"Midnight Musings, Mumblings, & Meanderings...........[But No Moanings!!!]........................."

Good Evening;

Well it's closer to morning than evening technically, but I haven't gone to bed yet. Today was another uneventful, end of the month, out of money, out of Foodstamps, out of meds day. Fairly typical, moderately stressful, but this time on the upward slope of the depression cycles curve. When I left Jenn's last night after showering to catch the 10:00 pm. bus back to the shed,

(and which I saw go by as I was speaking to my son-in-law as I waited to cross the street.....2 minutes earlier than it was supposed to even have left the Metro station, meaning at least 8 minutes earlier than the stop I was aiming to catch it at....and this is a bus that I catch 5 nights a week at the Metro on the average....and it is ALWAYS a minimum of 5 minutes late getting to the station to start it's run!!??!!....but it was warm and I had a book and the next bus was due in a half hour and the location makes for good 'idiot watching' as morons with their asses hanging out of their pants, which are belted across their crotches attempt to run across the street, in traffic, without falling on their faces....lol!),

I snagged a serving of her awesome baked ziti with sausage and ground beef, and also a container of tuna and egg salad, plus confiscated chocolate from one of the grandkids half dozen Easter baskets. That and a quick raid on the 'Dunkin Dumpster' kept me with comestibles through today and into breakfast tomorrow, (today actually, Saturday). I've still got a pouch of pink salmon and 2 slices of bread and a 1/3 of a jar of peanut butter in case nothing else falls my way over the weekend. Monday the 2nd of May I should get the little bit of D.S.S money for the month.

I'm still stuck in a sort of a 'late night loop' as we used to call it when I worked the graveyard shift. Even if I get to sleep at a reasonable hour, (by 2:00 am.), I am only sleeping an hour or so and waking up unable to get back to sleep. Some days sleep is nonexistent until 7- 8- 9:00 am., and then it is not restful. Couple this with the massive depressive episode of the past few weeks and I'm not worth a damn. Mix in the first meal of the day at 4 or 5:00 pm., and then being hungry and eating too much too quick and the whole body and metabolism is screwed up big time. I'm starting to resynchronize now though, even though it is 2:45 am. now, I am starting to feel as if I could fall asleep by 3:30 am., if I sign off now, and if I don't push past that point where tired and sleepy coincide. I was up and out earlier today, (and hope to do the same in the morning....and find a way to scrounge some coffee!), to the library, then to the subway and the light rail to the coffee shop where I ate. When that closed I took the light rail and bus over to Monkee's to get the meds I need for the weekend and which I has miscalculated the number of last time. From there it was by bus down to Johns Hopkins, (and watching the sad state of the junkies and crackheads on the corners as they tried to scheme and scam their ways through the last few days of the month until the first batch of checks come out in May. The 2 most dangerous times to be walking the streets are the first week of any month....and the last week. The former because the criminals and dopers both know that people in the 'hood have cash.....and the latter because the dopers are broke and desperate and dope sick.

On Sunday I have tentative plans to stop by Rachel's and drop off my bags, except for the laptop, and we are going to take her puppy for a walk down the hill to the Starbucks. We are going to get her mother to pack up a picnic lunch for us and spend the afternoon together. May 13th is her birthday and I have to see what she wants without being TOO obvious, I don't want her to think I may be getting her something that is beyond the budget this month......it is going to be tight, to say the least. The good thing is that she is truly an appreciative and grateful child, not greedy like some. Which is all the more reason that I want to try to do as much as I can.

Anyway, sleep beckons....I hope it is not just an illusion.

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

"Freddy Fender Redux...................AKA......................... "Wasted Days And Wasted Nights"

Good Afternoon;

Another crazy night of interrupted sleep, tired but unable to sleep, falling asleep and waking up a short time later, and then being wide awake, and falling asleep in the morning when I wanted to be up.

I'm here at the library for the first time in a while, I had a book to drop off and two to pick up and a few minutes to kill befor I have to catch a bus to Jenn's where I am going to grab a shower and a cup of coffee, and hopefully something to eat for the first time today.

It was a wasted day, I stayed in the shed this morning because it seemed as if there was going to be some serious thunderstorms, which never appeared, and ended up not leaving until 5:45 pm. Of course it is now beautiful out.

I have been in e-mail contact with my caseworker from Prologue, who I have been avoiding like everyone and everything else recently, and will be talking to and maybe meeting with her tomorrow. I am supposed to sign new form for another year of service, and release authorizations, etc. If not tomorrow, the beginning of next week.

I may be back from the shed when I leave Jenn's tonight.

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

"Fighting Back Against Hate...................."

Good Morning;

This post has nothing to do with homelessness,

but if you follow no other link I ever post,

click on this one to see what one town did to muzzle the scum from defiling this fallen Marines funeral!!!

http://www.ihatethemedia.com/a-simple-way-to-stop-westboro-baptist-church-funeral-protesters

Seeing the accompanying video of the hundreds and hundreds of people lining the sides of the road showing support for the family, for America, and for common decency is moving and encouraging.

Semper Fidelis

R.I.P

Staff Sgt. Jason Rogers

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

"Lucky 13....(THOUSAND!)..........."

Good Evening;

So it's about 8:30 pm. and I'm here at the Starbucks getting ready to pack up and catch the buses back to the shed. After signing off last night, (this morning), I passed right out and woke up at 9:15 am., barely, to go to the bathroom, then went right back out like a light until 1:30 pm. I was totally out of it when I woke up, disoriented and not sure if it was am. or pm. for a bit. After going over to the Giant and soaking my head in the sink for a while I jumped on the buses and headed over here to the coffee shop for a couple 'refills', wink-wink/nod-nod....lol, and ate the food I had left after last nights distribution spree, and read a book. That's it for today, no excitement just a slow motion crawl.

I see that in 8 more hits there will be 13,000 visits to the blog.

Who'd a thunk it!?

Later..........and, Thank You one and all............Dave

"A Return To Social Contact......... & .........Donuts To Dollars..........."

Good Evening;

Well I'm sitting here at the Starbucks for the first time since Friday, and only the second time in about ten days. Other than Jenn's the only place I was.....was isolating in the shed. Which I know was not healthy and only exacerbated the depression and everything else, but felt so depressed I did not care, which caused me to just stay in the shed, which increased the depression......seems to be a self replicating cycle does it not? And as I pointed out the other day, I seemed to be in multiple pieces/places, and the only me that was nominally functional was the one chronicling the whole mess.

