Sometimes...you just get surprised

Hey there--what's HATTENIN'? I'm just chilling here at homestead, sipping on a glass of finely aged water, sort of pinching myself, because I have heard from over the last few hours some really cool people. First, I heard from my long-time friend Lou "Just GIVE me a reason" Tartadian, a fellow trombone player from my high school and junior college days. He's also the guy that one day when cleaning out my closet at my house in Pasadena, that I realized he was in Little League with me and his mom was friends with MY mom. GET OUTTA TOWN! We knew each other, yet, strangely, we didn't. I can't even remember what team he was on--but hopefully it was the evil green MG team (Meguirre's Glass). Led by the infamous STONE BROTHERS, I knew they were bad, but proven the day I was playing first base coach for the JC's and watched one of the Stone brothers give my friend from school John Jones a deliberate sign to pitch one AT one of our batters. FUNNY WHAT YOU CAN REMEMBER, HANH!?!?! Rat bastards. ANYWAY....so it was ULTRA cool to hear from Lou. Lou was part of the gang of me, John, Jim, Lou (the core) and then others. We'd bowl, play raquetball (me in biker shorts playing racquetball...holy crap...the thought almost made ME barf), hang...LOTS of really really cool memories. Lou actually was a great friend because he listened to me whine AD NAUSEUM about my girl problems back when I was in junior college.

SPEAKING OF WHICH...I also heard after a two year silence from one of those "problems" (but I really do mean that very lovingly--time and maturity goes a long way to put the past into focus--and really, it was IIIIIIIIIII that was the problem)--Maria Cacciotti. Yeah--even got a couple of pics of her and her sister Paula who now lives in the Country of Northern Mexico--oooo, sorry, I meant, the Country of Texas. I actually like Texas a lot, but truthfully--it really is another country down there. Did some touring down there with VK--not sure I ever want to go back. BUT NO MATTER--we're not talking about Texas. Maria has a family of her own, doing well, and it was stupendous to hear from her again. Funny how life turns out. The way my life went and where I ended up--I'm pretty sure I'm where I'm supposed to be. But you know when you're young, and you think and dream. I remember distinctly having an aversion to dancing. And Maria would joke many, many moons ago that we'd end up getting married and she'd have to force me to dance at our reception. It was always good for a yuckyuck between us. Ended up marrying someone who--LIKE A FREAKIN' ECHO--said the exact same thing. AND ENDED UP FOLLOWING THROUGH WITH IT. She FORCED me, against my will, kicking and screaming, to dance to that love song from "Robin Hood", "Everything I Do...Blah Blah Blah, I Do It For Meatloaf". WHATEVER that song was. Yeah...we danced to that...and I had to freakin' dip her at the end and everyone sitting there at our reception--like 400 people rolled 800 sets of eyes at the CORNINESS of the moment. That is, until I stood up and gave my patented pissed off look, at which time we were the recepients of MASSIVE and THUNDEROUS ovations.

Yeah. Whatever Turner. But anyway--mucho coolio to hear from Maria. She had quite the impact on my life. I just wish she would have taught me how to take care of my hair better. I have probably the worst hair imaginable for our prom picture. I might as well had stuck my head in a Cuisinfrickenart blender and called it good. For the love of all that is holy...so I apologize to you Maria should you be reading this. You deserved someone with better hair.

She got him actually. His name...oh crap...I can't remember now...Glenn something. SEKINS? No no no...that's a captain for Orange County Fire. Glenn....Glennnnnnn...hmmm...I remember I hated him. Why can't I remember his name. Anyway...he had nice hair.

I really shouldn't have partied so much in college--I sort of drifted away there for a minute...

SO WHERE WAS I???

Oh yes...speaking of ovations...uhhhhhhhhh...we'll get back to that...I can't remember what the hell I wanted to say.

(insert Jeopardy music whilst I stare at my computer monitor)....

Well, if any of you want something to do, come on down to the Corps at Crest Drum and Bugle Corps show at Mt. Sac College in the fine city of Walnut, conveniently located just off the 57 freeway at Temple St. Featuring a lot of corps in competition, including TWO of which I wrote the drill for...Impulse (currently undefeated in Division III competition), and So Cal Dream, a "old people" corps. I'll of course be providing the in-between corps entertainment as the VOICE OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. Come on down...and sit with me in the press box for a spell...and then leave because I really don't like visitors. You make me want to talk and laugh and giggle and act stupid, and then I forget that I'm actually running a show.

So about those ovations--what the HELL was I going to say? It was funny. DANG IT!!! I hate my gray cells.

OK--that's it. I'm out. I have a million things to do and about enough time to do about 10 of them, so I need to be like a baby and head out.

GET IT!?!?

Head out?? Yeah? Be like a tree and leave.

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!! BAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!! Be like peanut butter........wait for it....AND JAM!!!

COME ONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!

Wait...what did Biff say...."HEY, WHY DON'T YOU BE LIKE A TREE.....AND GET OUTTA HERE?!??" LOL!! Did you know that the guy that played Biff was a drum major for his high school band and played tuba? DID YOU?!?!?! Did you also know I went to a talent scout in 1984, and he told me I looked like I could be cast in a movie by a friend of his that would be about Vietnam, and then a couple of years later, "Platoon" was released? DID YOU???? Did you know my mom got to meet one of my idols--WILLIAM SHATNER--and shake his hand, and then didn't want to tell me because she knew I'd go ballistic? DID YOU???? She told me obviously. And then? I was calm. After the policeman told me to cool it. And the fire trucks drove away. And we promised to repay the neighbors for their house that I torched. BUT I WAS CALM.

OK...I really need to go. This stream of consciousness thing is really starting to freak me out...HEY GUYS!!! Thanks for reading. It really blows me away to know who the heck keeps checking up on me.

I should be worried.

Actually...I'm sort of creeped out by it.

NOW GIT...GIT OUTTA HERE!! :-)