rest of the night was typical....cold, walk to bus, cold, wait for bus, ride bus, cold, wait for next bus, ride bus to gas station, cold, crawl shivering into bag.....WARM!!!!.......lol!

Sunday I stayed in the bag as long as I could, until 11:30 am. then went to the Giant. After returning the circulation to my hands with the now very hot water, I went to the CoinStar machine and cashed in the $5.00 bag of coins I had saved and picked up off the streets/floors over the past week and put the balance on my (registered) Starbucks card so I would be again able to get the free refills. I then went out into the damn cold and the doble damned wind and caught the bus and the train and the bus to Mt. Washington and walked to the Starbucks. While I was sitting there sipping my first cup of coffee, (which someone who wishes not to be named....lol!), rang up as a refill...which came up free on the card....Thanks!....Abe walked in and was looking for a place to sit, near an outlet. As he was getting his drink I saw a couple getting up to leave and snagged the table for him. Whne he sat down he said he had something for me and went out to his car and came back in with...... a portable, Digital, LED screen TV, in a carry case with AC adapter and antenna, (which has a magnetic base mount...very cool and handy), that he gave to me. He said he needed a monitor once about a year ago for a photo shoot and bought it and it has been sitting ever since...so it's mine! Damn, now that is a NICE gesture! Even though I have never been a 'collector' of electronics or other material items, (usually spending money on 'experiences'...[dining, shows, travel.....etc.]...I still like and appreciate 'toys' as much as the next guy..(and if I HAD lots of money......wellllll.....THAT'S a horse of a different colored kettle of fish!....LOL!)

So I got to watch the second haf of the Wild Card Playoff Game and see the Ravens beat up on the Chiefs!!!! YES!!!!! Now they have to keep the momentum and the attitude going through Saturday afternoon and evening and kick some Pittsburgh butt!!!!

A bit later I wandered over to the Whole Foods and saw Michel, (pronounced MY-KEL....), and she shared with me that she was going to have a baby boy in June and showed me the sonogram, and then she tells me to be there today by 3:00 pm. as she has a coat for me. (and shit-oh-dear....I'm gonna be real close....did not realize it was so late....).

A short time later the "EX" brought Rachel by for a little while, (and the little stinker was hungry and ate all the roast beast I had been about to eat for dinner...plus some of my Entemann's Chocolate Chip Cookies..LOL!!!), and we visited and I walked her over to meet Michel.

That was the high point of the weekend for me, seeing Rachel. The rrest of the night was arepeat of yesterday...except the damn bus was late making me miss connections and wait even LONGER inthe damn cold...at least the wind had died down some....making the wind chill only about 17 damn degrees!!!

I gotta run and try to catch the buses now...Tomorrow is court in the morning, which has me much more stressed than I am letting on, so I'll see you in the afternoon.............God Willing..And The Creek Don't Rise!

With any luck, the snow that is forecast will close the Courts,

"PRAY FOR SNOW"

Later...............dave

Fame......................"

Good Afternoon;

Well it's white and cold again, it can end anytime now!

I met with Shelly from Prologue after I left here yesterday and we made arrangements for her to pick me up and accompany me to court on Tuesday. She is going to type up another letter stating that the S.S.I. case is still pending and that prologue is representing me in the matter and helping with filings etc. We also began assembling medical records for the S.S.A. appeal filing date extension, and found out that we also have to go into the S.S.A. office. After Tuesday we will schedule that and also the postponed trip to Walmart for boots. (and not a minute too soon either, these ones from Tom are on their last legs)

I came by here and was going to get back online but the wait was too long, and the crazies were here too and I did not feel like hearing all the crap and cursing.

I ran into this kid, (well he's a young 20-something), I talk to sometimes and found out he had not had anything to eat since yesterday, so I went down and grabbed him some cans of Chef Boy-Ar-Dee pasta meals and a package of cookies, because I just got the monthly allotment on the Food Stamps card, and it was the right thing to do at that moment. I wouldn't have given him cash...(If I had any that is.....LOL), because it probably would have gone right to drugs if he asked for that, but all he wanted was food and I was happy to help.