Last night at Jenn's I could not get comfortable on either the couch or the recliner and was up until dawn, then fell sleep for 2 hours and woke up when Jenn was getting ready for her doctor's appt. and Tom was coming in the door. After they left I crashed again into a half sleep listening to/for the kids until 11:00 am. when I got up and fixed breakfast for us all. After folding the laundry from last night and downing half a dozen cups of coffee, I showered and dressed and headed out to catch the 3:00 pm. bus, feeling much better and less likely to step in front of a bus rather than onto one.

Being broke for the next week and out of food and stamps I grabbed a can of tuna from Jenn's kitchen and a couple of packs of cheese and peanut butter crackers and a package of Poptarts and made a raid on the grandkids Easter Basket overflow for chocolate, (they'll never miss it they're still wired....lol), figuring with the foil package of pink salmon and the rolls I still have and the many packets of mayo I'd be good for 2-3 days, augmented by the 'Dunkin Dumpster' if need be. When I got to the coffee shop Will was clearing the sandwich case of markouts, and being a vegetarian, gave me a couple sandwiches with meat on them, and when Katie was clearing the pastry case she gave me a bag with some bagels and donuts, and a 4 pack box of the 'cake lollipops' in rocky road flavor that was going in the trash. Many thanks my friends!

(Okay, I'm in the shed now. I had to break off because Erik of Pikesville PC, my laptop 'Patrone' stopped by on his motorcycle and we talked for a good 45 minutes to an hour about bikes and travel and related stuff.)

I shared these out at the gas station with a couple of younger homeless guys(mid 20s ?) who happened to be passing through the area; and a woman and her kids who was getting about 2 gallons of gas with small denomination coins from the kids piggy banks and hoping to get up to Delaware to her mother's house. She was forced out of the place they were living after she had her husband locked up for knocking the sh*t out of her. I gave her the $2.00 in coin I had scraped up from the bottom of my bag, and on the shelf at Jenn's where I empty my pockets when I get undressed, and end up forgetting when I leave, that I was going to use for Keno tonight. When I told the regulars playing the lottery inside what was going on, everyone kicked in a little bit and she ended up with half a tank of gas, more than enough, plus a couple of pints of milk for the children.

I am familiar with the overwhelming mix of emotions that occurs when someone helps you out with no strings attached and no hesitation, right out of the blue with no requests or solicitation on the part of the donee, and when a group gets together to help out spontaneously....the positive energy is contagious. She was almost in tears and kept trying to get addresses so as to mail everyones contribution back to them. We kept making up ridiculous or obviously fake ones, (c/o S. Klaus North Pole......or 2600 Pennsylvania Ave.....H. Potter @ Hogwarts School......etc........lol), until she was cracking up and gave it up. It was just the right thing to do.

I'm going to try to sleep now, it's 2:02 am. and I am hearing rumbles of thunder to the northeast.....and it smells like rain too... so I want to unplug the power cord as a precaution.

My plans are again to try to head down to JAI tomorrow to see about refills, but I'm not making any promises...based on past experience.

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

"Ba Da BOOOOMMMM!!....................Okay, I'm Up, I'm Up!.................."

Good Evening;

So I'm at Jenn's tonight with the A/C and the cable, and it was unexpected and appreciated. It was 85 degrees today, and is still 76 degrees at 11:00 pm., and it's only April....crazy ain't it!?

I was up and in the Giant at 10:00 am. to wash up and shave with plans to head down to JAI to try to get my BP meds renewed, but.....when I mentioned it to one of the employees at Giant in passing, she told me she had just left there and the waiting room was filled to capacity and there were two dozen people waiting outside. Immediate change of plans! I was in the shed around 1:00 pm. just surfing the 'net when Jenn texted me asking if I was available this evening, tonight, and Tuesday morning to watch the kids. She dangled the A/C and the cable as a bribe, and I texted her back saying yes...with conditions; 1) a shower, which I knew was no problem, and 2) either a load of laundry of putting some of mine in with hers....because I was just about at the point of digging my BVDs out of the laundry bag and spraying them with Lysol!............lol! She told me that she had a load left on the laundry card for me to use.....if only for the sake of everyone around me.....lol.

Okay, I'm back, I've showered and just pulled the clothes out of the dryer, and burned the hell out of my hand on the brass button on my jeans....that's one HOT dryer!

I never did get to sleep last night, it was about 8:00 am. when I went out finally, and like I said I was up and out by 10:00 am., but I woke up at 20 minutes after 9:00 am. to the very unique "whoooomp--boooom!" of a 'fuel-air explosion' and it's echo off the surrounding buildings in the shopping center. I thought something had exploded at the gas station, but it seemed a little tame for that, so I went around the corner and saw a car in the parking lot with it's hood up and a heavy coating of soot all over the front end and a guy with no eyebrows standing by it. The genius was trying to start his engine, (and on which he must have flooded the carburetor and the engine was already hot = gasoline going from liquid to vapor), and being a total tool closed the hood and walked over to the gas station and bought spray can of starter fluid...aka = ether! He then proceeded to fill the carburetor and the air cleaner and the air intake ducts and the entire engine compartment [which if you remember was already filled with nice, hot, gasoline vapors] of his 1990 Chevrolet Cavalier. As he stood bent over the engine adding even more ether to the already volatile mix his partner cranked the engine.......with the previously mentioned results. I'm sorry I missed what I was told was a brief but impressive fireball. There was no permanent damage to either the guy or his car, other than the aforementioned instant hair removal treatment, a sh*tload of soot on him and the car, and the polyester shirt he had on becoming much smaller and extremely 'crispy', more so in the front than the back.....lol.

Anyway I'm going to try to sleep because I'm losing whatever fragile grip on reality I've still got, though I'm feeling more slaphappy than suicidal at this point.

Though sometimes it's hard to tell.....lol.

Talking to Rachel this evening, and having Devin bring in a DVD and instruct me to put it in the player and then get my butt back on the couch because she was going to sit on my lap and watch it.......and be quick about it!..(kinda like Jane Lynch in those Exfinity commercials....lol!), helped a good bit.

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

"Hooked On Cracked..............Or....................One Step Forward----Six Steps Back.................."

Good Morning;

Well I've found a new addiction, or should I say a new subset of an already established one.....by which I mean the Internet. I clicked on a link to a story at www.Cracked.com, which bills itself as "America's only humor site - since 1958", and went from list to list to list.....etc., starting with "8 Movie Special Effects You Won't Believe Aren't CGI", to "17 Images You Won't Believe Aren't Photo Shopped" and the 7 other articles in this series, and out into the universe of oddities and absurdities from there.....for hours and hours and hours. Check it out, some of the pics are freakin' incredible, others are hilarious.

