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the 2017 solar eclipse came and went much faster than the traffic that followed the astronomical event. the moon was zipping by at 1500 mph while southbound cars on I-635 were moving at a snail’s pace long after the moon’s shadow was gone. my dad asked me to take pictures of the eclipse, but i only took mental notes & decided to draw cartoon illustrations instead. castle northmoor (pictured above) is where i watched the eclipse. it’s a 25 minute drive from my house. i was there about two hours before everything got dark, and for awhile i had the whole thing to myself– that’s when i called my folks & jenny. here are a few highlights:harlan shaver III welcomed us (he was a little drunk), and told everyone stories of how his grandfather, harlan shaver, had built the castle back in the 1980′s. by the time he came up the staircase, a dozen adults and kids had joined me at the top of the castle… including chloé mull and her boyfriend gary!one of the children standing close to us was a little girl who had a voice that should have been coming out of a middle aged woman. it reminded me of froggy from the little rascals. we wondered of she was just a really short adult until she said “someone at my middle school is going to blow a loud horn when the eclipse happens.” we didn’t hear her school horn, but someone on the ground did play the star spangled banner on a trumpet right before it got dark.the sun and moon had been playing peek-a-boo with us while we waited for darkness and crickets, but when it actually happened we were able to take off our protective glasses & see the total eclipse. it was like being with survivors adrift on a lifeboat until someone sees an island and points and says THERE IT IS!!! we only saw it for a few seconds before the clouds rolled back in. it was still cool to be with friends and strangers and share the excitement with everyone.

tomorrow afternoon the moon’s shadow is crossing over america, and throwing a portion of it into total darkness. a lot of curious people (including me) are going to drive to a spot where they can experience that phenomenon. pat rawlings, however, thought beyond the planet, and imagined what the eclipse would look like from the moon almost 30 years ago. the atlantic posted his illustration on their website yesterday,

there is an atari 2600 podcast that i go to for the inside scoop on my favorite retro gaming console– although jenny says that my “inside scoops” are actually “useless details.” oh well. wednesday the host (ferg) posted a show on enduro! this game has improved my driving skills over the years, and it has also helped me get a good night’s sleep.

the first time i heard fire by arthur brown, it was the mid 80′s & i was tuning into classic rock via KCFX. i imagined some crazy eyed costumed singer when the song started, and it turns out i was right. he used to wear a fire helmet and a devil’s head over his crotch… sometimes he even performed naked. arthur brown recorded his #1 song in 1968, and even though the radio doesn’t play it anymore, that hasn’t slowed down the god of hellfire. brown, now in his 70′s, still makes fiery psychedelic scenes. he just released live at high voltage last year.

so i was watching dr. katz again (i know, i know) and one of his patients said that he liked talking to strangers in mid sentences when he was really bored. and i thought– “wait a minute, i used to know a guy like this!” there used to be a guy who came into homer’s daily and do this sort of thing. he needed therapy too.

i can never stop playing with food. this is what happened after jenny cut a slice of bread from a round loaf. the ironic thing is that those pacman pellets are actually game tokens from an arcade. i did this sort of thing once before on st. patrick’s day last year.

last night i was with chris mull on the boulevard and in the west bottoms. we talked to classic car owners in merriam & smoked cigars within sight of fire jugglers under the 12th street bridge. we were catching up when he told me about an email exchange between him and a counselor at his son’s high school. ian was the youngest, and he graduated in may. there are no more mull kids going to shawnee mission north high, but the high school counselor still reached out to chris. here is an abridged version of the emails that were sent:

PEDRO: My name is Pedro Miller and I will be serving as your school counselor for this school year… High School is a new professional area for me and I am truly excited to assist you as you navigate your high school experience and beyond. Please take a look at the notes I have listed below and do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

CHRIS: Dear Pedro, I currently have no plans for more offspring now that I’m in my 50′s. Even if I did you would probably be a chain-smoking alcoholic by the time they were old enough for SMN. May you break the long held and entrenched tradition of school counselors that are clueless regarding those students they are there to “counsel”. As much as I appreciate the updates on SMN life I feel it would be selfish of me to expect them as I fear it would take away precious moments that could be better applied to your bright, young charges. I sincerely wish you a cognizant, coherent and productive career.
All the best.
SMN Alumn
P.S. If you ever run for anything you can count on my vote. I already have the t-shirt.

PEDRO: Mrs. Mull, Your email brought on a good laugh. Thank you for the good wishes, you support towards a possible political career ?, and know that I too look forward to doing anything that I can to serve all students the best way possible. Have a great day and thank you once again for the good wishes!

jenny & i drove 400 miles last weekend to see our new great nephew, maku! i told daddy thaddeus that he could break wind or belch in public now & blame the sounds & smells on his new son! mama maryam thought that was pretty funny. the kid was barely a month old when we had to say goodbye (sniff!) we can’t wait to see you again maku!

i exercised my right to vote tuesday in the local primary elections. one of the choices was super easy. rob guy’s mom, laura, is running for a local board of education seat. rob used to work w/me at homer’s & we’re still friends. the voting booths were inside the new johnson county museum. after voting casting my ballot, i checked out the sights. the original white haven sign was right across the hall from a small (but detailed) replica of the old motor lodge. there were also pieces of metcalf south mall, glenwood theater, and a panoramic photo of my neighborhood circa 1911.

eric john put this meme on my facebook wall sunday. he said it reminded him of me. yesterday it picked up some negative comments from another friend. we’ll call him CV. he’s a few years older than me & doesn’t miss music from the 80′s. when CV posted his comments, i replied with lyrics from the actual band he was criticizing. you can read below to see what he said, and how i responded.

CV: The Eighties were The Musical Dark Ages. Exhibit A: Culture Club
me: do you really want to hurt me?

CV: The only good music from the eighties was Yes, U2… wait, those are Seventies bands.
me: wow! i guess you really want to make me cry.