Paradise Is One Hour Away

jenny & i checked out some places to camp out on smithville lake this afternoon. it only took an hour to drive there, and one of the campgrounds is close to a beach. on the way back home we stopped at the paradise general store to use the restroom (the actual lock is a piece of wood on the door frame that swivels), and buy some snacks.

One Practice Before the Gig

chris and i went over some songs last night that we’re going to play at homer’s tonight. this is usually how we operate. we only practice one night before the gig. we’ve been playing together for over 20 years, so the familiarity is there. the other night  i watched the joe strummer documentary, the future is unwritten. i  LOVED the bits where people are talking and singing around a campfire. if it didn’t violate city codes, we’d make one at homer’s.

Happy Birthday Dad!

just called my dad to wish him a happy birthday. in the past i would get the date confused with father’s day since both numbers are teens and in the same month. if two things are too close together in my head, the inevitable mix up results in my condolences at a wedding or congratulations at a funeral. anyway, today IS celebratory the last time i checked… so… i hope you get to do something fun today, dad… without any condolences from me.

The Jingle in My Head


“nice” or “niiiiice” is the word that everybody uses now. Bob – “how was your trip?” Phil - “it rained the whole time.” Bob – “nice.” it doesn’t matter if someone has good fortune or bad luck, they get the same response. it’s like everyone’s original thoughts and emotions were sucked out of them like a scene from invasion of the body snatchers. i don’t say “nice” anymore, but there are telltale signs of my own brainwashing… i still hum commercial jingles that were drilled into my head 30 years ago.

Eddie Lives

when i was making a list of things to buy at sam’s this morning, kelly dooley saw that i was wearing an eddie delahunt t-shirt. found out she knows him too. at the end of my shift, john eddy dropped in to do some work on his laptop. and then after dinner christy and josh came over to watch eddie and the cruisers. after the movie we sent them home with a cucumber. eddie lives.

Rob Guy Goes to Germany

rob guy works with me at homer’s. he flew to germany over the weekend to spend a few weeks there… the lucky stiff. fortunately he’s taking plenty of pics so the rest of us can photoshop ourselves into each shot, pretend that we’re in the land of sauerkraut and schnitzel, and live vicariously through him. click on the images below to make them bigger.

Kid Beliefs

we’re getting ready to drive to joplin and visit my family. we know it’s going to be a sobering event. the following link must be a subconscious effort to offset it. i couldn’t stop laughing at the common beliefs section of iusedtobelieve.com, a collection of misunderstood things some of us believed when we were children.

Right On Lefty!

once i had a temp job entering data on a 10-key punch pad. it was my first time doing that, so when my right hand started cramping, i switched to my left. it was slightly slower going, but i made progress. it’s the only thing i’m ambidextrous at. left-handed people fascinate me. lester estelle is a left-handed guitarist who plays regularly at homer’s. other guitarists that play their guitars upside-down (like lester) include: dick dale, bob geldof, and seal.

My Moonlight Job

last night i taught CPR to 14 registered nurses at an allergy clinic. they were eating pizza in the break room when i got there. when the class was over i gave them all certificates, and they gave me their leftover pizza.

Danny & Jess

even though it’s a couple of days after the fact, jenny & i attended one of the coolest weddings ever: it was in lois wetzel’s backyard, empty picture frames hung from the trees, and there was alternative icelandic music. danny williams and jessica worsham tied the knot last sunday, and we were two of the privileged few to witness it. thanks again mr. and mrs. williams.