So I've been in isolation mode again since I got back here Friday night after spending the day at Jenn's. That makes it something like 10 of the past 14 days that I've been practicing to be a hermit, if only I can find a cave with indoor plumbing....lol.

But in all seriousness, it's not paranoia or agoraphobia.....as far as I know...

but nothing seems to matter and I can't summon up the energy to care. Sometimes it feels as if I were three separate entities, one keeping up the facade of coping and getting by with a sense of irony and a twisted outlook and sense of humor, and that it will all work out in the end; one who knows that this is as good as it's ever going to get, so what's the point of trying, because deep down inside, I'm worthless and know it; and the third one, who sits here above it all and watches and records echoing the passions of whichever me is dominant at that particular time.

Ain't depression a hoot?!?

Especially if you add in a healthy dose of insomnia and some intermittent anxiety, shaken not stirred, and garnish with unresolved physical pain.... and an olive.

Mood Swings....? Me!? Hell, I make a pendulum look like a slacker!...lol.

I really, really, need to get some sleep!

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

"Flash----Bang!......................"

Good Evening;

WOW!!!!! I just saw--heard--felt the most amazing thing! I had just opened the door of the shed to look at the rain that was pounding on the roof like the drum solo from "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" (a 17 minute long, 1960s rock-n-roll, heavy metal classic by a group known as 'The Iron Butterfly'........for all you young-uns in the blogosphere......lol), and see if any of the hail that the 'special weather alert' was warning about. By pure chance I was looking right at the lightning rod in the su-station next door at the very instant a humongous bolt of lightning struck it in a shower of sparks and caused it to vibrate like a tuning fork. I swear I could see the flash and the return! There were 3 distinct sounds so close together they seemed as one, a noise like a giant piece of silk being ripped, a clang as the pole was struck, and the crack/boom of the thunder of the return strike. But...before the soundwave, in less than a heartbeat, there was a discernible shockwave I could feel in my chest. An eyeblink later the odor of ozone and hot copper filled the air.

Awesome......truly, truly Awesome!

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

"A Hunk, A Hunk Of Burning Lung......................."

Good Afternoon;

Just a thought, it can be bad enough to be homeless when the weather is decent, but imagine living in St. Louis yesterday, or North Carolina last Saturday. Even though no one living on the street was reported killed, I saw an interview with one woman who lost almost all her possessions because there was no room in the storm cellar she made it into for more than a single duffel bag. In an urban environment I would guess that there are many more places that are accessible, but if people were living in an encampment or a rural area they may not know to seek shelter until too late, and may never be missed for a long time.

So I got back here to the shed last night about 10:15 pm. between storm fronts and fell asleep during the 11:00 news. I woke up a couple hours later with the lantern and TV on and the rain pounding down again. The rest of the night I kept waking up every 45 minutes or so, either too hot or too cold, and in the middle of some extremely bizarre but realistic seeming dreams. It was raining heavily on and off all morning so I just went back to sleep if it was raining each time I woke back up. I had a freaky experience when I got to to attend to some pressing bladder issues about Noon. I was standing near the the door at the far end of the shed refilling an empty Powerade Zero bottle with 'reprocessed product' when I heard a 'skritch skritch ' noise outside on the door...and all of a sudden sunlight pours in through the round hole where the door knob mechanism used to be, which I keep plugged with a fist sized hunk of the fiberglass insulation fallen from the wall. I bent down and peered through the hole......and watched either a crow or a raven slowly fly to the roof of the building opposite, with the hunk of insulation hanging from it's beak!............lol! I ripped of another hunk and replaced it in the hole, making sure it was situated flusher to the door on the outside this time.

Not particularly in the mood to go any where today, I went back and lay down and read/slept/netsurfed until 3:00 pm. I got up and went over to the Giant to use the bathroom, wash up and make coffee, and get some bread and chips with my last couple bucks. I stopped by the library and walked around for a bit just enjoying the sun and the warm wind then headed back to the shade and made my PB&J breakfast/lunch/dinner meal and watched part of the middle and the end of a movie with Charlie Sheen back in 1996 before he had 'Tiger Blood'......lol!......called "The Arrival", (all I have ever been able to catch has been the ending for some odd reason of timing.)

I have had a slight headache and chest congestion all day, but I just coughed up what felt like a couple-three chunks of lung tissue and feel somewhat better.....lol.

I made the coffee triple strength and the water was extra hot today, so I guess that helped burn and dissolve the crud in my lungs some too.....lol.

I'm going to sign off and charge up the battery on the laptop for a while, the screen brightness is aggravating my headache and I also want to run to the restroom at the Giant before this next batch of thunderstorms I see approaching on the weather radar gets here.

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

Homeless vets get left out of recent budget deal | Minnesota Public Radio News

Good Evening;

Rudyard Kipling said it in 1890:

Tommy

I WENT into a public 'ouse to get a pint o' beer, The publican 'e up an' sez, " We serve no red-coats here." The girls be'ind the bar they laughed an' giggled fit to die, I outs into the street again an' to myself sez I: O it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' " Tommy, go away " ; But it's " Thank you, Mister Atkins," when the band begins to play The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play, O it's " Thank you, Mister Atkins," when the band begins to play. I went into a theatre as sober as could be, They gave a drunk civilian room, but 'adn't none for me; They sent me to the gallery or round the music-'alls, But when it comes to fightin', Lord! they'll shove me in the stalls! For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' " Tommy, wait outside "; But it's " Special train for Atkins " when the trooper's on the tide The troopship's on the tide, my boys, the troopship's on the tide, O it's " Special train for Atkins " when the trooper's on the tide. Yes, makin' mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap. An' hustlin' drunken soldiers when they're goin' large a bit Is five times better business than paradin' in full kit. Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an` Tommy, 'ow's yer soul? " But it's " Thin red line of 'eroes " when the drums begin to roll The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll, O it's " Thin red line of 'eroes, " when the drums begin to roll. We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too, But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you; An' if sometimes our conduck isn't all your fancy paints, Why, single men in barricks don't grow into plaster saints; While it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an` Tommy, fall be'ind," But it's " Please to walk in front, sir," when there's trouble in the wind There's trouble in the wind, my boys, there's trouble in the wind, O it's " Please to walk in front, sir," when there's trouble in the wind. You talk o' better food for us, an' schools, an' fires, an' all: We'll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational. Don't mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face The Widow's Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace. For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an` Chuck him out, the brute! " But it's " Saviour of 'is country " when the guns begin to shoot; An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please; An 'Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool - you bet that Tommy sees! And Congress affirmed it again in 2011, as shown if you click on the link below;

