September 2, 2006

Some Things Never Change.

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It was summer of 1983. I had just turned 15 years and I had bought myself a stereo for my birthday. It was a Yorx stereo system purchased from the local Ames. It was an all-inclusive unit including a radio tuner, an eight-track recording unit and a modern turntable that only played two speeds: 33 1/3 and 45 RPMs.

To properly christen said turntable, I had also picked up a 12-inch single at Gerber Music in the now long-gone Gerber Music. The single? “(Keep Feeling) Fascination” by The Human League. I couldn’t really get my mother to understand the concept of the 12-inch single, because it looked like an album but only had one track on each side. “But Mom, it’s a really cool version of the song! And it’s really long!” She finally gave in and gave me the money to pick up this ultra cool version of my favorite track at the time.

So I set up the stereo system and then the perfect night came along. Mom was at one of her civic club meetings, Jennifer was at her friends and Dad was flying his airplane. I cranked up the stereo and played The Human League loud and proud. And I sang and danced all around my bedroom like a crazy fool.

Fast forward 23 years.

Earl is at the casino and I’m at home messing around with my recording equipment. The weather is ominous and the mood is just right. I crank up my now favorite Human League track, “Heart Like A Wheel” and sing and dance around the bedroom like a crazy fool.

Some things never change. I guess I’m still a kid at heart. Hence, the very sweaty person you see in this picture.

It’s A Saturday Night…

Well here it is Saturday night in our merry little household. Tom is asleep at my feet. I noticed today that the fur around his ears has a new reddish tinge to it, obviously someone put a little too much hydrogen peroxide in his skunk cleaning solution (hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and dish detergent) and gave the cat a dye job. We’re the trendiest folks on the block. He smells much better these days, has highlights to match. Next thing you know he’ll be “soaking in it”, the dish detergent that is, just as Madge said for all those years.

I’ve been nothing short of a full blown geek today, working on some road related stuff for my road enthusiast website and designing new sign panels for suggestions to NYSDOT. They must love me. I wonder how that first interview will go after I’m a real traffic engineer. “Oh yes, we remember YOU. GET OUT PEASANT!” I hope it doesn’t go like that as I try to be quite constructive with my comments. Anyway, I’ve been doodling on Fireworks, here’s a sample:

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No big deal to the common motorist, but a vast improvement over the signs that currently stand at this location.

Earl is off to the local casino hopefully winning lots and lots of money. He’s been working on his poker strategy. I’m hoping that he’s having a good time. He is much more talented than I could ever dream of being when it comes to gambling. I think I feel too guilty when I lose and that impedes any strategy I might have.

The wind is blowing like crazy and it’s a cold wind. There’s a definite chill of autumn in the air tonight, courtesy of the remnants of Ernesto.

It’s going to be good sleeping weather tonight!