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My immediate family and our loved ones gathered for the annual Black Family Reunion earlier this month.  Depending on the state of mind I’m in, it’s weird and humbling to think that Mom, Darla, and I have been in each others’ lives since the 1960′s.  That’s a long family tree root.  My niece, Sara, is holding a pic of my grandfather, Hugh Black, Mom’s dad.

The on/off switch on our retro swag light fell apart a few days ago.  It had a good run.  It did a reliable job for 50 years or more, but when the bare wires were showing I crossed my fingers and hoped it was something I could find in a hardware store.  The first two didn’t have one, but the third one did.  When I described the old light switch to a white haired clerk, he looked at me and then he looked at Jenny & I felt like we were time travelers asking for an ancient mechanism… and we were.  The old clerk pulled the new packaged switch from a drawer and said “is this what you’re looking for?” — it was.With the twist of a screwdriver the past came back to life, and no one was shocked in the process.

The Sound of Noise came out 15 years ago, and it STILL resonates with me.  It makes me remember why I drum my fingers, tap my foot, or knock out a rhythm of any kind– because it feels good.

Between Memorial Day and the sick days, I’ve spent a lot of time in my pajamas the last couple of weeks.  I had no idea a cold virus could rebound.  I’ve eaten more meals in the lounge on a TV tray than I have at the booth in our kitchen.  I have perfected ‘take it easy’ to an art.  I’ve also used up half of my PTO.  Thankfully it grows back like a lizard tail.  While it does, I will breathe in, and then I will breathe out (exhales), and I will be patient.

When I saw this little Rubik’s Cube sitting on the computer keyboard, it could have been anything from my mid-century carefree youthful era… it could have been a handheld Pong game, Dynamite magazine, bag of cornnuts, rotary phone, plaid shorts, Chuck Taylor Converse sneakers, a boombox or a lunch box… and I would have done the same thing: smile, nod, and take a picture.  Hello June.

First the rain stopped, then the clouds lifted, and when the sun came out, a chorus of angels sang.  I saw my song included in the Spring Volume of Med Intima, an online campus publication that’s “dedicated to community, creativity, and culture.”  I have no idea how many entries were actually submitted.  I’m just flattered & honored that my name was included in a group of artists currently producing work.  I’m really glad I picked up that pink and purple flier asking for submissions last April.

First Jenny got sick… a few days later I got sick… and the next thing I knew, we were taking medicine, drinking cough syrup and floating in space like Han Solo and Chewbacca hiding out from the Empire.  If it weren’t for the chills, aches, fatigue, and coughing fits we would have felt downright lazy.  All good things must come to an end, so I went back to work yesterday and pretended to be normal.

The sun shone like a spotlight on the chiseled tree stump cat.  I know “chiseled” can also be a word to describe a muscular person, but I love how the artist didn’t try to hide feline flab.  Jenny & I saw this beautiful work after getting groceries at Aldi near 95th and Antioch.

The latch on my seat belt stopped working Thursday night.  My first thought was “oh well, I’ll just use the other one.”  However, when I buckled the driver’s seat belt into the passenger side, I realized I might be decapitated if I was in an accident because the belt was practically across my neck.  So I did the next best thing– I bought a steel carabiner at Mickey’s Surplus.  Now I can attach the seat belt to something– and not lose my head.