Homeless vets get left out of recent budget deal | Minnesota Public Radio News

And someone updated the poets words for the 21st century:

Yes, it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ spend less on defence, But who walks the streets of Basra when the air is getting tense? When the air is getting tense, boys, from Kabul to Kosovo Who’ll say goodbye to wife and kids, and shoulder pack and go? O then we're just like 'eroes from the army's glorious past. Yes, it's "God go with you, Tommy," when the trip might be your last. They pays us skivvy wages, never mind we're sitting ducks, When clerks what's pushing pens at 'ome don't know their flippin' luck. "Ah, yes" sez they "but think of all the travel to be 'ad." Pull the other one. Does Cooks do 'olidays in Baghdad? It's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, know your place," But it's "Tommy, take the front seat," when there's terrorists to chase . An' the town is full of maniacs who'd like you dead toot sweet. Yes, it's "Thank you, Mr Atkins," when they find you in the street. There's s'pposed to be a covenant to treat us fair an' square But I 'ad to buy me army boots, an' me combats is threadbare. An' 'alf the bloody 'elicopters can't get in the air, An' me pistol jammed when snipers fired. That's why I'm laid up 'ere. Yes, it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, "We 'ave to watch the pence"; Bold as brass the P.M. sez, "We spare them no expense. But I'll tell you when they do us proud an' pull out all the stops, It's when Tommy lands at Lyneham in a bloomin' wooden box!. So call your Congressmen and tell him/her to get their head out of their asses! And go to the site of the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans below; www.nchv.org and see what you can do to help. (sorry, can't get a link for so you gotta enter it yourself...at least it's a nice, short, easy on....lol) Later.......................Dave

"Freaky Friday............................."

Good Evening;

Well I'm sitting here in Jenn's apartment watching cable, with both cats and the dog.

Which is a bit bizarre because Tom is at the Rush concert at the 1st Mariner Arena downtown with two of his high school buddies, one of whom is up visiting from Florida, and Jenn and the kids are on an 'extended sleepover' at her closest friends house. I haven't pushed for the full story of what's going on and she is not ready to talk about it yet, but I do have some idea. Tom brought Ed over about lunchtime and we hung out for a while Tom took Jenn and Devin to get Devin's hearing checked and then they all stopped back here for a bit before he took them all back to where they, Jenn and the kids, are staying.

I had gotten here about 10 minutes after 8:00 am. and after downing a few cups of coffee, made some burgers and ate. Tom and I had a chance to talk for once without anyone interrupting, and I told him the same thing I told Jenn, that I was available to watch the kids any time, day or night, when they were ready to seek counseling together.

I was in the shower when they all left and after I got out I sat down in the recliner and spaced, dozing in and out for a couple hours until Tom came back with his friend Brian. The third friend showed up a short while later and they left to take the Metro subway to the concert a little while ago

I never did get to sleep this morning after I posted the last entry here, so I'm still falling asleep here and the backspace key is getting a real workout, as is the spell check. The concert is at 7:30 pm. so I'm going to nap until 9:30 pm. and catch the bus back to the shed. I should be able to get to sleep at a reasonable hour, like 2:00 am......lol.

I have to stop at the library in the morning, but other than that I don't have plans for Saturday. I need to find $4.00 so I can wash some clothes asap, I'm wearing my last pair of shorts. I have half my dirty laundry here and half at the shed so even if I am unable to get back here to get at it, if Tom is not here, I'll be able to have enough to get by for a couple days.

I just nodded out and leaned on the keyboard and woke up to 8 lines of ;

QUWRH;FKJBSO;HFWe'whg'oqhwngowqw'ofhbvc rwnwg..........LOL!

Here is a link to a new blog that just started I came across,

www.hearmebaltimore.tumblr.com

that has a link to another Baltimore blogger who is also homeless Mark Schumann

who blogs at,

www.homelessnessinbaltimore.com

You can just click on them...got that fixed at least

I'm done, fell asleep again over the keys,

Later........Dave

And don't ask me about what's with the colors and fonts again,

hellifiknow!

"Postcards From The Edge.......And There's A Gift Shop Here Too! .................."

Good Morning;

So it's 3:48 am on Friday morning and I have not been out of the shed for 3 days and 4 nights since I came in on Monday night, nor farther than 100 yards, leaving only to go to the Giant or the gas station for bathroom/personal hygiene purposes and to get food. The big difference tonight is that most of the internal dialogue has receded to a level where I do not have the almost overpowering desire to shove an ice pick in my ear to stop both the noise and the content of the 'voices'. A lot of writing, some reading of other's writing, both intentionally sought out and serendipitously stumbled upon, and the beginning of the end of a particularly vicious depressive cycle. And a bit of healing as the grief cycle progresses through it's stages. I just really, really needed some time to isolate. I'm still friggin' messed up as hell, but with a bit more functionality.

One kind of weird thing is that even when someone is 'homeless', it sometimes is hard to find a place to be away from people. When you want to be alone, you just stay inside your house/condo/apartment, with your Mr. Coffee and microwave and indoor plumbing. For me.....indoor plumbing means making sure the empty juice bottle is a 'widemouth'........LOL! (and of course it is only a 'half-ass' solution....lol, I have to commute if there is going to be any 'paperwork' involved....HA!

I am meeting my son-in-law Tom at the apartment in the morning so I can shower and rid myself of this case of monkey butt-swamp ass-zombie funk. I'm not exactly sure what is going on, but Jenn and the kids are not there at present, (which has been one more situation that is beyond my control but which I have let consume some of the dwindling stability I have left). I'm hoping that I have some clean jockeys and t-shirts there, recent events have caused me to totally lose track of what's where and what's washed. Doing a load is not fiscally possible right now.......let's just put it this way, I found a nickel on the floor in the Giant tonight.....and doubled my net worth......lol.....not!

After I bathe, depending on the rain and the time, I have to see if I can get to JAI and get fresh 'scrips' for at least my BP meds, I have a little it of a back- up stash for the generic Zantac and cyclobenzeprine and the ibuprofen.

I also have to get past DSS to check on some mailing address data, recertification dates, and to verify a rumor that I can get a damaged card replaced on the spot, instead of having to cancel and request a new one by mail, and wait 10-20 days...(MAYBE!)...to get it, and then have to activate it.

