A Celebration of Life, The Phone Books are Here! Elimination through Expression

“But our idea is that the wolves should be fed and the sheep kept safe. “
— Leo Tolstoy

Well, hello Sunday, Saturday was here yesterday, he spoke little; maybe you can bring some words and some letters to further the conversation.  Shall I get you some tea?  Crumpets on the counter, I’ve got the Queen Elizabeth montage on the telly. So it’s an English kind of day.

Ok, it is cold; I’m now wearing a coat, a hat, and even a scarf when I go outside.  I’m not a fan of the falling temperatures but appreciate them. Of course, if we didn’t have t cold, we would not enjoy the warmth, so I’m all in, but damn,  chills abound.

I was taking out my trash a couple of days ago; I say my neighbor Bill, I asked what he was doing on Saturday, and he said he was open. So I said, “Let’s have a Celebration of Life for our friend Rick!”  He looked concerned; what happened!  I said, “nothing, he is fine, but why to wait until he dies to celebrate his life?”

We called some family and friends and got ready to host 25 at our home.  Tony, we didn’t wear masks, we did not social distance, we hugged, laughed, and loved. So take your silly little rules and go home.  We are tired.  Anyway, I ordered a large poster of Rick with the title Celebration of Rick, the date, and got a card for all to sign. 

I watched the UFC fights all day, we organized the house, and at 6:00 p.m., we had people begin to arrive.  My wife made “Made-Rights,” mac and cheese with bacon, I made a chopped salad, we had a charcuterie. If you are not from the Midwest, “Made-Rights” are loose meat sandwiches with a pickle and mustard served on a small bun; it’s a treasure trove of goodness.

After an hour of cocktails, we began our feast, and then when done, we turned down the music and began to honor our much alive friend.  Rick is a 40-year veteran of the police, a hero, a good dude who is almost retired.  His wife is a classy lady; they have become good friends.  Salt of the earth humans, people that you would like to spend time with.  I know, a preposition at the end of the sentence is not couth, but come on!

We rocked and rolled until about 10:30; everyone left, cousin and I picked up, my wife tapped out and went to bed; it was a long day. But, we got a good night’s sleep, we had a fantastic evening of love and laughter, and now it’s Sunday morning.  The house is quiet; my dog got into the trash just a little; we had a chat, and she seemed embarrassed.  

I did get the first shipment of my books yesterday; it’s a big one, about 600 pages, a nice collection of words, it was written during the pandemic, a blow by blow of 14 days of slowing the spread to the mass overreach of an authoritarian government with no sense.   Can I get an Amen?  You can find it on Amazon; it’s my 13th book; when you write 1000 words a day, a book is easy to assemble.

We have brunch with our friends Josh and Paula; we might have others join; we’ve not seen these folks since they sold their company.   Josh is an American success story, he and his wife built it, and they came.  He continues to work building out his baby, I’m interested in how his transition is going, and it will be nice to catch up.

I started working on my Ted Talk; I usually take 30 days to craft and then share it with some close to me, I have picked a somewhat dicey topic, but I feel called to share an uncomfortable issue.  More about that in the coming days, I’m pointing out a societal flaw, and depending on your political slant, you might find it uplifting or triggering.  I’m here for a reason, and so are you. 

I have a busy week, the third week of the month is the most active for me; I have meetings almost every morning, most start at 7:00 mountain time, that’s 9:00 eastern time, so not a bad deal, but of all the weeks of the month, this is the mountain.  I like the mountain; you can only live in the valley so long before finding you need to climb mountains. So that’s my story, and it’s made me who I am.

Who are you?  I’m serious. Who are you, and why do you take the time to read these words?  I occasionally get emails and messages from people I know and some I don’t, thanking me and scolding me for my work.  I enjoy the thanks and review of the scolds; I’m not for everyone, and well, neither are you.  I’ll own that, and it’s made life unbelievable refreshing.

I got a text from a friend; I invited him and his wife to our celebration of life.  He sent me a note and said he has no animosity against me, but our views are too disparate, and he can no longer tolerate being around me.  Wolves do not care about the opinions of sheep; he’s a sheep, I always enjoyed our banter, but I think life will be better without his whining and entitlement attitude. So see you, buddy; it’s the disparate thoughts and ideas that help us grow; enjoy your little bubble of following science.

Ah, that’s it, all I have in my tank, it’s a nice day, a little cloudy here, but I know the sun is up there as is the son, and well, two are better than one, so I’ll take it, and I ask that you also take it, it’s the best we have. So, enjoy the day, enjoy the week; of course, I’ll be back tomorrow and Sunday, like Saturday didn’t have much to add, this is my little show, I’ll produce it as I see fit.  Cheers to the wolves who take care of the sheep.

“But our idea is that the wolves should be fed and the sheep kept safe. “
— Leo Tolstoy