I went over to the Starbucks and had coffee, (HOT coffee!....the damn Giant hot water si luke warm again), and breakfast...at 5:00 pm.....lol...and tried to read for a while. It was crowded at this time and I was at a 4-top table so I kept offering seats to people who were looking for somewhere to sit, and ended up in conversation with 4 different groups in a row, and then the last couple guys were talking fast and fluent German, with the occasional phrase or word of English interspersed and it was very melodic and pleasant just to listen to, even though I had very little idea of what they were talking about....lol.

Stuart(Stewart?) came in and saw me and dropped the March 2010 issue of Baltimore magazine in front of me and apologized over and over again for losing it and the Feb. 19th issue of th Jewish Times that I had let him borrow to read. He had been down to the Baltimore Mag. offices twice already....and had the wrong date in mind...lol. He says he is going to get to the JT next week if he can find it. I keep telling him stop fretting so much, it's not that big a deal, but he feels real bad about about it and will not be satisfied until he replaces them both. It's funny because this is the guy who dropped the 100 Forever stamps worth $44.00 in the bathroom at the coffee shop and josh and I tracked him down by the receipt from a package he had sent that was in the envelope also. I have known him for a while and had thought that it was him, because he tends to be a bit absentminded...lol. He had put both magazines in a cardboard FedEx envelope and lost it somewhere between the car the Whole Foods and the Starbucks one evening.

Anyway we talked for a while and then Allen came in and sat for a while, and then the folks from the Friday night meeting at the church across the way came in and I ended up talkng to a bunch of them I know....and it was 8:15 pm. before I even read the comics in the Sun.....lol.

Last night was cold, cold, cold, and I ended up having to get up and 'fill the jug' 3 times, (too much coffee too late and the damn prostate decided to act up.......lol!), and putting my feet into the icy cold slippers seemed to suck all the heat out of my body. Then, it took longer to warm the bag back up....and repeat, and again, so it was a broken night of extremes in temperature. When I looked out and saw snow at 5:30 am. i made the decision to stay inside the sleeping bag as long as my back would let me....which ended up being 12:30 pm. this afternoon.....ha! I had to re-lay all the blankets and the bag this afternoon after I dressed, first putting the pants in the bag with me to warm up enough so that the creases would not cut my femoral artery, because I had twisted and urned so much last night, and by the time I finished my hands were frozen and hurting....but not as bad as when they started to warm up and the blood started returning!!

I went into the Giant and picked up some food for today and found out the water was still only warm so I have not had my coffee yet. As I was staring at the Entemann's pastry and doughnut display figuring out what to get since they are 'buy one get one free', (one of the 2 times you'll see me buying donuts, the other is when there is a $2.00 off sticker on the already reduced doughnuts on the Giant day-old rack), a woman stops and declares..."I know you!...I know I know you from somewhere!" then she says..."I read your blog!" We talked for a few minutes and it turns out that she used to be friends with Allen and his ex-wife. She said to say hello to him and that maybe we will all meet up at the Starbucks for coffee one evening. She then says that she has been reading the blog for a while and finds it very interesting and that she has wanted to do this for a while...and reaches in her purse and hands me 2 $5.00 bills. I thank her and tell her it is greatly appreciated and we talk for another minute or two and move on.

Wow, that's twice in 2 weeks that I have serendipitiously run into a follower. next thing you know I'll have a 'public', and then.....look out baby, I'm gettin' me an "ENTOURAGE"!...............ROTHFLMAO!!

So, Thank YOU Cheryl, (I'm guessing at the spelling...ok?), you made my day! I do hope that you stop by the coffee shop sometime, my e-mail is in the header of the blog if you want to write.

I'm heading out now, time is almost up here on the computer. I have been playing E-tag with Inette and 'Iokepa and their busy schedule. We are hoping to snacth few minutes together at the coffee shop while they are in town.

I'll see you after 1:00 pm to morrow....or Monday morning,

Later..............................dave