Hooray for outsourcing and privatization of even U.S. Gov't 'HELP???' lines and service centers.

A couple good posts at www.hardlynormal.com & www.invisiblepeople.tv, both of which can be accessed on Facebook too.

I also stumbled on an interesting blog and website called

"The Velveteen Rabbi" at www.velveteenrabbi.blogs.com

I stopped to look because of the play on words, and stayed to read because of the content. Go to 'About VR' if you click on this link, for her profile/info/bio.

Well that's it for now, it's after 6:00 am. and my fingers are getting numb again,(which is another thing I have to get a definitive diagnoses on!), it is about 41 degrees out tonight, and tomorrow night is supposed to be cooler yet, and rainy. The rain is predicted to start around 1:00 pm. Friday and continue in varying degrees into Monday!...yuchhhhh! But at least the temps. climb back into the 70s on Saturday,

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

"Run For The Border(line Personality Disorder) ....................AKA..................Yo Quireo Thorazine................."

Good Morning;

Well it's almost 7:30 am. on Thursday and I'm still awake......since Monday afternoon.

Not by choice or chemicals, not even caffeine or sugar, just an insane case of insomnia. I've been holed up and isolating, both physically and mentally, just trying to ignore the the damn "voices" in my head repeating the same old litany of rejection, loss, and failure. You'd think I'd be used to them by now.

(And I'm not talking about 'audible hallucinations'....yet!.....lol)R

I've really gotta try to sleep now,

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

RSVP for HCH’s Annual Meeting – April 26

Good Morning;

If anyone is interested, here is a link to:

RSVP for HCH’s Annual Meeting – April 26

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

Ending Homelessness: A Model That Just Might Work

Good Afternoon;

Another link to HCH, to a story with a link to an article from

NPR, (National Public Radio);

Ending Homelessness: A Model That Just Might Work

Back in a bit,

and below is yet another link,

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

RSVP for HCH’s Annual Meeting – April 26

"RIP-- Baltimore's Best Mayor........................HCH Remembers William Donald Schaefer

Good Afternoon;

Yesterday the world lost one of the men, if not THE man most responsible for pulling

the City of Baltimore out of a seemingly endless spiral of decay and who devoted his life to the rebirth and renewal that continues today. His life and love was Baltimore City, and it's residents.

His passion and compassion for the common people and the disenfranchised are remembered in this blog post from Health Care for the Homeless;

HCH Remembers William Donald Schaefer

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

"Rectum, Hell....It Damn Near Killed 'Em.."

Good Morning;

So it turns out I DID have an appointment with my PCP....at 10:00 am...........which I found out about at 4:00 pm.! And that's just about the type of day it was, all day.

Hopefully, I'll be able to get up at a decent hour today. I was up Monday at 7:30 am., after not being able to get to sleep until 5:00 am., took the meds I had left and tried to call JAI, but they were not answering yet, sat down and the next thing I knew it was 3:00 pm. The battery on the phone had died and by the time I got it charged and called JAI it was too late to go down there. I mentioned to the woman on the phone that I had always gotten a phone call a day or 2 before the appointment, and she said nobody had turned on the 'robo-caller' on Friday evening. So I'll be heading over there on the bus/train later today hoping I can get just a 'drive-by' renewal on 3 out of 4 of my prescriptions, without having to wait all day to see the doctor. I'm going to have to make plans to drop my bags off at Jenn's one morning and just go with a thick book to read and sit one day, as the next opening for an appointment with Dr. Richardson is in late, late July.

Lovely....I'll eat humble pie for this screw-up, but only half a slice......the person who forgot to turn on the phones gets the rest of it!..............lol!

Speaking of Jenn, I got some news last week that was no help at all to the obvious 'Black Hole of Calcutta' size depression I was in, to wit; at the end of the school year...Jenn, Tom, & Ed and Devin are all moving up to Monkton...to Tom's mother's house, where they are going to live in the (currently under construction) basement apartment until....????

(For all you who live 'elsewhere', Monkton is in Northern Baltimore County about 30 miles from Pikesville, in the middle of farm and 'horse' country, out in the 'sticks', [although the very high budget 'sticks'.....lol], with no public transportation closer than 15 miles.)

So that means I won't be seeing the grand monsters much, if at all, on any kind of a regular basis, and....I'll be losing convenient (though it was not free) laundry access, easy shower facilities, kitchen and cooking privileges, occasional couch and cable use, and most stress inducing......a safe dry place to store what few possessions I own and which I would like to keep but which I do not need to be available day to day. Most of the stuff can be classed as 'memorabilia', and all of it can probably be stacked in stored within the space of.....1 Cubic Yard, basically an area = 3 Foot x 3 Foot x 3 Foot....or only slightly larger due to the shape and size of the boxes. Oh joy....NOT what I need to worry about at this moment..! The other issues are things I can and have dealt with in the past,....annoying, frustrating, depressing as they are, they can be circumvented, replaced, or ignored as the situation dictates. But the upcoming displacement of the tub, bags, and boxes of stuff from their short lived home in Jenn's front closet is beginning to add to the already full ocean of anxiety that I'm barely keeping my head above right now anyway.

Anybody have a DRY basement, storage room, or shed with some room to spare?

(And if so.......Why am I just hearing about it now??...... now that winter's over!....)

1 Cubic Yard = 3' x 3' x 3';

which breaks down to: 36" x 36" x 36";

which can be converted to: 36" x 72" x 18";

which is also 3' x 6' x 1 & 1/2';

which is a little snug but doable,

cozy even!.........lol!

Oh great, it's 10 'til 5:00 am. already......again! My system is sooo soooo out of whack. Plus today, (Tuesday), I am suffering the delightful consequences of yesterdays 'Steel Cage Match' with Constipation, which I came quite close to losing by TKO!

There is an old, old story about how all the parts of the body wanted to be boss.

The first one to speak was the Brain, in a high and mighty, arrogant way he stated that by virtue of his superior intellect and control and command functions, HE was the obvious choice.

The second to speak up were the Eyes, who declared that they were the only reasonable option, because they enables the body to see the world around it.

Next was the Mouth, without whom he said, the body could not eat to sustain itself, or have a voice to communicate with.

Then the Ears chimed in with their claim, that the body would not be able to hear, whether it was warnings of danger or the joys of music.

The Hands & Arms & Fingers joined in saying that without them, the body would not be able to DO anything, from feeding itself to fighting off attackers to using tools to build and create objects both useful and beautiful.

The Heart, The Lungs & The Stomach and all the other Internal Organs put in their bids, separately and together, that they kept the body fueled and supplied with oxygen and pumped and cleansed the blood to keep the body healthy and strong.

The Legs and Feet thought they should be the boss because they supported and transported the body.

And as all the parts fought and argued, nothing getting solved and no one satisfied or appeased.....a tiny little voice was heard asking..."What about me?" The important and powerful, self centered and egoistic parts of the body stopped their arguing and fighting, looked around to see where the voice was coming from, and who it was.

When they saw it was only the poor, pitiful, little rectum......they burst into laughter, ignored him again, and returned to their arguing.

"Well!" the poor embarrassed Sphincter said to himself, "I'll show them!".....and closed up tight! He stayed that way for a few days and then went to see about his chances.

Well by this time all the other body parts were beginning to feel a bit out of sorts, but they still laughed at the poor little rectum, so he just clamped down harder and went away. A few days later the Brain came to him and ordered him to open up, he refused and just kept everything tight as a drum.

By the next morning The Brain was becoming more and more confused and could not think clearly, The Eyes were yellowed and blurry and could not focus, The Ears were ringing and buzzing, The Mouth was dry and mumbling gibberish, The Arms and Hands were shaking and the Fingers trembling uncontrollably. The Heart was alternately fluttering or racing, The Lungs were gasping for air, The Stomach was cramping and knotting up, and all the other organs were beginning to malfunction and the blood was becoming loaded with toxins.

The Legs were shaking and The Feet were shuffling and stumbling.

All the body parts came to the little rectum, apologized, and begged him to become Boss, if only he would please open up and let things start flowing again. The rectum accepted their apology, unlocked the Sphincter, and became the Boss of all the parts of the body.

The End.

Oh.....you are asking the moral, or lesson behind this little fable?

"Well, I guess it is to show that.......you don't have to be a genius or especially talented or knowledgeable or competent to be the Boss......

Just an Asshole!

Anyway, it's 6:36 am. now and I never did get to sleep. I am unable to find a position to sit or lay down that does not hurt my "Boss"! The pain meds are finally starting to kick in though, Thank Goodness! Not to be TOO crude about it, but like in the story above....once I acknowledged who was the boss, things quite quickly, perhaps too much so, broke loose. I am surprised that my screams of "misery-pain-PAin-PAIN-PPAAIINNNNNNN-relief-PPAAIINN-PAIN-PAin-pain.pain.pain........." as I performed a natural bodily function that seemed to me to feel like the equivalent of forcing first a pineapple (stem end first, with spiky leaves still attached), then a live and extremely pissed off porcupine, then 20 feet of prickly pears linked together with barbed wire, through an uncomfortably small orifice,,,,using a chain saw as a plunger! I am NEVER EVER going to tease or make fun of in any way any woman anywhere who talks about the pain they endured during a natural childbirth!! (I already experienced the post surgery healing and recovery phase of a Cesarean (C section), when I had the abdominal surgery at Shock Trauma after my near fatal car wreck in 1990, I still have issues with that!)

Anyhow....it's 7:21 am....how the hell did that happen?

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

"Head--Shoulders--Knees--&--Toe-------Ow..Ow..Ow..Ow..........AKA.........I Lift Tings Up Und Put Them Down".........

Good Evening;

Well I was up early this morning as I planned.....just long enough to take the last of my morning meds, and call Monkee to ask when she was leaving the house, and then passed back out until 11:00 am. It took me an hour to get up, pack up, dress, and head over to the bus stop, (not even stopping at the Giant for coffee or the restroom to wash up). I really screwed up my back and exacerbated the multitude of problems already there. On Thursday when I watched the grandkids Jenn had asked if I was able flatten out some of the aluminum cans they had saved for Ed's school, as Friday was 'can day'. I had brought them over a maul I had acquired at some point in my travels for just this purpose;

"Stand cans on end....Lift maul....Engage gravity and repeat if necessary, (if desired/required, additional kinetic energy may be applied to assist gravitational forces)....place flattened cans in plastic bag"

The lifting and dropping of the 18 lb. maul was no problem, but the repetitive bending, and when that became too agonizing to continue, the squatting used to set up and pick up the cans caused something in the lumbar regions to deviate from the click-pop and constant dull ache with intermittent stabbing pain reminiscent of being jabbed in the spine with an electrically charged knitting needle....that just happened to be on fire at the time that I have grown to know and love..........to.........more of a griiiinnddd-SNAP....that combines all the sensations of fingernails screeching on a blackboard and chewing on a chunk of aluminum foil, with simultaneously being hit in the back with a baseball bat while being kicked in the balls with a steel toed boot. When my vision cleared and the nausea abated, and I was able grab the handle on the patio door and haul myself upright (or a reasonable facsimile thereof), I stumbled inside the apartment and almost tripped over Ed who was sitting not 2 feet away....and totally oblivious to everything that wasn't on TV, even though I was directly in his line of sight....lol.

A hot shower, my Flexeril and pain meds, re-contouring the couch with rolled and folded towels and blankets, 4 hours sleep, morning meds, and another long hot shower Friday before I left, and taking it slow and easy Saturday, (mostly due to the weather), with an extra-extra firm 'mattress', (HA!).......and I thought I was back to 'normal' by the time I got to sleep last night/this morning. That just shows where too much thinking will get you!...................lol!

I had one speed today, "shuffle". A three legged tortoise with gout, bunions, and arthritis nearly knocked me over as he passed me.....going uphill.....against a headwind! Tomorrow I have to call JAI anyway to find out if I have an appointment with my PCP sometime this week. I think I do and I'm out of BP meds, but I cannot find an appointment card among my papers. I need to see my podiatrist also because not only are my nails all effed up again, the 'knot' behind the big toe on the left foot seems to have grown. And I have try to reschedule appointments with the neurology people and with Prologue to make up for the ones I cancelled, postponed, or just straight up 'blew-off' during last months nasty bout of depression when I just wanted to die already and get it over with.....(but was too depressed to make the effort....lol....[well it is funny to me anyway.....in a sick-twisted-ironic kinda way]....). One thing I am not going to do, is to try to go to JAI on a walk-in on a Monday.....a 5-7 hour wait is a very real possibility. The only scenario with any feasibility at all is to stop by at 3:30 - 4:00 pm. and see how many patients are still waiting to be seen, sometimes many people who signed in just leave and don't bother to sign out or come back and there are 10 or 15 minute 'windows of opportunity. If I decide to just get my 'scrips' renewed....this may work.

So I never got to see Rachel today, but we talked for 15 minutes or so....maybe tomorrow afternoon, early on, (and depending on the outcome of certain phone calls), I will be able to stop by and grab her for her last regular meal before Passover starts on Monday at sundown, and ends 8 days later at sundown on Tuesday of next week. After I call the doctor, I'll see how it looks. Though we can go out during the 4 middle days, (chol hamoyed as it is known), as we did last year, we just have to pack a kosher for Passover lunch at her mother's. Last year we sat and ate it in the cafe at th e Maryland Science Center before we saw 'Alice In Wonderland' in 3D at the IMAX there. We were not the only ones, if the weather is nice the Inner Harbor is a popular destination for a lot of Orthodox families since their kids are off from school for 9 or 10 days.

Anyway, my back feels as if it is on fire, and not like a sunburn, but inside, straight up along my spine, and the muscles too, at about kidney level. (All from bending and squatting to pick up and put 200 or so cans in a bag!?! and it was only 2 or 4 at a time, I mean they were empty....No weight to them.....What's up with that....lol...{Ouch!!!....it hurts when I laugh}...) Also, my joints hurt today; wrists, shoulders, ankles, knees, and hips. Not so much toes, other than the aforementioned knot, and fingers not at all??

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

"The Sounds Of Silence................&..................'Leiningen vs.The Ants'.................."

Good Morning;

Well, like I said, the rain acted as a soporific and I went out like a light as soon as I 'rested my eyes' for a minute. I had grabbed one of the umbrellas from my 'finders keepers/use 'em & lose 'em' collection and went over to the Giant in a lull between the thunderstorms, (and saw that the parking lot was filled with the cars of people attending an event at the lodge next door, that I never even heard pull in, the rain and run-off was so loud!), after I watched a pre 'tiger blood' Charlie Sheen in a re-run of 'Two And Half Men' to use the restroom, and ended up having to wait 15 minutes to be able to even see the shed, much less get back to it. The rain had started coming down so hard and the wind was so strong that some gusts had the water moving horizontally. For a few minutes it looked, sounded, and felt the same as when I was in South Florida during Hurricane Andrew. Then everything just stopped, as if a tap was shut off and a switch was thrown. I hurried back over to the shed and got the door open just as the floodgates opened again.

I fell asleep about 8:00 pm. and the thundering silence woke me up at Midnight, the storm having passed on, and went over to the gas station to use the bathroom. I came back and ate 'breakfast', my first meal today, other than a cup of coffee earlier. I just watched, "The Unit" and "Cold Case Files" on the portable digital TV and I'm still wide awake. It's going to be either playing on the laptop or reading a book until I get tired enough to sleep. Hopefully not long from now because I need to get up at a reasonable hour in the morning and head over to Monkee's in East Baltimore to get meds for the rest of the month.

After that I am going to see if Rachel has plans for tomorrow and if not, see if her mother will drop her off at the Starbucks where we can get lunch and spend the afternoon together. I downloaded the POPCAP games, 'Bookworm Adventures Deluxe' that she likes onto the laptop last night and we'll play that all day if can.....lol.

OH LOVELY!..................The little tiny 'pussy ants' are here again. I've got to go and smush all of them on what looks like the 'recon' patrol now. If I get them all, there usually is not another appearance for a few days or a week, and I can scrounge up some 'bug juice' and 'bait boxes'!

Check out the link below.....

sorry you can't just click on it, you have to enter or cut and paste into your browser;

www.classicshorts.com/stories/lvta/html

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

"Chinese Water Torture.........Drip--Drip--Drip--Drip--Drip--Drip--Drip--Drip--Drip--Drip--Drip--Drip--Drip.......................Drip!!!!...."

Good Afternoon;

So I'm in the shed listening to the steady patter of rain on the roof, the even more steady and rapid drip of rain through the roof, the constant hissing of wet rubber on wetter asphalt, punctuated with the blare of car horns and the occasional cymbal crash (or crunch) of sheet metal (or fiberglass).

April showers may bring May flowers, but the bank accounts of the auto body repair shops will be blossoming nicely too................lol!

I am also sitting here grateful and thankfull to Erik of "Pikesville PC" that he was able to get the VAIO back in action for me, and I'm also very happy that I was able to catch him only minutes before he went out last night to pick it up.

This is the third day this week that the combination of rain, finances, (as in the lack of), physical pain, and mental and emotional issues have aligned in such a way that I stayed inside the shed except for brief excursions to the nearby Giant, gas station, or public library, (the 'Golden Triangle....lol), for food, the use of the restroom, and basic hygiene. Thursday was looking to be another such day, until I got a text from Jenn, asking me to watch the kids that evening and night. Now that I think about it Monday was another day like Thursday, shed to Jenn's, with a brief stop at the library, but instead of spending the night, I caught a late bus up to the shed. Friday I left Jenn's around 12:30 pm. and went to the coffee shop until closing time, the first time there since Sunday, arriving to a chorus of "where the hell have you been?"....lol.

The rain seems to have slackened off a bit right now, so I m going to run over to the Giant to use the bathroom, wash my face and make a cup of coffee. I really don't feel like getting caught on the bus stops in the predicted thunderstorms, so it looks like I'm staying in today too. Which is just as well, I'm exhausted for some reason.....and the metronome like ticking of the drips is very hypnotic and conducive to sleep. Which means I'll most likely be up in the middle of the night, wide awake. Which brings us full circle, back around to one of the big reasons I'm grateful for the laptop and wifi!

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

P.S. And as you can tell, I still cannot figure out WTF is going on with the color/font control!

"Google Exodus.................... AKA.................Hosni Mubarak ................. The Beta Test Version................................"

Good Evening;

Well.....Greetings from the shed!

The Return Of The Laptop!

Speaking of laptops....what if Moses had had a laptop?

Click on the link below for a really great YouTube video that answers the

"5th Question" of the modern Passover Seder

Google Exodus

Back soon.....

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

"Whatever Doesn't Kill You.........May Or May Not Make You Stronger..........But It Still Hurts Like HELL!!!................."

Good Afternoon;

Well last night at Jenn's I was able to create probably the best crabcake I have ever come up with, in or out of the restaurant business! And this was from NOT having all the typical standard ingredients and 'ad libbing' as it were.

(One of the secrets I have found is to use Japanese Panko bread crumbs.)

After showering and washing clothes and getting the kids to bed, I rolled out of there about 11:00 pm., back up to the shed for the night. The multiple 'stress auras' radiating from Jenn, Tom, & I in so small a place and the stuffiness of the overly warm apartment made for an environment just waiting for the tiniest spark to set off an explosion. (And besides that, the cable is out there!........LOL)

I ended up reading until 3:30 am. this morning and woke up at 8:00 am. planning on getting to the library at 9:00 am. when they opened, but as I was standing up something in my lower back 'popped' and I ended up on my knees in pain. I was able to lay back down and relieve the majority of the immediate pain sensation, but there was no getting up and moving any time soon. I took my morning meds and the 'as needed' prescriptions also and went into a troubled sleep for a few hours, waking to the sound of the pouring rain and the 'drips' on all the brand new cardboard that I had replaced the old soggy walkways with. I was able to stand up by holding on to the shelves on either side of me, and am able to walk if I place my feet slowly and carefully, trying to stay near a wall, fence, railing, etc. whenever I can. As long as I do not try to straighten up or move quickly I can make it where there is no support.

I also had and am still trying to cope with the second migraine headache I have ever had in my life. Sound and light are causing pain and nausea to the point of vomiting, and I have the darkest shades I could find over my glasses. I had to get out and use the bathroom at the Giant and get some electrolyte replacement drinks to try to stave off some of the nausea and also rehydrate from all the vomiting, and come here and check for an important e-mail, (which of course did not arrive yet....lol....[it hurts to laugh too]..)

I'm going back into the shed and lay down with a damp cloth on my eyes and try to get back to sleep, natural if possible, medically induced if not. I know I have an appointment with my PCP coming up soon, and if I am still in this much pain tomorrow, I'm going to just change it to a walk-in and head down there.

If push comes to shove, I have minutes on my phone to call someone or 911.

I wish I had the laptop back for something to do though, even if I have to turn the brightness way, way down and wear the dark shades to use the computer with out pain right now. Reading one of the three books I am currently into is definitely NOT an option tonight, though I may be able to cover the screen on the portable digital TV and just listen. (?)

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

"April Or August?................"

Good Afternoon;

Well I'm here at the library again, but maybe not for much longer! Erik of Pikesville PC wrote me and he now has what he needs to get my laptop up and running again, as soon as he gets the chance. I, (and Rachel), are anxiously awaiting "The Return Of The VAIO!!!" .....lol!

I'm on my way over to Jenn's in a bit to shower, shave, do laundry, cook something to eat and.....oh yeah...watch the grandmonsters.....LOL!

It is HOT outside! especially for April. The record for today is 85 degrees set in 1887, I think it will be, (or has been already), broken today. At last my sinuses have dried up too, in my case it's NOT allergies, but Ed, Devin, & Jenn are miserable and cannot have the windows open. That means I'm not spending the night unless: - a) the predicted extremely strong thunderstorms hit before I am ready to leave, or - 2) Jenn and Tom get home after the #59 buses stop running. The shed was getting very warm when I left this morning, so I may have the fan plugged in tonight for a while, the low is only supposed to be 60 degrees....which is also Tuesdays predicted HIGH temp.!

Yesterday I ended up acting as a walking 'Food Bank'. Between the sandwich I gave to this homeless girl in the morning, to the pop tarts and candy bars I gave to Ivan as I left the Library, to the sh*tload of pastries I gave away on the bus and at the gas station after I left the coffee shop last night....and I still have a few left for the kids this evening. I need to express my gratitude to the guys at the coffee shop last night for all the sweets they gave me, that I was able to pass on....that is one less portion of edible food that did not end up in the trash can. ( And on a related note.....I got an e-mail saying that I must really have it in for 'working people' because I am always putting down the people at Starbucks and the MTA. Well to be accurate, I have frequently thanked and praised the majority of the folks at Starbucks, and have only singled out a couple of hypocritical middle level management people and one 'corporate clone wanna-be', throughout the history of this blog. And as for the MTA, well I usually do not mention the drivers who are just doing their job. I give credit where it is due when someone is exceptional, in courtesy, attitude, safety or whatever.......And YES I DO rant about the unsafe, dangerous, rude, obstructive, racist, and ignorant! I also document some of these offenses (by photos of the speedometer 20 miles over the limit on a 25-30 mph road, confirming testimony of other passengers, etc.) and forward this information to the MTA administration, (and to the newspaper and TV station with a suggestion and request for possible investigative actions into the pervasive atmosphere and attitudes of being 'above' all traffic laws, and common civility). If it seems as if I bitch more than I praise,....well YOU come to Baltimore, ride the buses and observe, and THEN talk to me.

But anyway, Jenn just called looking for me, so I'm out of here.

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

"The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow......................"

Good Afternoon;

So..I'm at the library for a few minutes this afternoon checking e-mails. I wanted to make the lecture/presentation by the Baltimore Cultural Chavura but I got involved in a conversation at the Giant and lost track of the time....oh well.

It has been great sleeping weather and I have actually gotten some decent stretches of REM sleep in. On Thursday night I watched the grandkids for Jenn and Tom and decided not to spend the night, because of the couch, the morning madness and the school rush, and mostly because of the temperature outside in the shed vs. the stuffiness in the apartment........what really put the scales in favor of 'camping out' was the upstairs neighbor's surround sound TV system and the fact that the construction quality of these apartments make the shed seem like NORAD's Cheyenne Mountain bunker.....lol. On the serious side Tom is also feeling really bad from the symptoms and treatment of one of the same diseases I am dealing with, but he also has his diabetes and insulin factored in, and it is kicking his ass. I am happy to help out all I can by watching the kids, (and will be there again Monday afternoon and evening), and the onset of spring makes leaving less of an issue when they get home.

Saturday I took Rachel to the movies and we saw "HOP", the live action and CGI animated Easter film, it was a blast. then we took the train to the train to Mt. Washington to see the goose on her nest in the middle of 2 streams and 3 roads, and had lunch from Whole Foods and then took a 'nature walk' and played along the Jones Falls for a while.

I stayed up late with the portable digital TV in what has become my Saturday night routine, (since the computer locked up anyway), Channel 13 news, 'Criminal Minds', and then 'The Unit', then reading until I fell asleep around 4:00 am. I was up at 8:00 am. to use the bathroom at the gas station and went back to sleep until Noon. Now it is over to the coffee shop for 'breakfast'......lol., and to finish reading 'Grandmothers Whisper' by Inette Miller.

Times up here again and the line is long....

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